Because they really are easy ass recipes to boo they're also tasty and inexpensive.
Butternut squash soup - peel and cut up a butternut squash, in a medium sauce pan boil the squash. If you want to add some additional flavor add some onions and salt. When the squash is soft, pour out the water and add then put it in the Ninja and blend to a soup's consistency. If you want to give it a little more fat or taste add extra olive oil before you puree. Serve immediately or store in the fridge to heat up and eat the next day. This is one of my favorites.
Tapioca and coconut milk
A new beet -
Peel carrots, fresh beets and cut up. Add them to boiling water in medium sauce pan. When they are soft, pour out the water. Add frozen pees, dill and a little salt. It's actually a filling meal especially with a bean blizzard.
Bean blizzard -
My favorite beans to mix are kidney, garbanzo and pinto beans. Mix the beans first take whatever amount from the mix and add to the ninja. Mix briefly then add a little water. Continue mixing until the consistency is smooth or to taste. I usually add a little tahini, lime and salt before blending. This can be eaten as a side or you can mix in some baked chicken.
Topeoka (tapioca)
I can't eat the quick prepare tapioca so I have to make it from scratch. My favorite brand is and can be found at Whole Foods and the health food store here in Topeka at 21st and Washburn. The easiest recipe I've found is
Monday, January 21, 2013
Pumpcakes (pumpkin pancakes allergen free)
I love these pancakes!!! Because of the pumpkin i put them on my Day 2 diet, though, with all of the extra flours it becomes a bit of a stretch - I figure if I only eat these once in awhile I'm not totally screwing up the balance that the rotation diet is intended to construct. This recipe is from a number of other recipes i found on the internet and I've altered certain ingredients to make it allergen free for me.
1/2 c sorghum flour
1/2 c rice flour
1/2 c tapioca flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin spice - I left this out and instead used several teaspoons of vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs spoons sugar - I substituted with palm sugar
6 heaping tablespoons of pumpkin puree - I bought the organic, unsweetened kind
2 tbsp butter- I used olive oil instead
1 cup water or nut milk - I used coconut milk instead
1 egg - egg powder substitute can also be used
I think the original recipe said to mix everything separately but I just threw it all in the same container. You can make A LOT of alterations to this recipe like using cinnamon or using earth balance butter (it's soy and dairy free). You can add pecans or other tasties that you think would work in this recipe. Cook these like you would cook regular pancakes and serve. Buen provecho!!
Eureka!!! Vinegar free mustard and tomato and vinegar free ketchup
Mustard without vinegar
2tsp dry mustard
1 cup water
3 teaspoons arrowroot
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon unbuffered Vitamin C crystals
Combine dry mustard and water in a saucepan and allow to stand for 10 minutes, stir in the arrowroot, turmeric and salt and heat the mixture over medium heat stirring often until it thickens and boils. Stir in the Vitamin C crystals and refrigerate the mustard. (The consistency is a little more like pudding than mustard)
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| Vinegar free mustard!!!! |
Ketchup
1 can of beets drained
1 can of carrots, drained
2 tbs fresh lime juice (alternative to vinegar)
1/4 cup water
2-3 tbsp oregano
1.5 tbsp garlic powder
2-3 tbsp basil
2 tsp sugar - I use palm sugar instead because cane sugar sets off yeast more aggressively
Puree everything in a food processor or blener and refrigerate. This can be used as ketchup or even as a base to switch out conventional marinara.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Yogrit by Tia Nia (day 2 delight!!!)
Considering the many alterations I've had to make to MULTIPLE recipes that I found on the internet, I think I've finally found a starting place for future yogurt made at home. The best part of this? The whole thing for me is allergy free. Hells yeah!!! No more having to worry about pectin!!!
My day 2 allows for hemp and tapioca so I made a special batch made of exactly these 2 things - I can either add it to my Avoguava hemp smoothie or eat by itself. For other days I simply alter the recipe.
The recipe
The ratio:
1 heaping tbsp of tapioca flour or arrowroot for every 2 cups of nondairy milk
- you can also use Agar Agar or even arrowroot. The tapioca flour is the cheapest I think.
Whisk the above together - for tapioca be sure to whisk until the flour no longer clumps
Put in a sauce pan - I use a medium sized one because I only do a few cups of milk at a time. Adjust the size for the amount of milk used.
Heat the mixture to 180 degrees or until it starts to boil and the bubbling starts to build up.
Remove from the heat and let cool to 110 or below - this took maybe 45 minutes, and a skin forms on the top.
Once it's at the cooled temp, add in the culture starter - be sure the yogurt has cooled to at least 110 degrees otherwise the cultures will not survive the heat.
Put in jars and place in the yogurt maker.
Leave in the machine for at least 8 hours - leave in for longer if you're wanting a more sour taste. When it tastes the way you want it to, place in the fridge and let it set. From what I've read this yogurt will last 5 to 8 days.
I did a lot of research on culture starters. If you can have dairy or if pectin isn't an issue then you can always go to the store and buy some yogurt then take some from that yogurt to start the culture. Pectin is typically made from lemons, apples, oranges or a mixture of a whole bunch of fruits and as luck would painfully have it I'm allergic to just about everything that pectin is made from and so I try to avoid that mess like the plague. The starter I finally decided on was GI Prostart - the website is below - and really liked it because it's dairy free and also free of soy, wheat, etc..... It's kind of expensive and they have to ship it in a cold pack, but ultimately if it means I have more freedom to make yogurt then I'm willing to spend some extra cash.
http://www.giprohealth.com/giprostart.aspx
My day 2 allows for hemp and tapioca so I made a special batch made of exactly these 2 things - I can either add it to my Avoguava hemp smoothie or eat by itself. For other days I simply alter the recipe.
The recipe
The ratio:
1 heaping tbsp of tapioca flour or arrowroot for every 2 cups of nondairy milk
- you can also use Agar Agar or even arrowroot. The tapioca flour is the cheapest I think.
Whisk the above together - for tapioca be sure to whisk until the flour no longer clumps
Put in a sauce pan - I use a medium sized one because I only do a few cups of milk at a time. Adjust the size for the amount of milk used.
Heat the mixture to 180 degrees or until it starts to boil and the bubbling starts to build up.
Remove from the heat and let cool to 110 or below - this took maybe 45 minutes, and a skin forms on the top.
Once it's at the cooled temp, add in the culture starter - be sure the yogurt has cooled to at least 110 degrees otherwise the cultures will not survive the heat.
Put in jars and place in the yogurt maker.
Leave in the machine for at least 8 hours - leave in for longer if you're wanting a more sour taste. When it tastes the way you want it to, place in the fridge and let it set. From what I've read this yogurt will last 5 to 8 days.
I did a lot of research on culture starters. If you can have dairy or if pectin isn't an issue then you can always go to the store and buy some yogurt then take some from that yogurt to start the culture. Pectin is typically made from lemons, apples, oranges or a mixture of a whole bunch of fruits and as luck would painfully have it I'm allergic to just about everything that pectin is made from and so I try to avoid that mess like the plague. The starter I finally decided on was GI Prostart - the website is below - and really liked it because it's dairy free and also free of soy, wheat, etc..... It's kind of expensive and they have to ship it in a cold pack, but ultimately if it means I have more freedom to make yogurt then I'm willing to spend some extra cash.
http://www.giprohealth.com/giprostart.aspx
Jicama with lotus root (day 3 recipe)
Day 3 is one of my favorite days. It sounds ridiculous but I love this day because I get to put yummy rice milk in my coffee AND I eat a giant bowl of popcorn for breakfast. Lunch usually consists of buffalo cooked with green salsa, water chestnuts, bamboo, and sweet corn, all over rice noodles. Yummers for sure.
Dinner gets a little more complicated or boring depending on my mood. One dish that I've discovered and is honestly one of my favorites consists of the following
1 peeled jicama - depending on how much you want to eat - cut into long square sections (shaped like french fries)
a handful of lotus root pieces
2 tbs avocado oil or rice oil or corn oil
Heat the oil up then throw in the jicama and lotus root. Stir frequently until the jicama becomes soft but firm. The whole thing takes less than 20 minutes to put together and it's delicious. Lotus root absorbs flavor yet still holds onto a unique taste of it's own. It's kind of like a potato, but so much better - kind of chewy but crunchy too. If you don't want to use the entire jicama you can always save a part of it for desert or a snack later on and add palm sugar or a lime chili powder to it and eat it raw. Mexico City made me fall in love with jicama while I lived there so being able to use it within my rotation diet makes me very happy.
Both veggies are touted as rooting vegetables and so eating foods like this can be extremely helpful during those times when I'm needing some help grounding. I spend A LOT of time in the upper chakras which, without fail, leads to significant imbalances both emotionally and physically.
While this rotation diet can honestly be a giant, expensive pain in my ass, it has also forced me to look at how foods affect me on the whole and how important it is to know what I'm eating. Maintaining that awareness throughout the day can't be exhausting, though, the payoffs are well worth the extra hoops I'm jumping through if it means I'm healthier.
Dinner gets a little more complicated or boring depending on my mood. One dish that I've discovered and is honestly one of my favorites consists of the following
1 peeled jicama - depending on how much you want to eat - cut into long square sections (shaped like french fries)
a handful of lotus root pieces
2 tbs avocado oil or rice oil or corn oil
Heat the oil up then throw in the jicama and lotus root. Stir frequently until the jicama becomes soft but firm. The whole thing takes less than 20 minutes to put together and it's delicious. Lotus root absorbs flavor yet still holds onto a unique taste of it's own. It's kind of like a potato, but so much better - kind of chewy but crunchy too. If you don't want to use the entire jicama you can always save a part of it for desert or a snack later on and add palm sugar or a lime chili powder to it and eat it raw. Mexico City made me fall in love with jicama while I lived there so being able to use it within my rotation diet makes me very happy.
Both veggies are touted as rooting vegetables and so eating foods like this can be extremely helpful during those times when I'm needing some help grounding. I spend A LOT of time in the upper chakras which, without fail, leads to significant imbalances both emotionally and physically.
While this rotation diet can honestly be a giant, expensive pain in my ass, it has also forced me to look at how foods affect me on the whole and how important it is to know what I'm eating. Maintaining that awareness throughout the day can't be exhausting, though, the payoffs are well worth the extra hoops I'm jumping through if it means I'm healthier.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
It's a yeast feast in my body (Oregano oil - go buy some!!!)
I've got 167 days to go until I hit my 6 month mark for clearing allergens from my system. In the past when I've committed myself to staying on the rotation I start out strong, the wind at my back, and I am determined to murder these allergies. Then something triggers my evil side and the level of frustration and being pissed off reach epic proportions. At that point I manage to justify getting a beer and pizza.
As with previous starts to the rotation diet, this time when I could feel angry Andreana approaching I tried increasing my anxiety meds and even added a few, tried meditating, tried talking to my therapist, tried stuffing myself with foods that I'm not allergic to (but still taste really good), and tried a sweat lodge. Nothing cured my nerves which pissed me off even more.
During one of my recent episodes I remembered a conversation I had with the woman who originally turned me on to my allergist. She warned me that within the first few days of starting the rotation I might find myself craving sugar like never before, be moody and ridiculously emotional. According to her the strong reactions were due to yeast dying a long, painful death and ultimately screaming out for SUGAR!!!! According to her, the aggravation and cravings were yeasts final call to action - a last ditch attempt to continue living in my body being fed by my love of carbs and Pepsi. She suggested I take either grape seed oil or oil of oregano which help to kill the yeast.
Remembering her advice and in a last ditch effort last night to bring down the intensity I downed 40 drops of oil of oregano mixed with some water. In the past I've usually done taken the oil along with doing a cleanse, though, this time I either forgot or just got lazy. Within a few hours I felt like a giant "bite me!!" had been lifted from my back, the hateful thoughts started to retreat back into the shadows, and I didn't feel like I wanted to rip my skin off any longer.
Today, I'm feeling MUCH better - unlike my symptoms with PMDD, today I haven't swung to the other extreme. I feel normal and confident that taking the Oregano oil did one of 2 things - took care of the louder yeast beasts or in just taking it the placebo affect radically adjusted my nasty attitude. What's best about getting rid of the yeast, though, is that I don't bloat as easily and I don't look pregnant when I'm naked.
Here's a link to some of the other uses for Oregano Oil: http://www.naturalnews.com/024685_oregano_oil_of.html
My friend Ann also suggested grapeseed oil as a means of eradicating yeast - I actually started off with grapeseed until I found out that I'm allergic to grapes (probably due to the thousands of glasses and bottles of wine I drank on a daily basis). Regardless, I think knowing about Oregano oil would probably be helpful for anyone going off carbs or anyone wanting to get rid of the yeast in their body.
As with previous starts to the rotation diet, this time when I could feel angry Andreana approaching I tried increasing my anxiety meds and even added a few, tried meditating, tried talking to my therapist, tried stuffing myself with foods that I'm not allergic to (but still taste really good), and tried a sweat lodge. Nothing cured my nerves which pissed me off even more.
During one of my recent episodes I remembered a conversation I had with the woman who originally turned me on to my allergist. She warned me that within the first few days of starting the rotation I might find myself craving sugar like never before, be moody and ridiculously emotional. According to her the strong reactions were due to yeast dying a long, painful death and ultimately screaming out for SUGAR!!!! According to her, the aggravation and cravings were yeasts final call to action - a last ditch attempt to continue living in my body being fed by my love of carbs and Pepsi. She suggested I take either grape seed oil or oil of oregano which help to kill the yeast.
Remembering her advice and in a last ditch effort last night to bring down the intensity I downed 40 drops of oil of oregano mixed with some water. In the past I've usually done taken the oil along with doing a cleanse, though, this time I either forgot or just got lazy. Within a few hours I felt like a giant "bite me!!" had been lifted from my back, the hateful thoughts started to retreat back into the shadows, and I didn't feel like I wanted to rip my skin off any longer.
Today, I'm feeling MUCH better - unlike my symptoms with PMDD, today I haven't swung to the other extreme. I feel normal and confident that taking the Oregano oil did one of 2 things - took care of the louder yeast beasts or in just taking it the placebo affect radically adjusted my nasty attitude. What's best about getting rid of the yeast, though, is that I don't bloat as easily and I don't look pregnant when I'm naked.
Here's a link to some of the other uses for Oregano Oil: http://www.naturalnews.com/024685_oregano_oil_of.html
My friend Ann also suggested grapeseed oil as a means of eradicating yeast - I actually started off with grapeseed until I found out that I'm allergic to grapes (probably due to the thousands of glasses and bottles of wine I drank on a daily basis). Regardless, I think knowing about Oregano oil would probably be helpful for anyone going off carbs or anyone wanting to get rid of the yeast in their body.
Friday, January 11, 2013
The "homemades" and here we go again, for reals...
It's been way too long since I last wrote in here. I was so ready to attack my allergies, invest several years to getting rid of this huge nuissance, and then life happened. I just got overwhelmed with finally living on my own again - I rented a house! then had to deal with an expensive water bill from a toilet that was always running, a leaky basement, and a GIANT heating bill due to a window being broken that I didn't discover until AFTER several months of freezing temps and snow. To add insult to injury, my overtime ended and the money spigot got shut off real quick. And my landlord ended up being shady as shit. Looking back that whole time I was struggling to be independent again and self sufficient. Before moving back to Kansas and living with my dad, I had lived with a man for 2 1/2 years. Without getting into an entirely new topic, living alone was not what I had bargained for. The house was a piece of shit and I was lonely. To fill that void? Drinking and eating regardless of the damage and pain I was inflicting on myself.
Nearly 2 1/2 years later and I'm back to where I started. I'm at the tail end of day 1 in my 2nd rotation. I've got 170 days until my 6 months are up - from there I do blood tests and then prepare for 1 1/2 more years of the rotation diet or at least until my body stops having allergic reactions to so many freaking foods.
In trying to add some variety to my diet I'm always on the lookout for things that use milk substitutes like yogurt made with coconut milk or almond milk. Oh look! There's finally an option that doesn't contain milk or soy!!! Yay!! The back of the damn container tells a story that isn't so yay, though. This yay f'ing yogurt is made with pectin. Pectin is the bain of my existence. Er, one of the bains. (Holy shit, is that even a word?) Pectin is typically made with apples. I'm allergic to apples. If I eat the almond milk yogurt I'm reintroducing apple into my body which makes weeks or months of no apples in my system completely worthless. I can see my weird, needs to clear his throat BADLY allergist wooking at me and saywing "wewll, the cwock stahts over." Son of a turd.
Pectin, citric acid (no, this shit is NOT from lemons or citric fruits), celery salt, whey. At this point in my life I genuinely hate these ingredients or additives. I'm an obsessive label reader - I hate looking at labels when other people are around though because I feel like they're looking at me thinking I'm looking at fat and calorie content, I realize I need to lose weight but my rotation diet is not a diet to lose weight, it's a diet to rid my body of allergens and allergic reactions. Jesus, writing that out and admitting it is kind of refreshing but also a little mad. Oh, weird hangups, you keep me entertained especially when I'm talking to myself about them.
I digress. I use more amaranth than I ever thought I would - I didn't even know this wonderful grain even existed until these stupid allergies appeared. Regardless, a bag of Amaranth flour can be pricey so I always thought about making my own. I read a blog post about how to make flour at home and how easy it is. Whoever wrote that shit is either stupid or cruel. I was at TJMaxx a few months ago and picked up a bag of Amaranth seeds - what a bargain at $5.99!!! - and now that I'm comitted to this rotation again I decided it was time to test out the recipe. Holy Jesus. I'm still not done blending a cup of the seeds and I started last night. I decided to give my blender another day of rest and moved onto homemade yogurt.
I've been researching the yogurt for some time and even bought a yogurt maker. I couldn't find an exact recipe that utilized a yogurt maker - pictures of a goddamn crockpot stuffed with jars and towels has created a screwed up conditioned response of rage, like I can't even stay on the page. I can't use a store bought yogurt starter because it either has dairy or it's going to have pectin. I have to pretty much use substitutes all over the place - tapioca flour for thickening or arrowroot flour- and a $35 bottle of live culture. While I hate that these allergies make my life so f'ed up, I will admit they have opened a new world of food and healthy living. The fact that I know pretty much everything that goes into my body - foodwise, k?- makes for a healthier body. So here we go. I'm making almond milk in 2 jars and 2 jars of hemp milk yogurt. I'll post the recipe and how it turned out in my next post. Wish me luck.
Nearly 2 1/2 years later and I'm back to where I started. I'm at the tail end of day 1 in my 2nd rotation. I've got 170 days until my 6 months are up - from there I do blood tests and then prepare for 1 1/2 more years of the rotation diet or at least until my body stops having allergic reactions to so many freaking foods.
In trying to add some variety to my diet I'm always on the lookout for things that use milk substitutes like yogurt made with coconut milk or almond milk. Oh look! There's finally an option that doesn't contain milk or soy!!! Yay!! The back of the damn container tells a story that isn't so yay, though. This yay f'ing yogurt is made with pectin. Pectin is the bain of my existence. Er, one of the bains. (Holy shit, is that even a word?) Pectin is typically made with apples. I'm allergic to apples. If I eat the almond milk yogurt I'm reintroducing apple into my body which makes weeks or months of no apples in my system completely worthless. I can see my weird, needs to clear his throat BADLY allergist wooking at me and saywing "wewll, the cwock stahts over." Son of a turd.
Pectin, citric acid (no, this shit is NOT from lemons or citric fruits), celery salt, whey. At this point in my life I genuinely hate these ingredients or additives. I'm an obsessive label reader - I hate looking at labels when other people are around though because I feel like they're looking at me thinking I'm looking at fat and calorie content, I realize I need to lose weight but my rotation diet is not a diet to lose weight, it's a diet to rid my body of allergens and allergic reactions. Jesus, writing that out and admitting it is kind of refreshing but also a little mad. Oh, weird hangups, you keep me entertained especially when I'm talking to myself about them.
I digress. I use more amaranth than I ever thought I would - I didn't even know this wonderful grain even existed until these stupid allergies appeared. Regardless, a bag of Amaranth flour can be pricey so I always thought about making my own. I read a blog post about how to make flour at home and how easy it is. Whoever wrote that shit is either stupid or cruel. I was at TJMaxx a few months ago and picked up a bag of Amaranth seeds - what a bargain at $5.99!!! - and now that I'm comitted to this rotation again I decided it was time to test out the recipe. Holy Jesus. I'm still not done blending a cup of the seeds and I started last night. I decided to give my blender another day of rest and moved onto homemade yogurt.
I've been researching the yogurt for some time and even bought a yogurt maker. I couldn't find an exact recipe that utilized a yogurt maker - pictures of a goddamn crockpot stuffed with jars and towels has created a screwed up conditioned response of rage, like I can't even stay on the page. I can't use a store bought yogurt starter because it either has dairy or it's going to have pectin. I have to pretty much use substitutes all over the place - tapioca flour for thickening or arrowroot flour- and a $35 bottle of live culture. While I hate that these allergies make my life so f'ed up, I will admit they have opened a new world of food and healthy living. The fact that I know pretty much everything that goes into my body - foodwise, k?- makes for a healthier body. So here we go. I'm making almond milk in 2 jars and 2 jars of hemp milk yogurt. I'll post the recipe and how it turned out in my next post. Wish me luck.
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