. . .  one for your juicer, another for your blender Consuming lots of green vegetables is one of the best ways to alkalize and detoxify your body, and green vegetable drinks are highly recommended. But how can you make them palatable without adding a lot of fruit, which raises blood sugar and insulin levels? Here are some tips for delicious, low-glycemic green drinks. Adding the juice from a lemon, lime or grapefruit goes a long way to improve the taste of many green drinks. Avocados create a creamy texture as well as making the drink filling and sustaining.  Coconut meat is another addition that can add richness and satisfaction. Although they’re not included in the following recipes, tomatoes, moderate amounts of the sweet vegetables like carrots and beets, green apples and any of the good oils along with a sprinkle of Celtic sea salt can all add appeal to a green drink while maintaining a relatively low glycemic index.  You can also have your green drink with a handful of raw…

. . . few foods beat the beet for nutrition! Beets are a wonderful vegetable that we should all try to include frequently in our diets. High in glutamine, an amino acid that feeds and strengthens the intestinal lining, beets also contain a number of compounds that make them a tonic for both the liver and gallbladder and promote the activity of various antioxidant enzymes. The effect beets have on the liver is especially helpful to women since the liver metabolizes female hormones; many hormone problems are solved when the liver is detoxified and strengthened. Recent studies have also found beet juice boosts stamina and endurance during exercise, at least partly because it widens blood vessels (increasing blood flow and lowering blood pressure) and enables muscles to work more efficiently. In addition, beets are thought to fight cancer, help stabilize blood sugar and protect the heart. Normally, beets (both roots and greens) can be added to vegetable juice combinations, and shredd…

. . .  for elegant dining during the holidays or any other time of year! Whether you want to lose a few pounds, prevent or reverse diabetes, protect your bones, reduce blood pressure and heart disease risk, or boost your immunity and fight cancer, balsamic vinegar can help. But what you’ll love our balsamic for during this holiday season (or at any time of year) is its rich, complex taste that complements just about any fruit or vegetable. Here are just a few of the many ways balsamic can turn ordinary fruits and vegetables into something extraordinary and memorable: *Spoon balsamic vinegar over baked pears, or fresh strawberries or peaches. *Add to steamed vegetables in place of butter and salt. *Combine tomato wedges with strawberries, fresh basil and balsamic vinegar. *Blanch spinach, drain and shock in ice water. Squeeze dry, chop and toss with toasted pine nuts, raisins, olive oil and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar. Add capers if you like. An especially winnin…

Kale is a sturdy winter green that is chock full of nutrition. Combining olive oil with kale is a nutrient bonanza! Both supply lots of phytonutrients (kale alone provides over 45 different flavonoids) and antioxidants. As well as being higher than most green vegetables in vitamin C, kale is rich in carotenoids, like eye-healthy lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene, and in vitamin K; olive oil facilitates the absorption of these fat-soluble nutrients. Kale also contains several times as much calcium as milk per calorie, and about half as much per unit of volume; the bioavailability of calcium from kale is better than from pasteurized milk. SIMPLE KALE SALAD Ingredients: 1 bunch of dinosaur kale (it’s less bitter than curly kale). 3 tablespoons Beyond Health Olive Oil Pinch or two of Selina Celtic Sea Salt Juice from 1 lemon Serves 2 unless you add more ingredients In a large bowl, combine kale, olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt. Massage kale with your hands for a few m…

. . . yum, yum - a quick and refreshing tomato-basil cold summer soup recipe Do you think being healthy requires spending hours in the kitchen chopping vegetables? Not if you have a powerful blender, like a VitaMix. Instead of chopping up vegetables for a salad, try chopping them just small enough so they fit into the VitaMix. Add oil and lemon juice or vinegar and some purified water, and make yourself a delicious cool summer soup. For a warmer soup, simply let the VitaMix run on high until the carafe is warm from the heat generated by the mixing action. Here’s a recipe that can be ready in minutes. The trick to making it delicious is to use top-quality ingredients. Be sure to get fresh, juicy, organic ripe tomatoes at your local farmers market (maybe heirlooms?), or sign up with a nearby farm to get fresh produce delivered to your home. Tomatoes are most flavorful in the summer months and when picked ripe. Look for tomatoes that are fairly firm, smooth and heavy for their si…

. . . high quality ingredients are the key to making these recipes stand-outs GRILLED FIG, GRAPE AND ARUGULA SALAD Ingredients: 8 fresh figs, sliced in half 1-1/2 cups organic seedless grapes, slice in half 4-5 cups arugula 2 tablespoons Beyond Health Olive Oil Selina Celtic Sea Salt Beyond Health Balsamic Vinegar (optional) Makes 2 servings Place the figs cut side down on a preheated grill for 5-6 minutes, or on a pan in your broiler for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the grapes, arugula and olive oil with a pinch or two of salt. Make a mound of the salad in the middle of a plate and surround by warm figs. This salad is very good as is, but for a completely different experience, drizzle it with balsamic vinegar. WATERMELON WITH LIME AND BALSAMIC Ingredients: Seedless or seeded watermelon A fresh lime Beyond Health Balsamic Vinegar For a fancy presentation, cut the watermelon into 1-inch cubes. With a melon baller or small measuring spoon, make…

. . . with Beyond Health traditionally made balsamic vinegar This recipe is chock full of antioxidants. As mentioned above, peaches are a storehouse of antioxidant compounds. Basil, which has been used by many cultures as a medicinal as well as a culinary herb, is another phenol-rich plant that has been found to fight cancer in recent animal studies. When made the traditional way, balsamic vinegar is also an abundant source of antioxidants such as catechins, flavonoids, quercetin and resveratrol. To achieve maximum antioxidant content as well as the most delicious taste, you’ll need fresh basil and fresh peaches, ripened to the peak of perfection as well as high quality, traditionally made balsamic vinegar for this recipe. We recommend our balsamic vinegar. Most balsamics sold in the U.S., even when packaged in fancy bottles, are nothing more than grape juice mixed with white vinegar, corn syrup or other sweeteners and caramel coloring. What they lack in depth and complexity,…

by Raymond Francis The food industry has done a very good job of making it extremely easy, and not that expensive, to grab calorie-dense food on the run. This is a great help to Americans who are working more hours than ever to make ends meet, however there’s one big problem: the side effects. Fast foods and processed foods are killing us! Devoid of nutrition and loaded with toxins, these foods supply nutrient deficiency and toxicity, the two causes for all disease. So on the way to premature graves, we’re likely to spend every penny we’ve saved buying cheap food on medical expenses for an array of chronic and often disabling illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. Most people know they “should be eating better,” but the transition from fast food to healthy eating can seem pretty formidable. Here are a few ideas that can help make healthy eating a little easier. The New Fast Food: Green Drinks! Finding it hard to get the recommended 10-12 servings of…

. . .  win a Beyond Health Back-to-School Kit! Sending your child to school with a healthy lunch that will please a child’s finicky palate, won’t subject them to peer ridicule, and won’t take hours in the kitchen to make – is no mean feat.  So we’re out to help stumped parents everywhere by collecting successful recipes from our clever readers. Send to [email protected] your child-tested and approved healthy recipe. You’ll be helping other parents, and we’ll reward the top three winners with these prizes: First Prize: A Beyond Health Back-to-School Kit Second Prize: A bottle of Beyond Health Children’s Multivitamin Third Prize: A Beyond Health Water Bottle All recipes should be in by Wednesday, September 26th. The winner will be announced in the Newsclips on Saturday, September 28th. For guidance in selecting a recipe to send, at Beyond Health, we consider a healthy diet to be plant-based and free from the foods that are downright hazardous to your health. We c…

Given the public health crisis sugar is causing, as well as widespread sugar addiction, we’re not big fans of sweet treats. For an unjaded palate, fruits and the sweeter vegetables like red peppers, carrots and beets, eaten in moderation, provide plenty of sweetness, while even the healthier sweets, like raw honey and dried fruits, cause unfavorable blood sugar swings and can all too often easily revive a dormant sugar addiction. Artificial sweeteners are toxic, as we’ve written about before in Newsclips and articles, and of the “natural” sweeteners available, such as agave, Monk fruit and stevia, Raymond Francis has approved only one stevia product: BetterStevia Organic Extract Powder from NOW. (Note: He had previously approved KAL Stevia, but withdrew his approval when they began adding maltodextrin to their product.) However sweets are such a huge part of the holidays, and when prepared in a low-glycemic way and eaten occasionally, they do little harm. Watch how they affect y…

What is a plant-based diet? There are different interpretations, but except for the vegan diet, which is exclusively plant, most plant-food diets are centered on plant foods, especially vegetables, using only small amounts of animal products as “condiments.” At Beyond Health, we recommend limiting animal proteins to 2-3 ounces a day, and not every day. Although on Thanksgiving, we enjoy organic turkey, we don’t overdo it. Instead, we make a feast of a beautiful salad with our delicious Beyond Health Olive Oil and Beyond Health Balsamic Vinegar and several favorite vegetable dishes. We then have a little turkey on the side. Here are two treasured vegetable recipes from our friend Bette Acuff, visual artist and artist-of-life, who brings beauty, balance and taste to all of her endeavors. CREAMY CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH GREENS  1 tablespoon Beyond Health Olive Oil, plus more for drizzling 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 4 cloves of garlic, chopped Selina…

Berry Meal Blast, Beyond Health’s new meal replacement product, is exceeding all expectations—and it is flying off our shelves. Starting with remarkable increases in vitality and energy, this product is addressing long-standing health concerns and changing lives. Herbs that Cleanse, Balance, and Strengthen Berry Meal Blast contains a select group of 18 organic and wild-crafted herbs that have been used successfully for thousands of years to support general health. These include burdock root for cleansing the blood; milk thistle to cleanse and support the liver; rhodiola and licorice root to balance hormones; astragalus to balance, strengthen and tone the body’s overall vitality; a complex of six different medicinal mushrooms and a very special form of aloe vera for strengthening immunity; ginger and dandelion root to strengthen digestion; and rutin to strengthen circulation.   Unlike prescription drugs, which target a specific chemical pathway, herbs have wide-…

. . .  antioxidant-rich and lusciousAmong fruits, berries are the highest in antioxidants. Although strawberries are particularly good for dipping in this decadent-feeling yet healthy cashew cream, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries can all be nicely combined with the cashew cream to make a luscious snack.Ingredients:1 carton of strawberries1 cup raw cashews Pure water (RO filtered water recommended) 1/8 cup coconut oil (at room temperature) 1/8 cup ENER G Egg Replacer 2 tiny scoops KAL Pure Stevia Extract Powder 1 tsp. unsulphured molasses 1 tsp. vanilla extractCover the cashews with cold water and soak overnight in your refrigerator; then rinse them well and drain.Wash and remove stems and leaves from the strawberries; then put them in a serving bowl.Place the cashews into a high-powered blender (VitaMix) along with the cold water. Mix until combined and thickened. Add the coconut oil and egg replacer. Blend again. Add the stevia, molasses and vanilla. Blen…