Where Have You Been All My Life?

With our new healthier diet, I found myself searching for sauces, marinades, etc that were "allowed" . After examining most of the sauces that sounded appealing to me, I discovered that most of them were filled with sugar or cheese or some other component that is currently a "no, no" for our family.
Finally, I stumbled across a chimichurri recipe that only required minor tweaking to be acceptable. Preparation was a breeze and it was definitely love at first bite!!!
Not only is this recipe delicious, but it also has some great health benefits. Cilantro is a natural way to detox the body because it binds to the toxic heavy metals and removes them. (read more about this). And garlic has natural antibiotic properties. In fact, studies have shown that eating less than an ounce of garlic a week can help lower your risk of certain types of cancer and a clove per day can lower your cholesterol in as little as four weeks. (Energy Times, March 2000)

Cilantro Chimichurri
Ingredients
6 garlic cloves 

1 cup fresh cilantro
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped white or yellow onion
2 tablespoons unseasoned brown rice vinegar (white wine vinegar may be substitued)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
coarsley ground black pepper to taste 
Directions 
Place garlic in food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add cilantro, parsley, onion, vinegar, oregano and pepper flakes. Add olive oil in a thin stream and process until smooth. Add salt and pepper. Refrigerate, covered, up to 1 week. Makes 1 cup. 

I love the versatility of this sauce. I have used it as a marinade for chicken before grilling, a condiment to top steak, a base for salad dressing, a mix-in for hummus, a topping for turkey meatloaf, and a sauce to add to steamed veggies.. 
My kids even love it, although I have to omit the red pepper flakes for their taste. 

Enjoy!!! 

Egg Buying 101

Our new diet is pretty strict and excludes most of our favorite go-to breakfast items. In the absence of cereal, granola, oatmeal, muffins, etc. we have been turning more and more to the incredible edible egg!
When I approach the egg section in the super market I am presented with a number of options. Hormone Free, Antibiotic-Free, Free-range, Cage-Free, Organic, Vegetarian-fed, Fertile, Added Omega/DHA. So, how to choose?
I've done a little research and I hope my poor attempt to communicate my findings will be helpful.....
First of all, read the fine print. Antibiotic-free will often have an asterisk that further explains that the antibiotics are only used for sick birds.....what they don't mention is that most of the birds are "sick". Don't believe me? Watch Food Inc.
Vegetarian fed might sound good at first, but it typically means corn-fed and raised indoors. Which brings us to "cage-free" I was suprised to discover that cage-free doesn't really mean a whole lot and I actually saw an egg crate that was labeled "free-range*" then when I found the asterisk on the back of the crate it read "chickens are free-roaming in hen house"!!!! Not sure how this is considered "free-range" Chickens are made to eat insects, grubs, worms etc in addition to grain. A true free roaming organic hen will lay eggs that have the proper ratio of omega-3 and omega-6. It's when farmers cage their hens and feed them corn that the egg takes on a less beneficial make-up. Thus, the need to add the Omegas/DHA into the feed in hopes that small amounts make it to the egg.
I recently encountered the "fertile egg". Still not exactly sure how to explain this one. I asked the guy at Trader Joe's and he said "you might find little bird parts in them...chicken embryos" Eeeww!!! Gross!!! No thanks!
So, my hunt for good quality eggs brought me to a small local ranch that has chickens and many other variety of foul that roam freely on 5 acres of land. They eat insects, grubs, etc and are supplemented with an organic chicken feed as well. The yolks are dark, similar to what you might find in an ADDED OMEGA egg in the super market but without the strong taste (in my opinion) And at $3.50/dozen I can't complain!

Farmer's Markets and CSA's are also great places to find real farm fresh eggs.

For all the areas (and I'm sure there are many) that my explanation was lacking, here's a helpful link.

I'd love to start some discussions regarding these posts. And I'm always interested in learning more.

The Purpose

Most of those who know me, know that I love nutrition and it is a big part of my daily life. It is exciting for me to watch the amazing things that happen to the human body when we provide it with the right tools to heal itself. Just further affirmation that we are a product of intelligent design.
That being said, I am often asked for nutritional advice whether it be my opinion on a special diet, how to calm a colicky baby, where to buy fresh produce, when to listen to your MD, when to visit a DC, how to plan meals, making grocery lists, using natural body care products and cleaning supplies, etc.
I, under no circumstances claim to be a doctor. I do, however, enjoy sharing what I have learned, researching new information, and am aspiring to become certified as a nutritional consultant (this latest aspiration is still in the fund-raising mode, hence Sonshine Alley)
On this blog, you can expect to find some of my favorite links, articles, book reviews, helpful hints, recipes, etc. And I always LOVE input!