Tag Archives: Plants

This wonderfully refreshing raw vegan salad is anti-inflammatory due to the fennel, a sweet licorice flavored relative of parsley, dill, coriander and carrots.

Fennel is a pale green bulb with celery-like stalks tipped with feathery leaves. Every part of the plant, from the bulb to the seeds, is edible, delicious and nutritious. Fennel is an excellent source of the vitamin C, and a good source of fiber, potassium, manganese, folate, niacin, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, iron, and copper. But most importantly, fennel contains the anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, rutin, quercitin, anethole, that can help detoxify the body and prevent cancer. Pair the fennel with melon, and this salad becomes a free radical’s worst nightmare because Crenshaw is an excellent source of vitamin A and C, both powerful anti-oxidants that prevent aging in the body. Another wonderful way to Eat More Plants!

Savory Fruit Salad

(Serves four)

INGREDIENTS:

1 head living butter lettuce (washed, dried and torn)

2 heads fennel (washed and bulbs sliced very thin horizontally, core removed)

4 fennel fronds, feathery ends only (washed and sliced in ½” pieces)

½ large Crenshaw melon (or cantaloupe) peeled and sliced into thin crescents

½ large red onion, sliced VERY thin

DRESSING:

1 tablespoon Bragg’s Cider Vinegar

Celtic Sea Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons Bragg’s Berry Fat-Free Dressing (or to taste)

2 packages (3.5 oz) Hail Merry® Orange Rosemary Pecans

ASSEMBLY:

1. Soak red onion slices in vinegar; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside for at least 15 minutes.

2. Layer lettuce on 4 serving plates; top with “fan” of Crenshaw melon, then fan of fennel. Sprinkle fronds around edge of plate. Top with marinated onions and Rosemary Pecans. Serve immediately.

NOTE: All ingredients should be thoroughly washed before use; local, organic ingredients are preferred. Recipes have been tested but should be used only as guidelines. Ingredients and quantities should be adjusted based on their flavor and availability. Additionally, the chef’s and diners’ personal preferences of the best balance of sweet, salty, sour, spicy and bit­ter flavors should impact quantities as well as whether to even use all of the suggested salad ingredients.

 Are you one of 125 million Americans infected with the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)? Hail Merry Chief Nutrition Officer, Claudia Pillow, PhD., discusses ulcers and why doctors and researchers recommend coconut oil and other foods to help alleviate this condition.  Read more about it and check out the Raw Heal Thy Ulcer Broccoli Tomato Salad recipe below.

Are you one of 125 million Americans infected with the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)?

These “bad” bacteria are the major cause of peptic ulcers affecting 30 million Americans at some point in their lives. H. pylori stimulates cells in the stomach to produce excessive amounts of gastric or hydrochloric acid. This acid reflects back and up into the stomach causing  heartburn or, technically, Gastro-Esophogeal Reflux /Disease, commonly referred to as GERD. This reflux is painful and can cause ulcers.

A peptic ulcer is a sore on the lining of the stomach or duodenum, the beginning of the small intestine. Peptic ulcers are common: more than 6 million adult Americans have active ulcers and a half million new cases develop yearly. Contrary to popular belief, peptic ulcers are not caused by stress or eating spicy food, but both can make ulcer symptoms worse. H. pylori are responsible for 90% of all peptic ulcers. Other factors that trigger ulcers include nonsteriodial anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and ibuprofen, and milk allergies.

Researchers are not certain how H. pylori are transmitted, although they think they may be spread through contaminated food, water and saliva of infected people. Triple therapy antibiotics that are typically used to treat H pylori are declining in effectiveness because the bacteria are becoming resistant to the antibiotics. In addition, the medications used in triple therapy may also lead to yeast and fungal overgrowth, particularly with the Candida organism, because the good bacteria in your gut also get killed along with the bad bacteria.

Many people are turning to alternative therapies that have been shown to be effective in healing ulcers by killing the H. pylori. One such anti-microbial agent is coconut oil because it contains lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid which kills the bacteria by breaking down the H. pylori cell membrane. On a recent episode, Dr. Oz recommended a tablespoon of coconut oil a day because lauric acid is powerful natural antibiotic. The Lauric Acid invades the H. pylori lipid cell wall and destroys it.

Researchers in a recent Japanese study concluded that broccoli is also an effective natural remedy to treat ulcers. Broccoli contains the anti-microbial, sulforphane, which was found to reduce the colonies of H. pylori bacteria in test subjects.

The potential use of plants in their natural form for treating and preventing ulcers is underutilized in this country. Unlike synthetic drugs, most plant therapies, like the use of coconut oil, do not have undesirable side effects. Coconut oil is nature’s own anti-microbial weapon and as a food has stood the test of time. Maybe one day your doctor will hand you a prescription for a broccoli salad made with coconut oil.

“HEAL THY ULCER” Broccoli Tomato Salad

• 2 cups shredded organic broccoli
• 1 cup diced organic tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon organic raw coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
• 2 tablespoons Hail Merry Sunflower Seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Combine all the ingredients, toss and season to taste.

Trade up to higher health and EAT MORE PLANTS.