Peggy Kotsopoulos - Kitchen Cures: Revolutionize Your Health With Foods That Heal

Kitchen Cures

Revolutionize Your Health with

Foods That Heal

To Melissa and Anjelica, my sisters

and lifelong besties, whose giggles, presence

and love make the best cure-alls ever

Also by Peggy Kotsopoulos

Must Have Been Something I Ate

contents

Introduction

W e all know herthe perky, annoying chick who bounces into work in the morning. Its barely 7:30 a.m. and shes already finished a workout, walked her dog, and made all her meals for the day. All this, and she still looks more put together than a cover model for Marc Jacobs. Seriously. What gives? Was she just born this way? Or does she know something we dont?

Chances are, the secret to her success is actually very simple: its something she ate. How you look and feel is a direct reflection of what you eat, and more important, what you assimilate. It affects pretty much everything, even things you wouldnt think of right away. Like, how about those tiny bumps on the back of your arm? The luster in your hair? Or the fact that youre just too damn tired to even think of having sex? The answer: yes, yes, and yesall of these things have to do with what you eat. Food shapes the way you think, the way you process information, the clarity of your ideas and thoughts, your mood, your energy, your waist size, your libido, your skin, and your metabolism. Its all about food! And thats a good thing, because who doesnt love food?

My passion for food started pretty much when I was born. I grew up in a Greek household, so I really had no choice. My life revolved around food! We werent even done eating breakfast and my mother was already working on our next meal. But my awareness of how food made me feel began around the ripe old age of five. Even then, I knew that if I ate a burger Id be sluggish and lethargic and wouldnt have the energy to play. Whereas if I ate a pint of strawberries, my face would get these vibrant little tingles and Id be filled with energy. Gut instinct? Maybe. But about 10 years later, it all started to make even more sense.

At age 15 I was hit by a car that was going 80 kilometers per hour on impact. I was broken into pieces. After hours of surgery and some serious complications, the doctors didnt think Id survive. But I knew I would. I believed this so firmly that I was out of the hospital in two and a half weeks. They called me miracle child. But it wasnt a miracle. It was a choice I made while lying in that hospital bed, knowing I still had so much to live for and to experience. And I wanted to live life to the fullest! This realization is what caused me to look long and hard at what I was eating and how food nourishes both the body and the soul. I remembered how those strawberries used to make my face tingle, and decided that this was how I wanted to feel every day! If we can make the choice to live in a state of optimal healthspiritually, emotionally, and physicallywhy wouldnt we?

Theres no excuse for not feeling your best. Yes, we all have occasional off days when wed rather hide under an oversized pair of aviators and a fedora hat and pretend that real life isnt out there waiting for us. But if youve ever felt you could use just a bit more energy and be less scatterbrained, or if youve ever thought your skin could be brighter or you could stand to lose a few pounds, you absolutely can. Every day. And its not about major life changes like giving up your favorite things, running away to some boot camp, or signing up for a reality TV weight-loss show. Its about making little changes that can collectively add up to something ginormouscompletely transforming how you look and feel.

For those of you who have read Must Have Been Something I Ate, I have taken your advice and added more sections on bone health, pain and inflammation, and memory, and tackled health topics such as menopause and heart health. And since beauty was a hot topic for most of you, Ive totally expanded the beauty section into four new chapters and have provided DIY products for your entire body in the Kitchen Beautician chapters. Plus, Ive added more nutritious and delicious recipes! So you get the same go-to resource guide in a new, expanded edition, with a lot more goodness!

Because food affects, well, everything, Ive divided this book into five partsso you can quickly find the info that will help you the most. I give you plenty of delish drink, appetizer, soup, salad, entre, and dessert recipes to put everything youve learned into practice so you dont have to think so much.

Before we bite right into how food affects our minds and bodies, here are some key principles to remember.

1. You dont have to give up your favorite foods.

You know that ooey-gooey lasagna smothered in four types of cheese and baked to perfection in a chunky tomato sauce? Maybe not the best choice you could make. But that doesnt mean you have to give it up cold turkey forever. Imagine thinking you could never have a piece of lasagna for the rest of your life ever. Chances are youd suffer from some serious separation anxiety, feel miserable, and in the end, fail. Dont go cold turkey on anything. Instead, start not by focusing on what you need to give up, but by adding more.

Thats right, just add more real, nutrient-dense whole foods to your diet and make small changes to the ingredients you use regularly. Begin by using only half the cheese, replacing the white refined noodles with brown rice noodles or even thinly sliced strips of eggplant or summer squash, and throwing some spinach or sunflower sprouts into the mix. Or just have a small piece of the real thingand make the other half of your meal a peppery arugula salad (topped with candied walnuts, freshly julienned pear, and crispy sunflower sprouts, sprinkled with creamy hemp seeds and a citrus olive oil drizzle). Doable? I think so. Its about making those small changes. If youre at a fast-food joint, nix the fries in your combo for a side salad. Try sprouted-grain bread instead of whole wheat. Substitute kelp noodles for refined noodles in an Asian stir fry. Trade in chocolate-covered peanuts for cocoa-kissed Savi Seeds. Top your meals with some sunflower sprouts.

Once you start adding more goodness to your diet, youll start feeling fabulous. Your energy will improve, your complexion will get clearer, and your eyes will be brighter. As for the not-so-good stuff ? Youll find that you dont really want it anymore, and itll naturally fall off your radar, like that multicolored jersey dress that was so last season. And if you really want itgo ahead! Just be conscious of how you feel, and trust me, in time youll be craving more of that arugula salad instead.

2. Nourish your spirit.

Sometimes it doesnt matter how well you eat. If youre in a bad head space or are overly stressed, you wont absorb nutrients, vitamins in your body will be depleted, and antioxidants just wont be able to keep up.

I spent nearly 10 years in the investment world before delving wholeheartedly into my passion for nutrition. At the time, I thought I was the healthiest person around. I was a strict raw-food vegan, worked out like a crazy chick, and thought I was at the top of my game. Until I went down to the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach and had a blood cell analysis done, that is. The results nearly killed me. Or, more accurately, I nearly killed me. What? I remember gasping. My antioxidant levels were at a mere 27 percent; I thought theyd be at almost 100 percent! At first I didnt get itI thought I was doing everything right. Thats when it hit me: I wasnt being true to myself. I was in a job that didnt fulfill my purpose and I wasnt living in alignment with my own core values. My body was stressed. Although I didnt