May is traditionally Detox month.  We clean out our houses in the Spring, we clean our closets out in the Spring, we plant our gardens, we prepare for a renewal of life in the Spring.  So, it's makes sense that our bodies need the same.  Cleansing our bodies helps our liver and kidney to clean out and be restored to a healthy balance.  We've been breathing in toxic air, especially if you work in a large city, drinking water and sports drinks from plastic water bottles that release toxins over time and eating food that is not 100% organic and clean.  Our bodies need that cleanse.  With big names such as Dr. Oz and Dr. Weil supporting an annual cleanse, many companies have created their own version. 

Zema’s is entering into its 3rd guest blogger week in celebration of National Nutrition Month. Meet Karen Malkin, a certified Nutrition Counselor who graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC. She has her own practice for Health Counseling in Northfield and Chicago, IL. Karen has decades of holistic and health nutrition training and research and her strengths lie in helping you attain your health goals through easy, everyday practices that keep you motivated and energetic. She helps some of her clients learn how to eat a healthy gluten free diet while also helping them to understand what gluten is and what it is doing inside your body so you understand the full scope of your new daily diet. Karen is also sharing some her easy to make recipes just for Zema’s fans. Enjoy!

“Going Gluten Free”
by Karen Malkin,
Holistic Health and Nutrition Counselor

Zema’s is entering into the 2nd week of our guest blogger celebration of National Nutrition Month. A common fear of people deciding to go gluten free by choice, such as athletes, health fanatics and those who suspect they may have a gluten sensitivity, is that they won’t have enough to eat. The initial weeks of eating gluten free can be trying due to the unknown. What will I eat if I can’t have my favorite cookies, donuts, pasta dish and sub sandwich. Will this take a lot of my time? How do I shop? Hailing from Sydney, Australia, (where I once lived) is a wonderful blogger named Lee and her cyberhome, Superchaged Foods. I discovered her months ago and although we are miles away from each other, I am drawn to her spirit of eating clean. In this age of blogger-mania, I know it can be crazy finding who to follow and where you want to spend your hours of cybersearching for high quality clean living. Lee has written an easy to digest gluten free lifestyle article for beginners. She also is sharing a loaf bread recipe with us that features stevia for those of you looking to try a new sweetener. Thanks Lee!

Healthy Gluten Free Eating 101
By Lee of Supercharged

Nowadays people are becoming increasingly aware of how the foods we eat affect our bodies. If you’re having problems digesting food and absorbing nutrients due to mal absorption issues or auto immune conditions then adopting a gluten free diet is highly recommended by many industry professionals.

Today marks the start for Zema’s 2nd Annual “March Madness” Nutrition Month. During the next four Mondays, Zema’s will introduce you to four guest cyberspeakers, each sharing an aspect of their view on living a healthy and clean gluten free life. And, because here at Zema’s Madhouse Foods we are all serious foodies, we have asked each contributor to share some of their favorite recipes with you! Read and share this wealth of knowledge all month long with your friends and family.

Zema’s welcomes Sandra Scheinbaum, Ph.D., the founder of www.feedyourmindwellness.com. Sandra is also a certified yoga instructor and nutrition coach in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Since 4 out of the five of my own kids, and my husband, were diagnosed with ADHD I have been hard at work trying to understand the connection between ADHD and living a gluten free life. Sandra has years of knowledge on this subject and I have asked her to share her expertise with us.

COULD GLUTEN BE DRIVING THE ADHD EPIDEMIC?
Sandra Scheinbaum, Ph.D.

“It feels like a cloud over my head has been lifted.”

“I can focus better.”

“I feel less restless.”

“The brain fog is gone.”

Welcome to Zema’s Clean Pantry blog. I will share all of my secrets to keeping a clean, gluten free, dairy free pantry that is easy to use in your daily life. These products are minimally processed, natural and are higher in nutrients than their counterparts. Some you may have heard of some of these items or walked by them in your store’s isle or maybe never knew they existed. It took me years to figure out what works for me and my family, so take your time. After reading about my favorites, think about what you like to cook and bake and try a couple of new substitutions. One step at a time. If you try to tackle it all at once, the odds of feeling overwhelmed are greater, thus leading to failure. Keep it fun, positive and interesting.

Oils and Fats:

Olive Oil

My personal favorite oil to use in my baked goods. Our bodies need healthy fats. Olive oil’s greatest attributes are it’s content of monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidative substances. Olive oil helps to protect against heart disease by controlling LDL(bad) cholesterol levels while raising HDL(good) cholesterol levels. It’s also easily absorbed by the stomach and aids in protecting against ulcers and gastritis.

EFA’s are fatty acids that the human body is not able to produce by itself. While other fatty acids can be synthesized within the human body from other components, EFAs cannot, and so they must be obtained through food sources. This is why they are “essential” elements of the human diet. Besides olive oil, EFA’s can be found in oily fatty fish such as tuna, salmon, mackerel and herring, cod and haddock, canola oil, flaxseed oil, fish oil, seeds, walnuts, leafy green vegetables such as broccoli and kale. Olive oil is great for baking and high-heat cooking.

Coconut Oil

Another favorite of mine due to it’s tropical flavor and health benefits. Whenever I suggest using coconut oil in a recipe, I always get the same response, “Isn’t that bad for you?” No, unrefined, virgin coconut oil is excellent for you. The health benefits include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, healthy teeth and bone strength. These health benefits can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal and antibacterial.

Look for coconut oil in a jar. It comes as a solid white mass which must be melted down prior to use. It’s great in baked goods, such as Zema’s Cocoa Teff pancakes, muffins and cookies instead of olive oil for a tropical flair, or stir-fry with chicken and vegetables. It’s wonderful in curry dishes and I pop my gourmet red popcorn in it with sea salt.

Grapeseed Oil

This lesser known oil is excellent to use for high-heat cooking because it can withstand high temps. It’s got a very neutral flavor making it ideal for baking as well. I use it in salad dressings instead of olive oil when I am not looking for that olive taste and want to pick up more on the fresh herbs I am using. I love baking with it because it adds a nice, warm buttery taste with healthy fat benefits.