Tag Archives: polyphenols

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Cashew Gravy

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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:

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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….

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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Creamy cashews!

Enjoy!
Deidre

Food-Talk-4-U-Cashew-Gravy-9-R
Mixing it altogether
Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Day 8 of The Plan

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

Food-Talk-4-U-melon

 

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

 

Here it is:

Melon-Mint-Coconut Smoothie

In blender put:

4-5 cubes ice

20-25 fresh mint leaves

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes

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

2 scoops of whey protein

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

Few drops of vanilla extract to taste

A pinch of salt, if desired

A sprinkle of cardamom to taste

Enough unsweetened coconut milk to make things flow

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

This was enough for now and later!

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

Food-talk-4-u-cashews

Behold, Cashew Gravy:

Cashew Gravy

Ingredients:

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 large onions diced

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

½ cup wheat-free tamari

2 ½ cups water

¼ tsp. pepper

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

Method:Food-talk-4-u-onion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deidre

Blogging for good health!

Green Tea

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According to Jonathan Bailor in his book, The Calorie Myth,  green tea has properties – polyphenols- that are extremely beneficial.  Polyphenols apparently have been shown to help prevent a host of diseases and conditions AND  help to burn fat!  Interactions with properties of the tea and our hormone noradrenaline make such benefits possible.Green Tea

To be effective on such a level, however, we would need to consume the equivalent of ten tea bags’ worth of tea each day.  Sounds like a recipe to float away!  But wait!  Jonathan Bailor says we can reap the benefits of ten green tea bags by simply brewing them in (much) less water!  It’s the tea leaves’ polyphenols we’re after and not the water!  Although, the tea we do drink does count toward our goal of 8-ish glasses of water a day!

So, per Jonathan, I brewed some seriously dense tea using 6 bags in over a cup of water.  That was yesterday so it was good and cold from chillin’ in the refrigerator overnight.  At noon, I made a smoothie using the strong tea as the fluid to my concoction of the usual suspects, (see post on smoothies), and I was delighted with the results!Tea bag

Where was the rest of my 10 bags’ worth?  That was the loose green tea brewed first thing this morning.

The tabs for comments and subscribe will gain life soon– I hope. Certainly you will not have to log in!

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.