Not Just for the Birds

Since I have joined the Institute for Integrative Nutrition I have been experimenting with my diet. We are learning about over 100 different dietary theories and most importantly we are learning about bio-individuality. In a nutshell, bio-individuality means that there is no one perfect diet for everyone. One man's food is another man's poison.

The reality of it is that no one can tell me which foods are right for my body. I can read all kinds of things and learn different theories but in the end I need to learn to listen to my body and feed it what it needs.

Over the last week or so I have taken gluten out of my diet. I am staying away from wheat, oats, rye, and barley. I have actually not had much in the way of grains at all except a bit of brown rice here and there.

I am heading out to NY tomorrow and I started wondering what the heck I am going to eat for breakfast while I am there. I have been having a problem with eggs for a while now, can't have gluten grains, just eating fruit isn't enough to keep me going until lunch. Hmmmm, quite the quandary.

I bought a package of millet from the health food store and did a little research. I knew millet was a gluten free grain and that it was in the bird food I used to give my cockatoo but that was about it. What I found out is wonderful!

Millet is actually a seed that has been around for ages and has been used in countries all over the world such as China, India, Greece, Egypt and Africa. It is even mentioned in the Bible. Millet is easily digested and alkaline in the body. It provides serotonin to calm and soothe your moods and helps to hydrate your colon to keep you regular. It is full of nutrients that our bodies need such as magnesium, calcium, maganese, tryptophan, phosphorus, fiber, B vitamins, and antioxidants.

Sounds great right? But what do you do with it?

Millet is as easy to prepare as a pot of rice. It is a good idea to soak the grains over night to release phytic acid that can make it difficult to digest. Simply rinse the millet in a strainer and put into a bowl of water. Let it sit 8-24 hours. I put it out overnight.

Millet absorbs a lot of water so you will typically need 3 cups of water for 1 cup of millet. After soaking you may be able to reduce it to 2 or 2 1/2 cups of water. To cook it, boil the water, add the grains, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes until all the water is absorbed and it has reached the desired texture. That's it!

Millet can be used in savory dishes like stuffing, soups, and pilafs or it can be sweet like a breakfast porridge or snack bars. I chose to make some millet fruit balls for that I can bring with me to NY. I followed a recipe that I got off the package of millet I purchased but I ended up changing it up quite a bit. They are very versatile so I wrote up a recipe that allows you the freedom to use whatever you like or whatever happens to be in your pantry.

Millet Fruit Balls

2 cups prepared millet

1 cup your choice of chopped nuts. (I used 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup pecans)

1 cup chopped dried fruit ( I used 1/4 cup apricots, 1/4 cup raisins, and 1/2 cup cranberries)

Grated orange rind from one orange

Agave to taste

Additional finely chopped nuts

Just put everything in a bowl except the additional finely chopped nuts. Stir it all up and then form it into bite sized balls. Roll the balls in the nuts and enjoy. You could use your food processor to mix it up too.

Oh the pain, the sinus pain!

My husband Ed picked up a little friend this week. It was an ugly little virus that hopped a ride home with him from the office. Throughout the week it worked its evil magic and has given him some annoying gifts. He has had chills, fatigue, congestion, cloudy thinking, sniffles and more.

Now Ed is what I call a sinus guy. I have a UR (upper respiratory)guy, and a stomach guy, but Ed is the sinus guy. Whenever he gets sick it ends up turning into sinusitis.

When I first met him he had the worst sinus problems. He was ALWAYS suffering with his yucky sinusitis! Over the years I have helped him by changing his diet. He was a hard core milk man. He loved his milk and drank a lot of it. He couldn't believe how much better he felt when he drastically cut back on the dairy. He was having less and less infections. Adding more fruits and veggies helped to boost him immune system too. Now he will usually only get sick once or twice in a year as opposed to once or twice each month. I am not kidding, he was sick all the time.

This week his suffering was lingering on a bit so I made a quick stop at the health food store and picked up some eucalyptus essential oil. I heated up a pot of water, added about 5 drops of the oil and had him put a towel over his head like a tent. He sat for 5 minutes breathing in the warm water with the oil. We refreshed the oil a few times by adding more. At the end of it he was covered in sweat but he felt so much better. He only did it once and he was amazed at the relief it brought him.

If you are a sinus sufferer or you have loved ones that may be in need of some help give that a try. Here are a few other things you can do to find relief:

1. Drink a lot of water and hot herbal teas to thin the mucus and promote drainage.
2. Eat chicken soup or vegetable soup. Yes, your grandma was right. There are actually studies that show that hot chicken soup promotes sinus drainage.
3. Eliminate all milk and dairy.
4. Make a drink of hot lemonade: Combine the juice of 2 freshly squeezed lemons with an equal amount of hot water. Sweeten with maple syrup or agave. You can also add 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper if you can tolerate it. Drink this three times a day.
5. Look for foods that may be triggering chronic sinus problems: Dairy and wheat are the two most common offenders.