Organic Vegetables
___celery
___carrots
___red leaf lettuce
___green leaf lettuce
___romaine lettuce
___organic salad mix
___tomatoes
___avocados
___garlic
___kale
___chard
___spinach
___beets
___leeks
___yellow/white onion
___red onion
___green onion
___red cabbage
___yams
___broccoli
___cauliflower
___cabbage (red or green)
___ginger
___zucchini
___squash

Organic Fruit
___bananas
___apples
___pears
___oranges
___lemon
___nectarine
___organic blueberries
___organic raspberries

___organic strawberries
___organic grapes
___pineapple
___peaches
___honeydew melon
___cantaloupe
___plums

Nut Milks
___almond milk
___hemp milk
___rice milk
___coconut milk
___coconut water

Canned or Carton Foods
___kidney/navy beans
___chickpeas
___tomato puree
___chopped tomatoes
___org. vegetable stock
___org. chicken stock 

Raw Nuts – not roasted or salted
___almonds
___sunflower seeds
___cashews
___walnuts
___pecans
___hazelnuts
___macadamia nuts

Dried Fruits (unsulphured)
___organic raisins
___dried organic figs
___dried organic prunes
___dried cranberry (w/o sugar or oil)
___dried organic cherry
___org. shredded coconut

Eggs 
___organic eggs

Dairy (optional)
___organic butter
___org. heavy cream
___raw cheddar cheese

Flours
___almond flour
___coconut flour

Meat, Poultry & Fish
___fresh fish
___frozen fish
___chicken legs/thighs
___whole chicken
___chicken breasts
___ground turkey
___organic grass fed ground beef
___organic grass fed stew beef
___organic grass fed chuck roast
___organic grass fed flank steak
___organic grass fed rib-eye
___organic grass fed filet mignon
___organic ground pork
___organic pork shoulder/butt
___imported lamb
___bison/buffalo
___venison
___shrimp
___sea scallops

Grains
___organic oats
___organic quinoa

Nut Butters & Honey
___raw almond butter
___Tahini

Oils
___virgin coconut oil
___virgin olive oil
___grapeseed oil

Sweeteners
___Stevia
___raw honey
___pure maple syrup

Sauces, & Condiments
___red wine vinegar
___Balsamic vinegar
___Tamari (gluten-free “soy” sauce)
___Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
___organic mayonnaise
___Dijon mustard
___chili sauce/salsa

Frozen Fruit
___organic blueberries
___organic mixed berries
___organic peaches
___pineapple tidbits

Herbs, Spices, Powders & Extract
___vanilla extract
___sea sat
___cayenne pepper
___red pepper flakes
___cracked pepper
___Italian spice
___cumin
___cinnamon
___vanilla extract
___curry powder
___marjoram
___parsley, dried
___thyme, dried
___dill, dried
___oregano, dried
___basil, dried
___bay leaf
___anise seed
___fennel seed

Miscellaneous
___unsweetened cocoa
___raw cacao powder
___raw cacao nibs

HEALTH TIP: Whenever walking into a whole food store, first stop at juice bar and order 1-2 oz. of wheatgrass juice and/or a “green” vegetable juice drink; drink (wheatgrass juice first) as you shop in the store.

THE EGG AND CHOLESTEROL MYTH:
Fresh organic free-range eggs are a great source of many valuable natural nutrients including protein, and cholesterol, which is an essential building block for the body.

Eating eggs does not elevate one’s cholesterol (not to mention that cholesterol does NOT cause atherosclerosis or clogging of the arteries – that is also a myth). Also, egg yolks contain biotin which the liver uses to metabolize cholesterol in the production of many critical hormones. Eat eggs, and eat them often.

NON-STICK COOKWARE IS TOXIC
Non-stick cookware leaches dangerous cancer-causing chemicals such as Teflon into your food – STOP USING NON-STICK! Use heavy duty stainless cookware. 

Shopping Tip: Looking for decent stainless steel cookware?  I’ve bought great skillets, sauce pans and stockpots at Marshall’s, TJ Maxx or Ross. You may not find a full set, but you can pick up a random piece of quality heavy stainless cookware for much less than at stores such as Macy’s or Williams Sonoma.

Use This Superfood to Help Remove Mercury From Your Tissues in Weeks  

Have you noticed that practically every day a new story comes out in the media about the toxic side effects of living in the modern world? 

Chemical and heavy metal dangers seem to be lurking everywhere you turn in the 21st century!

Pesticides coat much of our fresh food supply, chemical by-products from manufacturing are routinely dumped into our air and water, and mercury amalgam fillings in your teeth may be releasing mercury into your body with every bite of food you take!

The seafood in our oceans are laden with heavy metals and mercury and pass these poisons up the food chain until potentially massive doses of both wind up on your dinner plate disguised as a healthy meal.

Underground water supplies have been tainted by chemical and pesticide run off from farms, factories and high technology industries. 

In fact, acceptable levels of many poisons are allowed to come into your home through your drinking and bathing water, including fluoride, chlorine and low levels of many heavy metals.

It doesn't take much imagination to see that your body too is under attack from environmental pollution every single day. 

You can seek to protect yourself and combat this hazard by eating foods that are free of pesticides and chemicals, but you simply cannot entirely remove all sources of toxins from your environment. The damage to our world is just too widespread and pervasive. You have to take it upon yourself to take measures to protect yourself and your family from this toxic world, and one of the best natural sources for moving these toxic materials out of your body is a whole-food based, green algae called chlorella.

HOW CAN YOU FIGHT SYSTEMIC POLLUTION?

To address the harmful and unwanted chemicals your body picks up through the food you eat, the air you breathe, and the water you drink, it is wise to develop a proactive plan. One of the most powerful parts of this plan is detoxification of the toxins you may have already built up inside your body.

Your body is naturally able to remove many of the harmful pathogens, chemicals and poisons you may come into contact with in the environment. That's how we are all designed. 

But in the 21st century, we're seeing an explosion of accumulated toxin-related diseases like cancer, auto-immune dysfunction, brain disorders like autism, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, nerve disorders and more common ailments like depression, learning disabilities and fatigue. It can become relatively easy to overwhelm your body's ability to remove many of these toxins. Symptoms of toxic build-up due to chronic metal exposure include:

• Fatigue
• Digestive distress, and reduced ability to properly assimilate and utilize fats
• Aching joints
• Depression
• Impaired blood sugar regulation
• Female reproductive problems

Mercury is also a potent toxin in its own right that can damage your brain, central nervous system and kidneys, and is especially dangerous for children, fetuses, pregnant and nursing women and people who have high levels of mercury bioburden. So it clearly pays dividends to detoxify your body of the accumulated toxins built up, to get yourself to a healthier state where your body can more effectively remove the toxins you're exposed to every day.

INFRARED SAUNA

There are ten to 100 times more toxins in your fat than in your blood, so one of the best ways to remove toxins is to decrease your body fat. That really is your first defense. Choosing the right foods and exercise are key here. After that, one of the most effective detoxification strategies I know of is the use of an infrared sauna. This can be done for about one hour daily for a month. Remember, it's important to hydrate well before and during the sauna treatment to avoid dehydration.

Additionally, you can exercise for 30-60 minutes immediately prior to help liberate some of the toxins from your fat.

Some clinicians have also found the use of NON timed release niacin useful, as it helps liberate toxins from the fat. However, relatively high doses of 5,000 mg are needed. These high doses need to be slowly worked up to as niacin will cause flushing. However, about one fourth of people are simply unable to tolerate the niacin flush. Please avoid timed release niacin as it can potentially lead to chemical hepatitis.

CHLORELLA AS A POWERFUL DETOXIFICATION TOOL

One of the most exciting nutritional resources available today to help your body naturally fight environmental pollution is a whole-food based supplement called chlorella. Chlorella is actually one of the most widely used supplements in Japan, where over 10 million people use it regularly. The Japanese use of chlorella is more widespread than the North American use of vitamin C, our most popular supplement.

Do the Japanese know something we don't?

One of the reasons the Japanese value chlorella so highly is its natural detoxification abilities. Chlorella is a "green food," a single-celled, micro-algae that is about two to ten microns in size. It's very small. It is this small size combined with its unique properties that make it such a useful detoxification tool. Its molecular structure, allows it to bond to metals, chemicals and some pesticides.

When chlorella is taken into your body, its natural action will bind it to lingering heavy metals, chemicals and pesticides found in your digestive tract, which is your body's pathway to your bloodstream where these harmful toxins are delivered and deposited into your body's cells.

So chlorella first and foremost will help your body eliminate unwanted metals and toxins. But it does more than that.

Chlorella is uniquely designed to not bind to the minerals your body naturally needs to function optimally. It does not bind to beneficial minerals like calcium, magnesium, or zinc. It's almost as if chlorella knows which metals belong in your body and which chemicals need to be removed. Supplementing with chlorella is like unleashing a tiny army inside your body to fight the battle of removing toxins from your tissues and ushering them back outside your body where they belong.

Studies in Japan have shown chlorella may help reduce body fat percentage and may be useful in fighting obesity and weight related diabetes. It may also help reduce both cholesterol and hypertension. Chlorella's cleansing action on your bowel and other elimination channels, as well as its protection of your liver, also helps promote clean blood. And clean blood helps assure metabolic waste get efficiently carried away from your tissues.

Chlorella is such a powerful detoxifier because it is rich in chlorophyll, which is known to:

• Aid you in processing more oxygen
• Cleanse key elimination systems like your bowel, liver, and blood
• Help purify your blood and clean away toxins
• Aid you in promoting optimal blood pressure
• Support elimination of molds in your body
• Help neutralize bad air you might breathe in
• Promote growth and repair of your tissues
• Chlorella is actually very useful even beyond detoxification, and its range of health benefits includes:
• Boosting your immune system
• Improving your digestion, especially if constipation is a problem
• Providing B vitamins from an animal source
• Enhancing your ability to focus and concentrate
• Increasing your energy levels
• Balancing your body's pH
• Normalizing your blood sugar and blood pressure
• Reducing your cancer risk
• Freshening your breath

A three-year double-blind metal detoxification study with over 350 people participating was undertaken at a Russian metal foundry, where more than 20 natural compounds were used in trials to remove heavy metals from people who had been exposed at very high levels to four main metals -- antimony, lead, cadmium and arsenic.

What were the results of testing chlorella as a heavy metal detoxification agent? The Russian trial using Broken Cell Wall chlorella combined with cilantro eliminated ALL heavy metals, including mercury! With no reported side-effects! In fact, the heavy metal binding power of chlorella was first discovered in the mining industry. Mixed with water, they pumped chlorella into mine shafts to collect the residual metals after bulk mining was completed.

TOO MUCH IRON?

One other thing to be aware of when using chlorella is that this green algae does contain large concentrations of iron. Iron levels in women should not be a problem due to the loss of iron related to the menstrual cycle, but for men, or postmenopausal women, excessive iron can become a problem.

So for men using chlorella, you want to have your blood iron levels checked regularly to ensure the iron in your blood is staying within healthy levels. The simple best screen is ferritin. Ideally it should be between 20 and 80 ng/ml. Levels over 150 or higher become problematic and should be treated by blood donations or therapeutic phlebotomies.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON CHLORELLA

Sometimes living in the modern world can feel like you're at war with the environment around you, and sources of pollution are often silent and unavoidable. You can do your best to avoid pollution and toxins, eat only the healthiest organic foods, drink only filtered water, avoid exposure to harsh man-made chemicals, and yet still find yourself exposed daily to massive amounts of harmful pollutants that are totally outside of your control.

Maintaining optimum wellness includes creating defensive mechanisms to fight back against these pervasive and unavoidable environmental assaults on your good health. 

By implementing a detoxification program now you can help your body naturally remove the unwanted and harmful heavy metals, chemicals and pesticides you may unknowingly taken into your body. And lessening your toxic burden has been shown to improve many common health ailments, from lack of energy and insomnia, to sluggish digestion, lack of immune response and mental fatigue. 

In fact, almost everything inside your body, including all of your organs, function better with reduced loads of systemic toxins.

And by removing the toxins now and not letting them accumulate to dangerous levels, you may be helping your body ward of such killers as cancer, diabetes, and hypertension, along with all of the now too common neurological disorders that may not manifest for decades to come.

Just remember to start slowly, perhaps using cilantro first, and gradually increase your intake of chlorella at a pace your body can tolerate. 

It took a long time for your body to accumulate these toxins and it will probably take you many weeks and even months to effectively remove them from your system. So if you experience any indigestion or discomfort from chlorella supplements, you're probably taking too much too fast.

It will be crucial to lower your body fat as low as possible as this will remove large amounts of toxins from your body that are stored there. You can also use the infrared sauna in conjunction with exercise and niacin as described above.

Be patient, stick with chlorella supplementation, and in a few weeks you'll most likely begin to notice an overall improvement in your health as you naturally start to remove these heavy metals, chemicals and pesticides from your body.

Unfortunately, many ignore weight training when devising their exercise plan, thinking they don't want to "bulk up."

But gaining more muscle through resistance exercises is an integral part of any well rounded fitness program, especially if you want to lose weight. However, weight training is not about vanity.

The intensity of your resistance training can achieve a number of beneficial changes on the molecular, enzymatic, hormonal, and chemical level in your body, which will help slow down (and many cases stop) many of the diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle.

Therefore it's also an essential element if you want to prevent common diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, or weakening of your bones (osteoporosis), limited range of motion, aches and pains, and yes, prevent excessive muscle wasting as you age. 

I recently published an article on exercise for weight loss, so let's take a look at some of the other benefits of exercise as it relates to maintaining optimal health well into your senior years.

Your body has two types of fat: visceral and subcutaneous. 

Subcutaneous fat is the fat located just below your skin, and is the type that causes dimpling and cellulite.

Visceral fat, on the other hand, shows up in your abdomen and surrounds your vital organs including your liver, heart and muscles. It is this visceral fat that has been linked to serious health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke, among many other chronic diseases.

A key strategy to reduce your risk of heart disease (and a host of other chronic diseases), is to keep your inflammation levels low, and avoiding gaining visceral fat is part of this equation.

Exercise is a critical component for reducing heart disease risk because it both lowers inflammation in your body, and is one of the best weapons against visceral fat. For example, in one study volunteers who did not exercise had an 8.6 percent increase in visceral fat after eight months, while those who exercised the most LOST over 8 percent of their visceral fat during the same amount of time.

This occurs because muscle burns more calories, and it consumes calories around the clock, even when you're resting and sleeping. So, as you gain more muscle, your body naturally increases the amount of calories burned each day, which reduces fat stores. 

As for lowering inflammation, physical exercise accomplishes this naturally by lowering levels of a C-reactive protein (CRP) that is linked to inflammation. 

High levels of CRP in your body is associated with a higher than average risk of cardiovascular disease, and has even been suggested as a better indicator of possible heart attack than high cholesterol. 

• 2 cups semisweet, bittersweet or milk chocolate chips, melted (see Tip)
• 1 1/2 cups assorted nuts, such as hazelnuts, almonds and cashews, plus more for garnish

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. (Take care to avoid wrinkles.) Combine melted chocolate and nuts in a medium bowl. Scrape the mixture onto the foil and spread it into an approximate 12-by-9-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with additional finely chopped nuts, if desired. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.

Transfer the bark and foil to a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

• 24 dried shiitake or black Chinese mushrooms (2-3 ounces)
• 2 carrots, cut into 1/2-by-2-inch sticks
• 2 8-ounce cans bamboo shoots, rinsed
• 2 14-ounce packages extra-firm water-packed tofu, drained
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 4 1/3 cups water, divided
• 4 cups mushroom or vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon chile-garlic sauce (see Tip), plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 cups cooked lo mein noodles (about 6 ounces dry)
• 1 cup sliced scallions

DIRECTIONS

Discard mushroom stems and cut the caps into 1/2-inch pieces. Spread the mushroom pieces in a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Add carrots and bamboo shoots. Cut tofu into 1/2-inch pieces, add to slow cooker and sprinkle with white pepper. Top with cabbage.  Combine 4 cups water, broth, both vinegars, soy sauce, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a bowl; add to the slow cooker.Cover and cook 4 hours on High or 7 to 8 hours on Low.Whisk the remaining 1/3 cup water, cornstarch and sesame oil in a bowl. Stir into the soup. Cover and cook on High for 20 minutes. Stir in noodles, cover and heat through for 10 minutes. Serve topped with scallions and with more soy sauce and chile-garlic sauce, if desired.

In case you weren't aware, you can eat a few slices of pizza and a couple of orders of fries and reach your daily requirement of vegetables! 

Of course, I kid, although it's really not a laughing matter.

Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed guidelines that would limit the use of potatoes in school lunches, as well as require a serving of tomato paste to be one-half cup in order to count as a serving of vegetables.

Since a slice of pizza has less than that, it would therefore NOT qualify as a vegetable, the way it does now.

Well, since Congress appears to have few more pressing concerns, they decided to invest their time nixing the proposed changes, and will continue to allow two tablespoons of tomato paste to count as a vegetable, and potatoes to be served with abandon.  

Since federally subsidized school lunch programs are required to serve a certain number of vegetables, pizza and French fries will continue to be served as "vegetables" to school kids across the United States.

A handful of USDA provisions were vetoed by Congress, including standards that would not only have limited the use of starchy vegetables (including French fries) and changed the amount of tomato paste that counts as a vegetable, but also limit sodium and boost the use of whole grains in school lunches.

As you might suspect, food companies, including those that produce frozen pizzas for school lunches, and potato growers fought back, saying the USDA standards were too strict. Others argued that the changes would be too cost-prohibitive to schools already stretching their budgets. Unfortunately, what this means is that pizza and French fries will continue to be a staple found in most school cafeterias, which are already notorious for their heavy use of very low-quality processed foods.

It's true that most schools are on tight budgets, and though they may have good intentions, they often find introducing healthier foods a challenge, particularly when kids prefer the junk-food versions, or have not been introduced to healthier foods.

However, there are other factors at play as well, including not only intense lobbying from the food industry as noted above, but also "rebates" paid to food service companies that serve public schools for purchasing processed junk foods. 

In an article published on La Vida Locavore, Ed Bruske revealed, possibly for the first time, that manufacturers of sugar-laden processed foods pay "rebates" (aka "kickbacks") to food service companies that serve school districts across the United States.

Bruske obtained documents under The Freedom of Information Act that revealed more than 100 companies paid rebates to Chartwells, a food service management company hired by D.C. Public Schools. As you might suspect, the "rebates" present a conflict of interest that could prompt Chartwells to order food for your children based on the amount of rebate it will receive, versus the food's nutritional value.

The end result?

School lunches replete with heavily processed foods like muffins, pizza, tater tots and flavored milk in lieu of fresh produce.

HOW TO HELP PROMPT POSITIVE CHANGE FOR SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS

On an individual level, do your children a favor and send them to school with a healthy, home-packed meal.

On a larger scale, and to help those children who depend on school lunches for proper nutrition, you can join Chef Ann Cooper's National School Food Challenge, and make the pledge to provide fresh, local and healthy food to your children both at school and at home. Ann is heading up a grassroots public health effort to make school lunches healthier using practical strategies like:

Significantly increasing salad bars in schools across the United States until every child has the choice of healthy fruits and vegetables every day at school

Supporting the Farm to School program, which is broadly defined as a program that connects schools (K-12) and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers

I urge you to get involved with Chef Ann Cooper's programs to help incorporate healthier foods into school cafeterias in your area, and help lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating choices among the next generation.