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Video of How Your Stomach Digests (or doesn’t) Processed Foods

February 9, 2012

It seems so much of what I do these days as a Naturopath practicing holistic nutrition for people in chronic physical distress is focused around digestion. Digestive issues go hand-in-hand with most chronic ailments as either the root cause or an unfortunate side effect of inflammation. But have you ever wondered what digestion actually looks like?

For over a decade I’ve been a vocal evangelist for the benefits of eating whole foods rather than processed foods. Finally, there is a video that graphically shows exactly what happens to processed foods during digestion and why we might want to avoid them.

Using a patented Mouth-to-Anus (M2A) camera and sensors loaded into capsules and taken orally, TEDxManhattan 2011 Fellow Stephani Bardin shows us exactly how differently our bodies handle processed foods than they handle whole foods.

Be warned: you might not want to watch this while you are eating!

http://youtu.be/zi_DaJKsCLo

Slow-cooker Chicken with Mustard and Pomegranate Seeds

February 7, 2012

On a recent snowy day, I decided to pull out the slow cooker. Actually, it was already out, having been used to keep a pot of chile warm for a teacher appreciation luncheon at my son’s school, which is what made me think of using it. Mine is a ceramic relic from the 1970s in classic harvest gold with dirt-brown trim, a bit like Charlie Brown’s shirt. But that’s beside the point.

I don’t often use my crock-pot because I find all of my crock-pot meals kinda taste alike at the end of the day. This is one of the reasons I developed Glorious One-Pot Meals in a Dutch oven, after all.

But this time I was determined to do differently and make something exciting and fun in the crock-pot. It worked: pomegranate seeds and two kinds of mustard brought a new life and flavor to a familiar slow-cooker recipe of chicken, spinach, carrots, and potatoes.

The pomegranate seeds maintained a lot of their crunch, which three out of four eaters enjoyed, and the fourth has some sensory issues (he seemed to be more accepting when we warned and reminded him that there would be crunchies in his food, but he has always had an issue with seeds in foods. Sigh: the trials of parenting!), although he liked the flavors.

I used frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs, and frozen blocks of spinach and diced carrots. You might add more mustard for more intense flavor. Everything cooked on High for about 4 hours.

Here’s the recipe:

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Slow-cooker Chicken with Mustard and Pomegranate Seeds

6-8 chicken thighs
4 red boiler potatoes, cubed
2 10-oz packages frozen spinach, or fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped
2 10-oz packages frozen diced carrots, or fresh carrots, diced
Seeds from 1 pomegranate
3 Tbsp. country or German mustard
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Put everything except the mustard into a slow cooker and add about 2″ of water. Mix mustard into the water until mustard is emulsified. Cook on High for 3-4 hours, or on Low for 7-8 hours.

Tom Yum Soup

January 19, 2012

My 7-year old daughter takes a wonderful cooking class through Sticky Fingers Cooking School. A few weeks ago, they made a delicious Asian soup with coconut milk and sauteed lemongrass. I have been dying to recreate it, so when we got back into town after the holidays, I thought I’d give it a try. This is my version, going mostly on my daughter’s memory of making it.

Turns out, her memory was pretty good because the soup was spectacular.

Ginger is a potent antiviral, so eating it during cold and flu season is never a bad idea. I keep whole pieces of ginger root in ziptop baggies in my freezer and grate them frozen for the flavor and benefits of fresh ginger any time.

I picked up a stalk of lemongrass at an Asian market, but you may be able to find it in your regular grocery, near the fresh herbs.

Here’s the gist:

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Tom-Yum Soup
serves 4-6

1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger root
1 stalk lemon grass, peeled down to the brownish root, and trimmed of the root.
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. olive oil
1 box chicken broth or stock
1 14.5-oz. can coconut milk
2 Tbsp. soy sauce (I use wheat-free/low-sodium, but you can use regular if you prefer)
4 chicken breasts
1 can bamboo shoots, drained
1 dozen or more Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced thickly
6-8 Crimini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thickly

In a large heavy saucepan or 4-qt or larger Dutch oven, sauté the ginger and lemongrass in the sesame and olive oils until lightly browned. Add the broth and coconut milk to the pot over medium heat. Whisk if needed to integrate the coconut milk solids (separating during storage is normal for coconut milk). Add the soy sauce, chicken, and vegetables and simmer gently until the chicken is well cooked. Remove the chicken and discard any bones or skin, if you didn’t use boneless-skinless pieces. Using two forks pulling in opposing directions, pull the meat into shreds before returning to the pot. Taste, adjust seasoning by adding more soy sauce, and serve.

I thought about adding a can of diced green chiles to the pot, which would be a savory addition, but the soup is good enough that you can enjoy it with or without that extra spice.

You could also add chopped garlic to the sauté to add another layer of flavor and healthfulness.

And, of course, need I say it? You can make this soup with almost any protein and any veggie that you have around. Some versions of Tom Yum soup omit the coconut milk… you should make your soup using what you will enjoy!

Dairy-free Hot Cocoa Mix

January 11, 2012

At the end of a cold, snowy day like today, there’s not much better than a merry cup of hot cocoa.

For years, I skipped all opportunities for drinking hot cocoa because it is traditionally made with milk, which gives hot cocoa its creamy goodness. Dry hot chocolate mixes contain dried milk, which is why they work when you add hot water.

But as someone who is lactose-intolerant, an innocent cup of hot cocoa can lay me out in agony for the better part of eight hours.

So when my son’s class had a “hot chocolate party” before the holiday break, I wanted to supply him with a hot chocolate mix that was safe for him so that he wouldn’t feel deprived and left out of the treat. The tricky part was finding a dry dairy-free milk product so that he could make it with hot water at school just like the other kids would be doing to make their regular dairy hot chocolate.

Then I remembered Let’s Do Organic… Organic Creamed Coconut. This is pure dehydrated coconut milk formed into a dry block. I made a little container-full using the following basic proportions. You should feel free to adjust anything as you desire. This is so delicious that it would made a great homemade gift packaged in a glass jar and tied with a pretty ribbon.

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Dairy-free Hot Cocoa Mix

1 part chocolate powder (I used Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa because that’s what I had)
3 parts sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
3 parts dried coconut milk
mini marshmallows (optional)

Mix together and store in an airtight container. Place 3 Tbsp. of mix into a mug and add 8 oz hot water.

Transforming Health with Brad King

December 1, 2011

Yesterday, I was interviewed by best-selling author and nutritional researcher Brad King on his fantastic show, “Transforming Health,” on Voice America. Brad brought his extensive knowledge of holistic health into our conversation about how unidentified food and chemical sensitivities can cause problems ranging from migraines, IBS, and fibromyalgia to autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis.

Listen to the show on food sensitivities here and leave your comments below to tell me what you think!

Video of How Your Stomach Digests (or doesn’t) Processed Foods

Slow-cooker Chicken with Mustard and Pomegranate Seeds

Tom Yum Soup

Dairy-free Hot Cocoa Mix

Transforming Health with Brad King

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