Cherry-Berry Watermelon Soup

What you’ll need for 4 servings!

• 1 medium watermelon
• some blueberries
• some strawberries
• some cherries

Chill your watermelon overnight!

1. scrape all the watermelon flesh out with a spoon and pulse it couple of times in the food processor and strain
2. save the flesh for something else if you like
3. wash and slice the strawberries, put aside
4. wash the blueberries, put aside
5. wash the cherries and remove the stones
6. pour the watermelon juice into 4 soup bowls
7. add some berries and cherries and voilà

Stay Healthy and Enjoy!

Monika Baechler

Monika’s Wakame Salad – How to make Seaweed Salad at home

If you love Sushi as much as I do and Millions of North Americans as well as Millions around the world, then you must know the bright green colored wakame salad.

My family always ends up fighting over the little wakame salad box because it’s so darn tasty! You probably wondered why you can’t find wakame seaweed in the Asian grocery stores to make your own seaweed salad at home.

What is Wakame?

Sea farmer in Japan and Korea have grown this healthy treat for hundred of years. Wakame is a sea vegetable which is mostly used in soups and salads.

It’s a bit tricky to find things at the Asian markets and grocery stores, everything is written in Japanese or Chinese. There is no sign on the wakame seaweed stating “This is the thing you need to make your own seaweed salad you like out of the sushi case”! And, they don’t tell you, that they mix the wakame with some Agar Agar. The chewy more translucent strand in your wakame salad are agar agar strands. Agar-Agar is a natural vegetable gelatin counterpart. White and semi-translucent, it is sold in packages as washed and dried strips or in powdered form. Agar Agar is made up of 80% fiber so it makes a wonderful intestinal cleanser and regulator. Most Asian gelatin desserts are made with Agar Agar.

Now that you know that seaweed comes in a dehydrated form, you’re ready to find the right kind of product.

You’ll go “Wakame” for this seaweed salad recipe!

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 of the 2oz pack of Wakame (dehydrated sold in bags in the nori section)
• 2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp and 1 tsp of vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup less 1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Toasted Sesame
• little Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp or to taste Sea Salt
• Agar Agar (optional)

Prepare your salad:

1. soak your Wakame in some warm water (please use drinking water, not tap)
2. keep the wakame submerged in water for about 5 -6 minutes, the seaweed will expand enormously
3. meanwhile, prepare your dressing
4. mix the rice vinegar, oils, salt, sugar, sesame seeds (red pepper flakes optional) and set aside
5. drain the wakame and press the water out.
6. take the drained wakame and cut into strips with a very sharp knife.
7. mix with the prepared dressing and let it cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes
8. adjust your dressing to taste, more sugar or more sesame seeds or oil…

Wakame Salad is perfectly fine on its own or with lunch or dinner and sushi of course. It keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days and freezes well too.

Stay Healthy and Enjoy!

Monika Baechler

P.S. Let me know how your wakame salad turned out and what you pared it with, thanks.

The “30 Day Juice Fast” eBook is available!

Finally the “30 Day Juice Fast” eBook is available for download.

Thank you for the pre-orders and I hope you enjoy reading and fasting with the eBook as a detailed guide. This 52 page eBook about fasting and juice fasting is written with you in mind. No nonsense info you don’t need and all the detailes you always wanted to know about fasting and detox.

Special Content you will appreciate.

• herbal supplement list to relieve your detox symptoms and support your body, all explained in detail and with added links if supplement is not available in regular health food stores
• Shopping list, recipes for transition days and build-up days
• tips on how to eat after you end your fast and how to stay on track

I hope you’ll enjoy reading the eBook as much as I loved writing it for you. Try the guide for 60 days, if you’re not 100% satisfied, I will refund your full purchase price, no questions asked.

Download the “30 Day Juice Fast” eBook! (don’t forget to add your pre-order code!)

Stay Healthy and Keep Juicing!

Monika Baechler

Raw Almond Coconut Truffles

What you’ll need:

1 1/4 cup almonds, divided 1 cup and 1/4 cup (raw unsalted)

3/4 cup dates (pitted)

3 rounded tbsp carob powder

1/2 cup coconut milk

To make it easier on your food processor, chop the almonds lightly and put 1/4 cup aside for rolling the truffles in.

1. Mix all the ingredients together and add some more coconut milk if you need to.
2. Place the truffle mix in the fridge and let it harden for about two hours or overnight.
3. Form little truffle ball and roll in the chopped almonds you set aside.

Enjoy!

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler

P.S. you can also use different nuts or dry coconut flakes (unsweetened) in the mix, or add some spices if you like. Send me your recipe combination.

Raw Fennel Apple Delight

What you’ll need:

• Fennel
• 2 Granny Smith Apples
• 2 Carrots, grated
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Celtic Sea Salt
• Herb Salad Mix

Salad Dressing first:

1. Prepare a dressing with EVOO,
2. Apple Cider Vinegar
3. Celtic Sea Salt
4. and any seasoning you like (salad herbs)
5. mix and set aside

Get the produce ready:

1. Wash and cut fennel, carrots and apple
2. cut fennel and apple in half, core
3. slice into thin strips
4. mix with dressing
5. grate carrot directly into dressing
6. add Herb Salad Mix
7. toss gently and Enjoy!

You will love this fresh summer salad for lunch, dinner or even as a starter. Post your favorite, fab fennel salad recipe for others to enjoy.

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler

Banana Almond Bread

Preheat oven to 350 or 180C

9- by 5-inch (2l) loaf pan, buttered

• 1/2 cup sweetened almond milk or whole milk, 125ml
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, 10ml
• 2 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour, 500ml
• 1 tsp baking powder, 5ml
• 1/2 tsp salt, 2ml
• 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2ml
• 1 cup granulated sugar, 250ml (I used only 3/4 cups or even less, it’s still great)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick)  unsalted organic butter, softened, 125ml
• 2 eggs
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 cup or 250ml)
• 1 cup roasted almonds, chopped

1. In a small bowl combine milk or almond milk and lemon juice. Let it stand until milk curdles, about 1 minute. Put it aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set it aside.
3. Place sugar and butter into mixer bowl. Mix for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat until combined. Add bananas and beat until combined. Don’t worry if mixture looks a bit curdled. Beat in flour mixture alternately with milk mixture, making 3 additions of dry and 2 of wet. Stop mixing and scrape the bowl down. Add the roasted and chopped almonds and incorporate.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in middle of preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes and let it cool for 10 minutes after it has tested done with a tester. Let it cool completely on a rack after removing from pan.

Enjoy!

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler

Original Recipe from the Mixer Bible, second edition (I changed the the recipe to almond milk and added almonds not pecans)

Some Parents ought to be slapped!

Enough is enough. When will parents realize that they are responsible for the health of their children and their grandchildren. Stop feeding your kids fast foods, Take-Outs and microwave oven meals! All I hear is whining and complaining from parents who say that they don’t have time, money or the know-how to prepare a homemade meal? Really, that is your excuse? Isn’t it just laziness? North Americans watch three, four or five shows at night and during the day and it adds up to 13 years in one’s lifetime. The weekends are mostly reserved for TV and food, they sit around on the weekends doing nothing. How is it possible that there is no time to care for our children’s health or your own health for that matter?

You are the parents and you only make the decision what to feed your kids. Not the other way around. “But I feel so guilty if I don’t take her/him to McDonald’s for lunch”. Is that your final answer? You feel guilty? Don’t you think you should feel actually guilty for taking your child there in the first place? I do get it, It’s so much easier, faster and more convenient to drive up and let them eat what they want. At least they leave you alone for a while. Right?

What about, “I’m just not a great cook! I have no idea how to prepare a nutritious meal from scratch!” This answer is unacceptable as well, with all the different cooking shows out there and youtube videos you can not be serious. Better yet, ask your neighbor, your friend, your mom or aunt to teach you. It is so simple to take action and responsibility. If your mother didn’t teach you how to cook homemade meals – shame on her too. Don’t make the same mistake.

Would you let your kids eat from a garbage pile? Why not? You’re already feeding your children dead food. You heard me “DEAD FOOD”. There is nothing nourishing in a burger with fries. It has been processed, poisoned and killed. Oh, excuse me, you are feeding your kids the chicken nuggets with apples and milk. Well of course, that does sounds much better! The nuggets are all leftover garbage meat (if you actually can call it meat), filled with poison like antibiotics and other medicine, shaped in a neat little shape and then fried in hot, rancid, carcinogenic oil bath. The apples are soaked in chlorine so they don’t turn brown and the milk is filled with lots and lots of more chemicals, antibiotics and hormones to really make sure that your kids get the daily toxin and poison requirement of the day. There you have it! The perfect meal for your precious little one, a child you brought into this world  whom you promised to take care of with all your strength and means.

Whole foods are simple, inexpensive, wholesome and a necessity to our and our children’s health. Period.

Whole foods are simple, inexpensive, wholesome and a necessity to our and our children’s health. Period. Most behavior problems arise from malnutrition and deficiencies. What about learning difficulties or social problems. Even allergies like asthma will be gone by providing our children with home made foods from whole foods, the way mother nature made them. (not your local fast food chain)Now you can argue with me about this topic all you want, and if you do argue with me, that means that you are feeding your children manufactured crap and you are trying to defend your actions and thoughts.

The only right thing to do here is to acknowledge your mistakes and work towards a healthier and more nutritious home for your kids and family.

With that said, I do believe that mothers can make a change if they are organized and are taught how to do it right. Why do I say Mothers? Well, Mom is the Head of the household. She buys the food, brings it home and cooks the food (zapping it in the microwave). Not only does the Mother buy the groceries but she also budgets the food money (sometimes anyway).

Every time you’re thinking about the next meal, I want you to have one thought: Would Monika approve of this meal I’m about give my family? If the answer is “no” or “maybe not”, I want you to rethink your menu. Wholesome meals are very easy to prepare, they sometimes take less time and money then ordering from your local pizza delivery place. Think about it! Sometimes I spend less then $20 on three days of groceries. Vegetables, whole grains and fruits are not more expensive than manufactured crap that comes in a box. Take out all the processed foods off your grocery list and only add whole grains like millet, brown rice and whole wheat pasta (there is more), vegetables and fruits. Your bill will be much, much less.

Eating healthy, nutritious home cooked meals is less expensive

This morning for example: it was fast, delicious and inexpensive

Breakfast Banana Smoothie with dates

• 2 bananas
• 2 cups almond milk
• 3 dates
• 2 tbsp silken tofu
• add 2 servings of green+ (green food supplement)

blend everything until smooth, done! The boys gobble it up in seconds, and I mean seconds!

Grain and vegetables dishes and fruit dessert are not only feeding the mind and body, they also feed the soul. If you feed your children’s soul, you will experience a more balanced family life without frustration and conflicts. Some kids are very angry and troubled because of malnutrition, deficiencies and toxic livers. Whole grains and vegetables will balance hormones and toxic blood from over acidity.

One more thought. If you’re still using dairy products, make sure you are only choosing organic whole milk. Organic means without any antibiotics or hormones given to the cows. Just to be clear, dairy is not a necessary food group. Not even for children – specially not for children. Milk is mucus forming and very hard to digest for little tummies. Children get many ear infections because of milk products as well as other allergic symptoms, but that is a topic for another blog.

Today I would like to leave you with this:

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” Buddha

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler

P.S. Your pediatrician got 6 hours of Nutrition Education and I studied Nutrition and Asian Nutrition since 1999, who are you going to trust? Think about it!

The Secrets of Quinoa

Strawberry-Banana-Apple Smoothie

Start your day with a delicious fruit smoothie!

It’s fast, easy and oh so good for you! Children in particular love anything that can be “consumed” with a straw, it’s a fact! Drinking smoothies is also sweet, why would you start your day with a horrible bitter black liquid that turns your stomach acidic? Just wondering sometimes about the choices people make.

Now to our fruity glass of deliciousness. What you will need for this particular recipe is:

• 2 ripe bananas
• 4-7 strawberries
• 1 small cup of organic apple sauce
• some organic soy milk (original, not sweetened)

Put everything in the blender and mix. You can even add raspberries or leave the applesauce and add instead some frozen peaches. It’s all up to you. This recipe is just a suggestion because everybody has their own favorite fruits, milks and juices they like to add. No matter what you put in your smoothie it’s going to be a delight every time you drink it.

Now go and make yourself a nice fruity smoothie! Enjoy.

Monika Baechler

Celeriac Salad with Orange Juice

This is a fantastic recipe from Switzerland. You will absolutely love it. Serve the salad with some steak or chicken. It will be great for summer picnics as well.

What you will need:

• 1/2 Celeriac
• 1 Juicing Orange
• couple of tbsp of home made mayo (or bought)
• sea salt
• garlic salt to taste
• Optional add some diced pineapple

The easiest way to do this is with a food processor. If you don’t have one, I really encourage you to invest about $160 into a good quality food processor for quick lunches and last minute dinners.

Here we go. Clean the celeriac first. The fastest way is to cut the tough stuff off with the knife and switch to a peeler after that. It takes some practice to wrestle with the celeriac root, but it’s so worth it.

Prepare the dressing first. Take 2-3 tbsp of the mayo and mix it with the orange juice. Cut the celeriac into manageable pieces. Grate them in the food processor or by hand (I do not recommend this, too dangerous). Immediately mix the celeriac with the dressing and season to taste with some garlic salt and finish off with sea salt.

Serve this delicious salad as is or with fresh whole grain bread. This is also great for kids lunches and for afternoon snacks. I love this recipe with some grilled salmon fillet or with grilled chicken. Talking about low carbs!

If you like this recipe and would like to get more suggestions like this, sign up with your email address. Share this with your friends if you enjoyed this post.

Monika Baechler

Mayonnaise Free Tuna Salad

I was trying to figure out what to put in my starving stomach.

Wondering around in my kitchen I found a jar of roasted eggplants, which I neglected for a while. Since eggplant dip is very low in fat and has no nonsense put into it, I thought I give it a try in my tuna salad.

This is what you will need:

• 1 can of tuna in water, drained (of course you knew that!)
• 4-5 black Spanish olives, pitted
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 stalk celery
• herbs or salt free seasoning
• some garlic salt to taste
• 2-3 tablespoons of roasted eggplant dip

Just mix everything together. You can even add a green salad or more vegetables. Add black olives to taste, but remember that about 4-5 olives have 1g of fat. This tuna recipe is very low fat but creamy and delicious because of the added eggplant. Even if you don’t like eggplant, you should give it a try!

Why not wrap it up in a whole wheat tortilla and take it to work or give it to the kids for lunch. Kids like anything in a wrap, specially tuna salad!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, I know I did.

Once a week or so I will try to post one lean-mean recipe, so keep an eye out for that.

Bon Appetit!

The 101 on caring for kids if they get the Flu

Quite frankly, it is a scary thought but if my family can get through it so can you. Sunday a week ago my 5 year old told me his throat hurt, which scared the poop out of me. Since it was just two days after helloween I wasn’t alarmed, because they sometimes scream so much while trick or treating that they do develop a soar throat. Well, we were not so lucky. Sunday evening he got a fever and I knew we had a flu case on our hands. Monday came and with the morning came also the cough and higher fever. His fever lasted about three days with some normal temperature in between. The highest temperature we measured was 101.3. My 5 year old complained about aches and pains, head ache, lungs hurting when he coughs, runny nose, fever, stuffy nose, night sweats, shivers, chills, fatigue, watery eyes, sleepiness and so on…

On Friday it seamed like he reached a plateau and just to be sure I took him to the doctor to check out his lungs. The doctor gave us an ok and sent us home to rest. He told us to keep him hydrated and resting. It wasn’t until the 7th day until his cough subsided a bit and he started acting like a five year old again.

My 9 year old had similar symptoms but closer to what I experienced. He also started with a soar throat and cough but he complained about severe leg pains and muscle weakness. Runny nose from almost the onset of symptoms and high level of fatigue. We all had clear runny nose, fever, chills, cough and muscle pain with severe head aches for about two days.

What you should have at home to get through the flu with your children:

• Echinacea Elder Tea, Herbal Tea, Traditionally used to fight off colds, flus, and infections, especially of the respiratory tract
• Ginger Lemon Tea, Herbal Tea, Great with honey for little upset tummies or big tummies, ginger is also a great anti viral, anti bacterial
• Olbas Oil, Olbas Oil is a traditional Swiss herbal medicinal remedy containing a unique mixture of essential oils, all carefully selected and 100% pure, put on chest and back
• Nasa Mist, Saline Spray, Specially Designed for Babies and Children, Allergy and Sinus Relief
• Organic Lemon, for hot lemon and honey tea, reliefs cough and sore throat

Keep them hydrated and warm, even if they have a fever. A lot of children in the hospital are there because of dehydration, keep them drinking tea and water all day! It’s important not to give them fever reducing medicine, fever is needed to produce anti bodies. A fever above 103 and 104 is dangerous and should be seen by a doctor. Also help the children breath easier with some vapor bath made with eucalyptus and menthol with lavender.

Xylitol for Diabetics – What is Xylitol?

During WWII Finland was suffering from an acute sugar shortage. With no domestic supply of sugar, the Finns searched for an alternative. It was then, when Finnish scientists rediscovered xylitol, a low-calorie sugar made from birch bark. It was first  manufactured in 1891  in Germany but got kind of lost after that.

By the 1960′s, xylitol was being used in Germany, Switzerland, the Soviet Union, and Japan as a preferred sweetener in diabetics. It has been relatively unknown in the U.S. and Australia, primarily because cheap supplies of cane sugar made the more expensive xylitol less economically viable.

Xylitol tastes and looks exactly like sugar, but those are the only similarities. Sugar destroys our health and body and xylitol heals and repairs it. Not only has xylitol no aftertaste but it also builds immunity, protects us against chronic degenerative diseases, plus it has anti-aging benefits.

The body makes xylitol in small amounts in the body naturally and has no toxic levels. You might feel small discomfort when you start first taking it until your body gets used to the higher levels of xylitol. People sometimes complain about diarrhea or some cramping at the beginning.

Xylitol has 40% less calories and 75% fewer carbs than sugar, plus xylitol is absorbed slower into the body than sugar. We metabolise xylitol slower, which results in a small change in insulin levels. Xylitol is a Diabetics best friend for breakfasts and desserts as well as sweets.

But did you know, that xylitol:

• has a low glycemic index of 7
• releases a steady energy flow
• has very little effect on blood sugar
• reduces your carbohydrate cravings
• improves dental health
• it is very alkaline

Xylitol is found in fibrous vegetables and fruit, as well as in corn and various hardwood trees like birch. The body itself produces up to 15 grams daily from other foods during normal metabolism. Xylitol is the only form of sugar that does not promote and feed dangerous bacteria and fungi and it is approved by USFDA and World Health Organization.

Xylitol has been used in the dental field for over sixty years to help promote oral health and the prevention of disease caused by bacteria.

• Inhibits plaque and dental cavities up to 80%.
• Retards demineralization of tooth enamel.
• Re-mineralization of tooth enamel.
• Increase saliva production.
• Protects saliva proteins.
• Reduces infections in the mouth.

Xylitol benefits in the dental field are unlimited and is used in lots of gums and toothpastes.

reference: xylitol canada