April, 2020 - Spirituality & Health

Denver Diner Pizza Recipe

April 11, 2020

If you are a fan of diner-style Denver omelets, you will fall in love with this pizza. It is topped with ham, tomato, sweet bell peppers, two cheeses, and sunny-side up eggs. It’s not only loaded with yummy toppings, it also looks very impressive when you serve it. You won’t find this pizza option at many restaurants.

INGREDIENTS

Recommended crust: 14-ounce American-style
1/2 cup Bechamel sauce
1/2 cup diced ham
1/2 cup diced tomato
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella
5 or 6 raw eggs

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 1 (12- to 14-inch) pizza

PREPARATION

Roll dough out into a 12- to 14-inch crust with a thicker outer edge. Place on a pizza peel well dusted with cornmeal. Brush on Bechamel sauce, then top with ham, tomato, onion, and peppers. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese on top, then the mozzarella.

Bake on a pizza stone in a preheated 500 F oven for 3 minutes—just long enough to get the mozzarella to begin to melt. Spray the bottom of a cup or glass with non-stick spray and press five or six divots into the half-melted cheese.

Crack an egg into each divot. Carefully slide back into the oven and bake until eggs are over-easy.

To serve, bring the pizza out to the table whole, so your family and friends can appreciate its unusual appearance. Then stir the yolks and whites together and spread over the top of the entire pizza, salt and pepper the whole mess, and cut it into squares.

Yield: 1 (12- to 14-inch) pizza

One warning: If your oven doesn’t cook evenly, be sure to rotate the pizza once or twice during the baking period, or you could end up with hard-cooked eggs on one side and runny on the other. Also, the eggs will still jiggle back and forth quite a bit even when over-easy, so be careful not to overcook them. Just make sure all the whites are opaque and you should be just fine in terms of texture and food safety.

For more awesome pizza ideas, click here.…

Soy Superb for Cardiovascular Health?

April 5, 2020

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It’s well known that for those wishing to increase muscle, not all protein is equal. Far more important than the total amount of protein we eat is the quality of the protein, it’s amino acid profile and the “biological value” – the factors that determine how the protein is used in the body. The properties of a protein due to its un-denatured natural shape may also have certain effects on the body. Milk proteins are known to be the best for bulk, consistently beating soy. However, in this study authors compared the effects of soy and milk protein supplementation on lipids (fats) and lipoproteins (fatty carrier molecules) compared with carbohydrate among 352 healthy in a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial.

Subjects were assigned to 40 g/day supplementation of soy protein, milk protein or complex carbohydrate from wheat each for 8 weeks in random order with a 3-week washout period between interventions.

Perhaps surprisingly, soy protein came out on top, improving cholesterol profiles significantly more than milk or carbohydrate. Previous research has suggested that soy may mimic estrogen and as such exacerbate certain cancers, while compared to milk proteins it’s always second-best for muscle growth. However, this trial indicates that soy protein may surpass other supplements for cholesterol-lowering properties…

“Effect of soy and milk protein supplementation on serum lipid levels: a randomized controlled trial,” Wofford MR, Rebholz CM, et al, Eur J Clin Nutr, 2011 Sep 28 [Epub ahead of print].

Start ‘em young! Fish oils for tiny immune subsystems may help wrap up your immune system for winter!

How young is too young for omega-3 supplements? Well, as the fetus’ brain develops in the womb, before an infant’s brain continues to grow throughout the first 2 years of life, supporting a healthy essential fatty acid intake can’t start too early. Supplementing a nursing mother will also benefit the child via enriching her breast-milk.

In this trial, researchers studied 60 pregnant women, half of whom were randomly assigned to receive 400 mg/day DHA from the 12th week of gestation until the 4th month after birth. This is the component of fish-oils that makes up the membranes of nerve cells, as well as immune cells. The other 30 received no treatment or placebo.

All mothers consumed a diet supposedly sufficient in DHA content.

At age 4-months, infants’ blood was tested for the contents of immune cells. Immune cells known as CD4+ lymphocytes were analyzed – these “helper cells” are essential in combining with other immune cells that engulf invaders or produce antibodies.

Although they did not differ between groups, their precursor “naive cells” were found to be significantly higher in infants in the supplemented group. A marker of inflammatory stress (IFNg) was also significantly lower in the supplemented group.

DHA supplementation may improve immunological response in infants, although the results of this study are far from concrete!

What is certain is that looking after the immune function of the mother and children is essential for supporting a child’s development. Why not take a look at some of our immune boosters as we head into winter!?

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