North African Bean Stew

I tried a new recipe from Shelley Young's Cookbook today. The recipe was by Lisa El-Kerdi. It was pretty good - I'm counting on it being even better tomorrow. I've included a few photos of my project. Tomorrow I'm going to make the Moroccan Mint Salad that is supposed to go well with this stew.

This is a recipe you would make when you have lots of time. It took me a couple of hours. But now I have several meals prepared where I won't have to spend much time at all. I keep just enough in the fridge to last me for a few days, and I freeze the rest into serving sizes. But don't microwave this to heat it up - let it defrost in the fridge, then gently heat it on the stove.

North African Bean Stew

1 1/2 cups uncooked 7 bean and barley mix, soaked overnight, rinsed, and drained
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp cinnamon
4 cloves garlic
2 onions, quartered
4 carrots, cut into chunks
1 large or 2 small eggplant
Real Salt
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
2 or 3 yellow squash
2 or 3 zucchini
4 chopped tomatoes
1 tsp to 1 Tbsp Real Salt
Olive oil


DIRECTIONS:
Cover beans with 2 1/2 inches of water in large pot and add bay leaf and cinnamon. Bring to boil and skim off foam. Reduce to low heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.





Chop garlic, onions, carrots, and celery in food processor. Add to beans after 30 minutes cooking. Simmer until beans are cooked, 1-1 1/2 hour.





Cube and generously salt eggplant. Let sit 1/2 - 1 hour. Chop peppers. Rinse eggplant and squeeze out juices.




While eggplant is salting, saute spices in olive oil. Add to beans. Add eggplant and peppers. Simmer 1/2 hour.





Cut squashes in half lengthwise and slice. Add to stew. Simmer 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt to stew. Simmer 10 minutes. Adjust salt to taste. Ladle into deep bowls and top each serving with 1 Tbsp olive oil (or to taste)

STEP TWO - ADD YOUR GREENS

Step Two

Are you ready for the next step? Is your water intake getting up to the 4 or 5 liter mark? Keep trying!

It’s time to start adding greens to your water. Adding quality green powders to our water is a significant step in alkalizing our bodies. Green powders include vegetables, grasses, leaves, and herbs. Pounds of these organic foods are dehydrated down to a concentrated form giving our bodies large quantities of health-building nutrients.

As an Alkalarian, we focus on two significant terms: Electrons and Chlorophyll.

Electrons provide the energy a body runs on, just like a battery. Also, the negative charge of electrons neutralizes acids.

Chlorophyll gives plants their green color. It also builds blood, and therefore cells.

Green powder is full of both electrons and chlorophyll and will aid you in your journey to health like nothing else. There are a lot of green powders on the market right now, but few are acceptable to an alkaline diet. Dr.Young probably offers the healthiest green powder, on his website. It is called ‘Doc Broc's Power Plants.’ I have not yet tried them, but will definitely in the future. The ingredients are pretty impressive. And I trust anything that Dr. Young offers.

His list of ingredients are: Avocado, Cucumber, Tomato, Lemon, Lime, Broccoli Sprouts, Spinach, Celery, Parsley, Cabbage, Collard Greens, Okra, Kale, Soy Sprouts, Lemon Grass, Wheat Grass, Barley Grass, Shave Grass, Oat Grass, and Couch Grass
www.phmiracleliving.com

I am currently using Alkavision’s GreenShield (www.alkavision.com). I like the flavor and it is more affordable.

The ingredients for GreenShield are:
100% Organic Barley Grass, Organic Lemon Grass, Organic Shave Grass, Organic Wheat Grass, Organic Dog Grass, Organic Spinach, Organic Peppermint Leaf, Organic Spearmint Leaf, Organic Lemon Powder, Montmorillonite Clay, Organic Aloe, Organic Dandelion, Organic Parsley, Organic Wintergreens

Avoid the following ingredients when purchasing a green powder:
algaes, including spirulina
mushrooms
yeasts
pro-biotics
corn or mushrooms
fruits or sugar
yeast, dairy, or eggs
preservatives, artificial color or flavor

It’s also possible that you may find something acceptable at your local health food store. Just make sure you know what ingredients to look for.

HOW MUCH TO USE?
Add a scoop (teaspoon) to a liter of alkaline water 3 times per day.

Green drink will provide you with lots of energy and cleansing power. Your physical performance in whatever you are doing will increase noticeably and rather quickly. You will also feel better mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

ARE YOU A COMPULSIVE EATER?

I’d like to address something today which is a slight detour from the alkalinity theme. But it definitely has to do with good health. I want to include this for people struggling with yo-yo dieting and compulsive eating as I have. This is something I had to come to terms with before I was truly on the way to permanent health and mental healing. I can tell you how to find excellent health, but until you deal with this issue, you won’t find long-term success. Eventually, you will “fall off the wagon.”

First of all you need to identify IF you are a compulsive eater. If you can say yes to any or all of the following, you are probably a compulsive eater like I am.

• Have you told yourself, ‘my eating is out of control right now, but someday soon I’ll muster the strength to start eating healthy again, and then I’ll keep it under control for good?

• Do you always take another serving of something, then another, then another, while others just take one serving?

• Once you get started eating a certain food, do have trouble stopping until you are good and uncomfortable or even sick?

• Have you been on several diets, only to gain the weight back each time, plus extra weight?

• Are you obsessed with food?

• Do you feel out of control with your eating habits?

• Do you hate your relationship with certain foods? Do you hate the food for what it does to you, but can’t stay away from it?

• Have you done a lot of crazy things to stop the weight gain – fad diets, starving, over-exercising, or purging?

• Do you tell yourself, if I could just get to the right weight, life would be great?

• Do you eat to satiate fears, anxiety, anger, disappointment?

• Do you eat to alleviate the pressures of problems?

• Do you have a serious illness, such as diabetes, but keep eating the bad foods that your doctor says you must stay away from? You can’t seem to stay away – their draw is too powerful for you?

• Do you tell yourself, ‘NO, I’m NOT GOING TO EAT THAT!, then within a minute, you are stuffing it into your mouth?

• Do you make a batch of something for your family, such as brownies, then eat the whole thing, piece by piece, all day long?

• After a cycle of binging and weight gain, do you berate yourself with words like, ‘what the heck is the matter with me, I’m such an idiot?’

• do you lie to others when it comes to food?

• do you hide food, to get into it when you are alone?

You won't have ALL these symptoms, most likely. I could answer 'yes' to enough of them to be convinced that this was me.

There IS a solution to all this insanity. It is called a twelve step program. It begins with admitting that you can’t fix the problem alone. You must admit defeat and admit that you will never be able to pull yourself together without additional help. You have to come to realize that the cycle will continue and will worsen as the years go on – you will never muster the strength to finally overcome. This is the basis for any twelve step program. And it works every time if you follow all the steps with a humble and willing heart.

Once you’ve identified yourself as a compulsive overeater you can begin on your road to recovery. Don’t be afraid at the realization that you fit into this group of people. It is liberating and exciting to know there is finally an answer. All people have defects. This is OUR defect.

The first step of action is to find your local OA (overeaters anonymous) or FA (food addicts anonymous) group. Start going to the meetings. Find a sponsor there. Find one that will allow you to eat in an alkaline way. You may need to educate them along the way. Send them to my blog to help with that if you want. I like OA better than AA, because they don’t subscribe to any particular diet, or plan of eating.

My hope is that if you see yourself in this group of people, you will be persuaded early in life that you can’t go it alone. I hope you don’t have to live through the despair for many, many years until finally coming to the conclusion that you need other kind of help. After reading this, you will probably still attempt to do it on your own. You may go through the cycle a few more times, before you are willing to look at the possibility that I’m right. That’s okay. There is a twelve step program out there for whenever you are ready.

Know,too, that changing to a more alkaline menu will curb your cravings significantly. For me, the combination of the pH Miracle eating plan and the OA program has been extremely powerful. I’m so excited about the future now when it comes to my health, my weight, and my sanity. What a relief.

CAUTION

This blog is not designed for people with serious diseases. If you are dealing with a cancerous condition, severe diabetes, or other life-threatening disease, you should get your blood tested by a Dr. Young approved blood analyzer, or even make an appointment to see Dr. Young himself in California. Also, buy his book immediately and get educated as quickly as possible. Of course, this blog will still be a great resource for future ideas, once the dis-ease is under control and your blood is looking much healthier.

This blog is for those of you who don’t need to panic, but to just move in the right direction over time, without it completely upsetting your life and you getting overwhelmed.

STEP ONE - WATER

"WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE. NOT ANY DROP TO DRINK!"

We all know we should drink water. But I’ll bet you’d be surprised to know that some water can contribute to you being sick, tired, and fat. Tap water is far from ideal, with its chlorine, fluoride and other junk. Drinking bottled water has become almost the norm now. We are under the impression that it is a good, safe choice. Unfortunately, it doesn’t even come close, most of the time, to putting us on the road to health. The pH of these bottled waters is usually very acidic, ranging from 3 to 6 on the pH scale.

Using the alkaline theory, our water needs to be at least 7.365 in order to match the ideal pH of our blood. But that’s not even enough. Our bodies are constantly creating acids – remember the body is alkaline by design, acidic by function. Even digesting creates acids. So, the goal here is to get our water pH up to at least 8, but even better – 9, 9.5 or 10. When we hydrate with very alkaline water, our bodies love us. They don’t have to work so hard to maintain balance. You will begin to detoxify and cleanse your entire body of acids. Your fat cells will release their acids and shrink quickly. Your body cells won’t be swimming in acidic fluids anymore.

I love Dr. Young’s analogy:
“Think of your body as a fish tank...
Imagine the cells in your body are fish and they are swimming in the fluids of your body. Most of us are polluting our fish tanks (bodies) with junk food, smoking, over consumption of acid-forming foods, and any number of transgressions which compromise the delicate balance of our internal alkaline fluids.”


I’m going to give you a BEST solution to your water challenge. Then I’m going to give you a 2nd best solution.

First, watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG-ldN0pulA



I’m hoping by now, you are convinced that water quality is everything.


Buy a life-saving water ionizer/alkalizer. There are many on the market, but I’m convinced of the superior quality of the Jupiter Melody. It makes excellent water, looks great in any kitchen, and is easy to set up and change filters. It also is a great price. Any Jupiter model will do. They are all quality machines.

Yes, they are pricey. However, when you put it into perspective, it is a REALLY great deal. Think about not having to go to the doctor anymore with ailments and symptoms, or taking your kids to the doctor several times a year. Think about all that bottled water you won’t need to buy anymore. Think about how wonderful you’ll feel just after the first day of use. In my opinion, this is one of the best investments you'll ever make.

I’m so excited to offer you water ionizers by Chanson. They are not only among the best ionizers, but the company has the best customer service - prompt and helpful. You will LOVE your water ionizer/alkalizer and you will be thrilled that you never have to be without it again.










NEXT BEST SOLUTION:
If buying an ionizer is out of the question right now, I offer you another option. It’s not ideal, and the water quality won’t even come close to the Melody, for example, but this will still assist you in eliminating acids from your body.

Find a source for reverse osmosis water or distilled water. I don’t know how to get distilled in large amounts – just by the gallon at the grocery stores for about .69 per gallon. Cheaper than that would be to find a water dispenser (many grocery stores carry them) that dispenses filtered water. All the ones I’ve seen use reverse osmosis and other filters/ultraviolet light to purify the water. The water from these units usually costs about .39 per gallon. Take a few 5-gallon jugs (bought from Walmart for cheap for about $10 each) and fill them up for your water supply.
Okay, now you have some decent water. The next step is to make it alkaline.

You can buy alkalizing drops. Then you also need to buy some test strips. Don’t do like I did. I used some drops for many months, then finally bought some test strips to confirm that what I was drinking was very alkaline. IT WASN’T!! The pH showed only about at 8. At least, it wasn’t acidic, but I was not very happy. I spent a lot of money on those drops for me and my family. Always know the pH of your water.

www.phmiracleliving.com sells water test strips. You know they are water test strips when the pH level range is from about 0 to 13. His strips come in a roll and you tear off strips to use.

Later, I will discuss testing your urine to make sure you are achieving the results you've been working hard to achieve. pHMiracleLiving also sells test strips for your urine/saliva, however I prefer a different kind that's easier to read, as in the following link from Amazon:




Urine test strips will range from about 5.5 to 8 on the pH scale.

If you don’t buy the drops, there is still hope for you. Plain old baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, will alkalize your water instantly and effectively. It will jump it up to 9 or more easily. Yuck, you say? Yes, at first, it’s a little strange and hard to get down. Start with small amounts. Add ¼ teaspoon to each liter of water. As you can, add another ¼ tsp until you get up to 1 whole teaspoon. If you are trying to reverse serious symptoms, you’ll want to add 2 to 3 tsp per liter. For me, I usually add 1 to 1 ½ to each liter. Don’t be afraid of this salt. Our bodies thrive on good salts. It’s the bad salt like white table salt that’ll kill you. Just like those little fishies, our cells are bathed in salt water.

Even if you use a water ionizer/alkalizer, Dr. Young still suggests to add sodium bicarbonate to our water sometimes, because of its healing properties. So… buck up and get used to it.


HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD WE DRINK EACH DAY?

You should be drinking a liter/quart of water for every 30 pounds of body weight. So, if you weigh 120 pounds - 4 liters per day. 150 pounds - 5 liters per day, and so on. This is something you want to increase gradually - maybe over a weeks time. Or two weeks. Make note of the times it works best for you to down a liter. I usually put down a half liter, then another half about 15 minutes later.

Here is my water schedule:
5:30 am (when I first wake up)
8:00 am (when I'm starting to fix my breakfast)
11:30 am (before lunch)
3:00 pm (about when my kids come home from school)
7:00 pm (sometime in the evening)

Warning: Always know where the bathrooms are when you’re out and about.

If you can't or refuse to drink a liter per 30 pounds, aim for every 40 pounds, or even every 50 pounds - just do the best you can!! It will probably be better than what you are doing now.

Don't worry about changing anything else right now - this is challenge enough. But everyone who wants amazing health can at least do this much right away. This will start to heal you from the inside out. Your intestinal walls will be very happy and this will affect your entire health.

So, step one in summary: get good at drinking your alkaline water - you will feel good immediately, and it will only get better from here. Next week, I will show you how to make your water even better!

INTRODUCTION: ONE DISEASE. ONE CURE.

It is my intention to further the work of Dr. Robert Young. He claims that the body is alkaline by design and acidic by function. This means that the blood and other body parts need to maintain a certain pH (slightly alkaline) in order to remain healthy. The functions of the body are constantly creating acids which need to be eliminated. I won't be re-teaching every detail that Dr. Young teaches. I suggest you buy his books for that information. I think everyone should read them. They may save your life. They will certainly save your health. I've been studying his works for about two years now, trying to live this alkaline lifestyle. I'm completely convinced that this is the only way to live in order to maintain complete health. It's the only way to live without worry about getting some disease or catching some phantom sickness.

Dr. Young teaches that there is only ONE DIS-EASE and only ONE CURE. The disease is acidity/acidosis and the cure alkalizing.

Dr. Young is reversing serious diseases every day. There are many testimonial stories of how people have recovered from cancer, diabetes (type 1 and type 2), obesity, and the list goes on and on. And this is being done without chemotherapy or radiation or drugs. It's all natural using proper foods, exercise, water, and supplements.

There are many steps to take in order to become disease free. But these steps are manageable and doable when you focus on one at a time. Small, consistent changes over time will lead to complete health. However, if you apply the principals taught in this blog, you will feel immediate results - more energy, clearer thinking, and overall well being.

As much as I speak of this 'New Biology' to friends, family and acquaintances, I needed a place to send them all for the things I have to offer. Such as: the very basic concepts of this 'alkaline diet', where to buy the books, where the websites are, where to buy special ingredients, what my favorite recipes are, and maybe even how to make them. I hope this blog will meet those needs.

I will include important links every so often, so you can easily find what you need online if you can't find things locally. Many of these links do not pay me to advertise for them. Some of them do. I'm mostly including them as a service to you. There's no sense in all of you doing as much research as I've already done, in finding books, products, and information that serve me in what I'm trying to accomplish.

Each week, I will work on a step towards health. I will do it in the order that I feel is most important, and that Dr. Young would approve of. We will begin with water, then start to change foods in our diet, and so on. If you want all the information at once - read the book. Here you will get it piece-meal so that it won't be so overwhelming. When I first began, I jumped right in - did everything at once, then gave up really quickly. It was overwhelming - time consuming and expensive. If you just focus on one assignment each week, adding the new habit to the previous ones, you will be successful. There will be some cost as you acquire what you need, but for me, it is my health insurance.

The links below are Dr. Young's pH Miracle books. I started with the pH Miracle for Weight loss. Any one of these books will give you enough information to start your journey to health. If you are interested in reversing diabetes, you are better off starting with the original 'pH Miracle' and then adding the one for diabetes.

You don't HAVE TO buy the books to achieve results, although I would suggest getting at least one. You can just follow my guide if you choose. Also, a must, is signing up for Dr. Young's regular emails. Go to www.phmiracleliving.com and sign up for his newsletter. Every day, he sends an article or link. It seems a little much at first, but these emails have increased my knowledge and understanding of his 'New Biology' like nothing else. It is here you will find great testimonials and success stories. Happy Reading!!