The Low Carb Whole Food Gluten Free Foodie

When I began to convert the take-out recipes I loved to low carb, my initial attempt was Mushroom and Spinach Marsala. I was weaning myself off of the take-out, but was still relying on the few low carb options available in Berkeley, CA. One of these was a grilled chicken breast topped with mushroom and spinach marsala. While I couldn’t be certain, I suspected the restaurant had prepared this dish using corn starch and/or white flour as thickeners. I didn’t even want to guess what other ingredients might be involved so I started researching marsala recipes on the internet. It was easy enough to convert the recipe substituting xanthan gum as the thickening agent. A small amount yields the same results as the other thickeners, with fewer calories and net carbs.

When I stopped eating meat, I kept the veggies and the sauce because the taste is really great - in fact, it can stand alone as a side dish, but I wanted to pair it with a side dish to turn it into a main dish. It has a distinctive and rich flavor so you’ll want to pair it with some thing relatively bland. You can pair it with cauliflower rice, but I decided I wanted to focus on perfecting a vegan cauliflower mash recipe. After trying just cauliflower, a mixture of cauliflower and celery root (which was pretty good), I came up with the idea to add nutritional yeast with mashed cauliflower. Lo and behold, the recipe achieved the desired texture and tastes wonderful. I use it as the base for the marsala and it also works well with a simple marinated mushroom recipe, which I’m including in this post.

Mashed Cauliflower with Nutritional Yeast (LC/Vegan/Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

200 g cauliflower florets (or you can also use 150 g cauliflower)

10 g nutritional yeast

1 clove garlic, forced through press

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

*Steam cauliflower florets for about 6 - 9 minutes. Remove from steamer and using paper towels, gently squeeze out the excess water. Put cauliflower in a medium-sized bowl and using an emersion blender, pulse the vegetables until smooth. Stir in garlic and nutritional yeast until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 1-2 serving and has 126.5, 5.5 net carbs, .5 g fat, 8 g fiber and 8 g protein.

Mushroom & Spinach Marsala (LC/Vegan/Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, forced through press

3 oz sliced mushrooms

1 T olive oil

1/4 C mushroom broth ( can substitute water for broth)

1/4 C dry Marsala wine

2 oz raw spinach

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/8 tsp xanthum gum

Preparation:

*Heat oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté for about 2-3 minutes.

*Add wine and mushroom broth to the skillet and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for another 2 -3 minutes. Add the xanthum gum and stir well. Add spinach and and stir until just wilted. Remove from heat and eat immediately. Can be served over cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower.

Makes 1 serving and has 216.33 cal, 6.7 net carbs, 13.6 g fat, 1.33 g fiber and 3.83 g protein.

Marinated Mushrooms (LC/Vegan/Gluten Free)

The great thing about this dish is that you either grill or saute´ the mushrooms, or keep them raw. 

Ingredients:

3 oz white or crimini mushrooms, sliced (you can also use sliced portobello mushrooms)

1 T cold pressed olive oil

1 T balsamic vinegar

Optional:

1 clove garlic forced through press

Preparation:

*Mix together olive oil and balsamic vinegar (and garlic, if you’re using it).

*Place mushroom slices in a bowl and pour the oil and vinegar mixture over them, stirring making sure they’re well-coated. Allow to sit for an hour. If you’re doing the cooked version, heat a grill pan (or any skillet) and saute´ for about 4 - 5 minutes. Serve over cauliflower mash.

Makes 1 serving and has 155 cal, 7 net carbs, 13.5 g fat, .1 g fiber and 2.5 g protein.

So, I’ve been educating myself about the raw food diet (some people refer to it as “live food”). I’ll get into what I’ve learned and its relevance to my health and well-being later, but I feel it’s time for a general health update.

 As of today, I’ve been gluten-free for about 18 months and dairy-free for almost 5 months. Let’s start with  gluten-free: before I began this particular experiment, I knew that it could take 6 months to a year for the benefits of a gluten-free diet to kick in. I must say that it’s incredibly difficult to embark on a journey involving a great deal of sacrifices, without any certainty that you will reach the desired outcome. But I stuck with it.  I was 10 months in when I noticed I was feeling more achy and sore than ususal, which lasted for about 2 months. And while I can’t back it up with facts or data, in retrospect it felt like my body was going through the final stages of gluten detox.Then, as if by magic, I started feeling better. My mood and energy improved and my chronic pain went from severe to moderate. As a result, I was able to start exercising regularly; I have these wonderful exercise DVDs from the Oregon Fibromyalgia Foundation (http://www.myalgia.com/) which are designed specifically for people living with chronic pain. They offer 4 DVDs: gentle aerobics, upper/lower/core strength and balance training, stretching and relaxation, and their newest addition, a yoga/pilates routine. I’ve also begun to use a “Pilates for Inflexible People” DVD from http://www.bodywisdomdvds.com/.

Let’s move onto the return of the plant-based diet. When I tried to do this before, I made the mistake of including 3 servings of psyllium husks a day, which ended up being way too much fiber and caused way too much gastric distress. This time around I omitted the psyllium husks and that made a big difference. But I was still dealing with constipation and I’d been hearing about probiotics for a while, so I decided to give it a go. Fortunately, you can purchase probiotics in powder and capsule form without having to resort to eating a certain yogurt product (which I will not name here) 3 times a day. Almost immediately I attained regularity (it’s wonderful and I highly recommend it) and I’ve been taking it regularly for about a month.

As a result, I’ve been able to reach my goal weight of 150 LBs (I started out at 265 LBs) and have moved on to the third stage of the low carb regimen made popular by Dr. Atkins - pre-maintenance. According to Atkins, pre-maintenance involves increasing your carbohydrate intake gradually until you get to the point where you stop losing weight. How many net carbs (and calories) it takes per day to maintain your healthy weight varies from person to person, so there’s no magic number out there - you need to figure what works for you, personally. I used this opportunity to delve into the world of raw food and began to substitute various raw food staples for certain low carb standards, particularly in the area of fruits and sweeteners.

During my research I’ve discovered that the law governing the specifics of  a raw food diet are not universal. According to Wikipedia:

 ”Raw foodism can include any diet of primarily unheated food, or food cooked to a temperature less than 104º F (40º C) to 115º F )46º C). The most popular raw food diet  is a vegan diet, but forms may include animal products and/or meat. Raw foodists can be divided between those that advocate raw veagansim  or vegetarianism,  those that advocate a raw omnivorous diet, and those that advocate a 100% raw carnivorous diet.” (source)

Since I’m already vegan, I think you can figure out which group I belong to, but not all vegan raw food diets are alike. There are variations between what kinds of food - such as oils, vinegar and other condiments - are acceptable. When it comes to using a dehydrator for cooking, there are some raw foodists who believe that it’s OK to increase the temperature to 140º F. According to the really wonderful raw food website Rawmazing, the food throws off water and stays cool during at the beginning of the dehydration process so that temperature of the food temperature itself doesn’t actually go above 115º. I’m not certain that this is true, but dehydrating like this saves time and may prevent fermentation.

So why go raw? Well, according to Ani Phyo, author of Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen, unheated fresh foods  (AKA living foods) are are full of enzyme activity. According to Phyo:

“Enzymes help you digest food and are the catalyst for for every metabolic reaction in your body. Without these enzymes, there can be no cell division, energy production, or brain activity.

[…]Only uncooked and unprocessed foods can provide us with the full range of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, oxygen, fiber, and other  nutrients our bodies require to run like a well-oiled machine.”

In spite of the differences between the ideologies of the various raw food factions, they all seem to agree on one thing: that a raw food diet will help you reach a state of optimal health. Which is, quite frankly, the only reason why I  even considered yet another set of dietary restrictions. I have read many personal accounts of patients whose Fibromyalgia symptoms have vastly improved after changing to a  raw food diet and I needed to be abe to say that I tried every possible angle in my attempt to optimize my health - both physically and mentally. Now that I had the energy, I owed it to myself to try it at the very least.

In an attempt to make the transition, I took three recipes that I love and prepared each of them in  a regular oven and in a dehydrator, to get an idea of how they compared. As far as my palate is concerned, the three vegetables, asparagus, zucchini, and kale, taste great when cooked, but are pretty much inedible when raw. I discovered that dehydrating them didn’t do much to improve their flavor. In addition, it takes several hours to make most raw food dehydrator recipes which probably isn’t very energy efficient. So, while I may use the dehydrator for certain recipes, like raw crackers and cookies, I don’t see myself using it for preparing vegetables. I’m including the dehydrator temperatures and times in the recipes below, if you want to give it a try, but for my own personal consumption, the raw veggies I’m sticking to are things like carrots, spinach and celery. I’m not going to be able to maintain a full-on raw diet, either because I can’t stomach the taste or because many raw food staples (like agave syrup, medjul dates, and bananas) aren’t compatible with my low carb diet. I found several recipes for raw bread and crackers I wanted to try, but they rely on flax meal, which I had to eliminate from my diet - flax contains phytoestrogens which wreak havoc with my menstrual cycles. But as a whole, I’ve decided to include more raw food in my daily diet, such as raw nut butter and homemade nut milk, and to  a few things I’ve come to depend on, such as canned products like coconut milk and  tomatoes. I’m not sure how much of a difference it will make, but I believe I’m doing what I can to improve my health without turning my meals into miseries.

Roasted Zucchini Fries

Zucchini is a an incredibly versatile vegetable and shows up in a variety of low carb recipes. I’ve seen it used as a substitute for potatoes, pasta and even chickpeas in a raw hummus recipe. It’s a good source of fiber, antioxidant vitamins C and A, and, in addition to calcium and magnesium, it contains a trace mineral called manganese which helps the body metabolize protein and carbohydrates.

Nutritional yeast is called the “vegetarian’s proteins.” It is considered a complete protein , with 18 amino acids, and the reported health benefits include: maintaing an ideal intestinal ecology, improving blood production, helping to maintain optimum cholesterol levels and improving the health and functioning of the liver. In addition, it’s a rich source of  vitamin B-complex, which helps in managing stress levels, maintaining a healthy metabolic rate, and promoting healthy skin. Nutritional yeast also contains chromium, which is useful in managing diabetes, low blood pressure and  fluctuating blood sugar levels. It also contains such trace minerals as manganese, copper, vanadium, molybdenum and lithium (source.)

It’s great for sprinkling on salads, adding to soups, and in the case of Zucchini Fries, serves as a coating in the place of breadcrumbs. I love the taste and it really makes this recipe stand out as one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

1 small/medium zucchini/ 150 g

1 T cold pressed olive oil

1 clove garlic, forced through press

pinch sea salt

pinch black pepper

1/2 T/5 g nutritional yeast (optional)

Preparation:

*Preheat oven to 425º.

*Cut zucchini into pieces ( about 1/2 x 1/2 by 4 inches)

*Combine garlic, olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.Toss the zucchini until it is evenly coated. Place in a baking pan and roast for 15 - 20 minutes.

or

*Put prepared zucchini pieces on Teflex sheets and dehydrate for 30 minutes at 140º, then an additional 4-5 hours at 115º.

Makes 2 servings and each has 77.48 cal, 2.37 net carbs, 6.88 g fat, 1.27 g fiber and 1.77 g protein.

Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus is a member of the lily family and can be steamed, roasted or eaten raw. It’s rich in potassium, vitamins A and K, and is a good source of fiber. I prefer to use thinner stalks - they’re more tender and take less time to cook.

Ingredients:

90 g trimmed asparagus (just break off the ends of the tough stalks)

1/2 T cold pressed olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*Preheat oven to 450º.

*Place asparagus spears in a baking pan and drizzle with olive oil. Season and roast for 10 - 15 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.

or

*Place asparagus spears on Teflex sheets and warm in the dehydrator for 30 minutes at 140º.  Drizzle with olive oil and season and warm for another 2 - 4 hours at 105º.

Makes 1 serving and has 79.5 cal, 2 net carbs, 6.75 g fat, 2 g fiber and 2 g protein.

Baked Kale Chips

Kale belongs to the Brassica family of cruciferous vegetables, which includes cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. It is a green, leafy vegetable that comes in three varieties: curly, ornamental, and dinosaur ( I don’t know why it’s called dinosaur, but it’s my favorite, mainly because the leaves are flatter, making it easier to coat evenly with oil and seasonings.) In addition to being a good source of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium, kale is rich in antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K.

Ingredients:

1/4 bunch/75 g kale, washed and dried

1/2 T cold pressed olive oil

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp sea salt

Preparation:

*Preheat oven to 275º.

*Remove stems from kale, either cutting them out with a knife or tearing the leaves from the stem. Tear the leaves into pieces and toss with olive oil and seasoning. Arrange in a baking pan so no pieces overlap. Bake for 10 minutes, turn leaves and bake for another 10 minutes.

or

*Place kale pieces on screen trays and dehydrate for 4 -5 hours at 115º.

Makes 1 large serving and has 77 cal, 2.8 net carbs, 6.75 g fat, .7 g fiber and 1.05 g protein.

http://www.rawguru.com/raw-food-recipes/casear-salad-by-callie-england.html.html

I don’t have miso or kelp powder but I am sure they would be yummy as well. :) I do add nutritional yeast to the dressing.  The “parmesan” is a topping I now keep in a jar and use on all my salads and pastas. 

I don’t have miso or kelp either, but I do love nutritional yeast. Thanks!

hopefullyraw:

yummy! raw vegan Caesar salad for lunch!  I think I am going to make that for baby hobbits birthday dinner Monday and not tell my mom that it’s raw vegan until after she’s eaten it!  :)

Do you have the recipe? Caesar salad used to be my all-time favorite, but I’m vegan, mostly raw and gluten free now. Thanks!

Making soup from scratch can be a daunting experience for most people. As a result, preparing soup often means using only a can opener and a microwave oven. I must admit - canned soup is easy to make and it can be difficult to give up such a convenience. But even the most cursory look at the label of most canned soups demonstrates that the convenience comes with a price: additives (MSG in particular,) preservatives, corn starch, and way too much sodium. While making your own soup is fairly simple, there is quite a bit of prep work (which means quite a bit of cleaning up afterwards,) but I think it’s worth it. Once the prep work is done, the rest of the work is fairly simple - sauté certain vegetables in oil, add broth, spices and other vegetables, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 to 60 minutes. And I find that the prep work is easier if I do a little bit at a time. Usually, I’ve done all the prep work the day before I actually make the soup and I’ve spaced it out over the whole day. I clean up as I go, so as not to be left with a huge stack of dishes, but you can also let everything pile up and then wash a bit at a time afterwards to make the whole experience seem less labor-intensive.

The only issue I had with these recipes was the fact that they both used canned tomatos. The Winter Vegetable Soup uses half of a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes and the Mushroom & Leek Soup uses 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. You can, of course, double the Winter Veggie soup to 8 servings, but only if you have a soup pot large enough to handle the increased volume. Big soup pots are expensive and not everyone has the money or the room to keep one sitting around the kitchen. The Mushroom & Leek Soup uses only 1 T of tomato paste from a can that has 8 tablespoons, which means that if I’m storing the rest in the refrigerator, 7 of those tablespoons get moldy before I have a chance to use the rest. The solution? Put the excess servings in the freezer. You can divide the diced tomatos into two equal portions and store the one you’re not currently using in a freezer-safe container, and using an ice-cube tray, you can separate the tomato paste into individual 1 tablespoon portions and freeze them until you’re ready to use them.

It may not look pretty, but it does prevent waste and it saves money. You can put the whole tray in a zip-lock freezer bag or scoop the frozen paste out and store it in a freezer-safe container.

One of the great things about soup is that you can boil down a large quantity of vegetables, particularly  greens like kale and spinach, making a meal that is nutrient rich. For a base, I use mushroom broth. I’m fortunate enough to be able to find an organic mushroom broth by Pacific at my grocery store, but it may not be available to everyone. The following recipe is for mushroom broth from scratch, if no pre-made broth is available or you simply prefer making it yourself. Most of the recipes for broth that I’ve come across use 4 cups of water to yield 4 cups of broth, but I’ve found that simmering the soup reduces the volume, so I start out with more water. You can also add water to the finished broth to increase the volume needed for the soup recipe. I use dried porcini mushrooms, but you can use fresh mushrooms instead. Keep in mind that all the vegetables are strained and discarded, as the nutrients have been boiled out in the broth, and that you need 8 oz of fresh mushrooms (white or crimini) and only 4 dried porcini mushrooms to yield 4 cups of broth. 

Mushroom Broth (Low Carb/Gluten Free/Vegan)

Ingredients:

7-8 C water

3 oz leeks, trimmed and sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

4-6 pieces dried porcini mushroom

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp dried thyme

freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

*Combine everything in a stock pot and bring to a boil on high heat.

*Cover, turning heat to medium low, to simmer for one hour.

*Strain vegetables through a sieve (you can line it with cheesecloth) and discard.

You can save the broth in the refrigerator for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to six months.

Winter  Vegetable Soup (Low Carb/Gluten Free/Vegetarian)

This is a hearty soup that relies on a secret trick - using parmesan rinds to add flavor. This recipe is based on one found in “The Low Carb Gourmet” by Karen Barnaby. It’s a fantastic cookbook with gorgeous photographs (food porn alert!). It’s out of print and never made it to paperback, but if you can find a used hardback copy, it’s worth it.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

50 g/ 1/2 C diced celery

2 g/1/2 T fresh parsley, chopped

1 oz leeks, trimmed and sliced

4 C mushroom broth

1/2 - 14.5 oz can of diced tomatos, no added salt

100 g daikon radish, diced

89 g/3 oz - 1 C finely chopped green cabbage

67 g/1 C finely chopped green kale leaves (remove stems)

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 parmesan rind  (a small portion will do, around 2 square inches)

20 g/4 T freshly grated parmesan

Preparation:

*Heat oil in a medium-sized soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the celery, leeks and parsley and sauté until lightly browned. Add the mushroom broth and tomatos and bring to a boil.

*Add the daikon radish, cabbage, kale, bay leaf and parmesan rind. Add 1 tsp salt. Simmer for about 1 hour (vegetables should be tender and soup should be thick.) Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove parmesan and bay leaf. Sprinkle each serving with 1 T/ 7 g parmesan before eating.

Makes 4 servings and each has 93.11 cal, 6.63 net carbs, 4.38 g fat, 1.5 g fiber and 3.13 g protein.

 Mushroom & Leek Soup (Low Carb/Gluten Free/Vegan)

This is also based on a recipe from Karen Barnaby.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

4 oz leeks (about 1 leek, minus the green leaves), trimmed and chopped

1 clove garlic, forced through a press

8 oz white mushrooms (I use crimini mushrooms, and peel them), diced

4 C mushroom broth

1 tsp dried savory

1/8 tsp dried oregano

1 T cooking sherry

1 T tomato paste

1 bay leaf

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 oz raw spinach, finely chopped

Preparation:

*In a medium-sized soup pot, sauté the olive oil, leeks and garlic for a few minutes. Add broth, mushrooms, spices, sherry, tomato paste, and the bay leaf. Bring to a gentle boil, cover and simmer over a low heat for around 30 minutes.

*Remove from heat and strain out the vegetables. Remove the bay leaf and pulse vegetables in a blender or food processor until coarsely ground (I used to be afraid of my food processor, but we became friends, even though using it means more to wash up afterwards.)

*Stir the spinach into broth and add pulsed vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings and each has 68.96 cal, 6.36 net carbs, 3.38 g fat, .33 g fiber and .58 g protein.

I remember a time when Chinese food and pizza was pretty much all that was available for food delivery service and take-away. Now, if you live in a fairly metropolitan area, you can find a wide variety of restaurants representing food cultures from all around the globe, and many of them have take-away and/or delivery service. Thanks to the internet, ordering food online has become de rigueur and restaurants that normally wouldn’t provide delivery can now use the option of a food courier service.  And with all the variety available, the majority of restaurants available for take-out with delivery seem to be Chinese.

When I first began to experience the symptoms associated with Fibromyalgia (namely, chronic pain and exhaustion), I relied heavily on food delivery. I didn’t have the energy to cook or wash dishes, so I ate of lot of prepared food. I used to get most of my groceries delivered and many of my meals from restaurants that provided delivery service.

One of the staples of my pre-low-carb-whole-food diet was Chinese take-out.  My favorites were vegetable fried rice, garlic eggplant, dry-cooked string beans, and spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce. Once I started doing low carb, my days of overdosing on cornstarch, grease, and MSG were over. I was able to find a few low carb recipes that satisfied my desire for that particular taste. As a general rule I don’t eat soy (or flaxseed) products, as they contain phytoestrogens, but fermented products like soy sauce are supposed to be ok. And fortunately, with the currant awareness about gluten-sensitivity and celiac disease, it’s fairly easy to find gluten-free soy sauce these days.

Aa I mentioned in my previous post about Indian food, one of the many things I used to dislike about Chinese take-out was the rice. Don’t get me wrong - I love rice. It just doesn’t love me. Every time I ate rice, I felt bloated, with a thick lump of starch like a stone in my digestive tract. I had no trouble giving it up when I began low carb and I much prefer cauliflower rice. It’s considerably lighter fare, and my stomach has a much better time digesting it. By using gluten free soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions and fresh garlic, I was able to create a “fried rice” dish. While it may not taste exactly like traditional fried rice, it does satisfy my desire for that particular taste. If you’re going to use sesame oil,  it’s important to know that it needs to be refrigerated - it goes rancid pretty easily and is often packaged in smaller bottles to keep spoilage to a minimum.

Vegetable “Fried Rice”

Ingredients:

1/2 T sesame oil

1 clove garlic, forced through press

2 oz bell peper, diced

10 g green onion (about 2 shoots), thinly sliced (about 2 T)

1 stalk celery (about 62g/3 oz), washed, trimmed, and using a vegetable peeler, strip the outside of the stalk.

100 g raw cauliflower, grated (use the one with the large holes)

1/2 T gluten-free soy sauce

sea salt, to taste

Optional:

1 egg, well-beaten

Preparation:

*Heat the oil in a medium-sized non-stick skillet over a medium-high heat.  Add the bell pepper, celery, and half of the green onions and sauté for 1 - 2 minutes.

*Add the garlic and cauliflower and blend and sauté, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes until cauliflower is tender. Turn off the burner and add the soy sauce and salt to taste, and stir mixture until well blended. Garnish with the remaining green onion.

Makes 1 serving and has 127.7 cal, 6.33 net carbs, 7.02 g fat, 5.55 g fiber and 2.83 g protein.

Variation with egg:

I’m not crazy about fried rice with egg, but if you want to use egg, follow the above instructions up until the part where you add the soy sauce and salt. After turing off the burner, use a spatula to move the vegetable mixture to one side of the pan, creating a space. Pour the beaten egg into that space and allow to cook for about 30 seconds. Then blend the egg and the vegetable mixture together until the egg is cooked to your desired consistency. Add the soy sauce and salt to taste and garnish with the remaining green onions.

Makes 1 serving and has 197.7 cal, 6.33 net carbs, 11.52 g fat, 5.55 g fiber and 8.83 g protein.

Broccoli & Bok Choy

Broccoli and bok choy is a fairly common pairing in Asian cuisine. Bok Choy (sometimes referred to as pak choi or just plain Chinese cabbage) is a pretty amazing vegetable. It’s a cruciferous vegetable, being a member of the cabbage family and it’s relatively low in calories, carbs, and has no fat. Bok Choy is an excellent source of the anti-oxidant vitamins C, A, and K. It aslo contains the following minerals: calcium, potassium, manganese, iron, magnesium and phosphorous. Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable, nutritionally  dense with folates, fiber, calcium and ascorbic acid. To give it a more  authentic flavor, I use sesame oil, fresh ginger, and gluten-free soy sauce.

Ingredients:

1/4 C mushroom broth

1 T sesame oil

2.5 oz baby bok choy

3 oz broccoli florets

1 clove garlic, force through press

1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger

1/2 T gluten-free soy sauce

sea salt, to taste

Preparation:

*Trim bok choy, separating the leaves from the stalks. Bring the mushroom broth to a  gentle boil in a medium sized non-stick skillet over a medium-high heat and add the broccoli florets and the bok choy stalks.

*Cover and simmer for about 4 minutes over a medium-low heat. Uncover and cook until liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and add the bok choy leaves, garlic and sesame oil. Return to the burner and cook, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and add the ginger and soy sauce, tossing thoroughly. Serve over cauliflower rice.

Serves 1 and has 172.01 cal, 6.13 net carbs, 14 g fat, 3.96 g fiber and 4.05 g protein.

Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:

100 g raw cauliflower

1/2 tsp  sesame oil

Preparation:

*Grate the cauliflower using the largest holes on your cheese grater.

*Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring constantly until cauliflower is soft and starting to get a little toasty, approximately 3 - 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl.

Makes 1 serving and has 85 cal, 2 net carbs, 7 g fat, 3 g fiber and 2 g protein.

One of the things I miss about getting take-out is the fabulous array of “ethnic” food - Indian, Thai, Japanese and Chinese being my favorites - available in Berkeley. We have quite a lot to choose from and it isn’t too difficult to reproduce many of the recipes at home. Unfortunately, most of my favorites require ingredients I no longer use. Soy sauce and oyster sauce (because I’m avoiding soy due to phytoestrogen - you can get gluten-free soy sauce nowadays), fish sauce and curry paste for thai curry (because I’m avoiding prepared food products). However, I also love Indian-style curries, which are fairly easy to revise so that they meet the standards of low carb, vegetarian, whole food and gluten-free. The spices found in pre-mixed curry powders vary somewhat, so it’s important to read the label and see what they’re made of.

According to Wikipedia (which I realize is not a completely reliable source for accurate information, but I can’t help using it as a starting point for research), “Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines. The chief spices found in most South Asian curry powders are tumeric, corriander, and cumin…”

Tumeric gives curry powder the yellow color and corriander and cumin are the main flavors, but the curry powder I use is salt-free and also contains lemon peel, black pepper, freeze dried whole lemon powder, cardamon, cinnamon, garlic and cayenne. When I first began to tinker with what was to become my signature curry dish, I tried the curry powder by itself. It wasn’t quite right, so I looked at other curry recipes that used coconut milk as a base and I came up with the addition of dried ginger and chili powder, as well as adding extra cumin and corriander. It works for me and I encourage you to experiment in order to find your own mix.

I use zucchini and mushrooms, but there are a variety of vegetables you can use to make your unique version. I’d suggest trying eggplant and bell peppers and the like. I aslo recommend adding 2 oz of fresh spinach to the pan for the last 30 seconds of cooking. It’s a great way to get in a serving of green leafy vegetables.

One of the many things I used to dislike about Indian take-out was the rice. Don’t get me wrong - I love rice. It just doesn’t love me. Every time I used to eat rice, I felt bloated, with a thick lump of starch like a stone in my digestive tract. I had no trouble giving it up when I began low carb and I much prefer cauliflower rice. It’s considerably lighter fare, and my stomach has a much better time digesting it. I never cease being amazed at how versatile cauliflower is. I promise I’ll be posting more fabulous cauliflower recipes in the near future.

I use coconut oil for both the “rice” and the curry. Cooking with coconut oil has many benefits. From what I’ve been able to glean from the internet, coconut oil aids weight loss (because it naturally increases your metabolism.) It aids digestion (because it contains microbial properties, which can help eliminate parasites, bacteria and other causes of indigestion.) It helps the body absorb nutrients, vitamins, minerals and amino acids, and strengthens your immune system (because it contains anti-microbial lipids, lauric acid, and capric acid which help to prevent viruses and bacteria that can lead to all kinds of illnesses.) It can also help people with diabetes control their blood sugar levels and increase the secretion of insulin. (Source)

Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:

50 - 100 g raw cauliflower

1/2 tsp coconut oil

Preparation:

*Grate the cauliflower using the largest holes on your cheese grater.

*Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring frequently until cauliflower is soft and starting to get a little toasty, approximately 3 - 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl.

Makes 1 serving (based on 100 g cauliflower) and has 85 cal, 2 net carbs, 7 g fat, 3 g fiber and 2 g protein.

Vegetarian Coconut  Curry 

1/2 tsp coconut oil

1 clove garlic, forced through press

2 oz zucchini, trimmed and cut into small pieces

2 oz mushrooms

1/4 C unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 tsp mild sweet curry powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp chili powder

cilantro for garnish, optional

Preparation:

*Heat oil in a small skillet over a medium-high heat. Sauté garlic for 30 seconds and add zucchini and mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes.

*Pour coconut milk in skillet and blend in spice mixture. Cover and simmer over a low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for about a minute. Serve over cauliflower rice and garnish with  cilantro, if desired.

Makes 1 serving and has 190.5 cal, 6.8 net carbs, 17.3 g fat, .65 g fiber and 1.45 g protein.

When I first began to develop the symptoms of Fibromyalgia, I was in pretty bad shape. I had so little energy that I came to rely on prepared food - mostly frozen dinners, deli meat, highly processed breads, cookies and cakes (for my relentless sweet-tooth)  and a lot of take-out (or in my case, delivery.) Aside from being prohibitively expensive, in general, take-out food is staggeringly unhealthy - it tends to be high carb, high fat and contains things like cornstarch and MSG. When I began to  feel better, I wanted to eat better, which meant ditching take-out altogether. And that meant finding alternatives to my favorite take-out meals. And one of my favorites was pasta.

I’ve said it before - imposing any dietary restrictions in your life means you needs must give up certain things. When doing low carb, the major losses tend to be in the “grains-you-can-no-longer-eat” category: bread, rice and perhaps the most devastating one of all, pasta. Pasta is a big part of the diet of the western world. From Ramen Noodles to whole grain organic, Americans consume a lot of pasta. It’s no big mystery as to why - it’s easy, it’s cheap, it’s versatile and it’s filling. Too filling in some cases, such as the one I like to refer to as “carbohydrate-challenged.” This refers mainly to Type II Diabetes and people on low-carb diets. There are some low carb pastas on the market, but they aren’t gluten free.

Braised cabbage turned out to be a great substitute for pasta. It’s filling, has a lot of fiber and protein, and if prepared properly, can taste amazing. Whenever I crave pasta, I make braised cabbage and I’m never disappointed.

Braised Cabbage

Ingredients:

4 oz green cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 oz leeks, thinly sliced

1/2 T butter (You can use olive oil if you’re vegan, but it won’t brown or taste like butter)

1/2 C water

sea salt &

freshly ground pepper, to taste

optional:

1 T heavy cream

Preparation:

*In a medium-sized  sauce pan, melt butter over a medium high heat. Add leeks and cabbage and sauté for a few minutes. Add water, salt and pepper, cover and braise over a medium-low heat for 6-8 minutes. Keep a close eye on it - it can burn easily. You can use a lower heat, but it will take longer to cook. If necessary, you can add more water - you just need to check on it.  If you’re using the cream, add to saucepan when all the water has evaporated. Transfer to a bowl. Eat immediately (or, rather, eat when it cools down to the point where it won’t scorch your esophagus and give your tongue third-degree burns).

Makes 1 serving and has 95.5 cal, 5.5 net carbs, 5.5 g fat, 4 g fiber and 4 g protein.

Variation with heavy cream:

Makes 1 serving and has 150.5 cal, 5.5 net carbs, 11.5 g fat, 4 g fiber and 4 g protein.

For many Americans, casseroles are considered standard fare, especially during the holidays. Perhaps the reason that I am fascinated by them is that I grew up in a house where they were never served. Though we weren’t two-sets-of-dishes kosher, we certainly never mixed milk and meat. And the closest we came to the infamous tuna-noodle casserole was Kraft Macaroni & Cheese mixed with canned tuna. We loved it and I continued to make it for myself as a young adult. Like many things that were forbidden or unavailable (real butter, cheeseburgers, and bacon, to name a few), they became exotic by default. And so, I went in search of low carb casserole recipes to see what I could come up with.

Casseroles have a complicated history - some historians believe that casseroles have been around since prehistoric times:

“…when it was discovered that cooking food slowly in a tightly covered clay vessel softened fibrous meats and blended succulent juices….With the addition or subtraction of leftovers or inexpensive cuts of meat, the casserole is flexible and economical in terms of both ingredients and effort. The classic casserole, a French dish, was originally made with a mound of cooked rice…In the twentieth century, casseroles took on a distintive American identity. During the depression of the 1890’s, the economic casserole provided a welcome way to stretch meat fish and poultry. Certain items were also scarce during World War I and leftovers were turned into casserole meals. The same was true during the Great Depression of the 1930s.” (Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink In America, 2004)

 According to Wikipedia, types of casseroles include ragout, hotpot, cassoulet, moussaka, lasagna, shepherd’s pie, gratin , and carbonnade; what distinguishes all of these is the fact that they are essentially one dish meals:

“The idea of casserole cooking as a one dish meal became popular in American in the twentieth century, especially in the 1950s when new forms of lightweight metal and glassware appeared on the market. The virtues of easy to prepare meals were increasingly promoted in the women’s magazines of the era, thereby supposedly freeing the housewife from the lengthy drudgery of the kitchen…By the 1970s casserole cookery took on a less than sophisticated image…” (The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, 1999)

The “less than sophisticated image” may stem from the fact that the characteristic method of preparing the Great American Casserole for the last 40-60 years is to use condensed cream-of-something soup as a base. The most popular and iconic are the tuna noodle casserole, prepared with canned tuna, cooked pasta, and cream of mushroom soup, and the green bean casserole, made with green beans, cream of mushroom soup topped with french fried onions. But as a whole food enthusiast I don’t use canned soup; partly because I don’t like to use prepared food and largely because most canned cream-of-something soup contain MSG, along with other nasty things that I try to avoid: soy protein isolate, modified food starch, and way too much sodium.

  To my way of thinking, casseroles have a special kind of alchemy. You can throw together seemingly unrelated ingredients and  end up with something resembling poetry (food poetry, but poetry nonetheless.) The sum is greater than it’s parts and the results can be delectable.   It’s a challenge to find low carb casserole recipes (in addition to cream-of-something soup, the Great American Casserole usually uses items such as breadcrumbs and noodles) and an even greater challenge to find vegetarian low carb casserole recipes, but they do exist. They tend to rely heavily on various dairy products, so I’ve tried to increase the amount of vegetables so they’re not quite so rich. But they are comfort food dishes, which generally means that they’re higher in fat and calories. But I think it’s important to indulge ourselves, especially when we have the holidays to contend with. I don’t care what anyone says, this is not the most wonderful time of the year - it’s back-to-back stress, inconvenience, and alternating bouts of rage and boredom. There’s nothing like forced merriment, competitive shopping, and the nightmare of navigating grocery shopping and getting prescriptions refilled when stores are either chaotic with frantic consumers or closed for the holidays. We have to do whatever we can to make our lives as sane as possible.

The good news about casseroles is that you can use the oven this time of year without worrying about suffering the effects of heat stroke and you can make and freeze several servings at a time, either cooked or uncooked. And they do taste awesome! Another advantage is that you can use frozen vegetables, if need be. And while casseroles without meat are seen by many as side dishes, these are substantial enough to pass for main courses.

Spinach  Casserole

Ingredients:

2 - 10 oz packages of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

4 oz Neufchatel cheese, softened (you can substitute cream cheese, but it has more fat, carbs and calories.)

1 large egg, beaten

2 oz cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 T dry white wine (you can also use fresh lemon juice)

7 g finely shredded parmesan cheese

butter for greasing casserole dish (or ramekins)

Optional:

1/2 T butter

2 oz leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced

Preparation:

*Preheat oven to 350º.

*Grease a casserole dish (I use a 4 x 4 inch square baking pan) or four 6 oz ramekins with butter.

*If you are using the leeks, saute in butter for a few minutes and add 1/4 cup water, cover and braise over a low heat for 4-6 minutes. Set aside.

*In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients, except the parmesan, until thoroughly blended. Spoon mixture into the dish or the ramekins and sprinkle the top with the parmesan.

*Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until slightly brown and bubbly. Remove from heat and allow to cool before eating.

Without leeks:

Makes 4 servings and each has 227.55 cal, 5.56 net carbs, 15.75 g fat, 1.75 g fiber and 9.56 g protein.

With leeks:

Makes four servings and each has 263.63 cal, 7.06 net carbs, 18.5 g fat, 1.75 g fiber and 9.56 g protein.

Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:

9 oz / 250 g fresh broccoli, cut into florets

1/4 T butter, softened

4 oz Neufchatel cheese, softened

2 oz cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder/granules

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Optional:

1/2 T butter

2 oz leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced

Preparation:

*Preheat oven to 350º.

*Steam broccoli for about 3 minutes. Drain and in a large mixing bowl, add cheddar, cream cheese, spices and leeks (if you’re using them) and mix well. Spoon mixture into a well-greased, oven-safe baking dish and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until slightly browned and bubbly. Allow to cool slightly before eating.

Without leeks:

Makes 4 servings and each has 166.18 cal, 3.6 net carbs, 13.81 g fat, 1.88 g fiber and 10 g protein.

With leeks:

Makes 4 serving and each has 210.43 cal, 5.06 net carbs, 15.19 g fat, 1.88 g fiber and 10 g protein.

Cauliflower Gratin

Cauliflower is the low carb wonder vegetable - it can be transformed into substitutes for rice, mashed potatoes, hash browns and even pizza dough. It is a member of the family of cruciferous vegetables (so called for the cross-shaped flowers that bloom on the plants) , which also include broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage and bok choy. They are all high in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and they are considered by many to have disease-fighting phytochemicals. Cauliflower is a good source of fiber, folate and vitamin C and has a high nutritional density.

Ingredients:

14 oz / 400 g fresh cauliflower, cut into florets

4 oz Neufchatel cheese, softened

1 T butter

1 large egg

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

nutmeg - optional

2 oz cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

butter for greasing casserole dish

Preparation:

*Preheat oven to 350º.

*Grease casserole dish with butter and set aside.

*Steam cauliflower until fork tender (you can also boil it)

*Using a stick blender, mix together cauliflower, cream, butter, and seasonings until thoroughly blended.

*Add the egg  and blend well. Adjust seasonings to taste.

*Spoon mixture into prepared casserole, sprinkle with cheese, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Makes 4 servings and each has 202.55 cal, 3.06 net carbs, 14.5 g fat, 3 g fiber and 9.56 g protein.

Summer is almost officially over, but it’s still pretty hot out there. Even if you’re fortunate enough (like me) not to live in a place where the temperatures have been in the high 90’s to low 100’s, you probably don’t feel like using the stove right now. Especially if you’re not not fortunate enough (like me) to have air conditioning. The weather in Berkeley can get very strange: one day’s high temperature is 63º F and the next day it’s 87º F. So, I’ve been looking for new ways to make raw vegetables more palatable and I’ve come up with a couple of salads. The flavors of each one are very different, but they have something in common. Each salad uses ingredients I had never really used before: arugula and radishes, which happen to be related to each other.

I had heard of arugula before, but I’d dismissed it as something that you’d only find in upscale restaurants. In fact, I had eaten it without my knowledge: it’s commonly found in the “mixed baby greens” bagged lettuces that have become popular in the last several years. But I’d never had it on it’s own and had no plans to do so until I watched several of Gordon Ramsey’s cooking shows and was intrigued by something he kept referring to as “rocket salad.” One Google search later,  I was enlightened by the excellent website WiseGEEK. Arugula (aka rocket, Italian cress, roquette and rucola) is a green leafy herb of the mustard family. It’s a good source of vitamins A and C, folate (a water-soluble vitamin B), calcium and magnesium. The flavor is hot and peppery and can be eaten raw or cooked. Paired with the slightly sweet balsamic vinaigrette and the slightly salty parmesan cheese, it’s really tasty and has become one of my new favorites.

Arugula Salad (Low Carb)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz arugula

1/2 T Balsamic Vinaigrette (Recipe below)

10 g freshly shaved parmesan

7 g lightly toasted pine nuts

Preparation:

*If you can’t find roasted pine nuts you can toast them yourself: Put nuts in a non-stick pan (with no oil!) and turn the heat to medium.  Shake the pan every thirty seconds, tossing the pine nuts. When they are slightly browned, remove from heat and allow to cool. You can also roast them quickly in a toaster oven:  pre-heat on 350º F for five minutes and roast for ten minutes.

*Put arugula in a salad bowl. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette and sprinkle with with parmesan and pine nuts. Eat immediately.

Balsamic Vinaigrette (Low Carb/Gluten Free/Vegan)

Ingredients:

1/4 C extra virgen olive oil

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, forced through press

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

*You can do this the old fashioned way, which involves combining the vinegar, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Add the oil in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly, until the dressing emulsifies. Then season with salt and pepper.

Or you can do it my way: put all ingredients in a salad dressing bottle, secure lid, and shake like hell. I personally can’t tell the difference.

Before I took the time to educate myself about radishes my contact with them was limited to appearances at various buffet tables, always sculpted into little roses and perched on the edges of platters. Radishes are root vegetables related to turnips and horseradish. Spring radishes (aka Easter egg radishes, due to their shape and bright colors) are crunchy in texture and  hot and peppery in flavor and are a source of vitamin C, folate, potassium and fiber. If you slice them thinly enough and pair them with something mild, like cucumbers, they retain their bite without being too overwhelming. You might want to invest in a knife sharpener if you don’t already own one, as thin slices require a very sharp knife.

Cucumber Radish Salad (Low Carb)

Ingredients:

70 g English cucumber, thinly sliced

28 g/1 oz spring radishes, very thinly sliced

14 g crumbled feta cheese

7 g lightly toasted pine nuts

1/2 T extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp white wine vinegar

1 mint leaf, finely chopped (Pro-tip: crush the leaf before you cut it to fully release the aromatic properties)

a few dashes of dehydrated garlic granules

pinch of sea salt

Preparation

*Layer a bowl with cucumber slices and arrange the radish slices on top. Mix the olive oil, vinegar and salt and garlic granules with a whisk. Drizzle vinaigrette over the radishes and cucumbers, then sprinkle salad with feta cheese, mint, and pine nuts. Eat immediately.

Serves one and has 162.93 cal, 2.35 net carbs, 13.9 g fat, .75 g fiber and 6.25 g protein.

And then, of course, there is dessert, which is made possible by coconut oil. Unlike most other oils, coconut oil is solid at room temperature. It melts easily and can be mixed with a variety of ingredients and then chilled, to create cookies and confections that require very little time and heat. I like adding coconut manna to certain recipes, even though it’s a little difficult to work with. It doesn’t melt completely, even when you soak the jar in hot water, but it is necessary to try and stir it a bit when you get a new jar (the oil rises to the top). After that, I don’t bother trying to soften it up; just scrape it out with a spoon. In my opinion, it’s well worth the trouble and adds a rich creamy texture. But if you can’t find it or don’t want to use it, just substitute it by using a full tablespoon of coconut oil. My only caveat is this: once you take them out of the fridge they must be eaten quickly, or they will fall apart.

Icebox Cookies (Low Carb/Gluten Free/Vegan)

Here are two variations, but the possibilities are endless. Experiment with whatever ingredients strike your fancy.

Almond Shortbread

Ingredients:

1/2 T coconut oil

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp xylitol, powdered

1/4 C almond flour/meal (I use Bob’s Red Mill)

Preparation:

*Put coconut oil in a small glass or ceramic bowl and melt in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Add the vanilla extract, xylitol, and flour, one at a time, until evenly blended. Spoon mixture into mold or drop spoonful of the mixture on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and press down to flatten cookies. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes and store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Makes three cookies and each has 86.7 cal, 1 net carbs, 7.6 g fat,  1 g fiber and 2 g protein.

Cinnamon Coconut Hemp Cookies 

Ingredients:

1/2 T coconut oil

1/2 T coconut manna

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp xylitol, powdered

7 g unsweetened dried coconut, finely shredded

1 T hemp seeds

1/2 T chia seeds

Preparation:

*Put coconut oil and manna in a small glass or ceramic bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Add the vanilla extract, xylitol, and the cinnamon and whisk until completely smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut, hemp and chia seeds.  Mix the dry and the wet ingredient together. Spoon mixture into mold or drop spoonful of the mixture on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and press down to flatten cookies. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes and store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Makes 3 cookies and each has  76.95 cal, 1.03 net carbs, 5.11 g fat, 1.41 g fiber ans 1.7 g protein.

Chocolate Coconut Haystacks

Ingredients:

1/2 T coconut oil

1/2 T coconut manna

1 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 T erythritol, powdered

1 drop liquid stevia

14 g dried coconut, shredded

Preparation:

* Put coconut oil and manna in a small glass or ceramic bowl and microwave on High for 30 seconds. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Add cocoa powder, erythritol, vanilla extract and stevia, one at a time and whisk until smooth.  Mix in shredded coconut. Line a baking pan with unbleached parchment paper and drop mixture on by the spoonful  on the paper. Chill in the freezer fro 10 minutes. Store in the refrigerator in a air-tight container.

Makes 3 haystack and each has 76.5 cal, 1.5 net carbs, 8 g fat, 1.53 g fiber and 1.53 g protein.

I don’t often have guests over for dinner, but when I do I almost always serve my signature dish. The secret ingredient is lemon zest. When I first encountered a version of this recipe, I looked at the list of ingredients and I thought, “Lemon zest? Seriously? I’m not going to waste my time making lemon zest. Who do these people think I am, Martha Stewart?” Not that I have anything against Martha - I think she’s fabulous and very creative. But I’m no Martha Stewart. However, I am interested in challenging myself to try ingredients that are new to me and so I got a zester and added the lemon zest to the recipe. I now understand why people go to the trouble - it really does make some dishes more

flavorful.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom with Ricotta and Bell Peppers

Ingredients:

1 portobello mushroom

1/4 C full fat ricotta cheese

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 T olive oil

1/4 T coarsely chopped basil

1/2 T finely chopped fresh chives

2 oz bell pepper, any color

1/4 T fresh lemon zest

1/2 T pine nuts

Preparation:

Roasting:

*Preheat oven to 425 F.

*Using a teaspoon, gently scrape the gills (the black underside) from the mushroom and remove the stem.  Cut the pepper into strips. Lightly brush vegetables with olive oil and arrange in a shallow baking dish. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 20 minutes.

Grilling:

*Brush grill pan and vegetables with olive oil. Arrange vegetables in pan and cook, covered over a medium- high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.

*Combine ricotta cheese, garlic, lemon zest, and fresh herbs in a small bowl and set aside.

*In a dry non-stick pan, roast the pine nuts until slightly browned, stirring often. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

*Place mushroom stem side up on a plate and fill with the cheese mixture. Add bell pepper strips and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Makes 1 serving and has 296.9 cal, 7.1 net carbs, 16.4 g fat, 1.4 g fiber and 8.73 g protein.

Cheesecake is, quite simply, one of those desserts that tastes decadent, even when it’s low carb. It’s the kind of dessert that’s great for pigging out on your own, yet is good enough for company as welI. I first got the idea for a no-bake cheesecake from watching Gordon Ramsey on BBC America. I know, he’s obnoxious and arrogent, and eventually I just could not take him anymore. But he’s a talented chef who knows how to take a few ingredients and make them into something special. It was easy enough to convert his recipe to low carb and single serving. Actually this recipe makes two servings, though it’s up to you whether you want to be good and save the other portion for another day or devour it all in one sitting. I’ve been guilty of doing both, and I really must say, that considering the circumstances, I made the right decision every time.

Chocolate No-Bake Cheesecake (Low Carb/Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 C heavy cream

1 T erythritol, powdered

1 T unsweetened cocoa powder

2 drops liquid stevia

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract 

Preparation:

*Using an electric beater ( I use my hand- held Braun), beat cream cheese until smooth (there must be no lumps).

*In a separate bowl, using the same mixer, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the cream cheese into the bowl with the cream. Beat until completely blended. Add the erythritol, cocoa powder and stevia and mix until smooth.

*Spoon into individual ramekins  - for 1 serving use a 4 oz, for 2 servings use two 2 oz ramekins. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat. I can attest to the fact that this can be eaten directly from the bowl, though you may prefer it chilled.

Makes two servings and each has 207.5 cal, 4 net carbs, 21.5 g fat, .5 g fiber and 1.5 g protein.

So , I haven’t posted in a while, due to health issues. It happens - when you have a chronic illness, you’re not going to be able to function all of the time. But my time away was well-spent (aside from all the downtime resulting from not feeling well). I tried new recipes, attempted a major shift in my diet, and learned a lesson or two about the impact that these changes have wrought.  My adventure began with a quest; stop eating dairy and switch to a plant based diet. Otherwise known as “going vegan”.

A lot of people hate vegans. A lot of people have vegans with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. Many people find vegans to be insufferably self-righteous, preachy, and a complete nightmare when invited to a dinner party or a bar-b-que. I recently saw a post online that said, “I hate vegans; I’d rather hang out with cannibals!” But I think that omnivores feel as though vegans are trying to make everyone else guilty about the consumption of animal products. And I’m not just talking about food - there are all sorts of vegan products available, including shoes, health and beauty products, and even vegan condoms and personal lube. I’m not kidding! So it’s a lifestyle, not just a diet, and I don’t think I could ever go full blown vegan; I wear leather, for a start, and I can’t see myself making sure that every single thing I eat or use is free of some kind of animal product.

But I’ve been obsessed  with the idea of following a plant based diet. Not just because I believe in the ethical treatment of animals, and the commercial meat processing industry keep the animals in terrible conditions. And not just because I believe that we could significantly reduce the amount of oil consumption we use in the U.S. if we decreased the consumption of meat, thereby decreasing the amount of meat production. If you are not familiar with Barbara Kingsolver ( a damn fine novelist ), you might want to check out the non-fiction phenomenon, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle -A Year of Food Life.” She co-wrote it with her husband and two daughters and it is an account of the year all four of them moved to a family farm in  Kentucky and embarked on a one year journey to consume only produce and meat that had been produced locally. The following quotes will enlightening you as to why anyone would subject themselves to what may seem like madness: “The average food item on a U.S. grocery store has traveled farther than most families go on their annual vacations. True fact. Fossil fuels Fossil fuels (are) consumed for the food’s transport, refrigeration, and processing, with the obvious environmental consequences,” and “If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.”  What Kingsolver and her family did was amazing, something I could never do (mainly because I don’t have access to a family farm and don’t have a family that would be willing to go along for the ride ) but also because I wouldn’t have the energy for such a lifestyle and, quite frankly, I hate gardening. I’ve killed every houseplant I’ve ever owned.

But my main reason for wanting to switch to a plant based diet is  due to the fact that I’ve read of a number of  accounts where people with Fibromyalgia go vegan and get great results. Some people swear by it and I’ve been following a variety of food blogs (vegan, whole food, low carb, raw food,gluten free, etc.) and I’ve been inspired by the creativity and generosity of my fellow bloggers. I wanted to push myself (to the extent that such a thing is possible), to challenge myself, and to try new things. And I thought, why not try getting rid of dairy and see how it goes? Or better yet, find out  if I can do it at all. I also have issues with regularity, in spite of getting plenty of fiber (including psyllium husk powder) and magnesium. One of the side effects of some of my medications  is constipation. I figured the large amounts of dairy I consume on a daily basis may have also been a factor. So I started my journey with finding my way around the world of green smoothies.

If you have read any of my posts, it should come as no surprise that I love smoothies. And my smoothie recipes have been evolving; instead of relying solely on whey protein isolate, I introduced hemp and raw sprouted grain protein powders for a time. Then I played around with green smoothies; they involve throwing fruit and vegetables in a blender with almond milk and water and blending on high. Their allure, in my opinion, is that they go down pretty easily and can be pleasant alternative to choking down two salads a day to fulfill your daily green leafy vegetable quota. Some people put a lot of fruits and veggies in with a cup of liquid - doing low carb, I needed to take into account both the amount and the kinds of fruits and vegetables I use. So I stuck to berries (strawberry, blueberry raspberry, and blackberry) and a couple of other low carb fruits, like kiwis and cantaloupe. And green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, chard, and lettuce). Since they were low carb - a ratio of 2 oz green leafy vegetables to 2 oz fresh berries, I sometimes had to add a drop of stevia , particularly if I’m using something spicy like chard or kale. It’s better than juicing because you don’t lose any of the fiber and it enables you to have a few servings of raw vegetables per day. I don’t have anything against cooking vegetables, but summer is upon us and while I love to cook, I hate to do it when it’s hot. I also use a lot of butter or olive oil when cooking vegetables and I wanted to cut down on one and lower my use of the other.

Here’s a sample recipe:

Spinach Berry Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 oz fresh spinach

1 oz fresh strawberries

1 oz fresh raspberries

1/2 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 C water

Serves one and has 57.33 cal, 4.36 net carbs, 1.25 g fat, 2.83 g fiber and 2.16 g protein.

When I added up the nutritional values, I was confronted by the numbers - less calories, lots more carbs and much less protein. I concocted two green smoothies per day. I used a 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and 1/2 cup water  and 1 drop liquid stevia, threw everything in the blender, and turned the switch on high.

* Pro-tip - I recommend cutting or tearing every thing up into small pieces before tossing it in the blender. It will take less energy to grind it all up and it will go much quicker.

So that took care of morning and mid-day. I did the vegan hot cereal with 1 oz strawberries (see previous post), a strawberry spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette, sprinkled with hemp seeds, some roasted asparagus with olive oil, decaf chai made with almond milk, chocolate coconut truffles for dessert (also see previous post) and the pied de resistance: vegan cafe creme. Instead of heavy cream I used a 1/4 C of canned coconut milk with the decaf espresso and it rocks! If I was still hungry (this only generates a little over a thousand calories) I just mixed almond milk, acai powder, hemp protein powder, and stevia and blended till smooth. It added another 235 cal and only raised the net carb count to a little over 40 net carbs. It also contained over 60 grams of plant based protein and over 30 grams of dietary fiber, so I thought that I was pretty much set for the day. I was trying to avoid nuts and seeds as well;  especially my favorites: filberts, almonds, and pecans. For some reason, all of these give me cravings similar to ones that I get from eating refined complex carbohydrates and I end up devouring whatever happens to be in the pantry. It’s too bad, because they are a great source of protein, fiber, and omega fatty acids, but I was using chia and hemp seeds to make up for the loss. All in all, the daily menu was really quite filling and left me feeling energetic and much lighter. Right up until the moment when I began to experience gastric distress.

Since I have Fibromyalgia, I knew from the literature I’d already researched that Irritable Bowel Syndrome (aka IBS) often goes hand in hand with Fibromyalgia. So I wasn’t sure if I was experiencing symptoms due to  the dietary changes I had made or if the IBS decided to rear it’s ugly head in my direction, just for fun.  Well, it hasn’t been fun for me and I can expect a lengthy food elimination process to find out if it is due to too much raw vegetables and fiber. I’ve already eliminated the psyllium husks I was using for a fiber supplement and have been reducing the amount of raw vegetables I had been consuming. Lightly cooked veggies are easier to digest and I’ve gone back to eating dairy. If you go online, you will discover as I have, that there are a great many food items that can cause IBS symptoms. It may take some time to figure it all out. And through further research, I’ve learned that the only successful accounts of Fibromyalgia patients who can “cure” themselves with diet, meditation and exercise are those who have very mild symptoms. So while I have not completely given up hope that I may be able to improve the severity of my symptoms if I eat the right things and continue to lose weight (I’m at 165 LBs now, which makes it  a total loss of 100 pounds over the past two years) I’m not expecting any miracles. But I will do whatever I can to increase the odds in my favor and I won’t stop until I can emphatically say that I have tried absolutely everything.

So my vegan romance went awry, as such romances do. Needless to say, I am disappointed that things did not go according to plan, but what ever does? The truth is that the more accounts of Fibromyalgia patients I come across, it seems that only those with mild symptoms are able to “cure” themselves through diet, acupuncture and meditation. Personally, I have never been able to meditate (my mind just will not be quiet) and I’m not certain that I’ll ever be able to achieve significant results in pain reduction from diet or acupuncture, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up. I need to able to say that I’ve tried everything possible to improve my health. So I begin my journey anew, hoping I won’t fall so hard next time and open to the lessons it will undoubtably bring.

Hey! 100 lbs is amazing! Why flax? I haven’t read much about it, I just know a lot of people seem to use it for making…

Ugh - I had a great link and now I can’t find it. Mostly the flax seed oil, because it goes rancid and the meal, something to do with hormones. If i find it, I’ll post the info.

I’ve been using Navitas Naturals products for a while now, but I only recently discovered 3 of their products which I am now using on a daily basis. They are whole food/raw food/vegan items that are incredibly versatile. They are acai powder, hulled hemp seeds, and chia seeds. They are marketed as “super foods”, and while I’m not sure if that’s an accurate description (or if there are such things as “super foods”), but they all have definite health benefits.

The other item I’m promoting is coconut manna made by Nutiva. Unlike the others, it is not a free trade certified product, but it still falls under the category of raw, whole food and vegan.

Hemp Seeds

Hemp seeds are a good source of iron, omega fatty acids, protein, fiber, and essential amino acids.

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are loaded with omega fatty acids, dietary fiber and protein.

Acai Powder

There’s quite a bit of controversy about acai berries - it’s been touted by many as being a weight loss miracle, a claim that has been debunked by many others. So, who knows if it helps you lose weight. But let’s not dismiss it out of hand - they are rich in anti-oxidants, essential amino acids, and omega fatty acids. It has a very distinct flavor and can be added to all kinds of recipes.

Coconut Manna

Coconut manna is a paste made from dried coconut flesh. When heated, it has a very creamy consistency and can be a delicious addition to many different dishes. Personally, I love this stuff - and I’ll be looking for more ways to incorporate it into my recipes. Coconut is a good source of fiber, healthy saturated fat, and is rich in nutrients.

Acai Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:

15 g (2 T) chocolate or vanilla whey protein powder

15 g (2 T) hemp protein powder

1 tsp freeze dried acai powder

1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Preparation:

*Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

Makes 1 serving and has 170.5 cal, 2.5 net carbs, g fat, 5.5 g fiber and 21.5 g protein.

There are two variations that I’ve enjoyed as well:

Vanilla Whey Acai Smoothie

This one is good when you want something lighter with less protein.

1 tsp freeze dried acai powder

2 T vanilla whey protein powder

1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Makes 1 serving and has 105 cal, 2 net carbs, 3.5 g fat, 1 g fiber and 15 g protein.

Acai Hemp Smoothie

1 tsp freeze dried acai powder

1/4 C hemp protein powder ( you can also substitute a raw food protein powder as well)

1 T erythritol

Serves 1 and has 185 cal, 3 net carbs, 5 g fat, 10 g fiber, and 14 g protein.

While I adore smoothies, I just can’t have them for breakfast every day- I need more variety and sometimes (when it’s cold) I’m just not in the mood.. They’re quick to make and are perfect for breakfast because that seems to be the time when we’re in the biggest hurry and in most need of energy. Mornings are hard for a lot of people - most of us don’t wake up everyday thinking, “I feel great! I can’t wait to get out of bed!” If you’re like me , waking up involves bargaining with yourself for more time in bed (can I sleep another 15 minutes and still take a shower, get dressed, not forget my bag…?). So, time is short and here is a very healthy ways to brave the challenges of starting your day.

Vegan Hot Cereal

This can be made very quickly and is delicious and filling. Hot cereal is a comfort food of mine (I used to love Quaker Instant Oatmeal - cinnamon, of course.)  I know it’s getting warmer and many people associate hot cereal with cold weather, but this cools off quickly (you certainly don’t need to worry about burning off the roof of your mouth) and I just love the taste. It incorporates the  remaining three ingredients on the list; chia seeds, hemp seeds and coconut manna.

Ingredients:

1/4 C boiling water

1 T chia seeds

1 1/2 T shelled hemp seeds

1/2 T coconut manna

1/2 T erythritol or 1 packet sweetener of choice

pinch of sea salt

Preparation:

*Mix hemp seeds and chia seeds together in a small bowl. Add water and stir. Add coconut manna, salt,  and sweetener and continue to stir until you get the desired consistency.

Makes 1 serving and has 165 cal, 3 net carbs, 13.75 g fat, 5 g fiber and 8 g protein.

Add 28 g (1 oz) of fresh strawberries: 9 cal, 1 net carb, 0 fat, 1 g fiber and 1 g protein.

Chocolate Coconut Truffles

I love chocolate.  

I’m not sure I could live in a world without chocolate. 

I don’t think I could survive. 

The best thing about chocolate is that it’s actually good for you. Dark chocolate is rich in anti-oxidants, iron and magnesium.  Plus, it releases endorphins. No wonder it’s considered to be the number one food craved by American women - it makes you happy. Until you get on the scale. But it doesn’t need to be that way; there are hundreds of wonderful low carb/gluten free (and soy free) recipes that, when eaten in appropriate portions, will not vex you or your scale.

These truffles are wonderfully decadent and rich and at the same time, very healthy, low in carbs, vegan, and gluten free.

Ingredients:

1 T coconut manna

1/2 T coconut oil

1/2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 T erythritol 

3 drops liquid stevia

7 g cacao nibs

(32.5 cal .25 net carbs, 3 g fat, 2.25 g fiber, 1 g protein)

Preparation:

*In a glass or ceramic bowl, melt coconut mann and coconut oil in a microwave, on high for about 60 seconds. Beat with a whisk until well blended. In a non-stick pan, melt the erythritol on a high heat. Add the vanilla, stevia and cocoa powder to the coconut mixture and blend thoroughly. When the erythritol is completely liquified, add to mixture and whisk vigorously. By this time, the mixture should have a paste-like consistency. If you don’t have a candy mold you can use  teaspoon and press the paste into the measuring spoon to mold it. Place on a baking sheet lined with unbleached parchment paper and put into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator, in an airtight container.

Makes 5 - 1 tsp truffles and each has 42.94 cal, .68 net carbs, 4.3 g fat, 1.05 g fiber and 1.2 g protein.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “chocolate”? Do you imagine how decadent and rich it tastes, or how it seems to satisfy some part of you in a way that nothing else can duplicate. What you may not think of is child slavery, but chocolate is made from cocoa beans. And cocoa, along with sugar, coffee, tea and bananas, are some of the worst offenders when it comes to fair trade practices. They are also now available from fair trade companies (well maybe not the bananas). So, you can enjoy your chocolate, coffe and tea without supporting the exploitation of workers in poverty sticken countries. Since I’m heavy on the guilt, I appreciate knowing that I can still incorporate certain favorite things (you guessed it - coffee, tea, and especially, chocolate) while supporting a cause that means a great deal to me. It’s a new thing for me; fair trade was, up until recently, something I’d hear about but that didn’t have any personal relevance to me. I felt too sick to worry about eating healthfully, let alone eating with morality in mind. The truth is that food is more than just food. It can be about health, but what you eat can also have moral implications as well. And food can also be about race, ethnicity, poverty, sustainability and  making a political statement.

Coffee and tea are also products I use on an almost daily basis, which is probably true of many other people as well. Since I can no longer enjoy my decaf soy mocha (or the faux mocha, for that matter), I have been making due with cafe creme (espresso, heavy cream and natural low carb sweetener). But I also enjoy decaf chai with heavy cream and, in the summer I love iced green tea. In an effort to incorporate the fair trade version of these beverages into my diet, I have found the http://www.groundsforchange.com/index.php? website and have made orders for medium dark decaf espresso grind and a medium dark french press grind as well as Dragon Well Green Tea (they didn’t have decaf chai, so I’ll need to go looking fo it elsewhere). I’ll let you know how they turn out.

May 14th is Fair Trade Day and I thought I’d write a little about what it means to use fair trade products. I’ll be including a list later  of fair trade companies. There are some basic principles that all fair trade goods much adhere to. The production of these goods must be free of forced labor or poor working conditions of the laborers. In order to be certified, the crops must be  raised through sustainable methods and no genetically modified crops can be certified as fair trade.

As for chocolate, there are many companies the now offer fair trade chocolate. The problem lies in finding 100% cacao air trade products. Dagoba is one company, but they happen to be owned by Hershey’s which sell products that use cocoa that is produced in parts of the world known for child slavery. Newman’s Own and Green & Blacks use  fair trade cocoa beans, but they don’t have unsweetened chocolate.  So I turn to Navitas Naturals again - they have  unsweetened cacao paste, cocoa nibs, and cocoa powder. They also have cacao butter, which I use when I’m making chocolate candy.

For more information on which brands are fair trade here is the url for: http://fairchocolate.org/companies.html                               .

If you want to educate yourself further, watch ”Black Gold: The Story Behind Coffee”, a documentary about the exploitation of workers and how multinational corporations dominate an industry worth over $80 billion, making coffe the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. Check it out at

http://blackgoldmovie.com/.

I’ll be doing a post featuring recipes made with fair trade products, including hemp seeds, chia seeds, acai powder, and coconut  manna (pictured below), as well as all of the products pictured above.

I look forward to sharing thee recipes with you, which use ingredients that are whole food, raw food, and vegan as well as low carb and gluten free. See you soon!

kyliemax:

Fair Trade is trade in which fair prices are paid to producers in developing countries. Above is the logo to look for that signifies something is Fair Trade Certified. Click on it to learn more about how you can support fair labor practices.

When you think of the word “diet,” what comes to mind? Some people think that diet refers to what we eat, while others think “I need to go on a diet”? The distinction shows how we feel about  food in general and that most people look at diets as a means to an end: weight loss, better health and in some cases, an attempt to have a beneficial impact on climate change. But when most people refer to their diet, what they actually mean is the specific diet they follow. Unless, of course, they “don’t do diets.” This usually means that they don’t restrict what they eat, in terms of calories, carbs and fat, but it can also refer to the attitude that nothing is off limits (with the unspoken message that people who do follow specific dietary guidelines, for whatever reason, are being ridiculous) for any reason. But everyone who eats has a diet, simply in terms of what they use for fuel on an everyday basis.

One of the words most frequently associated with diets is “salad. I’m not talking about potato and ambrosia salad here; I’m talking about green, leafy vegetables, for the most part. But green salads aren’t necessarily healthy - the lightest, freshest ingredients can be overwhelmed by adding too many toppings and/or too much dressing. Even lettuce and other “low carb”vegetables which are considered to be  standard “diet” food, are only as nourishing as the soil in which they’re grown. You can wash away the dirt, but if they’ve been sprayed with pesticides, chances are that those chemicals are embedded in their DNA. And if you use salad dressing, even in responsible amounts, you are adding more to your meals besides oil, vingar and spices. I’m referring to the bottled salad dressing you find in the grocery store - When was the last time you read the nutritional labels of store-bought dressings? Even products that purport to be “healthy” have ingredients like corn starch, high fructose corn syrup and MSG. While it is true that many companies are now manufacturing products that don’t have harmful additives like those just mentioned, I’d still rather make my own. Not only because I can  control what kinds of ingredients (and how much) go into the mix; if I make it myself, I can cut down on the resources and energy that go into manufacturing and transporting pre-packaged food. I can also make a little bit at a time, rather than being forced to throw out the portion of manufactured dressing I didn’t get to use before it went rancid.

The best thing about salads, in my opinion, is that you can just throw ingredients together, without any cooking involved, and create a balanced meal in a relatively short amount of time. Strawberry spinach salad is my favorite and I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to whomever first suggested this particular combination - I would never have considered adding strawberries on my own. This recipe also contains my favorite nuts, cheese and salad dressing and I can eat it all spring and summer without getting bored. It tastes wonderful, looks gorgeous and even if the dressing isn’t made beforehand, takes little time to prepare.

Salad Ingredients:

2 oz baby spinach

14 g / 1/2 oz pecans(about 2 T)

14 g /  1/2 oz feta cheese(about 2 T)

42 g / 1 1/2 oz fresh strawberries, sliced

Preparation:

*Combine ingredients in a bowl and toss with balsamic vinaigrette.

Has 186.85 cal, 4.7 net carbs, 15 g fat, 2.58 g fiber and 3.33 g protein.

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

1 T balsamic vinegar

1/2 T crushed garlic

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 C extra virgen olive oil

Preparation:

*Whisk all ingredients together. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator.

Makes 5 - 1 T servings and each has 100.06 cal, .8 net carbs and 10.8 g fat

There are people who will tell you that weighing yourself everyday is obsessive and unhealthy. I used to feel that way myself. In fact, I once threw my scale away; I had decided that I was comfortable being a size 10/12, that I loved my body and was happy with the way I looked. That was before I developed insulin resistance and all of a sudden my clothes were too tight and I looked frightful in photographs. So I started a low carb diet , bought a new scale and went through the long and tedious process of losing the weight.

While I do think that you can be obsessive about weighing yourself, I also think that it is perfectly OK to weigh yourself once a day, in the morning.  It will give you a sense of how you’re doing in ongoing weight loss and will signal if you start losing or gaining at an alarming rate, allowing you to make whatever adjustments are needed. I know that a healthy relationship with your bathroom scale can be a challenge, especially if you have an eating disorder or other major food issues. But if you can find a way to keep it all in balance (and that means not freaking out when you gain a pound), the scale can become, if not your friend then your partner.

There are also people who will tell you that it’s obsessive to keep a diet diary. Writing down everything you eat, every day? Sounds like madness! But I must say that, especially for someone who has trouble remembering whether or not she’s already taken her meds and supplements, writing it all down helps me keep track of everything.  Each page looks something like this:

                     Protein     Fiber     Calories   Net/Effective Carbs   Fat

 Smoothie      27.5g      5.5g      180.75           2.5g                     5g

I also write down all the medications, supplements and oz of water per day.  It’s great - I don’t have to keep track of everything in my head, I know exactly what I’ve consumed and chances are, if I don’t want to write it down, I shouldn’t be eating it. And that’s the promise you must make to yourself - you must write everything down, no cheating. Once you start keeping track, you begin to realize that you need to make adjustments here and there.

Another thing to keep an eye on is portion control.  The best way I’ve found is to weigh your food rather than measuring it out in cups and tablespoons. It’s far more accurate, and it gives you a much better idea in terms of what a portion of any given thing actually looks like. Our brains try to fool us when it comes to how much, our eyes tell us lies when we look at a portion of food. “Surely, it must be bigger”, our eyes tell us. “You really don’t need to measure”, says our brain.  Now, there are people who will tell you that weighing your food is another act of unhealthy, compulsive behavior. And they may be right, in some circumstances. Be that as it may, you may want to tell all those people who think you’re obsessing about your health to mind their own damn business.

Having said all that, I do realize that all of these practices can become obsessive. Anything can. The trick is not to freak out about weight fluctuations  or to spend all day poring over your diary in angst. There are more than enough things in life to make you crazy - try not to add to them.

So, this is an update of an original post. A post that I’ve elected to include with the update, even though it no longer applies to my life. I think it’s important to show that learning something new can lead to making big changes in your lifestyle and that the beliefs that we hold dear can be challenged at any time. When faced with that challenge, we have a choice; we can avoid the issue (but not the consequences that come with not changing) or we can take it to heart and make whatever adjustments we can. It’s hard to give up the things we love, the things we count on everyday to make life more pleasurable. Sometimes there are decent substitutions but if there aren’t, then we have to learn to live without. Improving your health usually requires making sacrifices and the benefit of making those sacrifices means feeling better. I think it’s a fair trade. It’s up to you to decide how far you’re willing to go and how long it takes you to get there.

The most recent thing I’ve chosen to give up is soy. I’ve been gluten free for three weeks and in that relatively short period of time, I’ve noticed significant changes in my appetite (lower) and energy levels (higher). As far as the bathroom scale is concerned, my six month rut of losing and gaining the same ten pounds is over:  I’ve gone from 185 to 172 LBs.  I don’t miss the low carb tortillas and pita bread that used to be a regular part of my diet, I don’t crave more calories than my body needs and I just plain feel better. It even seems to have reduced the symptoms of acid reflux. So, it worked and it wasn’t that difficult. But soy is a different story.

In my last post, I talked about my reasons for soy elimination. What I didn’t talk about was the void I have yet to fill - my “daily decaf soy mocha” void. It’s like having to give up my daily over-priced coffee  habit all over again except, this time, I don’t have a satisfactory substitution.  It turns out that almond milk does not behave like soy milk when added to espresso  - it doesn’t taste very good and it lacks the creamy consistency. I also used unsweetened soy milk in decaf  chai (I usually have two cups a day) and although  I can easily substitute heavy cream in this case, without losing the desired flavor,  giving up the soy milk in my coffee and tea means I lose a total of 6 grams of fiber and 14 grams of protein per day.

So, my current, mid-morning coffee break consists of what I call a “faux mocha”:

1/4 C decaf espresso

1/4 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 T heavy cream

stevia

I use Pacific Organic Almond Milk.

It has 98 cal, 2.5 net carbs, 8.75 g fat, .5 g fiber and 1.25 g protein.

 It’s OK, but it’s just not as satisfying.  I miss my soy mocha and I have no idea if eliminating soy from my diet will be as rewarding an experience as eliminating gluten. I’m guessing it won’t be and I’m feeling cranky as a result. There’s an old saying: “nothing tastes as good as being thin”. I’ve always hated this old saw and not only because it exemplifies an attitude about austerity that I find ridiculous. It may be easy for some people to find comfort and pleasure from abstaining, but I think most people like to eat. Food is more than a nutritional requirement - it’s a way to experience the world through our taste buds, which can be as pleasurable as we are able and willing to make it.

I don’t expect anyone to give up soy, meat or gluten or anything else, for that matter. I don’t expect anyone to agree with my beliefs -these are merely the choices I have made in an attempt to feel better. But I hope that you will be open-minded and willing to make changes - it certainly makes living without the things we love and have come to rely upon a much easier proposition.

3/30/11

I think the toughest addiction I ever had to give up was Caffeine Free Diet Coke. I hate to think about what years of drinking what is essentially a neurotoxin, did to my nervous system. I know I’m not the only one out there. But before I tackled that one, I first had to give up one of my favorite addictions: designer coffee. I’m not part of what I like to call “The Starbuck’s Phenomenon”; it’s not because I’m an aging hipster wannabe. I just associate Starbucks with corporation, which automatically sends me warning signals. I haven’t read anything truly terrible about Starbucks and I know that they are ranked pretty high in terms of green business practices. But I happen to live near an actual coffe house, Cafe Trieste, which is just blocks away from my apartment. It’s much better than any chain coffe place and that’s where I used to get my Soy Mochas (and their excellent chocolate croissants, which I also had to give up). I had already given up caffeine  when I was first diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and it wasn’t that hard. I tend to be anxious and I have epic insomnia, so caffeine is really not my friend.

I had to figure out the low carb homemade version. Fortunately, I grew up in Miami, with a heavy Latino population and I learned the ins and outs of espresso making. Never mind the fancy machines; I know they look cool, but they are a pain in the ass to clean. It’s also much easier to make the stove top version.

That’s a three serving pot. You can also get them in one and six servings. The three serving pot makes about 1/2 cup of espresso and I use a 1/4 cup to make my mocha.  It’s simple - the whole thing unscrews into three pieces, the top, the bottom and the filter. Fill the bottom with water until it’s just below the indicated point. Put in the filter and fill with coffee grounds (don’t pack it) and screw on the top and boil over a medium high heat. You do need to keep an eye on it, because it can start to burn very quickly (usually when deeply involved with some other meaningless task). Also double check to make sure it’s filled with water - the rubber washer will melt and burn and it’s added drama you don’t need.

In case you didn’t already know, what makes it espresso is how it’s made and not the type of coffee that’s used. So you can use any naturally decaffeinated  coffee - just make sure it’s ground finely enough for espresso.

Low Carb Soy Mocha

Ingredients:

1/4 C freshly brewed decaf espresso

1 C unsweetened vanilla soy milk

1/4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

natural sweetener, to taste

Preparation:

*Pour hot coffee into a mug; add the cocoa powder and stir until well blended. Pour in soy milk and microwave on high for approximately 45 seconds. Add sweetener and sprinkle with ground cinnamon, if desired.

Has 103 calories, 1.5 net carbs, 4.9 g fat, 4 g fiber and 9 g protein.

And there’s your happy ending.  You can make it a double and still have only 3 net carbs. You can put it in one of those adorable ceramic/porcelain, eco-friendly re-useable cups fashioned to look like cardboard coffee to-go cups with plastic tops. It’s cheaper, you won’t be tempted to buy a scone or muffin and you won’t have to stand on line for coffee, ever again.

Easy virtue - there’s nothing like it.

Just for fun, go to the Starbucks website and check out:

http://www.starbucks.com/menu/catalog/nutrition?.drink=all#view_control=nutrition.

You can look up your favorite Starbucks beverage and get the skinny on it’s nutritional information. My favorite, the 8 oz Soy Mocha has 130 cal, 22 net carbs, 3 g fat, <1 g fiber and 4 g protein.

I didn’t even know what, precisely, a leek really was until very recently. But since I have a tendency to get into a rut with certain vegetables, I’ve decided to be bold and to challenge myself to using ingredients that I previously know nothing about. According to Wikipedia, leeks are a vegetable that belongs in the same family as onions and garlic (the Alliaceae family). When raw, they are extremely pungent - they will make your whole refrigerator reek. But when they are cooked, they become fragrant, with a delicate and flavorful taste that is milder and sweeter than onions. They are a good source of potassium, folic acid, and vitamin C.

My first attempt at cooking with leeks was brilliant. I had just learned about braising and had fellen in love with braised cabbage before stumbling upon a recipe for braised leeks. Which tastes amazing, but may be  a little high in carbs if you’re doing induction or ongoing weight loss. For those of you unfamiliar with stove top braising, it’s basically a cross between sauteing and steaming, a process that allows you to  steam vegetables completely and get the caramelized flavor of a saute. Although there are number of vegetables that can be successfully braised (cabbage, celery, broccoli, turnips and brussels sprouts to name a few), my favorite is leeks,  mainly because they add flavor to previously uninspired dishes like this  red cabbage soup.

I was inspired to create this  recipe because I came across a recipe for red cabbage soup. It was easy to make, incredibly healthy and really, really, really dull. Even though red cabbage has more flavor than the green, it isn’t quite enough when used by itself. I’d used leeks before in soup, so I combined the two for a great success.

Red Cabbage and Leek Soup

Red Cabbage and Leek Soup

Ingredients:

1 T extra virgen olive oil

1 oz trimmed leeks

2 C water

6 oz red cabbage

1/2 tsp sea salt

Let’s start with the leeks themselves, to begin with. A whole leek looks like this:

The green leaves are inedible so you cut them off.

Then you trim the end, where the roots were:

Then cut the leak in half, lengthwise, and wash thoroughly.

When they’re completely clean, shake off the excess water and cut them into small pieces and set aside.

Now here’s the red cabbage. I know they look purple and when you cook them, they really get purple, but they’re called red. No one put me in charge of naming the vegetables, so there you go. They are high in vitamin K and C and have a moderate amount of fiber.

Slice in half and remove the core. Then slice thinly and chop up into smaller pieces.

Weigh out 6 oz and set aside.

Using a medium sized soup pan, heat the olive oil over a medium high heat.

Add the leeks and saute for about 2 minutes (until they start to brown.

Then add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the cabbage, cover, lower the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

While it’s simmering, set up a colander placed over a medium sized bowl:

When soup is done, carefully pour into the colander. You don’t want to lose any of the broth because that’s where the nutrients are. The cabbage has the fiber but everything else is in the broth.

Set aside the cabbage and divide the liquid evenly between 2 containers.

Weigh the cabbage again and divide it evenly between the 2 containers.

This recipe makes 2 servings and each has 95 cal, 4.4 net carbs, 6.75 g fat, 3 g fiber and 3 g protein.

Obviously, you can double the recipe and make 4 servings - I’m not sure how it freezes, but it does OK in the fridge for a few days.