Healthy AF Enchiladas

The Homemade Saucy Sauce

1 tablespoon water

1 cup onion, diced

3 sun-dried tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2-1 tsp dried thyme

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (I like the Fire Roasted diced tomatoes from Muir Glen – no salt added)

1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)

The Enchiladas

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small yellow onion, chopped

3/4 pound baby bella or button mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup diced jalapeño peppers (or for V mild version, use poblanos)

3 cups kale, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

1 1/2 cups corn kernels

10 6-inch organic corn tortillas (I used masienda brand – just corn, lime, water)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

avocado on avocado on avocado

Steps:

To make the enchilada sauce, heat water in a medium skillet or pot. Saute onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes

Add the chili powder, cumin, thyme, tomatoes, and maple syrup

Transfer sauce to a blender or food processor, and blend till smooth. Add a little water to adjust the consistency as you wish. Set sauce aside till you’re ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp water (have some handy to add if burns off). Saute onion and garlic till onion is translucent. Add mushrooms and cook until liquid has been released and evaporated.

Add the chilis to the pot and give them a stir. Add the kale and allow it to wilt slightly. Add the cumin, sea salt (optional), black beans, corn, and quinoa. Continue heating mixture until it’s completely warm and well mixed.

In the bottom of a casserole dish, spread a thin layer of the enchilada sauce. Place about a quarter cup mushroom and quinoa mixture in the center of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla up and place it into the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Cover them all with a layer of enchilada sauce and bake for 25 minutes. Top the enchiladas with chopped cilantro, avocado, and pumpkin seeds, and idk. More corn because noooom!!!

Also, squeeze a lime on there and, call me crazy, but I put a little cinnamon on mine and it was off the charts

So.. why is this recipe so generally disease reversing?

No Salt: although 0 calories, it is a super processed white powder (aka crack cocaine) that causes responses in the brain to make us not only want to eat more, but that makes wholesome food taste less flavorful. Cut the salt, and all of a sudden, celery, cilantro, avocado and lime dance on your tongue like a tap dancer in times square. Flavors so very exciting, no white powder added. Plus plus, high sodium intake has been shown to decrease calcium absorption / utilization. That ain’t good!!! Also also. Sodium is important. This is different than salt. Naturally occurring sodium is sufficiently found in wholesome plant foods like the veggies I mentioned a second ago. No stimulants needed. Excess sodium causes water retention, causing blood volume to increase, leading to high blood pressure, strokes, heart disease, etc.

No Oil: Talk about caloric density. Not many foods are more calories per pound than oil… are any foods more calorie per pound?? Just a tiny bit of oil adds a lot of calories with not much benefit. All it really does is make you eat more calories than you’re designed to eat plus make you want to eat more. The fat from the avocado and pumpkin seeds is fantastic. You got fiber and zinc and fresh phytochemicals and antioxidants. Avocado oil and pumpkin oil?? Mmm I’ll pass.

Nutrient Dense: Self explanatory. Every calorie is full of nutrition. Helping you to feel calm, balanced, satisfied, energized, clear headed.. not to mention beautiful bowel movements. Which is actually a huge fricken deal these days. If there’s a magazine rack in your bathroom… call me!!! You need help!!!

Intact Grains: Ok, obvi the tortillas are made of corn flour, which is not intact. The quinoa tho- that’s good stuff. And the tortillas I used were just 3 ingredients: non-gmo corn, lime, and water. That’s all you need. No gums, oils, preservatives, or fortified etc etc. Keep it simple. The more whole the better.

Beans: Resistant starch is liiife. Did you know that resistant starch in beans actually decreases the glycemic load of your next meal? Also, beans are such great sources of protein, iron, fiber. Eating them has been shown to help decrease risk of so many diseases and cancers. If you’re afraid of fartiness. Don’t fret. The resistant starches may take a couple of weeks for your gut to adjust to. Start with a little bit like 1/4 cup a day for a week and work your way up to ~1-3 cups or so / day. A healthy gut can process beans just fine. Little to no fartiness. If you’re used to eating a V low fiber diet. Warn your friends and family your increasing ahead of time hahaha.

Greens: The most nutrition per pound possible. Everything you need. Just amazingness.

Mushrooms: Should be eaten cooked. Mushrooms help decrease excess estrogen that may cause breast cancer- very well targeted, doesn’t cause low estrogen if you are healthy. Also, mushrooms contain lectins (ABLs) that recognize cancer cells and prevent them from growing and dividing. Also also, mushrooms upregulate IgA antibody secretion, helping the immune system. Also also also, they have beta glucans which also boost immune function. PLUS they make their own vitamin D if exposed to the sun!! Honestly. All plants are amazing. I just don’t have all day to tell you every magical component of everything gawd!

Onions: Eaten raw the allinaise enzyme is active and is potent cancer fighter. Onions also help to blunt blood sugar spikes. Onions and garlic are antimicrobial and help the immune system to fight viruses and fend against cancers. Scallions are great too.

Healthy Fat: Includes fiber 🙂 Necessary for healthy hormones, satiety, clarity, and overall optimal health. It doesn’t take much though. A little dab will do you.

Peace of mind: Honestly, of course. A favorable health destiny is priceless. HOWEVER I say “generally” disease reversing because I do have clients with eating disorders, amenorrhea, and anemia, and athletes who aren’t getting in enough calories and wasting away, or frail adults, etc. Who, it is healthier for them to eat more refined foods. More calorically dense foods. More stimulating foods. These recommendations are for the general average American looking to lose weight, lower their cholesterol, blood pressure, have regular bowel movements, and reverse type 2 diabetes. Have your healthy AF enchiladas, and your vegan cookies too maybe. Ok? All depends on your goals and what you, you beautiful individual, need.

That is all. xoxo

PLANT BASED FTW

Superbowl 2018 is tomorrow. Friends! Don’t let your friends eat meat. Chicken may seem like a healthy option, however 99.9% of chickens raised in the US are from factory farms where they are in tight spaces rubbin up on eachothers salmonella and feces, where they’re stuffed with arsenic drugs to make their color pinker and antibiotics to ya know, keep them.. alive.. they are basically turned into mutants stuffed with saline to make them juicy and salty and. EW. Save a friend. Save the world. Share this list. !

Chickens are the most probable reservoir for pathogens causing UTI infections
E. coli and drug resistant pathogens in poultry are found to establish themselves as majority of the gut flora, even when prepared correctly! “Chicken strains were isolated from the faecal sample taken on the day after the bird was handled, prepared, and cooked but before it was eaten. This indicates it was the handling of the uncooked carcass that provided the opportunity for the onward transmission of E. Coli rather than the eating of the cooked product.” 2
Since chickens are fed so many antibiotics (routinely feeding antibiotics by the millions of pounds every year) eating chickens can cause multi-drug resistant bacteria and pathogens to amplify in our bodies.
Even when using the most sanitary practices, bleaching even! Pathogenic fecal bacteria like campylobacter and salmonella from chicken contaminates kitchens surface, sink, and utensils significantly.
In just over 50 years, the number of chickens produced annually in the US has increased by more than 1,400%. The average American eats almost 84 pounds of chicken a year, more than twice the amount eaten in 1970. while the number of farms producing those birds has dropped by 98% !!! , The transformation of the industry to large poultry farms is causing a major pollution problem!
In the “Broiler Belt” (the area which extends from eastern Texas through the southeastern US and north to Maryland and Delaware) chickens outnumber people by as much as 400 to 1.
In a study involving hundreds of thousands of men and women, “our results indicate that meat intake is positively associated with weight gain during adult life in European subjects. The association persisted after adjustment for total energy intake and underlying dietary patterns. Our results are therefore in favor of the public health recommendation to decrease meat consumption for health improvement. The strongest relation with annual weight change was observed for poultry.”
“Women and men with the highest chicken consumption had a greater increase in BMI compared to those with the lowest intake after 14 years. Data suggest that men and women with the highest chicken consumption had a higher increase in BMI after 14 year of follow up, respectively, compared to those who consumed no chicken at all”
Beyond Meat Chicken Strips have 3.5g fat at 130 calories per serving while regular lean chicken strips from Whole Foods have 19g fat and 270 calories per serving!
Workers in poultry slaughtering and processing plants have increased risk of dying from certain cancers- new findings were for cancers of the cervix and penis
Those who slaughter chickens have about 9 times the odds of getting both pancreatic cancer and liver cancers. (even if you smoke cigarettes for more than 50 years you only about double your odds of getting pancreatic cancer vs. those that slaughter poultry have 9 TIMES THE ODDS!
70% of samples of chicken meat from conventional producers in grocery stores across America DO NOT HAVE prohibitory arsenical drug policies to prevent arsenical drugs from being consumed. (arsenic is a known human carcinogen and the FDA Stated, “any new animal drug that contributes to the overall inorganic arsenic burden is of potential concern”)
Since 75% of US population is estimated to be chicken consumers (probably more) estimates suggest industry-wide use of arsenical drugs could result in 8,661 additional cases of cancer over 70 years, or an average of AN UNNECESSARY 124 CANCERS PER YEAR DUE TO CHICKEN!
“Annual production of fecal waste from poultry flocks was 8.8 million tons on a dry weight basis plus more than 106,000 metric tons of broiler hatchery waste. Add this to 37 million dead birds and condemnations at processing plants. When all this waste is added together, the task of keeping the environment clean becomes monumental.”
The leading source of sodium in the American diet for adults is chicken
“Consuming chicken is the most common cause of Salmonella poisoning. A 2014 issue of Consumer Reports published that 97% of chicken breasts found in retail stores were contaminated with bacteria that could make people sick, and 38% of the Salmonella found was resistant to multiple antibiotics.”
About 90% of retail chicken showed evidence of contamination with fecal matter!
72% increased risk of pancreatic cancer for every 50 grams of chicken consumed daily (about 1/4 of a chicken breast)
Growth-promoting drugs fed to chickens could be playing a role in lymphoma and leukemias
U.S. Department of Agriculture exempts birds from its enforcement of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, which requires that farm animals be insensible to pain before they’re shackled and killed.

I would love to list 80 more tid bits/ articles / info things!! AHH! If you’d like to kick meat and chicken for good, hit me up k.reines1@gmail.com, DM me @vitamin.katie or check out my youtube channel and comment to me here.

PS:

It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes. Plant-based diets are more environmentally sustainable than diets rich in animal products because they use fewer natural resources and are associated with much less environmental damage. Vegetarians and vegans are at reduced risk of certain health conditions, including ischemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, certain types of cancer, and obesity. Low intake of saturated fat and high intakes of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, soy products, nuts, and seeds (all rich in fiber and phytochemicals) are characteristics of vegetarian and vegan diets that produce lower total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and better serum glucose control. These factors contribute to reduction of chronic disease. Vegans need reliable sources of vitamin B-12, such as fortified foods or supplements.