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How Long Do I Cook My Glorious One-Pot Meals In A 3.5-Quart Dutch Oven?

Reader question: I have a 3 1/2qt cast iron pot, in prglorious one-pot mealseparing the 2 person portion, do I still use the 45min. time to cook dish? or longer time since it is bigger pot?  thanks for your prompt reply susan

Hi Susan. Thanks for your enthusiasm for Glorious One-Pot Meals!

To answer your question, the fail-safe way to know if your Glorious One-Pot Meal is ready –no matter what size cast iron Dutch oven you use or how full you fill it– is to wait for the aroma of a fully-cooked meal to escape the oven… and then to wait for an additional three minutes. I call this the “3-minute rule”.

Not filling a pot to the brim, i.e., using a larger capacity pot to cook a smaller GOPM, leaves “dead air space” in the pot, which may affect the cooking time.  In general, if you fill your pot up to the top, you’ll be able to follow the timing chart on page 9 in the cookbook, but these times may not be accurate if you are not filling the pot completely. However, if you follow the 3-minute rule all of your GOPMs will always turn out perfectly!

Happy cooking!

Elizabeth

A New Year… 2013

I’ve never been a fan of “New Year’s Resolutions” as a concept. Well, let me clarify: I don’t have a problem with other people making new year’s resolutions; I just don’t make a practice of making my own.

As I told my kids when they asked yesterday if I had made any resolutions, my resolutions for this year are the same as they are for every day of my life: to be a good and kind person; to offer assistance and render aid to others when possible; and to do my part to make the world a better place, including practicing environmental stewardship, recycling, promoting clean foods, and spreading good cheer.

Instead of making fancy “resolutions,” I prefer to take a moment at the turn of the year to reflect on the year that has passed. By the numbers, my 2012 included:

126 Jazzercise classes (a personal best, I believe! Since I started Jazzercising at this center in 2008, I’ve attended a total of 970 classes. The only reason I know this is because it is tracked on their computer. Although, now that I think about it, I wonder if the count began with the current ownership in 2004-ish. I’ll have to ask. Still, I don’t think I’ve ever done more Jazzercise in one calendar year before. And this doesn’t even count the Pure Barre, yoga, and pole dancing classes I’ve squeezed in here and there.)

155 blog posts (definitely a record for me!) Since I started writing this blog in 2008, I’ve published a total of 544 posts.

10,000+ visitors to my blog each month!

46,000+ copies of Glorious One-Pot Meals sold since the it was first released in 2005!

88 new clients tested for food sensitivities and enjoying symptom-free living.

12+ paid speaking gigs and/or published articles.

In short, I feel good about my personal fitness and my career trajectory. My family eats healthily (lots of Glorious One-Pot Meals!), and my kids are healthy and happy. Most satisfying this year has been helping others reduce or eliminate their suffering though simply changing their diets.

It bodes to be a good year. I hope it does for you as well. Thanks for sticking with me.

How to Take Homeopathic Remedies

The right homeopathic remedy can be the quickest and most effective curative for symptoms that you’ve ever seen work.

This time of year I dole out a lot of remedies for various conditions such as colds, coughs, stuffy noses, and flu. Additionally, I’ve been mixing up homeopathic anti-histimine and homeopathic anti-itching remedies to relieve allergic or hypersensitivity reactions brought on by exposure to irritants, unexplained rashes, and psoriasis. But homeopathy can be used for almost any condition.

You may have purchased a homeopathic remedy at the store that comes in little pellets, or you may have received a pre-mixed remedy in a dropper bottle.

While you may simply place 1-3 pellets underneath your tongue directly, it will be more effective to mix 1-3 pellets with 1-3 oz. of clean, filtered water. Avoid touching the pellets with your skin to keep them clean and pure. Stir until completely dissolved. Then place 1 teaspoonful of  the liquid underneath your tongue.

Regardless of whether you have a pre-mixed bottle or you have mixed it yourself in a glass, you will want to:
1. Avoid anything in your mouth (food or drink) for 5-15 minutes before and after taking the remedy.
2. Succuss (bang into your palm forcefully) the bottle 5 times before taking the remedy to activate the molecules, or stir your own mixture well. This step brings energy into the remedy.
3. Squeeze out any liquid from the dropper, then fill the dropper with the remedy. Or use a clean spoon that has not touched your mouth to administer the liquid.
4. Drop 7-10 drops underneath the tongue, taking care to maintain the hygiene of the dropper itself by not allowing it to touch anything. The exact number of drops or amount on the teaspoon does not matter.

For an acute reaction, you can dose every 15 minutes until you find some relief.

With homeopathy, you will notice relief from symptoms within ten minutes if it is the right remedy. If it is not the right remedy, nothing will happen either way. It will never make your symptoms worse. Do not continue to take the remedy that day if you are not seeing improvement after the first dose, and especially after the second dose. Cease taking the remedy upon resolution of symptoms.

Keep the bottle away from computers, microwaves, cell phones, etc. that emit waves. If you travel with it, it’s ok to send it through the x-ray machine but better not to bring it in the full body scanner with you. The bottle is 1 oz and ok to carry on.

Homeopathic remedies should not be taken regularly; only when indicated by symptoms. If you find the remedy does not alleviate any symptoms, it is not the right remedy for this problem.

If you think a homeopathic remedy might help alleviate your discomfort, contact me for a free evaluation and homeopathic remedy recommendation.

Must You Oil The Lid When Making Glorious One-Pot Meals in A Dutch Oven?

Reader question: Hi elizabeth, I have a question– why is it necessary to oil the entire pot even though not all of the pot will be touched by food? I have a problem with the oil sticking to the lid…it’s very hard to get off.  Thanks, kelly

Hi Kelly! This is a great question with a simple answer: if you don’t want to oil the inside of the lid of your Dutch oven when making Glorious One-Pot Meals, then don’t.

Because I prefer to load my cast iron Dutch oven all the way up to the brim with food when preparing GOPMs, I’m in the habit of oiling the inside of the lid as well as the inside of base of the pot because I’ve experienced food sticking to the top when I skipped this step. However, it is not a mandatory requirement that you oil the inside of the lid, or even that you oil the pot at all. Certainly, I’ve forgotten to oil the Dutch oven many times before loading it with food, and the food still cooked up just fine, even if the pot was a little harder to clean afterward.

Glorious One-Pot Meals are very forgiving recipes: substitution or even omission of suggested ingredients is encouraged, making this a perfect technique to use for those with food aversions, sensitivities, or allergies. Of course, even omnivores can appreciate the simplicity of preparation, the speed of cooking, and the tastiness of the final results!

Thanks for writing, Kelly!

Here’s a quick and delicious Glorious One-Pot Meal cooking demonstration for “Feta Shrimp”, in case you’re wondering what the fuss is all about.

LEAP Customized Anti-inflammatory Diet Testimonials

If you’re wondering what a customized anti-inflammatory diet can do for you, and you’ve checked out the LEAP blogs I mentioned yesterday, take a look at the testimonials collected by the lab that runs the Mediator Release Test (MRT) on this Facebook Page.

If you’ve been looking for a new path to take to relieve your discomfort and physical distress, a customized anti-inflammatory diet might be your solution. Don’t shoot darts in the dark when changing your diet; use sophisticated, state-of-the-art blood testing to see exactly what causes inflammation in your body to design the right diet for you.