Fortifying Seaweed Miso Soup Recipe

September 19, 2012

It must be fall because I’m in soup mode: making huge batches of soups and freezing portions for quick and easy dinners to thaw on a cold winter night. This week I had a craving for seaweed: I couldn’t stop thinking about a seaweed soup.

Vegetables from the sea offer a huge nutritional payload: Vitamins A, C, E, and K; niacin, phosphorus, riboflavin, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, copper and manganese, just for starters. Bio-available sodium makes seaweed a great choice for replenishing the body after a sweaty workout or when you have a fever.

Miso-based soups can be ready in minutes, making them a great, last-minute dinner idea. In Japan, miso, or fermented soybean paste, has long been thought to have healthful benefits. Miso is good for digestion and is full of zinc for fighting off colds and flu. Miso’s deep, savory flavor makes it a delicious and satisfying meal option. I like to keep a container of miso paste in the fridge to stir into hot water for instant soup anytime.

You should feel free to choose different seaweeds, different vegetables, and even different proteins (this could be a great chicken-miso-seaweed soup, after all!) – almost anything tastes great in a miso soup!

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Fortifying Seaweed Miso Soup

3 Tbsp. Wakame seaweed, dry
1/2 cup Arame seaweed, dry
Carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
Shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
1/4 cup Miso paste
1 package of Extra Firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cubed
Sea salt

Soak dry seaweed in a bowl of warm water until softened (at least 10 minutes). Drain, rinse, and refill with clean water. Soak for another 5 minutes, then drain and rinse well. If using dried mushrooms, soak in warm water as well to rehydrate, then slice.

In the meantime, bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in the carrots. Add the mushrooms and zucchini. When the vegetables are tender, add the drained seaweed and stir in miso paste and sea salt to taste. Broth should be slightly cloudy. Drop in the tofu cubes and serve.

Non-drowsy remedy for seasonal allergies

September 18, 2012

For more than two decades I depended on allergy medications to see me through the late summer until the first frost. That was only until I discovered a homeopathic seasonal allergy remedy that works significantly better without all of the yucky side effects.

Every year during hay fever season the roof of my mouth would start to itch. My eyes would be red and watery. My nose would gush clear liquid almost non-stop, so that my nostrils would become red and irritated from constant wiping. And, let’s not forget the unrelenting sneezing fits. I remember carrying my own box of tissues to classes at the beginning of every school year so that I could have a wipe handy at all times. I would often feel as if I were disconnected and distant from my surroundings, my swollen head and fuzzy brain making reality seem far away.

It wasn’t until I was 19 and driving across the country to college in Maine that my cousin’s wife prescribed an allergy medication for me during an overnight at their apartment in Chicago. I couldn’t believe how life-changing this became, and every autumn I took the pills faithfully until the first frost allowed me not to.

But then I started developing mid-winter allergies to the winter-blooming chamisa when I lived in Santa Fe. Out came the allergy meds. When I moved back to Colorado, I began to suffer when the flowering trees bloomed in the spring as well. Soon, I was on allergy medication just to make it through every single day, all year round.

The side effects were frequent and varied: drowsiness or hyperactivity, dry eyes and nose, dry mouth, digestive disturbances from constipation to nausea. And the minute the drug would wear off, the allergies would come rushing back. The medications were simply a Band-Aid; they were not curing the underlying issues of intolerance to pollens.

Then I discovered this homeopathic remedy for hay fever and seasonal allergies, and my life changed again! Nowadays, I might take a few drops of the homoepathic hay fever remedy at the beginning of a season, but then I won’t need another dose for six months to a year. In fact, if I didn’t run into sniffling people when I was out and about, like I did today, then I might completely forget it should be hay fever season and I should be suffering. Because I’m not.

I’m not suffering. Not at all. And here we are in mid-September, prime time for hay fever in this part of the world. My head is clear, my nose is clear, my mouth is not itchy… After a few years of needing the remedy less and less, and not needing it at all this season, it might be safe to say that I no longer have hay fever!

Who would have thought this could be possible? You can get this remedy, too, and be amazed.

Homeopathic remedies are safe for infants and children and can be used along with medicines or other treatments. It is not the right remedy for viral or bacterial infections. You are always welcome to contact me to discuss homeopathic remedies or other questions of natural healing.

Can Glorious One-Pot Meal Recipes Work with the Paleo Diet?

September 16, 2012

Reader question: We eat Paleo in our home, so no grains, but I am always looking for healthy, yummy and easy ways to get proteins and veggies prepared. I am wondering if your recipes will still “work” if I omit the grains portion of the recipes (rice, couscous, etc), or will that alter everything and mess it up? Thank you! ~Katie

Hi Katie. If you know only one thing about Glorious One-Pot Meals and the patented infusion cooking method, it should be that every single item in every single recipe is substitutable and/or omitable! And, yes, that includes the grains.

As I often mention in my cooking classes, Glorious One-Pot Meals allow you to tailor each recipe according to what your family eats, what’s in season, or simply what you have in the house. If there’s something you you don’t have or don’t like, simply swap it out!

When you choose to omit grains from a recipe, be sure to also leave out the liquid that is solely included to hydrate the grains. In place of grains in a recipe, you might consider substituting sweet potatoes, cauliflower, or squash for a similarly satisfying eating experience.

Additionally, you should pay close attention to when the aroma wafts from the oven, as your GOPMs will likely be ready sooner than indicated in the cookbook.

Vegan Potato Soup

September 14, 2012

We turned a corner into autumn this week with a cold, rainy day that seemed perfect for a creamy, hearty potato soup.

Lower in fat that the typical potato soup because coconut milk is substituted for cream, this recipe could be made more savory by using chicken stock instead of simply water, though it would add sodium and fat to this soup that is delicious as is. I used Let’s Do… Organic! Creamed coconut milk instead of canned because I appreciate the purity of it, and I can hydrate as much or as little at a time as I need.

Leaving the skins on the potatoes ensured this was a whole foods meal, offering more nutrients and more easily digestable than if I had ditched the peel. Blending shreds the peel, too, and the more you blend it, the smaller and less potentially offensive the bits of potato skin will become.

It was a big hit in the family, with a rich, satisfying creaminess, even without milk or butter. And it couldn’t have been easier to make.

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Vegan Potato Soup

8 potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, and cut into 1″ slices
1 4 oz can coconut milk (or any other type of non-dairy milk)
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1″ sticks
8-10 button mushrooms, trimmed, sliced thickly
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 chopped scallions

Place potatoes in a stock pot and cover with cold water a few inches above the potatoes. Boil gently until the potatoes are very soft.

Using an immersion blender, or very carefully transferring to a regular blender in batches, blend until the potatoes and skins are completely liquified. Add coconut milk and blend well. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add asparagus and mushrooms and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add water or coconut milk to thin the broth as needed.

Add 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. Garnish with rest of parsley and scallions. Serve hot.

Does a Healthy Diet Prevent Chronic Disease?

September 13, 2012

Studies have shown that a poor diet is a major contributor to chronic disease and illness in the U.S., and, in fact, a healthy diet can significantly improve health outcomes in chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

My Plate, DASH diet, healthy diet — The DASH diet is graphically pictured in this My Plate illustration.

The American College of Preventive Medicine recommends two dietary plans that both have solid research proving their success in combating weight gain and preventing chronic disease:

Both of these plans emphasize eating whole, unprocessed foods over pre-packaged, processed products, and are heavy in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Beyond that, DASH is more about portion control while the Mediterranean diet has more of a focus on eating fish, and also includes alcohol, which is definitely a bonus.

But adopting either healthy eating plan – even if you only follow 80% of the plan, 80% of the time– will help you lead a healthier life now and in the future.