When I started writing this blog, I didn't think that I would feel so compelled to post my favorite recipes here, but that's what is happening! Today's post is from a local restaurant, Original Joes. I have modified the dish slightly in that I don't add mushrooms, and I usually use coconut oil as the fat. It is delicious and is one way you know you will last all the way through to lunch without getting hungry!! My biggest meal is breakfast, so this recipe is for 1 person. Alter recipe accordingly if you are cooking for more than 1.
Ingredients:
1/4 c coconut oil (can use butter instead)
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped finely
1 heaping teaspoonful of celtic sea salt
3 oz. ground beef (I have also used ground pork)
2 c fresh, washed spinach
2 large or extra large pastured eggs
Melt coconut oil in large frying pan. (I use one with a cover so the onions caramelize faster). Add onion and salt, and saute until translucent (about 10 to 15 minutes). Add hamburg and spinach and saute until wilted and hamburg is partially cooked (about 3 or 4 minutes). Add the two eggs and cook until to your desired consistency. I like my eggs a little wet, so it takes 2 or 3 minutes. Be careful so the egg doesn't stick to your pan. I stir the contents of the pan every minute once the eggs have been added.
You can add other spices as you like. It's good with garlic. I serve with a heaping tablespoonful of lacto-fermented sauerkraut.
When I switched to eating this type of breakfast from a breakfast with a lot of grains, I couldn't believe how I felt! Clear-headed, alert, and completely sated!! None of that mid-morning crash, or the foggy brain that I had been used to. This is the type of breakfast our ancestors ate before heading out to the fields to work and embodies the principles of a traditional diet. The sauerkraut is an added treat, because it helps populate the gut with healthy bacteria and digestion becomes a breeze.
I recently switched to a local, grass-fed ranch for my beef--Stemple Creek Ranch. They breed their cows to have extra fat (more flavor!) and I really love it!
If you try this recipe, please check back and let me know how you like it. I'd love to hear from you any other ingredients you add to spice this dish up!!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Egg and Spinach bread (flourless recipe)
Several years ago, I went grain-free. Part of it was a gluten issue, but part of it was I wanted to heal my gut, and grains are so hard to digest that eliminating them increases the ability of the gut to function.
So I searched for substitutions for snacks and in meals that would provide a psychological connection to the sense of eating bread. Something that could serve as the foundation for different toppings--liver pate, cheese, sliced meats, etc. Something like bread. Let's face it, bread is a compelling food. And with the kind of buzz that many people experience when eating bread (including me!), it's hard to NOT want it!
I found this recipe on the Naturally by Bee website. Bee's site is for people wanting to recover from systemic candida overgrowth, and all grains, nuts, starches, sugar and dairy are forbidden. She has many recipes there that are delicious and healthy. This recipe, while quite plain and simple, can be doctored up a bit with some of the forbidden ingredients if one isn't trying to avoid them.
INGREDIENTS:
3 packages of organic frozen chopped spinach
1 dozen pastured large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 small, chopped onion
1 teaspoonful freshly grated nutmeg (mmmmm, can you just smell that?)
Thaw spinach and squeeze out the water. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat eggs until frothy, add nutmeg, salt, and onion. Stir. Lastly, add the spinach and stir until well mixed.
Place in a greased loaf pan and some in an 8X8 greased baking dish. There is too much for the loaf pan, and it will run over if you don't make a thin layer in the baking dish.
Bake for 40 minutes (baking dish) and one hour and 40 minutes (loaf pan). Cool and slice. Store in refrigerator. Please note--how well you have squeezed the water from the spinach will determine cooking time. Test with a toothpick because baking times will vary.
I sometimes add 1 cup of grated cheese to this recipe for a richer taste.
Over the weekend, when I last baked this recipe, I had it for lunch with melted cheese on 1 slice, chicken pate on another, and pesto on another. YUMMM. A great lunchtime meal. Today, I had it as an open-faced sandwich--fried eggs (in bacon fat) plus a little liver pate. Fabulous! Try it in ways that inspire you, then let me know what you put on top of the slice. I hope you enjoy it, too!
By the way, did you know that the difference between baking and roasting is what is in the oven? Roasting is what is done to meats and vegetables, baking is what is done to things that will change shape/consistency while cooking, like cookies, breads, pies, etc. They also can be used interchangeably, which had me wondering. Now I know.
If you try this recipe, check back and let me know how you like it! Leave a comment, please!
So I searched for substitutions for snacks and in meals that would provide a psychological connection to the sense of eating bread. Something that could serve as the foundation for different toppings--liver pate, cheese, sliced meats, etc. Something like bread. Let's face it, bread is a compelling food. And with the kind of buzz that many people experience when eating bread (including me!), it's hard to NOT want it!
I found this recipe on the Naturally by Bee website. Bee's site is for people wanting to recover from systemic candida overgrowth, and all grains, nuts, starches, sugar and dairy are forbidden. She has many recipes there that are delicious and healthy. This recipe, while quite plain and simple, can be doctored up a bit with some of the forbidden ingredients if one isn't trying to avoid them.
INGREDIENTS:
3 packages of organic frozen chopped spinach
1 dozen pastured large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 small, chopped onion
1 teaspoonful freshly grated nutmeg (mmmmm, can you just smell that?)
Thaw spinach and squeeze out the water. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat eggs until frothy, add nutmeg, salt, and onion. Stir. Lastly, add the spinach and stir until well mixed.
Place in a greased loaf pan and some in an 8X8 greased baking dish. There is too much for the loaf pan, and it will run over if you don't make a thin layer in the baking dish.
Bake for 40 minutes (baking dish) and one hour and 40 minutes (loaf pan). Cool and slice. Store in refrigerator. Please note--how well you have squeezed the water from the spinach will determine cooking time. Test with a toothpick because baking times will vary.
I sometimes add 1 cup of grated cheese to this recipe for a richer taste.
Over the weekend, when I last baked this recipe, I had it for lunch with melted cheese on 1 slice, chicken pate on another, and pesto on another. YUMMM. A great lunchtime meal. Today, I had it as an open-faced sandwich--fried eggs (in bacon fat) plus a little liver pate. Fabulous! Try it in ways that inspire you, then let me know what you put on top of the slice. I hope you enjoy it, too!
By the way, did you know that the difference between baking and roasting is what is in the oven? Roasting is what is done to meats and vegetables, baking is what is done to things that will change shape/consistency while cooking, like cookies, breads, pies, etc. They also can be used interchangeably, which had me wondering. Now I know.
If you try this recipe, check back and let me know how you like it! Leave a comment, please!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Fat is Where it's At (Part 1)
My mother would be the first (but not the last) to point out how ungrammatical the title of this article is. However, I can't think of another more succinct way to state, plainly, that fat is a very important component in our diets. I'm talking about the good fats here, the ones our ancestors ate in great quantities before the days of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Good fats? I'm not talking canola here, folks. I'm talking butter, lard, chicken fat, tallow, suet, coconut oil. Yes, saturated fats. Whoa, you say. Everyone knows that saturated fat causes heart disease, plus if you eat fat, you get fat.
Let's start with the Lipid Hypothesis. That is what this whole conspiracy is called. A researcher named Ancel Keys postulated that cholesterol (in saturated fat) causes heart disease, then set out to prove it. This was back in the 50's. He looked at all the countries in the world that had data linking saturated fat intake with heart disease. There were 22 countries. Six of them showed a positive correlation between intake of saturated fats and heart disease. 16 showed either no correlation or a negative correlation. That means that a minority of the countries with available data showed there could be a relationship between saturated fats and heart disease. The MAJORITY of the countries showed that there probably was not a relationship between saturated fats and heart disease.
Ever conscious of making a name for himself, Mr. Keys published a study, citing only the 6 countries that showed the correlation. This is fraud, actually. I have always said, "Beware of the scientist with an agenda." Everyone (including the US government agencies) got on the bandwagon, immense amounts of money were thrown at this conclusion, and the result was decades of vilifying butter but promoting fake fats. Once the government supports a view, it is very hard to get research dollars to show otherwise.
The first recorded heart attack by Paul Dudley White, the father of cardiology was in 1928. Before the 1900's, they were unheard of. No, it wasn't that they weren't able to diagnose them, they didn't exist. What was happening? In the early part of the 1900's, margarine and Crisco came on the scene. The actual use of butter was starting to decline, as people became convinced that "progress" meant it was better for you. So as people began eating the fake fats and tapered off the real fats, look what happened to heart disease. It ballooned, along with obesity rates.
Before the 1980's, the highest recorded rate of obesity in any state was 14%. This was when the low-fat mantra was really getting to be in full swing. Today, when this belief about saturated fats is in the ether, NO state has only 14% obesity; most states have over 30% of their population qualifying as obese. Are fake fats the only thing to blame for this? No, the intake of processed foods, laden with high-fructose corn syrup, the very high carbohydrate diets that many eat--these also have an impact on obesity and disease rates.
There is a plethora of information available today on the fat fraud that has been going on. I will list resources at the end of this article. Let me just talk about the important functions that cholesterol provides in our bodies.
Resources:
Weston A. Price Foundation www.westonaprice.org
I wholeheartedly support the Weston A. Price Foundation as the leading voice for sanity about nutrition. An annual membership is only $40, and this comes with a quarterly journal chockerblock with amazing information about nutrition and traditional foods. Please join. You won't be disappointed.
"Good Calories, Bad Calories", Gary Taubes
"Eat Fat, Lose Fat", Mary Enig and Sally Fallon
"Nutrition and Physical Degeneration", Weston A Price
"Ignore the Awkward!", Uffe Ravnskov,
"The Daily Lipid", Chris Masterjohn, http://blog.cholesterol-and-health.com/
These are only a few resources. For the uninitiated, these will provide a great start. More later.
Good fats? I'm not talking canola here, folks. I'm talking butter, lard, chicken fat, tallow, suet, coconut oil. Yes, saturated fats. Whoa, you say. Everyone knows that saturated fat causes heart disease, plus if you eat fat, you get fat.
Let's start with the Lipid Hypothesis. That is what this whole conspiracy is called. A researcher named Ancel Keys postulated that cholesterol (in saturated fat) causes heart disease, then set out to prove it. This was back in the 50's. He looked at all the countries in the world that had data linking saturated fat intake with heart disease. There were 22 countries. Six of them showed a positive correlation between intake of saturated fats and heart disease. 16 showed either no correlation or a negative correlation. That means that a minority of the countries with available data showed there could be a relationship between saturated fats and heart disease. The MAJORITY of the countries showed that there probably was not a relationship between saturated fats and heart disease.
Ever conscious of making a name for himself, Mr. Keys published a study, citing only the 6 countries that showed the correlation. This is fraud, actually. I have always said, "Beware of the scientist with an agenda." Everyone (including the US government agencies) got on the bandwagon, immense amounts of money were thrown at this conclusion, and the result was decades of vilifying butter but promoting fake fats. Once the government supports a view, it is very hard to get research dollars to show otherwise.
The first recorded heart attack by Paul Dudley White, the father of cardiology was in 1928. Before the 1900's, they were unheard of. No, it wasn't that they weren't able to diagnose them, they didn't exist. What was happening? In the early part of the 1900's, margarine and Crisco came on the scene. The actual use of butter was starting to decline, as people became convinced that "progress" meant it was better for you. So as people began eating the fake fats and tapered off the real fats, look what happened to heart disease. It ballooned, along with obesity rates.
Before the 1980's, the highest recorded rate of obesity in any state was 14%. This was when the low-fat mantra was really getting to be in full swing. Today, when this belief about saturated fats is in the ether, NO state has only 14% obesity; most states have over 30% of their population qualifying as obese. Are fake fats the only thing to blame for this? No, the intake of processed foods, laden with high-fructose corn syrup, the very high carbohydrate diets that many eat--these also have an impact on obesity and disease rates.
There is a plethora of information available today on the fat fraud that has been going on. I will list resources at the end of this article. Let me just talk about the important functions that cholesterol provides in our bodies.
- All cell walls require cholesterol. Without it, the cell walls become "floppy" and don't function properly.
- It has antioxidant properties.
- Without cholesterol, we have no bile salts, which are used for digestion and to absorb fats.
- Cholesterol is required to produce the sex hormones.
- We need cholesterol to form Vitamin D, important for many processes in the body.
- We need cholesterol to ensure the proper functioning of serotonin receptors.
- Mother's milk is approximately 50% cholesterol, and required for the proper neurological (brain and nervous system) development of young children/babies. Approximately 25% of our body's cholesterol goes to the brain, where it supports the functions of the brain.
Resources:
Weston A. Price Foundation www.westonaprice.org
I wholeheartedly support the Weston A. Price Foundation as the leading voice for sanity about nutrition. An annual membership is only $40, and this comes with a quarterly journal chockerblock with amazing information about nutrition and traditional foods. Please join. You won't be disappointed.
"Good Calories, Bad Calories", Gary Taubes
"Eat Fat, Lose Fat", Mary Enig and Sally Fallon
"Nutrition and Physical Degeneration", Weston A Price
"Ignore the Awkward!", Uffe Ravnskov,
"The Daily Lipid", Chris Masterjohn, http://blog.cholesterol-and-health.com/
These are only a few resources. For the uninitiated, these will provide a great start. More later.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Fool-Proof Roasted Rosemary Chicken legs/thighs
I love this recipe--it is so easy and always turns out perfectly! I share it with you so that you can smell the fragrance of rosemary wafting through your home, and then sit down to this delicious meal.
I use chickens that have been raised outdoors, able to eat bugs, worms and grass. Their meat has more nutrients. Don't buy chickens that have been fed a vegetarian diet!! This usually means soy and corn, both of which have been genetically modified (unless certified organic by a reputable agency). Believe it or not, chickens are omnivores, like humans. Feeding them a vegetarian diet grows unhealthy birds. And please don't buy chickens that have been raised in large factory conditions, fed a diet that is unnatural to them, with the lights on 24 hours per day to shorten their growing time, beaks clipped so they won't peck each other, and treated like a commodity.
Ingredients:
2 bone-in, skin on legs and thighs (could also use one-half chicken or 2 breasts) approx. 1 1/2 lb.
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 stems of fresh rosemary (or your herb of choice)
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Grease casserole with butter or chicken fat
Rinse chicken and place in a casserole, sprinkle with salt and pepper and all the rosemary needles that you have peeled off the stems. May also sprinkle rosemary under the chicken.
Place chicken in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
The result:
Commentary: When I am cooking for myself or one other, I always use leg and thigh cuts of the chicken. And I always cook with the skin on.
First, let's talk about the skin. Nutritional analysis of chicken with the skin vs skinless shows that the amount of Vitamin A is 3 to 4 times higher with the skin than without, depending on whether it is dark meat or white meat. So you are getting extra nutrition and the fabulous flavor of crisp, delectable chicken skin. For those of you who try to avoid fat, that will be the topic of my next blog.
Why dark meat instead of white? Dark meat has more fat! And with the fat comes the fat-soluble vitamins. A, D, E, K are the fat soluble vitamins. Vitamin A in particular comes with the fat and skin of chickens, as well as vitamin D. When you eat fat with your meal, you feel sated. Fat gives you that feeling of fullness and satisfaction, so you are less likely to reach for the cookies and ice cream after dinner.
Another reason to use my purchasing power to buy dark meat--the public's paranoia about fat and desire for low-fat white meat has led to the hybridization of chickens over time. This has led to chickens that have breasts so large that it's hard for the chicken to hold itself up, and their legs often break because they aren't strong enough to support the breasts. I say, if we all were to start asking for the dark meat again (and lets face it, the dark meat is so tasty!!), maybe we could be a part of the solution to the inhumane breeding and living conditions of these birds.
If you try this recipe, check back and leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you think of it!!
I use chickens that have been raised outdoors, able to eat bugs, worms and grass. Their meat has more nutrients. Don't buy chickens that have been fed a vegetarian diet!! This usually means soy and corn, both of which have been genetically modified (unless certified organic by a reputable agency). Believe it or not, chickens are omnivores, like humans. Feeding them a vegetarian diet grows unhealthy birds. And please don't buy chickens that have been raised in large factory conditions, fed a diet that is unnatural to them, with the lights on 24 hours per day to shorten their growing time, beaks clipped so they won't peck each other, and treated like a commodity.
Ingredients:
2 bone-in, skin on legs and thighs (could also use one-half chicken or 2 breasts) approx. 1 1/2 lb.
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 stems of fresh rosemary (or your herb of choice)
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Grease casserole with butter or chicken fat
Rinse chicken and place in a casserole, sprinkle with salt and pepper and all the rosemary needles that you have peeled off the stems. May also sprinkle rosemary under the chicken.
Place chicken in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
The result:
- perfectly cooked, crisp skin
- moist and flavorful meat
- amazing aroma!!!
Commentary: When I am cooking for myself or one other, I always use leg and thigh cuts of the chicken. And I always cook with the skin on.
First, let's talk about the skin. Nutritional analysis of chicken with the skin vs skinless shows that the amount of Vitamin A is 3 to 4 times higher with the skin than without, depending on whether it is dark meat or white meat. So you are getting extra nutrition and the fabulous flavor of crisp, delectable chicken skin. For those of you who try to avoid fat, that will be the topic of my next blog.
Why dark meat instead of white? Dark meat has more fat! And with the fat comes the fat-soluble vitamins. A, D, E, K are the fat soluble vitamins. Vitamin A in particular comes with the fat and skin of chickens, as well as vitamin D. When you eat fat with your meal, you feel sated. Fat gives you that feeling of fullness and satisfaction, so you are less likely to reach for the cookies and ice cream after dinner.
Another reason to use my purchasing power to buy dark meat--the public's paranoia about fat and desire for low-fat white meat has led to the hybridization of chickens over time. This has led to chickens that have breasts so large that it's hard for the chicken to hold itself up, and their legs often break because they aren't strong enough to support the breasts. I say, if we all were to start asking for the dark meat again (and lets face it, the dark meat is so tasty!!), maybe we could be a part of the solution to the inhumane breeding and living conditions of these birds.
If you try this recipe, check back and leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you think of it!!
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