Magical Mango Mystery Tour!!

Yes! The season for mangoes, the King of all fruits, is in full blast down here in the Virgin Islands. My heart goes out to all of my northern friends because I never ate a "real" mango until I came down here. Well, whoever is interested is welcome to visit and taste for themselves!

Eating whole, raw, fresh and ripe fruits is a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth with out eating sugar and chemical flavorings found in most desserts. Mangoes are a great candy alternative because they are SO SWEET!!

Mangoes are a delicious fruit with a taste similar to peaches and are surprisingly low glycemic! Mangoes are an excellent source of vitamin c and carotene (orange colored fruits and veggies carry the nutrient carotene). Due to it's high concentration of antioxidants it is a great anti-cancer food. They also contain enzymes for proper digestion, similar to papain which is in papaya. Mangoes also protect against infections and can prevent intestinal disease and diarrhea, especially in children. It can help prevent giadara, or "traveler's diarrhea".

A study was done where scientists poured mango juice into a test tube with a virus in and the virus was eliminated. Mangoes are also high in iron, so combined with their high vitamin c content, they make great blood builders. Mangoes is one of the few fruits that can be safely eaten by diabetes. In comparison to other tropical fruits, the glucose and insulin response to mango was the lowest!

Careful not to eat unripe mangoes or fruit that has not been ripen before harvest. The mango tree releases a toxic sap when the fruit is picked before ripening that can cause skin irritation and allergies. Some mangoes remain green when ripe, but most become a beautiful golden color with a hint of pink or orange.

My favorite way to eat a mango is to peel it and go at it as is (allowing the juice to drip down my arms)!! However my second favorite way is in a fruit salad with sliced bananas and pineapple or papaya. Mangoes are really great in green smoothies to make and excellent, rejuvenation drink full of iron, vitamin c and k!

Enjoy,

Herbal Eranah

sources

Murray N.D., Michael 2005. The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. New York, New York: Atria Books. pgs. 291-294.

Sacred Body, Sacred Diet (part 1)

I know it has been quite a season since my last post but I have been very busy with my artwork and youth programs. We are going to have a summer youth program so much of my creative energy is going into the planning!

Today I wanted to talk about The Sacred Diet, it is a plant based dietary program that includes whole food supplements. It also includes ample raw foods, fresh juices, gentle cleansing and exercise. But its so much more. The Sacred Diet is an idea, its a way of approaching our food and it's the basis for the idea of being a "Whole Food Vegan". What we want to eat and what is good for us is not necessarily the same thing all the time. However, when our goal is wholistic health and vibrancy our desire begins to blend with our conscious. As our tastes change we no longer reach for a candy when we want something sweet, we begin to be satisfied with the sweetness of fruits. We really know we are on the right track when we can taste the sweetness in veggies!

The Sacred Diet is based on the idea that our bodies are a temple for our spirit. That our body is so much more than a physical thing. The Sacred Diet is an expression of self love and when you share you sacred meals is an expression of loving others! It is also an expression of love and gratitude towards that which created our temples and our environment.

As far as the meal plan goes it is Whole Food and Plant Based, meaning no processed foods everything is made from scratch. This prevents us from ingesting any additives, preservatives and/or flavorings which can be innocuous threats to our health.

Some of the whole food supplements include sesame seeds, powdered kelp and parsley (these are all included in the meal pictured above). There are a couple more but I want to just talk about a few today. Including whole food supplements in our diet can assist us in maintaining our daily intake of vitamins and especially minerals. Rather than getting them from synthetic supplements we can know we are getting healthy and balanced nutrition when we apply the Sacred Diet to our lives.

The little, humble sesame seed is a nutritional powerhouse that is usually over looked but occasionally sprinkled on the top of bread. They are rich in the B complex vitamins, vitamins A, D and E; phosphorous, iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc and essential fatty acids. When consumed raw they contain valuable enzymes. The calcium content in 1 cup unhulled seeds rivals that of one cup cow's milk. The amino acid profile makes it one of the best sources of plant based protein.

Grind them up in a seed grinder and eat about 3 tablespoons a day for ages 9- adult, 2 tbs. for children under 9 and 3 tsp. for infants 7 mo. - 1 year. Consistency is a major factor in obtaining the benefits of any nutritional and exercise program so we need to eat our sesame seeds every day.
(I also love to add black sesame seeds to Asian inspired recipes!)

Asian Cole Slaw
2 cups shredded cabbage

One grated carrot

One bunch parsley

2 Tbs. sesame seeds (I used black and white)

The juice of half a lemon

1 tsp. powdered kelp (optional)

1 tsp. agave or raw honey (optional)

Season with a little tamari, toasted sesame oil and olive oil to taste.
Toss and serve.

With love,

Herbal Eranah

Avocados are really good (for you!)

This was an awesome meal! The pate was rich and buttery and a perfect combo with the Avo. Also plated is a salad topped with baked eggplant and kelp and steamed broccoli.

Stuffed Avocados
Let me preface. I got the idea from the Renegade Health TV Show, but I used a different recipe, basically I made it up on the fly so this isn't exact (pretty close though).

You will need a Vita mix or food processor.

One carrot

1 C. Walnuts

1/2 C. coconut pulp (left over from making coconut milk)

2 Tbs. EV Olive Oil

3 Cloves Garlic1 Tsp. Cumin

A pinch of salt, oregano, basil and thyme

1/2 Cup Water

Blend everything until desired pate consistency. Take one perfect avocado and divide in half, remove seed. Depending on the variety of avocado if the seed is very small scoop out a little extra to make room for stuffing. Peel the skin and discard. Place a good heaping spoonful of stuffing into avo and garnish with a little cilantro.Enjoy!!!

***Bonus!!***

Green Goddess Smoothie (I made this today)

3 leaves Kale greens

1 frozen banana

1/2 granny smith apple

1/2 cucumber

2 kiwis (peeled and make sure there ripe)

1 Cup water (or more if needed)

1 Tbs Fenugreek powder

1 Tbs. Spirulina and a teeny tiny cube of bitter melon (optional, I used this for medicinal purposes and didn't taste it at all!)

Blend and enjoy!

Herbal Eranah

P.S. The Green Goddess is good with any greens not just Kale! I used cilantro today and left out kiwis (cause mine weren't really ripe yesterday) So good! I'm sippin on it now!

The Ultimate Elixir Of Life!!!

When I first tried this dark blue green powder called Spirulina I thought *yuk* and then it made my stomach turn. The reason I tried it is because it is a great source of vegan protein, iron and vitamin A. I wanted to do something good for my body. After a while I began to get used to the swampy, fishy taste but it wasn't my favorite thing to drink (one usually mixes it in a liquid if using the powder). I usually tried to hide it in a smoothie.

Fast forward about 6 years to when I first moved to the Virgin Islands and you will find my favorite drink is fresh young coconut water. Anytime I see someone with their cutlash and a pile of young, green coconuts I stop and hand over my 2 bucks with a smile! I know I am about to digest one of the most alkaline and purest forms of water on the planet. Then there is a jelly dessert inside too! Oh, I am in heaven!

Well it just so happens that when combined the Spirulina and coconut water is basically like a blood transfusion in a glass (does that even sound appetizing???) Anyhow, no matter what its nutritional properties are it does TASTE awesome! The same swampy, fishy taste harmonizes and is completely transformed by the sweet, buttery coconut flavor. And its good for you too (did I mention that already?)

So if you have some spirulina in the shelf just sitting there go out and find a young, green coconut. Chop that baby open and pour in 3 teaspoons of the blue-green booster....and drink it down with a smile! BTW Young coconuts are becoming more popular in North America you can find them in asian markets or sometimes at health food stores. If worst comes to worst you can get the water packaged in little drink boxes (watch out for preservatives). Or you can come visit me in the VI and I'll take you to the coconut man! His name is Pete.

With Perfect Love!

Herbal Eranah

The Importance of Farmers' Markets

Every last sunday of the month there is a farmers' market in Bordeaux St. Thomas. We spent the greater part of the day there yesterday and had a blast!Cherry tomatoes are my favorite!

Beautiful organic mineral and protein rich collards! And our good friend Ras Omaha.

"Ital" food, completely whole food vegan and delicious!!

Drinking fresh coconut water, I also had some water from a young coconut!

At this point we are on a tour of part of the farm. An Edwards variety mango tree on the farm. Not quite ready

Breadfruit tree and staple here in the Caribbean. Yum yum!!! "Figs" are small, sweet bananas.

As you can see shopping at, or even volunteering at your local farmers market can reap BIG benefits!! It is the BEST way, outside of gardening yourself, to get organic, fresh, seasonal produce and get outside in the sun and meet up with friends. Some of the produce available included collard greens, arugula (an aromatic salad green), fresh parsley, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and thyme (yay herbs!!!), young coconuts, eggplant, red and green leaf lettuce, pumpkin and grapefruit.

Plus there were plenty of vegan food vendors and people selling local drinks like sorrel tea and peanut punch (more on these later!). As well as some local crafts people selling clothes, tams, jewelery, art and household items. So we had an all around great day.

We took a tour of part of the farm and learned all about mango trees, grafting and gray water irrigation. So awesome!!! We tasted a couple of acerola cherries right off the tree which are very high (higher than citrus fruits) in vitamin C.

In Radience,

Herbal Eranah