CHOCOLATE.PEANUT BUTTER.BANANA.SHAKE.

HOLD THE PRESSES. HEALTH FOOD JUST GOT WAY CLOSER TO JUNK FOOD

You will need:

• a hand blender (or just a blender I guess)
• 1 banana - frozen or fresh
• 2 cups unsweetened chocolate almond milk
• 4 tbs cocoa powder
• a dollop of maple syrup (sweeten to your preference)
• 3 heaping tbsp natural smooth peanut butter
• 1 tbsp natural cashew butter (optional)
• dash of cinnamon (organic fair trade not made in Sri Lanka tastes best)
• a splash of vanilla

NOW TAP THAT SHIT.

IT'S LIKE BILL COSBY'S CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR BREAKFAST, WITHOUT THE CONNIPTION FIT.

3 months minus christmas and weekends

Drawing by Mikkel Sommer

So I set out to try this for a month.

and I did.

The way my math works, if you take three months and give or a take Christmas and weekends you end up with one full month.

Even though the pile of clothes I would some day like to fit into, is still a pile, and it is not yet someday, I've learned some things.

I've learned that I feel much better when I don't eat all of those white things.

That my hands and body and skin feel swollen and tight when I do.

I've learned that I like to eat whatever someone serves me for dinner and dessert.

That I can pass on some things, take smaller servings of others and take much bigger servings of foods made without the white things.

I've learned that it's really hard to find pre-made food that is not made with the white things, and that it's really easy and enjoyable to make food that is.

I have learned about beef shawarma plate with no rice or potatoes.

I've learned that it's a pretty easy eating habit to pick up and that while I never want to be militant about anything especially avoiding yummy food, I really like the choices I make when I steer away from the white things in my day to day.

I have also found that the foods and meals I eat regularly has really changed. There are several foods that I can not live without now, and many, I never really eat before. I eat so many nuts now that I put a warning sign on my office door in case anyone was allergic.

Foods I can not live without now:

• unsweetened regular/vanilla/chocolate almond milk
• Puy lentils
• leeks
• cold pressed coconut oil
• almond hazelnut butter
• cashew butter
• brown rice cakes
• NUTS so MANY NUTS
• eggs
• apples
• MEAT so MUCH MEAT
• maple syrup / honey
• bananas
• whiskey (malt or rye)

drawing by Sarah Morrissey

Stove top apple crisp

I discovered this yummy dessert when AK and I were in the Rockies and had nothing but a package of instant oatmeal, 2 apples and a small bottle of honey. I just re-did it with a few more ingredients and it's actually better then baked apple crisp and faster!

in a pot, simmer until apples are soft:

• 3 sliced apples
  
• vanilla
• Cinnamon
• ground all spice
• 1/4 c maple syrup
• 1 cup water or so
  

in a pan cook over med-low heat until crispy, toasted goodness:

• 1 tbsp cold pressed coconut oil
• toast 2 cups organic steel cut oats
• sprinkle Cinnamon
• 1 tbsp date sugar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• add coconut oil as need.

dish out apples and sprinkle on oats!

Go Go Dairy-free Goulash!

2 pounds ground turkey or chicken
1 finally shopped carrot
1 chopped celery stock
½ cup of chopped leeks
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
¼ cauliflower, broken into small flowerettes
½ zuchhini, chopped into thin half circles
a tomato chopped into big chucks
1 minched garlic clove
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Tahini
1 tbsp Braggs soy sauce
2 tbsp Sesame oil
2 cups of spelt noodles (or gluten-free of your choice)
Steps

1. Cook ground turkey or chicken with copped carrots, celery, mushrooms and leeks.


Place chopped cauliflower, zuchhini, a tomato and some garlic in a baking sheet – sprinkle with Braggs and some grape seed oil. Bake at 500 and flip once browned on one side.

3. Put pasta on to boil as per instructions on package.


4. Once meat is cooked mix in 1-2 tbsp Dijon, a dash of braggs, pepper ( I didn’t train the pan, as it adds to the goulash “sauce”)


5. In a jar mix tahani, seaseme oil and braggs – measurements may not be exact – blend up and make a smooth dressing.


6. Once pasta is cooked and drained, pour over tahini dressing. Add roasted veggies and everything from the meat pan. Mix up and serve!

PGX

So one of the suggestions my Naturopath gave me, was to start taking PGX.

Basically it's plant fiber. Gluten and wheat free fiber. And the benefit is that it regulates and stabilizes your blood sugar. I'm on a very low dose - may 2 or 3 a day, I aim for 1 before a meal. You apparently can build up your dose but I don't really feel the need.

and I absolutely I love it.

I used to typically go through pretty frequent peaks and valleys of having no appetite and extreme hunger. Not intentionally - but just being busy/waking up late/working through lunch/ working late/and waiting too long to eat. What resulted were pretty major sugar crashes, where I would feel the need to rapidly consume sugar and/or fat the same way I imagine an addict needs to find their fix.

This stuff feels pretty great so far. I don't get those crashes, I eat what feels like a reasonable amount at meal times and I don't crave sugar. It also makes the cutting out of certain kinds of foods way easier. I don't get to the point where I feel like I could eat my hand, and that gives me time to find something I want to eat.

a little-slice-of-heaven pie

Many years ago my health conscience vegan roommie had a friend who had a friend who knew someone who made this decadent chocolate mousse made from cashews. It was Divine. I just came across this recipe for a holiday chocolate pie and all of those lovely memories came sweetly swimming back.

Step 1: The Crust

(Source: http://www.bobsredmill.com/)
I opted for this oat-flour crust - but if you have a better crust recipe or alternative - Like a nut base - try that. This was just ok - kind of like a thin oat-cake - but the pie steals the show so it doesn't really matter.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups Oat Flour (or similarly enjoyable gluten-free flour)
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
2 Tb Solid coconut oil
4 to 4-1/2 Tb Chilled Water
Before you start, make sure all ingredients are well chilled. Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a 9" pie plate, set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, stir together all ingredients with a fork. Pat dough into prepared pie plate. Press pastry between fingers to make an edge. Use fork to prick bottom in several places to prevent buckling. Bake 18-20 minutes or until crust is golden.

Step 2 - Dark Chocolate Almond Cherry slice-of-heaven pie

(source: http://www.nourishingmeals.com)

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds, roasted and coarsely chopped
1 cup dried cherries (sugar-free if you can find them)
1 cup raw cashews / or cashew butter
2 cups water¼ - 1/2 cup agave nectar, maple syrup, or honey (depending on your sweetness preference)
10 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate (chips or baking chocolate)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Roast and cool the almonds. then chop. Place the chopped almonds and dried cherries in a bowl and set aside.
Place the cashews and 1/2 cup of the water and sweetener into a blender and blend until very smooth and creamy. Once all the little bits of cashew are buttery add the rest of the water and blend. Pour into a small pot and place over low heat.

Add the chocolate. Stir over low heat until the chocolate is completely melted. Turn off heat and stir in the vanilla.

Sprinkle the almond-cherry mixture over the bottom of the baked pie shell. Then pour in the chocolate mixture.

Chill for at least 2 to 3 hours or overnight. Be prepared to have to eat two pieces.

Maple baked beans

I've been nagging my 93 year old grandmother to make these for me for awhile now. Now that I realize how much time they take, I might ease up on her. But that said, they sure are good, and this Canadian Living recipe is sweetened with maple syrup and honey. I also liked it because it had a granny smith apple it - a gall bladder stone attacker, you know if you happen to be concerned that the sharp pain under your ribs you get after eating french fries, might be that.

I happened to have used the wrong kind of beans when I made them though. This PYT gave me the most beautiful big dried beans last year for my birthday, but a beautiful bean does not a baked bean make. Use navy beans or yellow eyed as my grandma recommends. Heirloom scarlet runners are show-stoppers but really way to big - although that said - my beans were sure tasty so hey! who says big ain't bad?

Maple-baked beans

Time: An entire Saturday or Sunday afternoon (5.5 hours give or take)

Servings: Enough to freeze, have for lunches or feed friends.

3 c dried navy or yellow-eyed beans

1 onion diced

1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and diced. (you might be able to get away with the peel because you will hand blend it later)

2 cloves of organic garlic minced

1 tbsp prepared Dijon mustard

1 tsp chili sauce/power

1/2 tsp salt

1 pinch cayenne

2 c tomato puree (or I used homemade roasted tomato sauce I canned recently, which rocked)

1/3 c maple syrup

3 tbsp Apple cider vinegar

2 tbs honey (or molasses)

a hand blender or food processor.

1. Soak your beans over night and drain. OR If you aren't that organized like me you can bring them to a boil for 2 min and then let stand in hot water for 1 h and then drain.

2. Cover beans in 9 cups of water (I know, big pot right? but you have to!) and bring to a boil. simmer on low for 50 minutes, then drain - BUT save 1 1/2 cup of bean water and set aside.

3. Sautee the onion, apple, garlic, mustard, chili salt and cayenne in oil until soft, 8-10 min.

4. Add tomato sauce, Syrup, vinegar and honey, boil and simmer for 10 min, then add the bean water.

5. With a hand blender blend it all up in the pot until smooth (or blend in blender, whateves).

6. Add yummy sauce to beans. Transfer to a ceramic or glass baking dish, preferably with a lid.

7. Bake at 300 for 2h covered, then uncover for 1h. My beans got a little too thick and a bit blackened at the end so keep an eye on them and maybe add a bit of water or tomato sauce as needed.