The Holistic Kitchen

While gluten sensitivities are becoming mainstream, the gluten-free alternatives are plentiful and here’s one more you can add to your shopping cart, dinner table, breakfast bowl and snack recipes!  That’s a lot of bang for your buck, considering its teeny tiny profile.

Millet is a whole grain that offers a strong nutrient profile in the absence of gluten.  High in Magnesium, Potassium, Manganese and Trytophan, Millet is also a good source of insoluble fiber and that’s what helps to slow down the rate blood sugar enters your blood stream (an important factor in preventing spikes that lead to insulin resistance, inflammation and disease).

Studies have shown Millet’s nutrient profile offers many cellular level  health benefits, only a few of which I’ve listed here:

• Heart protective
• Reduced risk of type 2 Diabetes
• Promotes healthy cell structure throughout the body
• More, more more!

Millet is available hulled or whole grain.  Whole grain always offers more soluble fiber than the hulled version of any grain.  Choose organic, if available.  Eden, Nature's Path and Arrowhead Mills all offer organic whole grain millet.  Store it in an airtight container where it’s cool, dark and dry.  

From a culinary standpoint, Millet can be made mushy, like a porridge or fluffy like couscous or rice or it can be used in baking.

In all cases, rinse dry grains before cooking.

Fluffy Millet:  1 cup millet to 2.5 cups liquid (water, broth, combo).  Bring liquid to a boil, add rinsed grains.  Once it has returned to a boil , cover, reduce heat and simmer, approximately 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.  Fluff grains with a fork and season with S&P.

FluffyNutty Millet:  While waiting for the liquid to come to a boil, lightly toast dry grains in a skillet, then add to liquid, for a nutty flavor profile.

Porridge:  Cook the same as fluffy millet, EXCEPT, stir it frequently and add a bit more liquid along the way.

Baked goods:  Grind millet grains first, then sub 1/4 – 1/2 cup of flour with ground millet.  Alternatively, use ground millet in place of oats in a recipe.  If you want that nutty flavor, toast first, then grind.  Stone ground Millet has been used for thousands of years in flatbreads in many civilizations!

Fillers and batters:  Use whole or ground millet as a filler in veggie burgers, meatloaf, stuffing, or in pancake or waffle batter!

Share your questions or  favorite uses of Millet by commenting below!

Holistic isn't only about the food we ingest, but what we come in contact with, inside and out.  Stepping away from the stove for a minute, I want to introduce you to some super holistic cleaning products and an amazing "structured water" you can make yourself.

Animal, mineral or vegetable?  It’s a trick question, because I consider it 2 of those – a sea vegetable that is very high in minerals!   It’s also a great source of vegetarian protein and in any dish, a bit of kelp provides that coveted Umami.

Additionally, multiple forms of kelp contain a cancer fighting compound called Fucoidan, which is thought to cause apoptosis (cancer cell die off) and increased mortality following meningitis infection. (¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucoidan)

Kelp comes in many varieties and sizes for use in the kitchen.  If the idea of  chomping on a big ‘ol hunk of seaweed, turns you off, check out this primer I created for you:  

Arame – Also known as sea oak.  Add to sautéed vegetables, salads, and baked goods. Sweeter and milder than its cousin hiziki. Rich in beneficial fiber. Low fat, low sodium, and a good source of vitamin A, calcium, and magnesium.

Dulse – Table condiment for almost any dish.  Keep it handy to “season” grains, vegetables, salads, pasta, baked potatoes, popcorn, eggs, etc!  healthy alternative to the salt shaker.

Hiziki – Rich flavor and delicate texture. Great with grains and in stir-fries and salads. Enjoy concentrated sea vegetable nourishment. It is fat free and very low sodium.

Kombu – Widely used in soup stock (including the Holistic Kitchen Healing Mineral Broth) and 'dashi' noodle broth as a flavor enhancer. It’s low sodium and fat free Add a piece to beans or root vegetables for improved flavor and a softer texture – it will expand and you can remove and discard, once it’s given its gifts to your dish/broth or you can cut it up and munch on it for its fiber (though I prefer chewing the other forms of kelp over kombu).

Nori – Lightly toasted and most known as paper thin sheets, used to wrap sushi rolls, but it also comes in “crinkles”.  These are thin crispy strips, which are mild and sweet. They’re a versatile, tasty condiment and easy snack, eaten right out of the bag. Great addition to miso soup, you can also garnish grains, noodles, and salads with them. Where previous varieties of kelp require rehydration, nori is eaten crispy.  Very low sodium, fat free, and a good source of vitamin C.

Wakame – To preserve its beneficial fucoidan, do not cook. Soak it twelve minutes and just add some (all natural) ponzu sauce or blend toasted sesame oil, brown rice vinegar, and shoyu (soy sauce) to put on it. Mildly sweet and supremely healthy! Use in soups and salads or as a garnish on top of cooked rice or other grains, traditional noodles, and in sushi rolls. Fat free and very low sodium.

You can find all of these and more in your local Asian market or the Asian aisle of most supermarkets.  My favorite brand is Eden Organics, because they are ahead of the curve on clean, organic standards for their food and packaging.

What’s your favorite kelp??  Leave your comments below!

You’ve likely seen them in the produce section and wondered what the heck those are and what does one do with them?!

They are a tuber and relative of the potato, but so much better, in so many ways.

A potato is mostly starch (or simple carbohydrate) and if you’ve been paying attention to my rants about blood sugar, you know that starchy carbohydrates get converted to glucose pretty rapidly, if they aren’t accompanied by a lot of fiber to slow the process.  This is good news for any form of disease, because it contributes to chronic inflammation, which in turn, feeds disease. 

If you are Diabetic or pre-Diabetic (or know someone who is) the Jerusalem Artichoke (also known as Sunchoke) is a fabulous food.  Here’s why:

1. The “starch” in Jerusalem Artichokes is Inulin, a soluble fiber.
2. Inulin does not raise blood sugar and helps to stimulate production of insulin, which makes it all natural help for Diabetics.
3. Inulin helps to lower triglycerides.
4. It has a slightly sweet flavor.
5. Growth of healthy (and suppression of harmful) bacteria in the gut that aid immune function.  Without getting into biochemistry, this is much more beneficial than eating yogurt or other probiotics, which have to survive challenging conditions in order to be helpful.

Additional benefits of the Jerusalem Artichoke include:

• Better absorption of calcium.
• Better synthesis of B vitamins.
• Alleviates constipation.
• Relieves asthmatic conditions and 
• Nourishes the lungs.
• High in Potassium and Iron.
• Gluten free.

The down side:

• Tendency to create gas and bloating – START SLOWLY and build up.

Great stuff!!  Now, how do we eat it?! 

It can be eaten raw or cooked.  Cooking it will tend to reduce the negative effects and offer a diabetic friendly substitute to the potato (baked, boiled or roasted), no peeling necessary!  To enjoy them raw, they can be sliced thin and added to a salad, pickled or dehydrated to eat as a chip or used as gluten free crouton.

A number of Jerusalem Artichoke flours are available and because they are gluten free, you now have yet another option in your gluten-free pantry.  AND you can even buy JA pasta, which could be a heavenly treat for those with Celiacs and Diabetics alike (though I’m not vouching for what other ingredients are added to make it pasta like).

Let’s hear it for the Jerusalem Artichoke!!!  Are you already familiar with them?  Do you have your own way of enjoying them?  Weigh in with a comment below!!

Though it’s long been associated with Hippies and substance abuse, Hemp Seed is, in fact, an extremely healthy food source, high in protein, fiber and Omega 3 fatty acids.  If you’ve read my special report, then you know how important these elements are to an anti-inflammatory (synonymous with anti-disease) diet and it's especially heart healthy!

I count myself a member of the majority who LOVE food.  Food is like a drug for many, myself included.  We eat to experience new tastes and we eat to comfort, with well acquainted dishes.  We eat to live (feeding our bodies) and we live to eat (feeding our souls).  We eat to celebrate and we eat to commiserate.  It is no wonder we become slaves to our beloved food, whether the selections are healthy or decadent!

But WHAT IF, those foods we love the most (usually the decadent ones) could be made with good-for-you ingredients, effectively rendering them comforting, celebratory and healthy?!

That’s what The Holistic Kitchen is all about.

There’s something about fall foods that are especially comforting.  The weather is turning and we look to heartier fare for comfort, warmth and merriment.  We also look to time tested recipes that have been handed down and embedded in our memories of holiday gatherings, in some cases because of their decadence!  Again, I ask:  WHAT IF those same delights could be made with healthier options, without sacrificing the delight?

It can be done – The Holistic Kitchen and I, Chef Nancy, exist to prove it!  Here’s a recipe for Apple Crisp, that replaces every harmful ingredient and renders a delicious, anti-inflammatory version of this classic dessert (presuming you don’t ad ice cream!)  If it ain’t Apple Crisp to you without the ice cream, make your own low glycemic coconut milk ice cream or buy the green label So Delicious Vanilla, coconut ice cream in your natural market.  OR stayed tuned for my Walnut Vanilla Bean Chantilly in my next book!

Click here for my diabetic friendly Apple Crisp……..

Erythritol is one of those “safe” sweeteners we clamor for.  I put the word safe in quotation marks because it is the current belief (by the FDA and most of the world).  It resembles granulated sugar, measures just like it and best of all, tastes like it too!  It is NOT 100% natural, I must confess, as it is a processed product.  But it does not elevate the blood sugar, is extremely low/zero calorie (depending on which country you ask) and does not contribute to tooth decay.  If you want to know more about the science behind it, click here.

One single letter – astronomical health consequences.

There is so much information about Vitamin D, it’s rather overwhelming.  I’m going to stick to some basics and provide you with links to continue the research – it’s worth it, I assure you.  Vitamin D is a VIP (very important player) and deserves your attention, if you value your health.  It’s been linked to weight loss, cancer survival, blood pressure and stroke, pregnancy complications, kidney stones and Multiple Sclerosis, just to name a few!¹

First of all, Vitamin D’s role is to maintain appropriate blood levels of calcium (and phosphate) and aid in calcium absorption for bone health.  Hmm, so it sounds like loading up on calcium supplements could be a waste, if we don’t have adequate levels of vitamin D to go along with it…

Secondly, not all vitamin D is created equal.  For example, foods that are fortified with vitamin D, such as all forms of milk, cow or otherwise, use a synthetic (inferior) Vitamin D2.  Not only does D2 not perform the same as natural D3, it also becomes toxic in the body at fairly low levels.  According to Dr. Joseph Mercola:

• “Interestingly, the only vitamin not found in breast milk is vitamin D". (think about that…)
  
• "The vitamin D that’s added to milk is the synthetic and highly inferior vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol). Only vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), the type of vitamin D found naturally in foods such as eggs, organ meats, [grass fed] animal fat, and cod liver oil is appropriate for supplementation."
  
• "Studies have concluded that vitamin D2 should no longer be regarded as a nutrient appropriate for supplementation or fortification of foods, yet no changes have been made within the food industry and it continues to be used!”²

Thirdly, vitamin D is fat soluble – so what good is it going to do in fat free milk anyway?

We (the human body) are designed to make our own appropriate form(s) of Vitamin D, from proper exposure to sunlight.  This opens a whole other can of worms, related to over exposure and under-exposure!³

This really is a complex subject, much like a rabbit hole that leads from one point to another and another.  Just when you understand what kind of Vitamin D and what foods to get it from, comes this:  
“In order to receive the most health benefit from increased levels of vitamin D, the proper cofactors must be present in the body.”⁴  The most important of these appears to be magnesium, followed by Vitamin K (present in fermented, raw dairy products like kefir or yogurt)

My goal is to help readers, filter the contradictory information that floods the internet.  Here’s a great place to start: 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/23/oral-vitamin-d-mistake.aspx 

And just for fun (okay, my sense of fun may be warped), watch this video about vitamin fortified foodl (hint:  we’ve been hornswoggled again)! And have no fear -  the next issue of Kitchen Tips will be SWEET!! 

1 http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-929-VITAMIN%20D.aspx?activeIngredientId=929&activeIngredientName=VITAMIN%20D and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

2 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/04/astaxanthin-as-sunscreen.aspx

3 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/16/Dont-Rely-on-Fortified-Foods.aspx

4 http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/vitamin-d-cofactors/vitamin-d-cofactors/

Even if you "don’t like coconut”, give this a chance – it’s definitely different (and divine compared with commercially prepared coconut anything)!  I never liked coconut either, until I tried the real deal.

The last time I wrote about coconut, it was about the oil.  Not long ago, a friend asked me about the dangers of coconut milk, especially canned coconut milk.  I am thrilled to share what I know about the benefits of coconut milk!

If you missed the Coconut Oil Kitchen Tips from a year ago, this information is worth repeating:

• We were told 2 or 3 decades ago that tropical oils such as coconut, were very bad for our health.  The soy and corn industry were largely responsible for scaring us into believing this hype – and that's all it was, without any scientific foundation. 
  

• It turns out that this ugly rumor has kept us from enjoying the long list of health benefits that coconuts and their Medium Chain Fatty Acids provide.  For that very long list, you can visit CoconutOil.com. 

Coconut milk is my go to substitute for milk in any situation.  The health benefits cannot be overstated!  If you don’t want the coconut flavor in your dish, that’s an easy fix.  The critical point is that not all coconut milks are created equal.  Not even all canned coconut milks are created equal.  There is only one that can be counted on, every time, to deliver the benefits without the dangers.

My research has found that most coconuts used in commercial production are grown in areas where chemicals are not used in cultivation.  However, once harvested, processing methods can and often do involve a chemical deodorization (more so with oil, thank milk).

Back to coconut milks:  Many, unless labeled “organic” are likely to have any number of additives that render the milk a manufactured “food product”.  This is definitely undesirable!  Be sure to read the ingredients!  Even one product I particularly like, So Delicious, Unsweetened Coconut Milk, has some undesirable additives, in order to make it a delicious dairy free milk substitute, just like all the other milk substitutes flooding the market today.

Even canned coconut milks that are labeled “organic” will usually have at least one additional ingredient (harmless for some people), such as guar gum, as a “stabilizer”.  Generally this is used to keep the cream and water homogenized, instead of separating.  Seems ridiculous to me that we can’t just learn to shake the can before opening!

The beauty of a canned product is that it is shelf stable until it’s opened.  The down side is the dangerous compounds (such as BPA) most all can linings are made with (Eden brand, is one exception to this rule).  It should be noted that, sadly, Eden does not offer coconut milk amongst its line of canned products.

When my friend indicated that she’d been told (canned) coconut milk should be avoided, (and since most people are not aware of the issue with can linings) I began to wonder if the high temperature a canned product is subject to, might cause a chemical change, rendering it “dangerous”. 

So I went searching.  I learned that canning temperatures “for a low acid fruit or vegetable” range from 240-250℉.  “Raw” foods, by definition, are considered “raw” if their temperature has been kept below 104-118℉.  So I guess we can agree that the lower the temperature of any produce, the more it’s natural benefits (such as enzymes and vitamins) remain viable (that is the beauty of raw).

I haven’t found any data that indicates a dangerous chemical change to coconut milk under high temperatures.  That said, if we adopt the theory that “lower temps render a more viable product” we are left with a really fun, totally delicious and ultra healthy option: 

1.  Make your own coconut milk!  (from dried, shredded unsweetened coconut meat).  Temperature:  Approximately 180℉

I, however, like to make mine from a fresh coconut, when available in the store.  Additionally, it’s a fun family adventure (caution:  sharp blades are involved) as well as a great way to take out frustrations by hammering on a coconut!

 2.  Make your own coconut milk! (from a whole coconut – Temperature:  70-100℉)*.  AND where she tells you to smash it up under a towel?  I found a better way (I ruined my towel her way) – TheCoconutTool.com and it really really works!  Cut the meat into 1-2 inch pieces and blend them up  with the reserve coconut water and some additional purified or natural spring water (4 cups total water) – you may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your blender.  Then I pour the liquid through a nut milk bag (or multiple layers of cheese cloth, but the nut milk bag is MUCH easier) with a bowl below and S Q U E E Z E, extracting as much liquid as the mass will give!

I like the idea of using a whole fresh coconut because I can blend it with room temperature water (and the ultra healthy, fresh coconut water) so my resulting milk is still raw AND I get to snack on some of the fresh meat – what a treat!!  AND I get two products from one effort because I can use the meat (that’s left over after squeezing the water out) as flour!

Either method you choose to make coconut milk, it must be refrigerated and will stay fresh only 2-4 days.  It will also separate and the great for you fat will harden, so shake it well.  And though I can’t drink a quart of milk within 2-4 days, I can make ice cream with it!  Storage solved!

*If you’re using a high powered blender such as a Vitamix, remember that the longer you blend, the warmer it gets.  If  immunity is compromised, you could use method #2 with water that's been heated to 180℉ OR let the milk blend long enough to bring it up to at least 165℉ to reduce the possibility of bacterial contamination.

Post your comments and questions below!!