People Pellets

"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking
if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity."

~ Voltaire

Remember when people used to think that a great invention would be "food pills" so that people wouldn't have to eat? This was back in the days before Julia Child, when nobody did much cooking, and the prepared food just wasn't that good.

Sort of like "People Pellets."

Sounds like kibble to me.

Hmm, in fact, I think that's what inspired the invention of boxed breakfast cereal, and Graham crackers.

When I was a kid, I tried my pet's dog biscuits to see what all the fuss was about (the dogs went gaga over them.) They actually tasted pretty good...now that I think about it I am grossed out, I can't imagine what was in them. But I haven't found a granola bar that tasted as good as those dog biscuits used to. I don't know if that says more about the granola bars, or the dog biscuits. Um,.... or me.

Now my sister makes them for her dogs to avoid gluten (which her dogs don't tolerate), and we have a booth at the Farmer's Market that has home-made dog biscuits, and they say you can eat them, too, but few people do.

Anyone got a good recipe for nutritionally healthy "human biscuits" that is GF/CF?

I think part of the fascination for me was the texture. Most human biscuits are bread-y and you can't keep them in the cookie jar or they will go stale quickly. Granola bars are too chewy and have too many competing textures. Crackers are crumbly and "crunchy" but really have no "bite" to them. I like that your dog can brush their teeth with a dog biscuit, so my human biscuits would need to do the same thing.

Gluten Free Vegetarian Meals On A Budget

For eating gluten-free on a budget, there are nothing like potatoes! A bag of potatoes can go a long way and there are a million ways to make them! The easiest is to scrub one, poke two holes in the skin and microwave for 4 minutes. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on it, add a tablespoon of water and some sea salt. Any cooked vegetable is a good topping. Beans are very inexpensive. Black beans are easy to digest. Beans go very well with rice. To save money, buy a pressure cooker and make beans from a bag according to the directions on the bag. This is a great source of protein, and very inexpensive. If you cook them right, they will digest easily. Mash up a cup or two of the cooked beans up with a 1/8 cup lemon/lime, several cloves of crushed garlic, 1/4 cup of sesame paste and sea salt for a great pate. Drizzle with olive oil and paprika before serving. (This is usually called hummus if you make it with chick peas.) Now that its summer, try going to a Farmer's Market in your area and get just about anything there. The cost is often lower because you are cutting out the grocer. The seller's often have great suggestions and recipes for cooking their produce. Buying locally is also good for the environment, and you get to meet the people who grew your food! Get an air popcorn popper. Popcorn is very cheap and you can buy it in bulk, organic, and have it for snacks. Some celiacs can't eat fibery stuff, so be careful that this is something your system can handle. Sprout mixes are very inexpensive. Making sprouts is easy and cheap! One of the most inexpensive and versatile vegetables is red or green cabbage. Cabbage keeps a long time in the refrigerator, and is a great flavor enhancer. Sliced thin and mixed with shredded carrots and your favorite salad dressing it makes a nice summer cole slaw. Add a few leaves of cabbage chopped up into any soup or stew for a much fuller flavor. It seems to make everything more savory and more satisfying. Just don't overcook it or it can turn to mush. Try getting any fruit, or berries in season and making smoothies with them, just put them in a blender with some ice and some rice milk, and add some honey or real maple syrup for sweetness. Don't forget that nuts, seeds and nut butters are good sources of protein! Make sure they are very fresh. Nuts can go rancid easily. We have a bowl of cherries on the table right now, next to a bowl of cashews. I slice a sweet red pepper crosswise (the slices look like a flower) and put on a plate with some black olives. It is the best junk food! Sauteed mushrooms have a savory taste that makes anything have a meaty flavor. Inexpensive Vegetable Stew Take all your current vegetables (include an onion or a leek, and a stalk of celery with tops, and a leaf or two of cabbage for flavor) and some potatoes and saute them a little in some olive oil, or roast them in the oven. Cut everything up into chunks before beginning, sautee the harder vegetables first or roast them longer. Start a 1/2 large pot of boiling water. Add a can of black beans. Add the vegetablesand some fresh garlic. Throw in a handful of carrot tops, a few beet tops, some kale or other greens at the last minute. Add some Sea Salt, pepper. Cook until everything is done about 15 minutes. Serve in a bowl with a little gluten-free mayonnaise on top for a garnish. Don't forget that most Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Indian foods are mainly gluten-free. Mexican is gluten-free if you get the corn tortillas instead of the flour. You have to call ahead, or call the manufacturer to be certain that there are no additives that contain gluten, however. Really cheap shopping list: ----------------------------------- A bag of black beans. A bag of popcorn. A sack of potatoes. A head of red cabbage. A clump of carrots with tops on. A bunch of celery. A head of garlic. A container of lemon juice. Iodized Sea Salt. A can of mixed nuts. Some honey or real maple syrup. Extra Virgin olive oil. The freshest fruit in season. Any favorite vegetable.

Easy Quick, Poached Egg Recipe

Poached Egg Recipe

Easy! Quick! Healthy!

Take one can of peas or carrots and put it into a saucepan with the canning water, or you can use frozen or fresh veggies and just enough water to cover.

Heat on medium low heat until just steaming, not boiling. No longer. (Don't overcook your veggies!)

Add a slice of Canadian (round) bacon. Push it into the veggies just a bit, but keep it level with the surface of the water.

Crack an egg gently onto the center of the Canadian bacon.

Cover and cook (simmer) for 3 to 4 minutes longer, not boiling. The center of the egg should still be soft.

Strain liquid off using the lid, and slide everything onto a bowl or plate.

Salt, pepper to taste. I put a dash of oil on it. Grapeseed, olive, or flax oil.

You may say; "Why poach if you are going to add oil anyway?"

This way you can control exactly how much oil you want to use without risking anything sticking to the pan or risking cooking with toxic non-stick surfaces.

The veggies hold up the slice of Canadian bacon, which holds the egg so it doesn't spread all over the water before it is cooked.

If you make it without the bacon, toss the whole, un-cracked egg into the hot water for ten seconds, then crack it gently just over the surface of the water/veggies. You can also use a large Chinese strainer spoon to get the stuff out of the hot water.

I use organic ingredients locally produced if I can. I have noticed that hens allowed to have a free range (no cages) to eat local minerals, (grit) and insects have the best-tasting eggs with bright orange, flavorful yolks.

Recently I made this with fresh, thinly sliced collard greens. I added a dash of fresh lemon juice to the greens and served the egg on top of the greens. Yum!

Also works with dandelion greens, and spinach. The egg is like a dressing on top of the greens.

Eating Well -- Local Food Challenge

I eat locally! I purchase locally!

I recently took this challenge, to eat locally for one month following these guidelines:

Guidelines for Eating Well

If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic. This is one of the most readily available alternatives in the market and making this choice protects the environment and your body from harsh chemicals and hormones.

If not ORGANIC, then Family farm. When faced with Kraft or Cabot cheeses, Cabot, a dairy co-op in Vermont, is the better choice. Supporting family farms helps to keep food processing decisions out of the hands of corporate conglomeration.

If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business. Basics like coffee and bread make buying local difficult. Try a local coffee shop or bakery to keep your food dollar close to home.

If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Terroir, which means 'taste of the Earth'. Purchase foods famous for the region they are grown in and support the agriculture that produces your favorite non-local foods such as Brie cheese from Brie, France or parmesan cheese from Parma, Italy.

Hit the farmers' market before the supermarket. Plan your meal around local ingredients you find at the market.

Branch out. Maybe your usual food repertoire could use some fresh ideas. The farmers' market provides a perfect chance to try a new ingredient when it's in season, and lets you talk to its grower to find out the best way to prepare your new food. Flirt with your food producer!

Feed the freezer. Can't cook every night? Worried about your fresh produce going bad? It's easy. Make lasagna with local tomatoes or a soup packed with fresh veggies and freeze it! You can also make personal size meals for a brown bag lunch.

Go out! Many area restaurants emphasize local foods in their dishes. Ask around, you might be surprised how many options you find that serve up local flavor.

From:

http://www.locavores.com/how/

My Report:

I loved this challenge! It inspired me to try new foods, and use more variety, paradoxically, since the limitations of eating seasonally require more resourcefulness than the usual rotation of a dozen favorite meals that we were doing before. I have been cooking from scratch more, and I like the way it feels to serve my family home-cooked foods that are also home-grown.

Having a small urban garden helps, too. I went to the Farmer's market on a regular schedule and got favorite recipes and suggestions right from the farmers themselves.

This year my goal is to visit farms we buy from and try picking our own fruits and vegetables.

I am doubling the size of my small garden and growing more herbs this summer.

I want to plant everything that tends to be costly in the store: raspberries, blueberries, shallots, garlic, fresh herbs and flowers for cutting.

I am also inadvertently growing a good share of dandelions, which we have actually been eating and taste good as long as you are sure not to spray your lawn with chemicals. Our house rabbit, Webster, loves them. This is a good incentive to get out and dig them up weekly.

Recipe for cooking Dandelions:
Wash the leaves, slice them thinly and saute in some organic olive oil or grapeseed oil, sprinkle with some fresh organic lemon juice, sea salt and pepper.
Sautee with a diced clove of fresh garlic or shallots, optional.

My Motto:
If you are going to obsess about food, why not obsess about how it is made, where it is grown, and the quality of it? You can actually loose weight when you know more about where your food comes from and what it takes to get it into your mouth...

I want to use this moment to celebrate an exceptional local food producer who is also changing the community he serves and his efforts are now being nationally recognized:

Growing Power Urban Farm, Founder: Will Allen

http://www.growingpower.org/

Growing Power's produce can be found at Outpost Natural Foods, where I shop.

Ratatouille - Style Chili

I made this tonight for Supper and it turned out so good I am writing it down so I don't forget it and can make it again.

Ratatouille - Style Chili
Vegan, GF/CF

Ingredients
All Organic
The fresh ingredients are locally grown

1 - 2 TBPSP Safflower Oil
1 TBPSP Olive Oil, Extra Virgin
2 TBSP butter
1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of diced Italian tomatoes
1/3 can of tomato paste
1 small Yukon Gold potato, sliced into crecents
2 small fresh carrots with tops, sliced thin
Big handful of fresh Turnip greens
1 medium fresh Zucchini
Large package of fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 large fresh yellow onion, diced
Butter Leaf (Boston) Lettuce, rinsed off and torn into medium sized pieces
2 cloves fresh garlic, diced
1/2 cup water
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Instructions:
In a large cast iron skillet, sautee the onion in a tablespoon of Safflower oil,
after they start to get clear, add the garlic, and a little salt and pepper,
sautee a few more minutes.
Then add the butter and the mushrooms, cook about 4 more minutes.
Add the olive oil and the rest of the fresh vegetables, and a little more salt and pepper.
Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, black beans.
Cover and cook about ten minutes until all vegetables are just soft, adding water as needed to keep the chili from getting too thick. I made mine so that there was almost a soup-like sauce at the end.
Don't overcook the vegetables. I added the Turnip greens last.

Serving:
Arrange the Butter leaf lettuce on plates to cover the plate. Spoon the chili over the lettuce just before serving.

NOTES and Cooking Tips:

The small potato is mainly for thickening the sauce. Crush a few of the small slices as you cook to make the sauce as thick as you like.

Sauteeing each different vegetable in different oils made the dish taste more interesting. Don't use too much oil or it will taste greasy and overpower the vegetables.

I learned this tip of adding salt and pepper a bit to each ingredient as it was added to the dish, it is like layering the flavours as you go.

This is a good dish if you are dieting as it is very low in calories, and is a nice change from having cold salads all the time.

The zucchini is soothing to the stomach. Did you know that zucchini is not a vegetable, but is technically an unripe fruit? You can also eat the zucchini flowers, put them on the plate as a garnish, lightly cooked.

Fresh is very important.
I shop almost daily, get what looks good, is in season and try to find things grown as close to where I live as possible. This sounds like more work, but it is actually fun, and everything you make will taste better, you will use your refrigerator a lot less, and so you won't have to clean it out as much (no more wilted, mouldy stuff in the vegetable bin.) Vegetables taste so much better if you eat them the same day you buy them. Vegetables loose up to half of their vitamins to evaporation during storage and transportation. So you will feel more satisfied by the food you eat for a longer time, and will feel less hungry later on.

Don't forget to put your vegetable scraps in a compost bin. I use an old ice cream container with a tight-fitting lid, then take the scraps out to the compost pile when it is full. Even if you have a very tiny garden, you can compost all of your vegetable kitchen scraps. Just pile them up in a location that isn't right next to your house and put dead leaves and twigs over them, and mix it up once in a while. Your house's foundation bushes will love some compost once a year, too.

When you open a can of tomato paste, take a small zip-lock bag (I use the 1/2 size) and put a large spoonful in the bag, zip it up and put it in the freezer. I usually use only 1/3 of a can in any dish, and the other two thirds becomes two freezer portions. Then you can grab one out of the freezer and add it to any dish quickly and none of the paste goes to waste. The half-size zip lock bags are better for the environment for when you don't need a larger size bag, so there is less waste. I try to keep a variety of sizes so that I never need to use more plastic than necessary.

I store my leftovers in glass containers with silicone locking-lids. I found rectangular-shaped ones at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I like the square shape because they fit together better in the fridge and stack easier than the round shape, saving space.

My grandmother used to have a set of pretty rectangular colored-glass containers with fitted clear glass lids that I loved. Hers were yellow on the outside and white milky glass on the inside, but they used to come in other colors. I wish someone would make them again. You can only find them in antique stores now. I prefer using glass because they are re-usable, have no chemicals to leach into the food, produce no waste, and they are nice for taking along to pot-lucks since they look nicer than plastic. You can use them to warm things up in the microwave, although lately I have been avoiding the microwave and trying to cook without it.

Cast iron is a great cooking material. Cast iron is inexpensive, and will last longer than you and your grandchildren. Some people use them for many generations and pass them down as family heirlooms. (Good for the environment, since each generation doesn't need to buy a whole new set of cooking pots, and less pots end up in the landfill.)

You can get some of your dietary iron from cooking in cast iron. They require a little different care than other types of pans, but it doesn't take longer -- its just different. I will post more about cooking with cast iron in another posting.

Meal Plan for Losing Weight

I just lost 44 pounds and I didn't really count calories.
I made lifestyle changes.

I know that diets, the way we have been doing them in America, don't work. We want quick fixes, and so we starve ourselves and then gain all the weight back plus more...we ruin our metabolisms and our health this way.

I made one change at a time, until I could stick to it. Then I would make another.

It takes 21 days to make a new habit. So to get the human tendency to create habits to work for you instead of against you, create new habits consciously for 21 days. Then you don't have to think about everything you do every time you do it, you just eat and live a certain way that works by habit.

I went through my house and got rid of everything that was a temptation for me and gave it to the local food pantry.

Then I only brought into the house what I knew was healthy for me to eat.

I gave myself some rules, that seem to work.

I don't eat after 8pm at night.

I eat 4 meals a day, with the biggest meal at lunchtime, so I can work some of the calories off during the day. One of the "meals" is very small, like a handful of nuts and a piece of fresh fruit.

I always eat breakfast right when I get up in the morning.

I never eat huge amounts (volume) at one sitting, so my stomach eventually shrank and I feel very full if I overeat now. No binging.

I sit down when I eat. I enjoy eating my food.

Focus on how you feel when you eat.
Don't dissociate and go into a "zone" while eating. Notice when you feel full. If you learn your body's signals, your body will help you to decide what is best for it. Once you stop giving it intoxicating, overly strong flavored foods like soda and chips, you will notice the more satisfying subtle flavours of foods and these will keep you going.

Plan ahead for when you go places.

Bring food along if you have to so that you ALWAYS have a good choice with you at all times. Never put yourself into a position where the only food easily available to you is the addicting stuff.

Try at least one new recipe, one new food, every week,
so you can find excitement in your eating.

Don't think about what you are giving up, think more about what you are adding to your life.

Here's my recipe for you:
-------------------------------------------------
Fall harvest recipe:

Boil:
Scrubbed and quartered skin-on small red potatoes.
Carrots

Saute a large Vidalia (sweet) onion. Yellow onions fine, too.
Saute a blend of mixed fresh mushrooms.
Saute a pan full of fresh spinach.
Throw a splash of fresh lemon juice* in with the mushrooms and spinach while sauteing them.

Use half butter, half olive oil for sauteeing.

Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper.

Deglaze the pan with water or wine and pour over potatoes.

Optional: Add some crushed garlic to the spinach while sauteeing.

Serve all together with some fresh, unpasturized apple cider, or fresh grapefruit juice.

For dessert, figs.

* Use an organic lemon. Before squeezing the lemon for juice, use a lemon zester to get all the surface zest. Allow zest to dry on a paper plate. Use in recipes that call for lemon zest.

From talking with people who have weight issues, most of them seem to have become addicted to certain foods. Then they get cravings. The reason is that the foods they are eating, like Doritos, Cheetos, Chips, ect. are foods that are all partial foods -- they have had the enzymes and vitamins removed and so your body can't digest them correctly. This leaves them feeling hungry all the time, even right after they eat.

They also sound like they might have a sugar problem.

Sugar feeds yeast, and so you might have too much active yeast in your system. So when you cut back on the sweets, you get really bad sugar cravings. If you get rid of the excess yeast you will have fewer cravings for sweets. Go to a naturopathic Doctor and get a prescription for Difulcan or Nystatin to get rid of the yeast, and cut back on the sweets. After you give up sweets for a while, your taste buds will change and you will taste food differently. Sweets can also make you gain weight because they affect your insulin levels. You can get very sleepy and tired after eating sugar, and then it is harder to get the energy to exercise.

1. Start by taking a multi-vitamin every day.

2. Then learn to cook some things.
You don't have to cook "fancy" to eat well. In fact, it is often the "fancy" type cooking that adds all the sauces and flavourings that make you want to eat more than to fill you up. For a while, just don't put sauces on anything. Find out what each food really tastes like without anything added to it. You might find that what you are "hooked" on is really the additives, flavourings, oils and sauces that are put on everything that is processed before you buy it.

3. Try training yourself to only drink water.
You can buy some lemons and limes and slice them up ahead of time and add a slice to your glass each time you drink some water. This one thing will make a huge difference. Then you can use those calories to eat something more substantial and satisfying. I save glass drink bottles I get and rinse them out and fill them with boiled, cooled water and keep them in the fridge. I leave a little space when filling them so I can add a splash of lemon juice just before going out. This makes drinking water inexpensive, refreshing because they are cold, and very convenient. If your water tastes bad, buy a good water filter.

4. Learn to shop.
Avoid anything that is artificial. It is very possible that it is something ADDED to the foods you are eating that makes you crave them so much. There are over 400 chemicals that food manufacturers can add to foods without having to put it on the label. How do you know for sure that some of them aren't addicting?

The best foods in the store are around the edges. Shop the outer perimeter of the store. There is really nothing you NEED in the center isles. The center isles are all foods that have to be preserved in some way (and so think of it like it is "old" food -- not good.) If it can't spoil after a month, you don't want to be eating it in the first place....

So go to the produce section, and buy whatever looks the freshest.
Go to the frozen foods and refrigerated sections.

Don't eat all the stuff in the boxes and cans and bottles.

5. Learn what not to eat.
Cut out all the stuff made from flour for a while.
You can get rid of anything that started out as a white powder...white flour, pasta, etc.

6. Cut out all the stuff that is fried.
When you heat oil to very high temperatures you change its composition and make it not very healthy. Switch to using olive oil, and add it after cooking. You need about 3 tablespoons of oil a day for good health, so don't give up oil altogether. Learn to steam, saute, bake and broil foods. Then add a bit of olive oil and lemon after cooking for flavoring. Cut out all the things that are breaded for a while, like breaded meats, fish and vegetables.

7. Get more variety in your diet.
Add alternative forms of protein to your diet.
Don't just eat meat for protein, and if you do eat meat, don't eat any fat that is from the meat.
You can cook it with the fat, but remove the skin from chicken and the fat from beef before eating it.
If you need more fat in your diet, add it back in the form of olive oil. In fact, coating a chicken breast with olive oil before cooking it actually tastes better then with the skin.

Seafood is a great protein choice. Broiled, or baked, not fried. If you get it canned, like tuna and salmon, all you have to do is add a small amount of olive oil and fresh lemon.

Start eating some nuts (not peanuts), nut butters (any nut can be turned into a nut butter), but not too many. Just a small handful every day. Start having beans once in a while with meals. They are inexpensive, and give you a lot of fiber. If you eat more fiber and get your insides moving, your outsides will move better, too. After you get used to eating nuts as a snack, switch to the nuts that aren't coated in oil and salt. Then you won't be as tempted to overeat them.

Pesto, GF/CF

Pesto (GF/CF)

Pasta Joy Gluten-Free Noodles
Fresh Broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
Large bunch of fresh Basil
Pine nuts
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Garlic
Organic Olive Oil
Organic Butter
Humane certified, nitrate-free bacon, cooked crispy
Salt
Pepper

Fry the bacon, crumble a few slices, set aside. Drain pan of bacon drippings, add a bit of butter and a teaspoon of olive oil, brown the mushrooms, set aside. Boil the pasta ten minutes, put the broccoli into a steamer on top of the pot.

Using a very sharp knife so the Basil doesn't turn brown, chop the Basil and parsley, dice the garlic, combine, chop up more together, chop the pine nuts, combine with the basil and garlic, chop some more, add salt, chop some more. Put into a large bowl. Add olive oil to cover, stir.

Put the cooked noodles into the bowl with the pesto and stir together until noodles are coated.
Serve topped with mushrooms, bacon bits.

Serve the steamed broccoli on the side.

GF = Gluten-Free (No Wheat)
CF = Casein-Free (No Dairy)

My Tuna Casserole Gluten-Free Recipe

Family Favorite Gluten-free Casserole Recipe:

Tuna Casserole

Ingredients:*

'Pasta Joy' Gluten Free rice noodles (we like the shell shape)
Tuna, fresh or large can
Small onion or one leek, chopped
One chopped stick of celery
One clove of garlic, crushed or diced
1 - 2 tablespoons of Lemon Juice (fresh is best)
1/2 teaspoon Dill
2 - 4 tablespoons of Mayonaise (make sure the label says gluten-free)
1 teaspoon Mustard
2 tablespoons of Olive oil
Sea Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon of White pepper

Boil the noodles for 10 minutes, strain.
Saute the onion in the olive oil until it is almost browned, add the garlic, saute another minute or two.

Add the tuna if cooked, otherwise, remove the onions and garlic and saute the fresh tuna in the same oil until lightly cooked. Add the rest of the ingredients to the tuna. Mix all ingredients into the noodles.

* We use all organic ingredients.

Takes about 20 minutes to make.