I have such a special treat for you today. Since I am in the final stretch of writing my manuscript (!!!), I’ve asked Julie from the Alkaline Sisters to take over this week. She’s created a gorgeous spring recipe for all of you who really need a bite of brightness (I figure that is anyone who has survived the polar vortex, am I right?). I’ve been a fan of Julie’s site for a long time now, but we met in person for the first time last summer and the serendipitous sparks flew! We’ve been online pals ever since. She is an expert on achieving alkalinity, and I’ve asked her to give us the low-down on this very topic. After curing her own health issues with an alkaline diet, she is sharing her inspiring journey and culinary creations on her beautiful blog. She also has a book in the works and I know it is going to be absolutely amazing! Can’t wait.
I will be back very soon, but in the meantime let’s all sit back and learn something from this very wise woman. Thank you Julie, for sharing your knowledge with us! What a blessing.
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I’m so pleased that I could support Sarah by sharing a recipe with you today as she nears completion of her book. I can only imagine the juggling that is happening as she cares for her wee babe in between wielding her heavy camera and cooking up some tasty business to style and photograph, not to mention the writing required to explain the recipe. Lord knows I understand the process since I just recently handed my cook book manuscript in to my publisher, phew!
When we had lunch last summer we realized that we were both working with the same publisher, what are the chances of that? We’ve both been feverishly working away on our cook books but I certainly didn’t give birth to a newborn baby as I worked thru the chapters of my book! I swear Sarah has somehow acquired super powers as she’s hardly missed a beat here on the blog! She’s managed to continually inspire you and I with a fabulous new recipe pretty much every week since she started the book, save for popping out a beautiful baby boy! That’s more than I can attribute to since I took a bit of a hiatus from my blog to work on my book while caring for my family of 4, trying to stay sane and enjoy the journey.
So here I am, happily giving her a bit of relief so she can wrap up the final details of her book. Now she can focus, take good care of her precious family, knowing that you are inspired for yet another week. So lets do this:)
With Spring making it’s way here I can’t wait to begin tasting the seasonal flavours that I have missed since last year. Sweet green peas always make me think of brighter sunnier days and the bursting greens of budding trees. I may be jumping the gun on the spring pea season here, just a little, hehe but you’ll be glad I did if you are a fan of sweet peas! I’m cheating with frozen peas so please forgive me for my enthusiasm with the lead up to my favourite time of year. Because my horoscope is Aries, I come by it honestly:)
This tasty dish is a little bit raw and a little bit cooked, keeping as many nutrients in tact as possible. It’s kind of a nice combo for this in between time of year. And guess what? It’s alkalizing too….well of course! This Alkaline Sister here is happy to inspire you with a recipe that will help you balance your alkalinity. (If you are keen for a wee bit more information about the alkaline lifestyle read on below the recipe.) This is a quick and easy recipe to pull together, even for lunch.
The pea pesto is made with a generous portion of peas that are action packed with phytonutrients that provide us with key antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Peas also contain an impressive amount of health promoting omega-3 fats in the form of alpha-linolenic acid or ALA as well as omega-6 fats called linolenic acids. One cup has about 30 milligrams of omega-3 and 130 milligrams of omega-6. As for protein and fibre, green peas pack about 8-10 grams per cup. These two macronutrients keep your blood sugar levels well regulated since they support the break down of the natural sugars and carbohydrates as they pass through your digestive track.
Once thought of as being a starchy vegetable peas are proving to be much more than that. They are effective in lowering our risk of chronic health issues related to inflammation. And studies show that inflammation is at the root of most health issues, so eat your peas! While you’re at it, eat your zucchini and some onions too! All of these alkalizing vegetables in this recipe provide the body with beneficial cancer-preventive nutrients. You can’t go wrong here so give this recipe a whirl and see how you like it.
Sweet Pea & Pearl Onion Pesto smothered Zucchini Noodles
Makes 1 large serving or 2 servings as a light lunch or as a side dish
Ingredients:
2 6″ zucchinis, julienned or spiral cut, preferably organic
24 fresh pearl onions, peeled (substitute frozen if need be)
2 cups organic frozen peas
3 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp maple syrup or 3 drops liquid stevia
pinch himalayan salt or good sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Using a spiral noodle slicer or a julienne peeler make your noodles from the zucchinis. Place in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
2. Place the pearl onions in a covered steamer basket over boiling water and steam for 8-10 mins till layers just begin to separate and they appear translucent. (If using frozen pearl onions your steam time will be a little less). Add frozen peas and steam for 2 minutes longer, stirring at the one minute mark to ensure even cooking.
3. Remove from heat and pour half the mixture into a small bowl and the other half into your food processor–be sure to divide the onions evenly.
4. To the food processor, add the olive oil, lemon juice, mint, salt, pepper and maple syrup. Process until creamy but not completely smooth, leaving a little texture.
5. Now lets put it altogether. Pour the creamy pea and onion pesto over the noodles, scraping the bowl clean with a spatula. Using two forks toss the noodles well to coat. Transfer to serving dish or divide into two bowls. Top with remaining steamed peas and pearl onions. Garnish your bowl(s) with fresh mint and freshly ground pepper. Enjoy:)
Note: This is yummy as is, with the mildly warm pea and onion pesto but it’s also delish at room temperature. If this dish stands for more than two hours the zucchini will release some of it’s juices and become a little more tender. It’s still quite tasty this way but is best if eaten within one hour. Store the pesto separate from the noodles if you are making it ahead. And…if you share this dish between 2 servings maybe top it with some sliced avocado to round it out a little more. Enjoy:)
Thank you kindly Sarah, for trusting me to share a nourishing alkaline recipe with your treasured readers that you take such good care of. It’s been an honour and I am grateful for the opportunity to share my alkaline message with your loyal followers.
Here’s an extra special mini lesson on alkalinity and how it can be of benefit to your healthy lifestyle:
The most alkaline foods are green and of high water content as in cucumber, celery, broccoli, and greens like kale, chard, romaine etc. Lemons & limes are also highly alkaline once metabolized even though they are acidic outside the body before you ingest them. This chart shows the degree of alkalinity of many foods to give you a better idea. On this chart you’ll also notice the list of foods that are acidic and their scores that you can pay attention to with regard to the ratio that you include in your daily meals. Pretty much any food that is a concentrated food with low water content, is highly processed or contains sugar–including fruit, is acidic to the body and should be consumed in approximately a 20-30% daily proportion. If you are seriously ill this ratio will be more like 0-5%. Please remember to always consult a medical professional when considering a drastic lifestyle change.
Choosing alkaline foods in a 70 to 80% ratio with the balance of acidic foods allows you to still enjoy some of the wholesome foods you are accustomed to. A visual measurement for each meal or over the period of the day is all that is necessary to maintain a balanced intake of alkaline foods. No weighing or counting of calories is necessary. And guess what? By following a highly alkaline lifestyle you’ll discover that a bonus side effect is weight loss or a return to your natural body weight.
You may already be very conscientious with your healthy lifestyle but with a bit of tweaking in the alkaline department you might find you have even more energy, fewer colds and any nagging symptoms slowly dissipate.
To increase your alkaline foods intake it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3…a,b,c…
1. add a green smoothie to your morning or a green juice
2. add a big salad to your lunch or make it your lunch
3. add a salad and steamed veggies to your dinner
And we all know that we need to….
a. drink more water— 3-4 litres of filtered, hopefully alkaline water each day- to flush acids and hydrate the body
b. exercise to flush your lymph, blood and tissues of acidic matter
c. stay on top of your stress levels and find ways to deal with negative thoughts– meditation, yoga etc. (stress causes acids to form within the body)
By slowly adapting your lifestyle and following these basics along with doing a seasonal detox you will keep disease at bay and the cold and flu bugs will leave you for good!
Six years ago, with a dramatic shift to this alkaline lifestyle, I resolved the excruciating pain that I was experiencing from a seriously herniated disc that stopped me in my tracks from living my life. This lifestyle shift resulted in a welcome side effect of easily and quickly dropping 40lbs of post baby excess weight that I was struggling with.
Our modern diet is often overly acidic even if we consider it to be healthy thus many of us suffer from a myriad of illnesses that are directly related to an overly acidic body. But the good news is….. that you can turn your health around by flooding the body with alkalinity.
A green smoothie cheers to your good, alkaline health 🙂
Julie the Alkaline Sister