Tag Archives: gluten sensitivity

The Bones Have It!

Talk about nutrient dense! What could be better than bone broth? food-talk-4-u-grandmother-cookingDo you know why? Yes, Mom gave us chicken broth when we were under the weather, but did you know that savory bone broth just might keep you out of “bad weather”?

Particularly in terms of osteoporosis? Being gluten and grain free enables our bodies to better absorb calcium and other minerals because there are no phytates blocking that process. (1) So, bring on rich bone broth as something just to drink everyday as many are doing, but also as a basis for some yummy soup.

chicken-shot-21Honestly, there are so many wonderful foods we can be eating every day, I have a hard time fitting them all in; but I do try to whip up a vat of sturdy bone broth at least once or twice a month. In the fall I use ox tails, but right now it’s chicken!

Right here, I have to make an addendum before going to the recipe below. Is it broth or is it stock? I have just finished ready several postings from about the web and rather than having things clarified, the issue is even murkier than before. So to avert a landslide of bad press, I am sharing a recipe that cooks meat-laden bones and flavor-enhancing vegetables for a while, removing the meat and returning bones for a lengthy simmer for the purpose of making a soup base. Call it what you will.

I have learned today of another way to do things by just using bones

Ox tail bones
Ox tail bones

for the sole purpose of making a perfectly clear ‘broth’ that may be even healthier. According to Summer Brock’s recent post, she parboils the bones-only broth for a few minutes and discards the water before the 24-48 hour boil and simmer in a new vat of water. This eliminates some of the foam junk that accumulates in the beginning that may be not that beneficial to consume. This method renders a very rich ‘broth’ that can be the base for some Pho or just used as a daily bone-boosting beverage.

Having said all that, I have adapted a recipe by Kelly Bejelly (in her blog A Girl Worth Saving) for Chicken and Dumplings by adding a couple ingredients, vastly extending the cooking time, and staging things differently because of the more beneficial cook time. When these bones are finished, the cartilage at the end of the bones has turned to jelly and the ends of the longer bones are practically falling off!

chicken-feet-1024x680Bones are the operand word here; bones, joints, necks, and –yes- chicken feet! OMG! You may say, but it’s true! I actually have run out of chicken feet for this batch, but they are easily found at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store. Buy a bag of chicken feet, use 3-4 and freeze the rest! This may be the part of the soup making process you need to hide from your family. We are not going to eat those poor feet, but they add so much gelatin and collagen which makes bone broth worth its weight in gold!

Chicken and Nut Dumpling Soup

To make the broth:

Chicken parts – This time, I used 4 leg/thigh quarters, 2 wings, back and rib bones (saved the breast meat for kabobs)

1 ½ – 2 tsp. of poultry seasoning

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 Tbs. gelatin dissolved and stirred into ½ cup water

2 carrots peeled and cut into large pieces

½ onion cut into large pieces

3 ribs of celery cut into large pieces

Your soup pot should look something like this:

Cover contents with water – it took 10 cups for me – and add about 2 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar. The vinegar helps to break down the bones and to release their minerals.

food-talk-4-u-soup-simmeringBring to a gentle boil, reduce to a simmer, and forget about it for 3 hours. At this point, I use a slotted spoon to bring the meat/bones out into a bowl. Let the meat/bones cool, and remove most of the meat but return all bones and clumps of cartilage to the broth. Save the cooked chicken meat to finish the soup or to use for other purposes. The bones should continue to cook for a total of at least 12 hours. With my sensitive sense of smell, I am not a fan of over-night cooking, but if you are not bothered by cooking aromas in your sleep, go for it. I usually cook several hours one day, cool off the pot, and place it in the refrigerator until next days’ simmer.

Once the bones are falling apart, strain the broth using a colander or sieve and a large bowl or another soup pot. Discard the bones and the way-over-cooked veggies. You could stop here and just drink a cup – full of broth every day; many do. If you want to go on to soup, keep cooking!

To make the soup

Cut into your favorite soup-sized pieces:

2-3 carrots

½ onion

2-3 ribs of celery

Cut up and add as much of the cooked chicken meat as you like at this time, using the rest for other purposes such as chicken salad.
Add to pot of broth to simmer. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

While the veggies are cooking, prepare the Nut Dumplings as follows:

1/3 cup of broth, cooled

½ cup Tapioca flour

1 ½ cups of sliced or slivered almonds, preferably have been soaked and dehydrated to inactivate the phytates which will make the broth’s mineral richness more absorbable to the body.

½ tsp. sea salt

½ tsp. poultry seasoning

kneading_doughPlace the Tapioca flour, almonds, salt, and seasoning into a food processor or blender and process until the nuts are pretty much like flour. With the machine running, gradually add the cooled broth to the flour mixture until you have soft dough. Shape the dumplings to your preferred size by scooping out a spoonful of dough into your hands and gently rolling into balls. I like making really small ones, pinching off a bit of dough using an iced teaspoon, and dropping it into the pot.

Bring the soup to a low boil, and add shaped dumplings gradually. At this point, you could also add some quick-cooking vegetables as well: small broccoli florets, zucchini or summer squash. I also add a lot of fresh parsley leaves, chopped, at this time for added richness!

When veggies and dumplings are cooked, serve and garnish with added parsley if desired. Bon appetite!

Deidre

(1) The Paleo Solution, Robb Wolf, pg. 93

End of Detox But Not the End of Clean Eating

Let’s summarize what we are doing and where we are. We are creating and following The Plan of eating, learning how to do The Moves in exercise, and embracing The Life that will bring us renewed health with each meal and with each day’s activities. We are taking ownership of food-talk-4-u-child-cherrieseverything we put into our body, realizing that what we have been told in the past about nutrition (whole grain, low fat, high carb, count calories, eat less and exercise more) is probably where our troubles started in the first place.

For the first ten days of The Plan in the detox phase, we’ve ditched the sugar, dairy, gluten, grains, alcohol, and caffeine! Congrats if you were able to go all the way with this! I had a slip or two, but it’s okay; this is something I am doing for no one else but myself! I can live with it!

I truly hope you were able to decrease your dependence on sugar, and that living without constant bread and starches has opened up a whole new world of satisfyingfood-talk-4-u-brain-fog eating.

The point is how do you feel? How are your energy levels? Has the brain fog lifted? Has joint pain gone? Is your belly happy? Are you sleeping better? Have more bounce to your step? I hope so!

Now the detox has ended, clean eating has not! That should be part of your life plan anyway! What is needed now is perhaps a bit of liberality still within making nutrient dense food choices that will “do your body good.” We are always looking for ways to cram in as many nutrients (protein, good fats, and veggies) into all recipes.

Having wiped the slate clean and having gofood-talk-4-u-kerrygold-irish-buttertten reacquainted with how your body functions without food pollution, you can try singular items every few days in order to assess how you react. Easy does it, one thing at a time. Make a small step towards dairy; see if you can tolerate ghee (clarified butter) without experiencing any gastric distress.

This ghee was given to me. I will probably have to order it online. Then use some pure, clean butter made solely from grass-fed cows. I use Kerrygold brand which is available from Harris Teeter. Nothing can add more lusciousnefood-talk-4-u-grass-fed-cows-Rss to lightly steamed broccoli than some real butter! Oh, my!

If you want to continue into the dairy world, a few days later, try some unsweetened low fat Greek yogurt. The low fat yogurt concept was explained to me this week; usually clean eating never shies away from good fats. Good fats include avocado, extra virgin olive oil, fat from grass-fed meat, dairy fats from grass-fed cows, nuts and seeds, and chocolate. Most low fat products just add sugar to keep that “bliss point” in thfood-talk-4-u-yogurte flavor palate. But non-fat plain Greek yogurt has way more protein in it than full fat yogurt so – Yay! Bring it on! I currently am using regularly available store-bought Greek yogurt; if I had access to yogurt from pasture-fed cows, I’d do it!

Here’s what I did with my yogurt yesterday. Is it a pudding? A cold cereal? Or, if slightly frozen, is it ice cream? I don’t know, but it is certainly helping me as a nighttime snack and could help others who do not feel like traditional breakfast food.

In Advance –

food-talk-4-u-chiaUsually I do this each night after cleaning up dinner’s dishes or right before bed – presoak the chia seeds and flax seeds in water. Presoaking these seeds at least a few hours allows them to swell up as they absorb the water. These seeds are a great source of fiber, but to benefit by them, you want the water absorption to happen before they get into you, lest the ‘helpers’ actually cause constipation by absorbing water in your intestines! These seeds also are wonderful sources of good omega-3 fatty acids and ramp up the protein count whenever you use them. I prepare chia and flax seeds daily not knowing exactly where they will end up- usually a smoothie, as a thickener to sauces, but sometimes like this in a Berry Blend!food-talk-4-u-berry-chia-2

Also a few minutes in advance while you are getting the ingredients together- gradually stir the gelatin into about a half cup of cold water for one minute. If you rush this, trust me, you will end up with weird shapes of hard ‘stuff’ in your final food product! Gross!

Creamy Berry and Seed Blend

Place the following ingredients in a food processor or blender:

2 – 5+ ounce containers of non-fat Greek yogurt

food-talk-4-u-strawberry1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Vanilla extract to taste

1 coffee scoop EACH of chia seeds and flax seeds, whole or ground, soaked in 1 cup water

2 Tablespoons of gelatin stirred into ½ cup water for one minute
Blend, blend, blend.

Transfer to a container and pop into the refrigerator for a few hours.

That’s it! Today’s breakfast consisted of some reheated leftover okra, a bit of leftover zoodles and shrimp cooked infood-talk-4-u-bbq-sauce pesto, and for dessert, a bowl of this Berry Blend. Yum!

Next post will be about other high-nutrition options along with a great barbeque sauce recipe that has no sugar in it and is bursting with flavor!

Please subscribe to this blog so you can join our growing community of people who are learning how to get better health one meal at a time. By subscribing, you will receive an email notice alerting you to each new post. Your address is never shared with others. Your comments and questions are always appreciated. For more lengthy or personal comments, you may reach me at foodtalk4you@gmail.com.

Deidre

Day 8 of The Plan

I have two recipes for you that will fit both into the detox phase, (gluten, grain, dairy, sugar, and caffeine free); but also into the overall life plan of being gluten free.

Food-Talk-4-U-melon

 

First, I created an awesome smoothie combination which resulted in one of my all-time favorite blends of flavors just this past week after discovering mini melons at the fresh produce stand!

 

Here it is:

Melon-Mint-Coconut Smoothie

In blender put:

4-5 cubes ice

20-25 fresh mint leaves

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes

1 peeled, seeded, and cut up mini melon – they are the size of a baseball and have light-colored flesh

2 scoops of whey protein

Big handful of greens – I used that mix of baby kale, chard, spinach, and carrot from Sam’s

Few drops of vanilla extract to taste

A pinch of salt, if desired

A sprinkle of cardamom to taste

Enough unsweetened coconut milk to make things flow

Blend. Pour. Enjoy.Food-talk-4-u-gravy

This was enough for now and later!

Being gluten-free created a bit of a vacuum in terms of gravy. You know…good ol’ gravy? That was until I read a recipe in Penzeys’ catalogue last year! Oh, it looked and sounded so good! Could it really fill the bill? Well, I gave it a crack and, lo and behold, it really did the trick for me, was so easy to prepare, reheats well, and I usually keep some frozen.

Food-talk-4-u-cashews

Behold, Cashew Gravy:

Cashew Gravy

Ingredients:

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 large onions diced

¾ cup cashew butter (You can buy this nut butter found next to peanut butter at the store, or you can make it yourself by grinding cashews in the food processor- that’s what I do.)

½ cup wheat-free tamari

2 ½ cups water

¼ tsp. pepper

¼ tsp. ground sage or Penzey’s Mural of Flavor

Method:Food-talk-4-u-onion

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until caramel in color, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. As the onions become browner, stir more frequently. Add the cashew butter, tamari, water, and spices and cook until heated through.
Place in blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Be careful with blending as hot liquids tend to foam up—fill only halfway.

Food-talk-4-u-turkeyI have used this gravy on beef, turkey, and lamb. It would also work with chicken, I am sure. So if you feel like pouting because you don’t have a bun to go with that burger, don’t! Use some of this luscious gravy and the others around the table will get jealous! With this good gravy, I don’t even want a gluten free bun— just too much bread (read carbs). Makes me want to run to the store to get some extra onions sFood-talk-4-u-ttapp-1o I can replace my gravy stock!

Speaking of running….How is exercise going for you? Have you tried any slow-motion squats? I am expanding upon my newly formed habit of doing a bent-knee plank during coffee brewing time, (my husband is still drinking coffee), and have added 6 slow squats this morning.

While waiting for the last of the brewing to finish, I added arm circles but with a twist. I learned from doing T-Tapp exercises (more on those later) that a big change in arm dynamics can come about with just a turn of the palm. Instead of arm circles with palms down, turn your palms up facing the ceiling and bring your arms as far back as comfortably possible! Really cool!

For standing exercises like this, according to T-Tapp, the proper stance is feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, tuck pelvis in, suck tummy in, shoulders back! Really works for better posture and general body dynamics.

The also works with progressive arm “flaps” where-by you pump your out-stretched arms at your side with palms up. Start by standing with arms straightened out as if you were making the letter ‘T’. Bring arms as far back as you can comfortably with palms up. Lower your arms just a third of the way down for 6-8 reps, then continue lowering and raising them about two thirds of the way down for 6-8 reps, then bring arms all the way down your side and back straight out for 6-8 reps. All done with palms facing up! I loved returning to this old exercise.

Attractive Frustrated Hispanic Woman Tied Up With Tape Measure Against a White Background.A gentle wake up and body activation all done while the java was brewing. Such a schedule is easier for me to maintain because that time is a fixed allotment every morning; it’s already there to make use of without scheduling something special later in the day.

Hope you enjoy these recipes and exercises! If you have any questions or comments, please do so below, and remember to share your success with others! You are doing great!

Deidre

Day 1 of The Plan

 

With a cup of hot mint tea, I greet you!

photo(1)My breakfast was two scrambled eggs with a splash of unsweetened coconut milk, salt, pepper, and Bavarian Seasoning for special flavor. As a side dish, I also sautéed some fresh okra in some ghee. Ghee is clarified butter with the solids removed. The solids are photo(3)usually what cause the upset for those using dairy. Make sure your ghee is made from grass fed cow’s butter for maximum benefit. I used to think that all okra needed to be breaded, Southern style, and deep fried, but no! They are wonderful just sliced and browned in a minimum of oil or fat and are a wonderful side dish to scrambled eggs.

Lunch looks like it will be a green smoothie made with ½ banana, ½ avocado, big handful of baby kale medley, whey protein, sweet spices, and vanilla, along with enough unsweetened coconut milk, to make things blend right. Leftover smoothie will be my after-dinner snacphoto(5)k — I just can’t seem to shake wanting to have something to eat nearer bedtime. I know…people say not to eat for several hours before bed but there you are.

photo(14)Dinner will generate lots of left-overs so tomorrow’s cooking will be easier—just a re-heat. Tonight, I will sauté some shrimp in pesto, add some cut up rotisserie chicken meat, olives, artichoke hearts, lightly sautéed asparagus, and serve over zoodles cooked in pesto! Might throw in some farmer’s market fresh tomato chunks just for added color and taste! If that isn’t enough, there’s a green salad with my name on it! I won’t leave hungry! The combination of protein and veggies works equally well thrown into a salad rather than on zoodles, too, if you would rather do it that way.

Today, I would like to share with you how to crisp nuts. Raw nuts need to be sort of…  I hate to say … processed … in order to be more agreeable to our digestive tracts. See, animals protect themselves from prey by running. What do fruits, vegetables, and nuts do to protect themselves from being eaten? They have outer coverings that are disagreeable to those eating Food-talk-4-u-nuts-2jpegthem. The coverings of nuts and grains are made of phytic acid (phytates). These phytates are the storage form of phosphorus and they actually bind to the minerals we ingest making them un-absorbable by our digestive tract; meaning, we will not absorb zinc, calcium, magnesium or the like.

Nuts and seeds apparently have enzyme inhibitors that prevent pre-mature sprouting. These enzyme inhibitors are also difficult for us to digest. This can be the reason we often have unhappy bellies or even bowels after eating unprocessed or not neutralized nuts. (1)

Neutralizing the phytates is the goal because we humans lack the enzyme necessary to do it on our own. How to do that? Soak in a brine, sprout, and/or ferment nuts and seeds and then dehydrate them.

Here’s how:

Dissolve 2-3 tablespoons of sea salt in a bowl with enough water to keep nuts covered.

Soak raw almonds, pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts for 8-12 hours.

Soak raw cashews 3-6 hours.

Food-Talk-4-U-nutsDrain and rinse nuts. I spread my soaked nuts out on a bath towel dedicated for this purpose. Nuts may stain the towel; which, by the way, is also my zoodle-drying towel. Roll them up for a bit, and put them on their drying trays in a single layer.

For a dehydrator, set the temperature at 105 degrees and dehydrate for 12-14 hours.

Using an oven, set oven at lowest temperature possible, (varies by make/model), and dehydrate for several hours, stirring and testing for doneness every hour.

The results will amaze you! Crispy and light! So much easier on the digestive system! A nut that will work with your body and not against it!

food-talk-4-you-happyCongratulations and best wishes on giving your body a break from gluten, dairy, sugar, and caffeine!

Tomorrow, I will start sharing what I’ve learned about how to get more out of less exercise! How cool is that? Exercise is my personal weakness in terms of consistency, so the benefit of “The Move” portion of this self-improvement will definitely start right here with me, too!

Let’s do this together! Leave a comment on how you are doing and join our community by subscribing.

Stay cool –

Deidre

(1) Realfoodforager.com

The Countdown Continues – Need Another Reason to Eat Cleaner?

With the kick-off start date to “The Plan” fast approaching (Monday, July 7th), let’s hope we do not get any major delays due to any ill Food-talk-4-u-hateffects of Hurricane Arthur swinging by our coast. May all be safe, and as the Governor said yesterday, “Don’t wear a stupid hat!” Ocean waves may beckon but the undertow and rip currents are stronger than all of us! When approaching a flooded intersection: “Turn around, don’t drown!”

Food-talk-4-u-pulpDid you catch the story featured on MSN News this week? It appears there is yet another reason to going paperless when paying our bills and in receiving various statements, than just in saving the trees and our environment from the pollution it makes to create paper. Trees need to be saved for something else!Food-talk-4-u-hamburger

There’s tree pulp in a great deal of the fast food we are consuming. Yup! Oh, it’s not called a pine bark burger or a maple tree smoothie, but the tree pulp is there!

How? It sneaks in under various guises: cellulose gum, cellulose powder, powdered cellulose, but it is wood pulp all the same. This non-absorbable fiber provides anti-caking properties (aka: anti-caking agent), acts as an emulsion-stabilizing agent, and improves cling (how creamy stuff stays together).

Food-talk-4-u-disgustingWhat this is to the fast food industry is cheap filler that enables them to increase profits by decreasing the real/costly ingredients such as chicken and cream. Are you saying “yuck” yet?

The article cited studies that suggest adverse effects on cholesterol. Who knows what will follow?

It turns out McDonalds is the biggest offender with 14 menu items Food-talk-4-u-treecontaining this wood pulp, followed by: Burger King at 13, Wendy’s at 10, Taco Bell at 9, and Hardees coming in at 6 menu items.

So those special, re-invented buns we’re seeing, creamy cheeses and sauces, cakes, smooth shakes, fries (that do not stick together), meats….just about anything… have been made, err formulated in a chemistry lab, to what?…Taste better?…Seriously?….Be more healthy?…Come on! To be more PROFITABLE for THEM!

Listen up America! Save a tree! Eat REAL food! Save YOURSELF!
Deidre

Counting Down to “The Plan” – With Oodles of Zoodles!

food-talk-4-u-hand-peeler-r
Hand Grater

Eating well does not require all kinds of gadgetry so don’t let a limited supply of “things” hold you back from enjoying the wonders of non-packaged foods.

I will be frequently referring to “zoodles”—my “go-to” for non-starchy noodles, and they can be created many ways. Please see my previous post here to learn more about using zoodles. With farmer’s markets brimming at the seams with all kinds of summer squash, what better time to make zoodles?

A simple hand grater will not give you luscious long strands of zoodles but most people have one in their kitchen supplies and will give them some semblance of a short noodle.

food-talk-4-u-hand-peeler-r-2
Micro Planer

Using a micro-planer will result in zoodles; but using one really scares me even with using the vegetable gripper provided—which is lost somewhere in my kitchen.

 

food-talk-4-u-hand-julianne-peeler-r
Julienne Peeler

A safer approach is the julienne peeler which is easy to use and makes nice zoodles. It is one piece and easy to clean up.

 

food-talk-4-u-hand-curly-squash-r
Spiral Peeler

 

 

My favorite tool, however, is my spiral cutter which results in fun-to-make, fabulous zoodles. Get the kids involved and you’ll be sure to have little zoodle eaters who won’t even mind eating veggies!

 

 

So, figure out how to make “zoodles” for there will be many opportunities to do so in The Plan!

Deidre

Seven Days to “The Plan”

Counting down 7 days to the start of The Plan!

As we prepare with tapering down caffeine and sugar (including Food-talk-4-u-waterartificial sweeteners) for the initial detox phase, we are left with what to drink…. So many people are adverse to drinking plain water. Maybe it’s because chlorinated city water is just not tasty; maybe because your well water has a bad taste. For me, plain cold water has never been a problem because we have great well water, but during the summer months especially, I do enjoy something a little more interesting. The lure of sweet tea may beckon, but we are not going there! No sir-ee!

With mint happily growing in my back porch garden, there is no better choice for me! Not only is it so fragrant, but it just gives such a flavor lift. Various other herbs can also be used in combination with fruit or citrus to create a delightful, affordable, and rewarding-to-make beverage.

Food-talk-4-u-lemon-1Making flavored water at home is like making a smoothie—you are limited only by your imagination. For the kitchen-challenged, this is a cinch; don’t worry. No boiling of water needed!

All you need is a:

  • glass container: a pitcher or large mason jar will be perfect
  • long-handled spoon – wooden or stainless steel
  • slicing knife for some recipes
  • water
  • ice

The method consists of:

1) preparing the fruit, herbs, and/or cucumber, adding to pitcher

2) muddling

3) adding water and ice

4) serving

Voila!

Make sure the fruits and herbs are very clean of bugs and/or toxins.

Organic fruit and herbs may be the safer choice to avoid any residue of pesticides.

Muddle. Muddle. Muddle.

Muddling is the term for using the back of the spoon to smush/rub the leaves (especially leaves) and fruit to the side of the container in order to release the flavor-containing juices or oils. You do not want to muddle the fruit into a pulp; just enough to release the juice a bit.

Here is a list of possible flavor combinations and special notes for each:Food-talk-4-u-cucumber

1) Cucumber, mint, lime – slice a small cucumber into the glass container, add 1-2 sprigs of mint (I leave the mint leaves on the stem), and add 1 sliced lime.

2) Strawberry, lemon, basil – slice several strawberries into container, add ½ sliced lemon, add ¼ cup basil leaves.

3) Lemon – juice ½ of the lemon and slice the rest

4) Strawberry – slice several strawberries into container

5) Strawberry and basil – several strawberries, sliced with several basil leaves

6) Mint – 2 stems of mint (about 8 inches long)

7) Cucumber – slice cucumber into container, refrigerate overnight to release flavor into the cold water

Food-talk-4-u-strawberries8) Ginger – slice about a 1 inch piece of ginger onto cutting board and smash slices like garlic cloves before putting into container

9) Raspberry, lime – quarter 2 limes, squeeze juice into container and add the rest of the limes as well. Add desired amount of fruit; usually a handful is good

10) Pineapple, mint – add about ½ cup fresh cubed pineapple to the 2 sprigs of mint

11) Blackberry, sage – a handful of blackberries added to desired amount of fresh sage is good

12) Orange, mint – slice a whole or half of an orange and use desired amount of mintFood-talk-4-u-raspberry

These flavored waters should keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator, so make a couple different kinds if you want to make ahead.
There may be a desire to sweeten them, but concentrate on the wonderful taste of the fruits and herbs instead! Truly, a more mindful approach to eating and drinking can enhance the experience of any meal. Discern the flavors, what they taste and smell like, how they make you feel, or where they may ‘take’ you in your mind.
I have already been doing this but have also added some strong green tea to the brew. This will stop as I get ready to being totally decaf.

Because there is still residual caffeine even in decaf teas and coffees, the best scenario for the detox will be to be absolutely caffeine free! It’s only for the initial 10 detox phase, so I will be tapering down right away by cleaning up my flavored water.

Muddling is fun and the pitchers of flavored water are so pretty you could use them as centerpieces!

Deidre

Getting Started: Putting It All Together

 

Okay, here’s where we put it all together! In the coming weeks, I will roll out 1) The Plan, 2) The Move, and 3) The Life.

Many people have expressed wanting something they can sort of wrap their hands around; something more than general guidelines about eating for health and more like, “Today, eat this and exercise like that.”

I am hearing you! Mark your calendars for Monday, July 7th as our official START DATE for The Plan!Food-talk-4-u-calendar

So, to start off, The Plan will give you details on how you can conduct your own ‘cleanse’ or detox to reset your metabolism, get your body back to basics, and allow your body to ‘rest’ from the constant barrage from the Standard American Diet. The Plan will keep you satisfied and full, and will assist your body in ridding itself of some of the toxins and ‘sludge’ that have been clogging up the works and making you feel sub-par.

Food-talk-4-u-superfoodsThe Plan will focus on: 5 ‘Superfoods’ for all ages in your family; being adequately hydrated in more creative ways than just plain water; enjoying food preparation with simple recipes that maximize flavors; how to incorporate simple additions to your food to strengthen bones; how to easily add fiber to your diet, and much more! The Plan will start with a 10-day detox period, followed by gradual unique-to-you additions over time, all within the definition of clean, gluten-free eating.

The Move will help you discover how to get more out of exercise byfood-talk-4-u-Exercise-Group doing less—just in a different way. Exercise can be the more difficult change for me to make, so I will be sharing what I have learned from various sources that all advise a different approach from the sweaty, gym-oriented, chronic cardio that this lady is just never going to do anyway! No more expensive gym memberships! Yay!

The Life will open up easily sustainable goals for a life-style that will help you rebalance your mind, body, and spirit, for a more natural rhythm of eating, moving, and being. Too often, today’s world pushes us to physical and mental extremes that are out-of-sync with our natural rhythms. Once you have made the decision to re-connect with your own pace, the daily ebb and flow of life will not feel so much like an artillery bombardment. Learn how to continually implement your new-found food and healthy life-style habits.

Health is a process. Each of us has a unique set of “issues,” but we all can travel the path to improved health together – One step at a time. Everything I will be describing in The Plan, The Move, and The Life, I will be doing, too.

Food-talk-4-u-detoxBefore starting the The Plan, we should go through a period of tapering now. The detox phase will be caffeine-free, sugar-free, grain, dairy, and alcohol-free, so we need to get ready.

Food-Talk-4-U-cold-turkeyIt’s certainly not a good idea to go “cold turkey” in regard to caffeine because of the resultant headaches; thus, the tapering off is needed. Even the moderate amount of caffeine I consume has to be tapered. I resist doing this! I love that little dab of caffeine; but I have learned that caffeine can adversely affect our hormonal balances, in addition to the usual ‘jitters’ and irregular heartbeats that come with ‘over-doing’ my favorite morning brew. So, ‘a tapering we will go!’

Decreasing the amount of caffeine we consume will also include Food-Talk-4-U-chocolatereducing caffeinated beverages of all kind (tea and colas) as well as chocolate. Pout! But abstaining from chocolate will not be forever
Other tapering involves sugar. That usually means colas. Oh, you use diet sodas? That can be exceedingly bad for normal hunger-influencing hormone functions as well. We’ll discuss creative water flavoring techniques in the very next post, but the colas just have to go. Again, this should be a gradual process as most colas involve caffeine. This is supposed to be a user-friendly experience, so ‘gradual’ is the best bet throughout this tapering process.

Alcohol. What is it but liquid sugar? Granted, there are many heavily cited health benefits to moderate wine drinking, but sugar is sugar. Additionally, just this week I learned that one alcoholic beverage can lower a woman’s metabolic rate the next day by up to 70%! Wow! Definitely not the drink for getting into shape!

Let me know if you are ‘IN!’ We will be doing this together! During the countdown to The Plan, I will be giving you tips on tapering and getting prepared. Join us as we commit to a 10-day detox and 20-day follow-up to reset our health – one meal at a time!

In health –

Deidre

 

Clean Eating

So many terms are being bantered around in the food world that one could get lost. Maybe I can be sort of a weather vane in a storm of terminology.food-talk-4-u-food-pyramid

There is the Standard American Diet (SAD) which is loosely based on the old Food Pyramid laced with the effects of highly commercialized food “products.” The Food Pyramid boasts whole grain goodness as its broad “eat mostly this” base and vilifies fats as sure killers. It is interesting to note that since the inception of the Food Pyramid model, obesity and diabetes began to skyrocket.

Mere coincidence?

Food-talk-4-u-whole-grainsWell, think about it. Grains are broken down and processed as the carbohydrates they are. Carbs are broken down by the digestive system into simple sugars. All carbs are broken down into sugar (glucose or fructose molecules). So, be it a whole wheat bagel or a piece of frosted birthday cake, the end result is sugar. To transport that sugar to body cells, insulin is needed. Any of that sugar fuel not needed at that time is stored as fat. While eating the carb-centric diet as outlined in the Food Pyramid, Americans were requiring their bodies to produce more and more insulin. After a while, being awash in insulin, our bodies become resistant to the effect of insulin—sort of ignoring it. However, our cells were starving for the sugar fuel and we were still hungry; so, we ate more whole grains. Can you see the vicious cycle this was, and is, making? Gaining weight and becoming diabetic. There’s a term for that: diabesity.

Insulin is known as the hormone of fat storage; and eating carbohydrates causes a need, not only for insulin production, but receptivity to its effects. As one who often suffered from frequent low blood sugar crashes, I mistakenly tried to “fix” things by eating carbs. True enough, my blood sugar would go up, but as all of that insulin took effect, my blood sugar crashed again. Little did I know at the time, cutting back on the (starchy) whole grain carbs with each meal would have normalized my blood sugar. I certainly know that now. I can return to low blood sugar crashes quite easily if I re-introduce starchy carbs- even gluten-free ones- heavily into my meals. Instead, I rely on protein and good quality fats along with low-glycemic colorful veggies and fruits to keep me on an even blood sugar keel.Food-talk-4-u-money

A word or two about “food products.” You know them. If given the long list of their ingredients, you could never guess what they were. A LOT of money goes not only into the production of those items, but extensive money and research goes into selling of them to us. It’s all about money; making money; making more money. Our health is not even on their list of concerns. Making a profit is the list.

Food-talk-4-u-clean-eatingEating Clean or Clean Foods is all about eating unprocessed food, as close to the original source or form as possible. This type of eating eliminates the highly processed oils, “food products,” and “Frankenfoods” such as pre-packaged meals, junk food (chips, cookies, frozen pizza, Pop-Tarts) in favor of real, identifiable food (apples, carrots, steak, tomatoes, kale….you get the idea). This might also be referred to as Whole Foods. Mind you, this also contains whole grains……

Gluten Free eating eliminates the inflammatory proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. Using simple gluten-free alternatives for common starchy foods such as bread, crackers, cookies will address the gluten sensitivity but not necessarily address maintaining balanced blood sugars or weight loss. Certainly, I have mentioned in other posts, gluten is also found in condiments; thus label reading is needed.

Paleo, Paleolithic, Ancestral Eating or the “Caveman Diet” are all terms used to describe how our ancient ancestors ate prior to the advent of agriculture. It could be described as “Clean Eating” or “Whole Foods” but generally without any grains, legumes, dairy, or soy. Refined sugar is out! The elimination of all grains (in addition to those with gluten) would mean no rice or corn because of other elements- phytates- that can cause inflammatory processes. I promise a future post on that.

So, do we obsess about what we eat? Does it become our 24/7 demon?Food-talk-4-u-oreo

I don’t think so. To me, just looking at the ingredient list of an Oreo cookie sends shivers down my spine. Talk about “edible food-like substances!” Isn’t it a natural instinct to protect ourselves? Turning away from poison should not be difficult.

Food-talk-4-u-dyesIt seems to be a no brainer, looking at the terrible upswing of obesity, diabetes, ADHD, auto-immune diseases and the like, that something has changed. We just haven’t gotten cleverer at diagnosing patients; we are creating those patients by how we have changed eating. Cleaner eating is certainly a part of the picture. We were not designed to eat food dyes, chemicals, or pesticides. But I also agree with the Paleo proponents who cite that our digestive systems just have not generally evolved to eat most grains. Eliminate them and you will feel a difference. Put them back after a month or two and you will return to feeling and looking sub-par. After cleansing your body from the effects of all grains, you could reintroduce non-gluten grains on a limited basis to see how you tolerate them.

Food-Talk-4-u-sweetnersIf you are just getting started in cleaning up what you eat, ditch the sugar first. It is so liberating to not pine for another sugar “hit.” So many people trying to do this simply switch to non-caloric sweeteners, but that seems wrong on multiple levels. How natural is it? Ok, there’s Stevia and the like, but to me, that’s like getting off of heroine by going on Methadone. So many never get off of the Methadone. Additionally, there are many studies showing those using artificial sweeteners actually eat more. See, the artificial sweetener is telling the brain that sugar is on the way; when blood sugar levels don’t go up; the brain sends the signal to eat in order to raise the blood sugar.

Guess you can’t fool Mother Nature!

The next post will be about how to optimize your success at making positive changes in your eating and exercise habits.

If you find these posts useful, please subscribe by clicking on the green button at the left of the screen to join our growing community of those seeking to renew their health one meal at a time.

Thanks-

Deidre

It’s Sweet Basil Pesto!

 

Pesto can be such a versatile thing to have around, and making it at home is such an easy and rewarding project. I always plant some sweet basil plants each spring in anticipation of their abundant BASILgrowth and distinctive fragrance. With a tendency to over plant these prolific growers, I limited myself to just two plants this year and have churned out my first batch already after just a month of growth. Now that we are seriously in the growing season, there should be another batch in 2-3 weeks! Fortunately, you can also purchase fresh basil from the local farmers’ market or grocery store as well if you lack any from your garden.

There are several varieties of basil, each with its own signature flavor. The kind served with a luscious bowl of hot Pho in Asian restaurants is so spicy, and a wonderful flavor enhancer of that steamy noodle soup. The noodles are gluten-free, made from rice, and a part of the 20 in 80/20, Paleo eating described last week. Going to your local nursery, gently touching the leaves of the different basil varieties, and smelling your fingertips, will clue you into how they taste.

Recipes abound for pesto but they pretty much look the same to me. I can’t claim authorship of this universal combination of just a few ingredients. So here’s what to do with your harvest or purchase:

photo(11)Sweet Basil Pesto

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups fresh sweet basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup Parmesan, Parmesan-Reggiano, or Romano cheese, grated

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts

3 cloves garlic

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste – (I used not quite a ½ tsp. of Kosher Salt and about the same amount of black pepper)

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

photo(12)• Using a food processor, pulse the nuts a few times.

 

photo(10)

• Add the garlic cloves and pulse some more.

 

 

photo(9)• Add the basil and pulse until it looks like this.

 

 

•With the food processor fully on, slowly pour the olive oil throughphoto(7) the shoot.

 

 

 

photo(6)• Stop to scrape the sides down and add the grated cheese. Pulse until combined.

• Add salt and pepper and pulse to combine.photo(8)

 

 

 

photo(5)• Float some extra olive oil on top to seal in the vibrant color

 

 

This should yield over a cup of fresh pesto for you to enjoy, give away, or both!

What to do with pesto?  Well…..add your fresh pesto sauce to:

– some zoodles (See Post) for a tasty side dish

– sautéed shrimp

– cooked chicken

– dip a piece of GF (gluten-free) bread into

– enhance GF sandwiches or deli meat roll-ups

– spread onto salmon before baking

– top any cooked veggie

photo(4)

Fresh pesto is a great thank you gift to your kind neighbor who watered your basil plants for you while you were on vacation!

Deidre