Kitchen Experiment – Parsnip Pancakes

Parsnips.  An interesting vegetable.  Maybe you have noticed them at the grocery store and thought that they were a pale carrot. They kind of look like that.  Maybe you were like me and ignored them for years because you just didn’t know what to do with them.  In the past several years I have added them into my repertoire and have used them in stews, soups, and roasted them with carrots. They are delicious with a slightly sweet flavor.  But every 4 days I do not want to eat roasted parsnips so I needed to find something else to do with them.

parsnip pancakes

Parsnip pancakes!  What a treat!  It was just like a potato pancake but with a slighly sweet flavor.  I shredded the parsnips and mixed in  buckwheat flour, because it was a buckwheat day, and in place of the eggs, I used arrowroot flour mixed with water.  I patted them into patties and cooked them in a non-stick skillet.  I served them with applesauce for dinner and then ate them for breakfast the next day!  I am thinking that when I can add potatoes into my diet, I will try potato parsnip pancakes.  Parsnip day is tonight – I might have to make them again for dinner!

Kitchen Experiments – Nut Butter

I love nuts! I love nut butters! I love how easy it is to make any kind of nut butter using my new Vitamix! With the Alcat diet plan that we have been following now for almost 3 months, it is recommended that you follow a 4 day rotation diet plus eliminate all food intolerances that were found through the Alcat blood test. The idea behind a rotation diet is that the body can become over-sensitized to certain food components if it has to deal with them constantly, which is possibly how the intolerances developed in the first place.  In order to avoid creating any new intolerances and to allow the gut to heal, the rotation diet is prescribed.  This allows the body to metabolize the “safe” foods only infrequently making it less likely that the body will develop new intolerances to them.

So back to the nut butters!  Each day of the rotation diet allows for 2-3 different nuts and seeds.  While it is easy to find peanut butter, almond butter and cashew butter, it is not so easy to find walnut and hazelnut butter or macadamia and pumpkin seed butter.  Actually, the best thing about making nut butters is that the combinations are endless!

nutbutterThis is my new favorite – macadamia and pumpkin seed butter.  Oh it is so delicious!  And so easy to make in the Vitamix!  I have a Champion Juicer that I have used for years to make different nut butters, but honestly, using the vitamix was so much easier.  I did not have to feed the nuts into the top of the juicer in small batches and wait for the juicer to grind them.  Instead, a stuck all the nuts and seeds in the vitamix, turned it on, and voila!  Nut butter!  What fun! Mmmm, I think that nut butter is calling my name right now!

Kitchen Experiments – Rice Pasta with Tofu Pesto Sauce

Sometimes when I am thinking about what to make for dinner, I will remember a recipe that I have not made in a long time and if I am lucky, the recipe will actually fit in with our Alcat diet plan.

Well, I was lucky this week!  Years ago my brother Gregory made up this recipe using tofu, basil and miso – he called it a tofu pesto!  I remember him making it that first time – it was so creamy and delicious.  He served it over rice with big broccoli spears.  I always thought of it like a pesto alfredo sauce.  Well, however you want to think about it, it is just plain delicious!

pesto

I had since found a similar recipe in my Ayurvedic cookbook and had used it in the past.  With a little tweaking this go round, it fit perfectly into our daily plan. I love when something comes together so brilliantly!  My pesto sauce contained silken tofu, basil, miso, homemade walnut, sunflower, hazelnut butter, tamari and water.  That’s it!  I served it over rice pasta with mushrooms and asparagus!  I can’t wait to make it again!

 

Kitchen Experiments – Mung Bean Pasta

Mung Bean Fettucine….have you tried it yet?  Anita found it at Earthlight Natural Foods here in Stroudsburg and thought it would be perfect for our new Alcat food plan.  Gluten-free and made with mung beans and water!

.mung bean

They have more protein than carbohydrate per serving and the texture is great! I decided to use them today to make a quick lunch for my friend and I.  It was carrot day, as well as tahini and almond butter.  So, I sauteed some carrots and made a tahini-almond sauce and ….

pasta

Viola!  Lunch!  If you haven’t tried this pasta – I highly recommend that you give them a try.  They are delicious and hold up well with a light or heavy sauce and are great as left overs. Enjoy!

Detox anyone?

Recently I have had several clients telling me they were thinking about doing a detox.  I told them it is not quite time for doing a detox – it is much better to wait until spring.  Well, spring is almost here!  In chinese medicine, spring is related to liver and gallbladder and so now is the perfect time to do a liver detox.  Usually people feel rejuvenated with a cleanse.  It helps them to feel more energetic, maybe lose a couple of the pounds that were put on throught the winter, and gets them motivated to get back on track with eating well.

There are several ways to think about doing a detox.  You can go all out with the master cleanse which is where you drink a “lemonade” made with lemons, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 1-14 days.  This can be pretty intense.   Doing it for 1-2 days is doable and longer just takes more planning and perserverance.  You need to remember that a cleanse is not just physical, but can be emotional and spiritual as well.

The second way to do a more mild cleanse is to eat some foods while drinking the “lemonade”.  Eating lots of vegetables and fruits with a small amount of protein and carbohydrates can keeping you going through the cleanse.  If you have a physical job or love to exercise, the master cleanse is not recommended.  This would be a more viable option for you.

The third way to do a cleanse is by doing the elimination/challenge diet. This is a plan where you eliminate all of the foods that are common intolerance like wheat, dairy, corn, eggs, sugar, citus and gluten and you avoid them for 2-3 weeks.  At the end of the 3 weeks you can choose to do the challenge phase or not. This is a mild cleanse but well worth the effort.

Lastly, if you are looking for a more intense cleanse that still involves eating well but adds in specific supplements to increase liver detoxification then the 7-day Core Restore may be the perfect cleanse for you.  This program is designed to help restore normal healthy detoxification and elimination functions. It has a comprehensive formula that supports both Phase I and II liver detoxification pathways plus it has assessment tools and a helpful patient guide providing diet recommendations and lifestyle suggestions.

If you have never done a cleanse before, it may be helpful to sit down and speak with someone about which option is best for you and your lifestyle.  Louise can help you with all of your questi0ns and set you up with a plan.  Remember, it is very important that you ease into and out of any cleanse you decide to do.  This will increase the beneficial benefits of the cleanse.

You can contact Louise at 570-421-3708 or through email at acunut@aol.com.

Sesame Squares

Someone reminded me of this “candy” that I made years ago.  A delicious treat if you are wanting something sweet at the end of your day! I have made them substituting soy milk powder for nonfat dry milk and they work just as well.  Enjoy!

Sesame Squares

1/3 c. honey

1/3 c. peanut butter

¾ c. nonfat dry milk

¾ c. sesame seeds

¼ c. raisins

¼ c. unsweetened shredded coconut

Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl.  Spread in an 8-inch-square baking pan and refrigerate for 4 hours.  Cut into 1-inch squares.

Makes about 5 dozen

Kitchen Experiments – Millet Ravioli with butternut squash, walnuts and sage

Well, I think that this experiment was a success! What do you think?

ravioliIt was a learning experience!  I think I overstuffed the ravioli with cheese and so I was afraid to actually boil them, so I baked them instead.  They were a little crispy but with the butternut squash, walnuts and sage sauteed in ghee, they were just perfect!  That is ricotta salata grated on top.  I will make sure to add the recipe soon to the recipe page on the web site.

Kitchen Experiments – Millet Ravioli

So, I got thinking. What else can I do with Ricotta cheese?  Pasta sounds good!  Raviolis sound great!  But this is my milet day in my 4 day rotation.  Is it possible to make gluten-free pasta with millet and without eggs?  This is not my egg day, that was yesterday. Thank goodness for Google!  Well, I wasn’t lucky enough to find millet pasta but I did find gluten-free pasta made without eggs, so into the kitchen I went.  I took my millet and ground it into flour and added the other ingredients – arrowroot flour, xanthan gum, salt, butter, water – not much to it.

I do not have a pasta machine, so I had to roll them out by hand.  It was not difficult, but I can already tell that I will do better next time.  Here is what they look like before I baked them. Yes, I decided to not chance it by putting them in boiling water, so they are going to be crispy ravioli topped with butternut squash, sage, ghee and walnuts.  You will have to stop back to see the end results!

before ravioliThey look pretty good so we will see how they taste!

Kitchen Experiments – Oat Pumpkin Seed Crackers

I am having fun in the kitchen once again.  The ALCAT food plan has kept us on a limited diet so I keep trying to think of new things to do with the same foods.  Here is a photo of my oat crackers!

oat crackersDon’t they look almost perfect!  I was impressed with myself until I tasted them.  The flavor is great – oats and pumkin seeds – but they are a little too crumbly.  Next time I make them I will be sure to add the xanthan gum to help hold them together!

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