Category Archives: Recipes

Three – Two – One …….. Blast Off!!

January 6, 2017 Deidre Leave a comment

Happy 2017!

If we’ve learned anything from 2016, it has to be that life can often seem very short. While long-term goals are necessary for keeping your life moving forward and staying on track, remember, today is a beautiful day to be day one!

So if you are on your 100^th consecutive day of doing something good for yourself; or, if it’s day one again – today is all we have anyway. Right?

So let’s blast off each day with a little something that is yummy, delicious, and easy to do. This is also excellent for your energy levels, clarity, and focus – AND – is full of anti-oxidants and anti-inflammation elements which will soothe your insides.

What am I talking about? Power coffee you make yourself with a few basic ingredients!

It even looks like a latte! What could be better?

I tried something similar last year, but stopped because I was using a blender which cooled off my coffee and because…well…I could do without it.

This week, however, I came across a better idea for energizing coffee. Switching out my big blender with my immersion blender has enabled me to keep my coffee hot, blitz any leftovers quite easily, and make clean-up a cinch.

After experimenting the first time with a single cup of this amazing blend, I assembled enough ingredients for a week. The following is the basic recipe for one serving. To make ahead, simply multiply the recipe’s dry ingredients, mix, store in a jar, and add a spoonful to coffee along with the teaspoon of coconut oil for each day.

POWER COFFEE

Into your morning cup of coffee add:

1 tsp coconut oil

¼ tsp. turmeric

Trace amount of cayenne pepper

¼ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp raw cacao

½ tsp collagen

¼ tsp nutmeg

A sprinkle of cardamom

½-1 tsp coconut sugar

Blitz this in a blender or use an immersion blender.

ALERT: Immersion blenders do create a bit of a splash. Do NOT use your coffee cup as a blending bowl. Red face…been there, done that…cleaned it up. What I have discovered is to blend it in the coffee pot IF it is half full. K-cup folks can just use a standard blender; just preheat the blender jar with a bit of hot water first.

What I have discovered about Power Coffee is that I am not ‘charged up’ in a jittery way. I am focused. There is no need to ‘dig deep’ to get out of my chair to start the day’s activities. I am experiencing very stable energy levels and my ‘drive’ lasts and lasts. This is all on coffee that is 50% decaf.

Three days in and I am so pleased! There are calories in this, so I either delay breakfast or decrease the amount I eat. Because I am being well-nourished with this long-lasting drink, my eating has automatically decreased.

Will this do my body good? Yes!

Here is a little information on some of the ingredients:

Coconut oil is special in the category of saturated fats. In addition to being a superb source of energy, coconut oil consists of medium-chain fatty acids which have been shown to be anti-inflammatory and protective to the immune system. Coconut oil is linked to being protective from degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The bacteria-killing property of coconut is well established. The breakdown of coconut oil in the body also leads to more efficient metabolism.

Turmeric, also known as curcumin, is an ancient healing ingredient with amazing anti-inflammatory properties. Studies show, turmeric is protective against forming the precursors of Alzheimer’s. Its anti-inflammatory properties are shown to relieve symptoms of arthritis, and it is protective against cancer.

Cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar, is loaded with anti-oxidants, calms inflammation, and is linked to brain health.

Raw cacao powder is NOT cocoa powder. Cocoa powder has milk, sugar, and other additives. Raw cacao is simply dried and ground cacao beans.

Raw cacao beans were called ‘food for the gods’ in ancient cultures due to their great benefits. Cacao beans are a rich source of anti-oxidants, fiber – both soluble and insoluble, carbohydrates, protein, monounsaturated fatty acids that are not harmful to cholesterol levels, some amounts of caffeine and theobromine that are stimulants and anti-depressants, and a host of minerals and vitamins.

Raw cacao powder is made without heating the cacao beans above 116 degrees. Then they are cold pressed to make a paste. The paste is cold ground to yield a raw cacao powder. Thanks to the cold processing, the anti-oxidants and other nutrients are not destroyed.

Collagen is essential for hair, skin, nail, joint, and bone health and is a source of protein. Got creaky joints? Got wrinkles? Get collagen!

I wish you a happy “blast off” as you greet each day with Power Coffee.

“Do your body good” and start the New Year off feeling calm, yet energized, and let me know how your body likes Power Coffee by leaving a comment.

Hello 2017! I’m ready and raring to get started!

Deidre

PS- As a special thank you to my loyal readers, my Editor, Sheree Alderman, and I have created a PDF of every recipe from last year for your printing pleasure! You can access that collection here: FOODTALK4YOU YEAR END 2016 RECIPES; as well as from the new RECIPE tab on the home page! Click on it to find a drop down menu where you will find a recipe collection, the one from 2016.

You can also access a printer-friendly recipe for this delicious energy-boosting coffee here: POWER COFFEE RECIPE.

Hope this helps! Let us know how you like these improvements!

Til next time-

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Christmas Cranberry Commotion!

December 22, 2016 Deidre Leave a comment

Are you like me? I simply crave seasonal offerings, and right now… it’s ALL things CRANBERRY!

Long-time readers of this blog know I am a strong believer in seasonal fruits and vegetables. Sure, we can get most every fruit and vegetable year round, but it’s “fresh” from the opposite side of the world. certainly not “fresh” from our area – and NOT meeting our unique cyclic nutritional needs of the season.

My visions are not of sugar plums, but of cranberries. Their tartness compliments turkey, chicken, and pork based protein dishes, as well as a green vegetable that’s oven roasted in the second recipe below.

As we weigh each food choice with the question, “Will this do my body good?” Cranberries are a seasonal choice that sing the reply, “Yes! This will do my body good!”

Remember the mantra frequently heard: “Go for the color!” Rather than lists of “eat this and not that,” just heading for the seasonal colorful fruits and vegetables, will ultimately steer us on a path of exceptional nutrition.

With holiday meals abound, cranberries will add, not only a divine color, but also an abundance of great nutrition and health benefits.

Long touted for ingredients that prevent urinary tract infections, cranberry PILLS are best suited for medicinal levels of such ingredients rather than just cranberry juice.

But the nutritional profile of EDIBLE cranberries WILL deliver powerful levels of:

Vitamin C
Fiber
Vitamin E
Antioxidants
Phytonutrients

Consult your health care provider if you take warfarin (blood thinner) or have a history of kidney stones, as cranberries may aggravate your condition or alter the effects of your medication.

So let’s dive into two of my favorite cranberry recipes.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

This is not your normal Ocean Spray cranberry sauce which uses a full cup of sugar. This uses half that and yet maintains sweetness levels through the addition of other healthy fruits.

I actually recommend doubling this recipe – trust me, you’ll want to – in which case, in addition to doubling most ingredients, still use just the one orange but use the rind from half of it.

Ingredients

12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed and culled of soft berries

½ cup unsweetened applesauce (or one whole cup if not using grated fresh apple)

½ apple, peeled, grated

1 orange – cut rind off top and bottom, quarter, and peel three of the sections and slice cross ways; thinly slice the remaining section with the peel remaining (see photo)

Secret ingredient: 1 cup of raspberries or 2-3 Tbs. of Penzey’s Spices Raspberry Enlightenment

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

Whole cloves – about 10 buds removed from cloves

1 cinnamon stick

Dash of nutmeg

Method

I actually precooked my raspberries using half of the sugar and then pressed them through a sieve to yield a perfect seedless raspberry essence! Ummm!

Using a large sauce or soup pot, add all ingredients and cook over medium heat. As the berries heat up, they will pop. Stir occasionally. As things heat up, you can lower the temperature a bit and “smush” the berries against the pan to assist in “popping.” Continue to cook until ingredients meld into a thick sauce.

Transfer into a serving or storage dish, remove cinnamon stick, and cool. The resulting sauce more closely resembles a jam.

In addition to being offered as a colorful relish to accompany turkey, chicken, or pork, this sauce/jam can be spread on top of nut butters (almond is my favorite) as a twist on PB and J.

_________________________

Next, I pair cranberries with Brussels sprouts. If you are one of those who is not “in love” with this awesome mini cabbage unless it’s hidden in a vat of melted Velveeta (a nonfood for sure), try this!

If there ever was a vegetable “candy” this recipe is it, and it “will do my body good!”

Take a quick check on the benefits of Brussels sprouts and you will be inundated by page after page of information about phytonutrients, anti-inflammatory factors, antioxidant support, detox support, anti-cancer factors, heart health, digestive health – you name it.

Definitely worth a second look to those who have been leery of these little jewels.

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH CRANBERRIES AND PECANS

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

Optional: 1-2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped (see the recipe chapter of my book Toolkit for Wellness to learn how to make all nuts more digestible and better for you)

½ – 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped or cut in half

4 Tbs. olive oil (use more if also adding broccoli florets to the recipe)

1-2 shallots, thinly sliced

3-5 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a garlic press

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

METHOD

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Using a large baking pan or baking sheet, toss all ingredients until mixed, evenly distributed, and are covered with oil. Turn the Brussels sprouts cut side down. Roast for 25 minutes or until edges of sprouts start to turn golden and crispy. Serve.

Wishing all of my readers the happiest of holidays, the merriest of Christmases, and the happiest and healthiest of New Years!

We can celebrate and STILL have food that will, “Do my body good!”

‘Til next year-

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Santa’s Waist Trimmer – “Taking Off the Cookies” – Cookies

December 19, 2016 Deidre Leave a comment

Here are 3 important rules to remember: Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch, and a pauper at dinner. Sure, right? But sometimes, I just want a little something to go along with my coffee, you know? Not a big meal, but something that will tide me over until my first meal. Too many thoughts of “dunkable” donuts, delectable Danishes, or any variety of “healthy” whole-grain, pop-up toaster tarts come to mind.

Yuck. I want to “do my body good.”

Behold, the Breakfast Cookie!

I never want to be without a stash of these. So, every month or so, I’ll “whomp” up a double batch of these babies to freeze. Exactly 11 of these little miracles stack up perfectly along the bottom of a one-gallon Zip-lock bag, which can conveniently be wrapped around the “tube” of cookies and placed in the freezer for future reference.

The Breakfast Cookie recipe is featured in my book, Toolkit for Wellness. After having made many, many batches of these (meaning: a LOT), I have honed this recipe to just a couple of steps – so to speak – and have streamlined the work, taking any of the guess work out of the nut flour proportions.

So, here we go!

I’ve simplified the prep into ‘wet’ and ‘dry.’ I also assemble ALL ingredients before starting, which is especially important if you are making a double batch. I will, literally, surround each bowl of dry ingredients with smaller bowls of wet ingredients and the requisite three bananas, each before starting.

BREAKFAST COOKIES

Preheat oven to 350, or 325 if using convection. Both of my large baking sheets fit nicely into my oven which will accommodate the twenty-nine cookies this recipe makes with just one baking cycle.

In a food processor, (Mine has a 11-cup capacity which works perfectly), place the following ingredients and pulse 2-3 times for 15 seconds each, until the dates are in very small pieces and the bananas are smooth:

1 Tbsp. lemon juice or juice from ½ lemon

3 large, ripe bananas broken into chunks

7 medium-sized pitted dates /or/ 5 large Medjool dates, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and drained

2 Tbsp. ghee /or/ palm shortening

1 cup unsweetened applesauce (two of those individual serving applesauce cups)

Pour this mixture into a mixing bowl containing the following ingredients that have been whisked together:

½ cup hazelnut flour

½ cup almond flour

¼ cup coconut flour

¼ cup ground flax seed

¼ cup hemp seed hearts

¼ cup Great Lakes gelatin

3 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

½ cup dried fruit of choice (I use blueberries)

Add 2 tsp. of vanilla to mixture as you combine the wet and dry ingredients with a spoon or stirring spatula. The resulting dough should be soft but not sticky. If it seems too soft, add more coconut flour at 1 Tbsp. at a time, stirring after each addition.

Using a golf ball-sized cookie scoop – mine measures just a bit less than 2 inches in diameter – scoop out dough and place cookies onto parchment paper-covered baking sheets.

Dampen your first two fingers in water and gently press each cookie down a bit. Cookies do not spread out much.

Bake in preheated oven (350; 325 if convection) for 20-25 minutes. My convection oven usually takes 23 minutes. Cookies will still be a little bit soft but not mushy when done. Place cookies on a cooling rack where they will firm up.

A couple of these with your favorite breakfast brew will do the trick. Just warm them up a bit in a toaster oven while your coffee or tea brews.

File this recipe under –

Paleo

Gluten-free

Dairy-free

Sugar-free

Soy-free

High-fiber

Excellent sources of protein

Anti-inflammatory

Bone and joint health

Great tasting!

Mornings never tasted so good!

Santa’s Waist Trimmer – Taking Off the Cookies Cookies

‘Til next time-

Deidre

PS: Consumer update! If you own a Cuisinart food processor with a blade constructed with four rivets, please go to recall.cuisinart.com to check if your blade is one of the 8 MILLION being recalled. Mine was! No deaths have been reported, but injuries have as a result of metal shards coming off in the food! Check out the metal fatigue breaks occurring around the rivets on mine:

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Chilly November Night’s Butternut Squash Soup!

November 15, 2016 Deidre 2 Comments

If you buy a butternut squash every year thinking you’ll do something creative with it but don’t…. If that lowly butternut squash just sits on your counter promising to be nothing more than an object you might want to grab in self-defense during a home invasion… Then stay tuned for some great news!

Good. Better. Best. Never let it rest until good is better, and better is best!

Plain butternut squash soup is… good.

Add caramelized onions and garlic to get something… better.

Add anti-inflammatory spices, creamy good-fat from coconut milk, and bone building gelatin, and you’ll have the best steamy bowlful of butternut squash goodness you’ve ever had! It’s the BEST!

Let’s get right to the recipe. This is so easy to do and was a lot less of a mess to do using my immersion blender! Wow! First time using it for creamed soups – no more transfers to the blender and then to another soup pot.

Easy-peasy!

The day before, I sliced a butternut squash lengthwise, scooped out the seeds, and put the cut sides down on to a rack in a baking dish with about ½ inch of water in the bottom. I baked the two halves at 350 degrees until tender enough to easily poke with a cooking fork into the thicker neck section of the squash – about 50 minutes. When cooled enough to handle, I scooped out the flesh and stored it in a container overnight.

Armed with plenty of cooked squash, putting this soup together the next day was a smooth process. Pun intended.

Simply follow the recipe below:

GOOD – BETTER – BEST BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Into a large soup pot on medium heat add:

1 yellow onion, chopped*
½ BULB of garlic (that’s about 5-6 cloves), peeled, smashed, and chopped*
Extra Virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of a soup pot
A dollop of grass fed butter for an extra yummy factor (about a Tablespoon or so)

Slowly sauté veggies until clear. Reduce heat and add a tablespoon or two of water to continue cooking to caramelize veggies. This may take 7-10 minutes.

(*) Make sure to let these prepared allium family vegetables rest at least ten minutes before cooking. See my book, Toolkit for Wellness, page 162, to learn why.

Add the following seasonings and ingredients:

2 teaspoons of curry
1 tablespoon of turmeric
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
½ can full fat coconut milk (if the cream is solid, scoop out about half to use and pour about half of the clear fluid into soup pot)
¼ cup of Great Lakes unflavored gelatin, evenly sprinkled over the top of the ingredients
1 – 8 ounce free range chicken broth with about ½ cup of water to rinse out container
Flesh of one baked butternut squash

This is where the fun started for me. Using my trusty immersion blender, I simply blitzed the cooked soup ingredients into creamy wonderfulness. No more using a dripping ladle to fill a blender in small hot batches to blitz, then pour into ANOTHER soup pot to finish. Yay! I can’t recommend my immersion blender enough!

Once the soup was piping hot there was nothing left to do but enjoy!

Deidre

I’ve worked up my appetite for some healing soup and will be pulling out some of this Good – Better – Best Butternut Squash Soup from the freezer for dinner tonight!

Please let me know how you like this.

Editor’s note: Please CLICK HERE for a printer-friendly “Best Butternut Squash Soup” recipe!

Food Talk 4 You!, Recipes

Nothing Spooky With This Smoothie!

October 31, 2016 Deidre Leave a comment

One of my Designed for Health students, Steve Lambert, still jokes me about my heavy duty green smoothies that were – in retrospect- admittedly a challenge to drink. Apologies to all!

It is not necessary to add EVERY great and healthful ingredient to one single smoothie. Our daughter, Serena Ann, inspired me to create something healthy AND tasty!

With the basis of frozen fruit, yogurt, protein, and a handful of greens, I am committed to having an ENJOYABLE SMOOTHIE every morning this week!

Today’s concoction included:

A generous handful of frozen cantaloupe
A modest handful of baby kale
A half cup of coconut milk
A tablespoon of chia seeds
At least a half cup of vanilla yogurt
A scoop of protein powder
A half cup of water

Tomorrow I may change out the protein for a handful of almonds. This is very drinkable and I am being rewarded with good fats, fiber, probiotics, and a serving of powerfully beneficial greens!

Happy Halloween! May there be NO spooks in your smoothie!

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Classical Gas Blues

February 18, 2016 Deidre Leave a comment

Has gastric reflux set up house in you? This goes beyond the occasional heartburn. This kind of reflux can help you identify the location of your esophagus…when you’d just as soon not know. Then there’s the stealth version, too. No uncomfortable sensations in the gullet, but unexplained hoarseness or inability to sing as smoothly as you usually do.

There are other symptoms as well, including: regurgitation of a bitter tasting and burning fluid into the throat, burping, and recurring hiccups, just to name a few. Reflux or GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease), as it is known, can tear up a perfectly good esophagus and ruin singing careers. There is also increased risk for esophageal cancer if left untreated over time.

While the reflux was just a nuisance thing when I bent over, (which is a lot as a caregiver), then I started having trouble singing…Well, that was too much!

There is definitely a stress factor, as well. Truly, I can have just one negative thought and bring on the reflux. Who says the mind isn’t powerful?

So, one prong of my anti-reflux campaign is stress management. Affirmations. Check. Coloring. Check. More sunshine. Check – when the sun shines. More walking. Check. Talking with friends. Check. But, I was still clinging to what also needed to be addressed.

There, again, our health is our choice.

The turning point for me came with viewing NBC Nightly News the other night, as they featured a story about the bad side effects of many common drugs given to combat reflux. In addition to the already known side effects of proton pump inhibitors being increased risk of fractures and infection (due to the drug blocking mineral absorption), the folks at Johns Hopkins discovered there is also an increased risk for kidney disease.

A 20-50% increase risk for kidney disease, in fact!

One female patient was profiled having normal kidney function in March but only 30% function by August, while taking a proton pump inhibitor. She was instructed to stop taking the over the counter medication and her kidney function increased.

Yet, drug manufacturers claim that following the recommended dosage on the label is safe. Today we’re hearing that the top medications for treating heartburn/reflux also causes dementia!

The story concluded with a doctor from Johns Hopkins saying reflux can totally be addressed by food. He said eliminating berries, chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol for 28 days will help heal the body. That was it. He was speaking to me. There was my choice for the second prong of my defense attack.

Was I going to choose health? Health without drugs?

Yes.

Caffeine consumption is going down – gradually – a cold turkey approach is not kind to the head. No more chocolate…Hey, Valentine’s Day is over! A choice is a choice. So long berries…See the recipe that follows using baked apples. No more alcohol…well, that isn’t hard, but my half glass of wine will just have to wait another day.

It’s day five as I write this and guess what? No reflux. Even with just half-caffeine coffee! Twenty-eight days total for healing.

Twenty-three more to go! When I get there, moderation will be my middle name.

So, with no more chocolate, what kind of treat can I devise? I return to an updated version of my Baked Fruit with Benefits. This may be the best baked apples I have ever created, and they are chock full of extra goodness (that’s the benefits part).

As a lead-up to the recipe, however, let me summarize a recent post on MarksDailyApple.com that reminded me of something I needed to be doing: adding collagen to my diet where ever possible.

Here’s why. The amino acid glycine is the main amino acid in collagen. We make about 3 grams of this a day ourselves (so it’s considered non-essential) BUT we need a minimum of 10 grams a day – more if we are healing from injury or recovering from intense exercise. Thus, it could be categorized as a conditionally essential amino acid– meaning we need to supplement it in our diets.

The big flap about not eating so much meat, apparently, can be erased by ramping up our intake of collagen – if the animal studies translate to human results. Meat-eating animals’ longevity was increased with the addition of glycine/collagen to their diets. He cited another study in which low levels of glycine predicted diabetes risk.

Glycine/collagen will also: improve quality of sleep, reduce the amount of muscle meat needed to be eaten to maintain muscle mass, is great for healthy joints, improve appearance and elasticity of skin , assist in healing of wounds, and is a key ingredient in cooking rich sauces.

Aside from eating bony cuts of meat: ribs, oxtails, necks, and the like, which all take extra time to slow cook, and from drinking collagen-rich bone broth, I add bone and body building collagen with the products pictured here.

The collagen hydrolysate on the left is not a thickener, and it can be stirred into liquids of any temperature. That’s the kind I used in the recipe below by mixing this collagen powder into the arrowroot/brown sugar mixture used to dust the apple bits before baking.

The powered gelatin on the right can be added to any hot liquid as a thickener. My no-bake Fruit with Benefits recipe in Toolkit for Wellness uses this to thicken the fruit juices as they cook in the pan. I add this to my home-cooked bone broths, as well. With this, you could make your own jello or fruit rolls ups!

Now to the recipe. You will notice that I crammed in every good thing I could find for this baked apple dish. Fresh fruit, gelatin, minimal sugar, and cinnamon topped with activated nuts, hemp, ground flax seed, minimal sugar, cinnamon, and coconut oil.

Baked Apples/Pears with Benefits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease 8 x 8 inch glass dish with coconut oil

Prepare mixture used to “dust” the cut fruit. Any extra may be stored in air-tight container for next time. Quantities may vary as you may even need to mix up just a bit more if you run out.

Stir together:

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup arrowroot

¼ cup collagen hydrolysate

1 tsp. cinnamon/apple pie spice, or to taste

Prepare fruit by peeling, coring, slicing apples and possibly pears.

Today I used:

3 Golden Delicious apples and
1 Anjou pear

Gradually add sliced fruit to bowl and sprinkle with dusting mixture, stirring to coat after each addition.

When all fruit is prepared, transfer into prepared glass dish.

Topping:
Into large fry pan on medium heat put:

2 Tbs. coconut oil

1 cup chopped activated nuts (I used the last of my walnuts, some pecans, and almonds)

¼ cup brown sugar

1/3 cup ground flax seeds

1/3 cup hemp seeds

2-3 tsp. cinnamon/apple pie spice

Pinch of salt, if desired

Stir to combine, and continue to stir occasionally as the topping heats and browns – about five minutes. Do not let this burn. When browned and warm, spread on top of apple mixture.

Cover dish with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes until bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This is delish! You can easily change-up the fruits; a handful of blueberries is awesome. A scoop of this is a great way to flavor my nightly chia seeds stirred into hot water, too! Keeps the insides humming!

Here’s to no more reflux and happy faces enjoying a healthy dessert!

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Food That Says, “I Love You”

February 10, 2016 Deidre Leave a comment

Times have changed in some respects; and in others, not at all. I remember reading aloud the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of Little House on the Prairie to our children every night as we all learned of Laura and Almanzo’s adventures. Today, our grandchildren listen to The Adventures of Harry Potter. I don’t know what the children eat at the Hogwarts School, but Almanzo’s favorite repast had to include fried apples ‘n’ onions.

Being more of a city girl transplanted to small town North Carolina, this notion of apples ‘n’ onions did not beckon to my palate or culinary desires. Too bad.

First of all, they aren’t fried- as in deep fried. I don’t deep fry anything. In country jargon, frying apples implies sauteing and browning until tender and even possibly cooked down to a mush.

But apples ‘n’ onions? Really?

Well, this is the month of love. If you fix apples ‘n’ onions you will LOVE the flavor of this impossibly delicious side dish that happily occupies its spot in the perfect plate fruit/fat component and part of the veggie area. Pair this side with any kind of dark-green leafy veggie, along with lean chicken or pork protein, and you will have a meal that says, “I love you”!

With just three ingredients, this is a cinch to do, and quantities vary according to what’s on hand.

Apples ‘n’ Onions Recipe

Apples – 3-4 apples

Onion (I used a Vidalia onion) – one medium-sized onion

Coconut oil- 1-2 Tbs. of coconut oil to coat the pan well

Method:

In order to activate the beneficial anti-inflammatory enzyme, allicin, slice up the onion first so it has 10 minutes to rest before heating.
Peel, slice, and core the apples into desired shape. I use an old-fashioned hand crank apple peeler/slicer/corer and just cut the slices into smaller pieces.

Melt 1-2 Tbs. coconut oil into large sauté pan on medium heat and add prepared apple and onion slices. You may want to add a pinch of salt.

Stir occasionally and gently cook until browned and tender. Serve warm.

Recipe number two involves an oft’ forgotten little green nugget that used to be buried under an avalanche of melted Velveeta. Boy, once you stop eating “food-like substances,” as found in dairy “products” such as Velveeta, the very thought of returning to them sends chills down the spine. Ick!

IMG_1853-1 — Raw Brussels sprouts and cranberries

So, what to do with that bag of Brussels sprouts? This latest recipe supersedes any I have tried thus far! My book contains a great pan-cooked version of Brussels sprouts that’s really fine and has similar ingredients, but these roasted sprouts are the BEST!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Fresh Cranberries and Pecans

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half

1 cup activated pecans*, coarsely chopped

½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries, (not dried and sweetened), coarsely chopped

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. finely chopped shallots

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp. Kosher or sea salt

½ tsp. ground pepper

Optional: 2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar to toss in after roasting

Method:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Using a large baking pan, toss all ingredients together except balsamic vinegar. When all ingredients are mixed and coated with oil, arrange Brussels sprouts so the cut side faces down in baking dish. Roast for 25 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.

Optional: Toss with balsamic vinegar when roasting is complete. These smelled so good and tasted so good right out of the oven; I forgot the vinegar and never missed it.

*Activated Pecans: Soak raw pecans in salted water 24 hours; drain; dehydrate 105 degrees in dehydrator 14 hours or bake at lowest oven temperature until crispy. This process is explained in my book, Toolkit for Wellness, and makes the nuts way more digestible and yummy.

So, there you have it! Healthy anti-inflammatory eating at its very best. Some old-school goodness from the past and some modern farm-to-table style of today!

Say, “I love you” with some good eatin’!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

-Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Ginger Tea – Oh So Goodness!

January 28, 2016 Deidre Leave a comment

I used to call it the “creeping crud.” You know, the variants as sinusitis, bronchitis, laryngitis, coughing, sore throat and the like? Those of us who sing, teach, coach, or otherwise strain our vocal cords on a regular basis, need some relief and prevention.

Enter – Ginger tea!

A fellow singer keyed me into this years ago as a preventative, as well as a therapy. I’d see her going from one rehearsal to another, always clutching her ginger tea. After picking up her habit, I can vouch for the effectiveness of ginger tea; both, as a preventer of illness, and as an aide to healing when the “creeping crud” arrives despite every effort.

The recipe is simple enough:

Green tea

Fresh ginger

Fresh lemon juice

Honey

For two cups of tea, I boiled water, added about an inch of fresh ginger peeled and sliced, juice from ½ lemon, a teaspoon of local honey, and three green tea bags.

Let’s take a look at the healing and health-promoting properties of each ingredient:

Green tea: loaded with antioxidants with many medicinal properties, has properties that improve brain function, increases metabolism and increases fat burning, properties in tea called catechins, can positively impact oral hygiene and reduce infection risks, may help the body process blood sugar, has been shown to be heart healthy, and can decrease the risk of cancer.

Ginger: ancient Chinese source for digestive issues such as nausea, loss of appetite, motion sickness, morning sickness, and chemotherapy-induced nausea. Its pain-reducing capabilities can help with pain and inflammation seen with arthritis, headaches, and menstrual cramps. It has been shown to inhibit the virus that causes colds.

Lemon: antiseptic properties, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and pectin fiber. Functions as an anti-inflammatory. The list goes on.
Honey: anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties among others.

Now you can see why drinking this is like putting the power of Superman into a cup. Antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and antiseptic properties in every sip!

Wow!

Daily green teas:

Some people brew a super-strong cup of tea using 8 bags of Bigelow Green Tea. It’s their morning “shot” of goodness. I have found Bigelow brand to be the most authentic tasting tea in tea bags.

I have also discovered the joys of loose leaf green tea available on-line from Ten Ren Tea. The Oolong variety has a wonderful aroma and taste. A bag of loose leaf Oolong is expensive, but it lasts a long time. A little bit less than 1 tablespoon of tea leaves yields two of these small pots full of fragrant green tea which will fill my mug twice. Just enough to start the day off right, and my beverage of choice on Sunday morning before singing in choir or before going to special morning choir practices.

A couple cups of Ginger Tea or regular green tea will soothe the mind, tummy, and go a long way to boosting our wellness!

Enjoy a cup while you go through your Affirmations!

In health-

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag! (Oh yeah…)

December 24, 2015 Deidre Leave a comment

Poor Santa! So much sugar! But the poor fellow LOVES cookies! Is there an answer? Yes! No need for the Old Elf to be totally deprived of his seasonal favorites! Step into my Christmas kitchen for a quick recipe share of two satisfying confections that do not deliver a huge sugar/carb hit. These macaroon and oatmeal recipes will more than fill the bill for treats that do not overdo things and will keep you in balance.

Midnight Macaroons were developed to be part of a regular care package sent to our daughter for a moment of hugs-across-the-miles during her grueling night shifts as a Resident Physician. She shared them with her fellow residents during their – rare – breaks.

Midnight Macaroons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees or convection oven to 325 degrees

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl:

• 1 1/3 cup unsweetened, finely shredded coconut
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free flour (I used Krusteaz Brand)
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup cocoa
• 2 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli Brand)

Beat/whip 3 large room temperature egg whites until they become fluffy.

Then gradually add 1/3 cup white sugar while beating.

Add ¼ teaspoon almond extract and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Spoon whipped egg white mixture into the dry ingredient bowl and gently fold ingredients until combined.

Using a cookie scoop – I used a 2 inch scoop – place dough onto prepared baking sheet. These will not spread out.

Bake 25 minutes and cool on a rack. Smaller cookies will need less time to bake.

For an optional added chocolate “hit” you can easily dip the tops of these into melted dark chocolate.

These are not especially sweet (YAY!) and are totally satisfying and provide LOTS of nutritional goodness through the egg whites, coconut flakes, and dark chocolate.

I stress in Toolkit for Wellness – barring severe allergic reactions – an 80/20 approach to anti-inflammatory eating should meet our needs to be mindful of how we ‘fuel’ our bodies without making us obsessive. I choose to stray from the path of “no grains” once in a while as a serving of white rice is savored or a gluten-free corn chip is enjoyed at a party. But, oatmeal labeled “gluten-free” has been calling me like sirens from the deep.

I bought a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Brand Gluten-Free Rolled Oatmeal last year and ended up just giving it away to a friend. I didn’t trust myself to not go down a very slippery slope into regular bowlfuls of carbohydrates in the morning. Well, I took the plunge this year and used some of that oatmeal to create a fabulous treat. So far, so good. One cookie every other day or so! Who is in control at all times? Me! I can do this!

Traditional oatmeal cookies call for a total of 1 cup sugar (brown and white), but I eliminated one third cup of that and did not lose a bit of flavor or fun. I think this could even be made with less sugar than that and be just fine.

Low Sugar, Gluten-Free Oatmeal, Raisin, Walnut Cookies

Preheat oven to 350; or 325 degrees for a convection oven. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine in a medium-sized bowl:

• ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking soda
• ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 cup gluten-free flour

Cream in a large bowl:

• ½ cup grass-fed butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar

Mix into the butter mixture:

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons water

Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined.

Stir in:

• 1 ½ cups gluten-free rolled oats
• ¾ cup activated nuts, chopped (See Recipe chapter in Toolkit for Wellness)
• ½ cup golden raisins

Using a cookie scoop, put scoops of dough onto prepare baking sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes for 2” cookie scoops. Smaller scoops will require less time.

cookies in freezzer — Cookies in freezer

My only improvement on these delicious recipes is that I will use a smaller scoop next time so I can have more cookies and smaller servings. A move to smaller treats will keep these cookies closer to the 80 side of the equation! These both freeze well, by the way; so the treat can last longer if you are not sharing them.

So, now we see Santa settling by the hearth with his NEW, favorite book to learn of other amazing ‘tweaks’ he can make in his daily life that will revolutionize his health and peace of mind!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all!

Deidre

PS- Thank you for making Toolkit for Wellness a Best Seller in ALL of its categories at one time or another!

Remember! The eBook is still at $0.99 until Christmas when the price goes up. If you prefer reading on a devise, that’s a great bargain for yourself or someone you care about.

But wait, there’s more! The paperback version is ready and also available through Amazon! Click HERE to get yours today!

Food Talk 4 You

Category Archives: Recipes

Three – Two – One …….. Blast Off!!

Christmas Cranberry Commotion!

Santa’s Waist Trimmer – “Taking Off the Cookies” – Cookies

Chilly November Night’s Butternut Squash Soup!

Nothing Spooky With This Smoothie!

Classical Gas Blues

Food That Says, “I Love You”

Ginger Tea – Oh So Goodness!

Top Google Searches for 2016!

Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag! (Oh yeah…)

Reclaim your health one meal at a time

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Reclaim your health one meal at a time