Got full-fat milk?

          I have learned something about dairy products that may be interesting to you.  Full fat dairy products, like whole milk, are actually better for us in many ways than the low-fat, no-fat versions.  Our bodies need the fat that naturally occurs in these products to optimally process the vitamins and nutrients, and the natural sugars they contain.  When the fat is removed from them, the sugars they contain cause a spike in insulin and prompt our bodies to store them (as fat ultimately) instead of processing them and utilizing the nutrients along with the fat.

          Contrary to popular belief, eating fat (that naturally occurs on food) does not make us fat, sugar makes us fat.  Our bodies know what to do with fat, utilize it and then get rid of what it doesn’t need.  Sugar, on the other hand, is readily stored as excess, in the form of fat on our bodies. 

          We need the full-fat versions of dairy in order to assimilate the nutrients found in these products, and if we want to avoid the storage of fat on our thighs, er, I mean bodies.  This seems to be especially true for children in the areas of brain development.  Our brains especially need a constant supply of good fats (naturally occurring) as they develop.  I have read several studies that show that children who consume full fat dairy on the whole are less apt to be overweight.

          Adults seem to have a significantly reduced occurrence of Cardio vascular disease along with the consumption of full fat dairy, including butter, milk and cheese. 

          I have found this over and over in my search for overall health and it rings true with me.  As with most foods, it is best to consume dairy products that are as unprocessed as possible and to avoid those with added sugar.  I encourage anyone who wants to know more to google something like “health benefits of full fat dairy”.   It is amazing.

          Fermented dairy products are especially beneficial in their health promoting qualities.  Kefir, homemade buttermilk, yogurt, and crème freche´ are easy to make, delicious and remarkably nutritious.  By making your own it is possible to add back all the nutritional elements and vitamins that are lost in processing. 

          To make your own buttermilk just add ¼ cup of store-bought, full fat buttermilk to one quart of whole milk ( you can use 2% and it will work, but why?) and let it sit on the kitchen counter for 24 hours.  Stir and refrigerate.  Done.  This buttermilk is delicious and adds a nutritional element to foods that is otherwise lacking.  Use it in pancake batter, cornbread or in most anything that you would normally use milk.  For a real treat, pour yourself a glass.

          An excellent resource that I use often is “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon.  It is available in some libraries or costs about $35.00 on Amazon. 

          Happy Eating.

           

         

         

Spicy Organic Carrot Ginger Soup

1 medium onion

2 lbs. organic carrots
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. beef tallow ( or use 2 more tbsps butter)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. cayenne pepper (or more)
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
¾ tsp lemon grass
1 quart chicken broth, homemade w/ fat

Sauté onions and carrots in oil for 45 minutes with salt and pepper.  Add broth and rest of ingredients and simmer until carrots are tender.  Mix with immersion blender. 

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and toasted walnuts or a bit of coconut oil stirred in. 

I Dream About Food

Okay, I admit it, I dream about food. More accurately I dream about recipes.   This has been going on for a while now, even prior to my beginning the GAPS diet.  Being on the GAPS diet has just made my dreams more vivid.  Lest I give the wrong impression, please know that I dream of other things as well, but food is high on the list.  Okay, okay, it is in the top ten though.  I don’t mean dream as in the nocturnal sense of being dead to the world and having sugar plums dance through my pretty little head.  I mean dream as in, well, visualize, picture, create a minds eye image.  You know, dream.

 

These wakeful forages of mine into the land of chow have sometimes ended up being pretty darn tasty.  Of course I have been the recipient of some pretty scrumptious meals prepared at the hand of others.  But not necessarily healthful. However, I contend that at least some of the best food I’ve had the pleasure to nosh has been of my very own making; my own design even, with a concerted emphasis on longevity.   I’ve been told that each of us has a unique set of talents.  While I search for what mine are I’ve decided to hang out in the kitchen and write about it.  What I lack in talent I try to make up for with experience.  Experience.  That’s huge. In fact I think there is a famous quote about how experience is huge.  It may have been Winston Churchill, but I doubt it.

I do not profess to be the Lone Ranger in the arena of liking to eat delicious food.  Indeed, I recently read somewhere that cook books outsell sex books by eleven to one.  You do the mental computations.  Okay, forget it.  But now that I’ve got your attention, I’ll come to my point.  We all like to eat.  We all like to eat delicious food.  We all like to eat delicious and healthful food.  Too far on that last one?  Well, now that I have your interest I will quickly continue.  Stay with me for a second.  Food can be both delicious and healthful.  I have made it my mission to wed the two.  It is in that vein that I have committed to post truly healthful recipes on my blog.  Plus, it pays as well as my other recent endeavors. 

 

If you’re following my line of reasoning so far we have established that we all like to eat and that theoretically, food can be both delicious and healthful.  Unfortunately, these two qualities are nearly impossible to find coexisting in any of the usual food haunts, of any kind, neither restaurant nor grocery store.   

Thusly, I am wont to share.  I my earnest research into the realm of healthful eating I have uncovered some amazing information about what a healthful diet truly looks like and how to prepare the same.  It is not what one may think and it is not what we have been taught.  It is not what our kids are singing along to in commercial jingles or even what is printed in most magazines and other self-help publications.   It is not.   While the recipes that I post are of my own design, they are familiar.  The basis for their healthfulness is based on what I have learned.   You could in fact do the research yourself, discover the same information and convert it into yummy recipes to feed yourself and your family.  You could do that.   Let me just note that it took only one Christopher Columbus to get the job done, everyone else packed a bag and jumped on a ship heading to America.  

I welcome comments and hope you enjoy the recipes as much as I do.  To our health. 

      

Curry Yogurt Chicken Salad

2 large chicken breasts, (organic, skin-on and bone-in)

Rub skin with olive oil and salt and pepper liberally

Bake chicken at 375° until chicken reaches 165° and skin is crispy.  Remove from pan and cool enough to handle.

In a bowl place:

½ c. dried cranberries

½ c. raisins (golden are good)

½ c. slivered almonds

¾ c. celery, diced

4 large green onions, chopped

In another small bowl mix:

½ c. homemade yogurt (or other good plain, full-fat yogurt)

½ c. real mayonnaise

1 Tbsp. good brown mustard

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 ½ tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

De-bone chicken and cut into 1 inch square chunks.  Cut crispy skin into chunks.  (Don’t use skin unless it is crispy.)  Add chicken and skin to bowl with dried fruit.  Pour dressing over chicken and mix carefully. 

I like to serve it on a pile of cooked and cooled lima beans. 

I'm Thankful for the Simple Things. Like Butter Sauteed Apples.

I recently completed the GAPS Intro diet.  I have been eating gluten free for quite a while and so I pushed and went through all the stages in 12 days.  Although I did not experience any bounding leaps forward in my overall state of health or hear angels singing; I do feel, well, grounded or, more solid maybe.  Better.  I still have headaches nearly every day although they are drastically reduced in both severity and frequency since I began being gluten free.  I was hoping for more relief in this area from this healing diet but I am willing to give the ‘regular’ GAPS diet more time.  If nothing else  the Intro Diet has made me very grateful for the simple pleasures of life. 

In the interest of individual privacy and without going into too much gory detail, I’ll just say that my entire household committed to participate in the Intro diet.  That makes seven of us ranging in ages from six to well, er, adult.  (What?) As you may know, the GAPS Intro diet starts out with a menu consisting almost exclusively of boiled meat and squash. Ya, go ahead and reread that last line, I said, boiled meat and boiled squash. Oh and a little boiled onion for variety.  Can you see where I’m going with the whole grateful thing?

 

The simple things in life, indeed.  If you happen to live in the upper northwest portion of our nation, you may have heard the cheering from our dinner table when, on day four, we were “allowed” to add green beans to our boiled fare. Green beans!  Yahoo.  Boiled, lightly salted, not squash green beans.  The neighbors probably suspected we were having a party, with grain based foods. Nope.  To add some perspective here, I’d have to say that the cheering was on par with the cheer that recently erupted from this very same house when electricity was restored after FIVE DAYS of living in the dark during the worst ice storm since the invention of ice storms.   

 

Seriously though, we all fared fairly well, (we all survived), but there were a few less than joyous moments.  For example, the GAPS diet is known to cause symptoms of detox. Yes, detox. I am pleased to report, however, that not everyone threw up, not everyone got extremely cranky and irritable, not everyone loudly voiced their beliefs on alternative eating habits at the table and not everyone refused to eat for two days. The Epsom salt, vinegar and seaweed detox baths really helped keep the mood light.

By day six with the addition of roasted vegetables (carrots specifically and as opposed to the afore mentioned boiled only fare), I would say there was a distinct aura of giddiness. An uninformed guest may have well supposed that perhaps we had failed to completely cook off the wine in something.  Nope.

Then, on day nine or ten, I think I saw tears in a few eyes when we made Butter Sautéed Apples for dessert, I'm just saying that’s what I think I saw.  I guess the tears could be attributed to something else, but what?  Seriously, have you been paying attention here? Like I said, I have a new appreciation for the uncomplicated joys in this life. 
 
On day thirteen, the official end of the diet, there was loud cheering and high-five-ing when the first piece of toast popped up from the toaster, all brown and crispy and well, full of grain. Oh the simple things of life. 

Butter Sautéed Apples

Ingredients:

·        6 tbsp. butter or ghee

·        6 delicious apples, peeled and cored and sliced into wedges (not too thin or too thick)

·        ½  tsp. salt

·        1/3 c. honey

·        1 Tbsp. cinnamon

·        pinch of nutmeg

  Cooking Directions

Over medium low heat, melt butter, add the apples and salt.  Cook over medium heat until pretty soft (rounded edges but still holding their shape).  Use a large sauté pan or cook in two batches and combine to add remaining ingredients.  Add cinnamon and honey and continue cooking over lower heat to thicken the juices.  Serve warm in individual ramekins with a dollop of crème freche, whipped cream or ice cream. 

Day 9 on GAPS Intro Diet:

I'm on day nine of the GAPS Intro diet and now this delicious treat in "legal".  I'm going to serve the apples hot with honey butter drizzled over the top. 

Butter Sautéed Apples

Ingredients:

·        6 tbsp. butter

·        6 delicious apples, peeled and cored and sliced into wedges (not too thin or too thick)

·        ½  tsp. salt

·        1/3 c. honey

·        1 Tbsp. cinnamon

·        pinch of nutmeg

  Cooking Directions

Over medium low heat, melt butter, add the apples and salt.  Cook over medium heat until pretty soft (rounded edges but still holding their shape).  Use a large sauté pan or cook in two batches and combine to add remaining ingredients.  Add cinnamon and honey and continue cooking over lower heat to thicken the juices.  Serve warm in individual ramekins with a dollop of crème freche, whipped cream or ice cream. 

Colorado Green Chili

8-12 Anaheim chili’s or Pasilla chili’s (or combination of both)

2 Jalapeño chilies (optional)

1 medium to large organic onion

1 ½ -2 pounds ground, grass fed beef (or half beef, half ground pork)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp. flour or cornstarch (gluten free)

3-4 quarts water

1 tsp. salt, divided

½ tsp. pepper

1 rounded tsp. cumin

1 large can peeled, diced tomatoes (do not drain)

 

Place chili’s on cookie sheet (unless you like to clean your oven) and roast at 450° in middle of oven, turning as necessary, until skins are evenly black. Do not undercook. Remove from oven as done, place in bowl and cover with a very damp towel or several very damp paper towels.  When cool enough to handle, peel chilis.  Remove or leave seeds and ribs, depending on how hot you want the green chili.  Shred chili’s by hand or cut into strips.  Spread chili’s in one layer and sprinkle with ½ tsp. salt.  Let chili’s sit for a few minutes to produce a bit of juice.  Save juice.

  

Sauté onion until transparent (about 5 minutes), add hamburger and pork, if using. Brown meat breaking it into medium-sized chunks.  Do not drain fat.  When meat is cooked, (pink is gone), add garlic and cook for about 3 minutes.  Next, sprinkle in flour, ½ tsp. salt, pepper and cumin.  Stir until flour cannot be seen. Add water.  Add tomatoes and chili’s, with their juice, to pot.   Bring to good boil, then turn to medium low heat and cook for about 2 hours.  Let reduce by about 1/3, but do not let liquid get too low.  Add water if necessary and place lid on pot when reduced enough.   It will get a kind of orange-ish film on top (from tomatoes and fat), that’s okay.  Check for salt, add if necessary. 

Serve with warm tortillas or ladle on burritos.   

Baked Oatmeal with Dried Fruit & Nuts (gluten-free)

(This makes an excellent to-go breakfast, heat some up in a coffee cup, add a splash of half and half, and take it with you. I like to make enough to last a couple of days-reheats well.)

      2 cups steel cut gluten-free oats

2 tablespoons yogurt, kefir, whey or buttermilk for soaking

½ c. walnuts or pecans

½ tsp. unrefined sea salt

3 organic eggs

1 ½ cup buttermilk (can use 1 cup plain yogurt thinned with ½ c. cold water)

½ c. mineral or tap water

1 cup dried fruit mixture (raisins, cranberries, chopped dates, cherries, apples)  

1 Tbsp.  cinnamon

½  cup unsweetened coconut

¼ c. butter (melted in pan)

½ tsp. almond extract

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1. Pour the steel cut oats into a glass mixing bowl.
2. Add enough filtered water to completely submerge your oats plus a little extra. Add two tablespoons of fresh yogurt, whey (the liquid on top of your yogurt), kefir or buttermilk.  Cover with plastic wrap.
3. Allow the oats to soak overnight– about eight to twelve hours.
4. After the mixture of oats has soaked overnight, drain the water and place the oats back into the mixing bowl.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and melt butter in the oven in a  9x9 baking pan  (can also add melted butter to mixture after eggs and milk but melting it in the pan gives the oatmeal a nice crunchy crust)
6. Put dried fruit in a small bowl and cover with very hot water for 5 minutes.  Also works well without soaking the fruit.
7. Meanwhile beat together eggs and buttermilk.
8. Pour the mixture of eggs and buttermilk over the soaked oats, stirring well to combine into a porridge-like mixture.
9. Gently fold dried fruit (drain hot water) and nuts. Add cinnamon, extracts and coconut.
10. Pour mixture into hot pan on the melted butter.
11. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the oatmeal achieves a pleasing golden-brown color on top and is set.
12. Serve with a pat of butter and a splash of warmed milk or half and half, a bit of butter and/or honey is delightful.

The Twinkie Incident

I am starting the GAPS diet tomorrow, January 7, Saturday.  About six months ago I discovered that am gluten intolerant, I have Celiacs Disease.  Since I started eating a gluten free diet, I have seen a profound improvement in my overall health.  I was, in fact, quite ill and had had absolutely no help from the countless doctors I saw over the years.  However in my own quest for better health, I did find a wealth of information about nutrition and some intriguing information about gluten intolerance. 

In my research of this disease I found that there is a tremendous amount of information and knowledge available concerning gluten intolerance although it remains largely undiagnosed in the general population.  I also found some really amazing things about why gluten intolerance is becoming so common and  what actually constitutes a healthy diet.  Two intricately connected subjects as it turns out.  Unfortunately much of this information is not readily available to most of us.  Even more unfortunately, the “healthy” diets and “healthy” foods touted to us are incredibly far from that.    This, I believe, is largely because that unless manufacturers can continue to “new and improve” their products, they cannot make the staggeringly large profit margins.  So they must constantly be tweaking everything to gain ‘an edge’ so they can justify charging more and more from the consumer.   These companies produce food and food products for profit, only profit.  I admit to feeling like I’ve discovered some top secret information. I keep expecting to see two rather large men in black suits and dark glasses to sidle up to me at Fred Meyers and box me into a corner by the Hostess display.    “Hey little lady, whacha doin’?  You can’t go around telling truths like that. This is America! You messin’ with the big boys now.  Huh?  Put the Twinkie’s in your cart and no one gets hurt.  You got it?”  Then they shove a twinkie in my mouth and . . . , Well you watch the movies.  At the very least I feel disillusioned, and at the other end, flat out lied to.  Big fat lies. 

Fortunately I have also discovered some really amazing people and information. Alas, I am not alone in my experiences and there are answers.  Yes.  Answers, help and company, misery loves that.  Among other things,  I  have found many answers as to what constitutes a truly healthy diet and how and why the typical American fare is not making the grade.  The first step for me was to be gluten free.  The next step is to do the GAPS diet, a healing diet, one that will allow my body to repair and heal from the years of damage and to be fully functional again.  I have decided it is worthwhile to try this diet in order to heal from this debilitating condition and to share my journey in the hopes of helping others.  The GAPS diet,  the Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet, purports to heal the gut and to rid the body of toxins by eating basic foods that are prepared in such a way that all the nutrients remain available to our bodies in their most natural and healthful forms.

The healing time varies by individual and since I believe I have suffered from Celiacs for at least fifteen years I am going to give myself plenty of time to heal.   I found several websites that were very helpful to me along these same lines and it is my hope that others will benefit from my experiences.  Thanks for listening.

Sweet Potato Soufflé 

       

6 c. sweet potatoes, baked and peeled

½ c. half and half

¾ tsp. almond extract

1 t. vanilla extract

½ c. butter

1/8 tsp. salt

1/3 c. shredded, unsweetened coconut

Mash above ingredients together with potato masher or with a mixer while potatoes are still very warm.  Spread in 8 x 8 pan.

Mix together and crumble on top of sweet potatoes:

1 c. chopped pecans

½ c. butter

1/3 c. honey

1 c. oats

Sometimes I make it in a 9x13 pan and double the topping for a sweeter soufflé.  Makes a great dessert.  This lends itself well to being made a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Bake for an extra 10 minutes in that case.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Lisa’s Spicy Meatballs

      These are a crowd pleaser and super easy as dinner, lunch or just for snacking.  Make extra to take for lunch at the office. 

Add to one pound of grass fed beef:

One organic egg, beaten

½ large onion, diced small

1/3c. gluten-free oatmeal flour (put oats in food processor)

½  tsp. salt

½ tsp. fresh cracked pepper

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. (rounded) smoked paprika

½ tsp. thyme

½ tsp. oregano

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Mix well and shape into balls a little smaller than a golf ball.  Cook on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  (Save the seasoned fat from cooking and use it to roast vegetables. )

January 2, 2012

Everyone wants to be healthy. We all strive to feel good, look good, and to live long happy lives. One important aspect to overall health is nutrition from the food we eat. There are many schools of thought as to what a healthy diet looks like.  In attempting to ascertain this for myself there are some things I have learned that I think will be helpful to others.  This is the goal of my blog, to share my discoveries and to help others wade through the popular ideas, misconceptions, hype, and outright lies being perpetuated by greedy companies in order to sell their products.  I do not wish to seem an alarmist but I will just say that I am regularly astonished at the misinformation constantly bombarding us and how far from the truth many of the claims for a healthy diet actually are.  This misinformation runs the gamut from being somewhat misguided to a full on intentional thwarting of the truth. 

The ideas and information I share here are not all my own discoveries, but rather what I have discovered about what is already known. The recipes are my own.  Like a growing many others, I am convinced that  it is necessary to ignore most, if not all, of what is touted as healthy by the media and by greedy companies.  Yes, the almighty dollar drives the information train in this country.  But you already knew that.  Our food, from availability to marketing, is intricately connected to this dollar train and is susceptible to the same dishonesty and media hype as everything else with a price tag on it. 

Besides misinformation, another real obstacle to providing truly nutritional fare for ourselves and our families is time.  It takes time to shop for and prepare meals.  It takes time know what products are sound, where to find them, and why they are preferable.   As you probably suspected, by eating easily obtainable restaurant and grocery store prepared meals it is nearly impossible to eat a nutritionally adequate diet.  Indeed.  It takes effort to eat well, effort and some basic knowledge.   But it is possible.  I hope to make it easier for you to accomplish this in your home by sharing ideas, recipes and information. 

Organic Chicken Salad with Yogurt Dressing

 

3 baked organic chicken breasts (or equivalent amount), de-boned and cut into medium-sized chunks, place in medium bowl,

Add:

½ onion, medium dice

1 jalapeno, ribs removed and diced fairly small (can substitute ½ tsp. cayenne pepper)

2/3 c. diced celery (if you have the tender center pieces, dice up the leaves as well)

1 apple, green or red, diced with skin on

¼ c. dried cherries or cranberries (raisins are good too)

1/3 c. pecans, hand broken into medium pieces

In separate bowl, mix

1/3 c. organic, whole milk yogurt

¼ c. mayonnaise

1 ½ Tbsp. mustard (yellow or whatever you like)

¼ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. fresh cracked pepper

dash of garlic powder

Mix dressing well and stir into chicken.  Serve alone, on crackers, ice cream scooped on top of a green salad, or eat some and hide the rest in the fridge without telling anyone else that you made it.  It will go fast.