Approximately 70 million couples around the world experience fertility issues, and in somewhere between 30 to 50 percent of those cases, the problem stems from the male partner.

A new study from the University of Delaware points to one thing that could change that: eating about 70 grams (2 ½ ounces) of walnuts daily may improve sperm health by reducing lipid peroxidation, which damages sperm cells.

“Sperm is particularly susceptible to oxidative damage since their membrane is comprised primarily of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA),” explains Maggie Ney, ND Board Certified Naturopathic Doctor and Co-Director of the Women’s Clinic at Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine. “PUFA are particularly susceptible to oxidative damage because of their biochemical structure.”

Especially when men are eating the Standard American Diet rich in sugar and processed foods, sperm cells can be deteriorated by lipid peroxidation. Walnuts, as the only tree nut predominantly comprised of these acids, may be the ideal addition to their diets to boost fertility naturally.

But this isn’t the first study to show the healing power of walnuts as far as male fertility is concerned. A 2012 study published in Biology of Reproduction revealed that men between the ages of 21 to 35 who ate 75 grams of walnuts every day for twelve weeks saw “increased sperm vitality, motility, and morphology” and fewer chromosomal abnormalities.

And if you’re including walnuts on your man’s favorite salad to boost his fertility, feel free to have a portion, too: Ney notes that walnuts can also have positive effects on female fertility and egg health.

“Alteration in PUFA content and oxidative damage to female eggs can alter the health of ovarian follicles, affect ovulation rate and progesterone production,” she says.

Ney notes that raw walnuts are even better than toasted or otherwise cooked walnuts, as the PUFA in the latter can be altered by heating. You and your man can eat raw organic walnuts as a snack, in salads or slaws, or even on top of ice cream for a pro-fertility sundae.

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The post Are Walnuts the Secret to Boosting Fertility? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Once a rare indulgence, brownies now deserve to be a regular treat!

While the exact numbers vary, a traditional brownie serving contains nearly 400 calories, half of which comes from fat. The recipe usually calls for butter, unsweetened chocolate, white sugar, eggs, and all-purpose flour, all of which add no nutritional value. This recipe is a sugar-free, vegan alternative to traditional brownies, using whole-wheat and maple syrup as the base. It’s a delicious and guilt-free way to get the dense chocolate taste you crave!

The sugar, dairy, and egg-free benefits of this recipe aside, these brownies contain one of the healthiest nuts – walnuts! Walnuts contain healthy omega-3s, which protect arteries and improve brain function. The nut also prevents gallstones, is a rich source of melatonin, which helps you sleep, contributes to bone health, stops weight gain, and helps treat diabetes.

Vegan Brownies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup canola oil (or coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients (but only 1/2 cup of the chopped walnuts) in a large bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until evenly combined. The mixture will be thick.

Spread into an ungreased 8×8 glass pan, top with the remaining 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20-25 minutes. To check if it’s ready, push down on the center with your index finger. If you sense resistance, it’s done.

Serve and enjoy some guilt-free chocolate decadence!

Bon Appetit!

Images: Jeffry W.,  Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Nutritional Breakdown: A Vegan Revamp on the Classic Brownie Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

Start the day with a heart-healthy and digestion-friendly snack!

As the fig season is coming to a near end, I’m trying to get the most of my favorite fruit while it lasts. Lately, mornings have involved a makeshift Greek yogurt concoction, with figs, walnuts, and honey. It’s a light, fiber and protein-packed way to start the day.

Figs are a mainstay in the Mediterranean diet and are exceptionally beneficial. They are an excellent source of heart-healthy minerals potassium, magnesium, and calcium, effectively reduce blood pressure, and help to improve your digestive system and regularity. Dried figs concentrate more nutrition in a single serving, but fresh figs are lighter and water-rich.

Fresh Fig Greek Yogurt

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 large fig
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon honey

Directions:

Cut off the pointed top of the fig. Place it upright on a plate with the sliced tip at the top. Slice the fig in half, without cutting through the bottom. Leave a little space intact so that the fig will hold together as one piece. Slice across the fig again, perpendicular to the previous cut.

Slightly pull open the edges of the fig so that it resembles a cup-like shape.

Fill the center with yogurt.

Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

And drizzle with honey.

Serve and enjoy!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

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This cheesecake not only takes a vegan twist but lands itself in a cup.

It would be too good to be true if one of our most beloved desserts loved us back, but cheesecake fails to follow through. It’s a dessert that tastes phenomenal but is enjoyed rarely because of its heaviness and calorie concentration. Luckily, there are ways to make cheesecake lighter and healthier. This raw strawberry cheesecake recipe keeps the traditional cheesecake textures in check, but raises the bar on nutritional benefit.

The Cheesecake Factory’s Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake has 733 calories, 29 grams of saturated fat, 425 milligrams of sodium and 66 grams of carbohydrates in each slice. If these stats weren’t cringe-worthy enough, add a few other flavors, and the calorie count goes through the roof. A slice of the chain’s Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple Cheesecake bears a whopping 1,326 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, 700 milligrams of sodium, and 136 grams of carbohydrates – this dessert alone practically satisfies an entire day’s worth of caloric intake!

When you make your own homemade cheesecake using the traditional ingredients of cream cheese, eggs, and sugar, the nutritional information ranges, but can be relatively more redeeming if the portion size is kept in check. Still, the use of heavy, hard-to-digest cream cheese, fatty eggs, and empty-calorie sugar are in the ingredient list and aren’t doing your body or your health many favors.

This recipe is a raw version of cheesecake, no cooking needed! There is no sugar, no dairy, and no eggs. The recipe retains its richness with the use of nuts as the base, but because the cheesecake is served in “mini” cups, you can keep your portion control in check while still getting the definitive, dense dessert that cheesecake is all about.

Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

• 1.5 cups walnuts
• 1 ½ cups raisins
• Dash of sea salt

For the Filling:

• 2 cups cashews, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup or agave nectar)
• Dash of sea salt

Directions:

For the filling, soak cashew overnight in room temperature water. This is an important step. Soaking helps to remove the enzyme inhibitors that the cashews carry to prevent them from sprouting in nature. Birds are too small to deal with the effects of live enzymes in their tiny bellies, so the inhibitors are ideal for them, but not so much for humans. Getting rid of the enzyme inhibitors through soaking helps us to more easily digest nuts. All nuts have to be soaked to get rid of these enzyme inhibitors, save for pistachios and walnuts.

For the crust, food process the raisins and walnuts until the mixture resembles chunky crumbs.

Press the crust mixture against the bottom and sides of small glass ramekins or muffin tins.

Drain and rinse the soaked cashews before use. Combine all the filling ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth. This may take a few minutes. Be patient – it’ll come together.

Fill each walnut crusted ramekin with a generous tablespoon of the cashew cheesecake mixture.

Set in the refrigerator to help firm or to store for later. You can also eat them right away. Garnish with fresh strawberries before serving.

Bon Appetit!

Images: Zingy Yellow, Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Vegan Cheesecake (In a Cup) appeared first on EcoSalon.

A weekly look at sex and culture, by the numbers.

The differences that distinguish males from females are often the same things that attract us to each other. However, that’s not to say that what’s good for one gender is always good for the other. From oxytocin-laced semen to walnuts and golf courses, this week’s Sex By Numbers examines some curious elements of the gender differential.

JQ1: Name of the compound that researchers are experimenting with to develop a non-hormonal male contraceptive. In the unlikely event that all goes perfectly, scientists say the drug still won’t be available for another 5 to 10 years.

2: Researchers at UCLA have found that eating 2 handfuls of walnuts per day increases the fertility of males, thanks to the effect that Omega 3 fatty acids have on sperm.

293: Number of women who participated in a State University of New York study which found that oral sex can be helpful in combatting female depression; the mental boost is apparently due to mood elevating compounds found in semen, including oxytocin and melatonin.

48: When researchers asked students from 22 universities how they viewed sexual exploits of men versus women, 48 percent said they judged them equally and applied no double standard to females.

300 ft: The radius within which a male moth can detect a nanogram—one billionth of a gram—of sexual pheromones secreted by a female.

1st: This week, Augusta National golf club admitted its first female members—former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore—since the club opened in 1932.

2: Number of species—cattle and llama—in which researchers identified an ovulating inducing factor (OIF) in male semen. While the OIF doesn’t work the same way in humans (thankfully), it appears to “trigger the ovaries to release an egg” upon insemination in many mammalian species.

1%: Percentage of the world that’s believed to be asexual, or lacking sexual attraction or desire of any kind. Author and academic Anthony Bogart posits that our over-sexualized culture could be partially to blame.

Image: Pennstatelive

The post Sex By Numbers: Good for a Man, Good For a Woman? appeared first on EcoSalon.

The peanut butter cup gets a new look.

For a dessert, I often take walnuts, drizzle them with honey, add a few chocolate chips and call it a night. I then got to thinking how such a combo would work as a variation of the classic peanut butter cup, only deconstructed. This recipe does just that. It glorifies my makeshift dessert into something a bit more crave-worthy and gourmet. It’s also super easy!

Walnuts are the star of this desert. Almonds are garnering a lot of spotlight these days, and for good reason, but walnuts deserve some stage time too. In fact, walnuts contain nearly twice the amount of antioxidants than the same portion of any other nut. Walnuts also contribute to heart health, reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, prevent Type 2 diabetes and are packed with protein and fiber.

I use 70-percent dark chocolate in this recipe to minimize sugar content, but you could go ahead and use any chocolate you’d like.

Honey Walnut Butter Chocolate Bark

Ingredients:

• 200 grams dark chocolate (about 2 bars)
• 2 cups walnuts
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Dash of sea salt

Recipe:

Melt your favorite dark chocolate in a saucepan over low heat. Continuously mix the chocolate to break down the pieces. Be careful not to burn the chocolate.

Pour half the melted chocolate onto parchment paper. Spread until it forms an eighth-inch thick piece and put it into the freezer to harden. Set aside the other half of the melted chocolate for later use.

While the chocolate firms up in the freezer, spread the walnuts on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and drizzle evenly with honey.

Pop into a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for approximately 12 minutes, or until the walnuts just begin to brown. Stay near the oven to prevent the walnuts from burning.

When finished, remove the walnuts and let them cool for a few minutes before placing them into a food processor to blend. When blending, standby as the walnuts turn from chunky to grainy. Once mealy like flour, add the sea salt and cinnamon. Continue to process until smooth but clumpy. Be patient – it will form butter. When it is complete, you should be able to shape the walnut butter with your hands.

Remove the chocolate from the freezer and, keeping about 1/2-inch in from the edge of the chocolate, place an even layer of the walnut butter atop the chocolate. You will have to pat down the walnut butter between your hands before placing onto the chocolate, as it’s too thick to be spreadable.

Pour the rest of the melted chocolate atop the walnut butter, sealing the edges.

Place the bark back into the freezer one last time to harden for another 10 minutes. When finished, break the bark into chunks for sharing (or not)!

Enjoy!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Recipe: Honey Walnut Butter Chocolate Bark appeared first on EcoSalon.

Have your gluten free walnut cake and eat it too.

Packed with protein, omega 3s, and antioxidants, walnuts are an excellent source of energy. Their rich flavor also makes them perfect to bake with. And why wouldn’t you want to bake a cake entirely out of walnuts? Enter the Fig and Coconut Walnut Cake.

This dense cake was inspired by a recipe in a recent issue of Bon Appetit, but with a few tweaks it quickly turned into a gluten and dairy free version. Add in figs, coconut and chocolate and you have a cake that’s just as good for breakfast as it is for dessert.

Fig and Coconut Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups raw walnuts
• 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 1/3 cup vanilla sugar (place a vanilla bean in a jar of sugar and store in your pantry for easy use)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup dried figs, chopped
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut + a couple of tablespoons for covering bottom of cake pan

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put walnuts in food processor and chop coarsely. Remove 1 cup and set aside in a bowl.

Add buckwheat, almond meal, salt and ginger to the remaining walnuts in the food processor and mix until well blended.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sugar together. Note: if you don’t have vanilla sugar, add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

In a saucepan, melt the coconut oil. Combine with sugar and eggs and mix in coconut milk.

Add in walnut, buckwheat and almond meal mixture along with the shredded coconut and chocolate chips and mix all ingredients together.

Fold in the remaining cup of chopped walnuts.

Put a tablespoon of coconut oil in a cake pan (I use a 9″ quiche dish) and place in oven until coconut oil is melted. Make sure the bottom of dish is completely greased and sprinkle a layer of shredded coconut. Pour in batter and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until edges of cake are lightly browned.

The post Sunday Recipe: Fig and Coconut Walnut Cake appeared first on EcoSalon.

A salad that’s as easy to make as it is bright. 

This colorful salad is a springtime staple in my kitchen. Light and fresh, it takes only a few minutes to put together, and the sweeter taste of orange is a perfect offset to the raw cabbage. It’s packed with vitamin C, but if you’re in the mood for a salad that is a little more substantial, add in some cubed avocado.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped red cabbage
• 3 medium sized carrots, chopped
• juice of 1/2 an orange
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts

Directions

Combine cabbage, carrots and orange juice in a food processor and mix until evenly chopped and blended. Be careful not to over blend, as your salad will end up on the soggy side.

Place in serving bowl and sprinkle with walnuts.

Every month on Sunday Recipe, we bring you a new theme of recipes, perfect for whipping up on a Sunday. For April it’s all about food that’s easy to travel with, perfect for your spring outings. Enjoy!

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