Want to max out your nutritional needs in one fell swoop? Well this salad fills the bill! Full of fresh, raw, bursting with nutrition ingredients, a massive amount of vitamins, minerals, and all the antioxidants you can eat in one meal. Not to mention, it contains oodles of vitamin K, vitamin C, magnesium, healthy fats, and protein.

Top it all off with plenty of cleansing cilantro. Cilantro (or coriander as it is sometimes called) has been used as a medicine for years and years and is often used to detox and cleanse the liver, balance the blood sugar and remove dangerous metals from your system, like mercury, aluminum, arsenic and lead. While these metals can build up in your body to toxic levels, eating plenty of cilantro will actually help to clean them out of your system. Cilantro contains a substance that will bind to heavy metals in the body and carry them right out. So, if you happen to eat lots of fish like tuna, be sure to add cilantro to your meals.

Cilantro is also widely known as an aid for diabetes. It helps to lower blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity, and in turn, lower your triglycerides. One study on rats showed treatment with 200mg of coriander significantly increased insulin secreting beta cells (in the pancreas). In another study published in the Journal of Food Sciences, cilantro was shown to promote healthy liver function and stable blood sugar. Cilantro is also very effective at calming nerves, and soothing anxiety.

Top off your salad with avocado, tomato, roasted pumpkin seeds and some chopped jalapeno and you have an absolutely winning combination!! Enjoy—it’s a proven crowd pleaser!

Dressing

¼ cup chopped shallots

¼ cup fresh lime juice (juice of 1 lime)

½ cup or more fresh cilantro chopped

2-3 cloves of finely minced garlic

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Dressing Directions

Combine first four ingredients in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Salad

3 cups of thinly sliced red leaf lettuce (preferably organic)

3 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage

2-3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

½ roasted red bell pepper (you can usually find these already roasted in the store or see below on how to roast your own)

½ roasted yellow pepper

Half (or more) firm avocado, peeled and diced

¼ cup minced red onion

Half can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small jalapeno, de-seeded, de-ribbed and minced

2 small tomatillos, hulls removed and chopped (green Mexican tomatoes)

¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds

½ cup crumbled queso anejo, or feta cheese (optional)

2-4 cooked chicken breasts, cooked and sliced in thin strips, or shredded with a fork

(Grilled chicken tastes best for this recipe.)

Salad Directions

Combine salad ingredients in large bowl and toss in dressing just before serving. Place cut or shredded chicken on top. Serves 4-6.

To roast peppers: heat oven on ‘broil’. Slice peppers in half; remove stem and seeds. Place skin side up on flat pan in oven near heat. Roast for 4-7 minutes until skin begins to turn black. Remove and cool. When cool, slide off blackened skin and slice peppers in thin strips.

You should also know that this recipe is an almost perfect low-glycemic meal for Diabetics, due to it’s blend of fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, and a reasonably low amount of sugars and carbs that impact blood sugar.  Speaking of Diabetes, make sure to read this page next:

1 Simple trick to REVERSE your Diabetes (hint: it’s NOT cinnamon or any supplement)

The post Chicken Fiesta Salad with Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling 
Co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

One of my absolute favorite dinners—it’s delicious anytime!

The marinade for this yummy recipe really adds not only a ton of flavor, but a ton of nutrition as well. It is full of curry powder which contains turmeric, the super powerful anti-inflammatory spice that we have become so familiar with. It’s rich in antioxidants that battle inflammation, prevent Alzheimer’s disease, burn fat, and enhance the immune system. It also helps safeguard against those dangerous chemicals that can come from grilling meat, and exogenous AGE’s that form.

Pile on that yummy cilantro pesto sauce when you serve it! Not only does it taste amazing, but, the health benefits associated with cilantro are pretty extensive. It is also known for its anti-inflammatory compounds and its cholesterol-lowering ability, as well as its ability to remove toxic metals (like mercury and lead) from the body. Cilantro is more than twice as effective as antibiotics against the food-borne salmonella bacteria that cause food poisoning.

Cilantro is a powerful weapon to use in fighting diabetes, along with a low-glycemic diet. In fact, cilantro is so effective at lowering blood sugar, it is known in some places as the “anti-diabetic plant.”

The grass fed beef will give you the full benefit of the plenty of healthy omega 3 and CLA fats in the meat without all the hormones, additives, and antibiotics of conventional meat.

Ingredients

1 bunch of fresh cilantro (2 cups cilantro leaves)

1 small red onion peeled

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 small green chili pepper trimmed and halved

1 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled

1 ¼ tsp sea salt

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice of one lime)

½ tsp curry powder

1-2 lbs grass fed ribeye or sirloin steak, cut into 24 one-inch chunks

1 medium onion, peeled

Naan bread or rice flour (gluten-free) tortillas

1 cup plain or Greek yogurt

Directions

Place the cilantro, onion, garlic, chili, ginger, and salt with 3 Tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until a paste is formed. Transfer to a large bowl.

Put 2 Tbsp of the paste in a small bowl and stir in the lime juice to make the cilantro sauce. Cover and set aside. Stir the curry powder into the rest of the paste, add the steak and coat well. Cover and marinate at room temp for about 20 min.

Cut the red onion into wedges, separate the wedges and thread beef and onion onto skewers. Brush a grill pan with the oil. Preheat grill.  Grill the kebabs for 8-10 minutes turning the skewers every 2 minutes.

Serve with quinoa, the cilantro sauce, plain yogurt, and a big tossed baby greens salad. Serves 4

You should also know that this recipe is an almost perfect low-glycemic snack for Diabetics, due to it’s blend of fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, and a reasonably low amount of sugars and carbs that impact blood sugar.  Speaking of Diabetes, make sure to read this page next:

1 Simple trick to REVERSE your Diabetes (hint: it’s NOT cinnamon or any supplement)

The post Indian-Inspired Beef Kebabs with Cilantro Sauce appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Catherine Ebeling 
Co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Cilantro is known as Chinese parsley, and also coriander, although typically Cilantro refers to the leaves and stems of this plant and Coriander refers to the seeds of the plant, but in many places these names are used interchangeably. Cilantro looks a lot like parsley, but it has a definite lemony-green distinctive flavor that many people either like or hate.

Delicious Added to Most Anything

Cilantro is used worldwide in many ethnic dishes including Indian, Mexican, Thai, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and more. Remains of cilantro have actually been found in ancient caves in Israel and thought to be in use over 8,000 years ago. And for good reason—cilantro has been used medicinally to cleanse and detox the liver, stimulate digestive enzymes, help kidney function, soothe the skin, balance blood sugar and increase mental powers.

Like many green leafy herbs, it is loaded with phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and anti-inflammatory compounds. It is also full of vitamins A, C, E, K, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium. Add this delicious herb to smoothies, soups, stews, guacamole, salads, and yummy ethnic dishes. There are some sound reasons to LOVE it!

Detox Heavy Metals (Mercury, etc)

One of the unique properties of cilantro has been its ability to detox the body of heavy metals like mercury, aluminum, arsenic and lead. Many of these metals are cumulative and can build up and be stored in the body, due to their presence in fish, drinking water, and environmental pollution. Cilantro contains a substance that binds to toxic metals and carries them out of our body. One good reason to add cilantro to your fish—especially tuna and other fish higher up on the food chain—besides its taste!

Fight Diabetes & Help Control Blood Sugar

Cilantro is also widely known as the “Anti-diabetic” plant, helping to lower blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity and improve lipid levels (triglycerides).  One study on rats showed treatment with 200mg of coriander seed significantly increased insulin secreting beta cells (in the pancreas). In another study published in the Journal of Food Sciences, cilantro has been shown to support healthy liver function and balance blood sugar.  Some researchers actually believe that cilantro can actually become a remedy for diabetes, when eaten on a regular basis, and in combination with an overall healthy diet.

Calming

Cilantro can also help calm your nerves, relieve anxiety, relax your body and improve sleep. A study published in the Indian Journal of Pharmacology shows the cilantro extract can produce the same anti-anxiety effects as Valium—without the harmful side effects. To get these natural sedative effects, however you would have to eat a fairly large quantity of cilantro, which might not always be realistic.

Avoid Food Poisoning

Fight food poisoning with a generous amount of cilantro. Cilantro contains an antibacterial compound that fights salmonella, dysentery, cholera, and listeria–foodborne pathogens that can cause severe illness, vomiting and diarrhea. A study from Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry identified a potent compound called dodecenal, which shows it is as effective as the antibiotic gentamicin at stopping these pathogens.

Research published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology studied dill, coriander, and eucalyptus, and cilantro was found to be the most effective—especially against listeria and salmonella. This may be one of the reasons that many ethnic foods have used plentiful amounts of cilantro in their dishes. Besides this one compound, eight other antibiotic-type compounds have been identified in cilantro as well. So remember to add copious amounts of cilantro to most any dish, to protect yourself from food-borne pathogens.

Digestive Support

Cilantro and coriander are also valuable as digestive support to prevent nausea, gas, bloating, stop indigestion, and ease stomach aches and cramping. Cilantro stimulates release of digestive enzymes, helping to create more efficient digestion, as well as better assimilation of the nutrients in the foods eaten. In fact, if you love hot spicy foods, adding a generous handful of cilantro to your favorite dish can help alleviate the indigestion and heartburn that often accompanies these foods. Cilantro and coriander also help decrease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and the bloating, gas and constipation discomfort that comes with it.

Protect Yourself From Heart Disease

Researchers found that cilantro lowers total cholesterol and triglycerides in the body. And high triglycerides can be transformed into LDL (the harmful cholesterol). Cilantro can actually help to dissolve cholesterol buildup in the blood vessels, which of course protects against heart disease and strokes.

Cilantro’s rich potassium content is also an aid for lowering blood pressure as well. And cilantro’s polyphenolic content and massive anti-oxidants help to prevent the oxidative damage that damages blood vessels and causes heart disease. Oxidative stress contributes to cancer, heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, premature aging and more.

Cilantro is also highly protective against colon cancer, helps to prevent urinary tract infections, supports healthy and regular menstrual cycles, soothes hives and poison ivy, and calms the immune system. And the vitamin K in cilantro is good for bones, teeth and hair as well.

Cilantro is best eaten raw, because it not only tastes best this way, but it also loses its powerful benefits when heated. Add as a garnish for cooked dishes or throw in generous amounts in uncooked dishes such as guacamole, gazpacho, salsa, smoothies, etc.

Try this delicious cilantro coleslaw recipe from Dr. Josh Axe—and be sure to add generous amounts of cilantro!

Lime Cilantro Coleslaw Recipe:

This fresh coleslaw recipe comes together quickly, and is brightened with the addition of cilantro. Cabbage, one of the cancer fighting cruciferous vegetables, is packed with fiber, and other nutrients that aid in digestion, aided by the fresh cilantro. Enjoy alongside grilled wild salmon, roasted chicken, or grass fed beef burger.

Ingredients:

1 head Savoy cabbage
4 scallions
½ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup primal mayo (avocado oil mayo)
1 ½ tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Sea salt & black pepper

Directions:
Shave the cabbage into thin ribbons. Cut the scallions lengthwise into long strands, similar to the cabbage. Combine the cabbage, scallions, and cilantro in a bowl and toss. Mix the mayo, honey and lime juice well. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Toss with cabbage mixture, and enjoy.

Here’s another fun recipe to try that contains cilantro:

Chile Lime chicken fajitas on cilantro cauliflower rice (Paleo recipe)

And here’s another article from my friends at The Alternative Daily with more reasons to eat cilantro:

8 reasons to eat more cilantro (we like #3)

References

Dr. Josh Axe (2016). 12 cilantro benefits, nutrition and recipes. Dr Josh Axe.Retrieved from https://draxe.com/cilantro-benefits/ Eidi M et.al;

Delaquis, Stanich, Girard, Mazza. (2002). Antimicrobial activity of individual and mixed fractions of dill, cilantro, coriander and eucalyptus essential oils. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11929164

Effect of coriander seed (Coriandrum sativum L.) ethanol extract on insulin release from pancreatic beta cells in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. (2009) Phytother Res. 23(3):404-6.

Kubo I, Fujita K, Kubo A, Nihei K, Ogura T. (June 2009). Antibacterial Activity of Coriander Volatile Compounds against Salmonella choleraesuis. J Agric Food Chem. 52(11):3329-32. 2004. PMID:15161192.

Mahendra, Bisht. (2011). Anti-anxiety activity of Coriandrum sativum assessed using different experimental anxiety models. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22022003

The post Cilantro: 7+ Reasons to Love this Super-Herb for Your Health appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.