Eat this to prevent cancer and heart disease!

The family is gathered for dinner, Danielle is helping me prep the food, and life is good!

Hello, friends! I want to talk to you today about one of my FAVORITE things to eat. The greatest thing about it besides the deliciousness is how totally good it is for you. What I am referring to is…. the avocado. A simple and humble fruit, but WOW does it pack a healthy punch of nutrients and antioxidants that helps prevent all kinds of really bad illnesses. So my goal here is to tell you why you should be eating more avocados, and then show you a recipe for a scrumptious and easy avocado salad that I made the other day.

The main thing to remember about the avocado is that it is a fruit, but unlike most other fruits it contains healthy fats instead of carbohydrates. Each avocado has approximately 160 calories, 2 grams of protein and 15 grams of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). Although it has 9 grams of carbs 7 of them are fiber, which means there are only 2 net carbs, making avocados a low-carb friendly plant food.

Avocados have:

Vitamin K: 26% of the RDA.
Folate: 20% of the RDA.
Vitamin C: 17% of the RDA.
Potassium: 14% of the RDA.
Vitamin B5: 14% of the RDA.
Vitamin B6: 13% of the RDA.
Vitamin E: 10% of the RDA.
Small amounts of Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorous, Vitamin A, B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin) and B3 (Niacin).

Again, avocado is a high fat food. In fact, 77% of the calories in it are from fat, making it one of the fattiest plant foods in existence. But they don’t just contain any fat… the majority of the fat in avocado is oleic acid. This is a monounsaturated fatty acid that is also the major component in olive oil and believed to be responsible for some of its beneficial effects. Oleic acid has been linked to reduced inflammation and been shown to have beneficial effects on genes linked to cancer.

When it comes to nutrients, the total amount of them is not the only thing that matters. We also need to be able to absorb them… move them from the digestive tract and into the body, where they can be used. Some nutrients are “fat soluble,” meaning that they need to be combined with fat in order to be utilized. This includes vitamins A, D, E and K… along with antioxidants like carotenoids. One study showed that adding avocado or avocado oil to either salad or salsa can increase antioxidant absorption by 2.6 to 15-fold. So… not only is avocado highly nutritious, it can dramatically increase the nutrient value of other plant foods that you are eating. This is an excellent reason to always include a healthy fat source when you eat veggies. Without it, a lot of the beneficial plant nutrients will go to waste.

From a food perspective avocados are also very versatile to cook with and to eat. Besides guacamole, which most people think of when they think about making food containing avocados, you can use them in many different dishes. I slice them on top of meat, use them in salads, slice them on top of tacos or nachos, and I love them with eggs too.

I also love the recipe I’m going to share with you today. It’s an avocado salad and the reason I like it so much is that I love guacamole, but when I eat it I find that I eat half a bag of tortilla chips and that is too many carbs and calories for me. It also has black beans in it, which ups the fiber content as well as the protein, and makes it taste even better as well. I hope you enjoy it too!

Avocado Salad

4 medium tomatoes, diced
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup diced onion
2 seeded and minced jalapeno peppers
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 ripe avocados, seeded, peeled, and 1/2 inch diced

Add the tomatoes, pepper, beans, onion, jalapenos, and lime zest in a large bowl.

Whisk together lime juice, EVOO, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and pour over the vegetables. Toss well.

Carefully fold the avocados into the salad before you’re ready to serve it. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. That’s all there is to it!

I know you’ll love the taste of this avocado salad, it’s got the zesty punch of the lime juice and zest, combined with the creaminess of the avocados, the heat of the jalapenos, and the sweetness of the tomatoes. It’s a delicious variety of flavors! And remember, it’s super healthy for you too. Eating salads like this will help you live a life of vitality- with Valerie:)

A Delish (and Healthy) Side Dish!

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Hello friends! I hope you’re enjoying a safe and healthy summer! It’s been crazy around here, even though the 4th has passed, we have continued to gather for cookouts. Must be due to living in our forever home- finally!

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We have 3 acres and a big pond, so we have plenty of backyard in which to enjoy these gorgeous summer evenings.

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We also like to gather around the fire pit after dinner to roast marshmallows. One last great part of our yard is my HUGE herb and vegetable garden, more on that in a later post!

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I wanted to share a GREAT side dish/salad to consume mass quantities of at your next cookout. I call it “Super Cabbage Slaw”, because it’s far more than just coleslaw. But did you know that coleslaw is really good for you? Coleslaw comes from the Dutch word Koolsla, which means “cabbage salad”. Traditionally coleslaw is made with raw, shredded cabbage and some combination of shredded carrots, jicama, raisins and other healthy ingredients. It’s usually made with a dressing of mayonnaise, or buttermilk with vinegar and spices.

Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable along with broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, and they are renowned for their ability to protect against cancer. Recommendations are that you eat a minimum of 1 1/2 cups of cruciferous vegetables 2-3 times a week in order to reap the best benefits from this cancer fighter. Cabbage is an excellent source of a compound called sinigrin, which is particularly effective in helping to prevent cancer of the colon, prostate, and bladder. The health benefits of cabbage are greatest when it is eaten raw, as cooking it destroys much of it’s cancer fighting compounds, which is why coleslaw is such a great way to eat cabbage.

Cabbage also is a good source of fiber, is high in vitamin C and K, and is loaded with calcium, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B6, manganese and folate. In addition, it’s high in glutamine, which is an amino acid with anti-inflammatory properties. To top it off, cabbage is low in calories, only 50 calories per cup!

Why I call my side dish “Super cabbage slaw” because in addition to the cabbage, I make a vinaigrette as the sauce instead of a creamy dressing. The vinaigrette pickles the cabbage, which is great for the digestive system (see my previous post, “Peter Piper knew what he was talking about” https://vitalvaldecap.com/2015/07/16/peter-piper-knew-what-he-was-talking-about-heres-why-you-should-do-it-too/ ). Also, remember that extra virgin olive oil is a healthy fat (monounsaturated fatty acid or MUFA), which adds even more good health to this dish. And it tastes delicious too!

It’s super easy to make, too, so it won’t take much time away from sitting outside and celebrating these beautiful summer nights. To borrow a phrase, it’s “semi-homemade”. All you need is a bowl and a knife to make this so here we go!

Valerie’s Super Cabbage Slaw

One cabbage chopped finely or shredded (Or if you want to save time use a bag of already prepared coleslaw mix from the grocery store)
1/2 of a red onion (provides pretty color) finely chopped
1 large jalapeno (remove ribs and seeds if you don’t want a spicy slaw)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Fresh herbs- I used basil and chives- about a tablespoon each

First, chop the cabbage (or open the bag of already prepared mix), and add to a large bowl. Next chop the onion and jalapeno, and add to the cabbage. Then, prepare the vinaigrette.

Combine the last 6 ingredients in a smaller bowl and whisk. The last step is to add the vinaigrette to the vegetables and mix until it’s fully incorporated. Taste, and if it needs more salt, go for it.

If you are not a coleslaw person, you will like my version, I promise you. It’s crunchy, light and flavorful. This is not your grandmother’s coleslaw! Danielle and I are actually making another batch right now as we speak (or as I write) with cabbage, onions and peppers I grew in my garden. It is addictive and we really can’t get enough of it!

So try this recipe, and you’ll like it. Oh by the way, you can add whatever healthy ingredients that you enjoy eating to this super slaw; you really can’t mess it up. Eating my super cabbage slaw will help you to live a life of vitality- with Valerie! 🙂

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If My College Students Can Do This, You Can Too!

Hello my friends! Life is pretty cool in Indiana, well actually it’s pretty cold to be honest but it is pretty with the sun, snow and ice. Here’s what my backyard looks like right now.

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Snowy but pretty, right? Anyway, when it’s cold and snowy outside I long for warm, comfortingly delicious but healthy food. My girls texted that they wanted to make dinner together in Jac’s apartment, and did I have any ideas for a good recipe for them? Did I ever! Danzy’s been a bit under the weather since going back to school, so I wanted to give them something that was healing and soothing too. A top priority though was something easy to make for them. I think we succeeded, so come and join me for another episode of “Cooking with Jac and Dan!”

Baked Chicken and Rice

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 of a large container of organic low sodium chicken broth
2 cups brown rice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

First, make 2 cups of organic brown rice according to package instructions.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop onion, carrots, and celery.

Add the evoo to a large frying pan and add the carrots, celery, and onions. Saute until softened. Then, salt and pepper each side of the chicken thighs and add them to the pan.

Brown for 5 minutes on each side. Add minced garlic and the remainder of the salt and pepper.

Add the rice to the pan and chicken broth. Stir until combined.

Pour that all into a baking dish and bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the broth is absorbed. Enjoy with a salad of mixed greens lightly tossed in a vinaigrette.

That’s all there is to it! The chicken is loaded with protein, has 30% RDA for niacin, 15% of phosphorus, vitamin B6, and Zinc, and 10% of riboflavin. It’s high in healthy monounsaturated fats, and has 6% of your RDA for iron. The chicken and broth are known to have medicinal properties to help fight colds and infections, and the carrots, celery and onion have tons of vitamins as well. The brown rice is a great source of fiber, and protein, along with magnesium, phosphorus, thiamine, vitamin B6, niacin, iron and zinc.

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If my college students can make this, I know you can too! It’s delicious, warm, comforting, and healthy. This dish has it all! Jac and Dan’s opinion was that it was easy to make, but they didn’t like how long the rice took to cook (45 minutes!). My suggestion for that is to make a double batch every time you’re making rice and put the extra in the fridge. It will keep for a week so when you need to make dishes that contain rice, it’s ready and waiting for you! They thought it was delicious which is the most important part! Eating food like this will help you live a life of vitalty- with Jac, Danz, and Valerie! 🙂

Eat Clean, Stay Lean!

Healthy and pretty too!

Well, friends, the kids have all gone back to school and we’ve survived subzero temperatures here in the Midwest so it’s officially the start of a new year. As I’ve said in past posts I do not believe in “resolutions” for the new year but I do try to set some goals for myself. One of those goals is to clean up my diet a bit. I ate quite a few sweets over the holidays, and more carbs (pasta, potatoes, etc) than usual. I feel sluggish and bloated right now. So, it’s time to get back to my healthy way of eating or as I call it, “Eat Clean, Stay Lean”. With that in mind I want to share a great salad that I’m eating right now. It’s tasty and satisfying- and healthy too. It’s particularly good at this time of year because oranges are in season right now in California and Florida, thus they’re readily available. The salad can be made with grapefruit as well if you prefer. My girls brought me a few oranges and grapefruit back from their recent Florida vacation, and they’re so juicy and delicious that I’ve used one in this recipe. I think you’ll really like this salad!

Winter Citrus Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Assemble all ingredients first!

1. Assemble ingredients- 1/2 Bag of organic salad greens, 1 orange, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), 1 teaspoon minced onion, 5 black or Greek olives- pitted, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. This is enough for 2 side salads and will give you some vinaigrette left over.

Cut the skin and pith off the orange!

2. Cut the skin and pith off the orange- First cut down the orange to remove the skin and pith. The pith is the white part and it’s quite bitter so make sure you get it all off.

De skinned and pithed!

This is what the orange will look like after it’s done. Now it’s ready to supreme.

Making supremes!

3. Supreme the orange- You supreme (pronounced su- prem’) an orange (or any citrus fruit) when you cut the wedges out of the orange defined by the thin membrane that separates the wedges from each other. It makes for really pretty sections of orange in the salad and preserves the juice for the vinaigrette.

Squeeeeeeeze that orange!

4. Preserve the juice- Now you’re going to squeeze the heck out of the orange into a smaller bowl where you’ll make the vinaigrette. It will produce a ton of orange juice, more than you’d expect so keep squeezing til you can’t squeeze no more! 🙂 Then discard the pulp.

Vinaigrette made!

5. Make the vinaigrette- Add the minced onion, salt and pepper to your orange juice. Give a quick stir and then add your EVOO while whisking continually until combined. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Add oranges and olives to your greens!

6. Get your salad ready for the vinaigrette- Add the oranges and olives to your salad greens in a large bowl. Then, pour approximately half the vinaigrette over the salad and toss well. Save the rest of the vinaigrette for future salads. It also tastes really nice added to quinoa or as a marinade for chicken or fish.

And that’s it! This is a delicious and nutritious salad. Flavorwise, you get the sweet/salty combination that I love from the oranges and olives, and the bit of minced onion gives it a nice flavor. Nutritionally, the oranges add a ton of vitamin C, the greens give antioxidants and fiber, and the EVOO and olives add heart healthy monounsaturated fats (MUFA’s). I ate this salad with a leftover pork patty we grilled the other day and a dollop of guacamole. Definitely a meal that works for my “Eat Clean, Stay Lean” goal. Try it, you’ll really like it! It will help you live a life of vitality- with Valerie!

Snacking for a Vital Life

Eating healthy snacks is an important part of my daily diet. I say healthy because if I don’t chose the right kinds of things to snack on I could be adding needless calories and fat into my diet. Not to mention if I eat processed snacks, chemicals and preservatives are entering my body which can lead to cancer, heart disease and other illnesses I definitely want to avoid at all costs. So I stick to my fab five snacks that make me feel satisfied and keep me healthy.

I’m nuts for nuts!

1. Nuts- they’re one of my daily snacks and I can’t live without them. They fill me up because of the fiber and they have healthy monounsaturated fat that can reduce my risk of cardiovascular disease. Here’s another awesome thing about nuts- because the protein and fiber are relatively hard to digest, about 1/4 of the calories in nuts don’t get digested. That’s like free calories! And here’s the best thing, after eating a handful of nuts, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the next three percent of calories you ingest in 24 hours are indigestible. So say you consume another 1000 calories during the day, 30 of them won’t be ingested. That’s awesome, isn’t it? Nuts are my absolute favorite healthy snack!

2. Bananas and peanut butter-I love this snack choice and actually eat this for breakfast quite often. Half a banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter has 140 calories and 4.5 grams of protein. Bananas are a nutritional power house being very high in vitamin B6 and high in vitamin C, manganese, potassium, dietary fiber, biotin and copper. Here’s the thing about peanut butter for me, I’ve tried to love all natural types of peanut butter and almond butter and I just don’t like it. I’ve probably tried 10 different brands, and the only one I like is Smart Balance. It tastes the most like the Skippy I grew up on. Experiment and see if you can find one you like. If you can’t find one and you have to eat your Skippy, as long as you carefully measure your tablespoon (because I tend to eat a huge spoonful if I don’t measure) and stick to it you should be fine.

3. Tortilla chips and salsa- I probably eat this snack 4 or 5 times a week because I’m more of a salty and spicy food lover. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post I always make sure that I use gluten free, non gmo, organic tortilla chips and again watch your portion size. One serving, serving size varies according to which chips you eat, contains approximately 140 calories and 2 grams of fiber. The salsa is the real healthy star of this snack though. A cup of salsa, which sounds like a lot I know, provides 57% daily intake of vitamin C, 71% vitamin A, and 10 grams of fiber. I either make my own or in a pinch I use the Herdez medium salsa. I portion out a cup of salsa in a bowl, crumble the tortilla chips on top and eat it like gazpacho with a spoon. That way I’m filling up on the super healthy part which is the salsa, but still getting the salty crunch of the tortilla chips. It’s really good too!

4. Apple and peanut butter- This is similar to the previously mentioned banana and peanut butter. Apples are one of the healthiest fruits around when consumed whole with the skin on. However, they are also one of the most pesticide laden of the fruits so I only eat organic apples. Apples have a good amount of fiber- 4 grams, they’re low calorie with only 95 calories for a medium apple, provide 17% US RDA of Vitamin C, have the highest amount of antioxidants of any fruit (which lowers your risk of heart disease), and have quercetin, which is an antioxidant that is thought to boost your workout endurance if an apple is eaten prior to a workout.

5. Popcorn- I love popcorn as anyone who knows me can attest. It’s got fiber, 4 grams in 3 cups, but the best thing about it is the polyphenols in it. They exist in plant foods and help neutralize free radicals, which are the bad things that damage cells and contribute to rapid aging. Popcorn has more polyphenols than any other plant food including most fruits- impressive! I purchase organic popping corn in bulk from my local healthy food grocery store and it’s relatively inexpensive. Key to keeping popcorn healthy though is in the preparation. I NEVER eat microwave popcorn as I’ve heard enough bad things about it to scare me off, I always pop it on the stove with canola oil, which adds good heart healthy monounsaturated fat to popcorn. I never use flavored salts because they tend to have chemicals in them, I just use sea salt and sometimes add a little butter. I have this gadget my step mom got me years ago called a Whirly Pop that is a metal pot with a handle that turns the popcorn inside so it doesn’t burn the kernels. It makes me feel like a professional to use it so I use it all the time. I probably eat popcorn 3-4 times per week, and I love every bite of it. One cup has approximately 78 calories which makes it a low calorie snack. That makes me love popcorn even more if that is possible.

I hope this list of snacks helps give you some ideas when you’re hungry and need a quick, delicious and healthy snack.

Happy snacking!
Valerie

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Vitality with Valerie

Sharing the importance of living a joyful and healthy lifestyle!

monounsaturated fats

Eat this to prevent cancer and heart disease!

A Delish (and Healthy) Side Dish!

If My College Students Can Do This, You Can Too!

Eat Clean, Stay Lean!

Snacking for a Vital Life

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