Hi everyone! I’m so glad you’re here! In last week’s post, I mentioned that I was giving a Tea Talk: Food As Medicine, and I gave one of the recipes I served at the talk. Well, the talk is done and it was great! I had a full house and a great time was had by all. But of course, everyone couldn’t make it, so I wanted to share some of the highlights from last Saturday. And if you wanted to come but missed it this time, I’m working on another Tea Talk, probably for the fall. I’ll announce it here and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so if you follow me any of those places, you’ll know about the next one!
Almost ready for my guests!
First, I served a light brunch, all made from scratch. I wanted to feature delicious food that also was nutritionally powerful, so the entire menu was full of superfoods. Here’s the menu:
Einkorn whole wheat mini muffins with bing cherries (low gluten)
Einkorn whole wheat caramelized banana bread (low gluten)
Fresh assorted melon
Blueberries, strawberries and blackberries with coconut whipped cream
Spring pea hummus with mint
Organic local eggs
Kale salad with fresh peaches and tomatoes and basil from my garden tossed with peach vinaigrette
Teas – hot cinnamon plum, lemongrass ginger, rooibos, chai, hibiscus berry and iced tropical crimson
Enjoying the spread
After everyone ate, we sat down for the talk. I started by describing the menu and the health benefits of the foods we ate. The highlights: Einkorn wheat has a low gluten content and can often be tolerated by those with gluten sensitivity (like my youngest daughter). The eggs came from a friend of mine who treats her chickens like they are her babies, and these eggs have the biggest, most beautiful yellow-orange yolks, which reflects higher beta-carotene content. They also have a better omega-3 fatty acid profile than store bought eggs.
After the menu review, we talked about the current state of health and chronic disease in the United States and ways to change our Standard American Diet in basic ways to help improve our health. I talked about heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and ways that our eating can address these situations. I went over the topics of processed food, how to read food labels, organic vs conventional produce, and how to accomplish cooking and shopping in the midst of a busy life. There’s so much to talk about in the realm of health and our diet (it can be overwhelming!), and I just started the conversation that day. I won’t write it all down here, but I ended the talk with some take away tips that I’ll share here. See if you find any of these helpful for you!
Giving the talk…
- Eat a salad every day. You can get such benefit from one bowl of raw veggies!
- Make your own salad dressing (I gave out the recipe for the peach vinaigrette)
- Try one new recipe a week (Take one from this blog or google a new vegetable recipe!)
- Drink water instead of sweet drinks (It will take three weeks to get your taste buds away from the sugar, but it’s worth it!)
- Switch from chemical sweeteners to stevia leaf extract
- Prioritize organic dairy, meat (grass-fed beef) and the “dirty dozen” for fruits and veggies
- Eat when hungry and stop when you’re slightly full (if you’re trying to manage your weight).
It was a fun, information packed day! I’m already dreaming up topics for the next one. I hope you can make it!
What kinds of questions do you have about Food As Medicine? What would you want to hear at a Tea Talk? Let me know in the comments section below!