Happy Colon Foods!

Thanks to all that listened to the program today, here are some promised ideas for happy colons, because if your colon is happy, EVERYBODY is happy! (You older folks know what I am sayin)

The foods that help keep your digestive system, especially the colon are as follows:

Foods rich in Pro-biotics. 

Yogurt 

Miso

The trick with Miso, is to make a vegetable soup, just with water, simmer till veggies are soft, and add spoonfuls of Miso paste to desired flavor. I usually like a rounded tablespoon full for about 2 cups of liquid, but that is just me.

Sauerkraut for you vegan types, which is really easy to make, best book ever on fermentation is Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz, his website is amazing http://www.wildfermentation.com/ make your own, you will never go back to store bought again. The website and the book are invaluable, it is easy, and very inexpensive, all you need is cabbage and salt, and anything else you like, say herbs and such.

The Probiotics that are produced in fermentation help the body digest food, populate the gut with beneficial flora, help fight disease, help harmful toxins from passing from gut into the body, and well, really really taste good

Flax seeds are great to add to your salads, smoothies, warm breakfast cereals and as toppings for veggies and casseroles. They add lots of fiber, and are rich in Ligands and Essential Fatty Acids, especially omega 6 and 3's so good for your system. I like to buy them whole and grind myself right before adding them to anything, it releases all the great nutrients. Already ground ones, also called "Flax Meal" often are sitting around for a while and the oils can go rancid or loose their nutritional value Bob's Red Mill http://www.bobsredmill.com/organic-golden-flaxseeds.html is a great product and many health food stores sell organic flax seeds bulk

The Braccisa family, AKA as Cruciferous Vegetables consist of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, collard greens and Brussels sprouts. They contain compounds known to prevent cancer. Wow, if you make sauerkraut with cabbage, your colon will be leaping for joy! The best way to eat these are in slaws.

Dino Kale Caesar Salad

One bunch Dino (Dekata or Black) Kale

Sea Salt or Kosher Salt

Juice of 1 lemon or two limes

One shallot, minced

Garlic Powder to taste

3 TBSP Olive Oil

2 TBSP Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup Toasted Pepitas (optional)

Remove the center stalk and rib from the Kale Leaf, Roll and Chiffonade (cut up finely)

Place in a medium salad bowl, and sprinkle with salt, massage the salt (yes that is what you do) into the kale shreds until salt is thoroughly mixed in, add citrus juice, shallot, olive oil, Garlic powder and Parmesan. Let it sit for at least a half an hour to marinate, no one will believe it is kale. This is my new summer passion food, I CRAVE it! You can get fancy if you like, adding say feta in stead of Parmesan,  use apple cider vinegar instead of citrus juice, and add things like walnuts and cranberries. 

Another great Cruciferous delight is Broccoli Slaw

This is a wonderful way to use up your Broccoli stalks, simply shred by hand with a grater or in a food processor, and you can dress with either an oil and vinegar dressing or a Greek yogurt (pro-biotics there plus cruciferous, Colon is getting thrilled by the minute)

You can also buy prepared broccoli slaw and dress it yourself. This is one yummy salad:

2 cups Broccoli Slaw

1 cup Shredded Carrots

1/4 raisins

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

Mix together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp Honey, 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste until fully blended. Pour over slaw mixture, allow to sit for 30 minutes and watch it disappear.

High pectin fruits are great such as Apples, Peaches and Pears, (You don't really need pictures of those do you?) the pectin binds to toxins in the gut and helps them exit peacefully.

And finally, berries, all kinds of berries, but especially organic ones, conventional berries have so many chemicals on them, they might be good for flairs on the highway. The best are blue berries, raspberries and pomegranates. Obviously if you have ulcerative colitis berries are not a good idea, but as a preventative you can't beat them.

Finally, Organic is the best, especially for happy colons. The Environmental Working Group has a great list of the Dirty Dozen (foods that really really need to be organic, there are so many icky things on the conventional ones) and the Clean 15, that it is safe to eat them if they are not organic

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

Until next time, Happy Eating!