A Recipe for Energy Production

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to the dilemma of having less than enough energy for your needs. Every person has a different constitution and lifestyle and there is no magic pill, tea, or food that will accomplish this for any majority of people. What you can learn, with the help of an herbalist or a doctor (who is willing to take the time) is where the gaps need to be filled. This could mean including nutrients you've been lacking, removing energy-draining activities/substances from the equation, or supplementing with stimulating and nourishing herbs.

My personal favorite is supplementing your diet with green food. While this approach may seem passive, the effects are notable! While most supplement therapies using isolated nutrients or herbal extracts are very effective-- and have been extensively researched to show so-- they don't act as quickly as whole green food supplementation. Eating raw, green foods everyday will make a difference in the way you feel almost instantly. Herbal supplements typically take a month to produce noticeable effects and can often take up to three or six. Supplements, especially low-quality varieties, may never produce noticeable energy-boosting qualities. This is not to say that dietary supplements don't have their place and time. My point is that raw, fresh greens are the first and preferred method of ensuring proper basic nutrients for energy production.

I like to regard medicinal herbs and green leafy produce as phytonutrient super-packs. They include some of the most nutrient-dense foods readily and financially available to most people: spinach, kale, parsley, cilantro, dandelion greens, collards, mustard greens, swiss chard, etc.

When you ingest them as food, that is, fresh and raw you are enriching your diet (and your palate) with vital nutrients. These Vital Nutrients are minimum requirements for proper energy production. They include magnesium, phosphorous, CoQ10, potassium, iron, sulfur, copper-- all readily available in green foods. Every cell in the human body requires these minerals and elements in trace amounts. Microscopic, seemingly insignificant amounts of these molecules are necessary for the cells to produce that which gives energy at all to maintain life--ATP! If these needs aren't met, you're lacking. This is when you begin to drag, feel loss of energy, inability to concentrate.

Now, metabolism is a complex, dynamic and intangible process. It is so much more than the chemical reactions, physiological reactions, and raw materials that are involved. It operates subtly, and our bodies are constantly learning and unlearning how to cope and use what we give it. Our bodies are homeostatic, which means that it is constantly maintaining vital functions even as variables change-- such as what we eat, or how much sleep we get or if we're a new parent. We learn to make the required amount of ATP to function in the life we live, even to the extremes.

Many of us just aren't getting enough of the building blocks for those processes. So, we operate in a sub-prime state if we aren't maximizing nutrient intake and maximizing energy production. So, this basically means if we've taught ourselves to live off of cheeseburgers and french fries, 4 hours of sleep, and immutable amounts of stress you get through your day with your heart beating, lungs pumping and legs moving, but probably with fatigue, a bad attitude, or worse.

Green foods come with all kinds of other perks, too. They build blood, they contain enzymes, they regulate blood sugar, they can regulate digestion, they are pretty to look at. They're fun to get to know.

I encourage anyone to experiment and challenge yourself to a week or a month of eating one leafy green every day and really try to carry this on as a lifelong habit. Here is my current favorite recipe:

Simple Tabbouleh

2 or more bunches of flat leaf or curly parsley
1 tomato
1 cucumber, seeds removed
4 green onions
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
Handful of chopped nuts-- walnuts, pecans, or pine nuts are best

Juice from one lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

Rinse parsley thoroughly and remove slimy or yellowed leaves. No need to trim the stems much, they have plenty of green goodness in them, too, they're just a little crunchier! Chop all produce finely and toss together in a bowl. Whisk oil and lemon juice separately and add to greens, slowly. Mix together and allow to chill for 30 minutes.

Tips from the Kitchen:

• Parsley is often pretty muddy, so please rinse it thoroughly!

• Add a handful of mint for a fresh boost of flavor.

• Substitute bulgur wheat for nuts if you're not gluten sensitive. And don't include the nuts if you have nut allergies, of course.

• This is a very basic recipe with a lot of room for experimenting. Add berries and substitute olive oil for honey! Or add extra garlic and jalapeno for a spicy garnish.

• Be sure your fridge isn't set to too low a temperature. Frozen tabbouleh is irredeemable! :(

Whole Foods (not the grocery store)

I recently pledged to this challenge at Eating Rules, called October: Unprocessed. The gist is to challenge yourself to a month without eating processed foods. Wilder goes on to explain what he means by processed, and it's a pretty inclusive definition: anything you can't make in your kitchen. Now, that would not be how we'd define it in this household, because we eat a lot of tofu. So, he encourages those taking the pledge to make their own exceptions, too. Although, the closer you stick to that basic rule, the more likely it is that you'll be sticking to what I encourage as a year-round rule -- eating a whole food diet.

At our house, I've begun to use the term "Nu Era Botanicals Approved" meal.  I apply this to other things (often to try to be funny), but it basically goes like so:

Poached eggs, served over spinach and tomatoes with turmeric, sea salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar?

That's a Nu Era Botanicals Approved breakfast!

It's approved because the bulk of the ingredients are whole foods, as opposed to parts of foods. To make an example of high-fructose corn syrup, (because let's face it, it's easy) all that it is is the isolated sugar found in corn. Corn, as a whole food would never taste that sweet or cause the major spike in blood-sugar levels that HFCS does.

When you realize this you can begin to regard whole foods as the moderators of our consumption. After all, isn't this the one rule everyone can agree on when it comes to the way we should eat-- everything in moderation?

Now, I wouldn't say everything. There are some things out there that should be avoided entirely and this is where the second word in my whole foods philosophy comes in. If you're eating it, it should be food. Trans fats, aspartame, MSG, any kind of food coloring, pesticides, and genetically-modified organisms are not food.

I love to share this list because it's a great jumping off point. You can build many a meal off of the Clean 15 list, especially if you're handy with a rice-cooker (or can cook rice on the stove like my talented boyfriend), and they are all whole foods!

It's also especially handy because it doesn't require you to make room in your budget for organic foods, though jumping into that game is absolutely Nu Era Botanicals approved!