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Recipe for sprouted GABA rice

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Planet Rice brown rice

I recently received a few bags of sprouted GABA rice from Planet Rice (www.planetricefoods.com) – thank you Planet Rice!  I used a modified recipe that I usually use for cooking brown rice and it was delicious!

The rice is sprouted or germinated, making it more digestible and nutrient-dense, resulting in a quicker cooking time and resulting in higher levels of GABA (gamma amino butyric acid).  According to their website: “Germinated / sprouted brown rice has four times the GABA content of regular rice, and over ten times the GABA of white rice!” I’m very intrigued by this last fact because I’m a big fan of GABA, the major calming neurotransmitter and excellent for anxiety.  I’ll be doing more research on this GABA connection and you’ll be hearing more from me on this very interesting topic!  It’s not mentioned in my new book The Antianxiety Food Solution but I’m adding this to the list for the second edition.

I’m also a big fan of local and if you’re in Northern California, this is local! It’s grown just “up the road” from Sacramento.  It’s also gluten-free of course. Planet Rice assured me that all California rice is free of GMOs (more on GMOS here). This particular brand is not organic (more on organic here) but rice typically uses less than other grains in the way of chemicals. But they do offer sprouted organic GABA rice in 25kg bags for commercial use and will hopefully make this available to us discerning and savvy consumers too!

My recipe for this sprouted GABA rice is so simple:

1 cup rice
2 cups boiling water

Add the above to a casserole dish with your choice of spices and optional chopped onion and garlic. Cover and cook for 40 minutes and enjoy with a curry dish, cold with veggies and salad dressing for a summer salad or however you like your rice!
(For regular brown rice, just cook for 60 minutes.)

Monaco wedding jitters and tips for Charlene’s wedding to her prince

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For someone with wedding anxiety, nerves and jitters, here are some great calming tips:

  • Drink less coffee. It’s probably best not to stop completely right before the wedding because of withdrawal headaches. And try a calming herbal tea like chamomile
  • Get outside in the sunshine and do some exercise, which will raise serotonin levels and help with worry and anxiety
  • Get a massage, meditate and/or do some yoga, which are all very relaxing. Studies have shown that yoga actually raises GABA levels and GABA is very calming
  • And if none of these tips help, the amino acid GABA in the form of a sublingual supplement will have immediate relaxing results (if you are low in GABA)

I’m drawn to do this blog post because of the newest royal wedding: this weekend in Monaco, Charlene Wittstock is marrying her prince, Prince Albert II in a lavish 3 day ceremony! And of course there are always plenty of summer weddings.

I’m especially intrigued by this wedding and have been following their story for a few reasons:

  • Charlene Wittstock, who is quite stunning, and a former national swimming champion, comes from South Africa, which is where I grew up!
  • I just love the area around Monaco. In my late 20s while backpacking through Europe I spent some time nearby. And then I had an amazing climbing trip in the south of France a few years ago! And I’m a big romantic at heart so I wish them all the best!

Unfortunately earlier this week there were rumors that Charlene tried to skip town on a one-way flight to South Africa. If it is just wedding jitters and anxiety, the above tips should help. If there is more to it, and Charlene has a serious reason for wanting to back out, I say don’t marry your prince!

EWG 2011 dirty dozen includes apples, celery, strawberries and why buy organic?!

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The Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org) has new 2011 “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” lists of produce. The 2010 version of these lists are included in The Antianxiety Food Solution, so I want to provide you with the latest and greatest information from the EWG as I’m a big fan of this group, and veggies and fruit of course!

So at a bare minimum use the lists when you cannot find organic or are traveling or visiting friends.  The rest of the time, I still encourage buying organic produce.

Dirty Dozen 2011 (fruits and veggies with the highest pesticide residues)

  1. Apples
  2. Celery
  3. Strawberries
  4. Peaches
  5. Spinach
  6. Nectarines (imported)
  7. Grapes (imported)
  8. Sweet bell peppers
  9. Potatoes
  10. Blueberries (domestic)
  11. Lettuce
  12. Kale/collard greens

Clean Fifteen 2011 (fruits and veggies with the lowest pesticide residues)

  1. Onions
  2. Sweet corn
  3. Pineapples
  4. Avocado
  5. Asparagus
  6. Sweet peas
  7. Mangoes
  8. Eggplants
  9. Cantaloupe (domestic)
  10. Kiwi
  11. Cabbage
  12. Watermelon
  13. Sweet potatoes
  14. Grapefruit
  15. Mushrooms

This is the previous (2010) list I included in the The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/antianxiety-food-solution-what-you-eat-makes-difference/

2010 “dirty dozen”: apples, bell peppers, blueberries, celery, cherries, grapes, kale or collard greens, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, spinach, and strawberries

2010 “clean fifteen”: asparagus, avocados, cabbage, cantaloupe, eggplant, grapefruit, honeydew, kiwi, mangoes, onions, pineapple, sweet corn, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, and watermelon.

The EWG is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting public health and the environment, and they have a super visual here http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/ and a handy wallet PDF you can download.  They have also addressed some great FAQS here http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/faq/ This fact I find particularly helpful: “if consumers simply chose their daily recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables from the least contaminated list over five from the dirty dozen, they would reduce the amount of pesticides ingested by 92%”.

I am a proponent of organic produce for these reasons:

  • We know there are health implications of pesticides: mood problems including anxiety and depression in farm-workers, ADHD/memory issues in kids (these and others will be covered in more detail in part 2 of this post)
  • It tastes SO much better
  • It is better for the environment
  • It does not impact farm workers (Tom Philpott addresses this topic here http://motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/06/dirty-dozen-veggies-dont-forget-farmworkers)

If the cost of organic produce seems to be an issue, buy and eat real whole food instead https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/we-dont-say-wet-water-why-do-we-say-real-food/ and spend less (or preferably nothing) on fast-food, sodas and junk!

The Antianxiety Food Solution: what you eat does make a difference!

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The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings…official launch date is June 2, 2011!

This book will show you that what you eat (real whole food and yes, animal protein), when you eat (controlling blood sugar), what you don’t put in your mouth (sugar, coffee and foods you’re sensitive to like wheat), your digestion, your hormones and neurotransmitters – and more – can affect how anxious and overwhelmed you feel. And the magical thing is that when you address the root cause of your anxiety with food and nutrients it really does make you happier, eliminates sugar cravings and you’ll even sleep better!  And who doesn’t want all of that?

The book has it’s own site www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com and this site is going to continue to grow and evolve.  You can also buy your own copy of the book or eBook directly from my publisher New Harbinger (15% off this and all other books from their site). It’s also available in book stores and on Amazon. Right now you can check out the Table of Contents here , some Selected Quotes from the book here and some of the Rave Reviews I’ve already received here.  In October I blogged about the new cover (you can read more here) and now we have the official launch! I am so excited!

I’m working with my publisher, New Harbinger on some exciting PR, events and book signings.  If you have a need or know someone looking for a speaker on this topic, please let me know as I have big plans to get out and speak, and I may just be in your city! Don’t forget to sign up here to receive newsletter updates and stay up to date on new research, workshops and special offers.

Gluten Elimination Challenge: An Easy Way to Figure Out If It Affects You! (part 2)

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The easiest and most affordable way to figure out if gluten affects you is to do a 2-week gluten elimination trial (and see how you feel) and then provoke or challenge with gluten (and see how you feel). The 2 week trial will mean zero consumption of food containing wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, triticale or oats. Oats must also be excluded as they are frequently contaminated with gluten during processing. It really is best that you eat home-made, real, whole foods (always, but especially during the trial) as gluten is so often “hidden” in many processed foods. Watch for ingredients like hydrolyzed protein, textured vegetable protein and all derivatives of wheat, oats, rye and barley (including barley malt, modified starch, most soy sauces and natural flavoring).

Other wonderful grains and nutritious starchy vegetables

Rice, corn and buckwheat are acceptable, as are the wonderful ancient grains like quinoa and amaranth. You can find gluten-free-everything – pasta, crackers, you-name-it – made from rice, bean, potato, coconut and corn flour. There are also many wonderful recipes books but some call for margarine, soy milk and excessive sugar – so make substitutions as needed. Rather than simply replacing the problem grain with another grain, consider incorporating more vegetables into your diet. Starchy vegetables like sweet potato and squashes are a wonderfully nutritious source of carbohydrates.

Adding back the gluten

Once you have removed the gluten from your diet and seen improvements in your mood and other symptoms (digestive, pain, skin etc), add it back after 2 weeks and see if it affects you adversely. This test is often more powerful for my clients than any lab test. I’ve seen symptoms ranging from severe mood swings to terrible anxiety to stomach aches to general aches and pains to fatigue and brain fog (and all of the above in some very sensitive individuals). If you experience any of the above, then it’s important that you remove gluten from your diet and work with someone to do additional testing. I’ll cover additional testing in a future blog post.

See here for part 1 (Gluten, your mood and your health) and read more about this and other food intolerances in my forthcoming book The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods you eat can calm your anxious mind, improve mood and end cravings. Find out more at www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com

Scarlett Johansson Oscars 2011: snacks and salmon!

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Scarlett Johansson looked absolutely stunning at the 2011 Oscars and you’ll never guess what she ate before she came – salmon!

Scarlett was interviewed on the Red Carpet and was asked: what is the most important thing about getting ready for the Oscars – the dress, the hair, the jewellery…?

And this is what she said: For me, what I eat before I come to the Oscars, is the most important thing. She said she’d actually just eaten some salmon and that it’s important to eat something good to control your blood sugar. She also said that it’s a little known fact that the celebs bring snacks to the Oscars.

Awesome and brilliant! Having some salmon or other form of protein or fat like eggs, meat or chicken before heading out to a big event will do wonders for keeping your blood sugar stable and keeping you feeling great, calm, stress-free and focused. Some great snack ideas to carry with you when you know you won’t be eating for awhile: nuts, fruit, grass-fed jerky, salmon jerky and my all time favorite, pemmican. A boiled egg is great too but may not go down well at the Oscars!

And yes I watched the Oscars! I have so much to learn about style and fashion! I’m a late bloomer….I’m the typical outdoorsy tomboy – love to travel, camp, bike, climb, ski and generally I’m happy to “rough-it”. But last year I decided to up-level my image and I worked with image consultant Anne Berit Olvsk. I had my colors done and I now actually enjoying shopping for clothes. So I figured the Oscars would be a great way to see some great style – outfits, hair, make-up, accessories, colors and more – and it was not disappointing! Scarlett looked stunning (check her out here and here), I got some great tips and heard Scarlett’s great food and snack advice! Yay Scarlett Johannson!