Beans and Phytates

Beans contain phytates, which bind up minerals in food and prevent your body from utilizing them. This means they’re not digested and can cause inflammation, bloating, indigestion and gas. The lifestyle changes we have made aim to create an alkaline body because disease can only thrive in an acidic body. We eat anti-inflammatory foods because inflammation is a leading contributing cause to diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Inflammation is a condition that damages healthy tissue, raises blood pressure and can potentially encourage cancer cells to grow. Most diseases such as arthritis, asthma, allergies, cancer, Alzheimer’s diabetes and heart disease, have an underlying basis in inflammation and can be made better or worse based on your diet.

According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, it is not necessary to completely eliminate phytic acid from the diet, only to keep it to acceptable levels. An excess of 800 mg phytic acid per day is probably not a good idea. High-phytate diets result in mineral deficiencies. In populations where cereal grains provide a major source of calories, rickets and osteoporosis are common. (Source)

Recipe Notes

Back to the chili! This is super easy to prepare as far as chili goes. We have a local grocery store that sells fresh organic salsa and I use that in this recipe. If you cannot find a fresh, real salsa, the following tastes great with this recipe. Simply combine all ingredients:

4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt to taste
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (optional)

This recipe also calls for tomato sauce. When purchasing your tomato sauce, make sure the bottle is made of glass or that the can is produced without BPA.  We use Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce, No Salt Added because the lining of their cans are produced without BPA. “The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, or BPA, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Studies show that the BPA in most people’s bodies exceeds the amount that suppresses sperm production or causes chromosomal damage to the eggs of animals. You can get 50 micrograms of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young. Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (which do not need resin linings), such as the brands Eden Organic and Bionaturae. You can also get several types in Tetra Pak boxes, such as Trader Joe’s and Pomi.” http://www.rodale.com/food-ingredients-avoid

Here is a great reference for BPA free canned food brands: http://bpafreecannedfood.wordpress.com/bpa-free-canned-food-brands/
Here is a BPA Canned Food Pocket Guide to take with you to the store: http://bpafreecannedfood.wordpress.com/bpa-free-pocket-guide/

The Breast Cancer Fund and Silent Spring Institute found that BPA levels in families who ate fresh instead of canned or plastic-packaged food for THREE days dropped by 60%!

Grain-Free Naan

We recently discovered a grain-free naan recipe that pairs beautifully with this dish. The recipe comes from the blog My Heart Beets and can be found here. This naan recipe is super easy and only calls for 3 ingredients.

Print

Real Chili

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

WholeFoodRealFood.com

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 3 cups tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups salsa
• 1/4 cup chili seasoning

Instructions

1. Combine ground beef and onion in large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until meat is browned.
3. Drain grease.
4. Add black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa and chili seasoning.
5. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.
6. Enjoy!

Notes:

Purchase grass-fed, organic beef if possible.

Real Chili

2 pounds ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
3 cups tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups salsa
1/4 cup chili seasoning

1. Combine ground beef and onion in large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until meat is browned.
3. Drain grease.
4. Add black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa and chili seasoning.
5. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.
6. Enjoy!

To receive daily health tips and gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and sugar-free meal/snack ideas, like us at www.facebook.com/wholefoodrealfood.

“When you know better, you do better.”