My Radish Years!

I could not believe my eyes. Here, in the book I was reading, the innocuous, rarely spoken about vegetable of my youth was now a dietary super star, in its own right. I had been in a love affair with radishes all my life. Little did I know of these powerhouse gems' affect on human health. I was excited once again. (I get excited over the silliest things).

As a little girl, I loved radishes. I cannot remember a time when they were not a special and delicious part of my diet. I was this strange person, in love with radishes. Desserts were not as enticing to me, as were those red round vegetables that graced my plate especially when I ate sandwiches.

To extricate us from our ills, we rely upon medications, at times, and vaccines to protect us from terrible life-threatening diseases. In my childhood, vaccines were given for measles, chicken pox, diphtheria and mumps, to name a few. Now we have a plethora of injections for all manner of ills affecting us. Radishes, those tiny bulbous root vegetables of my youth, had been dietary super stars, all along. What a stroke of luck.

Food is medicine, we hear time and time again. The drug commercials tell us other 'truths', however. We need drugs to stay healthy yet the contraindication of these 'clinical researched' trials begs us to stop and think. Is this group think? Maybe, we need to eat better and try new foods to upgrade the status of our health. Food is less profitable but more accessible. Who should we trust? Maybe we should trust radishes and apples, both superstars in our  health.

There is a salad called the Waldorf salad that uses diced apples, celery, sliced grapes and toasted walnuts mixed with a mayonnaise dressing. It is an American classic, first introduced in the 1800's. Perhaps a more modern version of it could include radishes. I think I'm going to make it the next time salads are requested from me. What is the harm? No one needs to know. The more ingredients in a salad the greater our exposure to increased health benefits overall. Yum. I can hardly wait!

Radishes were a complimentary part of my lunches and family picnics, as a child. Loved the crunch, to be sure. Some habits never change. Salmon salad was a winner in my lunches then, too, as were egg salad and plain ham and lettuce sandwiches. There was simply nothing like my sandwiches. I reveled in the sheer delight of radishes and sandwiches, together, like beer and hotdogs, at a baseball game. (I don't drink beer.) Even, today, radishes are side by side with my tuna, egg or ham salad sandwiches. When they're absent, something is missing.

Who knew the red skins of these red root vegetables were also powerful antidotes to cancer and other ills, a way of keeping the arteries and veins open, free flowing, preventing plaque formation in the blood. ... According to Anthony Williams, the medical medium, radishes are the gold stars in our diet.  So are their green tops. Who knew? My love affair with these round red vegetables began in childhood and has never stopped. The skins destroy cancer cells in their embryonic state. Radishes bestow a myriad of health benefits upon us that are ludicrous to ignore.

The produce aisle is a colourful state of mind and body. It is impossible to walk by and not notice these medicinal displays. A healthy body awaits with undervalued radishes at the top. Whenever I make potato salad, radish roses adorn its surface. Using a small sharp paring knife, I slowly follow the curved sides of the radish peeling down to its base, without removing the skins. Generally, 4-5 separate slits are made. The 'flower' is then placed into cold water, overnight, so that the slivers of red and white, curl away from the center portion, thus revealing a beautiful rose, each time. Using celery, thin stems can be made then placed beneath the 'rose' atop the potato salad. When many are made, a bouquet results, giving any meal that professional finishing touch.

Radishes have been a mainstay in my diet, forever. Since every other fruit or vegetable have received top billing over the years, it's now radish's turn in the spotlight. My life is complete.

Salad 'Trifle'

As my 'daughter' hurried to fill the plastic large cup with food, before their departure, I was left wondering. Was she creating the first ever salad trifle*? ... ( *normally a dessert made with alternating layers of cake, custard, jello, fruit, whipped cream, displayed, colorfully, inside a deep sided glass container. Oh Yum.)  

I had made three salads for the house warming that morning. Our middle son had requested bean and potato salad to compliment the vast array of 'vegetation' he would be offering for his weekend long social event. Some meats would be barbecued. But not all invitees ate meat. The world is a changing place. The food pyramid is losing ground, thankfully, in many ways. Carbs, regardless of origin, are no longer #1. (They seem to get in the way). ... Fresh fruit and vegetables, the so-called plant foods, now center stage, were being offered. No time to get hungry today. How the produce was beckoning. For the two nursing moms, the selections were great for milk production. Rich, nutrient dense foods abounded: romaine, watermelon, red grapes, lots of onions as were other fan favorites: hot dog, chicken patty and sausage, on the barbecue, with lightly toasted bun. Just one, I know!

'Milly' filled her plate with veggies and the salads. Suddenly it was feeding time for her three month old baby, my grandchild. Could I refill her plate? Soon it would be time to go. As Milly nursed, her plate was full again. She wanted what was best for her and baby. Salads always fit the bill. Bean, potato and macaroni salad were always her favourites, oh so yummy, she remarked.

The bean salad had diced orange and red bell peppers and thinly sliced vidalia onions. The bean combo included organic canned chickpeas, red kidney beans, black beans and a mix of other beans in an oil, maple syrup, lime juice/lemon juice and white vinegar dressing. Everything was organic and all beans were rinsed several times before being mixed together. (Those lectins must be washed away according to the respected high profile lectin doctor. I think he's right. Those insidious things impact on our health). Salt and pepper were added, as needed, to augment flavour and taste. Everyone enjoyed it all.

Next came the potato salad. This year organic potatoes were used. (I place eggs - if being used - on top of potatoes, at the beginning, to cook. Saves time and one less pot to clean.) The skins of suitable sized potatoes were cooked, with skins on, to reduce becoming water logged with that mushy taste after they were cooled, peeled, then diced into evenly sized pieces. Adding herbs to the mixture: dill, chives, finely chopped green onions- (all of the 'stalk') adds greatly to overall flavour. Finely grated carrot, along side finely diced bell peppers - colours of your choosing - makes potato salad a main dish rather than a side one. The dressing of mayonnaise with added turmeric, dry or 'wet' mustard, onion powder, salt and pepper, white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, a dollop of oil helps personalize overall taste and add health benefits. Sliced radishes, chopped dill weed, parsley and chives, 'collaborated' to decorate this delicious summer salad. Why make plain salads when the addition of other vegetables, herbs and spices can turn any salad into a main course.

Then there was the macaroni pasta, NON-GMO, (made in Italy). I cooked it al dente, drained away the water, then added the finely diced green onions, bell peppers and celery to the mix. The dressing was similar to the one used for my potato salad with added paprika and turmeric to give the macaroni salad that reddish hue with added health benefits. Salt and pepper were sprinkled to enhance flavour. (Vinegar helps in keeping bacteria at bay, though all salads should be refrigerated ASAP, after serving.)

As she was preparing to leave, Milly thought of her trip home. Time to refill her 'plate'. She was a nursing mom to a three-month-old, who was growing quickly, minute by minute, and depended upon her to give him everything he needed now! She began filling a large plastic 'beer' cup with the salads she loved to eat. Potato went in first, then the bean then finally the macaroni, on top. It was a delicious mix of food as the loose dressing of the bean salad dripped down onto the 'heavier' potato salad. 

Milly had made the first ever salad trifle, I thought, her special 'fast food combo'. As they left, she knew her meal was just a fork full away for baby and her. Grandma and mommy knew best.

'Early' Moms' Journeys

It was a new normal for these women, a new breed, who instinctively knew and understood the benefits of breastfeeding their young. Two had newborns while another had a one-year-old. In the midst of fathers and grandparents, they nursed, talked and laughed, intermittently, while the offspring, they had co-produced, ate the food of excellence. Everything seemed so natural at the birthday party celebration of one of the new dads.

Was this the new look of the modern age of parenting? The idea of formula had never entered the minds of these brilliant young women, one a French Immersion teacher, another president of her own music company while still another was a naturopathic doctor who had travelled to another country for her medical internship. Their pregnancies had progressed well. The births, though painful and long term, in some cases, had been a family affair with dads, up close and personal, attended by the midwives, carefully chosen. It was an experience vastly different from mine of the last century. Ouch!

The three young women had gathered in the living room for feeding time. It was an ongoing ritual, performed every few hours or every few minutes, everyday. The babies' health and lives depended upon it. It was, after all, the best food in the world, a custom-made brew produced strictly for each baby by the incredible mom machine feeding them. The human body is a miraculous machine. There is simply nothing like it, anywhere.

These new moms had attended all workshops and midwife appointments. Whenever problems developed in the routine of caring for baby, these women asked for help. They knew what they were doing and why. All had taken maternity leave from busy careers. I was a grandmother to two of these babies. It was an exciting time for all.

These modern moms were focused and unmoved with a strict adherence to keeping their newborns ahead of the growth charts, with impenetrable immunity, along the way. With dogs and cats in their midst, their babies' asthma risk was low. (Pet ownership bestows health benefits upon children we are now learning). Whatever these women ate, so would their babies, indirectly. Eating out was a rare occurrence, too soon to 'imprint' on the 'mouths' of these early perfect humans. They understood.

Decades ago, as a first time mom, grains were the building blocks for my baby. I could tolerate little else. Funny, though. The lectin doctor, the wheat belly doctor and grain brain doctor might have frowned on my forced selections during that bygone era. But my food choices were clear. My body directed the  aberrant 'eating' performance. These 'unapproved' foods provided the only respite from the morning sickness that ran rampant, every moment, every day, all day. 

 

My body could tolerate few foods. Red river cereal, cream of wheat, oatmeal, corn meal and buckwheat kasha with onions and butter, for brief windows of time, stood on guard. Then my world would come crashing down, again. How could my fetus survive this daily onslaught of 'violence'. Would nutrition eve nhave  a part tot play? I worried non-stop about my pregnancy's viability. I hoped for a miracle. It came when he survived his 3-month early birth and arrived home one month ahead of his original due date. Food made all of that happen, a food called mother's milk. It helped save his life! The doctors were relieved that 'we' had even bothered. It was 1979. His diet outside the womb was better than what he had received inside it. At 3-pound 2 ounce, the doctors had been impressed with his gestational weight.

My grandsons are tall and solid, for their ages, incredible students of their environment. They smile frequently, focus on the objects of their desire, expect to be moved to new spaces while watching, with a careful eye, what people are saying and doing. Eye-hand co-ordination is a top notch skill set. Both babies are in the know. They approve of everything. While the three month old 'talks' and smiles, he watches all and moves his head to the beat of all that happens around him. The older baby, my one-year-old grandson, performs with abandon, loves to dance, snap his fingers and interact with the sounds of life around him. He is patient and kind with the animals, in his midst, as the licks of affection envelope his face. He feeds himself with foods with a dynamic nutrient 'footprint'. No french fries for this boy - yet! Mother's milk is now a secondary tiered food, a side dish with other powerful munchies his mom provides. I am in awe of both my girls.

The 'ease of preparation' of mother's milk makes it an unbeatable, 'cheap' food for baby. Preemies depend on it, as the sugars, in this custom made elixir, help in the removal of killer pathogens from the digestive tract. Preemie milk is also top notch in other ways making it the best version of regular mother's milk in baby's life and death struggle to survive. It's an elixir like no other. 

 

Watching these new moms ready themselves for the next moment of nursing is a comfort to behold. They are reaching into their child's future and providing them with health benefits of untold proportions. For these pioneers, mother's milk is not simply a choice for their babies. It is their human right!