Nourished Kitchen» beta carotene

1 Chicken, 5 Meals: How I Justify a $30 Broiler

Jenny — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:48:28 +0000

Let’s face it: good food costs good money. In my area, a nice pasture-raised broiler fetches between $4 and $5 / lb. I count my stars that it’s this low considering that some national retailers of pastured poultry get away with charging twice that to their customers. It’s expensive, especially when you can run to your corporate-owned, national grocery store and buy a whole roasting bird for a flat $3.99.

While it may be easy to balk at paying upwards of $30 for a single broiler, it’s a cost that’s well-justified. That single, good-quality bird can provide up to five meals for an average family of mindful eaters. You see, a pasture-raised bird – expensive as it might seem – provides more nutrients than a conventional bird. Pasture-raised broilers, allowed to access a natural diet, are richer in beta carotene, retinol and omega-3 fatty acids than their factory-farmed, $3.99 counterparts. A good quality, pastured bird goes a long, long way.

Meal #1: Roast Chicken with Vegetables

Start it simple; prepare a good roast chicken. It’s a classic one-dish meal – gently season your chicken and add it to a casserole dish or clay cooker, add chopped root vegetables to the dish as well and bake at 325 º F for 3 hours before turning the oven up to 400 º F for the last ½ hour. If you’re planning to make this bird last all week long, take care to carve it well and serve small, but satisfactory portions. Two good slices of breast meat and two chicken legs should be enough to feed a family of four, provided you include plenty of vegetables.

Need a little more inspiration? Check out these roast chicken recipes: perfect roast chicken, roast chicken with prosciutto and herbs or Moroccan roast chicken.

Meal #2: Chicken Sandwiches

The next day, slice the remaining breast and tender meat thin and serve them on a good, whole-grain bread with plenty of mayonnaise for lunch. Try nice additions like wasabi mayonnaise, ripe avocado, vegetable sprouts, heirloom tomato and a good raw cheese.

Meal #3: Chicken Salad

For your third meal, try preparing a nice chicken salad. Now that the breast meat, tenders and drumsticks are gone you have the thigh and back meat remaining. Thigh meat is particularly well-suited to chicken salad as it’s moister and more flavorful than breast meat and easier to use than the meat from the drumsticks. Chop the chicken thigh meat well, mix it with mayonnaise, halved grapes, minced parsley, chopped celery and walnuts for a great chicken salad that’s best served over greens.

Meal #4: White Chili

Lastly, pick any remaining meat off the chicken. The back of the chicken is much-neglected in this regard. Fry the meat with onion, garlic and stew it with white beans, green chilies, cumin and oregano for a delicious and simple white chili.

Meal #5: Chicken Soup

Lastly, when the bones have been picked clean of any remaining meat, toss the carcass into a stew pot or slowcooker to prepare a nourishing, mineral-rich roast chicken stock. From here you can prepare many nourishing soups, and you’re also likely to have stock leftover for more uses. Try chicken and wild rice soup, kale and white bean soup or lentil stew.

All in all, at least five nourishing meals from a single broiler makes the price tag of a good, pastured chicken worth it. Remember, budget cuts in your kitchen should come not from cheap food, but from properly managing your kitchen and reducing waste where you can – a whole bird can be stretched, used and stretched again to make that initial investment last.

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Chilled Melon Soup

Jenny — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:00:24 +0000

While fresh fruit makes it to our table for dessert often, sometimes we appreciate a hint of variety, and that’s precisely what this chilled melon soup provides. Melon – we use an heirloom orange fleshed honeydew melon, though any melon will do – is simply pureed and served with fresh berries. The soup is remarkably easy to prepare and makes an elegant, wholesome finish to supper.

Melon is packed with nutrients like beta carotene while fresh berries are rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber. Both melon and berries are packed with antioxidants as well. Indeed, melon boasts an ORAC value of 315 while the rankings for blackberries and raspberries are 5,347 and 4,882, respectively. The nutrients of berries in combination with melon make for a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory food.

Unlike many of the recipes listed at Nourished Kitchen, Chilled Melon Soup is fat-free so take care to serve the soup after a rich meal with plenty of wholesome, healthy fats to maximize your body’s ability to fully absorb the soup’s nutrients. You could also spoon a bit of creme fraiche into the soup as well. Take care to choose a fully ripe melon – almost too ripe. Not only will the melon be strikingly sweet without added honey or other sugars, but it will also contain the more antioxidants than a less ripe melon.

Chilled Melon Soup Recipe

3 Overripe Orange-fleshed Honeydew Melon or Cantaloupes
¼ Cup Fresh Lemon or Lime Juice
½ Cup Fresh Blackberries
½ Cup Fresh Raspberries

Preparing Chilled Melon Soup

Remove the peel and slice the melon into large chunks.
Puree melon in a blender or food processor until it has liquified.
Gently mix in lemon or lime juice and chill the mixture in the freezer for 20 – 30 minutes.
Serve in individual bowls, garnished with fresh berries.

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Cinnamon Sweet Potato Hashbrowns

Jenny — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:43:24 +0000

On a Saturday morning when my Dad was visiting, I fixed brunch and whipped these sweet potato hashbrowns up on a whim. After that first taste, they have quickly become a staple for our weekend brunch. Instead of white potatoes, or even fingerling potatoes as in my Fingerling Potato & Zucchini Hashbrowns, this recipe makes use of richly colored and flavored garnet yams. Yams are a good source of the antioxidant beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium and manganese. As you’ll recall from our discussions on fat soluble vitamins, beta carotene is not true vitamin A; rather, it must be converted by your body into vitamin A and the human body is grossly inefficient at converting the nutrient into vitamin A. Take care though: beta carotene in and of itself is a powerful nutrient and you should definitely eat fruits and vegetables replete with beta carotene as well as other nutrients. This recipe is fabulously simple to make: it only has 3 simple ingredients! To make Garnet Yam Hashbrowns, you’ll need:

3 Medium-sized Organic Garnet Yams or Sweet Potatoes
3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil (see sources)
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

Instructions:

Peel yams and slice them in thin matchsticks.
Mix cinnamon with sliced yams.
Heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil in the bottom of a cast iron skillet over medium heat until it’s melted.
Reduce heat slightly, then add the cinnamon-coated yams.
Top the yams with the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil.
Cover and continue to cook until the yams are tender.
When the yams are tender and fragrant, uncover them and flip them over so the top of the yams can brown.
Continue to cook until the yams are browned and fully tender.

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10 Reasons NOT to Give Up Red Meat

Jenny — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:01:26 +0000

1. Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

Found in the meat and milk of grass-fed ruminants, like cows, Conjugated Linoleic Acid or CLA is a potent nutrient. Researchers are just beginning to understand the mechanisms behind the potent and positive health effects traditional peoples have enjoyed since the days of hunting and gathering. CLA is known as a potent antioxidant and anti-carcinogen. CLA has shown promise in the treatment of various cancers. Research conducted at the University of Alberta in Canada, Dartmouth Medical Center and elsewhere indicates that CLA shows promise in the fight against breast cancer. [1. Lipids. 2009 Mar 6.], [2. Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(1):114-22] Further, CLA even could be valuable in the treatment of brain cancer due to its ability to prevent the development of new malignant tumors as well as inhibit the growth of existing tumors. [3. Brain Res. 2008 Jun 5;1213:35-40. Epub 2008 Feb 16.]

2. Iron

Red meat is a rich source of iron; better yet, it’s a rich source of the most easily absorbed iron: heme iron. Heme iron is very readily and easily absorbed. Contrasted with red meat plant sources of iron, like lentils, offer non-heme iron which is poorly absorbed. Iron is critical to health because, when properly absorbed, it assists the blood’s hemoglobin in carrying oxygen to the body’s cells. Low iron may lead to fatigue, headaches and dizziness. Women of child-bearing age, infants and children are most likely to be deficient due to their increased level of need for iron. Red meat should be considered especially important for women–particularly during and after menstruation when the loss of blood brings down iron levels.

3. Stearic Acid

Stearic acid is a saturated fat found in beef and other meats. Despite the current and prevalent thought that saturated fats cause an elevation in cholesterol, research indicates that stearic acid actually lowers LDL cholesterol [4. Lipids. 2005 Dec;40(12):1201-5.]

4. Protein

Red meat is an easy source of complete protein. Protein is essential to the human diet not only because it provides energy, but also because it is critical to the growth and repair of cells. Every cell in the human body contains protein including the antibody cells of the immune system which protect the body against pathogens. Red meat is an easy to prepare complete protein containing the full spectrum of amino acids.

5. Zinc

The mineral zinc plays an important role in human health. It is essential for immune system function and can combat the effects of premature aging due to its anti-inflammatory properties. [5. Genes Nutr. 2008 Jul;3(2):61-75.] Zinc also plays an important role in skin health, particularly in healing from afflictions like acne and eczema. Zinc deficiency is linked to skin disorders like dermatitis. [6. Orv Hetil. 2004 May 9;145(19):1007-10.] Maternal intake of zinc is also critical to infant and child health. Mothers with the highest intake of antioxidants like zinc during pregnancy decreased the risk that their children would suffer from wheezing disorders. [7. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Oct;84(4):903-11.] Red meats, particularly beef and lamb, are rich in zinc and provide an easy way to access this vital nutrient in a whole-food form.

6. B Vitamins

Red meat is a potent source of B vitamins, particularly vitamin B12. These nutrients are concentrated in the organ meats--particularly, the liver. B vitamins are essential to cognitive and emotional function. B vitamin deficiency is linked to depression. Inadequate maternal intake of B vitamins during the months prior to pregnancy and during pregnancy itself are thought to contribute to poor infant growth, cognitive and social development in children. Further, inadequate B12 status in mothers increases the risk of neural tube defects in offspring and increases the risk for pre-term labor. [7. Food Nutr Bull. 2008 Jun;29(2 Suppl):S126-31.]

7. Vitamin A

The suet and tallow of grass-fed animals is rich in vitamin A - including both retinol and beta-carotene. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin noted for its positive effects on health. Vitamin A promotes fertility, good vision and immunity. Inadequate maternal intake of vitamin A prior to and during pregnancy has been linked to birth defects. Retinol or pre-formed vitamin A is essential to properly functioning immune and endocrine systems while beta-carotene is a potent anti-carcinogen due it is powerful antioxidant activity. The fat from grass-fed cows, lambs and bison is rich in these nutrients--greatly more so than the fat of conventionally fed animals from concentration animal feed operations (CAFOs and feedlots). The naturally occurring beta-carotene found in abundance among the wild grasses of pastures and plains feed the animals naturally. Some of this beta-carotene is transformed into retinol in the fat, while some of it remains as beta-carotene. Red meat and the fat of grass-grazing animals provides a good source of this powerful and essential nutrient.

8. EPA

Similarly, the fat from naturally fed cows and other ruminants contains significant amounts of EPA. EPA is also found in oily, ocean-going fish. This omega-3 fatty acid is essential for cognitive function and emotional health and is only naturally available from animal food sources. EPA is known for its many health benefits including protection from cardiovascular disease, cognitive function and emotional well-being. Intake of EPA has been proven effective time and time again in the treatment and prevention of heart disease, and regular, daily intake of EPA from diet alone "would be expected to significantly reduce deaths from coronary heart disease." [8. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2008 Dec;10(6):503-9.] While DHA, another notable nutrient found naturally in combination with EPA, is known primarily for its positive effects on brain and cognitive development, EPA is known for its positive effects on mood and emotional well-being. Combinations of these two omega-3 fatty acids have shown remarkable benefits in treating ADHD/ADD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism and even dyslexia. [9. Altern Med Rev. 2007 Sep;12(3):207-27.] Low levels of EPA have been linked with the development of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. [10. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Sep;88(3):714-21.] Grass-finished meat represents an excellent source for EPA due to its favorable omega 3 to omega 5 fatty acid ratio. Grass-finished meat offers an omega 3 to omega 6 ratio of approximately 1 part omega-3 fatty acids to 2 parts omega-6 fatty acids; by contrast, conventionally fed cows produce meat with a much less favorable ratio and are lacking in the vital nutrient EPA.

9. Mono-unsaturated Fat

Beef fat is comprised of approximately 35% monounsaturated fat. The consumption of monounsaturated fats are linked to a reduction in LDL cholesterol and an increase in HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol)--particularly among insulin-resistant individuals. [11. J Am Coll Nutr. 2007 Oct;26(5):434-44.]

10. Tradition

Traditionally, red meat has comprised an important element of the human diet. Consider the venison that nourished Europeans, the bison that nourished the Native Americans or the lamb and mutton that provided sustenance for the nomads of the Middle East: all of these foods provide value to the diet including wholesome fats, vital protein, minerals and vitamins. Red meat has been part of the human diet for millennia - yet the people who consumed it didn't suffer from cancers or heart disease or other diseases of industrialization; rather, they benefited from its many positive and essential nutrients. If it nourished your ancestors, it can nourish you too. Take care to purchase only grass-finished meats which offer the very best nutritional profile.

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Fat Soluble Vitamins: Vitamins A, D, E & K

Jenny — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:23:29 +0000

Fat Soluble Vitamins

Fat soluble vitamins are critical to health and wellness–particularly reproductive health and wellness. Unfortunately, adequate intake of fat soluble vitamins is sorely lacking among modern peoples–especially by comparison to traditional societies. Average intake of fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K is inadequate at best and dangerously low at worst–even among health circles. Low-fat, no-fat and vegan diets are woefully lacking in fat soluble vitamins; however a diet based on traditional foods–those foods that nourished our ancestors through their evolution– can naturally provide these vitamins.

Fat Soluble Vitamins: Where to get them?

Fat soluble vitamins are just that: they’re capable of being dissolved in fat unlike other vitamins which are water soluble. In short, to reap the benefits of these vitamins you need to eat fat. And plenty of it. The higher quality the fat, the more likely it is to contain fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A: What is it?

Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin that can be classified into retinols or carotenoids. These substances are metabolized by the body to form usable vitamin A.

Retinols–the vitamin A found in animal-source foods–require very little work by the body in order to convert it to true vitamin A. Retinols are sometimes referred to as pre-formed vitamin A or true vitamin A due to the fact that they require such little effort on the part of the body in order for it to be usable.

Carotenoids which include the very prevalent beta carotene are poorly converted by the body. For example, some studies indicate that the body requires as much as twenty-one times the amount of carotenoids to create the same amount of vitamin A is one part retinol. To add insult to injury many people, especially those suffering from thyroid disorders and small children, are even poorer converters. A 2001 study found that the conversion rate of carotenoids to true vitamin A is so poor as to render it nutritionally insignificant.

Check out these bloggers who are also addressing Fat Soluble Vitamins
Life Spotlight on Just How Important is Vitamin D?
Eat Salad on Vitamin E
Cheeseslave on Vitamin D

Vitamin A: Its Role in Health

Vitamin A, like other fat soluble vitamins, is critical to health. It is essential to growing children and to mothers and fathers who are trying to conceive. It promotes a healthy immune system, fertility, good vision and healthy skin. Vitamin A also plays a role in the health of the heart. Low maternal intake of vitamin A has been linked birth defects including cleft palate (see more about maternal intake of vitamin A and cleft palate).

Vitamin A: Whole & Traditional Food Sources

While beta-carotene is a great antioxidant and plays a very important role in overall health, if you’re shooting for vitamin A make sure to get it from reliable sources like animal foods which are rich in retinol–that form of vitamin A that is most easily absorbed by the body.

Retinol in Micrograms per 100-gram serving.

Calf Liver (21140 mcg per 100-gram serving)
Goose Liver PÃ¢tÃ© (1001 mcg per 100-gram serving)
Fresh Butter (671 mcg per 100-gram serving)
Fresh Tuna (655 mcg per 100-gram serving)
Fresh Cream (405 mcg per 100-gram serving)

Vitamin D

Vitamin D: What is it?

Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble vitamins. They are considered prohormones, or the precursors to hormones, and are essential to endocrine health. There are several forms of vitamin D, but the most common are ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) which are known together as calciferol.

Vitamin D2 is not a truly natural form of the vitamin D. Vitamin D2 does not occur in any detectable quantities in humans; instead, it’s produced in minute quantities in plants. Supplementary vitamin D2 is manufactured by subjecting fungus to ultraviolet radiation. As this process is considered “natural,” supplementary vitamin D2 may be misleadingly labeled as “natural” even though that is not truly the case. Recent research indicates that vitamin D2 is linked to calcium malabsorption.

In a study on vitamin D2 published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers stated:

“These are officially regardedas equivalent and interchangeable (1-3). Although sunshine exposureand fish consumption provide vitamin D in the form of D₃, adifferent bioactive, plant-derived form of vitamin D, namedvitamin D₂, was produced in the early 1920s through ultravioletexposure of foods. This process was patented and licensed topharmaceutical companies, which led to the development of amedicinal preparation of vitamin D_{2 …}Vitamin D₂, or ergocalciferol, should notbe regarded as a nutrient suitable for supplementation or fortification.”

Vitamin D: Its Role in Health

Vitamin D is critical to bone health and immune system function. Vitamin D deficiency is actually fairly common, and is linked to high blood pressure, cancer, periodontal disease, osteoporosis and autoimmune disease.

Vitamin D: Whole & Traditional Food Sources

Raw, oily, ocean-going fish represent one of the best food sources of vitamin D. Many nutritionists also recommend pasteurized milk as a source for vitamin D; however, the vitamin D added to pasteurized milk is vitamin D2 and is best avoided.

IUs of Vitamin D per 100-gram serving.

Sunlight.
Mackerel Sashimi (360 IU)
Raw Oysters (320 IU)
Sardines (272 IU)
Raw Pastured Egg Yolk (107 IU)

Vitamin E

Vitamin E: What is it?

Vitamin E refers to several nutrients called tocopherols. These are fat soluble vitamins. Of these tocopherols, alpha-tocopherol offers the highest bioavailability. While alpha-tocopherol seems to be the most active, beta-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol and delta-tocopherol each play their complementary role. As with other fat soluble vitamins, avoid synthetic supplements.

Vitamin E: Its Role in Health

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant. This fat soluble vitamin is essential for cell health. It’s remarkably effective in mitigating cardiovascular disease with protective effects for the entire circulatory system. Vitamin E also promotes healthy, clear skin. Due to its status as an antioxidant, it could prove helpful in the fight against cancer. Beyond that, it’s critical for eye health and may mitigate the effects of cataracts.

Notable naturopathic physician, Ron Schmid has this to say about vitamin E in his book Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine:

“The absence of whole grains and liver, traditional foods rich in vitamin E, from the modern diet has resulted in widespread deficiencies. Much evidence demonstrates this has significantly contributed to the modern epidemic of heart disease and other problems.”

Vitamin E: Whole & Traditional Food Sources

Nuts and seeds represent some of the most concentrated sources of vitamin E traditionally available, although vitamin E can be found in whole grains and some animal foods.

Mgs of Alpha-tocopherol per 100-gram serving.

RawAlmonds (26 mg)
Palm Kernel Oil (19 mg)
Flaxseed Oil (17 mg)
Raw Hazelnuts (17 mg)
Wild Salmon Roe (7 mg)

Vitamin K

Vitamin K: What is it?

Vitamin K is a group of vitamins, notably vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. Vitamin K, like vitamins A, D and E, are fat soluble vitamins. Vitamin K1 and vitamin K2 are naturally occuring vitamins; however, there’s a subset of vitamin K which include vitamin K3, K4, K5 all of which are synthetic vitamins.

Vitamin K2 is produced be beneficial bacteria that are naturally occurring in the intestinal tract of healthy people. Those with severely damaged guts, or who have been subjected to the consistent use of broad-spectrum antibiotics may lack these vital bacteria and therefore may suffer from poor vitamin K2 production.

Vitamin K: Its Role in Health

Vitamin K is essential for proper blood clotting. Vitamin K also supports bone health, even reducing post-menopausal bone loss among women. Interestingly, vitamin K may even prove effective in the fight against degenerative cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease. Japanese studies indicate that vitamin K could play a very vital role in the treatment of cancers–particularly liver cancer.

Vitamin K: Whole & Traditional Food Sources

Leafy greens represent a great source of vitamin K, but take care to eat these greens with an accompanying wholesome fat.

Mcg of Vitamin K per 100-gram serving.

Cooked Kale (882 mcg)
Raw Swiss Chard (830 mcg)
Dandelion Greens (778 mcg)
Raw Radicchio (255 mcg)
Miso (23 mcg)

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