Power Foods

After receiving the information about vanilla as an anti-mutagenic and that it can repair DNA strand, I've thought a lot about how we can incorporate more vanilla into our diets as yet another healthy food to use in cancer prevention. As many of you know, I was diagnosed 15 months ago with advanced breast cancer, and I'm now cancer-free. Was it the vanilla? Who knows. All I know is that I'm currently fine and I'm working hard to stay well. And...I'm certainly incorporating vanilla and herbs and spices into lots of what I call "power" foods, foods known to be high in vitamins, minerals, phyto-chemicals or amino acids.

Here are some examples: White tea -- especially silver-needle white tea -- is extremely high in antioxidants and quite mild in flavor. Further, you can brew the leaves from white tea several times and still get the health benefits it. Adding a few drops of pure vanilla extract enhances the flavor and boosts the health benefits further.

Research at Pace University in NY showed that white tea is better than green at slowing the growth of viruses and bacteria. The Linus Pauling Institute has found that it helped prevent tumors in laboratory studies more effectively than other teas.

The Wall Street Journal rated white teas, giving Upton Tea Imports Organic China White Paklum the highest rating.(uptontea.com) They also recommended Adaggio Teas, White Peony, the most affordable (adagio.com), and The Republic of Tea's Silver Rain White Tea (republicoftea.com)as excellent. The only downside of white tea is cost; it's considerably more expensive than green or black teas as only the youngest tea leaves and buds are used, limiting the harvest to days or hours for the very finest tea leaves.

Green tea is also very high in antioxidants, is considerably less expensive and is easy to find in the marketplace. I experimented with both teas. The white tea doesn't have the slightly bitter aftertaste that is typical in green tea. It has a very delicate flavor and I found that the addition of vanilla extract enhanced its flavor. I wasn't sure how I'd like vanilla in green tea as its flavor is stronger. In fact, what I discovered is that it cuts the bitter aftertaste and I could add more vanilla to it than I expected I'm now drinking white or green tea daily with a little pure vanilla in it.

It's a "no-brainer" to add vanilla to yogurt and fruits, oatmeal, milk, cereals, power drinks, shakes, etc. Add 1/2 teaspoon or more per serving. It will only make these foods taste better. Add a little cinnamon (especially true cinnamon as opposed to cassia) and you've given the foods an additional boost. Pomegranates, cranberries, raspberries and blueberries are especially good fruits for cancer prevention.

A less obvious choice is to add pure vanilla to vegetables. Sweet potatoes, carrots and winter squash are all high in beta-carotene and antioxidants, are really good for the body, and are all sweet vegetables. Vanilla makes them even sweeter and more appealing. Get the bottle out and add 1/2 teaspoon or more per serving. You might also consider adding a little turmeric, the bright yellow herb found in curries. The curcumin in turmeric is known to be an anti-angiogenic. Be judicious at first, as it can cause slight stomach upset for some people.

Green vegetables are also high in antioxidants and also benefit from vanilla. This afternoon I had a mixture of steamed rainbow chard, English peas and fava beans, all spring vegetables. I added flaxseed oil, fresh lemon juice, Kosher salt and a pressed garlic clove all blended together, and then added 1/2 teaspon pure vanilla extract. The vanilla was subtle as the garlic was the predominant flavor.

Be playful and experiment. Share your best discoveries with us; we'd love to post them for others to use.
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Yesterday I spoke to a group of Culinary Historians in Los Angeles. It was sunny and warm outside, with a pleasant breeze. However, what really impressed me was the Los Angeles Main Library. At 10:00 a.m. when I arrived, people were lined up at all the entrances, despite the beautiful day! I asked the librarians about the crowd and they confirmed that the library is always very busy. There was a photo exhibit featuring the towns and people of Venice Beach, Encino, and Tarzana on the main floor and lovely gardens where people could go outside and read in the sun.

My slide-show and book reading was well-attended, and volunteers had baked cookies from The Vanilla Chef to serve with coffee at the reception. I mention this because with all we hear about the television and computer dominating people's lives, people DO still read and attend educational events! I really enjoy doing programs like this because people are genuinely interested in knowing more about vanilla and its uses, but they're also interested in the people who cultivate it around the world. It's fun to bring my "show on the road."