Ultra Simple Diet

[annp]

So, I am thinking of buying a food processor and I'm curious if any of you use one. I spend about a half an hour preparing veggies for the broth and last night my hand was aching a bit when I finished. I have a great knife to cut with, but I wonder if there is a quicker and less painful way of going about this. This is the food processor I'm looking at right now: _http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DLC-10S-Classic-7-Cup-Processor/dp/B00004S9EM/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I23G2M8V1EUMG0&colid=12CWDOUXATWBD

I have an older model - and I cannot imagine being without it!! I use it constantly for chopping onions and celery as well as slicing or shredding vegetables. i also make my own mayonnaise because i cannot find a store brand that does not have nasty ingredients.

It is also wonderful for soups that require blending/pureeing after you cook the vegetables. i could go on and on...but it's one of those things that is really helpful - IF you put it to use. Yes, it requires washing - which is more annoying than washing a single knife - but it is SO worth it!!

Edit: I forgot to add that is is wonderful for making pesto - I have made a lot of cilantro pesto to use for mercury detox. Also for making hummus - i just keep thinking of more and more things! Quite a useful appliance!

 

[Nathan]

Is the cilantro pesto a recommended food for mercury detox?

I'm guessing you'd have to omit the serrano chile peppers from the recipe or else it's hello and welcome to Inflammation City, population 6.8 billion!

 

[annp]

Is the cilantro pesto a recommended food for mercury detox?

I'm guessing you'd have to omit the serrano chile peppers from the recipe or else it's hello and welcome to Inflammation City, population 6.8 billion!

Cilantro and chlorella are both good for mercury detox. I use a recipe similar to this - actually you can substitute cilantro in any recipe for pesto. However, most of them call for Parmesan cheese and I leave that out because of the dairy restrictions. Most recipes i have seen do not call for Serrano peppers - so that should not be a problem. i try to take more chlorella when i am eating the cilantro as the chlorella helps to rid the mercury from the body once the cilantro has pulled it from the cells.

Here is a basic recipe - adjust to your taste..

Makes about 1¼ cup

1 bunch fresh cilantro, rinsed and dried (approximately 3 cups, loosely packed)
½ cup pine nuts or walnuts or a mixture of both
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste

Place nuts, garlic in food processor and process for 30 seconds. Add cilantro, salt and lemon or lime juice. While processor is running, drip olive oil through the top opening and process until pesto is finely pureed. I keep in a small jar in the refrigerator - i usually finish eating it within a few days as i put it on everything until it is gone! Love it!

 

[Gonzo]

Food processors? Couldn't live (comfortably) without one. We have a couple older ones. My favorite one is about 10 years old and is rather small. It has two different sized containers, depending on the size of the job. I use the smaller one for chopping onions or a small amount of veggies for an omelet. The larger container is really handy for chopping larger amounts of veggies, purées for soups, fruit, berries, etc.

Many moons ago, before my mother bought her first food processor (1980s Moulinex) she had a blender that had a chop setting. It worked pretty good for the times when you wanted to dice a bunch of veggies.

I have a blender but use it mostly for jobs with lots of liquid (yummy smoothies) but the food processors sure come in handy.

There are so many makes and models, I'd suggest searching on the web for "reviews"+"food processors". Not only will you get a good idea of what's hot and what's not, you'll also learn about why they are so great, especially when you check out all the different blades and accessories some come with.

Man, I think I could spend more time in a kitchen gadget store than in a rural hardware store.

Gonzo

 

[Laura]

Man, I think I could spend more time in a kitchen gadget store than in a rural hardware store.

Gonzo

I second that! And the kitchen gadget store here has such cool things!

As for the food processor, yeah, don't know how I lived without one all those years before they were invented! It's especially useful now with so many to cook for at one time. I use it mostly for slicing large piles of carrots and onions, for shredding cabbage, and recently, for slicing 150 pounds of cucumbers to make bread and butter pickles.

 

[Thor]

As for the food processor, yeah, don't know how I lived without one all those years before they were invented! It's especially useful now with so many to cook for at one time. I use it mostly for slicing large piles of carrots and onions, for shredding cabbage, and recently, for slicing 150 pounds of cucumbers to make bread and butter pickles.

That sounds like over time for even the hardiest of food processors!

 

[Jacques]

Man, I think I could spend more time in a kitchen gadget store than in a rural hardware store.

Gonzo

I second that! And the kitchen gadget store here has such cool things!

I third that !

As for the food processor, yeah, don't know how I lived without one all those years before they were invented! It's especially useful now with so many to cook for at one time. I use it mostly for slicing large piles of carrots and onions, for shredding cabbage, and recently, for slicing 150 pounds of cucumbers to make bread and butter pickles.

Same thing for me. I have a Bamix and a Thermomix and I just like them. So fast and so useful. I use one of them every day and quite often both the same day.

 

[RedFox]

Man, I think I could spend more time in a kitchen gadget store than in a rural hardware store.

Gonzo

I second that! And the kitchen gadget store here has such cool things!

I third that !

I forth that!
We have some pretty neat kitchen shops here fortunately (not that I can afford half the stuff!) but it sure does get your mind going as to what you can cook.
I've only got a blender, but made sure that it was made with glass instead of plastic and its pretty heavy duty (2lites).
A good food processor is next on my list of kitchen items to get.....hmm maybe I'll request one for Christmas! :D

 

[Gonzo]

I'm reluctant to carry on the kitchen gadget theme within the USD thread, but, since it speaks to food preparation, which is oh-so important to facilitating USD...

I was thinking about the gadgets that are replaced by a food processor, things like the grater/shredder and the mandolin,and there are many. I propose the following:

Whereas, if the power grid ever fails and the wind turbines and solar panels we dream of someday owning, never materialize, making the manual practical items the food processor replaced appear essential and;

Whereas the time savings the processor offers is immense;

Be it resolved we develop a bicycle/belt-driven, Gilligan's Island-style method of connecting to a food processor.

Gonzo

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Thanks so much for your input, everyone! This week I tried to slice carrots and onions in my Vitamix 5000 blender, but they didn't chop evenly even though I think I followed the directions correctly. Slicing in the blender just doesn't seem as efficient as I imagine a food processor would be. I have been reading reviews and the comments on here and now I'm very excited to buy one!!

I can't believe the eczema on my finger pads has actually been going away too now since I started this diet. My fingertips have been rough, dry and cracking for years!! The backs of my hands are softer than I can remember them ever being and I hardly put lotion on them anymore!! I feel so happy now that I am on this diet, taking 5-HTP, etc..:D So, so happy...:)

I'm reluctant to carry on the kitchen gadget theme within the USD thread, but, since it speaks to food preparation, which is oh-so important to facilitating USD...

I was thinking about the gadgets that are replaced by a food processor, things like the grater/shredder and the mandolin,and there are many. I propose the following:

Whereas, if the power grid ever fails and the wind turbines and solar panels we dream of someday owning, never materialize, making the manual practical items the food processor replaced appear essential and;

Whereas the time savings the processor offers is immense;

Be it resolved we develop a bicycle/belt-driven, Gilligan's Island-style method of connecting to a food processor.

Gonzo

Getting exercise while preparing a healthy meal sounds like a good invention to me! ;D

 

[Mrs. Peel]

We have some pretty neat kitchen shops here fortunately (not that I can afford half the stuff!) but it sure does get your mind going as to what you can cook.
I've only got a blender, but made sure that it was made with glass instead of plastic and its pretty heavy duty (2lites).
A good food processor is next on my list of kitchen items to get.....hmm maybe I'll request one for Christmas! :D

I've only got a blender too, it's a Kitchenaid and was not cheap (the Mister got it for me for Xmas last year), with a heavy glass "jar." And guess what? It cracked within a couple months. Must have been some tough frozen strawberries in one of my ultrashakes!

So many choices for food processors, it's overwhelming...

 

[clearmiddle]

Thanks so much for your input, everyone!

When I made my first batch of broth I chopped the vegetables very thoroughly using my food processor. Then I went back and read the instructions in the UltraSimple Diet book and it said "cut them into large chunks so you can fit them in the pot."

For the second batch I washed the vegetables and chopped each item with a few quick chops. It was faster, and a chopping knife is much quicker to clean than a food processor. And the second batch tasted just as good.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

So many choices for food processors, it's overwhelming...

Hey, check out these links:

_http://www.badplastics.com/bpa-free-food-processors.html

_http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/bpa-pvc-and-phthalates-in-food-processors-and-blenders

_http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/updated-info-on-bpa-phthalates-and-pvc-in-hamilton-beach-blenders-and-food-/

According to these sites my Vitamix 5000 blender has BPA in it... :O Hmm, maybe I will look into getting a Hamilton Beach food processor then. They appear to have weaker motors than the Cuisinart ones, but most don't contain BPA and they still have great reviews.

When I made my first batch of broth I chopped the vegetables very thoroughly using my food processor. Then I went back and read the instructions in the UltraSimple Diet book and it said "cut them into large chunks so you can fit them in the pot."
For the second batch I washed the vegetables and chopped each item with a few quick chops. It was faster, and a chopping knife is much quicker to clean than a food processor. And the second batch tasted just as good.

Thanks for the reminder on this, Megan! I remember reading this too, but I've since theorized that more nutrients would be extracted from the veggies if I cut them into smaller pieces. I can find no research online to either back up or discredit my theory so perhaps it doesn't really make a difference..?

 

[Thor]

Thanks for the reminder on this, Megan! I remember reading this too, but I've since theorized that more nutrients would be extracted from the veggies if I cut them into smaller pieces. I can find no research online to either back up or discredit my theory so perhaps it doesn't really make a difference..?

Scarlet,
Reading you post reminded me of claims made by Vitamix blenders that I was looking at when on a raw-food diet. I don't know if you were thinking along these lines?

In the Vitamix marketing material it is claimed that

"... Most nutrients are trapped inside the cell walls of whole foods.
Your body cannot absorb them.
Certain nutrients are released only when cell walls are ruptured.
Simply chewing or extracting juice from whole foods does not rupture cell walls.
The VitaMix 5000 ruptures cell walls and releases these nutrients"

There is also a graphic that illustrates that only 1/3 of the nutrients in whole foods or juiced whole foods are made available to you while preparing food with a VitaMix gives you 100% of the nutrients.


The following VitaMix friendly article can be found here: http://wholefoodandmore.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/vita-mix-may-increase-bioavailability-in-food-study/

Breakthrough research — fresh from the University of Toronto

A recent study from the University of Toronto determined that the Vita-Mix processing method does indeed alter plant cell wall structure in a unique way, influence particle size differently, and may increase bioavailability.

What does this mean to you? You can only get the benefits of food when cell walls are broken to release the trapped nutrients. Chewing may only release a portion of these nutrients as shown by these lab micrographs. Vita-Mix processing power breaks open more cell walls which may release MORE of these nutrients.


Both chewed and Vita-Mix-processed plant tissue samples were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. The scanned results above show the difference in plant cell wall structure and resulting particle size.

A 2003 study conducted by Gene Spiller, PhD, CNS, FACN at Health Research and Studies Center in Los Altos, California involved plasma ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) and Carotenoid studies. The comparison of mean peak values to fasting values showed an increase in nutrient levels for subjects consuming Vita-Mix processed rather than raw fruits and vegetables. The results of the study suggest that parts of whole foods that are not normally consumed, but can be prepared in the Vita-Mix machine (i.e. stems, seeds, strawberry tops and pineapple core), can contribute to a higher intake of antioxidants if prepared in a way that makes these parts more digestible.

To sum it up, whole foods have it all–but teeth can’t cut through food fiber to deliver all the nutrition trapped inside their cell walls, particularly the nutrient-rich skins and seeds. When whole foods are simply chewed, lots of nutrients are tossed out as inedible or they pass through the body undigested. Again, great news for everyone who owns a Vita-Mix 5200: You get more fiber, more flavor and more nutrition than you thought possible when you make whole food meals in your Vita-Mix machine.

However, as you boil the vegetables for a long time for the broth, I believe that all the nutrients go into the broth so it is not as relevant here. On the other hands there might be gains if the food is less prepared.

 

[Gonzo]

I have wondered about maximizing bioavailability in food.

I don't know enough about our chemistry but understand we can only absorb so much nutrients and anything beyond that point of maximum absorption is excreted. So even though the food has more available nutrients, at what point is it, er, pointless?

Of course, in this era of vegetables having significantly less nutrition than they had a few decades ago (unless we eat heritage or heirloom varieties), the more we can get out of them the better.

Gonzo