Foodie Friday: PIzza my Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza? Oh, that smell! Something easy to grab and eat, and of course it’s great to be able to order it and have someone else do the cooking. It's been many years since I've eaten 'regular' pizza. I just can’t get past the inferior ingredients that cause my body problems. I've become so used to eating food that makes me feel better rather than worse, that to eat something I know will do harm is unthinkable. No matter how good it smells or looks, I have become adept at looking deeper into what the ingredients are, how those ingredients help, or harm, the body. It’s an important skill to learn. While every body responds differently to foods, certain principles apply to everyone. None of us can eat sugary snacks, foods void of nutritional value, or pesticide laden foods with impunity forever.

 But we usually don’t connect what we eat with how we feel. It makes sense that if you put in inferior fuel, you won’t get the best results. We know this for our cars, but we ignore this for our bodies. Many people will tell me they can eat whatever they want and don’t have any problems. And then go on to complain of allergies, constipation, skin problems, inflammatory diseases not realizing that these are all signs of the very problem they are denying. I know it requires something of a paradigm shift, but the pay-off is well worth the effort.  

 Back to my pizza. Since I no longer eat grains, I've experimented with various alternative pizza crusts. I've found that I really love this combo, giving it a chewy, dense satisfying flavor. We've found that we seldom eat more than half this pizza at a meal, it's that filling! It makes for great leftovers.

Recipe: 

Mix together:

1 cup almond flour 

1/2 cup cassava flour (or you can increase the amount of almond flour by this much) 

1/2 cup ground flaxseed 

1/8 cup (2 TBSP) coconut flour 

1/8 cup (2 TBSP) psyllium seed ground

1 tsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

 

In another bowl thoroughly mix: 

1 egg 

2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup water 

Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until evenly distributed. It might be slightly crumbly, but that's fine. With oiled fingers, spread onto a 12" pizza pan. I like to leave a bit of a thicker edge around the outside edge. Bake this for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Remove and add toppings. (If you forget to bake the crust first like I sometimes do, it still works, it's just harder to eat by hand)

Sauce: 

1 small can tomato sauce 

pizza seasonings like basil, Italian seasonings, fennel seeds about a tsp of each 

Optional:

Since I try to keep the weight down in my RV, I used dried tomato powder for my sauce: 

1/3 cup dried tomato powder 

1/2 cup water 

Toppings: 

this is what I put on mine, but you can put anything you like on yours

Trader Joe's Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage cut into slices 

Onion slices

Olives 

sliced tomatoes

topped with mozzarella cheese

Bake this until edges are browned and cheese is melted. 15 to 20 min. Sometimes if my toppings are thick it takes longer, and I cook it just a few minutes more, check it and cook it some more until it looks done. If I forget to cook the crust first, it can take 25 minutes or more for it to get done. 

Let me know if you tried it. What worked well? What didn't work? What did you do differently from me? How well did you like it? 

Foodie Fridays: My favorite Breakfast

     One of the big changes that comes with eating more healthfully is the change of breakfast choices. It's such an important meal, but the typical American diet is full of highly processed, high sugar, low nutrient "Franken-foods". Cold cereal, donuts, bagels, etc. Foods that many of us were raised on. Foods that are so normal to eat we often don't even think about it. There is so much I could say about how hard these are on the body, but instead I'm going to focus on what can replace these. (You can check out resources in my Class Notes page for more information.) 
     I've been eating this porridge for breakfast for several years and I'm a bit surprised that I haven't posted about this recipe before! Since going grain free several years ago, I've gone through many different ideas for breakfast.This has become a staple and Hubby even likes it. With the gelatin added, it creates a great snack if we're traveling and want something simple to eat at a stop (it sets up a bit, so won't spill!) Plus gelatin is so good for you. We both noticed a difference when I ran out and we went for a couple of months without it. 
     I found that adding hot porridge to frozen berries in a pint mason jar can be hard on my jars, so after I mix the porridge first in the jar, I add it to the fruit in a bowl. If we're going to travel with it, I transfer it to a mason jar with a lid after I've mixed the hot and cold together. I make my serving a little larger than the 1/4 cup because I'm using rounded TBSP measures (because I have extras, so I can leave it in the container). Then I just add the amount of water I want to my pint jar; I just eye-ball it! It's pretty forgiving.

Left is with the hot water added & stirred, right are frozen berries ready to be covered, at the back it's all stirred up & sitting for about 10 minutes or so to let the berries thaw.I usually top it with nuts for some crunch.

Linda's Grain Free Breakfast Porridge

     Here is my version of a grain free hot porridge. Below I have the original which I changed from someone else's recipe. It's packed full of fiber and nutrients, with few carbs unless you add the fruit. 
     I find 'units' and 'ratios' an easy way to do mixes; I can make up whatever amount I'd like and it simplifies the math for increasing or decreasing. If I'm going to use the 1/2c measure, I'll scoop 3 times for the first four ingredients, once for the next and approximately 1/2 for the others. If I want to do a really big batch, I can use a 1 c measure and use the same method. Here I've written the list with a couple of different units to make it easier.

Ratio  ½ c units   1/4c units    Ingredients
3        [1-1/2 c]    [3/4c]           Hemp protein powder (ground hemp only)
3        [1-1/2 c]    [3/4c]           Chia seeds whole
3        [1-1/2 c]    [3/4c]           Flax seeds ground
3        [1-1/2 c]    [3/4c]           Fine ground coconut, unsweetened
1        [1/2c]        [1/4c]           Plain gelatin, grass fed
0.5     [1/4c]        [1/8c*]         Ground psyllium husk   
0.5     [1/4c]        [1/8c*]         Powdered leaf stevia (the green stuff)
*(2 TBSP)

     Put all the ingredients into a bowl and stir them up to mix them well. Then transfer to a jar and keep it in the refrigerator. The flax seeds and hemp seeds can go rancid if not refrigerated. For short term it can stay out, like for a trip, but for long term it needs to be kept cold to protect the healthy oils.

What the mix looks like using 1/2 c measure 

     When you are ready to use it, take a rounded 1/4c scoop and put into a pint jar, add approximately 3/4 c hot water and stir for a minute or so until it begins to thicken. Then pour into a bowl with 1/4 c frozen fruit, stir and let sit about 5 – 10 min. You can eat it right away, but if you let it sit the fruit will thaw and it will cool and gel up a bit. I like to sprinkle soaked and dried nuts over the top. Enjoy!
     I love to put organic, frozen blueberries, mixed berries, sliced strawberries and sometimes sliced peaches in this (I'll add cinnamon when I use peaches. Yum!). I have found organic sliced frozen strawberries at Walmart only. I don't know why everyone else seems to think we want our organic, no sugar added strawberries whole! Dried fruit will also work--especially on trips and all you need is hot water! Since neither of us drinks milk and milk substitutes can get pricey, we just don't bother with it. Most porridge recipes call for it, but it's not really necessary and it's so much simpler to do without. I like simple!
    
     In case you're wondering, other things I eat for breakfast are eggs with veggies like onions, tomatoes, avocado, broccoli and sprouts, topped with sauerkraut and sometimes Curtido. I know it's no surprise that I try to eat some kind of fermented food several times a day: milk kefir, kombucha and water kefir, along with sauerkraut and Curtido. These amazing superfoods are such a boost to nutrition and health. The benefits we've received have been significant; happy gut, allergies virtually gone, healthy skin, calmer emotions to name a few that we attribute to these probiotic foods. When you remove negative foods and increase positive foods, the results can be quite amazing! That goes for thinking, too. Remove the negative thinking and speaking and turn it around to positive and it's amazing the things that can change.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words."  Proverbs 18:21 Amplified Bible

Starting point recipe:
Anita’s SUPERFOOD HIGHLIGHT FOR THE MONTH: 
(I have not be able to find this website again. I try to link to webpages where I find good recipes)

Warm Grain Free Porridge
As I have been learning more about nutrition and balancing blood sugars, I have limited my grain intake and I feel so much better! One huge blessing has been the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle, and I have learned so much vital information from reading their Trim Healthy Mama book. Below is a recipe I found online. I made some changes to use the ingredients I prefer - it has become a favorite and fits in with their plan!
·1 cup chia seeds 
·1 cup fine shred coconut
·1 cup flax meal or you can grind your own from the seeds
Mix this up and store in a quart jar. When you are ready for a delicious breakfast, take 1/4 to 1/3 cup, put in a small pot, and stir in the following:
·1/2 cup milk of your choice, I love coconut or hemp
·Sweeten to taste; I use THM Sweeteners
·1/2 tsp. vanilla
·1 scoop whey protein powder
Leave in the pot for about 10 minutes or put in the fridge overnight. Add more milk or cream if desired. When ready, gently warm- not too hot so that the ingredients stay raw. Finally, my favorite part is adding fresh or frozen berries (thawed) for the finishing touch. Mix and enjoy. It reminds me of the yummy childhood breakfasts I was raised on, yet even healthier!

FOODIE FRIDAY: Fun with gelatin!

       In a discussion recently about gelatin and how good it is for you, I mentioned some of the different kinds that I had played with. Of course that brought a request for the recipe. Hmmm. You mean that scribble of notes I jotted down to try remember what I did? Clearly I had to make some recipes to see if I could duplicate what I did before; to see how well my notes captured it. Since I'm a "Little dab of this, and a splash of that" kind of cook, that's always an interesting challenge! So I made some Coffee Gigglers and shared them when we had a Taco Potluck while camping in the Bouse area. They were very well received, and I heard later they were even talked about at the fire that night! After making them again, I feel confident that I it got down. It's now in Official Recipe Form!

The squares on the left are the peanut butter ones, on the right the coffee. Not much difference by looks except the coffee ones are smoother in texture. I'm thinking that the peanut butter ones are just begging for some kind of chocolate layer.

The basic gelatin gigglers recipe is simple, and once you know the proportions you can make all kinds of flavors:
2 TBSP gelatin
2-3 cups total liquid (depending on how firm you want them)

   I like to put the gelatin in cold liquid first to keep it from clumping, then add it to the hot and stir for several minutes. You can also use a stick blender to make it smooth, but it will add a foamy top layer. I like that added texture and for the Coffee Gigglers, it's the best way to emulsify the fats.
    I like to play around with different combos of herbal tea, kombucha, flavored stevia and veggies or fruit. With the basic ratios of gelatin to liquid, I can pretty much make anything that sounds good! I've used hibiscus tea for color if I'm doing a fruit flavored one. Tulsi tea is great for a soft, refreshing mouthful. Chamomile tea for a before bed calming bite (great for kids). Peanut butter and bananas is a grandkid favorite. And why not coffee while we're at it?
     Why, you might ask, would I bother to make gelatin in the first place? Glad you asked! Gelatin is made of collagen (same thing, different forms) which is an important protein and it's the glue that holds your body together. It's necessary for skin, hair, nails, a healthy gut, joints, etc. For more great information on this, go here to Amy Myers MD website and read  up on it. I certainly noticed a difference when I ran out and couldn't find any for about a month in my travels. I didn't really want the Knox Gelatin because I'm not sure of the source (although it will do in a pinch), and I prefer it in bulk. I finally found some in Tucson in the Food Conspiracy Co-op in bulk and got a bunch, enough to get me home. Now that I'm eating it again, my nails are getting stronger and so is my hair. I don't really have joint issues, so I don't know by personal experience how that helps. But it's enough for me to know that my nails are better since they are a pretty clear indicator of body health. I usually add it to my morning porridge, but sometimes I just want to play around with it! Plus it's fun to share this healthy snack with others.

The brand of decaf coffee I use, truly decaf. I try to get organic cream. The brand and flavor of stevia used in both recipes. The Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener is something I've just started using. It has Monkfruit and erythritol in it. 

     I took my version of Bullet Proof Coffee and added the cream, extra stevia and gelatin. I can have it any time since it's decaf, and it makes a great, light dessert!  You can make it with whatever flavor combo floats your boat, just be aware that once it gets cold and gels, it will be milder in flavor and less sweet.

Coffee Gelatin Gigglers:
2 TBSP plain gelatin
1 cup cool water
Mix these together and set aside. This keeps the gelatin from clumping.

Mix together:
     1-1/4 c hot coffee to taste, strong enough to get diluted by the cup of water.
     1 TBSP butter (to make dairy free, use coconut butter or double coconut oil)
     1 TBSP coconut oil
     2-4 TBSP cream to taste (can also use coconut cream)
     2-3 droppers Chocolate flavored stevia to taste (a dropperful comes up about 1" approx 20 drops)
     1 tsp monk fruit/erythritol sweetener or honey (to mellow out the stevia)

Blend the coffee, fats, sweeteners and cream together in a blender or with a stick blender until somewhat frothy. Add the gelatin/water mix, blend until thoroughly mixed. Taste it. This mixture should taste a bit sweeter and stronger than you prefer. Pour into 8x8 pan and refrigerate until set. Cut into squares and enjoy! It will separate as it cools to form a top layer. You can also pour this into gelatin molds, individual cups or whatever you prefer.

Peanut Butter Gigglers: (a grandkid favorite, they ask for these!)
        2 TBSP plain gelatin
1 cup cool water
 Mix these together and set aside. This keeps the gelatin from clumping.

     1/4 c peanut butter
     3 droppers Chocolate flavored stevia (a dropperful comes up about 1", approx 20 drops)
     2 TBSP cream
     1 tsp Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener or honey or maple syrup (can use more of this, less of stevia)
     1-1/2 cups very hot water
     6-8 slices frozen banana or to taste

In a deep bowl, mix peanut butter, sweeteners, and cream. Add gelatin mixture and stir well. Add hot water and blend thoroughly. Add frozen bananas and blend. Chill until set up, cut and serve.
TIP: I like to have frozen banana slices on hand in the freezer. I take a real ripe banana, slice it about 1/4" or slightly thicker and take a gallon freezer ziplock bag and place them one layer thick in the freezer until frozen, then they can be used individually.

Did you make them? Did you try any variations? I'd love to hear about it.

Foodie Friday: Kabocha squash soup

Kabocha squash

For our Christmas Eve Potluck, I decided to try a new recipe. I got this from a Farmer's Market lady (Barbi Anderson) a few weeks ago when she set up her stall outside of Jojoba Hills RV Resort (near Temecula, CA). I bought a kabocha squash (not to be confused with kombucha tea!) from her and she also gave me the recipe for a wonderful soup with this unusual squash. I got some other great stuff from her, too. Like persimmons and guava. I've never seen or eaten them fresh before, so that was a fun adventure. Plus I got some sage honey which I've never had before. It has a distinctive taste that I really like.

For the potluck in addition to the soup, I made a veggie tray, a green salad with my homemade honey mustard dressing, some sweet potatoes, chicken drumsticks with veggies in the pressure cooker, Avocado Grasshoppers, and some gluten free, grain free brownies with real whipped cream on the side. I wasn't the only one fixing food, but I wanted to have a variety I could eat and share with others. Of course we couldn't eat it all, so I enjoyed leftovers for the next several days. Win!

Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup (From Barbie Anderson)

Makes 4-6 servings
1 medium to large kabocha squash (or butternut)
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
2-4 cups organic chicken or vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place squash whole on the baking sheet and roast for 35-45 minutes or until you can easily poke it with a fork. Remove and let cool before you slice open, scoop out seeds, and add flesh to your blender.
Optional step: in the meantime, add a bit of olive oil to a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic to sauté (and any other veggies here – like carrots, zucchini, red peppers - if you’d like). Let cook for 5 minutes until translucent.
Add onions, garlic, 1 can of coconut milk, broth, sea salt and pepper to a blender.
Puree until smooth, adding more broth if you prefer a thinner consistency.
Serve warm, with toppings of your choice (whole milk Greek yogurt, rice crackers, avocado, chia or pumpkin seeds, arugula, kale, or pesto).

    I cooked my squash in the Sun Oven, and I didn't look at the recipe again until after I had already cut it open and scooped out the seeds. Oops! It cooked up beautifully anyway. I also cooked a butternut squash at the same time and together they took a little more than 2 hours to cook at the lower temp, but they were nice and moist. I also added carrots, zucchini, celery, and red pepper to the onions and shallots (instead of garlic). Totally worth the extra step! I used my Bamix stick blender in the pan once everything was in it, and it worked great. I think I would peel the zucchini first next time. I could see bits of the peel which isn't as pretty as I would have liked it to be. The flavor was amazing and I love how thick it was. It made great left-overs, too.
     Barbi suggested I wash and soak the seeds overnight and bake them the next day. Baking them in the oven would have been easier than pan frying them, as I had to stand and stir them quite a bit so they wouldn't burn, but it was worth it! Because of a windy day, the Sun Oven was not an option, and I didn't want to turn on the generator in order to bake them, so I had this stirring experience. <<wink, wink!>> It didn't take me long to eat them all, they were so good. I'm definitely going to look for this squash again. It just might be my new favorite! I love discovering new foods I can eat.

Nick and Jerry relaxing after a great meal.  The food talbe is behind Jerry, but I didn't get a good pic of that.

Vera and Delores and I looking pretty Christmasy!

Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Muffins

Sun Oven sitting in the wagon.

     When some friends came to visit us near Borrego Springs, we got to talking about my Sun Oven. So of course I had to show them how quickly it got up to 300-325. Then I had this hot oven just begging to be filled with something delicious, so I decided pumpkin muffins were in order. By the time I got them mixed up, they didn't get in the oven until 2pm. At this time of year the sun is on its downward slide and it goes behind the hills around 4:30, so it was a bit of a race for them to get done in time. The Sun Oven uses the angle of the sun to shine on the reflectors and collect the solar energy to heat up. When the angle gets too low, it's hard to maintain the temperature, and when the sun goes down it cools off. I did manage to get them baked, although at a lower temp, so it took a bit longer than usual.
     I then shared some around the Happy Hour group which included more discussion about the Sun Oven. And happy sounds of appreciation for how they turned out, plus a bit of surprise for a few people at how good something healthy could taste. Score! Since I use 1/2 of a can of pumpkin to make the muffins, and Jerry was kind enough to go into town to get me more eggs, I made another batch then next day. Getting them in the oven before noon, they only took about 45 min to cook the second day. They were just as tasty and moist as the first batch. They were so well received I thought I'd post the recipe here. I have a link to the original recipe, but of course, since I can't leave any recipe alone, I'm posting what I actually do. 

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Linda's Pumpkin Muffins,  original recipe HERE that uses honey instead of stevia

1 stick butter, melted (I put this in my Sun Oven as it's heating up), set aside to cool a bit, add at end.

1/2 can pumpkin, stir to smooth

6 eggs, beat into pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla (I make my own extract) add to above,

4 droppers (half way up the dropper) of English Toffee Stevia, add to above

4 droppers Vanilla Stevia, add to above.

      In a small bowl mix the dry ingredients all together:

1/2 c coconut flour (or 1/4 c almond flour, 1/4 c coconut flour)

1/2 tsp baking powder (original calls for baking soda, but I like the taste of baking powder better)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Combine the dry with the wet, then add in the melted butter. Mix thoroughly. Add nuts if desired (1/2 cup) and spoon into muffin cups. I use silicone muffin cups. Paper will stick when using coconut flour, so I don't recommend them. Bake 400 degrees for 15 - 19 min. Or until top is set and lightly browned. In the Sun Oven, it bakes at 300 - 350 for 45 min to 1-1/2 hrs depending. If you push on the top and they spring back, they're done. With the extra pumpkin, these are fairly moist.

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      This is my favorite recipe for gluten-free and grain-free baking. They don't seem to last long, even when I don't have help eating them all! Of course, they disappeared pretty quickly at Happy Hour, so if I want to indulge in more of them, I'll have to bake again the next sunny and low wind day. I put my Sun Oven in a folding wagon which makes it easier to move around. It lifts it up and keeps it pretty stable. At our home base in Olympia, I have to chase the sun around our lot since we are surrounded by so many tall trees, so the wagon is super helpful. I love that I can avoid using the generator or heating up the rig when we are out Boondocking with no hookups.There are lots of things I like to cook in my Sun Oven. Below is pictured a couple of my other favorites. If you notice, the pans are dark. The dark color helps to absorb the heat which is what you want. Highly reflective silver cookware doesn't work as well. Enamelware is great! Plus it feels more like I'm camping when I'm using it. It brings back good memories of camp outs.
 

Chicken and veggies with herbs, and pumpkin cheesecake. Yum!

Foodie Fridays: Thanksgiving Feast

From up on the hill, our rig is on the left next to the darker one.

We are camped at Anza-Borrego State Park near Borrego Springs with our Boondocker friends. Last year we had 90 degree weather for our Thanksgiving Potluck. This year it was more comfortable, but we had to move our potluck to Friday since Thursday had clouds and ferocious winds. Not something we want to contend with while eating outside in a large group. Today the weather was great and the meal was wonderful.

In order to do a potluck, I bring food that I can eat (and that I want to eat). Usually I'll just do a simple all-in-one dish and fill up on that. But today was special and I just wanted to make several different things and be able to share them.
I fixed:
⦁ Raw veggie tray with *cultured cream dip
⦁ green salad with honey-mustard dressing (on the side)
⦁ turkey thighs baked with turnips, carrots, onions and celery
⦁ turkey ham sliced and fried
⦁ *mashed cauliflower with flaxseed oil
⦁ *dried apple pie
⦁ *Avocado Grasshoppers
⦁ *Lemon/Orange Kombucha-Water kefir drink

It was yummy and I love all the left overs! I cooked the turkey thighs in my Sun Oven. Another reason to be thankful for a calm and sunny day! I placed the thighs on chopped carrots, turnips, celery and onions, topped it with rosemary, sage, basil, marjoram, salt and pepper. They cooked beautifully and were ready in plenty of time for the 2:00 meal. I got started around 9 am and they were done by 1:15 pm. I love using my Sun Oven here in the Southwest where I have plenty of sun and no electrical hookups. Cooking with a Sun Oven means planning ahead and taking advantage of the angle of the sun at different times of day. But well worth it to not heat up the rig or have to turn on the generator to run the convection oven. These could easily be cooked in a crock pot or Instant Pot.

*Recipes:

Cultured cream dip is very easy if you make your own milk kefir. Just put the grains into whipping cream for a day. When it's ready, take a 1/2 cup and mix in 2 tsp dried onion, 1/4 tsp dried dill weed, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and let sit for 30 min or more. Keeps well.

Mashed Cauliflower is perhaps the easiest. I took a head of cauliflower, cut it into chunks and steamed it. When it was soft, I used my Bamix stick blender to puree it, adding a bit of the cooking water as needed, then flaxseed oil, salt and pepper. I usually use butter, but I was making it so that someone sensitive to dairy could enjoy it.

Dried apple pie: Since we have an apple tree on our lot in Olympia, I was busy drying apple slices this Fall in order to have plenty for making pies this winter. Last year I made the pie with blueberries, but I wasn't happy with the color of it. The taste was great, but I decided to just do apple this time. I didn't account for having less fruit, so it was a bit flatter than I would have liked. I'm not happy with the crust/crumble recipe I used, so I won't share that.

For the apple filling:
2-1/2 cups of dried apple slices OR 3-1/2 cups if not using blueberries
2-1/4 c water OR 3 cups if not using blueberries
1 cup blueberries (frozen are fine) OR leave out increase apple amount
1 TBSP cinnamon
small squeeze of lemon juice
1-2 TBSP honey (not sure how much, just a big glob!),
2 droppers of English Toffee Stevia
1 tsp plain gelatin (optional)

Simmer apples in water for about 30 min or until apples begin to soften, then add the other ingredients. The gelatin is to make sure it isn't runny (optional depending on how much water gets absorbed by the apples) I drained some of the extra water into a small container and mixed up the gelatin thoroughly before adding it to the mix. When everything is blended and apples are fairly soft. Pour into a crust or a pie pan and top with a crumble or crisp topping and bake. I wish I had used my favorite crisp recipe today! I used a new recipe and it was not as good. I'll have to do that recipe another time. The link to where I found it is broken.

Avocado Grasshoppers

Avocado Grasshoppers This seems to be a favorite at potlucks. I try to keep it cold and only serve it at the end as it keeps well in the freezer, but doesn't do so well when it gets warm. There are a few changes I make to this recipe, but not many.  I double the chocolate layer on top, and I use stevia for at least half of the honey called for. So for 1/4 c of honey, I use 2 TBSP honey and add 2 - 3 droppers of liquid stevia, either plain or flavored. In the chocolate, I love to use English Toffee Stevia. It gives it a lovely flavor. CLICK HERE for the original recipe.

Lemon/Orange Kombucha-Kefir. The is a lovely probiotic rich drink. I do the kombucha as well as the water kefir in my motorhome. I love to mix them together since they really enhance each other. I mix roughly half kombucha and half water kefir, with just a bit of water to tone it down (optional), add a few slices of lemon and some orange flavored stevia and you have a refreshing and delicious drink.

I hope you enjoy these recipes. Let me know if you try any of them.

Foodie Friday: Favorite Morning Tea

My morning drink. Ah!

       Recently I was in a group setting with my morning tea along. Someone asked what it was. I explained that it was my morning tea; not actually a tea but an infusion of herbs I consider my herbal multivitamin. She wanted to know what I put it in and I thought this would be a good blog post. I like being able to get my nutrients from foods whenever possible. Herbs are more nutrient dense than many foods and an infusion is a great way to get those nutrients. Different herbs do different things, so it's nice to have a mix.
      I first started doing just nettle and peppermint first thing in the morning. A very nurturing and friendly start to the day. Then I read in a herbal Facebook group what some others were drinking and decided I wanted to up my game a bit! I had started with just tea bags, one each of nettle and peppermint. Then I started to do loose leaf, which is more economical. Then I added chopped stevia leaf, which is much better for you than the extract. Whenever you can get something in its whole form, you are getting a superior version as far as how your body uses it.

Pouring in 1/4 cup of herbs.

      By doing this recipe in units instead of cups, it's easier to make whatever quantity you prefer. I usually use a 1/2 cup measure, so I measure out 2 of nettle, 1 or peppermint, and so on. When it comes to the 3/4 of stevia, I just make my best estimate. My herbs are all dried and I either get them locally when I'm in the Olympia area, or I order them from Mountain Rose Herbs. Those marked "optional" I use sometimes. Those marked "driver" are important to include since they help the body assimilate the other herbs.

2 nettle
1 peppermint   (driver)
1 red raspberry leaf
1 dandelion leaf
1 horsetail
1 oatstraw
1 alfalfa
1 lemon grass
3/4 stevia leaf (not ground)
1/2 habiscus (optional)
1/2 orange peel (optional, driver)

Soaking overnight. 

Straining the herbs in the a.m.

       I mix this all up in a big bowl, then once it's stirred really well I put in into a container. I scoop out 1/4 cup into a jar before I go to bed and pour hot, but not boiling, water in the jar. I put a lid on it and in the morning I use a small strainer to strain out the leaves. Sometimes I top off my drinking jar with hot water to warm it up. This is so yummy and body friendly. I love to start my day with this.
      If you want to know how each herb is used, what its benefits are, you can look them up pretty easily. Here is one of many resources:  Herbie's Herbs. If you click on the individual herb, it takes you to a page that explains the herb and allows you to purchase it as well. I actually like to buy mine from Mountain Rose Herbs and they also have explanations, although perhaps not as much detail. It's always good to check more than one resource to get a more rounded view.

Fermenting Fun

Showing how fermented salsa is made. Lots to sample!

Friends gathering to taste while I concentrate on a question.

Today at our 'Home Base' in Olympia, WA, I taught another class on fermented foods and their wonderful benefits. I love teaching these classes! Over the winter I did three of them in our travels and it's so much fun to meet up with people again and hear of their successes and the benefits these foods have brought them. I love it that eating live foods brings life to the body. I love sharing this knowledge that I've learned over the years in hunting for answers to my health challenges. To see the lights go on as someone 'gets it' is pure joy! I have long been accustomed to being the odd one who doesn't eat like everyone else. I don't make a big deal out of it, it's just part of my journey. The benefits by FAR outweigh the crazy comments, sidelong looks and no food I want to put in my body at a potluck. I just bring my own food, smile at the looks and joke about being an oddball! So it's a delightful surprise when I encounter people who want to learn about what I do and why I do it, and best of all to embrace it and head off on their own journey of health and a happier gut.
  The microbiome is getting to be quite a buzzword these days. That's the name given to the trillions of microbe friends that live on and in you. They outnumber the cells of your body 10:1! They are super important and do more than was ever suspected. When I first learned about it about 5 years ago after doing the GAPS Diet (which made a huge difference for me--it's a way of healing your gut) you didn't really hear about it. I did find some great books talking about the research on the microbiome and the importance of nurturing my gut microbe friends. (See the list on my Class Notes page). Now that I eat to keep them happy, they return the favor by keeping me healthy and happy. And, yes, keeping your gut happy is more effective than antidepressants.

Of meals and eating

By the time we get to Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, CA, we're ready for a couple days to rest up. By last night, I'd rested up enough to make a fun dinner. I had all the ingredients and since running the generator is no problem here, I was able to bake a pizza. Yes, grain-free and healthy! I used the crust recipe from Wheat Belly Cookbook (which I would love to share, but that would be stealing). Suffice it to say that is uses almond flour, coconut flour, ground flax, an egg and 1/2 c cheese to hold it together. It's quite filling and we find we can only eat half the pizza at a time. So, leftovers! Yay! I used dried tomato powder reconstituted and with Italian herbs, pepper and fennel added. No waisted 1/2 can of tomato paste! I love the Trader Joe's Chicken Spicy Italian Sausage since it's one of the few without garlic and has decent ingredients. I sliced up the frozen sausages, sauteed them with the onions and added olives and organic mozerella cheese for the toppings. Totally satisfying.
  I often get asked "But what do you eat?!" when people find out I don't eat grains, processed foods, corn, soy or garlic. Well, there's meat and veggies, for starters. Have you even just stood in the produce department and noticed how many different vegetables there are? With meat, we're usually limited to a few varieties of fish, pork, beef or chicken. Not a huge variety there. For grains there's usually wheat. No variety there. Of course if you go gluten free there are the various mixes of rice, almond, millet, quinoa, amaranth, coconut, and teff flours. Variety, but still not huge. But veggies, now there you can find all colors, flavors, and textures. There is so much variety that you can eat a different mix of veggies every meal for a week and still not duplicate. So it just makes sense that focusing on veggies and the nutrients, colors and variety they offer with enrich your eating and well being. I have come by the moniker "The Vegetable Lady" for obvious reasons!
  Healthy fats are another key thing that are so satisfying. Because fats take longer to digest, they keep you from feeling hungry longer. I've been pursuing the healthiest way for me to eat for a long time, and some of those methods left me pacing the kitchen trying to figure out what I could possibly eat that wouldn't cause me problems. I no longer do that. Healthy fats include butter, coconut oil, olive oil, hemp seed oil, avocado oil, flax oil, avocados, nuts and seeds. Unhealthy fats are vegetable fats cooked at high temperature, hydrogenated fats and rancid fats. Corn oil, canola oil and shortening are not good for bodies. The best info on fats I've found is in "Eat Fat, Get Thin" by Dr Hyman. I know there is a lot of conflicting information out there about fats, and he takes you by the hand and walks through the research to sort it out and make sense of it. Worth the read.
 A few weeks ago I took a picture of a typical dinner for us that I'll throw in as a bonus! Large green salad with shredded cabbage, mixed greens, cilantro, avocado, tomato and topped with live sauerkraut and flax oil. Next is steamed veggie mix of carrot, broccoli and cauliflower with melted butter. Mahi Mahi cooked with sauteed mushrooms on top completes it. Often for my desert, if I'm wanting something, it's kefir-cultured cream with English Toffee flavored stevia, cocoa powder creamed together and then some almond butter added. Topped with chopped nuts, it's pretty decadent and satisfying. We certainly aren't suffering any with our healthy and tasty food.

Chili Cook-off Soup

Potlucks are always a challenge for someone with food issues. I have learned over the years to bypass much of what is there, scanning for veggies, salad without dressing or something that looks safe. Even then I am cautious. Much easier and safer for me (and my microbiome friends) to just take my own food and focus on being social.

So when the Annual Boomerville Chili Cook-off happened, I just made my chicken soup and took it, pot and all, with me to the potluck. I debated whether to put it on the table or not, but finally decided it would be easier to dish out that way. Since the potluck had already started when I got there, I wasn’t really expecting anyone to be wanting any. Not only were there many pots of chili, but also all kinds of other potluck things to enjoy. But then a couple of friends found out my ‘bone broth soup” was there, they made a beeline for it! There was only a small bowl of it left. Who knew? I'm happy that they enjoyed some good gut-healing soup. Today, one of them came up and said, “I want the recipe for that soup. It was so good!”.

Recipe? What, recipe? You mean I have to write this down? When I make soup and stir fry and a number of dishes, I just put in a bit of this and a little of that, whatever I have on hand. I base what I cook and eat on foods that will heal the gut, and this kind of soup is great for that. Bone broth made from beef, chicken or fish bones--and meat--is full of good things that heal the gut. This link here goes to a website that tells you all the benefits of bone broth. Once you read up on that, you will really be motivated to include this in your diet!

So here is what I think I made (quantities are approximate!):

Drumstick Bone broth soup
5-6 organic chicken drumsticks
1/4 head cabbage shredded, organic
1 cup Broccoli Slaw, organic
1 leek sliced
1 pkg frozen broccoli/cauliflower/carrot mix
1 yellow pepper chopped (has some heat to it, not a bell pepper)
1/2 TBSP celtic sea salt
1 tsp pepper, freshly ground
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar (I forgot this, but usually add it to help pull nutrients from the bones)
water to nearly cover it all

This gets brought to a boil, the pressure cooker lid put on, brought up to where it gets a little bit of pressure, then taken off and wrapped in layers of wool blankets and it sits for 4-6 hours. When we're ready to eat dinner, it's all ready for us! I especially love to do this on traveling day. If you are not traveling in an RV and want to make this, just use a crockpot if you have one. I put into my soups whatever veggies I have at hand. It changes with every batch, but there are some constants: bones, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, water and lots of veggies!

the tables of food in the lee of a couple of rig to block the wind

 

Onboard Bucha!

Jars peeking out of their warm jacket.

My four happy gallon jars.

  Even though we have parked the RV in the driveway, and have acclimatized back into “Sticks-n-Bricks” living, my kombucha jars are still happily brewing away in the motorhome. Since we have the solar panels and I have the heated jacket set-up, it just seems easier to keep them in there, ready for the next trip! The thermostat keeps the temp fairly even by turning on the seedling mat when needed and the insulated jacket keeps in the warm while allowing it to breathe.

   I had the fun of giving away some kefir grains (connection made through Freecycle) but then she came back for a kombucha SCOBY and watched as I bottled my latest batch in the motorhome Which also led to some discussion of RVs! I love teaching people about kombucha and how to brew it, and since she had done her homework, it was more a matter of answering questions and filling in things for her.

The thermostat running the seedling mat.

   I also left some kefir ‘grains’ with my sister on our way home, and I enjoy her enthusiastic reports of the things she is making with it, how much better she feels drinking it, and her excitement over the first time she got the share her ‘grains’ with someone. The ‘grains’ grow, so it’s kinda like Friendship Bread, only healthier. It is such fun to share these life-giving foods with people.

    With all I have learned, I have come to appreciate the amazing diversity of microbes that normally inhabit our bodies and guts and the critically important roles they play in our health and wellbeing. As I eat I am conscious of the need to protect and help these beneficial microbes to flourish. Hence my food choices. And herbs rather than drugs when possible. (See my Page on the Ferments: Terrific Trio)

    Since today’s post is all about these foods, here is a recipe for those of you who want a little walk on the Wild Side: 

Kefir Cream Veggie Dip:

½ Cup kefir cream* (put ‘grains’ in whipping cream for 24 hours)

Pinch of salt – to taste

Pinch of pepper—to taste

½ tsp Dried onion flakes

½ tsp dried dill or basil   (can use fresh, use less)

Still all together and chill for 10 – 15 min. This makes a very creamy, high probiotic veggie dip.

*you can also use kefir that has been drained in a cheesecloth for 12 – 24 hours. 

Enjoy! And feel free to ask questions.