Covenant Natural Health Care

Recipe: Warm Tuna Melt

This is one of my most favorite high-protein sandwiches all-year around because it's easy to make, pairs nicely with a fresh veggies and hummus or a bowl of hot soup.

Shopping List:
• 2 Slices high-protein, whole grain bread or gluten-free bread (I love Ezekiel Bread)
• 1 Tablespoon gently melted butter
• Raw cheese (or your favorite cheese that's not highly processed), thinly sliced
• 1/2 Can wild-caught tuna
• 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon spicy mustard (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon relish
• 2 Slices of fresh tomato

Directions:
1. In a bowl, mix together tuna, mayo, mustard and relish.
2. Heat up a grill or a pan over medium-low heat.
3. Brush one side of each piece of bread (the buttered side will be the outside of the sandwich).
4. Take one slice of bread and on the non-buttered side, add toppings in this order: cheese, tuna mixture, sliced tomatoes, cheese and then top with the second slice of bread (buttered side on the outside).
5. Place on grill or in pan and cook until cheese is melted and the bread is golden-brown.
6. Serve warm.

Recipe: Fresh, Sweet & Spicy Peach Salsa

Pile this fresh, sweet salsa on organic corn tortilla chips or on top of grilled chicken or fish. It's healthy, delicious, and a great way to enjoy ripe, summer peaches.

Shopping List:
• 2 Ripe peaches, chopped (look for peaches that are a little soft to the touch, but not mushy)
• 3 Tablespoons red pepper, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons green onions, chopped
• Juice of one small lime (can use a small lemon if you don't have limes)
• 1/2 Tablespoon fresh mint, torn into small pieces
• 1 Teaspoon (or more, to taste) jalapeno pepper, minced
• 1/2-1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:
• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, gently stir, and serve. (If you are not serving right away, cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate)

{PS} Our Open House is this Saturday—we have a lot of great things planned, so come out, say hello, and learn more about we (Covenant Natural Health Care) do to help people get healthy and stay healthy!

Health News Roundup

• Fast Food, Fat Profits: How Can We Stop Obesity?
 

• Study: Internet Use, but Not TV Watching, Linked to Sleeplessness in Teens: Many studies (along with casual observation in any home with a teenager) have associated nighttime media use — video gaming, Internet surfing and TV time — with sleep deficits in teens. But the latest research fine tunes those findings, suggesting that while some types of media may indeed keep teens up too late, others may have no effect.

• Does Inflammation Play a Role in Autism?: The inflammatory response is your body's defense against invasion, but in autism, it seems to be turned against itself. It seems there is an inflammatory war going on in the brains of autistic children and adults.

• Top 7 Supermarket Foods to Avoid: In a recent article, seven experts in the fields of both food and the environment (scientists, doctors and farmers) were asked just one simple question: “What foods do you avoid?” Their responses had nothing to do with calories or nutrient-density, but all to do with their insider knowledge on how certain seemingly “healthy” foods that they closely work with are produced and packaged. The findings are scary.

• Is cabbage the ultimate anti-cancer food?: Men with early signs of developing prostate cancer were able to prevent tumor growth by eating broccoli four times a week, according to a British study covered on MSN. But broccoli is not the only cruciferous vegetable with anti-cancer properties.

• The 7 Tricks Restaurants Play to Separate You From Your Money: Menu engineering is used by restaurants to steer you to order high-profit items. Yahoo finance has collected a list of some common menu ploys.

• Lazy Cakes: A Sleepytime Snack Elicits Public-Health Outrage: Public health officials and politicians are debating the safety of a new snack on the market — sold as Lazy Cakes, Kush Cakes and Lulla Pies. They're brownies laced with the sleep aid melatonin.

• The Most Important Food for Healthy Eyes (No, it's Not Carrots): Do you have any idea what causes wild Pacific salmon to have its color?  It is one of the hottest new nutrient discoveries from a marine algae called astaxanthin, which is a far more powerful cousin of beta-carotene.

• The Breast Cancer Breakthrough that's Making Experts Angry: The use of mammograms has dropped following recommendations by a medical task force that women in their 40s may not need to get breast cancer screenings every year. Studies suggest that fewer physicians are recommending annual mammograms for women in their 40s, and that fewer patients in that age group are getting screened.

Health News Roundup

• Mass Death of Birds and Fish: Is There a Cover Up?: Unless you've been living beneath a rock for the past month or so, you couldn't have missed the bizarre reports of birds falling from the sky and dead fish littering shores in various parts of the world, mainly in the US, but also in Canada, Sweden, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Japan, and other areas.

• Monsanto launches deceptive ad campaign in desperate attempt to improve image: Monsanto has become the new Marlboro, with a new advertising campaign designed to improved its hopelessly-tarnished image. Except instead of handsome cowboys smoking cigarettes, Monsanto is plastering images of hardy American farmers and their crop fields on billboards and bus stops throughout the nation. The new ad campaign, of course, is a desperate attempt to convince the public that the company is not only working in the best interests of U.S. agriculture, but is also responsible for creating and maintaining millions of American farm jobs in the process, both of which are patently false.

• Global sugar shortage looms, price hikes expected: Across the world, sugar is a major source of cheap (albeit empty) calories, and any rise in price will push up the cost of other foods, as well. In the United States, high sugar prices could lead industry to start favoring the other major U.S. sweetener, high fructose corn syrup.

• $818 billion—Expected cost of treating U.S. patients with heart disease in 2030, a tripling of the current yearly bill of $273 billion a year. The number of Americans affected by cardiovascular problems is expected to reach 41% by 2030, according to the American Heart Association.

 

Tuna Salad With Sprouts

This simple salad is perfect for lunch or dinner when time is short.

Shopping List (makes 2 salads):
• 1 Head of Boston Lettuce
• Alfalfa sprouts
• 1 Can wild-caught tuna
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 Red bell pepper
• Goat cheese
• Olive oil
• Optional: Tomato and onion

Directions: Arrange lettuce in a bowl or on a plate to form a bowl-like shape. Add sprouts, tuna, vegetables and cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Enjoy with with a slice of whole wheat bread or crackers.