Cajun Bean "Gumbo" comes from the African word "gombo" meaning okra or ladies fingers. One of the most famous dishes that totally represent the vast cultural influences of New Orleans is gumbo. One of the oldest dishes in Louisiana history, one might assume it has becomes as much of a symbol as jazz and jambalaya.This Cajun Bean Gumbo that can be served on a cold winter with steamed brown rice.. Chock full of vegetables and sweetened by the addition of corn this is sure to be a hit. You can substitute any type of beans or any type of vegetables for this soup and it tastes even better the next day after the seasoning has had time to come together.

Cajun Bean Gumbo

Ingredients:

4 Cup dried black or Kidney beans

10 Cup  vegetable soup stock

4 bay leaves

1 bunch green onions, minced

2 Whole carrots, diced

6 Whole ribs celery, diced

2 Whole red or green bell peppers, diced

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

10 Whole button mushrooms, sliced

6 Cup diced fresh tomatoes

15 small okra, sliced into rounds

kernels from 3 ears of corn

Instructions:

Soak the beans overnight in enough water to cover. Boil for 5 minutes and drain. In an 8-quart soup pot, add the soup stock and bay leaves, and simmer the beans over medium heat for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, steam-fry the onions in 1 cup water for 3-5 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery, bell peppers, oregano, and thyme, then cook for another 10 minutes, adding liquid as needed. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes, and simmer  for 5 more minutes, then remove from heat. Once the beans are cooked, add the vegetable mixture and stir well. Finally, add the okra and corn kernels, and simmer until tender (about 10 minutes).

The post Cajun Bean Gumbo appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

The Choice

The Choice

Oh the stories that abound about how hard it is to eat healthy...

When we healthy eaters hear them; in one way we are bewildered by how easy it actually is to eat healthy and at the same time, we have to remember that the person who is struggling is under the influence of hidden forces that we too suffered from at one point and are now free of. If we forget that, we lose sight of why people need help with changing the way they eat so they too will find eating healthy as easy as it can be.

Really, it is not hard to eat healthy, and once you understand how, it can be as predictably pleasurable, enjoyable and convenient as the way you are currently eating right now. Whole foods from nature were the original fast foods any way and before we had all this unnatural foods, we were all eating healthier.

Grown from nutrient rich soils (and yes our soil is still nutrient rich) nutrient rich foods are healthy, and great tasting because they are naturally nutrient rich. No chemist on the planet can duplicate the flavor of an orange, especially organic!

So why is it so hard to eat healthy and change your eating habits? Well, there isn't just one answer. It's because most people's heads are filled with false information that confuse us as to what's really healthy and why, but also for a series of other reasons that many are not aware of because the conversation around food, is usually about the food itself, and not all the other factors that are essential in making a change or what we call the 'nutrition transition."

It's called the Nutrition Transition.

Failure to understand how to make a transition and interpret the process when it comes to nutrition will ensure you get tripped up and diet trapped by forces that are vested in your current eating habits from Dr's to Pharma to food addicted friends, to convenience stores and media ad dollars and junk food companies to politicians who are bought and paid for by the meat, dairy and cola lobbyists.

As if that weren't enough...

Here are 10 reasons why changing the way you eat and eating healthy can be so hard. 

1. The Dietary Pleasure Trap. When you strip nutrients out of a whole foods and abnormally concentrate the pleasure stimulating chemicals, you hijack your taste buds, stimulate dopamine in the brain and get a super normal hit of pleasure. This is addiction and food is no exception.

2. If you don't have at least a basic nutritional education, you will be prey for anyone who thinks they do, but really doesn't. 80% of what you need to know and learn is what you don't need to do anymore, not what you need to do.Plus, that education had better be in high nutrient density nutrition, not the nutrient-poor nutritional practices we learn, that are influenced by economics and politics, supplement or product sales alone, or weight loss-only diet or tradition, or some ulterior motive that maintains the status quo. Even convenience and great taste (both of which are also leading drivers for eating nutrient rich foods) are used to guide nutritional guidelines and practices for many people who are lead astray. See the Vicious Cycle of Eating Nutrient Poor at the bottom of this page. 

3. The time it takes to get this information and understanding if they are fortunate to be getting advice from the right people.

4. Making a nutrition transition from predominantly nutrient poor, high addictive, highly stimulating foods to predominantly nutrient rich, non-addictive not-as-stimulating foods may not be exciting at first; you might actually feel uncomfortable as your body goes through a process of detoxification from the unhealthy foods and diets you've been eating for a long period of time.

5. Your digestive track may need to adjust, as it may be used to low fiber, nutrient poor foods. Load it up with high fiber nutrient rich foods and you'll start experiencing a level of function you are not used to.

6. Holidays, eating rituals, and habits (routines) also begin to change and that requires social adjustment.

7. Shopping, preparing, organizing and eating out change

8. Pressures from family members who are not yet on board.

9. A poorly planned transition strategy, with unrealistic expectations, focused on weight loss only, and not on the 7 healthy success results in their order of importance - detoxification, health improvement, increased energy, natural weight loss, lifestyle-induced disease reversal, slower aging and a younger look, and a longer life.

10. Other hidden lifestyle challenges that hold you back such as low energy, overwhelm, lack of inspiration... and ultimately EGO.

So, as you can see there is more to changing the way you eat than meets the eye that can explain why it's so hard to eat healthy. Resolve these issues thoroughly and evolve with new thoughts and lifestyle skills and you will achieve your goals with amazing quality of life.

Begin making the Switch to Nutrient Rich healthy eating, today.

The post Why it's So Hard to Eat Healthy appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

If You Don't YET Want to

 CHANGE the Way You Eat, Then ADD...

Add what?

Add the nutrient-rich superfoods that will change the way you eat, 

for you; and add them to the way you are currently eating. We call this the Superfood Eating "Initial Approach" to change or making the "Switch" to nutrient rich healthy eating. 

You see there is one thing that a nutrient rich super foods will do that no other food in the food chain can do; they supply massive amounts of micronutrients that nourish and detoxify your body. 

For example, according to Dr. Fuhrman, just 3 servings of cruciferous vegetables each week, such as broccoli, is the equivalent of eating over 20 servings of regular green vegetables!

If that's true, can you imagine what would happen if you includes 3, 6, 9 or more servings of cruciferous vegetables in your diet every week? How much healthier would you be? How much farther down the path would you be towards actually desiring a change in the way you eat.

For example: Broccoli is one of the Nutrient-Rich "Superfoods" - What are some others? Find out here: http://ow.ly/kYxDL

And there are so many more...this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

And here's what happens when you begin adding them into your current eating style...

• Your food preferences change.
• Your body starts functioning better,
• You get satisfied faster, and
• If you add enough of them in ways you enjoy, you'll start to see your weight and health change naturally. When this happens you'll then be super motivated to take nutrition and lifestyle changes to a whole new level.

This is a very real strategy and is rooted in "reality," because if this where a conversation of a different kind, such as general healthy eating, eating more plant based nutrient rich foods would make perfect sense to you. Nobody would debate it.

Now in the context of achieving your health objectives and maximizing your health (energy, weight, fitness) and life potential (longevity) taking this initial Superfood Eating approach of eating those foods that literally work for you will make the difference between not wanting to change the way you eat, to wanting a change.

Nutrient Rich Superfoods will nourish, and detoxify your body every single time you eat them will go a long way towards the next step on the path which is to begin making the Switch, from nutrient poor to nutrient rich healthy eating. 

The Superfood Eating Approach™, kicks it all off. This is the first step on the path.

The post If You Don't Yet Want to CHANGE the Way You Eat, Then ADD - Superfoods appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

These are urgent times.

We need a food revolution because…

1. Something is happening right now that’s taking a terrible toll on all of us.

2. Because we are the fattest people with the highest rate of obesity anywhere and in the history of the world…

3. Because the costs are staggering, we already spend more than double per capita than any other country in the world on health care

4. And we do that while being the only industrialized country in America that does not guarantee health care to all of its citizens

5. Our federal debt is sourcing, our kids are getting sicker we have the highest and rates of obesity and we are poisoning ourselves and all of life with pesticides.

6. We have developed a system of meat production that subjects animal to confinement, unimaginable-unconscionable cruelty, and foodstuffs that are completely unnatural to their physiology, hoards of antibiotics and are creating resistant bacteria that will render even our most sophisticated medical technology impotent.

7. More than 50 million men need to take a drug to get an erection

8. We deserve better, the wholesome food that connects us to our food, each other and our communities

9. We deserve to be healthy, vital radiant people

10. We deserve to love and thrive, not just survive.

May all fed,

May all be healed

May all be loved.

~ John Robbins, Author, The Food Revolution and Co Founder The Food Revolution Network.

The post Why Do We Need A Food Revolution? appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

It was great to hear John Robbins talk about one of the most powerful nutrition facts of his seminal book Diet for a New America, the book that actually launched the food revolution over 20 years ago, that is this... if "American's", just Americans, ate 10% less animal products, the biggest consumers of grains in the world (live stock) no one in the world would go hungry. Nearly 60,000 people a day die of starvation in the world, so I think we can both eat less meat, and redirect those grain resources to the people who need it.

Don't you?

In the last interview with John and Ocean Robbins... John Robbins laid out the 10 questions he asks that keep him aligned right with the foods he eats.

These are the 10 food questions you too could be asking...

1. Will eating this food propel me towards an inspiring future or keep me stuck in the past?
2. Is this food consistent with my ethics or will was it produced in a way that create harm to the earth and cause unnecessary harm to other sentient beings?
3. Will eating this food bring me long term fulfillment or only short term gratification?
4. I am maintaining my own integrity and well-being or just trying to please others?
5. Am I feeding my strength or indulging my weakness?
6. Will eating this way enable me to align with my spiritual path or is it a distraction from living a conscious life?
7. Will this food add to my life force or will it decrease my vitality?
8. Does this choice empower me or not?
9. Is this an act of self-love or an act of self-sabotage?
10. Am I coming from faith in self and in life or am I coming from fear?

These questions are powerful, and guess what, they will all naturally steer you towards a More Plant Based Nutrient Rich, healthy eating style and the superfoods that deliver all the results!

The post The 10 Food Questions You Could Be Asking appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

Go get this guide

What is a GMO?
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are made by forcing genes from
one species, such as bacteria, viruses, animals, or humans, into the DNA
of a food crop or animal to introduce a new trait.

Why Should I Avoid GMOs?
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine reported, “Several
animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,”
including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin
regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system.
They urge physicians to prescribe healthier non-GMO foods to
everyone.

The post Non GMO Shopping Guide Download Right Here appeared first on Nutrient Rich.