Tag Archives: Paleo

Freedom Fighters

Have you considered that you are a Freedom Fighter? When talkinggrocery-store-tour-pic about improving health through better, informed, and mindful food choices, one’s mind could assume a negative approach is needed. Somewhere in the process of saying no sugar, no grains, no dairy, no processed foods, we are appearing to be some kind of a “no-no-Nannette”……Wonder why?

First of all, we have to re-frame our approach. Most of any effort is 90% mental, so let’s rid ourselves of all that negative baggage once and for all. It’s not about what we can’t have. It’s all about what we are freeing ourselves from. (Grammarians read: It is all about that food-talk-r-u-carbs-freedom-fighterfrom which we are freeing ourselves). We are re-establishing a positive, trusting mental connection to our bodies through a more mindful approach to feeding and respecting them. Our mental approach is spiriting us to being more proactive for the daily outcomes of how we handle the relationship we have with our bodies. Choosing gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and preservative-free is like casting a vote for yourself!

Being freed from the tentacles of sugar means we are no longer no-sugar-wooden-brooch-2_originalslaves to that unquenchable desire for “more, more, more”. We are free from massive rises and falls of blood sugar. I am so happy to be freed from my emergency stash of nabs (that’s Southern for peanut butter crackers) in case I had yet another blood sugar crash— not knowing my rescue snack of carbs and low quality protein was ultimately feeding the problem.

man expressive portraitAnd who could complain about being freed from endless bloating and gas? Isn’t it fun to be able to predictably fit into our clothes— not having to try on several outfits in case it’s a “bad day”?

How about that happy belly? Would you exchange that for a plate of grain-based pasta and French bread? Really? And would you want to get back those achy body joints, too? Surely not! Or would you give up clear thinking in favor of whole grains and a return to foggy brain? See my post on this subject: Your Brain on Wheat.

Feeling better, enjoying stable blood sugars, getting that spring back in our steps should NEVER be regarded as restrictive.

We fight for freedoms, don’t we? We naturally want to free themall-walkers oppressed where ever we find them. Bad food choices, made through several decades of mis-information, are oppressing millions of people to a lesser quality of life and dooming them to crippling, life-robbing diseases.

Become a Freedom Fighter for yourself, first, and then for your family and friends. Spread the word; share contacts; refer others to this site; ask for better choices in grocery stores and restaurants; take a class and learn more.

Exercise your freedom with every bite!

It’s liberating!

Deidre

Is Your Food Measuring Up?

As mentioned in the last post, developing Keystone Habits was described as a way to set our bodies up for success. The earlier in the Food-Talk-4-U-Water-1-R day, the better. Drinking two glasses of water first thing in the morning is a great way to prime our bodies for adequate hydration which, in turn, facilitates smoother operation of digestive function. Isn’t that what better health from better eating is all about? To get the digestive system functioning the way it was designed to be?

ExoticSmoothiesIn our second session of Designed for Health classes held in New Bern, North Carolina, at the First Baptist Church, we spoke about a second Keystone Habit of consuming a great breakfast. Knowing that many of us are on a grab-and-go mode as we rush out to work, we pretty much polished off discussions about the practicality and convenience of smoothies. Please check out last week’s post that reviews the “method of the smoothie madness.” Enough said.

We will next broach the topic of solid breakfast food but what is the measure? What is the goal for a Keystone Meal that will jump start your day? To paraphrase the approach used by the author of the text we are using in class, our measure will be:

– Is this food going to satisfy my appetite or will it just make me  want more?

Starchy carbs and sweets actually are not very satisfying. Who does food-talk-r-u-carbs-eggsnot want more pasta or dessert? Carbs actually contain FEWER calories and provide LESS energy. Remember how you and others react to a carb-heavy meal? Everyone wants to pass out in the living room. Time for a nap. Think about it.

– Is this food more likely to easily turn to fat?

We are talking about foods that require insulin to bring blood sugar levels back to normal. Insulin is the hormone of fat storage.

– Is this food packed with nutrition; meaning, the essential         elements that will keep my body going: vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids?

Main_protein_structure_levels_en.svg
Protein structure

Did you know there are NO essential carbohydrates? Really! Don’t get me wrong, we do not need to eliminate all carbohydrates, but given a diet totally devoid of any carbs, you would not die. There are societies around the world that have no carbohydrates for months at a time. Our body can cobble together carbohydrates, but it CANNOT make proteins or fats. That’s why we talk about ESSENTIAL amino acids and fatty acids; they are the building blocks of protein and fat; we have to get them from our food.

Regardless of the moniker we apply (SANE, whole food, nutrient Metabolismdense, clean eating, or Paleo); our food must be of the highest quality possible to make our “engines” run the smoothest and at an optimal level. We were designed to process clean, pure sources of protein, natural fats, non-starchy vegetables, and fruit in moderation. Read the label of your favorite packaged food, and you won’t find that. Most of the words are unpronounceable, reflect a high level of processing, and are filled with chemical additives that try pitifully to restore the food values lost in processing.

Food-Talk-4-U-Eggs-4-RR-smallBut cooking takes sooooo long! Nonsense! My breakfast plate is usually always 50% veggies. If there are no left-overs from the night before, it will take me about 60 seconds to wilt two or three handfuls of spinach or other greens in a non-stick fry pan on medium heat in coconut oil, olive oil, or “happy butter” (from pasture raised cows, you know; Kerrygold rules!). Today, I added a bit of ground nutmeg to my baby organic spinach…yum! Transfer greens to the plate. Whip up two eggs along with a splash of unsweetened coconut milk with salt and pepper to taste. Cook eggs in the same pan used for the greens with a bit of butter; today, I added a teaspoon or two of homemade pesto to mine, and voila! No sweat!

My husband likes toast, so I served his eggs folded around his Food-Talk-4-U-Eggs-3beloved cheese, and placed it on top of a slice of pan grilled gluten-free toast. No greens I know. Bless his heart!

So how did your breakfast measure up? Good protein? Fat with a good profile of Omega 3s? At least 1 serving of non-starchy nutrient dense greens? Dairy-free? Gluten-free? Sugar-free?

It’s also called an anti-inflammatory meal. Knowing that virtually all diseases are rooted in some kind of an inflammatory process, a meal like this will not contribute to inflammation. Without a big sugar hit from starchy or sweet carbohydrates, you are guaranteed level blood sugars throughout the morning; especially without the toast. Your mind and body will have the fuel needed to be at their best, and you won’t need a trip to the vending machine mid-morning.

Food-Talk-4-U-Eggs-1Another big breakfast favorite of mine is an ever-changing version of Original Joe’s. There’s a story here. Back when I was growing up in San Jose, California, my dear friend introduced me to a great menu item in a downtown restaurant. Behold, Original Joe’s! A ground beef and onion mixture with small broccoli florets glued together with the addition of eggs! Oh, heaven! Only salt and pepper needed.

So simple.

Depending on the leftovers available, my Original Joe’s could have flaked baked salmon, diced up steak, diced up hamburger…you name it, combined with spinach, okra, sautéed onions and peppers, or broccoli, and finished off with a couple eggs. All with leftovers.

Heat up ingredients without the eggs to get everything hot, then Food-Talk-4-U-Eggs-2pour on the eggs and stir occasionally to cook. This can all happen while the coffee is brewing. No special skills involved. One pan. With a really BIG pan, you could feed an army!

I will touch upon some solid foods that would still work for the grab-and-go crowd in a future post.

One of the class participants thought a weekly challenge would be a good idea. Without even being challenged, most of the class is drinking two glasses of water each morning already! Way to go, team! As we are not focusing on a major life goal, but are looking at very small, doable, and repeatable improvements, I recommend a Keystone Breakfast. Don’t concentrate on the other meals. Just breakfast. I think that how your Keystone Breakfast will make you feel will automatically make you want to “keep that lovin’ feeling” all day long! Feeling better is kind of sneaky like that!

Here’s to measuring!

Deidre

Get the Keystone Habit!

You know what a keystone is, right? It’s the V-shaped stone placed at the top of an arch. It holds the whole thing together. Remove the keystone and the arch, along with everything above it, it will collapse.  There are keystone habits we can do each day that will set us up for a great day of feeling balanced and ready to meet the tasks ahead of us and will keep our “engines” running for a smooth ride.

Keystone HabitIn our first session of a seven-week series of classes called “Designed for Health,” held at First Baptist Church in New Bern, North Carolina, we touched upon the mechanics of habits and how we might nudge those habits in a way that would still give us the desired reward (which is emotional), but would yield improved results in terms of body chemistry outcomes (as in increased nutritional value).

Dr. Tom O’Bryan states that there are three important things we must do for great, balanced health:

1) Drink 2 glasses of water each morning,

2) Eat an anti-inflammatory diet, and

3) Basically, don’t sweat the small stuff; enjoy the moment.

Understanding how habits work is critical to modifying them. First, there is a “trigger”: something that initiates the habit. A trigger could be a thought, emotion or circumstance, just about anything that leads us to the actual thing we do which is the “action.” With the action comes the “reward” for having done the action. Rewards are usually mental/emotional. We like the results. Understanding the results we want is key to modifying habits in order to maximize positive habit results for long-term health rather than a fleeting flash of a blood sugar high, which can have dire results metabolically.

NewHabitsCase in point: I have made swishing out my mouth first thing each morning to be a trigger to remind me to drink a glass of water. Drinking the water is the action. The reward is the knowledge that I am doing my body a favor, assisting it to function at an optimal level, and I have already done something positive for myself before my eyes have really opened. The second trigger is right before I leave the bathroom; I drink the second glass of water. Downing two glasses of water at once is too much for me, so I have found that drinking a glass of water at the beginning and end of my morning routine works best. There! I am on a roll now of doing positive things, so that leads me into the bedroom to take 30 seconds to make the bed! Wow! Two pluses and the day has hardly begun! Keystone Habits!

Once we enter the kitchen, there is another Keystone Habit that can pave the way for a day of even energy flow, maximum nutrition, and stable blood sugars. A great breakfast is the answer, but so many of us do not have the time to scramble a couple eggs in “happy butter” (from pastured and totally grass fed cows) served with a generous portion of veggies.

Some of us actually dash out the door, stop off at the nearest fast food chain for a highly-processed, gluten-filled, greasy biscuit filled with some kind of highly-processed, edible food-like substances, followed with a sugary drink or a sugar-laden latte to be eaten at in the car or first thing at work. Stomach in knots, blood sugar levels guaranteed to plummet later, and require to be “fixed” by a vending machine snack…. So goes the day. Sound familiar?

If you do not have the time to reheat last night’s protein and veggies, or to cook from scratch each morning, may I introduce you to a Smoothie? I’ve spoken of them before, but would like to share some different ideas today. Smoothies can actually be made the night before. It’s fun to concoct a blender-full with someone else. It could be a family affair; chances for family-wide buy-in to drinking a nutrient-dense smoothie skyrocket when everyone helps.

First of all, smoothies are not about being sweet. The goal is nutrient density. Fruit is just a part of it. If your goal is for the most stable blood sugar levels possible, fruit choices should remain in the berry category. Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries should be at the top of the list because of their low glycemic load, followed by strawberries. In any case, fruit should be measured at about ½ cup per 8-ounce drink. The rest is a choice of seasonings (salt, vanilla extract and “sweet spices” as I call them), fluid (water, coconut milk, almond milk, coconut water, or strong green tea), a good fat (avocado, coconut oil, or flax oil), and a good protein (nuts or nut butters, whey protein, powdered egg whites, and various seeds that also provide a good fat profile: hemp, chia, and flax), and greens (baby spinach, kale, and chard). Believe me, those greens really do not change the flavor substantially, but they are vital to make this the Keystone/Powerhouse drink we want to hold us for hours and help our bodies function optimally.

Now here’s the thing. You put the fruit, seasonings, fluid, and fat in the blender and blitz it; then you add the protein and seeds; blitz some more. Pause. Enjoy the color! If blueberries were your choice, you’d have a great blue/purple color. Lovely! If red berries or cherries were your choice, wow! Gorgeous pinks and reds!

But, wait! There’s more! We haven’t added our nutrient-packed greens, yet! OK. You remember art class back in school? Red and Green makes……right………brown.

Now this is where my being the instructor of future medical students comes to play. I remember the speech now…. Class, what color is blood? Red. Very good. Now is blood in its natural form dry or wet? Wet. Excellent. So, from now on, when you see blood, it will be pointless to scream like someone who has never seen that red, wet fluid, won’t it? Get over it. Blood is red and wet. Done! No screaming!

Either you can handle the potentially gloomy transformation of your beautiful, colorful concoction into varying shades of brown or puce, or you can’t. If you can’t “man-up” about it, or if your car-pooling colleagues might grab for a barf bag, or if you just don’t want to start “that” conversation again at work, I have a solution!

Food-talk-4-u-Keystone-Habit-(1)R
Before

Let’s look at before and after pictures of today’s recipe of 2-3 Tbs. coconut cream, 1 cup coconut milk (unsweetened), enough water to make things a good consistency (about 1 cup or so), cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, salt, 2 coffee scoops each of hemp hearts, ground flax seeds, and chia seeds, ½ banana, and 1 cup of mixed berries and cherries. This recipe is for at least 4 servings.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

See that spinach on top; yet to be blended?

Food-talk-4-u-Keystone-Habit-(2)R
After

Just makes you want to drink it, right?

Yummmmm! Food-talk-4-u-Keystone-Habit-1 (3)-R

Well, I can handle it; maybe because I used to be a nurse, but many people can’t. So here is my answer to the problem! Behold, the Mason jar decorating trick!

This could be a great family project! I selected watermelon shades that would remind me of the previous look of my beverage, before the greens.

Food-talk-4-u-Keystone-Habit-1 (4)RFirst thing you do is clean the surfaces to be painted with alcohol Food-talk-4-u-Keystone-Habit-1 (5)R

Then you apply the first coat, making sure to keep any painted area well away from the drinking area- at least ¾ of an inch.

Food-talk-4-u-Keystone-Habit-1 (6)R
First coat applied

Wait one hour for the first coat to dry, then apply the second coat.

With second coat
With second coat

Wait another hour before painting in the watermelon seeds.

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Finished!

Once your creation is totally dried, put the pieces in a cold oven. Shut the door. Turn oven to 350 degrees. When the oven has come up to temp, set the timer for 30 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes, turn the oven off and WAIT. Wait until the oven has thoroughly cooled down. I did this one evening and just waited until morning to take the jars and lids out. DO NOT open the oven to peek at any time because that could crack the finish. Once completed, the objects are dishwasher safe.

Food-talk-4-u-Keystone-Habit-1 (9)RSo, enjoy your smoothie! Whether it turns out to be a green monster (I like those, too!) or something that’s perfectly puce, you can have fun while enjoying your nutrient dense drink and get the reward of knowing you are doing something really good for your health and well-being that will set you up for smooth running all day long! Keystone Habit!

Hope arts and crafts time is fun for you and yours-

Deidre

Bok Choy – Changing Up the Veggies

Kale. Kale. Kale. Spinach. Spinach. Spinach. It’s too early in the season for collards. I tried the cabbage collards this summer, but they just didn’t grab me. Maybe my taste buds are seasonal and were looking for that fall collard taste; whatever it was, it was a no-go for me. What to cook?

Our daughter kept mentioning cooking with leeks in a stir fry, so when looking at the greens in the veggie department the other day, I decided to grab a leek and a bundle of three baby bok choy that would go along with some onion for a creative stir fry. The left-overs rewarded me for several days, too, still maintaining their freshness.

Behold—the Sesame, Leek, and Bok Choy Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS

1 Leek

¼ large onion

1 Bundle of Baby Bok Choy with three bunches

½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbs. Sesame Oil or Toasted Sesame Oil

1-2 tsp. sesame seeds

METHOD

1. Prepare the leek by slicing in half lengthwise and holding each half under water, fanning the leaves to remove any grit. I sometimes remove the outer leaves to hand wash each one; it is not fun to suddenly find an unexpected crunch while chewing delicious leeks! Trust me; I know!

Bok Choy
Bok Choy

2. Then slice the leeks across the grain, resulting in little half rounds.

3. Slice the ¼ large onion to give a similar shape as the leek slices.

4. Carefully wash the Baby Bok Choy and slice across to give a similar shape to the other veggies

Bok Choy and onion
Bok Choy and onion

5. Put olive oil in the sauté pan and add onions and leeks and cook over medium heat.

6. While onions and leeks start cooking, mince the garlic and the ginger

Minced garlic and ginger
Minced garlic and ginger

7. Continue stirring the cooking veggies occasionally until the onions start to become translucent

Cooking onions and leeks with chopsticks

Cooking onions and leeks with chopsticks

8. Add the drained bok choy and continue stirring occasionally. As the bok choy starts to wilt and become a brilliant dark green, add the Sesame Oil

Toasted Sesame Oil

Toasted Sesame Oil

9. Also add the minced garlic and ginger

10. When all ingredients have been combined and are fragrant, serve and garnish with Sesame Seeds.

 

Oil, garlic, ginger in veggies
Oil, garlic, ginger in veggies

Cashew Gravy

I feel as if I have sort of dropped the ball with the Detox, Plan, Moves, and Life Series. Starting a major project on the cusp of vacations may not have been the wisest approach. Hopefully, you have been able to garner enough “ammunition” to take strides into more healthful eating habits and patterns even while on vacation! I Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-6-R-vacationam trying to address at least two of these basic topics in each current post.

I am in the midst of planning out the scope-of-course and lesson plans for my Designed for Health Classes in New Bern, North Carolina. Classes will be held at the First Baptist Church from 6-7 pm on Wednesday evenings starting September 10th and will continue for 7 weeks. If you are interested in attending, please call the church office at 252-638-5691 to reserve both your slot and a copy of the book we will be using for the class. The class is open to anyone in the community who would like to attend. If you would like more information, please leave a comment here or email me at foodtalk4you@gmail.com

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-6-R-brewing-coffeeWell, my coffee brewing time is really getting busy! While waiting for the java to brew, I am working on planks, squats, and arm circles! Remember when I mentioned how much easier it is to slip a new habit into sharing a time slot already committed to something else? Well, apparently there is a name for that! According to James Clear, it’s called “habit stacking.” Who knew? Makes sense to me.

We’ve all done this when parking farther out from the store so we can get a bit more walking in. Only takes a minute longer, but the leg stretch is easily acquired without special scheduling. Then when it’s time to walk out to the mail box, we jog instead…maybe we even jog around the house one time. Waiting for water to boil? Do some slow motion squats or some TTapp-inspired arm motions as described in previous posts. Stack a good habit on top of some period of time that is “already there” so-to-speak. Try it! Let me know what you do to “habit stack.”

There are two approaches to being gluten-free. You can replace starchy baked goods with gluten-free versions. That’s fine and good sometimes. There are days when a breakfast just needs some toast to sop up that yummy egg yolk! However, incorporating the idea of nutrient density into our meal plans usually eliminates the additional carbohydrates found in baked goods. Therefore, the second approach should include, perhaps, a vegetable or a good fat source such as some avocado. Again, I am not saying no gluten-free breads ever again, I am saying that for at least 80% of the time we should be aiming in favor of nutrient density.

Therefore, I would like to revisit Cashew Gravy; this time with pictures of my latest batch! I was grilling some burgers the other night and knew some gravy would really add some “Umami” to my meal. Umami is that extra “something” that makes this delicious, yummy, and delightful. So here’s the recipe:

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-8-R
The ingredients you need

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-1-R Slicing onions is no big deal, and a knife and cutting board are a snap to clean. Since I was going to use my food processor, which has four parts to clean for additional tasks, I chose to use it instead. After making the gravy, I sliced up more onion and then a bag of Brussels sprouts to prepare Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar to complete the meal.

So here are the onions after processing….

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-3-R
Processed onions

You can purchase cashew butter already made, but I usually make my own by putting them into the food processor and processing them for a looooong time. Sure enough, a paste will form. If you are making your own, it will take a bit more than a cup of nuts to make a cup of nut butter. If there is extra, don’t worry. It will taste great on some gluten-free toast!

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-4-R
Yummy cashews!

Then sauté the onions for a long time- probably 20 minutes- until they caramelize. Not much stirring is needed early on in the process, but as they become more cooked, more frequent attention is needed.

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-5-R
Powdered cashews

Once the onions are starting to turn golden, add the water, cashew butter, tamari (wheat free), pepper, sage, or Mural of Flavor spice.

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-6-R
Caramelizing the onions

After incorporating the ingredients and allowing them to cook a few minutes, process in about three batches in the food processor or blender, blitzing until smooth. Pour the now smooth gravy into a sauce pan to finish cooking a bit.

Enjoy on just about any kind of meat. It was great on my lamb burger; is awesome on beef, and can make poultry sing! This gravy also freezes very well!

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-9.5-R
Creamy cashews!

Enjoy!
Deidre

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-9-R
Mixing it altogether

Bring on the Fries!

Have you ever cooked a turnip? Not exactly your go-to tuber? Well, food-talk-4-u-turnipsme either! However, I have discovered a way to turn turnips and carrots into highly flavorful baked fries that are a real treat to eat! I don’t have many pictures to share with you on this, but pictures aren’t really necessary to master making these fun potato fry alternatives.

Parsnip Friesfood-talk-4-u-parsnips

Peel and cut about 4 parsnips into 3-4 inch long fry shapes and place in bowl

Melt 2 Tbs. of ghee and pour over fries

food-talk-4-u-parsnip-friesSprinkle ½ Tbs. of curry powder and salt and pepper to taste over the fries

Toss or mix the fries to coat evenly

Place coated fries in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake in oven set at 350 degrees for about 15-17 minutes; stir fries around; continue baking for about 15 minutes more until golden and crispy.

Enjoy!

Spicy Carrot Friesfood-talk-4-u-carrots

Peel and cut about 5-6 carrots into 3-4 inch fries and place in a bowl
Drizzle enough olive oil over fries so that they are evenly coated after stirring them around

food-talk-4-u-spicy-carrot-friesSprinkle the following seasonings over the fries in amounts to taste:
Paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper

Stir seasoned fries to coat all sides of fries with seasonings

Place fries in a single layer on parchment lined baking sheet

Bake in oven set at 350 for about 15 minutes; stir fries around; continue baking for about 15 minutes more until crispy.

I usually do these at the same time and I still can’t decide which I prefer. It’s a fun addition to grilled meat. All you need is a salad to complete the meal and, voila, nutrient-dense, yummy, fun food!

Enjoy-

Deidre

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

In Times of Stress

What do you do in times of stress? How do you recover? What calms you? Where do you find peace?

I have disappeared because of a heightened family medical situation Food-talk-4-u-stress-1that has certainly taken a toll on all of us. The crisis of the other day is over, but we are facing the new “normal” and anticipating more downward changes. What was a logical future weakness has arrived and is no longer theoretical. Four and a half hours in medical offices one day, followed by appointments the next, really takes a toll.

Food-talk-4-u-stress-5My starch is all gone. Recharging is needed. Caregivers need to take care of themselves in order to take care of the loved one.

Reaching out to family and friends is vital to staying grounded, don’t you think? There are things you do not share with family, though, and that’s where friends come in! Thank God for both family and friends! Thank God for life and love itself!

I have had to step back from posting because, well, there was no time left, let alone energy. That is still somewhat the case. Food-Talk-4-U-squirrel

I regroup in God’s creation as seen from my back porch! Feeding humming birds, cardinals, blue jays, mocking birds, and the like, as well as my beloved squirrels, is what keeps me smiling! Porch time is definitely needed. Being outdoors, watching, and listening to the plentiful activity is “soul sauce” for me!

Food-Talk-4-U-scrambled-eggsKnowing stress really takes a toll on everyone experiencing it, makes me even more mindful of feeding my body only nutrient-dense food. This is no time for junk food… Not that there ever is any around here! Big Egg Scramble this morning with…You guessed it…Left over zoodles! Still lots of fresh veggies to go with lean protein at night. Never, ever any gluten!

Exercise should not be throwcaregiver-hin out the door, either! Sometimes exercise is just what is needed to get the blood stirring around a little bit better and to engage the mind on something else. I literally have just paused from writing this and come back from doing 6 slow-motion non-weighted squats; ten count down, ten count hold, ten count up. Didn’t want to do it, but I feel better now! So simple. If the temperature outside doesn’t get to unbearable today, I’ll go for a walk, too.

Food-talk-4-u-stress-2Since the detox phase is breadless even if the bread is gluten-free, I will share with you an awesome all-purpose gravy recipe that goes great on all kind of meat. That will be in the next post.

Now, off to the porch for prayers of thanksgiving and to soak up God’s creation!

Deidre

Day Two of The Plan

Last night’s half-serving of smoothie held me so well that I wasn’t Food-talk-4-u-the-plan-day-2-1even hungry for breakfast at all, so I didn’t eat until lunch and enjoyed a crouton-free chicken salad mixture on a salad with tomato, cucumber, and bell pepper at a favorite local restaurant. Salt, pepper, and a splash or two of balsamic vinegar were all that was needed on top. It was so satisfying and I still have a bit of the chicken left over for later. Dinner tonight will be leftovers from last night’s shrimp, chicken, asparagus, artichoke heart, and olive sauté served over zoodles.

Food-Talk-4-U-exercise-3Years ago I read an article, probably in the Reader’s Digest, describing the merits of exercising slowly. For instance, if you are lifting weights to exercise your biceps (arm curls), instead of going at things quickly and trying to get as many repetitions, (reps), and sets done as possible, the better method would be to do the movements very slowly and do fewer reps. Why? Well, that articleFood-talk-4-u-weights and others that I am reading right now suggest, in moving a weight slowly, more muscle fibers are called in to get the job done. Try it. Flex your elbow holding a modest weight (3, 5, or 10 lbs.) and do it five times fairly quickly. Should be not a problem. You could go on for quite a few reps. Now, using that same weight, flex your arm very slowly taking a count of 10 to get to the fully-flexed position and then slowly extend your arm taking a count of 10 to get almost fully extended. Repeat for a total of five times. You should certainly feel the dramatic difference that slow movement creates!

Food-Talk-4-U-clockWhat I am studying now indicates, shorter, slower workouts are much more effective—to the point that they only need to be done 10 minutes ONCE a week. That 10 minutes will not necessarily be a walk in the park; doing slower exercises can and should be a challenge. If 5-6 reps doesn’t tire you out, then the resistance needs to be increased—that’s the weight. If you can hardly complete the 5 reps, then maybe you need to start at a lower weight. Safety is first at all times. If a 2 lb. weight is what you need to start, then that’s fine. An extremely short period of intensity ONCE a week is fine by me!

This can all be done at home with weights easily bought at the store. Food-talk-4-u-exercise-1There will come a point when I will need to transfer my efforts to a machine at a gym to help me increase the weight/resistance. But, for now, no daily trudging to the gym; and when I do decide to go to a gym, it will be a brief period once a week. I am learning there are only a few moves that we need to do that will incorporate the major muscle groups which will, in turn, take care of trouble spots, even without addressing them directly.

Remember always to consult a health professional before starting any kind of exercise program. Each one of us has certain limitations, and your health professional will be able to guide you. I am merely sharing what I am doing according to what I have learned.

Food-Talk-4-U-squat-2One move that I will cover today is the squat. At first, you may need no weight at all, and in fact, you may need to be near a chair or counter in case you need added stability. Without a weight, a squat is done standing with feet spaced under your shoulders and arms extended out in front of you. Bend at the knee and hip, and as you begin to lower yourself into a sitting position, keep your knees no further forward than your toes. You lower yourself, optimally, until your thighs are parallel to the floor, but that may take practice. Just be comfortable and safe.

So right now, the weight you are dealing with is just yours. Do a few squats at regular speed just to get the hang of it. Now do them slowly: a ten-count down and a ten-count up. It’s a whole different game, now, isn’t it? Once your own weight does not challenge you for 6 reps, add a modest weight, holding it to your chest with both hands. Notch up the weight when six slow reps no longer challenge you. At the end of six slow reps, the goal is to have maxed-out your ability to do anymore. Not to kill you; but you certainly should know “that was enough.”

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and a full series of basic exercises is to be done only once a week. We’ll cover another move in a few days.

Off to do some slow-motion squats!

Deidre

(1) Jonathan Bailor, The Calorie Myth