Angela Elliot is our in-house chef and all round kitchen goddess. Send us in your questionsabout good eats, yummy treats and heck, the nature of the universe, if you want to!
Hi ladies,
I wanted to ask Angela a couple questions about recipes for the coconut and nut yogurts that were in the newsletter a week or so ago. Do you know the fat content in these yogurts? I try to eat a low fat diet, so I need to know to balance my other foods on the day I make and consume these.
These two recipes sounded great and I can’t wait to make them!
Vicki,
Once the nuts are turned into yogurt, the fat content is almost zero. As far as the coconut yogurt goes, it is a bit higher in fat, but not much.
Here’s more information:
While all nuts have many good things in common – they contain healthy fat, vitamin E and the kind of fiber that helps reduce bad cholesterol – different kinds have different benefits so it’s good to mix your nuts.
For instance, pine nuts are a good source of iron, almonds have more calcium than other nuts, walnuts have omega-3 fats, and Brazil nuts are a rich source of the mineral selenium. New Zealand researchers reported earlier this year that eating just two Brazil nuts a day is as good as popping selenium supplements!
Although their high fat content makes them high in kilojoules, nuts are not off the menu if you want to lose weight. In fact, some research suggests that nut eaters are actually leaner.
The trick to lowering the fat in nuts? Soak them and then turn them into my fabulous yogurt. The fat content becomes almost zero, yet the healthy vitamin E stays!
Soaked nuts are loaded with Vitamins A, B, C and E, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Phosphorus, Potassium minerals, and All Essential Amino Acids
One more reason to soak your nuts: Soaking nuts overnight increases their vitamin C content!
Fascinating Tidbit About Almonds
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and the almond is the most important morning food. Almonds contain protein and all essential minerals for the human body. Almond = “all world [al-mond], container of the 144 elements.” When almonds are the first thing in your stomach after arising, they set the hydrochloric acid tolerance for the day, providing all-day protein digestion. When almonds are eaten first, they are efficiently digested since stomach acids are concentrated after the nightly fast. (If you leave hydrochloric acid alone in your stomach, the saliva and hydrochloric acid would become toxic.) Presoak organic raw almonds in distilled water overnight for quick germinal action. When soaked, almonds act as protein plus nitrogen. This protein helps your blood sugar stabilize throughout the rest of the day. Eat one almond per ten pounds of body weight. Eat more if you want to gain weight, and less if you want to lose weight.
Coconuts
Young coconuts are considered highly nutritious. One whole coconut has only 140 calories and provides 17% of the RDA for calcium. The total fat content is 3 grams, all saturated, with a zero content of cholesterol. The young coconut has 50 mg sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of fiber,15 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.
Health Benefits
Throughout history, the indigenous people of tropical countries relied on natural plants for their medicine. Young coconut juice is a well-stocked medicine chest complete in its own container and is used in folk healing for a number of ailments including; relieving fevers, headaches, stomach upsets, diarrhea and dysentery. The juice is also given to strengthen the heart and restore energy to the ill. Pregnant women in the tropics eagerly drink large quantities of young coconut juice because they believe it will give their babies strength and vitality.
Water from a young coconut not only provides a refreshing drink in steamy equatorial countries, but in times of medical emergency it was used as a substitute for glucose. During World War II, young coconut water became the emergency room glucose supply when there was no other sterile glucose available. Within a clean self-contained vessel, the coconut water is free of impurities and contains about two tablespoons of sugar.
Jon J. Kabara, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus from Michigan State University, writes, “Never before in the history of man is it so important to emphasize the value of lauric oils. The medium-chain fats in coconut oil are similar to fats in mother’s milk and have similar nutraceutical effects.”
Coconuts and their edible products, such as coconut oil and coconut milk, have suffered from repeated misinformation because of a study conducted in the 1950’s using hydrogenated coconut oil. Although coconut oil is very high in saturated fat, namely 87 % saturated, in its unrefined, virgin state, this fat is actually beneficial to our health, largely because of its high content of lauric acid (almost 50 percent).
Because lauric acid has potent anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, recent studies have considered coconut oil as a possible method of lowering viral levels in HIV-AIDS patients. Lauric acid may also be effective in fighting yeast, fungi, and other viruses such as measles, Herpes simplex, influenza and cytomegalovirus.
Because the short-and medium-chain fatty acids of extra virgin coconut oil and coconut milk are easily and quickly assimilated by the body, they are not stored as fat in the body like the long chain triglycerides of animal products. Studies have shown that populations in Polynesia and Sri Lanka, where coconuts are a diet staple, do not suffer from high serum cholesterol or high rates of heart disease.
Extra virgin coconut oil used in a study conducted in the Yucatan showed that those who used the coconut oil on a daily basis had a higher metabolic rate. Though they regularly consumed considerable quantities of the saturated fat, the participants retained a lean body mass. Another facet of the Yucatan study noted that the women participants did not suffer the typical symptoms of menopause.
Where does one get pro biotic powder? Should I just open a couple of my capsules and use that? I wasn’t sure if you could actually buy it or if this was how to do it.
Thanks so much, Vicki!!
Probiotic powder can be found by opening any capsule of a very good brand of probiotics, like New Chapter’s Anti-aging probiotic powder. You can also make rejuvelac, which makes your yogurt even stronger. The sky is the limit here!
Blessings to you,
Angela