The Holistic Kitchen

“Risotto”

If you’ve never eaten risotto (translation “rice dish”), think rich, creamy and savory.  Traditionally, risotto is prepared s l o w l y, lovingly, laboriously, with Arborio rice. 

But I wouldn’t be Chef Nancy if I didn’t put a twist on it.  In this case, a healthy and hurry up twist!  Traditional risotto is made with Arborio rice and almost constant attention for 30 minutes, minimum, while the liquid is added a bit at a time to coax the starch out, creating a creamy sauce.  I wanted to create the same creamy and savory result with a high fiber, quick cooking, whole grain and add other goodies to make this an ultra healthy dish. 

The fun thing about risotto is that you can switch up the additions to your hearts content.  Try some sweet red pepper to add color and flavor.  Use mushroom broth instead of vegetable; Miso instead of Parmesan cheese for safe vegan protein and a similar flavor.  Variations are limited only by your imagination!!

First I tried using brown rice instead of Arborio, to increase the fiber.  It took even longer to cook!  Then I tried buckwheat – not even rice at all – but cooked it using the risotto method, in nearly half the time.  Ta da!!

And I made a video for you, so you could see it done first hand.   I call it Risotto in 11 Minutes and you can view it below.  Find the recipe on page 50 of Chef Nancy’s Recipe for Health !

Pronounced 'keen-wa.

 The mighty onion is a kitchen workhorse!   

As a member of the allium family (along with garlic and leeks), onions are a rich source of nutrients that benefit the cardio-vascular system.  Studies have shown their nutrient profile to lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides as well as protect the heart and blood vessels.  Additionally, the allium family has been credited with anti-cancer properties. 

As important as this is (especially considering their wide availability and low cost), I love the noble onion for the flavor profile it brings to the table!  Leave it raw and enjoy a powerful, spicy twist to your dish.  Sauté them in a small amount of olive oil or even broth, and taste the sweetness they bring.  Allow them to slowly caramelize over low heat with frequent movement (so they don't burn) and enhance the sweetness even further (think French Onion Soup).  YUMMMMM!

No matter what you are cooking, it is important that the pieces be very close in size.  Not only does this provide a uniform look , more importantly, it allows the food to cook at a uniform rate, so it's all done together, rather than small pieces burning while larger pieces get underway.  Make sense?  So here are some tips on getting a nice uniform dice to a whole (or half) onion: 

1. Trim off the sprout end (that's the opposite of the root end).  DON'T trim the root end off!  
2. Stand the onion on the newly trimmed end with root end up and slice the whole thing through from root down to cutting board.     
3. Working with one half at a time, peel away the outer layers that are either skin or tougher.
4. Lay one onion half flat on the cut side, root end away from you.
5. Make lengthwise cuts from root to tip – the width varies according to the size of the dice you want.  Do not cut through the root – leave it in tact so that you could pick the whole thing up as one piece by the root.
6. Turn the half 90 degrees and slice across the lengthwise cuts you just made (width of slices according to the size cuts you want).

VOILÀ!  A perfect dice!

Can't stop practicing? (the vision of Meryl Streep as Julia Child comes to mind) – portion them out by the cup or whole/half onion, then package them up in freezer safe containers, ready to grab when your next recipe calls for diced onion.

Lemons

Lemons are a must in the kitchen!    

Use lemon juice to brighten the flavors in nearly any dish.

Use lemon juice to prevent browning of fruits such as apples and avocados.

Use lemon juice on salads and in dressing, instead of vinegar (especially if you have been told to avoid fermented foods for reasons of yeast overgrowth or Candida).

Use lemon juice to deodorize your hands from fish, garlic, etc.

Drink warm lemon water daily, to support your liver. Though lemons provide acidic flavoring, they are actually very alkaline (that’s a good thing)!

Use lemon juice as a solvent for gummy, sticky things.

When lemons are in season, squeeze the juice and freeze it in ice cube trays for a quick "juice of one lemon" fix.

Best way to extract the juice?  If you have a quantity, I recommend an electric citrus juicer.  Just one or two lemons?  Forget about fancy gadgets – cut the lemon in half, grab a fork, stick it n one half and squeeze!  Repeat until it's given all it will.  If you do this over a strainer, you won't have to go picking out seeds.

And don't forget that fabulous zest for a delightful lemony edge in a recipe – you'll notice the difference when you use the zest a recipe calls for, instead of substituting juice.   

Remember:  Harvest the zest before squeezing the juice!! 

Are lemons out of season, crazy expensive or just a nuisance for you? Look for Organic lemon juice, NOT from concentrate in the natural section of your grocery store. It’s a staple in my refrigerator!

 As stated previously, I’m an advocate of eating less animal protein (see my Free Report to learn why), but of the animal protein I do eat, I choose that which is the least evolved, such as naturally raised, local eggs and wild caught fish.

Wild caught is important; it’s not just about sustainability, but even more so about health.  Farm raised fish are treated similarly to factory raised cattle and chickens – conditions are crowded, disease is likely and their feed is contaminated with high levels of PCB’s, dioxin and mercury.  Additionally, they are intentionally fattened to increase weight and therefore market price.  When you consider that contaminants accumulate in fat, farm raised fish offer double jeopardy.

Statistics indicate that farmed fish contain as much as 40 time more PCB’s than any other protein source, including dairy, beef, pork or poultry and 5-10 times more PCB’s as wild caught fish.

This because wild caught fish have less fat to store contaminants in and because their food is less contaminated than that utilized in farms.

Additionally, the beneficial omega 3 fatty acids for which fish are appreciated are better quality and more plentiful in wild caught fish.

So when you go to the market to buy fish, you could be doing yourself more harm than good to buy the more affordable farm raised options.  Yes, the wild caught is generally quite pricy, but considering it too has some natural contamination, the price helps to space consumption!

The next dilemma is determining whether or not it has been labeled “wild caught” with integrity.  Unfortunately, there is a reasonable amount of misrepresentation going on, according to the Environmental Working Group.  In my humble opinion, the EWG is a trustworthy source of information regarding levels of toxins in differing types of fish and articles on where to find the safest source.

If you are eating fish even once per week, it is advisable to investigate methods for removing the toxins from yourself, before they accumulate in your fatty tissue. There are many natural ways to remove toxins, some more laborious than others.  I like this one.

Love sushi?  ME TOO!!!  So I limit my indulgence to once or twice a month.  You can bet that the majority of sushi grade fish, is going to be farmed because “fat is where the flavor’s at”!

If you think “Organic” farmed fish is the answer, this article may change your mind.

Perhaps it’s time to turn the family vacation into a deep sea or Copper River fishing expedition and savor the souvenirs all year long from your freezer…..

 Eggs

I’m an advocate of eating less animal protein (see my Free Report to learn why), but of the animal protein I do eat, I choose that which is the least evolved, emphasizing naturally raised, local eggs and wild caught fish.

Consider these points about eggs:

·       They are available year round

·       They can be eaten alone or used as an ingredient

·       They are a kitchen workhorse, acting as volumizer, emulsifier and/or binder

·       They help prevent blood clots

·       They reduce serum cholesterol

·       They promote weight loss

·       They protect against cataracts and age related Macular Degeneration

·       They are a good source of Vitamin D, Iodine, B12 and other micronutrients.

How is this so?  Eggs YOLKS are the richest food source of choline, which is vital to brain health and messaging throughout the nervous system.

It is estimated that more than 90% of Americans are deficient in choline.  Both the choline and B12 in egg yolks convert damaging homocysteine into safe components, thereby improving cardiovascular health.

It is true that egg yolks are high in cholesterol, but more recent studies have revealed that eating 1-2 eggs, daily, coupled with a low fat diet, creates NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE in blood levels of cholesterol or risk of heart disease and (I think it bears repeating) can actually improve it!

And, as if these points aren’t enough, choline inhibits inflammation ~ yahooooo!!

If you’re like me and allergic to egg WHITES, you can eat your yolks alone – raw in a morning smoothie, swallow ‘em whole or scramble them with your favorite milk product (mine’s coconut milk).  It is also worth noting that if you are allergic to the whites, the protein associated with the allergy is often neutralized at high temperatures, such as those associated with baking.

If you’d like to learn more about the health benefits of eggs, I recommend the following link: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=92

From Michael Pollan’s Food Rules An Eater’s Manual ¹

1. Eat food.
2. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.
4. Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup.
5. Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) in the top three ingredients.

Sticking to these rules (and they are only the first five, from Pollan’s Food Rules¹)  will go a looong way toward maintaining a healthy (and healing) diet for you and your loved ones!

¹Pollan, Michael.  Food Rules, An Eater’s Manual.  Penguin Books, 2009.  5-13.

If you’ve read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, per my recommendation or otherwise, you’ll know this about what is considered FOOD:

1. Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
2. Don’t eat anything incapable of rotting.
3. Avoid "food products" that are

 The great thing about liquid nutrition is that you can blend in all sorts of crazy nourishing things and still feel like you’re drinking a fun treat! If you pack a lot of nutrition in, a little bit can be very sustaining for one whose appetite is compromised. AND it allows you to take advantage of raw foods that are easily digested and available for the body to put to work, right away.

Often times, cancer patients are told by their physicians to be careful how much fruit they consume, due to its sugar content and potential to spike the glucose, resulting in higher levels of insulin growth factor hormones.

According to Jennifer Murray, "Eating a low GL-diet does not mean giving up good-for-you foods such as fruits and vegetables".

Murray further reports:

"Even though many fruits have a moderate to high GL count due to their high sugar content, it’s unlikely that one would eat enough to spike blood sugar levels the way even small amounts of processed carbs will. There are many fruits that are very low in GL and have little impact on blood sugar."

"A low-GL value is considered 10 or less, and one 4-ounce serving of the following fruits all have a GL value of less than 10":

• Fresh apricots
• Avocado
• Blackberries
• Cantaloupe
• Fresh cherries
• Grapefruit
• Grapes
• Honeydew
• Kiwi
• Lemon
• Mandarins
• Nectarines
• Oranges
• Raspberries
• Fresh watermelon