Turmeric ~ A Powerful Little Root!

Recently a wonderful little root by the name of Turmeric has grabbed my attention. Because I wanted to know more about it, I have done a bit of research on it’s possible Health benefits. What I have found is listed below:
Turmeric is an Antioxidant, it may help the body in the healing process for the following conditions:
• Inflammation
• Heart Health
• Alzheimer’s
• Natural Painkiller
• Skin Health
• Cancer

Primally Inspired’s link: http://www.primallyinspired.com/turmeric-tea-liver-detox/ has the most wonderful home made Turmeric Tea recipe that you must check out!

Ways that you can incorporate Turmeric into your diet:

• Can be grated and added to smoothies or Home made Juice
• Can be added to your Soups, stews or chili
• Sprinkle it on your veggies as you sauté
• Add it to your Casseroles
• Sprinkle it on your salads
• Mix with other spices and sprinkle on homemade Kale chips or any other veggie chip

There are so many creative ways to add this wonderful spice into your diet!!

Interactions – Be cautious with the following combined with Turmeric (Thank you Web MD):
Medications that slow blood clotting (Anticoagulant/Antiplatelet drugs) interacts with turmeric.

Turmeric might slow blood clotting. Taking turmeric along with medications that also slow clotting might increase the chances of bruising and bleeding.

Some medications that slow blood clotting include aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix), diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam, others), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn, others), dalteparin (Fragmin), enoxaparin (Lovenox), heparin, warfarin (Coumadin), and others.

Further interactions ~Thank you University of Maryland Medical Center for the following information:
Drugs that reduce stomach acid — Turmeric may interfere with the action of these drugs, increasing the production of stomach acid:
• Cimetidine (Tagamet)
• Famotidine (Pepcid)
• Ranitidine (Zantac)
• Esomeprazole (Nexium)
• Omeprazole
• Lansoprazole (Prevacid)

Drugs for diabetes (that lower blood sugar) — Turmeric may make the effects of these drugs stronger, increasing the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

What does Turmeric taste like??

In my opinion ground/powdered Turmeric is a bitter tasting spice. I would advise you to start with a very small amount and then continue to add more until it reaches your own personal taste!

The grated root has a less bitter taste. I would advise that you always start with a small amount of any new herb or spice…it is much easier to add more in then to take some out if you have added too much!!

How much to take?? Thank you Living Strong for the following information
http://www.livestrong.com/article/385952-how-much-turmeric-to-take/:

I hope you will try Turmeric as a part of your healthy eating routine!!

Until next post Love, Health and Serenity…
Roxanne

Raw Cheesy Kale Chips ~ *WARNING* VERY Addicting!

Last week I visited my sister Theresa. She always makes the most wonderful treats, whether they are sweet or savory they are ALWAYS wonderful! She had made Cheesy Kale Chips, and let me tell you they are beyond amazing! She sent me on my way with many treasures, one being a baggie filled with chips to share with Rich. When I got home I asked him to try 1….he liked it and tried another…… I closed up the baggie and put it on the kitchen counter. The next day when I went to eat a few, I couldn’t find the baggie so I asked him if he knew where they went…he answered…”Yeah, I ate them.” I am very happy that he likes them because I’ll be switching them in for his regular Tater Chips 🙂 However, I am now craving more Yummy Cheesy Kale Chips!!

I am so excited that I will have my very own Excalibur Dehydrator in the next couple of weeks…I love tax time 🙂 My home will then be overflowing with all kinds of raw treats…both savory and sweet!

This recipe is brought to you by my sister Theresa Hinckley, of Theresa Rose’s Garden. Her Facebook Page is amazing and jam packed with all kinds of fun and interesting information, recipes and quotes. Please take a minute to stop by and visit her! If you find her page to be a Happy little space filled with wisdom love and grace, please press ‘Like’

Raw Cheesy Kale Chips

2 packages Kale
4 red peppers
2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp pink salt
juice of three limes or one big lemon
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tb soy sauce or coconut aminos
1 tsp tobasco smoked chipotle sauce

Rip the kale into pieces..while taking off the stem. I use a huge stainless steel bowl. Put the pepper in the bottom of the blender first with the lime or lemon juice, salt, soy sauce, chipotle and then the nuts and seeds and nutritional yeast. Blend on high until a nice smooth paste. Taste it and think about eating the whole thing straight…this is where I think OMG I could eat this like a soup, or a dip for veggies. Now pour it over the kale leaves in the big bowl and massage it in…this helps break up the fibers. Spread on dehydrator sheets…use teflex. Turn on to 110 degrees, usually for 24 hours. I start in the afternoon and then next morning turn the chips over..you have to taste them as they dry..chewy warm cheesy goodness. You will want to eat them all then too!

I hope you will put these on your list of things to try…not only are they good, but they are good for you!

*WARNING* Once you make these Cheesy Kale Chips…it’s all over….you will definitely become ADDICTED!!

Until next post Love, Health and Peace
Roxanne

Black Bean “Spaghetti”

This will be a very short and quick post. Something I wanted to share with anyone who is Gluten Free. I have discovered another Gluten Free alternative for pasta!! It is amazing and tastes so good!! It is Organic Black Bean Spaghetti by Explore Asian. The only ingredients in this product are Black Beans and water.

All you do is bring your pan of water to a boil, drop the pasta in and once it starts to boil again let it cook for 6 minutes and it comes out *P*E*R*F*E*C*T*…You can mix in veggies like mushrooms, lightly steamed broccoli, raw onion or any other veggie that you like and Enjoy!! OR you can add tomato sauce!! So good! This pasta has a texture that is unexplainable and addicting!! I hope you give it a try….it is sooooo worth it 🙂

Until next post…Love, Health and Peace
Roxanne

Adzuki Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers

I have been experimenting with Adzuki beans recently, trying to make my own Veggie burgers instead of buying the frozen packaged ones. The first batch I made tasted awesome, however, they turned into a flat mass in my fry pan. Tonight I did it! They came out amazing and kept their shape! This recipe can be easily transitioned to Vegan simply by leaving out the cheese.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked adzuki beans cooled
1/2 cup boiled, mashed and cooled sweet potatoes or yams
1 cup sautéed sliced Mushrooms-cooled (about 2 cups raw will cook down to
1 cup)
1 medium onion diced
4 oz. organic cheddar cheese shredded
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. horseradish
4 turns of black pepper
4 shakes sea salt
3/4 cup homemade Ezekiel bread crumbs (***easy to make directions listed below )
3/4 cup **brown rice flour
** you can substitute any type of gluten free or regular flour.

Directions:
Mix adzuki beans, sweet potatoes, curry, garlic, horseradish, black pepper and salt together. Once well mixed (I used a fork to start with and then dug in with my hands!) add onions and cheese and mix. Last add the bread crumbs and flour and mix with hands. Once everything is well mixed form into burgers. This recipe makes 9 burgers medium to large in size. They freeze very well and I usually fry half and freeze the rest.
***For Ezekiel bread crumbs I just put the crusts that I have saved from 4 loaves of bread onto a cookie sheet and put in the oven @ 200 degrees for about 2 hours. Then I put them into my Blendtech for about 30 to 40 seconds and voila homemade organic sprouted breadcrumbs!!
Until next time…
Peace, Love and Health…
Roxanne

Favorite Vegetable Soup :)

I will definitely insert a picture soon! Warm soup is such a hearty, wonderful comfort food especially during the cold winter months, however this soup is also good cold…I love it this way in the warmer months. I do think it is a matter of taste and choice. For me I love this soup warm or cold. This recipe is not only delicious and filling, it is also nutritious, and we all know that nutrition is a very important part of everyone’s diet. Here I have to stop for a moment and explain the word DIET as I use it. In my Blog diet means a way of life..an eating style that is healthy, nutritious and filling. Not a strict way of eating that leaves you hungry, miserable and wanting to binge! I will be posting a variety of recipes that you can tweak to fit your life style and taste. I would like to share one of my favorite recipes that was introduced to me by my sister Cindy while visiting her in NH. At that time I devoured many many bowls of this delicious soup and brought the recipe home with me. I wish I could say that this Soup was my idea but it is Cindy’s creative genius that developed it…I usually make this soup up in a big stock pot and freeze all but 2 servings (that I gobble up within a day) in glass jars for future (very close future) meals. It freezes well and tastes just as good if not better when it’s thawed!
I use as much organic as possible. I really don’t measure my veggies out but will approximate what I use…..

“Favorite” Vegetable Soup

3 large carrots cubed (I use my chopper large cubes)
2 stalks celery diced
1 large onion diced
1 small red bell pepper diced
1/2 small head of green cabbage (chopped or you can use 1/2 to 3/4 bag of coleslaw mix)
4 large handfuls of baby spinach
16 oz of your favorite mushrooms sliced
4 cups of vegetable stock
2 medium tomatoes diced
2 Tablespoons of jalapenos chopped (you can substitute a can of diced chile tomatoes for the above two ingredients)
1 can of stewed tomatoes
2 minced garlic cloves or 2 to 3 cubes Dorots frozen chopped garlic
2 teaspoons dried Basil or 2 to 3 cubes Dorots frozen chopped basil
2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence
Several grinds of black pepper
1 teaspoon Himalayan or Celtic Sea Salt
1 Tablespoon Olive, Coconut or oil of your choice

Dice onions, celery and red bell peppers
Chop carrots
Slice mushrooms and cabbage

Add oil to stock pot and heat. Saute onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms and red bell peppers over low heat for about 8 minutes. Add broth, cabbage, spinach all tomatoes, garlic, basil, Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. Be a little wild and crazy add a big pinch or two of cayenne! Bring everything to a boil and then turn it down to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes and voila you have a wonderful delicious nutritious meal. I hope you will try this soup and enjoy it as much as I do.
Until next time…
Love, Peace and Health!
Roxanne

Vegan Texas Hot Sauce

I would call this Vegan fast food because it only takes about 15 minutes to make. I use it on veggie burgers or put it over noodles or rice. Sometimes I just make it up and eat it all by itself! I have fed this to my carnivorous husband and son and they had no idea it was Vegan 🙂 In fact they both loved it so much they had seconds! I did end up telling my husband that he ate non-meat meat and he was really good about it. Said he’d eat it again, which I have to tell you is a VERY BIG step for him. I will, however, NEVER tell my son 🙂

Ingredients:

1/2 bag of Quorn burger
1/2 – 3/4 jar of Muir Glenn tomato sauce (any style)
1 small onion diced (Set 1/4 of the onions aside)
1/8 tsp. cloves
1 Tbs. Hot sauce (more or less to taste)
1/2 Tbs. Oil of your choice…I use Olive oil or coconut oil depending on my mood.

Directions:
Fry up the Quorn burger in 1/2 Tbs. of oil for about 8 to 10 minutes on medium. Add the tomato sauce, hot sauce and cloves. Heat for another 4 minutes stirring often.Turn off the heat, add 3/4 of the onions and mix them into the sauce and burger. The other 1/4 of the onions is to sprinkle over the top of the Texas Hot Sauce.

Until Next time…
Love, Peace and Health

GF Bread

This recipe is amazing..instead of buying your gluten-free bread for over $5 a loaf you can make it. I say scratch is always better because you know exactly what is in it. I find tweaking recipes is one of my favorite things to do. This bread comes out light and airy. Kind of like Italian bread without the gluten. I wish I could say this recipe is mine but it is not. My sister Theresa sent it to me along with pictures of how it turned out…WOW…all I can say is AMAZING! And the amazing creator is Kim…I have put her Blog addy in at the bottom so that you can visit her and see all of the wonderful recipes she has to offer:)
Now for the awesome recipe:

Kim’s GF DF Whole Grain Bread ~ Simplified Version

1 1/3 cup water (heated*** – see note)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
3 lightly beaten eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup teff flour – ivory or dark (May also use brown rice flour, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, millet)
1 cup sorghum flour (May also use 1 cup of millet, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth)
1 cup potato starch
1 slightly heaping T xanthan gum
2 1/4 tsp – 1 T dry active yeast (Start with smallest amount and if you didn’t get the rise you wanted try more next time)
2 T ground flax seeds

sesame seeds and flax seeds for top
From Kim:
The directions are the same as in my original recipe. I don’t always take the time to sift but you get a better blended loaf if you do. I also add a few more flax seeds and sesame seeds to the top of the batter after I pull the paddle out of the bread maker just to make it prettier although I didn’t do that in the loaf shown. I am also told that this bread can be done with egg re-placer if you are allergic to eggs. It can also be done completely rice free or not depending on what you want. The recipe is really flexible. Try this. Eat and be happy!
*** Most bread recipes tell you to heat your liquid to body temperature for the benefit of the yeast. If you do that you also have to make sure the rest of your ingredients are room temperature. I hear of other gf cooks waiting around for their eggs etc to come to room temp before baking. When I make this bread I do it in approximately 5 minutes, start to finish. So I heat my water until it’s really hot but not boiling (1.5 minutes in the microwave). I use eggs right out of the fridge combined with the rest of the wet ingredients and add the water. I have never had a problem with this method. By the time the yeast actually comes in contact with the liquids everything is the right temperature. The possibility of scrambling your eggs does exist though if your water is too hot.

My sister Theresa got this recipe from http://gfrealfood.com/2009/06/10/kims-gluten-free-dairy-free-whole-grain-bread/
Thank you Kim 🙂
Tweaking is the key. Add some garlic or onions or whatever spice you might be partial to..I just love curry 🙂
Until next time…
Love, Peace and Health!
Roxanne

Nutrition and Healing with Whole Foods – My Kelp Noodle Recipe

I’ve been interested in nutrition and healing through whole foods and have been doing my own research for over 25 years. At this moment I am taking a Vegetarian Nutrition course so that I can learn what it is that Vegetarians need to have a fully rounded nutritious diet that is not lacking in any vitamin or mineral. When I use the word diet I actually mean Food plan…or Life style…not just a “I need to lose weight so I’m going to starve myself for just so long and then stuff myself and gain all my weight back” plan. A food plan or Life Style is eating in a way that will nourish you and leave you satisfied.
In January of 2013 I will be starting classes with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. My blog is going to change a little bit from Crystal Healing and Crystal information (I will still from time to time give information on Crystals, Minerals and Rocks!) to nutritional information and recipes…lots of recipes! Integrative Nutrition has already taught me that it is not only diet that brings health but a concept called “Primary Foods” which includes all aspects of life.
Today I would like to pass along to all of you a recipe that I created with Kelp noodles. A wonderful miraculous little noodle that has only 18 calories for a whole bag but is very nutrient dense! I just love them because they are so versatile and there is NO COOKING 🙂 These noodles are clear, crunchy and all you have to do is rinse them and add a sauce or dressing to your taste. They will pick up the flavor of whatever you add. If you put them in your homemade soup the noodles will lose their crunchiness. With Muir Glen tomato sauce I found that they have the consistency of spaghetti and they are Gluten Free. Just soooo delicious and Healthy!!
With a few simple changes this recipe can be made Raw…

Before I give you my recipe I would like to share some nutritional information.

The health benefits of Kelp noodles are amazing and here is a link that will explain them:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/273227-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-kelp-noodles/

Health Benefits of Cabbage:
Cabbage ranks right up there with broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts with a reputation for fighting cancer. It’s also a good source of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and other nutrients. Cabbage also offers a major payoff — the fewest calories and least fat of any vegetable.

From green cabbage you’ll enjoy a fiber boost and a respectable amount of vitamin C. Two types of cabbage, savoy and bok choy, provide beta-carotene — an antioxidant that battles cancer and heart disease. For those who don’t eat dairy products, bok choy is an important source of calcium, which may help prevent osteoporosis and aid in controlling blood pressure.

The phytochemicals in cabbage, called indoles, are also being studied for their ability to convert estradiol, an estrogen-like hormone that may play a role in the development of breast cancer, into a safer form of estrogen — powerful incentives to add cabbage to your diet.

Health benefits of Carrots – http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-benefits-of-carrots.html
You can make this recipe with a number of different veggies…whatever you like and use or make your own dressing on it!! Be creative!!

The Health benefits of Broccoli: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=9

This is my recipe and as I rarely measure anything the measurements are approximate, this recipe serves 1:

1/2 bag of Kelp Noodles
Green Cabbage – 1/4 to 1/2 of a small head sliced into strips
Broccoli – lightly steamed 1/2 cup
Carrot – (raw) julienne or slice with a potato peeler about 1/2 cup
2-3 Tbs. of Tamari Sesame dressing (at 20 calories per Tbs. you can’t go wrong)

First I rinse the Kelp noodles, cut them up and then put them aside in a glass bowl.
I saute the cabbage (with olive or coconut oil about 1/2 Tbs.) until it’s tender (about 10 min. on medium high) I love my cabbage tender. At the same time I lightly steam (3 min) Broccoli florets about 1 to 1-1/2 cups.
I peel my carrots and then with the potato peeler cut up quite a bit (1/2 cup) and put it in the bowl with the kelp noodles.

When everything is done I take the cabbage and broccoli add it to the kelp and carrots, mix it up and add 3 Tbs. of the Tamari Sesame dressing and eat. This is just so good that I moan through the whole bowl 🙂

Be adventurous and add your own favorite veggies: spinach, green beans, water chestnuts or mushrooms, just a few ideas!

I hope you will try this recipe either my way or in your own creative way and let me know how it turns out…
Until next time
Love, Peace and Health
Roxanne