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This is my second episode with Javier Mendez.  He shares some of his secrets of growing fruit seedlings with us!  If you are interested in purchasing seedlings at the bargain price of $10, please contact Javier at menjavi@gmail.com.

Javier and I transplant a pirie mango and cannonball avocado seedling.  I will be following up the progress for these fruit trees in a few months!

If you are interested in purchasing fruit seedlings at the bargain price of $10, please contact Javier at menjavi@gmail.com.

In this episode, Javier Mendez shows us his garden where he grows tropical fruit seedlings organically.  Here are some of the fruit trees with pictures of the fruit that he shows us in this episode:

Cashew Nut:

Rose apples

Soursop

Cherimoya

Atemoya

Star apple

Loquat

Chicle

Mountain apple

Rambutan

Please stay tuned for the next episode where Javier shares some of his secrets of growing these tropical fruit trees!  Javier is also selling his seedlings for $10 each which is a great bargain.  If you are interested, you can email him at menjavi@gmail.com!  Please bring your own dirt, shovel, and pot to transplant the seedling.

 

 

In Part 2 of Making Idlis with Shan Parmley, we mixed the fermented idli rice and the fermented urad dal together and let the mixture ferment for 18 hours.  In this episode, Shan shows us how to steam the idlis.  You can use either the stainless steel idli pan or the microwave steamer.  The benefit of the microwave steamer is that you do not need to use non-stick spray or oil, and it takes six minutes or less in the microwave.  If you do not like using plastic, I recommend the stainless steel pan, which you will need to cook for about 14 minutes.  Enjoy!

Shan Parmley is the owner/manager of India Bazaar, the longest surviving Indian restaurant in Hawaii, which is located at:

2320 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826

A Kailua location will be opening in May!

 

 

This episode represents day 2 of making idlis, after we fermented the urad dal and idli rice.  We mix the urad dal and idli rice together in the food processor and then ferment for about 18 more hours.  If you cannot get to the third part for a few days, you can put the mixture in the fridge to halt the fermentation process.  Here is some information about the health benefits of urid dhal:
Black gram or urad dal is rich in iron content, which may be helpful for menstruating women who have a higher chance of iron deficiency.  Iron helps boost the energy levels in the body and keeps you active.  Urad Dal is good source of protein and has anti-inflammatory properties, which can be helpful in inflammation of joints and muscle pain.It is rich in fiber content, which is good for preventing constipation. Black lentils reduce cholesterol and are rich in magnesium and folate, which prevent damage to the arterial walls.   Urad Dal also has magnesium which increases blood circulation, boosting heart health.   Interestingly, applying urid dhal face packs is good for the skin can help prevent the formation of fine lines.

References:

“Health Benefits of Urid Dhal.”  Healthy Life Tips:  How to eat well, live healthy and love life!  Web.  Accessed 9 April 2016.  <http://healthytips-foryou.blogspot.com/2014/11/health-benefits-of-urad-dal.html>.

This is the first in a three part series of how to make idlis, with Shan Parmley, the owner of India Bazaar (the longest surviving Indian restaurant in Honolulu).  This is our first day of making the idli.  Three ingredients are necessary for the Idlis:

Rice (It does not have to be idli rice though idli rice works well)

Urad Dal

Fenugreek seeds

After washing the rice and urad dal, Shan soaks the rice and urad dal separately in water for about 12 hours.  He uses 3 parts rice to every one part urid dal.  He puts about 2.5 parts water to 1 part rice or urad dal.  Lastly, he adds a small amount of fenugreek seeds in the rice container and the urid dal container.  We will let it sit (open to the air) overnight for about 12 hours.  Shan says that it is best to be kept open to the air so yeast can come in and help the fermentation process.  Stay tuned for our next episode:  Day 2 of making idlis with Shan Parmley!

If you’d like to learn more about Idlys in the meantime, check out this link!

This is an app that I love.  If you feel that your heart is racing at any time, you can use this app to measure your heart rate!  It can sometimes be difficult for people to find their pulse, but this app does the job for you!

For adults 18 years of age or older, a heart rate of 60-100 beats per minute (bpm) is considered normal.  Well-conditioned athletes can have slower heart rates from 40-60 bpm.  Heart rates will rise with exercise.  To figure out your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.  For instance, if you are 40 years old, your maximum heart rate would be 180 bpm.  When you exercise, you can measure your heart rate, and you should aim for a heart rate between 50-85% of your maximum heart rate.  More vigorous exercise will increase the heart rate.

Enjoy this free app!  It is available for iOS and Android.

 

 

 

In this episode, I talk about solar batteries.  On October 13, 2015, Hawaiian Electric decreased their credit for solar on Oahu from 25 cents per kilowatt hour to 15 cents per kilowatt hour.  I was disappointed that I would have to take the lower credit if I put on new photovoltaic panels.  I had read about solar batteries and thought it was a novel idea to live “off the grid”, but I honestly thought that there was not any well-developed technology for this yet.

I was discussing solar possibilities with Jeff Davis, “the solar guy”.  He told me that people on neighboring islands, as well as on Oahu, have been using this solar battery technology for awhile now.  He told me about how Mercury Solar has been installing the batteries for people and using Outback storage batteries (from Australia).  At first I was skeptical, but after speaking to several people, I started to consider it.  I could produce my own power, use what I could, and store whatever I had left to use for later with the batteries.  I would not have to wait a long time for approval from Hawaiian Electric for a decreased credit of 15 cents per kilowatt hour (for the “grid system”).  For those of you who want to live “off the grid”, this is a perfect solution!

I have had my batteries for about 1-2 months now, and the are working well.  I put several appliances on it, including my refrigerators and my new air conditioner.  (I have some original photovoltaic panels operating off the “grid system” with the higher credit from Hawaiian Electric of 25 cents per kilowatt hour).  Now with these new panels running on the solar batteries, I have decreased my electric bill to the minimum amount.   If you are interested in more solar batteries, please email Jeff Davis at thesolarguyjeffdavis@gmail.com!

For those of you who watched Mairi and Mel, and Jonna’s video or listened to Paul’s podcast but do not have insurance that will pay for the program, you can do it yourself with this book!

In this book, Dr. Ornish shares how his experience with depression led him to mindfulness and meditation.  He also talks about his research studies and years of experience with reversing heart disease through changes in lifestyle.  He has a few very moving patient testimonials as well.

Dr. Ornish delineates the different causes of heart disease which include high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and nicotine.  He talks about how most of the people who are treated with cholesterol-lowering drug and anti-hypertensive drugs unfortunately do not benefit from the treatment of their problems with these medications.  Lifestyle is far more effective than medication as treatment for heart disease.  Fortunately, most people who followed his lifestyle program were able to decrease or discontinue their blood pressure medications.

Dr. Ornish states that lifestyle factors can activate all mechanisms known to bring about heart disease.  He explains how the lifestyle factors (diet, nicotine, stimulants, exercise, and stress) can cause heart disease.  He also talks about isolation leads to chronic stress and can promote illness, including heart disease.

Dr Ornish’s “Opening your Heart Program” includes techniques for increasing intimacy and managing stress, a diet low in fat and cholesterol, a program for moderate exercise, and a system to help people stop smoking.  His stress management techniques include stretches, relaxation techniques, meditation, and directed or receptive imagery.  He has two different diets, a “Reversal Diet” (which is more strict) and a “Prevention Diet” with somewhat higher fat and cholesterol content.

Dr. Ornish delineates different components of his program in the last few chapters of his book.  In the chapter about exercise, Dr. Ornish talks about studies showing that the effects moderate exercise on longevity are similar to the effects of strenuous exercise.  Since people have less risk of sudden death during moderate exercise, he recommends moderate exercise (over strenuous exercise) in his program.  The last section of the book includes recipes and common ingredients.  He also tells you how to adapt recipes to make them more heart-friendly.

I highly recommend this book! I learned a lot about how isolation and stress can affect disease that I did not know prior to reading this book.

In this episode, Jackie Jackson talks about her transition from the standard american diet to a plant-based diet.  She lost 50 pounds in the process over about 1.5 years.   Here are some pictures of her before (left) and (after) her weight loss.

Jackie explains in the video that she thought she was just “big-boned” but found later that she was able to lose weight on a plant-based diet and felt lighter.  After she lost weight, she found it easier to exercise as well.

There have been many studies supporting how people on plant-based diets are on average thinner than their meat-eating counterparts.  Berkow and Barnard found that a vegan or vegetarian diet is highly effective for weight loss.(1) Wang and Beysoun showed that there was a positive association between meat consumption and obesity, using data collected in the 1999–2004 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.(2)   The Oxford component of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition reported a significant difference in age-adjusted BMI, with the meat eaters having the highest BMI and vegans the lowest. (3)

Thanks to Jackie for sharing her inspiring story with all of us!

References:

(1)  Berkow SE, Barnard N. Vegetarian diets and weight status. Nutr Rev. 2006 Apr;64(4):175–88.

(2) Wang Y, Beydoun MA. Meat consumption is associated with obesity and central obesity among US adults. Int J Obes (Lond) 2009 Jun;33(6):621–8.

(3) Rosell M, Appleby P, Spencer E, Key T. Weight gain over 5 years in 21,966 meat-eating, fish-eating, vegetarian, and vegan men and women in EPIC-Oxford. Int J Obes (Lond) 2006 Sep;30(9):1389–96.