Raving About Brad’s Raw Chips

Brad’s Raw Foods

Brads Raw Chips rock. End Of. When i first read about Brad’s inspiring life changing weight-loss story and the creation of unique raw chips I just knew i had to review them!!  Like many people after transitioning to a raw diet Brad found that he missed crunchy, crispy snacks to fill the gaps in between meals. Crunchy snacks are usually fried or baked and contain little nutritional value so how and what could a raw foodie do? The answer- to dehydrate the chips & crackers below 115′ thus preserving their active raw enzymes & super food nutrients.

                                 www.bradsrawchips.com

Brad’s box of raw love arrived on my UK door step and since then I have been munching my way through names such as ‘vampire killer‘ kale chips, ‘Nasty hot‘ kale chips, ‘Nacho vegan cheese‘ kale chips, Sun-dried tomato flax crackers, and ‘Hot red bell pepper’ buckwheat crackers.

I first investigated ‘Naked Kale‘ as I wanted to taste the pure kale chip flavours. The moorish air light chips pack a crunch far better than any corn chips. WARNING! Once opened you may loose control of your senses and it real hard to close that lid!  My computer keyboard bears the evidence of a kale chip feast and as I type this Im brushing off the remains of a kale party.But whats so nutritionally satisfying about kale?

The Nutritional Low Down On Kale 

• Kale is very versatile and nutritious green leafy vegetable. It is widely recognized as an incredibly nutritious vegetable since ancient Greek and Roman times for its low fat, no cholesterol but health benefiting anti-oxidant properties.
• Kale, like other members of the brassica family, contains health-promoting phytochemicals,sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol that are appears to protect against prostate and colon cancers.
• Di-indolyl-methane (DIM), a metabolite of indole-3-carbinol has been found to be an effective immune modulator, anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent through its action of potentiating “Interferon-Gamma” receptors.
• Borecole is very rich source of ß-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. These flavonoids have strong anti-oxidant and anti-cancer activities. Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body.
• Zeaxanthin, an important dietary carotenoid, is selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it is thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions. Thus, it helps prevent retinal detachment and offers protection against “age related macular degeneration disease” (ARMD) in the elderly.
• It is very rich in vitamin A, 100 g leaves provide 512% of RDA. Vitamin A is required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin and is essential for vision. Foods rich in this vitamin offer protection against lung and oral cavity cancers.
• It is one of the excellent vegetable sources for vitamin-K; 100 g provides about 700% of recommended intake. Vitamin K has potential role bone health by promoting osteotrophic (bone formation and strengthening) activity. Adequate vitamin-K levels in the diet helps limiting neuronal damage in the brain; thus, has established role in the treatment of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
• 100 g of fresh leaves contain 120 mg or 200% of daily-recommended levels of vitamin C. Scottish curly leaf variety yet has more of this vitamin, 130 mg/100g. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, which helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals.
• This leafy vegetable is notably good in many B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, vit.B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, pantothenic acid, etc that are essential for substrate metabolism in the body.
• It is also rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering effects of sodium. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is required for cellular oxidation and red blood cell formation.

Kale provides rich nutrition ingredients that offer protection from vitamin A deficiency, osteoporosis, iron deficiency anemia, and believed to protect from cardiovascular diseases and, colon and prostate cancers.

Dehydrating the kale keeps all the above in tact, Brad then adds crushed cashews, sunflower seeds, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, & Himalayan crystal salt. The chips are such a delicious light crispy texture I’ve never tasted anything like them. The nuts & seeds allow for a lovely flavoured coating and also increase protein content and add essential fats and vitamin e. The next flavourite of mine is ‘natural nacho vegan cheese’ kale chips that satisfies your cheesy cravings and is great sprinkled over  salads, raw pizza etc.  The ‘Nasty Hot’ is jalapeño fiery & has a very Mexican flavour but remember to wash your hands after eating or you could go blind. Within my generous sample box was also crackers of two varieties, ‘Red Bell Pepper buckwheat‘ & ‘Sun dried Tomato flax‘ crackers. These crackers are very filling and high in protein and super energy sustaining.  They are versatile and are excellent with dips, like hummus, raw salsa, mayo, etc…. You can also make mini bruchetta by adding veg on top.

chips n dips

There are other tantalising varieties such as sweet potato,Indian Spice and beet flavour crackers. All available to order on line at the company website.

Brad used his love of  local organic sustainable farming, raw foods,passion for health and new found raw energy to come up with an ingeniously health preserving way of making a crunchy snack. He has created two kinds of snack: kale chips & crackers. Flavoured by cashew nuts, flax seeds,garlic, lemon,buckwheat, sweet potato, beet,Indian spice, jalapeño chilli, red bell pepper and many other wonderful herbs he dehydrates the snacks below 115′ so that the healthy active  enzymes and digestive  nutrient are preserved in this crunchy raw snack.

What I particularly love is Brad’s approach. He uses local, fresh readily available ingredients dehydrates them without messin with nature and then presents them all in a clear re-sealable green pouch/tray box that has an easily readable label and a lovely personal Brad bio on the back. You are invited to join his facebook page and twitter and read the company blog theworldofraw.blogspot.com. 

By buying this product you will also be supporting a company that’s ethos is clean & green. Using local grown kale and other veg means that the carbon footprint is reduced, local farming business is supported and community is enriched. The ethos from seed to chip is ethical & beneficial.  How refreshing to have a company who’s soul is not simply money motivated but rather gives back on so many levels putting profit after peace n love.

Brad planting the seeds of creation

The company is based in Bucks County, PA, U.S.A and has become a social hub for the local eco-concious clean living locals. There are regular events, workshops, talks, community meetings and

Since 2011 Brad’s chips www.bradsrawchips.com   have  been making there way all over the globe including the U.K. They have been endorsed by super food experts such as David Wolfe, Amy Levin. Whole Foods stores around the world stock them &  Organic Avenue in the U.S is a big fan. They are also stocked by a large range of independent health shops.

As well as being MD of the company Brad is also a Lifestyle Coach and has raw retreats and workshops at the company’s community  space. For more info and to book go to the company website.

A true expert & pioneer of healthy raw living Brad Gruno gets the rawfood seal of approval and we thank-you for adding crunch to our health concious lives. I am so grateful for your help in making this review possible & want to spread the word in the U.K about these amazing products. One day I hope to visit the home of Brad’s Raw Foods and drink a green smoothie or two with Mr Gruno & his community.

Namaste.

Lucie Nutri Fit.

Spice up your winter and beat the bugs….

Winter Spice tonics….for medicinal use…

Here are 5 amazing spices/herbs that can help you banish the winter blues and fight colds,flu and infection while improving your circulation,so keeping you warmer!!

MEDICINAL USE OF GINGER

Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) was one of several valued spices that was traded on the spice routes out of Asia and ended up in Medieval Europe. Ginger is used for both culinary and medicinal purposes. The medicinal part of ginger is extracted from the rhizome root of the small, perennial herb. Medicinally, ginger has been used in Arabic, Indian and Asian traditional medicine for centuries

Some of the medicinal uses of ginger include:

• nausea and vomiting – including pregnancy related nausea and travel sickness
• indigestion
• arthritis
• rheumatism
• catarrh.

MEDICINAL USES OF NUTMEG

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is another of the spices that is frequently used in culinary dishes. The nutmeg tree, which grows up to 65 feet in height, produces seeds that, once dried, are used for medicinal purposes. Nutmeg is primarily used for digestive complaints (such as nausea, indigestion and flatulence) but other medicinal uses of nutmeg include:

• arthritis
• rheumatism
• bacterial infections.

MEDICINAL USES OF CINNAMON

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), an ancient Eastern traditional medicine, has various parts that can be used for medicinal purposes (however, see cautions below). Both the leaves and the bark of the tropical cinnamon tree are used for medicinal purposes. Cinnamon has the following medicinal uses:

• digestive complaints
• colds and flu nervous
• exhaustion
• rheumatism diabetes – clinical studies show that the use of cinnamon is valuable to regulating blood sugar levels in people who suffer from diabetes

MEDICINAL USES OF CLOVE

The clove plant (Eugenia caryophyllus) also produces various parts that are used for medicinal purposes; the buds, leaves and stalks of the tropical, evergreen tree are all used in traditional medicine (however, see cautions below). Use clove for the following medicinal uses:

• digestive complaints such as nausea and dyspepsia
• asthma
• colds and flu
• acne
• as an insect repellent.

MEDICINAL USES OF BLACK PEPPER

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) has been used for over 4,000 years in traditional medicine. According to Lawless, Indian monks used to swallow between 7 and 9 grains of pepper a day to help them maintain the endurance needed to walk the daily distances that they covered. The seeds (or dried berries) of the perennial pepper vine are used for medicinal purposes; these include:

• arthritis
• poor circulation
• nausea
• flatulence
• heartburn
• colds and flu
• colic.

CAUTIONS FOR USING SPICES FOR MEDICINAL USES

Spices are used in various formats for medicinal purposes; for example, they might be used as an essential oil in aromatherapy or as actual plant parts in herbal medicine. The way in which they are used will dictate which part of the plant should be used and how. Plants are chemically composed in different ways, depending on whether they are used as an oil or in whole parts (and different parts of the plant are also composed differently).

Several of the spices mentioned in this article (in particular, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon) are made up of what can be described as “hazardous” chemical components. You need to understand the plant profile of each spice and when and how it can (or cannot) be used. This is particularly important if you are pregnant, breast feeding, a child, are taking certain prescribed medications or have a medical condition. Consult a qualified health care practitioner for further advice.

Chocolate should be raw and natural

The smell is seriously sexy, the texture can be silky smooth or chunky but whatever the size, shape or texture we cant get enough of the stuff! As a nation we are addicted to the stuff, with each of us consuming about 10kg a year – more than any other Europeans. The ancient Mayans and Aztec tribes of Mexico knew the healing properties of chocolate long ago and used Raw chocolate beans to cure many ills.

What is RAW chocolate?

The shift to organic, fair trade and higher cocoa varieties over the past five years may have lessened our favourite treat food’s impact on the world, its people, and our waistlines. But now there’s a new type of chocolate on the block and it looks set to further raise the bar for green and healthy confectionary.

Producers of this kind of chocolate are expecting interest in it to far exceed the hype around the goji berry last year.
They say what they’re offering tastes superior and will appeal to the rapidly growing number of people interested in living a more natural lifestyle.

This is raw chocolate: the bean, or nib of the bean, in its natural state – not cooked, over-processed or mixed with a vat of cheap filler ingredients. It’s also known as cacao and is being fused with coconut butter or agave syrup, as well as berries and nuts, to create confectionary. No vegetable fat, milk or sugar goes near it and, importantly, it isn’t heated above 42C, the point at which nutrients start to die.

“Cacao was never meant to be a candy bar loaded with rubbish – it is a powerful, healing, alchemical ingredient,” says Richard Turner, founder of the Raw Chocolate Shop.

Indeed, cacao is a very complex foodstuff with more than 300 chemically identifiable compounds. It is said to be significantly richer in antioxidant flavanols than green tea, red wine or acai, and contains protein, fats, calcium, iron, carotene, thiamine and riboflavine.
As with a lot of ‘superfoods’, it doesn’t come cheap at around £2.50 for 40g. But Kate Wood, director of Brighton-based Raw Living, argues: “the taste and experience is more intensely chocolaty, so you need less to satisfy you”.

Raw pioneer

The raw community is at the forefront of the move away from processed foods, and it is a member of that community, known as Shazzie, who is credited with bringing raw chocolate to the UK three years ago.

“The thing about raw chocolate is that it tastes amazing and it’s good for you”, says Shazzie, the 38-year-old author of Naked Chocolate and MD of a company called Detox Your World. “Every week there are news stories on the benefits of chocolate and they are right, but conventional chocolate has had the life and nutrients cooked out of it. Even dark chocolate has nowhere near the nutritional profile of raw cacao.”

natural cocao pods

The raw chocolate makers predict their wares will become huge in Britain this year. A few are in the process of acquiring larger premises for the increase in business they’ve had just in the last few months. And for the first time this year you will spot raw chocolate mini eggs and bunnies at health food shops, including Fresh & Wild.

“A couple of years ago we started buying about 100 kilos of cacao each month. Now we’re ordering five tonnes at a time and we need much more space to work in to keep up with demand,” explains Shazzie.

Producing the raw chocolate is far less energy intensive than making normal chocolate. The packaging used is also very minimal and the labels are made from recycled paper.

All of the raw chocolate companies are working with South American cooperatives, mostly in Peru or Ecuador, which are part of fair trade organisations. Shazzie supplies a handful of UK companies as well as making her own products. She works with the EcoAndino farmers, who are members of the Fair Trade Federation.
A number of raw chocolate companies also have accreditation from the Organic Farmers & Growers Association.

Pumpkins are a great winter tonic…..

Health benefits of Pumpkin

It is one of the vegetables which is very low calories; provides just 26 cal per 100 g and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; but is rich a source of dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins. Recommended by dieticians in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.

Pumpkin is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E.

beta-carotene rich pumpkins in full bloom.....

With 7384 mg per 100 g, it is one of the vegetable in the cucurbitaceae family with highest levels of vitamin-A, providing about 246% of RDA. Vitamin A is a powerful natural anti-oxidant and is required by body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucus membranes. It is also an essential vitamin for vision. Research studies suggest that natural foods rich in vitamin A helps body protect against lung and oral cavity cancers.