Gluten Free Sprouted Buckwheat "Ritz-y" Style Crackers

These crackers are quite amazing, and I'm so glad that I attempted to even try and make them. During the winter holiday, I was looking for a healthier version of the standard Ritz cracker. Something about white flour, high fructose corns syrup and artificial preservatives just didn't get me in a warm, fuzzy mood, and it certainly didn't help my appetite.

After much searching, I figured out that I had to make these things myself. What to use? I could use wheat flour, since I'm not necessarily gluten intolerant (however I do well avoiding all grains). All I would have to do would be to soak the flour overnight, with an acid medium, to neutralize the phytic acids and enzyme inhibitors. No, I thought, there has to be a way to have a healthier cracker.

Voila! These little, crispy, lovely gluten free Ritz crackers were born! In this recipe I use sprouted buckwheat flour. I take buckwheat groats, soak them overnight in water with a little lemon juice, drain, rinse occasionally, and then they will sprout in a couple of days. I then dry and grind them into a flour using a small blender. You can do this in a coffee grinder, nut, seed and grain mill, blender, Magic Bullet, etc. You could also take pure buckwheat flour and soak it over night in 1/4 cup of water with a tablespoon of lemon juice, yogurt or whey. In fact, you can even use buttermilk in place of the 1/4 cup of water. This will help boost the nutritional quality of the flour while helping to aid digestibility and absorption of the nutrients.

This recipe was adapted from the Whole Foods website, under the recipe Whole Wheat Graham Crackers. However, this recipe uses no wheat, no grain, and no sugar, and it won't taste like graham crackers, unless you want it to. Instead of scoring the dough with a knife into squares, like with the original recipe, I rolled out the dough with my trusted rolling pin and parchment paper. If the dough crumbles, that's fine. Just pat it back together again. The key is to use parchment paper or plastic wrap in order to roll out this awesome recipe. To cut out the shapes of circles, I used a round lid from the container of a spice that I found in the seasonings cabinet. To make the tiny circles on each cracker, poke with a wooden skewer or straw (I use a straw).

These can be baked or dehydrated. If you truly want a healthy Ritz cracker, I would go for dehydrating these. I don't currently own a dehydrator, but if you have one, go for it! You could also set these in the oven at the lowest temperature setting and open the oven door with the light turned on. I don't like doing this, because the hours spent dehydrating the crackers might use a lot of energy--from both you (having to check the oven every hour) to you electricity/gas bill.

By the way, if you do not avoid gluten or grains, then you can use sprouted/soaked wheat or spelt flour. Leave out the gum, as these grains contain gluten which will provide a better binding agent.

Gluten Free, Grain Free Sprouted Buckwheat (Perhaps Raw) "Ritz" Style Crackers

Makes a lot of 1 & 1/4" circle crackers

1 cup sprouted Buckwheat Flour

1/2 tsp. Xanthan or Guar Gum (optional, but recommended)

1/4 + 1/8 tsp. Aluminum Free Baking Soda

2 TBSP. Coconut Oil or Cold Organic Butter (I LOVE Organic Valley!)

1 Egg White

1 1/2 TBSP. Xylitol, Sucanat or 1 TBSP. honey

1/4 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or oil a glass baking dish. Set aside.

Mix flour, xanthan/guar gum (if using) baking soda, xylitol or sucanat (if using) and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir the dry ingredients together with a whisk or spoon until all ingredients are well mixed. Work the butter or coconut into the mixture with your fingers, until the dough resembles crumbs. For a crispier cracker, add more butter or coconut oil.

Whisk together the egg white and the honey (if using) together, and slowly pour into the flour mixture. Stir into the flour until a dough forms. If too dry, add some cold ice water, a teaspoon at a time, to stiffen the dough. The dough might be sticky, but should be firm enough to form into a ball-like shape. If needed, add a little more flour.

Turn out half of the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Place another piece of paper or plastic on top of this dough and start to roll out the dough into a circle with a wooden rolling pin. Let the dough roll out into a 1/8 thickness. If dough crumbles, gently pat it back together again.

Using the round cap of a seasoning, or a cookie cutter of your desired shape, cut out little crackers. You may have to wait until all the cuts are made to then take out the crackers from the dough. Take up the crackers and place them in rows on baking sheet. Poke tiny holes in the center of the cookie, if desired, with a straw or other utensil. Brush the crackers with some egg white, melted butter or coconut oil or water, and then sprinkle a little sea salt on top.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until crispy.

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This is The healthy Advocate.

Healthy, Raw and Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter

Hi there everyone. This is The Healthy Advocate.

Today I'm posting a really cool recipe that many don't believe exist, or is possible to complete. This is my healthy, homemade and raw sunflower seed butter. I really do love this recipe because it is a great alternative to peanut butter, which can be contaminated with aflatoxins, fungicides and allergic compounds (peanuts are one of the most allergenic nuts). Those with nut allergies can switch to sunflower seed butter quite easily.

I made my very first video to walk you through the nutrition information of sunflower seeds (it is packed full of so many beneficial nutrients!), how it can help burn fat and tone up, help the heart and aid in cholesterol. There are two parts to the video, as I took longer than expected when filming it. I was sure it was going to be at least seven minutes long, but it took twice that amount of time! I will also walk you through in this two part series of how to make your very own sunflower seed butter.

Video Highlights: Sunflower Seed Nutrition Information

On browsing certain sites, such as NutritionData.com, as well as checking out other sources of whole food nutrition information, I came across many facts pointing to sunflower seeds as highly nutritious additions to any diet. Sunflower seeds are packed full of Vitamin E, which is a very potent anti-oxidant. The vitamin E in sunflower seeds help combat free radicals in the body, which may help prevent disease and early signs of aging.

Sunflower seeds also contain good amounts of selenium and manganese. Selenium is an important compound used to detoxify the body of harmful molecules, while manganese promotes health muscle and bone function, as well as blood pressure and energy levels. A great pre- or even post-workout snack!

Because the selenium uses a certain pathway to detoxify the body through the liver, it might aide in fat burning, seeing how our liver is our main fat burning organ. A healthy liver, a healthy weight!

Now this butter isn't the same color as peanut butter--far from it. It is gray, and almost looks like clay dough. However, the taste makes up for the appearance. If you can find a natural food coloring that is brown, or something that resembles peanut butter, then you might be able to do sunflower seed butter without even thinking about it.

On With the Recipe...

Now this butter isn't the same color as peanut butter--far from it. It is gray, and almost looks like clay dough. However, the taste makes up for the appearance. If you can find a natural food coloring that is brown, or something that resembles peanut butter, then you might be able to do sunflower seed butter without even thinking about it.

Feel free to play with this recipe. Adding sugar and salt isn't necessary, but it definitely helps the taste. Because you are using Celtic Himalayan Sea Salt, you can feel comfortable that this salt is actually good for you! It won't make you bloated, and it contains around 84 key trace elements that are crucial for your health. Sweeteners are up to you, but I like Xylitol and Sucanat. Adjust to your preferences. Oil adds a smooth texture for a good spread; however, the sunflower seeds will release their own oils in the end. If you are going to use oil, use a healthy one like coconut, olive, walnut or flax. Oil will add calories, so be sure to process the oil one teaspoon at a time.

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Raw Sunflower Seed Butter

You will need a clean food processor and glass jar for storage. Make sure all utensils are dry.

Makes around 2 cups of butter.

• 4 cups raw, organic and shelled sunflower seeds
• 1/2-1 tsp. Celtic Himalayan Sea Salt (to desired taste)
• 1 tsp. Xylitol, Sucanat or other sugar equivalent (to desired taste)
• 1-3 tsp. oil (optional)

Place dry, shelled sunflower seeds, salt and sugar (if using) into the food processor. If you are using oil, save until the end. Process the seeds, salt and sugars until a nice flour-like texture is formed with the sunflower seeds. Continue to process this flour for a minute at a time, giving your motor a minute to cool down in between. The flour will stick to the sides of the food processer, but scraping it down each time will help move the process along.

After about 12 minutes of processing, the natural oils should have released themselves, making a a butter on the bottom of the food processor. Continue to scrap down the side of the food processor and keep blending. The sunflower seed butter will form into a ball, swirling and twirling. Keep processing, and add oil, if desired, one teaspoon at a time to give a spreadable texture to the butter.

Store and label for later use. Congratulations! You made a very inexpensive, but incredibly health alternative to peanut butter--sunflower seed butter!

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This is The Healthy Advocate.

Big Dog

Thanks to Scott

Meditation and Your Health

Where I am sitting on campus. Look at all the trees!

I'm sitting here at my college campus, freezing in the empty lobby while a man pushes a giant vacuum around the floor. Coming in early, then waiting three hours for rehearsal to start while freezing my butt off isn't what I had in mind, however it does give me some time to work on my blog.

What is the rehearsal about, you say? Well, The Healthy Advocate is in a play here at the school. I play one of the three witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth. I know, a male witch in Macbeth--however I think it is more in tune with Shakespeare's original plays. No females allowed (what did he have against females?).

Now, let's get to the topic at hand. I wanted to talk about the power of our mind. I am really into mind-body healing and medicine of all types, and am also a certified hypnotist. The more research I do, and the more I experience for myself, the better I can understand our mind's abilities and its power over our health.

The power of our minds can radically improve our health, and it can also radically diminish it. When our thoughts are in order, and when our mind is filled with only images of success, of our goals, of how to make our lives healthier and happier, we actually move toward these things. Inversely, when our thoughts are stressful in nature, dark, hateful, pessimistic, etc., we move into a state of disorder and ultimately disease.

Our thoughts also play a huge impact on our emotions, because I know each and everyone of you have had moments where you visualized your bright future, full of the things you wanted, and you noticed your stress levels decreased. You become at ease, and you are able to focus on things more fully, and are able to give yourself 100%. However, when you imagine a future of unknowingness, of darkness and sickness, you feel uneasy, stressed, out of your mind--you get the picture. I don't want to go down the downward path too much in this post; just stressing the importance of the positive will help you more so than understanding the downsides of the negative.

Meditation, one of my personal favorite methods for decreasing the disorder in the mind, is a vast term. You have probably encountered people who "meditate", or you have probably even tried doing it yourself. Sometimes this stress relieving technique can actually be quite stressful when one has a hard time quieting the mind and calming the body. Then this person gives up completely on a wonderful health promoting tool. Meditation IS important for your health and happiness, as it gives you a sense of control, calm and well being in your life that I everyone has a right to.

The health benefits (dare I say proven health benefits?) of meditation are numerable, and I will go over the ones I find to be the most concerning to the majority of you guys. I'll blog more on other benefits later; but now I want to share with you the one's I found most important. Meditation has been shown in lowering blood pressure, lowering blood sugar (helping in insulin sensitivity) and lowering cholesterol. It has also been beneficial in weight loss, depression, mood and learning disorders, and benefits also lie in the arena of weight loss. That's right--closing your eyes and listening to your breath can actually help you drop the pounds.

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Here is my list for the top health benefits associated with meditation. Again, as with all my lists, this is far from complete--it only narrows down the top ones most people face and ask about.

Photo courtesy of Canadian-OnlinePharmacies.com

1 - In The Journal of Chronic Diseases, meditation and relaxation exercises were shown to significantly lower blood pressure in subjects. This isn't the only study out there--there are hundreds of them that exist; even common sense can tell you that relaxation techniques are effective at decreasing hypertension symptoms.

Meditation has also been shown to be beneficial in lowering blood sugar levels. A study recorded in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry showed that relaxation training and biofeedback lowered blood glucose levels in the individual studied. This person also showed this benefit maintained after a one year follow up. Another research study at the Cedar-Sanai Medical Center in Los Angeles showed that meditation was able to lower blood sugar and insulin levels.

A lipoprotein. Photo courtesy of Answers.com

Cardiovascular disease and high levels of low density lipoproteins (LDL), or bad cholesterol is associated with psychological stress. Reducing the stress has been shown to lower the bad cholesterol while decreasing cardiovascular disease risk.

*Note that there are two types of LDL. There are large buoyant lipoproteins and small, hard density lipoproteins. The hard and small lipoproteins are the ones you have to worry about. Having a high LDL doesn't mean you are at risk for heart disease. Measuring your triglycerides levels are the best ways to determine your risk, while also comparing these levels with your HDL (you want a high HDL and low triglycerides).

Another study showed that participants with panic disorder were almost doubled with the risk of coronary heart disease, with those with depression were three times at risk. Meditation, combined with trusted medical advice, is beneficial in reducing your risk by lowering your anxiety and depressive moods.

2 - Weight loss has also been shown to result when meditation techniques are applied to one's everyday practice. It is well known and documented that hypnosis aides in weight reduction, and is successful in maintaining a healthy weight over time. However, meditation is not the same as hypnosis. Meditation is a relaxation technique that quiets the mind and stills the body. Earlier I mentioned that hypnosis was beneficial in lowering blood sugar and insulin levels. Since insulin, in particular excessive insulin, is known as the "fat storing hormone". Too much insulin in the body easily stores the extra sugars in your body (those that are broken down from carbohydrates) as fat.

Lowering your insulin levels is one key to losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight over time. Doing this will also help improve insulin sensitivity (your cells are able to take in sugar for energy more easily). You will also optimize your grehlin hormone (hunger hormone) at the same time, helping you to control your appetite and only eat whenever you are truly hungry. Can you believe just a few minutes a day, closing your eyes and listening to your breath, can help you this immensely?

Photo courtesy of WendyUsuallyWanders.wordpress.com

3 - Meditation has been shown to be beneficial for those with depression and mood disorders by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is the "feel good" hormone that increases feelings of hope and joy, all scientific feelings--but I would rather look at them as spiritual ones, as well. Mindfulness relaxation also helps one to deal with stress more efficiently, making it easy to take on hardships without having to get into a funk.

4 - Meditation is a powerful tool in combating learning "disorders" and disabilities. I don't necessarily believe in ADD or ADHD--I do, however, believe that certain conditions can lessen ones abilities to concentrate, especially in this time (diet, lack of exercise, popular culture, etc.). Having a good foundation based on natural principles, while combing meditation, has been shown to increase one's attention.

Meditation has been shown to actually increase one's brain size! This part is very fascinating to me, because it shows that we can actually grow new neurons and gray matter within our brain just by the power of thought and relaxation. In a study done at Harvard Medical School, researchers found that those who meditated for 20 minutes a day showed actual growth in one of the inner cortexes of the brain, the one most associated with memory and attentiveness. Another study showed activation in brainwaves associated with attention.

Isn't it amazing that we can actually change the structure of our brains by using meditation? It's incredibly fascinating that we can do something to our brains that most thought was impossible. We have been taught that the brain stays pretty stagnant over our lifetime, and very little physical growth is actually achieved. However, using meditation one can thicken parts of the brain to help aid in memory and mood.

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How Can I Start My Meditation Practice?

This mind altering (yes, it can be a bit mind altering at times) tool doesn't solely rest on having you sitting on the floor, cross legged, closing your eyes and repeating, "OM" over and over again. OM is a very powerful and relaxing mantra, but meditation is so much more than that, and I believe each and everyone is important and should be incorporated into our life. One form of meditation I love to do is yoga, outside in the sunshine. Doing yoga is an amazing way to calm and center the mind, which is a large component of meditation; but doing yoga in nature allows you to connect to the earth, to nature, and it also helps you get your beneficial Vitamin D from the sun (which has been shown to help in correlating benefits achieved through meditation--healthy blood sugar, blood pressure, weight, learning and attention).

Other exercise, such as running, walking, lifting, jogging, pilates, etc., is a very good form of meditation, as it allows your brain to focus on one thing--the task at hand. In meditation, you want to achieve a state where you are only focusing on one thing--your body, breath, the exercise you are performing, so on and so forth. Then, as you continue to practice, you will be able to completely free yourself of all thoughts and of the world around you, clearing your mind in order to receive healing and nurturance. Centering the mind and healing the body is a goal in meditation which is easily achieved through continued practice.

Combining exercise and meditation is a powerful way to elicit good health, however there are other ways to meditate. The most popular way is laying or sitting down, in a comfortable position (whatever works for you), closing your eyes and focusing on your breath. There is absolutely nothing else you have to do but breathe and listen. Your breathing will continue to slow down, and your muscles will start to loosen and become relaxed. You can even imagine that every single muscle in your body is relaxing, from the top of your head, to the bottom of your feet (or vice versa).

Am I Doing it Right?

Here's a secret: It doesn't matter. There isn't a "wrong" or "right" way to meditate. There really isn't. Besides, worrying about getting it "just right" will only aggravate your system, causing you more stress than when you started. That definitely will not produce the benefits associated with deep relaxation and focus. Just let go, allow yourself to relax and breathe deeply, and with practice, you will be able to flow within a state that brings forth ease of mind and healing.

Just implementing an exercise program will help you incorporate a form of meditation into your life. This way, you will be getting the benefits of exercise along with the benefits of meditation. Although, there are certain parts of quiet and still meditation (relaxation) that you can't achieve in exercise meditation. Doing it at night before you go to sleep, or in the morning as soon as you awake is what is easiest for most people. During the day it can be a bit hectic, unless you do have a time where you will not be disturbed and have nothing else you need to do.

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Take this information and share it with those you love, as health information needs to spread across to all those who will listen! Meditation is beneficial and fun, and I'm sure you will love it, as it will greatly increase your health while helping you maintain a calm and solid attitude throughout your life.

This has been The Healthy Advocate.

P.S. Upcoming blog posts will be two of my favorite recipes. One is my Gluten Free Sprouted Buckwheat "Ritz" Style Crackers!

These seriously are good. Grain free and low in calories, these are crackers you shouldn't feel bad eating.

I will also be sharing with you in an upcoming video about how to make sunflower seed butter. See you then...

Spring Into Your Health!

Photo from TheDailyMail.com

Spring is here! The cold and dark winter months are now drawing to a close, bringing longer days and warmer nights. The birds are outside right now chirping away and it feels like Spring. It feels as if life is blossoming all around me, and the joy I feel inside compares to no other feeling that accompanies any other season.

What are your favorite spring memories? Mine would have to be the time around Easter. Coloring eggs, putting "grass" inside my Easter basket and awaiting the Easter bunny (I love that guy!). I would always leave out carrots or nuts for the bunny, knowing that he had a lot of hopping to do that night. It never grew tiresome, waking up in the cool-warm morning, going to the kitchen and seeing my basket filled with an array of colors.

The Easter basket I--I mean The Easter Bunny--Put Together

I did receive chocolate bunnies, chocolate candy and the oh-so bad stuff that I definitely stay away from these days. However I did always spread out the consumption of these things, when I was young, for months, never eating a whole Easter bunny in one, two or three days--but having it last for weeks, if not months, on end. I guess I got down that whole 'moderation is key' thing even back then.

By the way, I made some sugar free, completely natural homemade candies for Easter, just so I wouldn't feel left out! The whole family enjoyed them as well. I will post the recipes in a following post.

Making my sugar free Easter candy

In Chinese medicine, Spring is associated with the liver, the organ that helps detoxify and cleanse our body of impurities. After the long winter months, our eating may have been focused more on heavier, denser foods to help warm our bodies. During the warmer months, it is time for the body to crave more light foods filled with water and moisture.

Keeping our liver clean will help us detoxify the buildup of toxins that have developed over the past few months, and it will also help us burn fat more efficiently. Since the liver is our main fat burning organ, it is imperative that you do what you can to make it healthy and clean. There are a number of ways to do this, and all of them are quite simple, yet hold a powerful impact on your body.

#1 - Listen to Your Body

This is a fairly simple rule, that I am sure all of you have heard before. However, there is a bit of a twist when it comes to it. During the spring, and the warmer months, our bodies will require and crave more water and moisture. If we don't supply this through our diet (water and food), we will die within a short time. Listening to your body enables you to know when to need water and when to eat foods that are rich in moisture.

Our diet in the spring should usually be different than in the winter, because in the winter you are wanting warmer, denser foods to provide your body with heat. However, in the spring and summer months, your body needs lighter foods that won't weigh you down, that won't produce too much heat or cause you to become dehydrated. Choosing the right vegetables and fruits that are in season should help provide you with the water you need, along with a good does of pure, clean water every day.

#2 - Tonify the Liver

Spring, like I mentioned earlier, is associated with our fat burning organ, the liver. Help out this organ this spring so it can help release toxins in the body. Choosing the right foods will do the trick. Lemons and limes are amazingly beneficial for the liver, and will help support bile formation (helps digestion).

Dandelion greens are also amazing for detoxifying our bodies through the liver. I bet you were surprised to find that you could actually consume this plant, just as I was when I discovered it a few years ago! Nevertheless, it is a very good green to throw into your salads, green smoothies or to be dried and made into a tea. The leaves are quite bitter, so be aware of this before you ingest them. They may be available in your local health food store this spring, or at your local farmer's market.

There are also yoga moves you can do that correspond with a health liver (to see all poses, click here). One is a simple forward fold.

Photo from YogaJournal.com

Another is downward facing dog.

Photo from YogaJournal.com

Try these poses for about five minutes every day, or as long as you can stand it, building up to the five minutes. These poses help stimulate the liver in a healthy, natural way.

#3 - Eat with the Season

Photo from SummerTomato.com

Staying healthy doesn't always have to be difficult. We don't always have to look feverishly thorugh the supermarket shelves, trying to find the right item that says it will support our health. Simply going to your farmer's market, or going to your local produce section will give you the items you need.

Eating local is important, but so is eating vegetables and fruits that are in season. Most of the time, if they are in season in our part of the country, than they're local. Even if it means the next state over, it's still better than eating a vegetable or fruit shipped from Australia that has already lost most of its nutritional value.

Eating in season will help your body detoxify more fully, no matter what season, because you will have more available nutrients being taken into your body to assist with a multitude of metabolic functions. The vegetables that will be in season this spring, and more than likely be local as well, will be artichokes, arugula, asparagus, chard, mustard greens, spinach, parsley and watercress.

#4 - Meditate!

Photo from EpicSelf.com

Meditation is a fantastic tool for preparing your mind and body for the outside world, and is an incredible way to relax. But did you know that it offers your body much more?

This fantastic tool has been shown to assist in digestion, which can also assist in detoxifying your body. When our minds and bodies are at ease as the result of deep breathing and/or visualization exercises/techniques, our digestion becomes much easier, helping us release and burn more fat in the long run.

So not only can meditation help calm the mind and ease digestion, it can help keep us slim as well! It's completely free and only requires 10-30 minutes of your time. Start out with deep breathing exercise and then looking into some visualization exercise, such as imagining yourself in a place that makes you feel completely comfortable and serene--like a forest, a brook or any other favorite setting.

There you go! Four simple steps to now implement into this spring. I bet you were already going to do these anyway; hopefully I was just a "push" in the right direction! Feeling great, cool and confident during these warmer months is what you body wants, and the way to do that is to detoxify. Keep your body clean!

For now, this is The Healthy Advocate.