At Natures Clinicals we believe that all the knowledge you will ever need about nutrition is within your reach. Within you is an amazing storehouse of all the information you have ever encountered about diet. Your body knows better than any book what nutritional balance it needs. It tries constantly to communicate that information, but it's just not always received and interpreted accurately.
Flax Seed Oil has become a very popular dietary supplement due to its high Omega 3 content. Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid that our body is unable to produce and should therefore be present in our diet for the maintenance of good health. Current food trends have resulted in a depletion of available Omega 3 in our diets. Adding Flax Seed Oil to our daily food intake through a varity of recipes or simply as a dietary supplement, rebalances this deficiency.
Pumpkin Seed Oil is extracted from the seeds of special varieties of pumpkin (Cucurbita maximus) and is rich in phytosterols and antioxidants. The unrefined oil has a rich flavor and a unique color. It appears dark red in the bottle, but once poured the oil is dark green with a deep red tinge.
As a general guideline, whole natural foods, unprocessed, free of chemicals, pesticides and colorings are a great place to start. Most of us are fortunate enough to have ready access to an abundance of beautiful fruits, vegetables, grains, and minimally processed meats as well as plenty of fresh fish.
Nutrition
Linseed Breakfast Cereal
Reprinted with permission from the author Maria Middlestead from her book 'The Shape Diet' Natures clinicals highly recommends this book
This is prepared in the traditional way the Swiss do their muesli and the Scots do their porridge, which is to soak it overnight. Soaking helps make whole-grains, nuts and seeds easier to digest and less capable of binding with key minerals and then limiting their absorption. It will also soften the linseed for better access to its interior Omega 3 and soluble fibre. Be prepared to still observe the dark seed casings at the exit end of the digestive process though! An entire week’s worth of cereal can be soaked and refrigerated. Each morning a small amount is briefly cooked. The cooking time is just sufficient to make the soluble fibre more available and yet not long enough to damage the vitamin E and Omega 3 in the linseed. This also minimises the loss of B vitamins in the rice bran and other grains. The ‘steaming’ method is outlined below. It is a good treatment for rice, other whole, ground and flaked grains.
Linseed Breakfast Cereal
1 ½ cups organic whole linseed (HS)
½ cup rice bran (HS)
½ - 1 cups buckwheat flakes, rolled oats or barley; or ground: millet, amaranth, quinoa or cornmeal (HS)
¼ - ½ cup dried fruit
¼ - ½ cup nuts, seeds
optional cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice, ground cloves, pure vanilla 2 cups water
An alternative guide to quantities:
Instead of measuring, you can judge the amounts visually in a jar as illustrated. Use about ½ linseed and ½ everything else.
Method of preparation
In a clean glass 1-litre jar, combine the linseed, rice bran and grain. Stir in dried fruit, nuts, seeds and optional spices. This is much easier to mix when dry, before adding the water. The jar should be about ¾ full. Stir in the water in batches and mix cell. Cover and refrigerate. By morning the water will be absorbed. The result should be neither hard nor drippy. The cereal should scoop out with a cream cheese like consistency- firm but still moist. In the morning place 3-5 heaped tablespoons of the soaked mixture in a small saucepan with ¼ cup or more of Milk Option. Cover and over high heat bring the cereal to bubbling simmer. Stir, re-cover and turn off the heat. Place a towel over the top and sides of the pot to trap in the heat and ‘steam-cook’ the cereal. Be careful to keep the towel off hot burners. Let sit undisturbed for 7 minutes or longer. It will have a porridge consistency but a darker, speckled appearance. Top with Milk Option and/or fruit as suitable.