As I mentioned earlier, ice cream is one of my very favorite treats. Gelato. Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, Peanut Butter Cup or Vanilla, Carmel, Fudge with a touch of sea salt added, Molly Moon's Strawberry or Beecher's Cheddar (yes, it is fabulous-especially with apple compote on top). Mmmm. There's something about the creamy coolness of ice cream and gelato that's hard to replace.
I'm not usually a big fan of kitchen gadgets and appliances but I decided in this case the investment in my health (and sanity) was worth it. I bought an ice cream maker. I found a nice, relatively small Cuisinart ice cream maker on the internet that got good reviews. It cost about $64 including tax and shipping. It's the kind where the bowl chills out in your freezer. It does take up some room but you can put other things like bags of frozen veggies inside if need be.
I started looking for ice cream recipes with no sugar or sweeteners and no dairy. Not so easy to find. I found no dairy but sweeteners and no sweeteners but dairy. I'm going to keep looking. I'll let you know what I find. But this new appliance was dying to be tried out so I had to come up with something quick.
My first foray into ice cream making was pretty simple.
So here's what I made up. Not sure it fits the letter of the law on my diet but I think it's pretty darn close.
Pina Colada Ice Cream
2 15 oz cans regular coconut milk
1 8oz can crushed pineapple in its own juice (no sugar or syrup added)
Blend the coconut milk to thoroughly mix in the solids at the top of the cans. Add the pineapple and juice. Mix well. Chill in refrigerator for several hours. (I'm not sure you have to take this step but it make the ice cream process quick and easy.)
Place the frozen bowl onto the ice cream maker. (Don't take the bowl out of the freezer until right before you're ready to use.) Place in paddle and cover with top. Start the machine. Add the coconut pineapple mixture through the hole in the top of the ice cream maker. Churn for 10-20 minutes until ice cream is the consistency of gelato. (Two cans overflowed the bowl a little as the coconut milk froze. It was a little messy but it worked. If you have less than a 1 1/2 pint capacity or you want a little less mess, try it first with just one can and half the pineapple.) If you want your ice cream firmer put it in the freezer for a bit. This does get quick hard in the freezer. I put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds on 30% power to soften it up a bit to scoop out. If you do this though check frequently as it's a small difference between softening and turning into a soupy liquid.
It's not as sweet as some ice creams but the flavor is good and I find it satisfies my desire for something cold and creamy.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
What's for breakfast?
Historically, I've never been a big breakfast eater. As a kid, I was just never that hungry in the morning and dry cereal with milk just didn't do it for me. Even weekend pancakes or french toast kind of stuck in my throat. I'm horrified to admit that through junior high and high school my favorite and most common breakfast was a Hostess spice cake washed down with coffee loaded with sugar and milk. Ironically, my mother doesn't drink coffee at all but her parents were big coffee drinkers and kind of got me hooked by flavoring my milk with coffee when I kept insisting that I wanted to try it. As an adult, I was always rushed in the morning getting ready for work. Breakfast varied from coffee and a bagel to oatmeal with walnuts and maple syrup. Occasionally, and only on the weekends, an omelet with cheese and toast on the side. Grain played a big part in my breakfasts. Maybe it's my eastern European heritage.
So protein at breakfast? Not really in my food repertoire. But the last five days may have just sold me on it. And not because it makes me feel good and keeps me from getting hungry (although it has) but because it is absolutely a delicious treat to wake up to. By the way, both can be cooked in advance and re-heated in less than 5 minutes for anyone who is has minimal time to mess with breakfast in the morning. Re-heating in no way diminishes either of these dishes.
Here are two of my favorites (both taken from the Abascal Way cookbook.)
This first one may sound a little odd, it did to me. But it was a total and wonderful surprise. The cabbage gets sweet and carmelized with just a little crunch and the eggs make for a creamy coating.
Eggs and Cabbage
1/2 head white cabbage finely shredded
1 yellow onion diced
small bunch of green onions, whites only, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the onion on medium high in a tablespoon of olive oil until it starts to get soft. Add the cabbage and green onion and cook until the cabbage is soft but not mushy. Make two indentations in the cabbage and add a raw egg to each. Cover and cook until the white is set and the yolk is cooked the way you like. I like my yolk runny. I think it took about 5 minutes. Check frequently if you don't want your yolk hard.
This makes enough extra cabbage for a second serving (in that case use four eggs). Or even better save the extra cabbage for the next day. I re-heated the cabbage on med-hi in a non-stick frying pan until it was slightly warm. Then made two wells, added an egg to each, covered the pan and cooked until the eggs were done. The cabbage got nice and browned and carmelized on the bottom. The egg white mixed in a bit with it making it a little like a cabbage pancake on the bottom. Today I ate this with a mild, fresh salsa. Mmmm.
Quinoa Breakfast Cereal (Quinoa is high in protein!)
1/2 cup quinoa (well rinsed until there is no trace of soapy suds around it )
1 cup water
Cocoa nibs (optional- make sure they are plain and not covered in chocolate!)
Coconut milk (the kind in the can)
Fruit in season (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, apricots, bananas)
Heat water, quinoa and cocoa nibs to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until water has been absorbed. You can cook the fruit with the quinoa for a sweeter dish or serve it with coconut milk and fruit as a topping. You can reheat the left over quinoa and top with fruit and coconut milk.
I made mine with about 1 tbs. Theo's organic cocoa nibs (purchased at PCC, our local food coop here in Edmonds, WA). The nibs got soft and developed a smoother flavor as they cooked. Nibs can be a bit bitter on their own. I used fresh strawberries and coconut milk. Fabulous!
Next time I'll try it without the nibs and use blueberries, almonds and coconut milk to top.
So protein at breakfast? Not really in my food repertoire. But the last five days may have just sold me on it. And not because it makes me feel good and keeps me from getting hungry (although it has) but because it is absolutely a delicious treat to wake up to. By the way, both can be cooked in advance and re-heated in less than 5 minutes for anyone who is has minimal time to mess with breakfast in the morning. Re-heating in no way diminishes either of these dishes.
Here are two of my favorites (both taken from the Abascal Way cookbook.)
This first one may sound a little odd, it did to me. But it was a total and wonderful surprise. The cabbage gets sweet and carmelized with just a little crunch and the eggs make for a creamy coating.
Eggs and Cabbage
1/2 head white cabbage finely shredded
1 yellow onion diced
small bunch of green onions, whites only, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the onion on medium high in a tablespoon of olive oil until it starts to get soft. Add the cabbage and green onion and cook until the cabbage is soft but not mushy. Make two indentations in the cabbage and add a raw egg to each. Cover and cook until the white is set and the yolk is cooked the way you like. I like my yolk runny. I think it took about 5 minutes. Check frequently if you don't want your yolk hard.
This makes enough extra cabbage for a second serving (in that case use four eggs). Or even better save the extra cabbage for the next day. I re-heated the cabbage on med-hi in a non-stick frying pan until it was slightly warm. Then made two wells, added an egg to each, covered the pan and cooked until the eggs were done. The cabbage got nice and browned and carmelized on the bottom. The egg white mixed in a bit with it making it a little like a cabbage pancake on the bottom. Today I ate this with a mild, fresh salsa. Mmmm.
Quinoa Breakfast Cereal (Quinoa is high in protein!)
1/2 cup quinoa (well rinsed until there is no trace of soapy suds around it )
1 cup water
Cocoa nibs (optional- make sure they are plain and not covered in chocolate!)
Coconut milk (the kind in the can)
Fruit in season (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, apricots, bananas)
Heat water, quinoa and cocoa nibs to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until water has been absorbed. You can cook the fruit with the quinoa for a sweeter dish or serve it with coconut milk and fruit as a topping. You can reheat the left over quinoa and top with fruit and coconut milk.
I made mine with about 1 tbs. Theo's organic cocoa nibs (purchased at PCC, our local food coop here in Edmonds, WA). The nibs got soft and developed a smoother flavor as they cooked. Nibs can be a bit bitter on their own. I used fresh strawberries and coconut milk. Fabulous!
Next time I'll try it without the nibs and use blueberries, almonds and coconut milk to top.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
The Diet (and a Recipe)
I'm realizing I haven't said much so far about what exactly this diet is that I'm following. I almost hate to call it a diet, since so often people think of a diet as cutting down on the amount of food. This is really a diet meaning a way of eating.
For the last five days and the next few weeks, I've cut out all dairy, gluten (wheat, rye, oats, spelt, farro, couscous, bulgar, etc.), sugar, refined flours, dried corn products (with the exception of sprouted corn tortillas), all sweeteners, dried fruit, alcohol, peanuts and peanut products, all oils except for olive oil (the diet allows for some others, I just haven't found I've needed them yet.) additives, dyes and artificial anything, red meat (which I already wasn't eating), no skin on poultry while cooking (or eating), some types of seafood and fish. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? But amazingly, my diet feels richer and more satisfying than ever. Although I will confess, it does take a little more planning and a lot more refrigerator space.
The idea is to eat twice as many fruits and vegetables every day as protein and grain. Make vegetables more interesting and serve them as the center piece of the meal with protein and grain as the accents. You would have thought as a vegetarian for many years that would have been how I ate. And yet in retrospect, I ate a lot more bread, pasta, cheese, yogurt and grain than I did vegetables and fruit. Never really gave proportions much thought since I thought I was eating healthy.
The other big change for me was having to have protein at breakfast. I'd have an occasional egg or egg whites but never ate any other kind of protein at breakfast since I didn't eat bacon, sausage or ham. I've had to look for some new ideas for breakfast. Luckily the cookbook that came with The Abascal Way book had some really great breakfast ideas and recipes.
This is just a brief overview of the diet, if you're interested in learning more, check out Kathy Abascal's The Abascal Way book and cookbook. By the way, this is not an advertisement for this book or diet. It's just one I read about at just the right time that seemed to make a lot sense to me. The Arthritis Association and the The Diabetes Association offer similar recommendations for diet although I didn't find them as comprehensive as this one.
One of the things that's highly recommended is eating more leafy greens. I like leafy greens but find they get kind of boring. I never knew quite what to do with them which would make them interesting enough to eat regularly. My favorite recipe so far came out of Sunset Magazine. A recipe for Kale Chips. These are truly wonderful. Even my husband, an avowed greens hater, eats them and thinks they taste really good. I like them even better than potato chips and they make a great substitute for popcorn. I've been buying bunches of kale, and cleaning and de-ribbing and storing in the frig. Then I can pop them in the oven when I want some without all the prep work. Don't put the oil and soy on them until right before you pop them in the oven. I use a big plastic bag to shake them up with the soy and oil to coat.
The key to these is to not over cook them and let them burn or they lose their flavor.
For the last five days and the next few weeks, I've cut out all dairy, gluten (wheat, rye, oats, spelt, farro, couscous, bulgar, etc.), sugar, refined flours, dried corn products (with the exception of sprouted corn tortillas), all sweeteners, dried fruit, alcohol, peanuts and peanut products, all oils except for olive oil (the diet allows for some others, I just haven't found I've needed them yet.) additives, dyes and artificial anything, red meat (which I already wasn't eating), no skin on poultry while cooking (or eating), some types of seafood and fish. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? But amazingly, my diet feels richer and more satisfying than ever. Although I will confess, it does take a little more planning and a lot more refrigerator space.
The idea is to eat twice as many fruits and vegetables every day as protein and grain. Make vegetables more interesting and serve them as the center piece of the meal with protein and grain as the accents. You would have thought as a vegetarian for many years that would have been how I ate. And yet in retrospect, I ate a lot more bread, pasta, cheese, yogurt and grain than I did vegetables and fruit. Never really gave proportions much thought since I thought I was eating healthy.
The other big change for me was having to have protein at breakfast. I'd have an occasional egg or egg whites but never ate any other kind of protein at breakfast since I didn't eat bacon, sausage or ham. I've had to look for some new ideas for breakfast. Luckily the cookbook that came with The Abascal Way book had some really great breakfast ideas and recipes.
This is just a brief overview of the diet, if you're interested in learning more, check out Kathy Abascal's The Abascal Way book and cookbook. By the way, this is not an advertisement for this book or diet. It's just one I read about at just the right time that seemed to make a lot sense to me. The Arthritis Association and the The Diabetes Association offer similar recommendations for diet although I didn't find them as comprehensive as this one.
One of the things that's highly recommended is eating more leafy greens. I like leafy greens but find they get kind of boring. I never knew quite what to do with them which would make them interesting enough to eat regularly. My favorite recipe so far came out of Sunset Magazine. A recipe for Kale Chips. These are truly wonderful. Even my husband, an avowed greens hater, eats them and thinks they taste really good. I like them even better than potato chips and they make a great substitute for popcorn. I've been buying bunches of kale, and cleaning and de-ribbing and storing in the frig. Then I can pop them in the oven when I want some without all the prep work. Don't put the oil and soy on them until right before you pop them in the oven. I use a big plastic bag to shake them up with the soy and oil to coat.
The key to these is to not over cook them and let them burn or they lose their flavor.
Soy and Sesame Kale
Chips
Avoid crowding on
baking sheets. Keep an eye on them, they
can scorch quickly.
1 bunch Lacinato kale (also called Dinasaur or Tuscan kale)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Rinse kale and thoroughly dry.
Tear leaves from ribs. Tear
leaves into 4 inch pieces. Place in
large plastic bag. Pour in soy sauce and
olive oil and shake well to coat.
Arrange leaves in a single layer on 2 or 3 rimmed baking
sheets lined with parchment. Bake,
switching pan positions after 13 minutes.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake until leaves are crisp but not
browned. About 5-7 minutes more.
Make ahead up to 1 week if stored in airtight container.
Options:
Omit soy sauce and
sesame and add ¼-1/2 tsp coarse sea salt to oil.
Omit soy sauce and sesame.
Add ¼ -1/2 tsp coase sea salt and ½ tsp coarsely ground pepper to
oil. After chips bake 13 minutes,
sprinkle evenly with 3 Tbs. grated parmesan or 3 Tbs. of nutritional
yeast. Continue baking as before.
Enjoy!
The Five Day Mark
Have some catching up to do today since I'm officially five days into my experiment ( Actually, I stopped eating wheat and sugar about 10 days ago but it took me a little longer to get through my favorite locally produced yogurt which I refused to throw away. Plus I had some really outstanding Theo's chocolates which I had to finish before they went bad. Hmm. I can kind of see a pattern here.) Anyway, since June 24 I've been "clean" following the recommendations from the Abascal Way religiously.
I've been writing in a journal instead of online so I'll try to summarize here and get better about writing real time.
Well the most measurable result so far has been my weight. I started out on June 22 at 137.6. This morning I weighed in at 134.6. Hmm. That's kind of hard to believe. I actually weigh myself on two difference scales and then use the highest one to be conservative. What's even more amazing is that I haven't been hungry even once all week. No scouring the kitchen frantically looking for something comforting to eat. No standing at the pastry cabinet at PCC longing for "just one little goodie" to go with my coffee. In fact, I could probably skip the snacks that are a mandatory part of the first three weeks. My stomach looks flatter although that just could be my imagination. I haven't actually taken out the tape measure although I probably should do that.
Up until 6/24 I had been taking 100mg.of diclofenic sodium (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, NSAID) to keep the pain in my ankle at bay. It was pretty darn effective ( when I went off for 2 weeks in May due to some surgery, my ankle started really bothering me) but because these medications are very hard on one's stomach and can cause ulcers, there is a limit as to how long you can stay on them. My doctor told me I had one more month. Because it's been so powerful at relieving pain I wanted to see first hand how much my diet could replace the effects of the drug. The first few days, I took it pretty easy although did notice some pain in my ankle especially during the night and at the pool when I didn't have my heavy duty shoes and orthotics on. Last night I did a little weeding in the hillside garden, a task that really can do a number on my ankle. I was very careful although still had to deal with some rotation of my ankle to brace myself. My husband was concerned and warned me about the consequences of my actions. But both last night after getting ready for bed and this morning getting up and dressed with only slippers on my feet, my ankle felt fine. I admit, this is way too soon to tell, but it's a good sign at least.
On another front, I stopped taking my pro-biotic pills 6/24. Again to see what the diet would do without being masked by the pills. I'd been having a lot of stomach issues over the last year feeling bloated a lot with a mild stomach ache almost all the time. The pro-biotic helped a lot although occasionally left me with a slightly queasy stomach. I also had gall bladder surgery in May. It fixed the bouts of truly breathtaking pain but it didn't do much for the daily nagging issues. I should also mention that I'm some what lactose intolerant. I love ice cream but it's like Russian Roulette for me. Lactose pills usually help but not always. But over the last three years, I have been indulging in some Ben and Jerry's an the occasional trip to Molly Moon's. I don't drink a lot of milk but did use half and half in my decaf coffee. Yogurt and cheese didn't seem to bother me so I ate those pretty freely. After five days, with NO pro-biotic pills, I can honestly say my stomach hasn't felt this good in a long time. That bloated, uncomfortable feeling is gone. So, is it just in my head? Guess I need more time to find out. I'll post a little about the diet and what I've been eating in my next blog.
I've been writing in a journal instead of online so I'll try to summarize here and get better about writing real time.
Well the most measurable result so far has been my weight. I started out on June 22 at 137.6. This morning I weighed in at 134.6. Hmm. That's kind of hard to believe. I actually weigh myself on two difference scales and then use the highest one to be conservative. What's even more amazing is that I haven't been hungry even once all week. No scouring the kitchen frantically looking for something comforting to eat. No standing at the pastry cabinet at PCC longing for "just one little goodie" to go with my coffee. In fact, I could probably skip the snacks that are a mandatory part of the first three weeks. My stomach looks flatter although that just could be my imagination. I haven't actually taken out the tape measure although I probably should do that.
Up until 6/24 I had been taking 100mg.of diclofenic sodium (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, NSAID) to keep the pain in my ankle at bay. It was pretty darn effective ( when I went off for 2 weeks in May due to some surgery, my ankle started really bothering me) but because these medications are very hard on one's stomach and can cause ulcers, there is a limit as to how long you can stay on them. My doctor told me I had one more month. Because it's been so powerful at relieving pain I wanted to see first hand how much my diet could replace the effects of the drug. The first few days, I took it pretty easy although did notice some pain in my ankle especially during the night and at the pool when I didn't have my heavy duty shoes and orthotics on. Last night I did a little weeding in the hillside garden, a task that really can do a number on my ankle. I was very careful although still had to deal with some rotation of my ankle to brace myself. My husband was concerned and warned me about the consequences of my actions. But both last night after getting ready for bed and this morning getting up and dressed with only slippers on my feet, my ankle felt fine. I admit, this is way too soon to tell, but it's a good sign at least.
On another front, I stopped taking my pro-biotic pills 6/24. Again to see what the diet would do without being masked by the pills. I'd been having a lot of stomach issues over the last year feeling bloated a lot with a mild stomach ache almost all the time. The pro-biotic helped a lot although occasionally left me with a slightly queasy stomach. I also had gall bladder surgery in May. It fixed the bouts of truly breathtaking pain but it didn't do much for the daily nagging issues. I should also mention that I'm some what lactose intolerant. I love ice cream but it's like Russian Roulette for me. Lactose pills usually help but not always. But over the last three years, I have been indulging in some Ben and Jerry's an the occasional trip to Molly Moon's. I don't drink a lot of milk but did use half and half in my decaf coffee. Yogurt and cheese didn't seem to bother me so I ate those pretty freely. After five days, with NO pro-biotic pills, I can honestly say my stomach hasn't felt this good in a long time. That bloated, uncomfortable feeling is gone. So, is it just in my head? Guess I need more time to find out. I'll post a little about the diet and what I've been eating in my next blog.
A Foodie's Experiment with Health and Wellness
Food has long been a passion of mine. Cooking food, eating food, trying new foods and ways of preparing. Although I do believe that the food we eat affects our general health (and certainly our weight) and have tried to hold to a reasonably healthy diet, recent events have opened up a new lens on food for me.
For the last five months I've been hobbling with a longitudinal tear in my posterior tibial tendon. It makes it painful to walk, garden, work around the house and just about anything else that involves a lot of ankle motion. I've been through a round of physical therapy, numerous weeks in a boot cast and/or an ankle brace along with my custom orthotic. I haven't had any shoes on the affected foot other than my ASICS stability walking shoes. ( Not the most fashionable look with dress up clothes.) But my ankle is still swollen and although I can walk around the house without much pain, my ventures to the mall and the market downtown have been a lot less successful.
My doctor has informed me that if we can't get the inflammation under control, I'll be looking at a major surgery with a very long recovery period if I ever want to get back to my daily exercise walks, gardening in my hillside garden or navigating the hills in the community in which I live (required to walk just about anywhere.) Yuk. For the last few months not only have my restrictions on walking been difficult but thinking about potential surgery and another year of impact on my life has been less than uplifting to say the least.
Then recently I came across an article in our local paper about an anti-inflammatory diet (The Abascal Way). I remembered a friend who had a bout of polymyalgia who talked about how she was able to mitigate her symptoms with a similar diet. But could an anti-inflammatory diet really help the inflammation from a torn tendon? Enough to avoid surgery? My very rational, technical husband was skeptical. "Just another fad diet" he says. But in addition to being a foodie, I'm also an engineer by training. Rather than just trusting something is true or assuming it's not, I believe in testing things out. I want to see for myself Thus was born this little experiment. My goal: over the next 6 weeks stick with this anti inflammatory diet and see for myself what it does--both for my ankle injury and the rest of me as well. This is my place for documenting what I'm eating, what's happening with my ankle, capture favorite recipes and note anything else that's happening with my body.
As some background, I'm a 57 year old woman who's been pretty healthy most of my life. I've eaten a mostly vegetarian diet with some fish and in the last few years, chicken and turkey. Most people would say my meals are healthy ones but I have been snacking more than I should (popcorn, chips, homemade pretzels, good quality dark chocolate and salted caramels and more ice cream than I care to admit.) Yogurt and grains as well as cheese have also been a pretty significant part of my diet. Can an anti inflammatory diet make a noticeable difference for someone like me? Stay tuned.
For the last five months I've been hobbling with a longitudinal tear in my posterior tibial tendon. It makes it painful to walk, garden, work around the house and just about anything else that involves a lot of ankle motion. I've been through a round of physical therapy, numerous weeks in a boot cast and/or an ankle brace along with my custom orthotic. I haven't had any shoes on the affected foot other than my ASICS stability walking shoes. ( Not the most fashionable look with dress up clothes.) But my ankle is still swollen and although I can walk around the house without much pain, my ventures to the mall and the market downtown have been a lot less successful.
My doctor has informed me that if we can't get the inflammation under control, I'll be looking at a major surgery with a very long recovery period if I ever want to get back to my daily exercise walks, gardening in my hillside garden or navigating the hills in the community in which I live (required to walk just about anywhere.) Yuk. For the last few months not only have my restrictions on walking been difficult but thinking about potential surgery and another year of impact on my life has been less than uplifting to say the least.
Then recently I came across an article in our local paper about an anti-inflammatory diet (The Abascal Way). I remembered a friend who had a bout of polymyalgia who talked about how she was able to mitigate her symptoms with a similar diet. But could an anti-inflammatory diet really help the inflammation from a torn tendon? Enough to avoid surgery? My very rational, technical husband was skeptical. "Just another fad diet" he says. But in addition to being a foodie, I'm also an engineer by training. Rather than just trusting something is true or assuming it's not, I believe in testing things out. I want to see for myself Thus was born this little experiment. My goal: over the next 6 weeks stick with this anti inflammatory diet and see for myself what it does--both for my ankle injury and the rest of me as well. This is my place for documenting what I'm eating, what's happening with my ankle, capture favorite recipes and note anything else that's happening with my body.
As some background, I'm a 57 year old woman who's been pretty healthy most of my life. I've eaten a mostly vegetarian diet with some fish and in the last few years, chicken and turkey. Most people would say my meals are healthy ones but I have been snacking more than I should (popcorn, chips, homemade pretzels, good quality dark chocolate and salted caramels and more ice cream than I care to admit.) Yogurt and grains as well as cheese have also been a pretty significant part of my diet. Can an anti inflammatory diet make a noticeable difference for someone like me? Stay tuned.
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