Purple Earth Cuisine

In the USA there's a stroke or heart attack every 42 seconds; one in five of us will get cancer; 1 in 3 Americans suffer from obesity; and the numbers aren't improving. Is this the new norm?  Should we just accept it with resignation? Shrug our shoulders and say “There’s nothing I can do about it." Well, yes there is something you can do about it!

I have taken the Mediterranean Diet to the next level by reinforcing the recipes with the highest antioxidants in the plant-food chain; polyphenols, particularly the deep-colored purple ones, which have very unique powers.  Considered to be “super foods” these purple plant polyphenols have been the focus of research in more than a decade and have, finally, found their place as the rising star in the functional ingredients market. They are the biggest trend in 2017 and will continue to be a huge trend as the proven benefits to health, peel back like the layers of an onion.

A large body of evidence suggests that these particular phenolic compounds called “anthocyanins” help to ameliorate a variety of  lifestyle diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hyperglycemia, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.

As consumer awareness about our current food system, grows, and the demand for natural healthful ingredients that go beyond nutritional value, increases, the further research will follow and the marketplace will make changes to meet the demand. Keep your eyes out for purple!

The Purple Earth Theory, set forth by microbial geneticist Shiladitya De Sarma in 2007, hypothesized that the first plant-life on Earth was purple. Before chlorophyll entered the picture (photosynthesizing blue and red light into green), plants reflected green light into purple Eventually, green plants took over.

Imagine what the earth must have looked like! Today, if you look closely, you’ll still see the color purple in the plant world.

Recently, we’ve discovered that due to the unique self-protective phytochemicals in purple plants, consuming them may be an effective complement to a diet designed to reduce the risk of coronary heart diseases, diabetes 2, and certain cancers.

Inspired by their color, I have incorporated purple plants into my health cuisine; including the ancient grain, purple zea maiz. A 2003 study on obesity and purple corn posted in the Journal of Nutrition, suggests that the purple color extracted from this corn is potentially anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity, because it helps fend off insulin resistance and so I decided to create a purple pizza using purple corn flour. Imagine having a slice or two of nearly guilt-free, fiber-dense pizza which not only satiates you need for flavor satisfaction, it also may help to keep insulin resistance at bay.

This cookbook is intended to let my purple cooking turn your life around … and maybe your kitchen sensibilities as well. These are revolutionary ideas you can actually put into practice at once!

If only I had discovered the purple plants while I was cooking for violet-eyed Elizabeth Taylor; or Prince, who loved purple. I’m sure they would have benefited from these amazing recipes.

The health-wonders of these amazing plants are now yours for the taking.