“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates
Whole foods, anti-inflammatory diet
At Pacific Quest, we believe food is medicine. We provide whole foods, hypoallergenic, anti-inflammatory, and blood sugar balancing diet, rich in critical nutrients for optimizing health. There is a daily focus on healthy foods and nutritionally complete meals, which mainly consist of organic fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and grains with the additional sources of animal protein, tofu, dairy and eggs. In addition, each meal is composed of complex carbohydrates, protein, and plenty of vegetables or fruits.
What is an anti-inflammatory diet?
The Pacific Quest diet is an anti-inflammatory diet, but what does that mean? Simply put, it does not contain inflammatory foods; such as sugar, alcohol, caffeine, corn syrup, trans fats, food additives, preservatives or hormones.
Inflammation contributes to the majority of the health issues and uncomfortable symptoms, which your body can experience. This includes depression, type II diabetes, heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, mental confusion, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, skin diseases, gastrointestinal issues, attention deficit, and the list goes on. Anti-inflammatory foods include most all fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish, organic eggs, whole grains and some herbs.
While at Pacific Quest, students learn that what you put in your body directly affects how you feel and are taught the basics of nutrition and how the body uses food as fuel. Adolescent and young adult students learn how to cook and prepare food using the freshest and most natural ingredients.
Here is a recipe that students prepare:
Thai Basil Eggplant, Snap Peas, & Broccoli
Ingredients:
Eggplant, Snap peas, Broccoli, Onion, Garlic, Basil, Salt, Olive oil
Prepare:
Harvest 3-5 large eggplants and 16 oz basil leaves
Process in kitchen and set aside
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Chop broccoli and eggplant into bite-sized pieces
Hand tear snap pea tips away from snap pea
Pour vegetables into large bowl and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Toss until all vegetables are coated and place on large cooking tray.
Cook for least 40 minutes
Dice 1 onion
Rough chop 1.5 bulbs of garlic
Rough chop basil
Lightly saute onion and garlic, wait…then add basil to lightly saute in – set aside.
Set up blender and combine:
Garlic-onion-basil saute, and 2-3 oz olive oil, and pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.
Check vegetables and when ready, arrange vegetables on plate and add a small dollop of blended sauce atop vegetables.
Enjoy!