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.

Gluten- free crepes? Mais oui

I have been making crepes since I was 12. They are my go to when I have nothing to eat. Sweet, savory or plain, there is always something around the house you can stuff in a crepe. Loosing crepes was one of my biggest fears about cutting out flour.

Attempt 1- gluten free four mix

I found this recipe on the Internet and they said it was a dependable and versatile gluten free flour mix (GFFM):

3c brown rice flour
1c tapioca flour
2/3c potato starch

My eyeballing approximate recipe:

Beat:

2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
blend with:

1c GFFM
(makes 3-4 crepes)

Normally I can do this by hand, but I had to use the hand blender in order to really mix it in. I used an extra egg to help bind the mixture. They turned out ok, fine even, but good would be a stretch and definitely not great. The texture was a bit dense and tough, and you really had to use a thin layer or they became hard.

Attempt 2- Oat Flour

Beat 1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

blend with:
1/2 cup oat flour
(makes 2-3 crepes)

Wow. Why does anyone use rice flour when there is oat flour??!! There is no comparing! It's soft and smooth and not at all sandy the way rice flour is. Although I still had to use the hand blender to mix all the lumps out - the oat flour made a perfect crepe!

Winner. (Phew.)

Larabar

Today I successfully attempted to make homemade larabars. If you haven't had one - they are pretty awesome, but also pretty expensive. They are found in the energy bar section of most health food stores - and at about 2$ a bar, they consist of nothing more then blended up raw dates and nuts- and they come in amazing flavours.

I need a sweet treat post dinner (and at most points in the day) and these totally do the trick.

There are a ton of recipes found online, and once you get all set up with your ingredients and a food processor, it's easy to make a big selection. I picked up a raw almonds, pecans and cashews as well as a slab of pre-made date paste ($4.99) at Sharaz on Sumerset which made the process way easier and their prices on nuts are excellent.

Today I made: Cherry pie, Key Lime pie*, Macaroon, & Chocolate Peanut butter cup

First you blend all the nuts until they are pretty fine, then add the date paste, and then the flavours. If the mixture is too dry add a drop or two of oil until the mixture sticks together on it's own. It's good to blend the nuts first because sometimes (not always) the date paste can slow down the processor and make a ball, and your nuts won't blend. *This was the case with the key lime pie recipe above - it's also a big batch compared to others so I would recommend halving the recipe (that is if you know how to divide 3/4 cup in half - cause I don't)

Everyone had a different techniques for molding the bars - I liked mine - I just lined a little rectangular ceramic dish with a piece of clingfilm , pressed the batter in and then wrapped it up and pulled it out. I put the slab in the freezer to really get it molded to that shape and then I transferred them to the fridge.

Then you can just cut off slices when you want some. And oh yes, you will want some, because they are DIVINE.

Whatever good there is get, get it & feel good

I love life.

I also love juicy curvy babes with roles and bumps and dimples. I'm proud to be one. and I am thankful to be loved and desired as one (and by one). I also shamelessly love food. Sweet, salty, smoky, fatty, buttery, cheesy, fried, delicious food. To me the word "diet" is a dirty foul word. It makes my blood curdle. People who remove or avoid food because they want to be thinner (often masked by the word "healthier") make me clench my teeth and wince.

But.

Recently I have got into a habit of eating mostly sweet, salty, smoky, fatty, buttery, cheesy, fried delicious food. Recently, I have noticed that I can not move my body the way I want to. I have noticed that I feel swollen and sluggish and uncomfortable in my skin. Recently, I have gained enough weight that every item of clothing I love to wear, does not fit.

And recently, someone I love was diagnosed with Cancer.

And it made me realize that I want to live long. I want to have kids and be able to run around with them. I want to grow old with my partner. I want to feel good. I want my clothes to feel good. and I want to eat and make and love food that will help my body, thrive. I want to redefine to myself my personal motto, a quote from a Ntozake Shange poem: "Whatever good there is get, get it & feel good".

So I went and spoke to the best person I know, who knows a thing or two about my body - my naturopath.

The last time I saw my naturopath was a week before I met my partner. I was there to talk about several things, one of which was my weight, which had risen significantly after many years of stability. I didn't want to loose weight per se, and I certainly had no desire to be thin - but I did want to stop buying new clothes, and I did want to know what was up with my body. She suggested that I try the elimination diet. I went home and tried to figure out how I could do that. I made a meal plan - sort of. and it looked really hard. and time consuming. and bland. and like everything I hate about that foul D word.

and then I fell in love.

And when you fall in love, you need to go on dates. and eat yummy food. and when you are really loved and desired by someone, changing yourself, all of sudden doesn't seem like a priority. especially if it's going to be hard. and bland. and consuming time, that you would much rather spend consuming someone else.

So I didn't.

but here I am, with nothing to wear, a love of food and a fear of death. So I went back. and explained that I needed something a little less hard-core. She suggested I try to cut out all the white things. Refined sugar, four, soy, corn, white rice and dairy. and to try as much gluten free as possible.

for a month she said.

And so this blog is about that.