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!
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
Roasting!
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!
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!
What do I mean? Isn’t fruit full of goodness all by itself? You bet! I am not even going to try to enumerate all of the nutrient rich benefits there are in different berries, apples, and such, lest I leave something out!
But what if we could stir something up that expanded on the nutrient-richness of fruit? How about a truckload of omega 3 fatty acids? How about some collagen joint care? How about protein? Well, I’ve done it! All without added sugar of any kind if you don’t want; and if you do, a small dab of honey.
This warm fruit compote will delight your senses, build strong bones, provide satisfying protein, and increase your omega 3 fatty acid intake. Wow! Let’s get to it!
Warm Fruit Compote
Ingredients:
1-3 Tbs. coconut oil depending upon amount of fruit. I used 3 Tbs
Fruit sprinkled with cinnamon
. for this quantity pictured
1 gala apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into fairly small pieces
1 Bartlett pear, peeled, cored, and chopped into fairly small pieces
Assortment of frozen berries- today I used probably over 2 cups plus
a few slices of frozen peach
Pinch of salt
Cinnamon to taste- a “sweet spice” that can enhance fruit without the need for sugar. Cinnamon also helps control blood sugar levels
Powdered grass-fed gelatin
Ground flax seed
Optional- only if your fruit is sour- a spoonful of honey stirred in at the end
Simmering fruit mixture
Method:
Melt the coconut oil in an enamel non-stick sauté pan and add all of the prepared fruit over medium heat. Generously sprinkle the cinnamon, gelatin, and ground flax seed over the top of the fruit. Add a pinch of salt.
As the mixture warms and begins to get juicy, gently stir.
Both the gelatin and the flax will thicken this mixture as the fruit releases its bounteous moisture. If your fruit compote is too runny, just sprinkle on more gelatin and/or more flax. Lower heat a bit to continue cooking without bubbling.
This refrigerates well and can be eaten warm, cold, or at room temperature. This is my go-to evening snack. So satisfying, filling, good for you and not sugary!
With a lot of help from Sheree Alderman and Michael McClendon, we are finally able to present to our readers our first e-booklet covering the recipes posted last year in a usable PDF format! Yay!
Magic Mousse, Broth, Dumplings, Smoothies, Gravy… it’s all there! To get your copy, all you have to do is: Click on the link FoodTalk4U 2014 Recipes and wella!! Just follow the prompts on top of the screen on the right hand side to download it!
I am following ‘my bliss’ (see recent blog by same name) by delving into writing my first book! It is designed to go along with the ‘Designed for Health’ series that I teach here in New Bern, North Carolina, a couple times a year but will certainly be a helpful guide for any reader! It’s still unfolding before my eyes, and I look forward to seeing it in my hands… and YOUR hands!
Book writing and self-publishing represents such an exciting learning curve! I am reading more than ever, above and beyond the daily food and wellness research; and then, of course, there’s the writing. Writing, writing, writing. I am trying to garner more resources for you and put together tools for you that will guarantee your personal success at a higher, more complete level of wellness than you ever imagined!
In the meantime, how does your plate look?
Here are two representations that summarize what I have been talking about:
1) The goal
2) How breakfast might be composed.
What’s the ‘green stuff’ in breakfast? Well, usually, I will grab 2 or 3 handfuls of baby spinach or a baby spinach/baby kale combination and throw them into my enamel non-stick pan with ‘happy butter’ from grass fed cows, similarly sourced Ghee, coconut oil or olive oil, and wilt the leaves. It’s a cinch! Stir those babies around a minute and they’re done! Add some pink Himalayan salt or lemon pepper, and you’re all set!
Or…you can reheat last night’s leftover greens. Really, once you start doing this, breakfast will look funny without some healthy greens. Asparagus? Go for it! Sprouts? Green beans? Do it!
I always try to keep some mushrooms around. If they are not leftover, start them first in the pan and when they are finishing browning on the second side, scoot the mushrooms to one side of the pan and cook the spinach. After plating the veggies, you are ready to cook your eggs. Or….you can whip up the eggs, start cooking them, then add the veggies for an easy omelet!
See, you do not have to be a Master Chef to take control of your nutritional destiny!
Since April of last year when this blog was officially “born,” many topics have been touched upon about moving to a more harmonious relationship with our bodies by eating foods that naturally promote health.
With the idea that we were designed for health and not disease, there must be a way to live, eat, move, and think that boosts health. The world-wide trend toward obesity, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases as western fast-food eating styles that are embraced can be reversed through eating what we were originally designed to eat.
These thumbprint summaries of last year’s material are hopefully a good way to see the bigger picture as we approach our health choices this year. Where we’ve been serves as a launch pad for where we are going, so to speak.
1. It starts in the mind. How we relate to our bodies, health, and the world around us all starts in our mind. The first class session of The Designed for Health series I teach in New Bern, North Carolina, always starts with a sort of “rededication” exercise whereby we reconnect with our body in appreciation for how we are so wonderfully made, and how we want to be in greater harmony with our body by actively listening to how it responds to what we feed it and how we treat it. We are accepting the responsibility for its care rather than just mentally going along for the ride.
2. Something “do-able”: a Keystone Habit. No matter how we want to improve our lives, whether we want to write the great American novel or we want to eat healthier, we have to concentrate on the steps, the repeatable steps, we must take each day to get there. Surely, we are not going to write that novel in one day, but writing for a short, set amount of time each and every day will eventually get us the first chapter. Similarly, we are not going to turn our health status around in one day, but making a single, seemingly ridiculously small and easy-to-repeat tweak to what we eat or drink each and every day will eventually lead to a collection of changes easily incorporated into a new eating and living style that will definitely impact our health. Hence our motto: gradual and consistent.
3. 80/20. Unless there are health dangers such as severe food allergies, becoming totally obsessed about “healthy eating” could ruin the day for you and those around you. Trying to squeeze out that last 20% of perfection each day can actually take some of the fun out of things. So while we gain an understanding what is good or bad for us, striving for perfection can, literally, spoil the party. Aim for the “good stuff” to keep up your promise to yourself, but once in a while a dab of this or that, in the absence of food allergies, can keep the fun in holidays, vacations, and life in general. Once you have converted to better choices, the standard temptations actually will hold less appeal and may not feel “right” when consumed, but- lighten up! 80/20 is good. Having said that, making exceptions back-to-back can be the start of a slippery downward slope!
4. Create an environment for success. Clean up what’s available to eat in the kitchen based on how you want to eat. No more chips and ice cream in the kitchen means you won’t be looking at chips and ice cream praying for the strength to turn away. Enlist the help and support of family and friends. Share what you are learning so you can be a part of a team. Reward your milestone successes frequently with appropriately healthy treats; maybe a walk around the waterfront instead of in the neighborhood.
5. Understand “macro-nutrients.” Understanding how our bodies naturally respond to proteins, fats, and carbohydrates really puts us in the driver’s seat for health! Want to stabilize blood sugar? Dedicate carbohydrate intake to veggies instead of grains and eat good protein and healthy fats which have higher satiety levels than starchy carbs and will not upset blood sugar levels.
6. Enhance your flavor palate. Looking for a sense of sweetness without the added sugar? Try spices and flavorings that remind you of sweetness by using cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and extracts such as vanilla or almond. These “sweet spices” are a great way to enhance the flavor of smoothies without added sugar. Explore various herbs and oils to add endless variety to veggies and salads. Simple asparagus is different each time when lightly sautéed in a choice of olive oil, ghee, grass-fed butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, or toasted sesame oil. Whenever I get a little tired of any cooked veggie, I usually turn to a finishing drizzle of toasted sesame oil to liven things up. Pesto can easily combine with shrimp, gluten free pasta, quinoa, veggies, or scrambled eggs to make a brand new eating experience.7. Keep this plate in mind. Strive for a plate balanced with these proportions. Imagine your plate is half non-starchy veggies. The other half is two-thirds protein and one third good fats and/or fruit. That’s pretty much it!
8. Inflammation is a key and common evil. Food choices can actually ramp up the inflammatory process which is bad because inflammation is at the root of every disease process. Sugar and grains are the biggest culprits; read: wheat, barley, rye for the inflammatory gluten and corn for the phytates.
9. Strive for nutrient dense foods. Nutrient density relates to higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and the essential fatty acids and essential amino acids which we have to get from our diet because our bodies can’t make them. Currently on a fat- free diet? Forget it! You’d be missing out on vital fatty acids that your body demands for proper functioning and certain vitamins must have fat in the diet for their absorption. Proper fat ingestion is vital. The good fats contain a better fat profile than we get from the Standard American Diet. Good fats have more omega-3 fatty acids and can be found in avocados, avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds. Protein ingestion is vital. Strive for clean protein sources that are minimally processed, grass fed if possible, and fresh seafood. There are NO essential carbohydrates; none. So carbohydrate consumption will best serve your body if coming from non-starchy veggies that are packed with nutrients and will not disturb your blood sugar levels.
Planking
10. Less exercise can be more! One of my Keystone Habits is doing a bit of exercise during coffee brewing time, and I have learned from many sources that slow-motion exercises can yield a better effect than those done at regular speed, and that fewer repetitions are needed. Works for me! Counter top push-ups and squats are infinitely more effective when done in an 8-8-8 fashion. For a squat: 8 counts down to the squat, 8 counts holding the squat, 8 counts up. You’ll know when to stop, believe me. A few will do! If that becomes easy, just add a small weight which will increase the workload of the muscles; that’s the key: workload, not repetitions.
11. Other possible Keystone Habits. Consider slipping in a daily boost to hydration by drinking a glass or two of water before leaving the bathroom first thing each morning. Try converting other hydration fluids from juices, colas, or coffees to green tea. Green tea contains poly-phenols that help prevent a host of diseases and conditions and also work with the body to burn fat! Try a more concentrated green tea brew to ramp-up consumption of those helpful components. Some experts aim for 10 bags of green tea a day which would necessitate concentration, indeed!
12. Non-starchy green vegetables. I have dedicated a lot of “blog time” non-starchy green vegetables and colorful vegetables. Eating non-processed foods necessitates cooking, but I have tried to show that becoming a master chef is not required. Basically doing a light sauté or stir fry in a healthy fat is all that is needed for most vegetables, possibly followed by a light steaming on lower heat with minimal or no added water. Cooking veggies without added water is vital because a good portion of the nutrients leech out into the water, never to be consumed. I still read recipes from those who should know better that call for boiling asparagus, for example. No! No! Just roll those babies around on low to medium heat in some good oil until desired doneness… not mush, but still a little crisp…sort of Al dente! Certainly, sneaking baby spinach or kale into a smoothie is a super easy way to add nutrient-dense goodness in a snap!
2014 is over??
Well, that’s foodtalk4you from 2014 in a condensed form. Next, my editor, Sheree, and I will be working on a free e-booklet of last year’s recipes for easy access. Such a feat will require some diligent work on both our parts…just part of my New Year’s goal to be more useful to you, my dear readers!
Please share this site with a friend or two, so we can reach more people with the message that improved health is within reach without reaching for another pill!
We all were reluctant to bring our Designed Health Series to an end. After setting the ground work for a new way of thinking about our entire approach to what is the best for us to eat and why, we were smack in the middle of reconstructing our menu content and sharing recipes when time ran out! But our link remains here until we meet again for follow-up sessions.
NOPE! THE OTHER MOOSE…..
Have you made any “Magic Mousse” yet? There is nothing to it! It really is: just melt the chocolate while stirring in the water and dash of salt, then beat the melted mixture in a bowl placed in an ice bath for several minutes with a whisk attachment to your mixer and “Voila!” mousse appears! Check the Halloween post for details. You can do it! Use regular whipped cream if you have to, but the Coconut Cream is so yummy and dairy free!
Our early sessions had to do with our mind-set. Everything starts with that ole’ central computer! All of what we do, really, is a habit, so we deconstructed what habits were and how they worked in order to understand how to “tweak” them in a more favorable direction for improved health. Understanding that a habit “trigger” could be just walking out to get the newspaper each morning, which could easily be switched to jogging out and back to the mail box. Not a big deal but a little something in the right direction. With this cooler fall weather, it’s a cinch to jog out and back to the mailbox. Then, maybe, once the daily quick jog is second nature, longer walks or jogs could be added; maybe just around the house before returning inside to read the paper. Most of us are using the initial swish of water first thing each morning to be our trigger to drink 1-2 glasses of water. It’s a habit now, with no real thinking involved.
Something I am working on is finding the motivation to start a load of laundry. True confession: I tend to let things pile up in that regard until I am faced with marathon loads. So, I am starting a load of laundry now as I make my path to the kitchen to start the coffee. No decision making. No conversation with myself on if I want to start a load. Just, “what am I washing today?” So far, this has been very successful for me to incorporate into my daily pattern. We agreed that the goal is not the “Goal” but the process of minute gradual improvements that are consistent.
We began following Jonathan Bailor’s explanation of the Calorie Myth concept wherein counting calories is pretty pointless if that process is in exchange for looking at the quality and content of our food. Clearly, 300 calories of candy bar will have a different effect on the body than 300 calories of leafy green veggies or 300 calories of protein. He cited studies and individual cases where simply reducing the number of calories consumed each day—and possibly exercising more—was actually a recipe for failure at long-term weight loss and control. Disaster, really.
We studied what major nutrients are derived from food and how they interact with our body. Starchy carbohydrates and sugary foods not only cause great swings in blood sugar, but can actually feed the craving for more starches and sugars through the stimulation of the opiate receptors in our brains. Thus, starchy and sugary foods are not satisfying in the long term.
What is satisfying? What can we eat to “hold” us for hours? Proteins, whole food fats from avocado, coconut, olives, nuts/seeds, and non-starchy vegetables. Class participants shared how a veggie-filled omelet held them past their usual lunch hour! No toast, no bagel—just protein and veggies cooked in a pan with “good” fat—“happy butter” from grass fed cows, coconut oil, or olive oil.
We looked at what constitutes an anti-inflammatory diet. With virtually all diseases having roots in the inflammatory process, not contributing to inflammation through our food choices seems natural, basic, and what we were designed to do. Sugar is inflammatory. Grains are inflammatory. Grains—that includes wheat, barley, and rye to eliminate the gluten, and the other grains as well such as corn, soy, rice, and the legumes to eliminate the phytates which block absorption of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and others.
While not everyone has the natural response to gluten which should be a total “no-go,” some of us have evolved to tolerate some level of the “poison” in our bodies. Which are you? How do you know for sure? There certainly are blood tests which are delineated on the Celiac.org website, but try going totally gluten-free for 30-60 days. Not only will you lose weight because of not eating starches at every meal, but you will likely discover a more pain-free body. Those achy joints won’t be crying out for more pain meds. You belly will be happier. Less bloating; less gas. Then, at the end of 30-60 days, see how going back to gluten works for you………….
One of my sweetest moments recently was when a Designed for Health class participant pulled me aside to show off her remarkably slimmer body; her decidedly slimmer face; and best of all, her ability to once again wear a ring! Getting off gluten and onto an anti-inflammatory diet clearly took away the inflammation in her previously swollen finger joints. She was joyous to don that precious family heirloom on her finger as a testament to how much better she was feeling!
One night in class, we changed the old IN-SANE food pyramid to create a SANE plateful of food:
We then started sharing how we were doing this. Recipes started flying around the room! Norman has much success grilling not only his meats but his vegetables—all coated with olive oil—even beets! Ellen described her carrot/beet/parsnip fritters. Someone else offered her recipe for chocolate pudding: ¼ cup cocoa, 1 avocado, 3 Medjool dates, ¼ cup coconut/almond milk all whipped up in a blender or food processor.
Raw ingredients
Speaking of beets….with much fear and trepidation, I bought my first EVER fresh, raw beets to use in fixing Ellen’s fritters. My childhood exposure to canned, diced beets used to stretch left-over stew into something called “Red Flannel Hash” had left me permanently traumatized! It would be hard to appreciate what it took for me to “man up” right there in the green goods isle at Harris Teeter to look at, touch, and put three fresh beets with long stems and admittedly beautiful leaves into my basket! But with Ellen and Norman’s words ringing in my ears, I did it!
We were leaving the class the last night and Ellen was trying to remember all of the ingredients to her fritters, and I added some onion as well, so here’s our recipe”:
Carrot, Beet, Parsnip Fritters
Put ingredients in mixing bowl
2 carrots- peeled and grated
1 parsnip- peeled and grated
1 beet- peeled and grated
¼ of a large onion- grated
1-2 eggs
1-2 large cooking/serving spoons of coconut flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method
Place all of the grated vegetables into a bowl.
Toss/mix veggies
Mixing up veggies
Add first egg and first large spoonful of coconut flour along with salt and pepper. Combine to incorporate all ingredients. If your mixture looks and feels like it needs more “glue” to stick together into patties, then add the additional egg and coconut flour. I did because the beet and parsnip seemed to be large.
Adding in the egg and flour
Here’s the tricky part. I formed the patties by hand, squeezing a little extra as Ellen advised, but they still seemed a bit loose. Next time, I will be tempted to use a hamburger press. Just be aware that there will be beautiful red juice dripping out when squeezing and forming these patties, so have a juice catcher handy or squeeze over the sink. Amazing though. As beautiful and rosy red as the beet juice is, it never stained my counter tops! I’ve had strawberries stain my counter and I was prepared to have quite a time cleaning up, but there were no problems! Beets! My new friends!
Saute
Anyway, form the patties and place in a hot skillet with olive oil and fry a few minutes on each side.
In the meantime, slice up the beet tops and sauté in olive oil and season with a bit of crushed red pepper and sea salt.
Beet tops cooking
When everything is done, you will have a beautiful serving plate full of color and nutrition! I was absolutely amazed at the mild yet wonderful flavor of the beet tops! And the fritters were such a treat.
This recipe ended up making a lot of fritters! I enjoyed them as-is as leftovers, but one thing I really loved was adding some of the fritters (or the crumbly parts that didn’t want to stick together enough) to my chicken soup. Turns out I was working on gradually eating a fresh “vat” of rich chicken bone broth soup that I have posted on before. By adding the beet fritters, not only did I add even more nutrition to my soup, but I instantly turned it into Borscht (Russian for beet soup)! What color! What flavor!
Finished product!
Beets are not just red. They are more like a deep raspberry red. What a great color! Now I have a new, powerhouse vegetable to love!
Until next time when I’ll share a great resource for kid-friendly recipes that are “Designed for Health” and two versions of gluten-free waffles. Just in time for a chilly morning!
Getting so ready for The Plan that I’ve practically started it already! I almost reached for a beverage tonight that would only have added sugar to my blood stream, so I grabbed the big pitcher full of mint water instead! That was a major victory for me!
So, what’s for breakfast tomorrow?
There are two approaches:
Something with eggs or a smoothie.
My personal favorite is a Big Scramble: Two eggs whipped up with salt, pepper, and a splash of unsweetened coconut milk, (So Delicious is the brand I use) poured into the pan in which I have already re-heated some left-over zoodles or cooked some minimally-processed sausage, along with some sautéed mushrooms. Basically, any non-starchy vegetable will do. That’s where variety comes in. Sometimes I will reheat some left-over salmon along with some leafy greens before adding the egg mixture. Other times, I will pan fry some okra first as a side dish to the eggs. As long as there is a veggie in there somewhere. Spices also create variety. Penzy’s spices has a Bavarian Seasoning that I just love to add to eggs. Sometimes it’s their Mural of Flavor seasoning. Any way you cut it, that’s a nutrient-dense meal that will last for hours and not cause blood sugar spikes.
Smoothies are perfect for breakfast or lunch. My previous article on smoothies will give you a start. If you are blessed with the mother-of-all-blenders: the Vita-Mix (oooo-ahhhh), then the sky is the limit! My daughter has access to one and she is whipping up smoothies with beets and carrots; but a good quality, general kind of blender (like mine……) will probably do best with ½ cup of fruit, a couple handfuls of greens, whey protein, some fluid, ice, and sweet spices.
Note to self: Ask Santa for a Vita-Mix!
What’s for lunch?
Smoothies are transportable in wide-mouth mason jars which can be taken to work, kept in the refrigerator, shaken up, and enjoyed at any time.
Lunch can also be a giant salad. My favorite greens actually come from Sam’s and are Taylor Farms Organic Power Greens Kale Medley of baby spinach, kale, chard, and carrots. Cooked, served raw in a salad, or blended in a smoothie, these greens really do the job! So tasty!
What goes into the salad needs to be nutrient-dense and non-starchy. We are not talking pasta salad here! Good fats are essential for a better balance of omega 3s to omega 6s. (We generally get way too many omega 6s in the Standard American Diet.) Avocado is stellar in that department along with olives, olive oil, and crunchy nuts.
So what else? We need some protein! I usually grab whatever left-over meat I have and add that sliced or chopped to my salad, or use some canned tuna. After that, you can add salt, pepper, and avocado oil to call it done, or you can expand with carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, and perhaps a small handful of berries…. Go for the colors; the more, the better! The dressing can be as simple as avocado oil only, or balsamic vinegar only, or olive oil and vinegar. Just none of that creamy stuff from a bottle made from who-knows-what and has a highly processed “Frankenoil” at its heart.
The basic rule?
Eat until you are full! Personally, two eggs are fine for me at breakfast, but some people need more. Do not leave a meal hungry. When I make a smoothie, I usually have leftovers that will be my go-to snack later in the day. Eat enough protein and non-starchy veggies at dinner to fill you up!
What’s for dinner?
Protein, non-starchy veggies, and good fat. Nothing is breaded—we will learn about gluten-free breading later. Just wonderful meat, poultry, fish, or seafood. Grill something; so easy to do this time of year!
Stir up some zoodles with pesto, steam some broccoli. How about some baby greens in olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil? Sauté some Brussels sprouts in olive or avocado oil, season, then finish cooking by steaming on low with a lid on the pan. For a special treat, finish your veggies with some toasted sesame oil! Yum…I could drink that stuff!
Speaking of which, what’s to drink?
During the initial ten-day detox phase of The Plan: Anything with no caffeine, alcohol, or added sugar. That’s why the post on flavored water the other day. Herbal teas make delightful hot or cold beverages, as well.
Snacks?
Is it possible to be hungry between these meals? Well, once in a while I am, so here are some options that work for me:
– Left-over smoothie
– Hard-boiled egg
– Small handful of crunchy nuts
– Sliced avocado with lemon pepper
– Spoonful of almond butter
After the 10-day detox period, a piece of 70% or greater dark chocolate! Oh, yeah!
Tomorrow, I will describe how to turn an average nut into something that is easier to digest and allows for better absorption of nutrients: Crunchy Nuts.
Here’s to giving our bodies a rest from the constant assault of artificial ingredients. A time to re-set our metabolism and digestion. A time to heal from inflammation-causing foods.
May is National Celiac Disease Awareness month and I will be devoting myself to gluten issues all month!
Judging by the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center’s four pages listing 300 symptoms that have been connected with Celiac Disease, (cureceliacdisease.org), we’d better pay close attention to what we are eating! Not that this list solely belongs to gluten sensitivity, but gluten sensitivity’s symptoms can be so incredibly subtle that even the most diligent practitioner may miss an accurate diagnosis by treating symptoms and not causes.
So, if you are suffering from multiple symptoms without a diagnosis, can’t explain why you do not feel ‘right,’ suffer with any kind of an autoimmune disease, (this includes Diabetes), then take a second look at gluten. Anything from an unhappy belly, iron deficiency, late or no onset of menstruation, inflammation or an inflammatory condition, polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, clumsiness, brain fog, migraines, dermatitis, ADD/ADHD, to unexplained muscle or joint pain can be related to gluten sensitivity. Just to name a few.
There are tests that can show if you are reactive, but some have shown to have false negatives AND you have to be eating gluten at the time for a positive result. Why not just cut gluten out?
When I think of the times our undiagnosed daughter went to the school nurse because of her unhappy belly and feeling ‘not right’ and was given packages of saltine cracker to eat, I just shiver in remorse. Even her pediatrician was baffled at her wide array of seemingly unrelated symptoms and things we didn’t even know were symptoms at the time (not a truck load of teenage hormone issues but a train load).
The saddest thing, however, was when I told our pediatrician years later what the cause actually was, Celiac Disease, he shrugged it off saying that was a “trendy diagnosis!” Our daughter almost died from malabsorption of nutrients! Trendy diagnosis? May the patient beware! Not all physicians are tuned in to gluten sensitivity.
Question your physician about his/her experience with gluten sensitivities. There are websites, such as Dr. Tom O’Byran’s, thedr.com, that can help you get in contact with someone conversant in gluten issues.
Stay tuned! Next post will explain just how gluten ravages the body and what foods need to be eliminated.
Deidre
Disclaimer:
The information being discussed in these blogs is NOT intended to replace a relationship with a qualified health care professional. Foodtalk4you blogs endeavor to empower people through the exploration of publicly available resources of information about human anatomy and physiology, and how different foods affect the human body. Readers should seek the advice of their qualified health care providers with any questions about their medical conditions or health status before attempting any dietary, exercise, or lifestyle changes.
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.
gon, frying apples implies sauteing and browning until tender and even possibly cooked down to a mush.
fy veggie, along with lean chicken or pork protein, and you will have a meal that says, “I love you”!
maller pieces.
l golden brown on the edges.
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!
