Let’s get one thing straight from the start. I love good pizza and I can spot a bad pizza from twenty paces without even needing to taste it. You see there are certain foods I just can’t leave behind no matter what healthy lifestyle changes I decide to make. Once we started to grow some of these Super Foods at home, it was only a matter of time before the Super Food Pizza just had to be created.

Before we get on to the ingredients, let’s make sure you have right tools. A super hot oven is a must and a if you like pizza even half as much as I do, then get yourself a Pizza Stone. They don’t cost much at all, but will make all the difference to your pizza base by drawing out the moisture from the dough as they get hot. If you have trouble finding a pizza stone in Spain, you can use an unglazed terracotta tile instead.

Making  Pizza Dough

Scientists now say that Anti oxidant levels in pizza dough can increase by as much as 82% when baked at higher than average temperatures.  Levels do apparently vary depending on the type of wheat flour use.  I have recently been following Peter Reinhart’s Napoletana Pizza Dough Recipe

The Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of good olive oil
• 1/2  a white organic onion,chopped finely
• 1 small carrot chopped finely
• 1 finely chopped celery stalk

• 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley
• 1 clove of organic garlic, minced or finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped.
• 700 grams  of fresh organic tomatoes, peeled, seeded, then chopped
• 1 teaspoon organic tomato puree
• Sea Salt and Fresh Black Pepper to Taste

Method

1 Heat up the olive oil in a large heavy frying pan on a medium heat.  Then you need to add your onion, carrots, the  celery and chopped parsley. Give it all a good stir to get everything nicely coated.  Take the heat down to low and cover the pan for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through and soft. Don’t forget the occasional stir.

2 Take off the cover and add in the garlic. Bring the heat back up to medium/high and cook the garlic for no more than 1 minute max.  Add your chopped tomatoes and all the juice.  Stir in your tomato puree and add the basil. Add your Salt and Pepper for seasoning. Reduce the heat to a simmer and leave to cook uncovered for about 15 minutes.  I like to then put the sauce through a sieve to get it nice and smooth, but this is not mandatory.

This will make about 2-3 cups of sauce.

The Pizza Topping

Ingredients

• Tomato Sauce ( the one you just made)
• 150 Gram Buffalo Mozzarella
• 1 tablespoon of dry Oregano
• 1 tablespoon/ good glug of olive oil
• 100 grams of Alfalfa sprouts
• 100 grams of Organic Rocket Leaves
• Sea Salt and Fresh Black Pepper to Taste

Method

Prepare your pizza stone and pre-heat your oven to it’s hottest setting.  Next, spoon a thin layer of your tomato sauce over your pizza base.  Break up the buffalo mozzarella and sprinkle over the top.  (be careful not to add to much or your pizza can get a bit soggy and that’s not good)  Add the Oregano and then the olive oil.  Add the salt and pepper to season.  Drizzle with the olive oil.

Your pizza should only need around 4 minutes the oven, so keep a close eye on it.

Once your pizza is cooked an the base is crispy brown but not burnt, cover with Alfalfa sprouts and the Rocket Leaves.  I like to add some balsamic vinegar and occasionally a few shavings of Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy with friends or even better all by yourself

This article is the result of my personal experience on the matter and as such please understand that the old saying your mileage may vary.

Roughly one year ago I had the pleasure of experiencing my second debilitating gout attack. Although a gout attack always sucks and is always serious, this time I was really worried because unlike the first one is was beggining to look like it would affect my quality of life. This called for drastic measures and a lifestyle change, for sure.

Up until the point of the attack I think I lead a more or less normal life when it came to my eating habits. Alcohol consumption was moderate to low, I drank between 2-4 espressos a day and otherwise ate a balanced diet. Unfortunately all it took was a vacation and a small change in meat and alcohol intake along with a little dehydration for my attack to occur.

After the second attack settled down I did some research on gout. Basically, gout consists of elevated levels of uric acid in the bloodstream. Uric acid crystals are deposited on the articular cartilage of joints, tendons, and surrounding tissues. And, from Wikipedia: precipitation of uric acid is markedly enhanced when the blood pH is low (acidosis).

So there was a clue for me and what pushed me to the alkaline diet: when the blood is more acid one is more prone to a gout attack.

I took drastic measures: I dropped coffee, started eating a vegetarian diet and spent 15 days on the Master Cleanse. On day 10 of the cleanse I had regained full mobility in my left big toe; great news!

After the fast I decided that it was going to be important for me to stay alkaline to avoid any of these gout issues. On top of that one feels so good and healthy after a cleanse that you really do want to make a change and eat properly. Also, when fasting or cleansing you learn just how much you use food for things or simply abuse food in general.

As I write this I am one year on and have had no recurrence whatsoever of gout. My eating habits and generally excellent with respect to eating along the lines of the alkaline diet and when I am very strict about it – staying away from coffee, white flower and sugar – my energy levels are higher and alertness sharper.

Excruciating is the word to describe it yet the outcome was far better then I ever imagined. It would have been nice if it hadn’t taken what it did to happen, but sometimes we have to touch bottom to launch ourselves to the top.

The set up for disaster

My 12 month old son and wife and I were on a three week vacation that included a wedding at St. Paul’s cathedral in London and then two weeks in Orlando at Disney. It was to be a fantastic trip but for the ugly ending.

In the months leading up to the trip I was working hard, working out hard, eating fairly well and getting a sub-par amount of sleep. Just before the trip a doctors visit uncovered some discoloration on my tongue. No worry I was told, drink lots of water and it should go away. So I did and it went away about 3 days into the trip. Great.

The gluttony and the attack

After the festivities in London we headed out to our dining included trip to Disney. I think there were 22 of us who met from various parts of the world for this family get together. We had a great time and ate some great food. Lots of it. And just as the trip was winding down I felt it.

My left big toe felt as if it needed to crack like when you pop your knuckles. The sensation wouldn’t go away and nagged at me for days getting steadily worse. On the second to last night I woke up at 1am in excruciating pain. My left big toe (LBT) was on fire and merely a whisper of air on the skin near it hurt. After some ice and elevation allowed me to get some rest, the next morning I headed to a local clinic and was told I had an attack of gout.

Gout: not just for old people!

It turns out that gout is quite common in 30 year old males like myself and that my diet leading up to the trip together with dehydrating plane rides, adjusting to a 6 hour time difference and drinking more alcohol and eating more meat then I usually do was enough to trigger the attack.

Gout: your friend forever?

When we returned home I did some research on my new friend. Apparently the result of gout – deposits in your joints, rarely go away. And medication to keep it from happening again has some side effects that I wasn’t interested in apart from having to take the meds for life.

My LBT had become far less flexible then my RBT, and I was beginning to realize that this was going to inhibit not just my idea of perhaps another Ironman triathlon but my overall quality of life. This realization was touching bottom for me. I had to do something and something drastic. Enter the cleanse.

Hello Master Cleanse, good bye gout

From reading various bits of information around the web I came to the conclusion that a good fast could give my body the opportunity to clean itself up, gout included. I had already changed my diet upon return from the trip – no meat, very little coffee or junk food – and so transitioning to the fast was more or less easy. I did it for 15 days. I think it was around day ten when my LBT regained the range of motion that I have in my RBT. This was fantastic news, but there was more to come as I came off the fast.

Clean body = more energy, clearer thinking and less eating

While on the fast I really noticed how I would reach for food because it was there, not because I needed it. This was an eye opener for me. Also I noticed how my brain was working the way it would work when I had a good coffee buzz on and was in the zone. It became very easy to get in the zone and focus. I stopped picking at my fingernails as I tended to do when I was drinking coffee.

After the fast I ate less. Sometimes a bowl of muesli in the morning would last me until dinner. I slept less. I was waking up refreshed and ready to go after 5 hours of sleep. I would have a 20 minute nap during the day and I felt great.

I’m now several months on from the fast. I’m meat and dairy free and more or less white flower and coffee and sugar free too. I have my lapses but when I get back on the eating live foods train I feel unstoppable.

This whole event was a shock to me and caused me to rethink my eating habits. Without actually experiencing this side of the fence I doubt I would have arrived here. The other shocker is how little direction that I gave myself with respect to eating. That in itself is another can of worms, suffice to say that I can’t believe how much I would think some things thru but spent very little time on thinking about nutrition. I now have a set of rules that I try and follow and I will post these in an upcoming blog post.

I’ve always liked the idea of growing a few fruit and vegetables in since moving to Spain.  Now, I don’t have a huge plot of land in the country. In fact, quite the opposite, so anything I grow has got to be suitable for a small urban garden.

If you’re going to grown your food, then it might as well be ‘Super Food’.  Not only will you get a tremendous amount of pride knowing that you grew the stuff that ended up on your plate, but also everything you’re eating doing you and your family some serious good.

1)  Red grapes

Grapes are a great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B1 and Vtamin B6.  That aside, they are delicious, juicy sweet gems that are a great snack.  I haven’t made wine with them yet, but the thought has crossed my mind. The skin of the red grape contains an anti oxidant, anti inflamatory and anti cancer property called Resveratrol.

Growing your own grapes is easy.  They take up very little space and will fit in well with any spare border in your garden. If you have a fence or pergola, even better as the grapes will climb really well.  Lots of sunshine and  regular watering is all that’s required to get juicy, sweet and plump home grown grapes.

2) Tomatoes

Tomatoes rightfully take a place on the Super Foods table because they contain one of the most powerful anti oxidants around.   Lycopene really fires up the immune system and helps protect us from many cancer.  When you cook the Tomatoe the Lycopene becomes even more concentrated.  So your home made pasta sauces are both delicious and very good for you.

You don’t need much space to grow your own tomatoes, just enough room for a grow bag and a light spot to grow the seedlings.  Check out this guide to growing your own tomatoes >>

3) Garlic

In addition to fending off vampires, these little bulbs of fragrant joy will help lower your cholesterol and  help to prevent your arteries clogging up.  Garlic is one of the easiest things you can grow in your garden.  You just need some soil and a sunny spot in your garden.  Just break up a Garlic bulb and plant the cloves about four inches apart and one inch down.  Makes sure the cloves are planted upright and that’s it.

If you just can’t face the garlic breath there are some supplements available that come in capsule form.  You still get all the goodness, but not the breath.

4) Onions

Onions have similar health benefits to Garlic.  They grow really well in Spain, which is why most UK supermarkets import almost all their onions from here.  Onions can be grown from seed but I find it easier to grow from sets, which are easily obtained from your local garden centre.  Here’s a good guide on how to grow onions at home>>

5) Chillies

Chillies contain more vitamin A than Carrots and they even contain more Vitamin C than Oranges.  Chillies also contain a substance called Capsaicin which can improve your circulation and help your body  to release endorphins that can give you a real natural high.  Take a  trip down to your local garden centre and you’ll find many different varieties that you can grow at home.   Spain introduced Chillies to the world, so growing them here is super simple.  Here’s a good post by someone who has grown Chillies at home>>

Strictly speaking, the alkaline diet is centered around eating a group of foods which when digested by the body result in an alkaline as opposed to acidic ash or residue. Okay, so what does this really mean?

Most foods, once metabolized, will release either an acid or an alkaline base into the bloodstream. With civilization and the industrial revolution the modern diet is heavy in grains, meats, shellfish, dairy and salt which all produce acid. As we have increased the intake of these foods and moved away from fresh fruit and vegetables decreased we have moved towards acid and away from alkaline in our diets.

The theory id that food in the alkaline diet should reflect the pH level of the blood, between 7.35 and 7.45, and be slightly alkaline. Proponents of the alkaline diet feel that the over-acidification of the body is the single underlying cause of all disease. That is a lofty claim, for sure, so forgetting about those bold words it may be easier to think of it in this manner: what we eat has an effect on the state of our bodies. Much of the processed food and drink we ingest causes our bodies to subtly sway to a more acid then alkaline balance, and this has an effect on our weight and energy levels.

Why eat alkaline?

People who follow an alkaline diet find that they:

• lose weight
• ache less (joint aches are a good example)
• have more energy
• think more clearly
• are less irritable

Food

The principle foods in an alkaline diet include fresh vegetables, roots and tubers, nuts, and legumes. Alfalfa sprouts (pictured above) are an example of a very alkaline food.

Criticisms and concerns

The largest issue with the alkaline diet is that proper clinical trials on its effectiveness for general health have not been undertaken. Much of the positive anecdotal evidence can be attributed to the fact that people who undertake the alkaline diet shift from a poor diet to a more natural and healthy diet, and therefore the positive changes.

Our own personal evidence, while not radical in terms of large weight loss or the like, has been positive. Mental clarity and less tiredness being two big extras, we have also found that by eliminating coffee (hey, we weren’t as tired as we were so sadly we let coffee go) we lost cravings for chocolate and other poor food choices and also slept better at night and were less irritable.

There’s no denying that Wheatgrass is one of healthiest things known to man.  Since I have been taking Wheatgrass, I personally have found that my energy levels are much higher, my skin is good and I can’t remember the last cough or cold got.

Key facts about Wheatgrass:

• The nutritional value of 1 kilo of green leafed vegetables is the same as just 30ml of juiced Wheatgrass.
• There are over 90 minerals to be found in Wheatgrass
• Wheatgrass contains amazing enzymes: Amylase (helps digestion), Transhydrogenase (great for the heart muscle), Protease (helps with protein digestion),  Superoxide Dismutase (this can be found in all of your body cells and is known for lessening the effect of radiation and for slowing the ageing of cells), Cytochrome Oxidase (a strong anti oxidant), Lipase (a enzyme that breaks down fat)
• 50 grams of Spinach has the same nutritional value as one teaspoon of wheatgrass powder.
• More Vitamin C than Oranges
• Wheatgrass has more than double the amount of Vitamin A carrots
• The juice from Wheatgrass helps to produce red blood cells and this helps to carry oxegen around your body.  More oxegen means you can endure more physical exorcise.

Don’t waste money on a cheap juicer that just won’t give you good results or it will gather dust in the back of a lonely kitchen cupboard.  Pick the right one and you’re on the way to healthy juices whenever you want.

Here are 4 things to check for when shopping for juicers:

1. Go for a juicer with low speed settings. This will ensure your juice isn’t foamy.
2. Choose a juicer that is quiet.  A cheap noisy juicer is not a nice thing and will make you unpopular in your own house.
3. Look for a juicer that has detachable, easy to clean parts.  If you can get one that is dishwasher friendly, even better.
4. Don’t go ugly!  Buy a juicer that is going to look nice in your kitchen.  You will use it more than a huge ugly machine that has to live in the cupboard.

need is a slower extraction process and that is why a Wheatgrass Juicer is essential.

What options do I have when choosing a Wheatgrass Juicer?

There are lots of different Wheat Grass Juicing machines on the market.  Here’s a rundown of the different Wheatgrass Juicers options:

Manual Wheat Grass juicers

Manual wheatgrass juicers are operated by turning a small handle.  Perfect if you’re going away or in a place where you do not have access to power.

Standard Single Auger Electric Wheat Grass Juicers

These juicers have a small motor and will give you a good straight forward solution.  There are loads of styles to choose from and they shouldn’t cost you very much at all.  Not suitable for commercial use, but fine one person use at home.

Multi Purpose Wheatgrass Juicers

If you like the idea of juicing other things too, then a Multi purpose juicer is a sensible option.  It will save you having to splash too much cash on two machines and will juice more less any fruit or vegetable you can think of.

Twin Gear Juicing Machines

Twin juicers can extract the juice from Wheat Grass as well as other fruit and vegetables.  The twin motors basically give you two speed juicing options – very nice.

The Acai Berry

With twice the amount of cancer crunching anti oxidants than that of the blueberry, the Acai (pronounced ah-sah-ee) wonder berry is fast becoming a fruit phenomenon.  In the United States, tests have recently been carried out to show that it can kill up to four-fifths of cancer cells.

The purple berries contain the super healthy Omega 6 and Omega 9 fatty acids which are very rare indeed in any fruit.  Throw in the fact they are packed with vitamins, calcium, fibre, and have a low calorie count and it’s not so difficult to see why they are the King of healthy fruits.

Top Doctors have said the Acai Berry can help combat Leukemia, help with premature ageing. and they are even said to do wonders for libido, but I couldn’t possibly comment.

What do Acai Berries Taste Like?

The simple answer is they taste very good.  A nice deep red forest berry taste with a kind of chocolate after taste.  Taste good and good for you too, that’s how we like our healthy foods, but there is a but…..

Is It Possible To Grow Your Own Acai Berries?

Acai berries are native to Northern Brazil and come from the Acai Palm.  For centuries native Brazilians’ have included the Acai berry in their diet.  Only since the mid 1990’s have Acai berries been exported to the rest of the world.

Re creating the conditions of the South American flood plains is no easy task.  Not to mention the humid and swampy environment which they need to grow well.  Whilst it would be technically possible to grow an Acai palm and harvest the berries, for now it’s not a viable option.

Where can I buy Acai berries?

Hmm, this is next problem (just when it was looking so good eh?).  Acai berries lose their goodness within a few days of being picked, so you are unlikely to see any in the green grocers or supermarkets of Europe anytime soon.  The Acai pulp is frozen and shipped to some smoothie stores and juice bars.  Be warned, the smoothies are pretty expensive if you are lucky enough to find somewhere that sells them.

Another way of getting the benefits of the Acai fruit is to take it in capsule form as a supplement.  Basically the Acai pulp is dehydrated into powder then put in capsules.  All of the goodness and nutritional properties are retained.

Which Acai supplement should I buy?

The thing is, there are so many Acai supplements on the market.   Recent laboratory tests showed that some kept all the nutrients, while others had virtually none at all.

All of these Acai products can be ordered in Europe and all come with our highest recommendation. >>>

What are Microgreens?

Microgreens are sometimes called Microherbs or Minigreens.

They are essentially any type of small immature vegetable, but usually the shoots or leafy type.  Microgreens can can be harvested anything from as young as 9 or 10 days, up to  6 or 7 weeks, depending on taste.

What makes these little beauties so good is that they not only contribute to a very healthy diet, but they are easy fun and very cheap to grow. You don’t need much space at all.  In fact, I know a couple of people who grow them in their own living room or on a windowsill.

What are the benefits of Microgreens?

It is said that Micro greens are in the Top Ten of Healthy Foods. When the leaves or shoots are harvested you are provided with a concentrated intensity of  flavours and generally good stuff.

Their disease preventing properties of vitamins, minerals and those all important anti-oxidants are what make them a ‘Super Food’  All that aside, they are simply very tasty , which is why you’ll see them on the menus of some the best restaurants in  the world.

Growing Your Own Microgreens

Right, this is super easy.  Start off by ordering some seeds.  Nicky’s Nursery will send you a nice selection.  They are in the UK, but will deliver to Spain (we are working on finding a decent supplier here in Spain).  You’re going to need quite a few seeds, as you will harvest them before they are full grown, so stock up well.

There a several ways to grow the Microgreens, but as usual I prefer to opt for the easy, inexpensive option.

Buy some plastic seed trays from your local garden centre.  You need an equal amount of trays with holes for drainage as solid ones that go underneath to catch drips.

Add some organic compost that is suitable for vegetable growing.  Plant you seeds about an inch under the surface and don’t be afraid to use plenty of seeds in one tray as you’ll be clipping them to eat before they get very big at all.   I prefer to use a different tray for each variety.

Keep them either outside (but not when it’s too hot) or in a light spot in the kitchen. Give the trays a good watering and keep the soil moist to the touch with regular sprays of water.  Grow as little or as much as you feel like, but I warn you, you’ll be addicted because they taste fantastic!