My go-to breakfast is a pastured egg over greens with a slice of sprouted grain toast.
But the winter chill came to call in the Shire this week, which got me hankering for a warm bowl of what my husband loving refers to as gruel. What’s a low-grain gal to do? Quinoa to the rescue – it’s actually a seed, has a great nutrition profile and cooks up quickly compared to most grains. I tried an experiment with some lacinato kale that was waiting so patiently for me to eat it this week, turning yellow stalk by stalk. At first I wondered if I’d made a green mess of a mistake, but you can see it’s lovely. It was delicious in this naturally sweet (from apples and spices) breakfast of Apple walnut quinoa with kale.
Ingredients
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup quinoa, rinsed in cold water
1 small apple, cubed
2 leaves lacinato (dinosaur) kale, sliced
1/4 cup walnuts
2 pods cardamom seeds, peeled (eat the spice, not the husk!)
dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper
Directions
Bring water to a boil in small saucepan. Add rinsed quinoa, lower to medium heat and cook for 10 minutes or until seeds get larger and soft. Add remaining ingredients and cook about 5 minutes more, until quinoa seeds pop open and you can see the little light curl emerge from them. If you so choose, top with grass-fed yogurt.
Here are a couple other cold weather recipes…
Fire cider
Garlicky leek soup
Spicy corn & black bean soup
Stay warm!
As the season changes and temperatures cool herbalists make a batch of fire cider. This old folk remedy aims to keep the chill away and prevent colds. With garlic, horseradish, ginger, and onions – all phytonutrient powerhouses – the nutritional biochemist in me is intrigued.
I made my first batch based on a recipe given to me by my herbal teacher Pam Montgomery. Pam’s recipe called for a fresh cayenne pepper, but couldn’t find that fresh so used a jalapeno.
I’ve got tons of leftover horseradish to play with this week. Culinary adventure to be sure.
Awareness
This recipe comes with some gentle cautions. I handle fresh horseradish and hot peppers with gloves. The heating phytochemicals in these plants can actually burn tender skin. They are powerful and demand respect, but please don’t let that stop you from exploring.
Ingredients
1/4 cup fresh horseradish root, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cup fresh ginger, cleaned and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
1/2 vidalia onion, peeled and sliced
1 bulb (about 8 cloves) garlic, peeled
1/2 cup local honey
2-3 cups apple cider vinegar (or to fill your container)
Directions
Place all non-liquid in a clean quart-sized container with a lid. Add honey, and fill remainder of container with apple cider vinegar. Close lid, tilt container several times to mix. Let sit in a cool place for 4 weeks.
Strain garlic, onions and non-liquid ingredients from container. Use a tsp of this spicy cider to ward off the chill, or 3 tsp a day if you feel a cold coming on.
I’ll report back on how mine batch works through the season!
Mountain Rose herbal has some great sounding variations on their blog.
What are your strategies for warming up the cooler seasons?
I’ve come to the conclusion that a tsp of psyllium seed husk in a quarter-cup of water 20 minutes before meals just might be the easy answer for those who struggle with weight and have cravings (especially sugar cravings) or just feel hungry a lot of the time.
Psyllium seed husks contain soluble fiber, which expands in water like a sponge. The same thing happens in your GI tract – it bulks up with fluid, triggering your stretch receptors that tell you that you’ve eaten something.
How Does it Work?
By taking it before meals, it in essence increases your fiber load which fills you up faster, modulates (in this case slows) the rate at which carbohydrates (like sugars) are absorbed from the GI tract into the blood stream, and modulates (in this case lessens) your appetite. Pretty simple. Fiber is nature’s appetite suppressant, and most Americans get way less than what is recommended for health.
Here are a couple of the products I’ve used as a fiber boost.
Or, Enjoy Fiber in Food
If psyllium is a bit muscilaginous (gooey) for you, experiment with the following food ideas to lead meals with fiber:
- Have a quarter cup of beans or lentils 20 minutes before sitting down for a meal. Get creative and make them salads with herbs, or breakfast beans with hoisin.
- Enjoy a generous serving of salad 20 minutes before the rest of your meal.
- Have an apple or other fibrous fruit 20 minutes before dinnertime.
Respect the Psyllium – A Gentle Caution
Remember that FLUID is important when you take psyllium or other fiber supplements. Drink lots of water – I drink a full glass of water right after a psyllium shot, and then am aware of the other fluids (coffee, herbal teas and herbal waters) that I boost when I’m in full psyllium practice.
There are reports of pallium blocking people’s esophagus and causing obstructions. All the fiber supplements have this warning. So, drink lots of water. If this makes you nervous, start nice and slow – 1/2 tsp in 8 oz water, for example. If you’ve had or have a GI obstruction-prone condition like Crohns or colitis, or have had a bowel resection, talk to your healthcare pro, and do this under the supervision of your skilled nutritionist.
Enjoy the psyllium experiment! And report back – what works for you to “bulk up”?
This recipe is spicy-sweet, ridiculously nutrient dense, and is easy but takes time, so it’s a great soup if you are hanging around the house for a half-day. It entails making a base of sautéed vegetables and spice, then cooking and blending the base with sweet potatoes, and stirring in a blended cream of coconut, cashews and fresh ginger. Yum – sweet and spicy and creamy and healthy.
Ingredients
4 medium carrots, chopped
4 large stalks celery, chopped
7 scallions, some separated whites from greens, diced
1 large red pepper, seeded, chopped
3 tsp (heaping!) turmeric
1 Tbsp coconut oil or cream
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
5 cups clean water
2 sizable (med-large) sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 – 15 oz cn coconut milk
1 cup raw cashews
3 Tbsp fresh ginger (about 4 thumb-sized pieces)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
black pepper to taste
sprig or two of fresh cilantro
Directions
In a heavy soup pot, melt coconut cream or oil, and add carrots, celery, and 4 chopped scallions. Sauté over medium heat until soft. Add turmeric, a few twists of the mill of black pepper, and continue sauté until this ‘base’ is soft and smells flavorfully roasty.
Sweet potatoes and water are added to the sautéed base veggies.
Add sesame oil, water, and sweet potato to the vegetable mixture. Simmer over medium heat until sweet potatoes are soft, 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine coconut milk, cashews and ginger in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour this delicious mixture into a small bowl or cup.
Blended coconut milk with cashews and ginger. Yum.
Then blend sweet potato mixture – use a blender on the cooled soup, or use an immersion blender. Return to pot. Top with chopped scallion greens and sprigs of cilantro.
Stir the coconut mixture into the sweet potato soup. Season with cayenne pepper to desired heat. Top with chopped scallions and cilantro.
- Serves 4.
- Freezes well.
- Takes about 2 1/2 hours start to finish.
Who needs refined sugar, anyway? Nobody, really.
With just a bit of effort, you can enjoy naturally sweet foods and kiss foods with added sugar (and the rollercoaster of hunger and overeating they cause) goodbye. If you need convincing, here’s a recipe to get you started. It couldn’t be easier.
Serve this compote warm as a topping to grass-fed yogurt or whole grains and top with nuts. Makes a great desert or breakfast. How about to top some buckwheat pancakes for a Sunday breakfast?
Ingredients
- 3 young stalks rhubarb, cleaned and sliced crossways to approximate 1/2 inch cubes
- 10-12 strawberries, cleaned and sliced in half
- 1/2 inch slice fresh ginger
- 2-3 Tbsp water
Directions
- Prepare ginger. You can peel ginger easily by scraping it with a spoon. Do that, then dice.
- Simmer everything. Place rhubarb, strawberries and diced ginger into a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until soft, 15-20 minutes. Add water if needed to make or keep things juicy.
- Serve warm over grass-fed yogurt as a dessert or warm or cold with breakfast grains and nuts. Or, just eat warm as a sweet and tangy natural treat or side-dish.
I’ve posted
a new recipe on the Suite 101 network. It’s quick and easy and a good way to use up extra vegetables that I hope are bursting from your garden.
Tomato Cilantro Chicken Indian Style.
Let me know how you like it and any modifications that you think make it better or make it yours.
Have a safe and healthy week.
Annie
