SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: On Hiatus and Will Re-Launch After The Holidays

Factually Food is on Hiatus until Jan 1, 2012, and will re-launch bigger and better than ever. In the meantime, check out the archives for great no-refined-carbs recipes and tips.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is becoming popular as alternative to soy milk, which some people are allergic to--and which is reputed to be estrogenic, thereby making it less desirable for men to drink--and almond milk, which some simply don't enjoy. Coconut milk is slightly, naturally sweet, so it's being used as a sweetening agent, as a thickener and as a flavoring. Vons Supermarkets (a Safeway-owned chain in Southern California) is selling coconut milk--as are many other upscale chains.

This is a reminder that I need to weave coconut milk into my cooking....

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAYS: Product of the Week...Progresso Lentil

Progresso's Lentil Soup (find 'Lentil' under "Vegetable Classics" and click) contains no flour, and less than 1% of sugar (although why it even needs that tiny amount is beyond me), and so it rates as pretty swell for packaged, canned soup, which normally contains loads of sugars and flours. No chemicals, per se, although some "modified food starch." Have at it!

MENU Mondays: Asian Vegan Stir-Fry

This is an adaptation of a vegan, Asian-inflected noodle recipe I used to make--before I stopped eating noodles!  Basically, it's stir-fried vegetables and tempeh with an Asian cashew (or peanut) sauce.

Equipment: Chopping board, chopping knife, large ceramic mixing bowl, wooden spoon, wooden fork, blender or food processor with chopping blade.

Ingredients: 1 cup cubed tempeh, 1 bunch of broccoli, 1 zucchini, 12 oz. of diced mushrooms, 1 cup frozen peas, 1 can water chestnuts, 1 tbsp. oil. Sauce: 1 cup cashews, 3 cloves chopped garlic, 4 tbsp. soy sauce, 3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp. sesame oil, 1 tbsp. chili paste.

Notes: Make the sauce ingredients together and process in blender or food processor; set aside. Add the oil to the wok or saucepan. Stir fry 1 broccoli bunch, 1 large zucchini, mushrooms and peas; onions--either green or yellow--are optional. Mix vegetables and sauce, and serve.

THEMATIC THURSDAYS: Fast-Food Salads

Fast food restaurant salads are often dull affairs. But, sometimes they're OK. On a recent road-trip, the Jack In the Box Grilled Chicken salad proved serviceable, as did a similar salad, the Baja Ensalada Salad with Chicken, from Baja Fresh. The former had fresh iceburg lettuce, with cherry tomatoes and a decent low-fat balsamic dressing. The latter had really juicy fresh sliced tomatoes, with a great southwestern dressing.

MENU Mondays: Black Olive, Jalapeno and Onion Dip

This is very easy to make and it's very tasty; you can use veggies or water crackers with the dip--tortilla chips, not so much.

Equipment: mixing bowl, skillet, spatula, wooden fork or spoon, knife.

Ingredients: 1 small can sliced black olives, or 3/4 cup diced black olives; 1 small onion, diced and sauteed, 2 garlic cloves, pressed; 2-4 roasted or sauteed, diced jalapeno peppers, 16 oz. sour cream; 1/2 block light cream cheese; paprika, salt, pepper and dill to taste.

Notes: Mix all ingredients together after sauteed veggies have cooled; chill and serve.

TIPS Tuesday: What's Up Doc?

What's Up Doc? Carrots are definitely healthy eatin'. I get baby carrots in a bag at Trader Joe's to use for dips, because I generally don't eat crackers or bread, and I only occasionally (OK, a little more than occasionally) eat tortilla chips. However, if baby carrots are too expensive, and they sometimes are, you can buy regular carrots in bulk, peel them, and slice them into two to three inch strips for use in dips. One large carrot should make about six or seven strips. Chop the ends off, peel, slice and service. Find out more about carrots in the U.S. government's nutrition database.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays: Flourless, Sugarless Cookies

Great flourless AND sugarless oatmeal chocolate drop cookies! This is a recipe that needs a lot of tweaking, but it can definitely work.

You will need: 1 1/2 cups rolled oats, 1 half cup oat bran, one quarter cup almond meal, two or three squares of bitter chocolate or 90% cacao bar, four packets of stevia, 1 egg, 1 tsp. baking soda, quarter cup of raisins (optional), 4 tablespoons butter.

Equipment: Mixing bowl, wooden spoon, greased cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 300.

Mix all ingredients together. Form into balls by hand, and drop onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven. Cool and serve.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Pumpkin Recipes, Cont'd....

Wow...here's an Almond Milk Pumpkin Pie recipe, from sugarfreelowcarbrecipes.com.

THEMATIC Thursdays: The (Great) Pumpkin Visits Town

It's that orange-and-black time of year. And the orange in this mix comes from pumpkin (at least, on this blog it does). There's a plethora of sugarless, flourless pumpkin recipes online: Here's a pumpkin oatmeal pancake. There are a lot of ingredients, including artificial sweetener, in this pumpkin bread, but it's worth a shot. These brownies contain pumpkin puree--try them.And, this pumpkin-bean soup looks really healthy, filling...and delicious. Thanks to

TIPS Tuesday: Float It...or Coat It

Just tossing up a non-lettuce leaf salad with dressing, sometimes doesn't really work too well, I find. 

Sometimes dressing for, say, a cauliflower salad--as from last Saturday--or an asparagus or green bean salad, really needs to marinate the salad--float a little in the dressing, as it were--before you can serve it. Another possibility is to coat the salad ingredients with just some olive oil, and maybe one or two of the dry dressing ingredients (for example, parsley or paprika), let that sit for a bit, or even chill overnight, before tossing it with the dressing-proper. You can divide, or reserve, some of the dry ingredients, as well, to sprinkle over your marinated salad before serving.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays: Spanish-Style Cauliflower Salad

This is really yummy--an adaptation of an adaptation. At first I couldn't see how it would work--cauliflower not being very flavorful, but with the dressing you make for this dish, it makes sense, and you can even get a hint of Spain (perhaps).

Utensils: chopping board, sharp knives, small whisk

Ingredients: salad -- 1 half head cauliflower, 1 cup finely diced parsley, 1 finely diced green onion (scallion), 1 minced hard-boiled egg; dressing -- 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar, 1 pressed garlic clove, 1 tbsp capers, 1 tbsp. paprika, dash, cayenne.

Notes: Make the dressing and set aside. Separate the cauliflower into small florets, about as big, maybe a little bigger, than your thumb. Steam in an inch of boiling water, with 2 tablespoons lemon juice, for 10-12 minutes. Let cool, pat the florets dry. Toss into the dressing, cover and refrigerate. The next day, spoon some cauliflower onto a salad plate, sprinkle some of the parsley and egg on the top. Serve.

Then toss the cauliflower in the dressing. After that, toss in the parsley and green onion. Parsley and hard-boiled egg provide color and texture, but not too much flavor--for that, you should probably dial up various elements of the dressing: garlic, capers, cayenne, paprika, etc. It's important to steam the cauliflower as directed, then allow to cool, then marinate in the dressing, refrigerated, overnight.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Nuts for Coconuts

How much can coconut add to flourless recipes? Here's a New York Times recipe (with rolled oats, not flour) for granola bars. This coconut primer basically spells out the coconut facts you need in the kitchen. BTW, stay away from canned coconut cream--like the kind you might have used in college to make pina coladas--as it contains sugar.

TIPS Tuesday: Vim and Vinegar

Don't skimp on vinegar. You don't need to buy top-of-the-line, but at least have these four on hand: balsamic, red wine, white wine and rice. Each offers different help for various dishes, and while they can sometimes be subsituted for one another, it's best to use the right kind. Vinegar provides the savory, tartness or bite for which so many recipes depend. And, hundreds of years of experimenting by cooks better than I have found they mesh well, and enhance or support a variety of flavors you'd never think about needing such help. The Vinegar Institute is a good resource, as is About's Vinegar recipes page.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays: Super-Quick Olive & Garlic Dip

Wow. This is the easiest thing I've made all year. This dip, with olives, garlic and green onion takes 10 minutes to make, tops.

Equipment: blender, spatula, large glass or ceramic bowl

Ingredients: 1 cup olives (from olive bar); 5-7 garlic cloves, pressed; 2 green onion stalks, diced; 2 cups sour cream (or any combination of sour cream and yogurt you wish); 1 dollop mayonnaise.

Notes: You shouldn't need to add spices because of the amount of garlic, which you can alter up or down. Add the olives and garlic to the blender first, then blend them, then add the sour cream/yogurt and mayo, along with the green onion. The dip should turn a slightly taupe color, especially if you've mixed it up with a variety of olives, including black ones.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Cleaning Out Your Digestive Closet

Cleansing Foods. I don't write at all about 'purges,' 'cleanses,' and 'de-toxification,' for the simple reason that I don't know a lot about these topics, although they are hugely popular points of discussion in Los Angeles, where a lot of food-fads and health-fads hang-out. Nevertheless, the lists of foods that are considered 'cleansing' always interest me.

Jordan Rubin, the author of The Maker's Diet, who runs a large nutrition-supplements company, offered this list in a recent issue of "Healthy Living," a free shopper mag in L.A.:

*Avocados
*Raw coconut cream
*Flaxseeds and Chia Seeds
*Raw cultured veggies (like sauerkraut)
*Fresh vegetable juices
*Blueberries
*Cucumbers
*Tomatoes
*Raw milk kefir and yogurt

You can use this list as a launching pad for your own examination of 'cleansing' foods--needless to say, there are no refined carbs on this list.

TIPS Tuesday: Tasty Tempeh Tips--Do More Than Just Crumble It

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I've written about using tempeh to make vegan hash--a kind of breadless stuffing I created to solve the problem of making a stuffing, or dressing, without refined carbs. But, creative cooks are also using tempeh in really interesting ways--one is to make 'mock bacon.' Some cook to do this, others just use in raw form, with spices or marinades.

Matthew Kenney's book, Everyday Raw, offers great ideas for tempeh--a few are here at Raw Simple. More tips can be found at The Kitchn blog. Finally, vegan chefs offer this list of quick takes on tempeh at Carpe Vegan.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays - cauliflower salad or kale or warm spinach salad

Although this is a repeat, to make this queso, I used a combination of Pace Picante Sauce, and Von's Organic Chipotle Sauce, which--it's horrible to think about--contains some organic cane sugar juice. Why, I couldn't tell you--as chipotle sauce isn't meant to be even a tiny bit sweet. The good news is that cane juice is ingredient number "10" on a 14-ingredient list. Anyways, the chipotle salsa gives the queso extra kick.

Equipment: small ceramic ramekin, microwave, fork

Ingredients: 1/2 cup salsa, 2/3 cup refried beans, 1/2 diced cheese, such as Monterey Jack. Veggies or tortilla chips for dipping in the queso.

Notes: combine ingredients in ramekin, cover with a plate or other ceramic item. Heat on medium (I choose "4") for 4-5 minutes. Remove, stir, continue heating until cheese is melted and all ingredients can be combined. A great addition can be adding diced green onion to the already-heated mixture.

PRODUCT Of the Week: Trader Joe's Plain Organic Yogurt

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Versatile, healthy and delicious, and under $4 bucks, TJ's European Style Organic Plain Yogurt, 32 oz. (just a tad creamier than the regular plain yogurt), is great in smoothies, muesli, dips, dressing, sauces--you name it. Perfect for breakfast: small ice-cubes, 1/3 cup plain yogurt, 1 cup fresh raspberries, 1 ripe banana sliced. Blend. Pour into glass. Really good.

TIPS Tuesday: Butter, Margarine or Oil?

I tend to use these interchangeably because I'm Not Eating Refined Carbs--so I worry less about the fats side. Still, you want to know what's best--really everything has drawbacks. Moderation is key. For a handy guide to fats, click this American Heart Association primer. The U.S. National Institutes of Health basically chooses limited oils intake over butter or margarine, and tallies up saturated fats in this PDF. And, the feds offer this helpful research-based summary.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

A great little meal in a pocket, so to speak:

You will need: sharp knife, cutting board, large glass or plastic bowl, skillets.

Ingredients: 5 green peppers, hollowed out; 1 can black beans; 1 large onion, diced and sauteed; 1 package of mushrooms, diced and sauteed; fresh rosemary, to taste; salt and pepper, to taste; 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar; 1/2 lemon, juiced.

Notes: chop and saute the veggies; mix the other ingredients in a bowl, then add the veggies. Mix, stuff the peppers, and bake the peppers on a cookie sheet at 325 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Pick Your Own...

It's getting to be that time of year...time to 'pick your own.' Nothing beats fresh fruits and veggies out of the garden, or off the farm. You can do this in many places--heck, even in Arizona. Here's a great guide. So, whether you live in Brooklyn, NY, or Bellingham, WA, you can still pick something to grace your table and nourish yourself. Speaking of Washington state, many farms suffered a cold, wet spring, damaging crops--call before you go.

TIPS Tuesday: It's Cauliflower Time

I've been seeing cauliflower in markets. Turns out California grows more than 90% of all U.S. cauliflower. It's versatile, pairs well with melted cheeses, can form a kind of no-flour crust with slightly browned, melted cheddar, and is healthful, reportedly containing anti-cancer agents. Loads of recipes are online, like this roasted one and this gratin, which you could adapt to eliminate the flour and bread-crumbs. Here's an interesting Indian non-vegetarian curry. I plan on making this Spanish-style cauliflower salad.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays: spicy stir-fried tofu for Sept. 17

I'm traveling, so here's a great New York Times recipe to try: Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu with Corn, Green Beans and Cilantro.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Blood-Sugar in Focus...Do You Know Your A1C #s?

Recently a friend mentioned the importance of following a particular measure of blood-sugar health--one I hadn't heard of...

Although this isn't a nutrition blog, per se, the reality of focusing on avoiding sugar--and finding substitutes--leads us into the thicket blood-sugar research. One blood-sugar health metric is called A1C--it's a measure of glycated hemoglobin. When sugar builds up in your bloodstream, it combines with the hemoglobin, which becomes 'glycated.' You may also want to know about your Estimated Average Glucose level. Gary Taubes, the author of "Why We Get Fat" has written about this and related issues.

Bottom line: blood-sugar health is not just for people with diabetes--we all need to know what's happening in our bloodstreams and how to utilize diet to maintain optimum health in this regard.

TIPS Tuesday: Vive Los Chiles Rellenos

There is very little chance I'd give up Mexican food. But, much of it does come in flour-based wrappers. What to do? Well, besides using zucchini slices to scoop up salsa, there is one dish that avoids this problem entirely (I do permit the occasional tortilla chip, though): chiles rellenos. Usually stuffed--with cheeses, and sometimes other veggies--poblano chiles, you can order it with beans, and ask to hold the rice. That's how I rolled at Marix the other day--the first time I'd been in there since beginning my NERC diet. Esta bien.

PRODUCT of the Week: Whole Foods Dry-Roasted Peanuts**

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After a few days of picking through the meager no-refined-carbs offerings of chain eateries, I located a Whole Foods, went there, and purchased some yogurt, fruit, buckwheat...and peanuts! Yes, dry-roasted peanuts were on sale for $2.29 for a jar of Whole Foods 365 house brand (Las Vegas Blvd. store, LAS, NV). And, while I normally don't buy salted nuts, these weren't over-salted. **Here's their helpful guide to nuts and seeds.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays (Um...Mondays): Moroccan Chicken

I'm doing a lot of travel through the end of September, so I'm not around to cook a lot: here's a pretty neat recipe for Moroccan Chicken from Slow Carb Foodie, adapted from Mark's Daily Apple. It's a lot of ingredients and steps, and normally I wouldn't go for that. But I would simplify this by grating the cauliflower, combining all the dry spice ingredients together, browning the chicken, and then 'breading' the chicken with the spice mixture before putting it in a baking pan with the other wet/fresh ingredients to cook. Just a thought.

Another possibility is to create a Middle Eastern marinade out of all of the ingredients, save the cauliflower, and after marinating overnight in the fridge, 'bread' the chicken with the grated cauliflower, then bake...just a thought.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Strategies for Eating at Casual Dining Chains

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What to do about eating at casual dining chains for breakfast--Denny's, Coco's, Bakers Square and the like--when it's a refined-carbs festival of flour and sugar?

You can ask for any entree without the potatoes, toast, hash-browns, pancakes and muffins. Coco's has a "turkey sausage and eggs" entree, which you can order with fresh fruit--in this case, it was a melon selection, in a Nevada location. Boston Market offers three-side dishes as an entree-order--all of which can be vegetables.

If you don't ask, you don't get--the more people that ask, the more likely these choices are going to made available with greater selection on casual dining menus.

TIPS Tuesday: Interstate Car Travel Proves Challenging...But Not Impossible

Traveling is never easy when staying away from refined carbs; you're not going to find a Farmers Market just off the interstate on, say, a Tuesday. That said, even giant 'travel centers' offer some possibilities.  The big ones have a huge selection of only slightly-overpriced legumes, and occasionally apples and bananas. I did see turkey franks once, but mostly these are beef and pork--which you could easily just eat plain, without a bun. Luckily, on this trip I also had a huge sealed plastic container of trail mix, and lots of water. I guess you could also take along in a cooler a hunk of some low-water cheese, such as Romano, and a really sharp knife with which to cut it up.

At Love's Travel Center in Quartzite, AZ (elevation 106, population 106, and temperature...106; a little travel humor), you can get salted, de-shelled pepitas--pumpkin seeds--in a decent size for under three bucks. I didn't find the fruit, but I did find their house brand of beef jerky, which, while it did contain some amount of sugar, did not contain any chemicals or preservatives. In a pinch, I'll eat it--and you can safely give the plain variety to your dog as a snack without having to stop. As well, 100% percent juice drinks are available--I don't recommend that hit of sugar, but it is...factually, food. Water is best.

Speaking of water...next month I'll be posting a podcast from the owner of a wellness center in Panama, where hydration and fasting are practiced as keys to good health. Listen and decide for yourself. Stay tuned.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays: Chipotle Cole Slaw

Here's a winner that's easy to make, good for you, and goes with a range of entrees, from vegetarian to carnivorous. This Chipotle Cole Slaw is spicy, it's crunchy, it's great for a summer lunch or dinner. It tastes like food should taste, invigorating, delicious, and authentic. And, and it would be really, really hard to mess up. Another Sunset Magazine-inspired adaptation.

Equipment: chopping board, good knife for chopping. mixing bowl, measuring spoons and cups, plastic wrap, wood fork or spoon.

Ingredients: for the salad...1 large cabbage, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 cup broccoli slaw, 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves, 7 green onions, 1 small can, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (remove the peppers you need, then reserve 2 tbsp. adobo sauce). For the dressing...1/2 cup mayonnaise (vegan or not), 1/2 cup sour cream, 3 tbsp. white vinegar, 1 tbsp. molasses.

Notes: Make dressing first, mixing thoroughly. Chop all vegetables and place in mixing bowl. Dice peppers as best you can, and add to salad mixture; toss in. Add dressing mixture, then the adobo sauce. Toss thoroughly. It's best if you chill before eating. Also, be very careful adding the chipotle peppers; add just a little, toss thoroughly, and see if you like the heat. If you need to add more, do so. The original recipe called for red cabbage, which is not in season near me--I used the carrots and slaw as a substitute; worked great. With beer and pulled pork, or BBQ-flavored fried or sauteed tempeh with onions, this slaw adds to it all.

PRODUCT of the Week: Safeway Select Mushroom & Onion Pasta Sauce

Put it on roasted eggplant slices, with some cheese. I like this product, because, well, it's easy to find...you don't need actually need pasta to use it, and it doesn't contain sugar: Safeway Select Mushroom & Onion Pasta Sauce. A no-refined-carbs triumph!

THEMATIC Thursdays: NERC* Diet Fights Age-Related Ailments

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Although it's not news that consuming refined-carbohydrates ages you, supplemental research in this area is coming out all the time. Recently, National Public Radio reported Jay Olshansky, a professor at the University of Illinois (Chicago) School of Public Health, saying that the basic advice hasn't changed: "...eat more fruits and vegetables." Moreover, a study from just a few years back, authored by a Tufts University researcher, noted that high glycemic-index foods (e.g. sugar, many processed foods, breads) contributed to vision loss after age 50, for a significant percentage of adults.

Need some basic info about flour and sugar intake? This article does a pretty good job of explaining the basics of refined carbs (bad) versus complex carbs (good), and how sugar speeds up a natural aging process in the body called glycation, which among other things, causes skin-wrinkling.

*Not Eating Refined Carbs

TIPS Tuesday: Resisting the Refined Carbs Avalanche

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It's pretty hard to take a pass on the avalanche of breads, cakes, muffins, waffles, pancakes, bagels and floured pie-crusts that dominate our societal foodscape. But, you have alternatives--and if you plan your food-day, you will not feel so tempted, or deprived.

Some tips:

*Strong Breakfast and Snack: Eat a no-toast big breakfast with protein and fruit, followed by a cheese, fruit, nut or combination snack at 10:30 a.m.

*Good Lunch and Snack: Lunch can be a salad, with or without meat (but some protein, if without meat. No croutons). Snack again around 4 p.m.

*Moderate Dinner: With four meals under your belt, you'll need a smaller dinner: hummus with baby carrots, some olives, some cheese, may suffice. Dessert can be fruit. Finish before 7 p.m.

Other Tips: 

*If you eat dairy, keep two types of cheese around (so you don't get bored of one). No dairy? Fruit, nuts, veggies. Soy cream cheese makes a great dip with tofu.

*Nuts keep well, and travel well. Keep different kinds handy, and replenish a continuous trail-mix bin.

*Use a day off or weekend to make dishes ahead of time. The more NERC food you have on hand, the less likely you'll head for bread.

*Buy fruit every weekend, habitually. Buy too much? You can dump it in a blender with ice and make smoothies, with or without yogurt.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays: Eggplant and Tofu Grilled Bundles

It's rare that a dish--in this case, "Tofu and Eggplant Hobo Bundles"-- I adapt doesn't work out too well (or can't be saved); my guess is that in this case, I am showing my amateur skills, rather than any weaknesses inherent in this Sunset Magazine recipe I tried out. It's still worth making: it's filling, and delicious--just not perfection. See my notes at the bottom.

Equipment: chopping boards, small chopping knife, large knife, mixing bowl, large squares of foil (at least one foot long, outdoor grill with fuel and lighting implements.

Ingredients: 3 green onion (scallions); 1 20 oz. container, firm tofu; 1 large eggplant (or 2 small); 2 tbsp. minced garlic; 2 tbsp. minced ginger root; 1/3 cup soy sauce; 5 tbsp. oil (any kind).

Directions:  Start the grill to heating. Cut the foil squares. Cut the tofu into even chunks (about 16). Chop the vegetables and add to the mixing bowl. Add soy sauce and oil. Mix gently to make sure all vegetables are coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least two hours, stirring and turning contents once. Spoon four portions onto the foil squares and seal up the squares into a purse. Place foil purses onto the grill, and cook until contents are tender (about 15-25 minutes depending upon size of grill).

Notes: Oh boy, where to begin? I would fry the tofu chunks up before adding them to the bundle; otherwise I would use tempeh chunks and let those marinate with the vegetables. The tofu just ended up as, well, hot sauced tofu--too soft. I increased the amount of soy sauce called for, and was glad I did. The ginger and garlic saved my effort from being too soggy, and tasteless (it was soggy, but very tasty). I might also add zucchini chunks, with the chunks large enough to withstand the heat in the bundle and not break down into mushiness, when cooked in this fashion. 


Ah yes, the recipe called for rice--which I don't eat. I did make some  brown Jasmine rice, just to see how it went. You can include brown-rice, or not and serve the cooked bundles over the rice. I'm tempted to propose putting the recipe constituents on some kind of a sieve, spatter cover or other porous, but grill-ready, implement, to simply grill everything, but I understand that the recipe was attempting to be campfire-friendly, with the foil purses re-purposed as a plate, once ready to eat...

THEMATIC Thursdays: You Can Get Fresh With Me....

Once you've committed to eating food that is "factually food," you will need to keep up on what vegetables and fruits are in season--that's the best way to eat fresh, factual food...and food that is economically-priced. Your grocer may sell produce from around the world, but she also knows what's fresh and local...ask. Farmers markets are another option; they're not as expensive as they seem if you keep to local produce.

I recently obtained a great bunch of mint leaves from Fresno, CA at a Hollywood, L.A.,  farmers market, and fresh strawberries from Oxnard, CA at a tiny market in L.A.'s Toluca Lake section.

Here are some resources:

Local Harvest online can help you locate farmer's markets, or Google your town and "farmers market." Another resource online is the seasonal map. Epicurious offers a very nice one, as does Field To Plate, which offers links for each state to agriculture departments and other resources via its Seasonal Look-up Guide.

PRODUCT of the Week: Trader Joe's Reduced Fat Mayonnaise

This is a tough call because there are some words on the ingredient label that trouble me: words like "isolate" and  "oleoresin." Nevertheless, Trader Joe's Reduced Fat Mayonnaise, which is vegan-friendly, does fit the bill for a product with no sugar or flour--two important characteristics of a "product of the week" here at Factually Food. Having used it for some years (and being a mayonnaise-lover), I can tell you it is not only close to a model-mayonnaise, it is--in some ways--better than the standard packaged mayo: tart, savory, creamy, lemony yet with very little after-taste or extravagant taste notes.

Perfection.

TIPS Tuesday: Cutting it With Mustard

Investing in high-quality mustard might seem like a luxury one can ill-afford in tight times. However, the better the mustard...the less one has to use to 'tart' up dressings, sauces, and dips. A caveat is that many mustards contain sugar or wheat flour, or both. Way back in '09, SlashFood (now at HuffPo Food), rated mustards and found Tabasco made the best one--I've not had a chance to check the ingredients label for sugar and flour, so I cannot recommend it...yet.

Mustard's a condiment made from mustard-plant seed (or powdered-seed), so you can construct your own, theoretically--and many do.

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Combined with mayonnaise (sugar-less, please), mustard is a great sauce for fish, cold or hot. Combined with ketchup (sugar-less, we hope), and horseradish, it contributes to a savory cocktail sauce. With dill, olive oil and some wine vinegar of your choice...a lively salad vinaigrette. Food Network's Alton Brown offered up a homemade mustard recipe earlier this year; if you replace the brown-sugar and the 'sweet' in the sweet pickle juice, this could NERC-ready.

ENVIRONMENTAL IDEA: Why Not a French Press?

So, I've decided to lighten up my kitchen's space and environmental-impact by ditching my electric coffee-maker and going with a French Press. These nifty mechanical coffee makers do not need power, just coffee and hot-water, and many folks swear by the authentic taste they impart to freshly-made coffee. It's true, the hot-water has to be heated somehow, but I'll see if I can reduce the appliance use in my place; I am searching for a French Press.

Picture by Stephen Carlile:This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays: Almost-Vegan Stuffed Jalapenos

If I had left out the butter from the hash--a variation on my breadless stuffing from a some weeks ago--it would be certifiably vegan. Nevertheless, this is certainly a vegetarian hash-stuff, that goes well inside peppers. I'm still working on how to reduce the heat of the jalapenos...be careful.

Stuffed Jalapenos + 1 Anaheim Pepper

Equipment you will need: Several chopping boards, a large mixing bowl, a sharp knife for dicing vegetables and a narrow paring knife for hollowing out the peppers, a skillet, a wooden fork or spoon.

Ingredients you will need:

*Hash-Stuffing: 1 tart apple, diced; 1 small yellow onion, diced; 3 scallions, diced; 1 tbsp. fresh Rosemary; 2/3 cup diced tempeh; 1 quarter-cup oat-bran; 1 cup raw oats (steel-cut and/or flakes); 1/3 cup almond meal; 4 tbsp. melted butter; 1 1/2 cups diced, sauteed mushrooms, 1 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. garlic powder (or two cloves pressed garlic); pepper to taste, 1 tbsp. chili powder.

*Peppers: 15 hollowed-out peppers (jalalpeno, green or Anaheim)

Notes: Try to find the biggest jalapeno peppers you can find; Anaheim chili peppers are bigger and will be easier to stuff. Green peppers are another option. Cut the tops off the peppers, and hollow out with a narrow, sharp knife, rinsing out the remaining seeds. Dice the mushrooms very fine, and saute them with butter in a skillet. Melt butter and mix in with remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Make sure all hash ingredients are finely chopped and diced. Stuff hash into peppers. Bake in oven at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Back to the Future...

"Paleo." "Caveman." These are the diets sweeping dieting culture, in part because, much like the NERC diet of this blog, these regimes eliminate processed, packaged and refined foods--including refined carbs, a cause dear to my heart. These diets (sometimes) emphasize whole, uncooked grains, seeds, berries and certain fruits and meats, although the latter is usually limited (tough to catch that water-buffalo with a spear...).

That said, there are differences. The editor of About.com's Low Carb Diet page reconnoitered the whole space while attending the Ancestral Health Symposium, an impressive-sounding conclave that basically explores the trend mentioned above.

I'm always curious about how grains and other carbohoydrates are treated in these diets, because, for my money, regulating blood-sugar is a major challenge--all the more so, because modern existence inherently cuts down on physical activity, and 'burn-off' that active humans of yore engaged in--allowing them a little more leeway in the amounts of carbohydrates they could ingest--processed or unprocessed.

NERC* Product of the Week!....Pace Picante Sauce

I've decided to launch a "Product of the Week" feature to highlight retail food products that do NOT contain sugar, artificial flavorings, or chemicals.

Our first product of the week is one you can find on many mainstream grocer's shelves--not just the Whole Foods of the world. "The Original Picante Sauce," from Pace, is salsa that comes in a variety of sizes and strengths. And it doesn't come with sugar, artificial flavorings or chemicals. I prefer medium 'heat' myself. Que rico! 

BTW, Pace is a division of Campbell Foods; apparently big packaged-food companies can turn out products that are...Factually, Food.

*Not Eating Refined Carbs

TIPS Tuesdays: What's Sweet about that Treat?**

Here's a well-intentioned piece in iVillage that brings to the fore some common mis-perceptions about foods, and how much sugar they really have. I recommend trotting through this slide-show. Very important! However, it conflates the effects of, say, orange juice, with Kettle Corn and Cheerios--one contains natural sugar, which plays much less havoc with one's blood sugar, while the latter contain processed sugars, i.e. refined carbs.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again--it's great that folks are sugar-intake conscious, but an apple (or 100% apple juice) as a food remains different from Kellog's Apple Jacks.The former are NERC*-ready; the latter is definitely not. By all means, reduce sugar intake. But, even better: reduce your consumption of products containing processed sugar.

*Not Eating Refined Carbs

**I'm considering using my revolutionary 'breadless stuffing' from a few weeks ago, in altered form, to create Jalapeno Poppers for Scrumptious (formerly Satiated) Saturdays...stay tuned.

SCRUMPTIOUS Saturdays: Zucchini and Vegetable Quiche

A vegetable quiche or frittata can be a satisfying meal. I adapted this version from the wonderful classic 1980s recipe book, "365 Easy One-Dish Meals," by Natalie Haughton, now issued in paperback by William Morrow Cookbooks (...and also on Kindle).

You Will Need the Following Equipment: large skillet; mixing bowl, whisk, wooden fork or spoon, ceramic baking dish (at least 9x11, cutting board, sharp knife for chopping, grater.

You Will Need the Following Ingredients: 2 tbsp. butter, 1 large or 2 smaller zucchini squash, 1 large tomato, 2 scallions, 2 jalapenos, 12 ounces, combination of Monterey Jack cheese and cheddar cheese, shredded, 6 eggs, 1/2 tspn. each of salt, pepper, garlic powder or one clove of fresh garlic pressed.

Notes: I replaced Natalie's suggestion of canned green peppers with jalapenos, and mixed it all up in the bowl, rather than on the stovetop: Melt the butter in a skillet; chop and dice all the vegetables, and saute the zucchini and scallions very gently until they are softer, but not scorched or browned, add the other vegetables. While the vegetables are gently cooking, mix the eggs, spices and grated cheeses. After the vegetables are softer and wet, but not limp, mix into the bowl with the egg-cheese mixture. Mix up well and pour mixture into the baking pan. Bake for 50 minutes at 325 degrees. Let cool and serve.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Going With the Grain

Some NERC dieters also eschew grains of all kinds; I do not, but I am very careful about what grains I will allow. At a minimum, I want the whole grains that I eat to be either low-gluten, or gluten-free, and very low-carbohydrate. Oats-both regular oatmeal flakes and steel-cut oats, along with oat bran--are something I rely on for fiber--in crusts, stuffings and as a yogurt parfait garnish. Only in the case of the stuffing are the oats heated-up. Recently, I bought some buckwheat groats (from which you can make kasha, when soaked and cooked); they look and taste a little like steel-cut oats. True buckwheat is not a wheat product, by the way. I'm hoping to also sample some kamut and amaranth, as well, at some point.

As always, I look for uses and recipes in which I do not have to cook the grains, to preserve vitamins and fiber.

It's really unclear whether my allowance of corn tortilla chips (not Frito's, but actual tortilla chips) in this diet constitutes eating refined carbs or not. It's true that tortilla chips at their most simple are made with corn meal, oil and lime juice, and then baked, broiled or fried. However, corn is not glutinous in the way that wheat is...more as this story develops.

TIPS Tuesdays: The Art of 'Burger-Stripping'

Yes, you can eat where normal non-NERCs* eat, and still avoid dreaded breads, pastas, sugar. I did this recently on Interstate 5, northbound, at the Tejon Ranch travel plaza. After purchasing a Whopper with cheese at the Burger King, and asking for a plastic knife and fork, I took it back to my car. I unwrapped it, and using my plastic-ware, maneuvered the bun, top and bottom away from the burger, and deposited them in the take-out bag. I then used the plasticware to, well, eat the burger still remaining on the paper sandwich wrap, along with toppings and veggies.

A little messy, but worth it. Yes, We CaNERC!**

*Not Eating Refined Carbs

**CanNot Eat Refined Carbs

SATIATED Saturdays: Healthy Chicken Salad

I know what you're thinking: "chicken salad...seriously? How is that interesting?"

Except that it is interesting...when you make it my way.

Equipment You Will Need:  two cutting boards, a large mixing bowl, wooden spoon or wooden fork, a spatula, paring knives, knives for cutting.

Ingredients You Will Need:  whole roasted chicken, three scallion shoots, 1 beefsteak tomato, half-cup sunflower seeds, three tablespoons red or white-wine vinegar, cucumber puree or Tzatiki sauce (see previous recipe), vegan mayo to taste, fresh or dried dill.

Notes: after roasting the chicken, allow to cool. Cut-up into small pieces, and place in bowl. Dice tomatoes and scallions, and add to mixture. Add sunflower seeds, vinegar and sauce, along with mayo to taste.Sprinkle with dill, liberally. Voila.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Equipment for the NERC Kitchen

If you're not eating breads, pasta or sugar, what sort of kitchen implements do you need for the sort of food you are eating as replacements?

The bottom line of the NERC (not-eating-refined-carbs) diet is eating actual, real food: fruits, veggies, legumes, protein of your choice. Knowing that, here's what I think you absolutely need:

-Cutting Boards: if you're not popping bread in the toaster or stirring spaghetti in a pot, you're going to be chopping up fruit and veggies...alot! Get several, of different sizes: two large, two medium, and two small is not too many boards.

-Knives: here is where people like to skimp, and justify their use of two or three unspectacular, dull cutters, because, well, they're just knives. You need a full, good, set of knives, including: grapefruit knives, paring knives, and serrated, small handle knives.

-Strawberry Huller/Cherry Pitter: Strawberries are plentiful in the U.S., at least. A huller saves time. A pitter is also a good thing to have around.

-Zester:  Alright, this is something I don't have yet, but it's probably a good idea. The ability to zest citrus rinds will add a lot to your cookery.

-Mandoline: Again, I don't have one yet--but the benefits of something that slices vegetables into fine strips is quite apparent to me.

-Sieves: Not colanders, but filters to push through any purees, and to remove excess water from various items...for instance, cucumbers that are especially watery inside, when making Tzatiki. Along these lines, a set of whisks of different sizes--and that stand-up to use--also would go a long way.

-A Wok: Not a bad investment; stir-fry is definitely a NERC meal. 

-Food Processor: yes, it's probably a good idea for making dips and sauces and certain kinds of no-bake crusts and stuffings. As well, a good blender is also important for those interesting smoothies you will concoct, one hopes.

TIPS Tuesday: Pass...on the Salt

This week's tip was going to be about the equipment needed to run a kitchen on a no-refined-carbs diet. However, I'm still putting that list together. (a cutting board, yes, but what else?....)

Meanwhile, let's talk about salt--do you really need so much of it? As a salt-lover, I've been amazed at how little salt I really need. I'm not giving it up--after all, iodine is a nutritional requirement. But, setting aside nutritional values, too much sodium can lead to hyper-tension and range of other problems. It's tempting, when not using refined carbs in your cooking, to over-salt food.

Instead, try upping the quantity of other spices--paprika, cilantro, cumin, turmeric, cayenne--you use, along with fresh herbs, like dill, mint, parsley and basil. As well, onions (and this includes red onions and scallions) offer distinct flavor to dips, dishes and salads that may well obviate the need for salting the food.Vinegars (wine, balsamic, rice--watch this last one, as sugar is often added to it) also provide flavor when used judiciously.

While your at it, consider choosing unsalted peanut-butter, and unsalted nuts, when shopping for these items. You will be surprised at how little you miss the salt.

SATIATED Saturdays: Breadless Stuffing!

Yes. Finally, we have lift-off! Here is the recipe for my newly-created Breadless Stuffing. Please note: the proportions are mostly 'to taste,' so you will have to play with the measurements.

You will need the following equipment: chopping board; sharp knife; glass medium-sized mixing bowl--or any bowl of your choosing; measuring cups.

You will need the following ingredients:  4 tablespoons butter; 1 apple (I used a Fuji); one bunch of scallions; one package, tempeh (any kind); almond meal; raw oats (as for hot cereal, but plain only); salt; pepper; dill; parsley; mushrooms (optional).

Directions:  Microwave butter in a microwave-safe ceramic ramekin or other container until melted. Chop up apple, scallions (cut off ends) and 1/2 package to whole package of tempeh (depending upon number being fed) into very small quarter-to-half-inch cubes, and place cubes in mixing bowl. Add roughly 1/3 to 1/2 cup almond meal, plus 1-2 cups oats (depending upon number being fed). Add in butter, as well as salt, pepper and dill to taste. Chop up parsley very fine, and add this last. Stir entire mixture vigorously.

Notes: You should have more than enough to fill a large chicken or turkey. You can reserve the rest and either cook in a saucepan, or refrigerate until you are ready to use. This stuff also makes a great potato-free "hash" to go with eggs--simply saute a bit of the stuffing alongside the eggs in a saucepan. For a slightly different flavor, add diced fresh mushrooms (any kind) to the mix.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Nerc* Crusts

Kids, NRC doesn't stand for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (at least not on this blog). It stands for No Refined Carbs. 

Back a few recipes, I featured a summertime no-bake cheesecake, with an almond meal and oat-bran crust, as a solution to making that recipe with the standard graham-cracker crust. But, that is, quite frankly, a dessert crust, and would not work for, say pizza. Other grains you could use besides oat-bran might include amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat (true buckwheat contains no wheat)**, and mixing them with butter, oil and some kind of very sturdy fruit, such as raisins, dried cranberries or dates, might work for a pie--but again, not for pizza.

**(I don't bake these flours--just throw them in and mix. Transmuting them with heat monkeys with vitamin content and moves these toward 'refined-carb' territory)

BUT...how about cauliflower? Huh? Yes, a very clever Navy wife has created a tremendously appealing recipe that would work great for a pizza. On her blog, Joyful Abode, she mixes cauliflower, mozzarella cheese and eggs to create what looks like a real solid, brown, crunchy crust.

Problem solved!

Nerc = "not eating refined carbs"

TIPS Tuesdays: Fascinating Steak Sauce in Insulin-Resistance Menu

Here's an interesting menu I found while surfing; it's from a naturopathic clinic in Omaha. They've developed a menu that combats insulin-resistance, and it looks very much like a 'factually food' diet should look: no refined carbs whatsoever, and an emphasis upon protein, and water-soluble fruits and vegetables. Rather than get into the details of which veggies they would prefer you to eat, I just link to the menu here.

Among their neat recipe accompaniments in this menu is what sounds like a delicious steak sauce, composed of tahini, lemon or lime juice, flax oil, tamari or soy sauce, and spices to taste. Nice!

SATIATED Saturdays: Quasi-Tzatziki Sauce/Dip

When it gets hot, a cooling dip or sauce can be very refreshing--by itself, or to dress a main dish. I made a quasi-tzatziki sauce (which ended up being more like a cucumber-mint-yogurt sauce) as a dip and dressing. I'll let you know how it tastes, when I make get a roasted chicken and throw some of the sauce on it--should be delicious.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Three Cool Blogs

Diane Sanfilippo has some delicious recipes at Balanced Bites, including--very timely, considering our earlier post about lettuce, cabbage and peppers as wrappers--a very nice article on lettuce wraps. Be warned, Diane likes meat--if you don't, skip her. Everyday Paleo--Sara Fragoso, the blogger, offers clever recipes ("no potato" potato salad, yum!), and I don't see a plethora of low-carb or gluten-free flour-mix advertisements on her site (these seem to have taken over the low-carb blogosphere). Other interesting blogs in Low-and-No-Refined Carb Land include Livin' La Vida Low Carb. I don't focus on weight, or weight loss, on this blog--but Jimmy Moore's blog certainly raises some good points, and he has quite a following; you may find some useful information on Jimmy's blog, his podcasts, and via his voluminous links.

Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet - Google Books

Further to the TIPS Tuesday post....this sounds like a winner: Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet - Google Books

TIPS Tuesdays: Veggies Provide Form and Function - Wraps, Pockets, and Etc.

A major challenge to eliminating pastas and breads is finding food items that one can use, which provide the same form that these items do, i.e. pasta, crusts, wraps. Lettuce wraps have gained popularity as more Asian-food devotees spread the word about these. The tricks is finding the write lettuce--if not a stiff Iceberg leaf, try cabbage, which stands up to heat and moisture pretty well. Don't forget, red and green peppers can be stuffed with just about anything, and they hold up pretty well, and provide the 'bread-bowl' effect without the bowl.

SATIATED Saturdays: Simple Salade Nicoise

Salade Nicoise sounds fancy, but it's actually pretty simple; there are many variations, and I made a really simple one this weekend. I does include potatoes, which I normally don't eat -- but the small red-skinned potatoes have less impact on blood-sugar than the big baked ones, anyways.

You will need: ingredients (salad) -  a few cups of fresh green beans, trimmed; one red-skinned potato, one hard-boiled egg, quarter-cup chopped onion, tomato (optional), handful chopped fresh parsley, handful chopped fresh tarragon; (vinaigrette) - one quarter-cup oil (olive or canola); a quarter-cup red wine vinegar, about 10 capers, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, fresh or dried dill.

To make:
 
*Vigorously stir the vinaigrette ingredients together in a bowl, with a fork, until thoroughly mixed.
*Prepare the green beans by putting them in a microwave-safe bowl, covering them with water, microwaving on High for four minutes, then draining the bowl and re-filling with room-temperature/cold water to stop the cooking process; drain, pat dry and set on a plate.
*Slice the potato into four or five wedges, arrange on a plate, and microwave on high for 90 seconds, or until tender, but not mushy.
*Slice the egg into wedges, arrange the potato and egg wedges on either side of the green beans; sprinkle parsley, capers and chopped onion on the arrangement, then spoon a small amount of vinaigrette on top.

Enjoy.

THEMATIC Thursdays: The Berry that Refreshes...

Fruit is a great substitute for refined-carbs. Fruit is vitamin-packed, and aids in digestion. It doesn't send blood-sugar soaring like a chocolate chip cookie or a cheese Danish will. Right now, in much of the U.S., it's berry season--strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are in season. Apples are available, but will come into season later in the year.

Strawberries can be eaten whole, or hulled and chopped up into smaller slices and thrown in a dessert. I find the strawberries I buy at the supermarket to be less than ripe, and I generally let them sit in the fridge for a few days to allow them to ripen more. Typically, an unripe strawberry will show white on the inside core; you can certainly eat it--I do--but it will be tart, and that familiar strawberry taste will be less in evidence. Waiting a while will produce that dark red inside, to match the usually red outside of the fruit. Once the interior is thoroughly red, you will taste what you know to be strawberry...but, you need to eat them fast, because once they truly turn red inside, they start to go bad pretty fast, and soften up quite a bit. Even soft, they can be successfully used in smoothies, and parfaits--they're just less fun to eat whole (unless you love mushy fruit--and some folks do).

I came late to the strawberry party; it was one of my least-favorite fruits as a kid. Those little seeds on the exterior bugged me, and then--not always getting the ripe ones, they tended to disappoint. But, buying strawberries regularly really clued me in to how incredibly serviceable and often delicious this fruit actually is. It's also refreshing, which--in a homophonous way--often reminds me that in Mexico, strawberry is called fresa. And, fresa-flavored ice-cream is hugely popular there--that's not surprising given that Mexico is one of the top strawberry producers in the world.

Although, there is very little variety--unlike apples--they are versatile, and really good for you. Try ripe ones in a smoothie (ice, yogurt, some other fruit juice, like apple or pineapple, and chopped up strawberries; pulverize in a blender or food processor). Right about now, I'm realizing I must have gotten rid of my strawberry huller sometime ago. Time to get another one, ahorita.

TIPS Tuesdays: Creating a Sweeter Future Without Sugar

How do you cut back on sugar? This is the ginormous question.

One partial solution is to find sweeteners other than crystalline white sugar. Agave, honey, real maple syrup, evaporated cane juice, date sugar, brown rice syrup and stevia (a powdered, natural sweetener now available mixed in with both sugar, and with other artificial sweeteners, depending) all offer possible solutions. Brown sugar...not so much. Raw sugar? Ditto. I've been experimenting a lot with honey, agave and maple syrup mixed with agave, as sweeteners. Evaporated cane juice is, while not optimal, better than refined sugar. Organic Authority addresses this in an article.

And here is an interesting little table of comparative information about the panoply of sugar, sugar-like, and sugar-substitutes, but natural and chemical.  Barley Malt Syrup is something I would like to investigate, and experiment with. There are no hyper-links to research, or hard data, connected to this table, so...take it with a grain of salt.

SATIATED Saturdays: Recipe #6 - Fruit Parfait with Yogurt or Soft Tofu

It's simple, yes, and also cheap. It's also really easy to make, and you can make it with dairy, or non-dairy, products. I'm talking about a fruit-parfait.

You will need: a small bowl or large ramekin (there's no rule that says you must put this in a parfait glass, so that you can see the layers--do so if you want, but it's not required); a knife; a spoon, a sharp knife; roasted flaxseeds; chopped nuts or almond slivers; honey or agave; two types of fruits from (roughly) the same family (.e.g. berries or citrus); perhaps one kind of dried fruit, like golden raisins or figs or dates;  plain yogurt or silky (soft) tofu; oats (either steel-cut or raw flakes).


I like to chop up the fruit first (so for instance, strawberries and apples go nicely together (leave the apple skins on), add either plain yogurt or silky tofu -- enough to cover the fruit at the bottom. Then, I add another layer of fruit, a little more yogurt or tofu, top with the nuts, oats, flaxseed and a few teaspoonfuls of either honey or agave (or real natural maple syrup with no added sugar). Mix-up and serve. It's especially good for a hot summer's day, when cooking is out of the question.

THEMATIC Thursdays: A Visit to the Glycemic Index Mother-ship

Copyright The Glycemic Index Foundation

Just in time for the BBQ-happy, fireworks-laden weekend of July 4th, when the U.S. celebrates Independence Day, I felt another kind of inner fireworks when I found the 'home of the glycemic index,' as the website run by a department of Australia's University of Sydney, attests. Turns out the GI index and the International GI Database is calculated, and officially maintained, at the university's School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences.

(Note: Low GI index foods (many vegetables) do not raise blood sugar as quickly as high GI index foods (potato chips, bread, candy bars)--meaning you don't sugar-crash as easily and need to fix it with another sugar 'high', which is healthier for your body).

 This is a truly cool site, and not only does it feature the GI database, but some pretty tasty low-GI recipes, too (scroll to the bottom of the preceding link), such as an Indian Couscous recipe (which is a a grain, yes, but one with a relatively low-GI rating; it's not really low enough for me, but you could alter the proportions so that you're using much less relative to other ingredients.).

NEWS Tuesdays: Carbs....Unsafe at Any Feed?

Everyone has something to sell; however, I'm not adverse to promoting good content when, and where, I find it--regardless of the source. Instant oatmeal, corn flakes, whole grain chips? What's the nutritional reality?

A company called Precision Nutrition ,takes a stab at explaining the links, good and bad, between "whole grains" and "carbs." Not all carbs are bad, but understanding which ones are "safe" and which ones are not, is important for your health. There's a lot of confusion about the phrase "whole grains," because it's now used everywhere, by every kind of packaged-food company, and yet, depending upon what those "whole grains" are combined with, may or may not be, good for you. Read more here.

RECIPE Saturdays: #5 - Mock Vegetarian

Vegetarian Mock-Lasagna is not real lasagna because it doesn't have anything resembling a 'noodle' or pasta layer--this being a no-refined-carbs blog, and all. However, you could substitute noodles with something like very thing baked or fried eggplant slices--not breaded, for a noodle layer, if it's important to you. This recipe is more like a lasagna-fillings casserole, but it's still quite filling and yummy.

You will need: 1 bag/box of frozen spinach, two green peppers, 1 yellow onion, 1 container mushrooms (any kind), 1 8 oz container of ricotta cheese (non-fat is fine); 1 8 oz. container of cottage cheese (non-fat is fine); 1 jar pasta sauce (try to find a jar without added sugar).

Defrost and drain (really well) the frozen spinach. Fry up the onions, peppers and mushrooms, until softer (not limp). Mix the ricotta and cottage cheese in a bowl; add (to taste): pepper, salt, oregano, basil, rosemary. Then, in a ceramic or glass baking dish, layer the sauce, veggies, spinach, cheese until you have used up the ingredients. Once done, bake on 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Let the dish settle for 15 minutes, and cool. Serve.

Notes: When I make this again, I will probably only use about half the cheese mixture, and add in some harder cheeses, i.e. shredded Parmasean or Romano, to keep the entire dish from becoming to liquid and soft. I would also use fresh spinach, and wilt it myself in a skillet, or even just added it raw to the dish and use the leaves as a 'noodle' substitute layer. Do not braise/saute the veggies for very long, either.

INFO Thursdays: Tempeh Beats Bread...the Stuff of Strife

The food blogosphere, and indeed, the entire web is replete with meat-substitute articles, mostly featuring tofu. That's not me. This blog is NOT meatless, just sugarless, breadless, and pastaless. (interesting note: Google, which owns Blogger, registers the first two words--meatless, sugarless--as accepted, but underscores the last two as incorrect--needless to say they are 'added to dictionary').

Therefore, I'm always on the lookout for bread substitutes (sugar seems well taken care of by honey, agave and stevia, among many alternatives).  As someone who was probably always pretty hyper-glycemic, bread loaves, croutons, bread-crumbs and the like are avoided. Fortunately, vegan and vegetarian food-substitutes for meat also, often, work well as bread, breading or bread-crumb alternatives.

I'm talking, of course, chiefly about tempeh...but also about items like almond meal and various non-glutinous flours: pure buckwheat and Amaranth come to mind. Flax meal, too. Tempeh is not as well known as that other big substitute, tofu, which is a little odd, given that tempeh is more flavorful than tofu. It's made from fermented soybean, and other grains (a maddening amount of web tempeh descriptions describe it as a 'soybean-only' product, which is simply NOT true). And, with meaty consistency, is often used to conjure that food item. Trader Joe's sells a brand that incorporates soy, barley, rice and millet.

I crumble up tempeh, in place of rice or bread-crumbs, but--and this is important--mostly for savory dishes, not for sweet dishes. In this sense, tofu is the more versatile food-substitute. Tempeh, meanwhile, while being a source of protein much like tofu, also contains B vitamins. There is a frightening paucity of tempeh data, information, recipes and, frankly, product, both on and off the web. (Note to U.S. grain farmers: possible big money in growing tempeh components, and making tempeh starter).

As we progress, I'll be seeking out more recipes that include tempeh--much as my vegetarian chili did from last week. I welcome tempeh links and submissions.

NEWS Tuesdays: The Axis of 'Energy'

Energy Drinks....hmmmm. Well, they're loaded with sugar, very often, and that's a problem, especially when you consider that they're incredibly popular with people who are still growing (i.e. kids) and with younger adults who are forming their dietary patterns. Here's a great HuffPo article that provides the facts on 10 energy drinks and their sugar equivalents.

RECIPE Fridays: #4 - Vegetarian Chili

This is a nice spicy, low-fat, very low-refined carbs (is Tempeh a refined carb? Don't think so...If not, then this is a zero-refined-carb recipe) Vegetarian Chili. This is a variation on many, many veggie chili recipes--some of which call for either textured vegetable protein or soy 'meat.' I use Tempeh in place of those items; you could also used diced and sauteed fresh mushrooms.

You will need: 1 cup of water; 1 chicken or vegetable bouillon cube; 1 28 oz. can of Diced, Peeled Tomatoes; 1 15 oz. can of Black Beans; 1 15 oz. of Red Kidney Beans; 1 small onion; about 15 small cubes (half-inch width) of Tempeh; 1 large Red Pepper, diced; spices: cumin, chili power, cayenne, pepper, salt, paprika, Worcestershire sauce. 

Frying Onions, Red Peppers and Tempeh

1. Cut up and fry the Tempeh with a little olive oil and Worcestershire Sauce. Cut up and fry in a separate skillet the Red Pepper and Onions.

2. Take a 4 quart pot, fill with one cup of water and the bouillon cube, bring to a simmer.

3. Add the tomatoes, beans and as much of the spices, to taste, as you like. Continue simmering, while stirring occasionally.

4. Finish frying the tempeh, onion and peppers. Make sure the tempeh, onion and peppers have a tiny bit of char on some of the pieces.

5. Add the tempeh, onion and peppers to the main pot; stir, and let simmer on the lowest possible heat for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.


Turn off heat. Let the chili sit, settle, mingle flavors and congeal a little to reduce the liquid component. It's best if you refrigerate in the same pot overnight, then spoon into a bowl and microwave that on a low setting for three minutes to warm up. Enjoy.

TIPS+COOL SITE Thursdays: Kosher Veggie Chili

Over at glam and glitzy Chowhound, they're huge user base produces some amazing recipes. Here's a Vegetarian Kosher Chili recipe. I am going to make a simplified version for my Friday feature; I just don't quite get why people insist using odd things like Textured Vegetable Protein or Soy Sausage, or Soyrizo (vegetarian Chorizo), when good old Tempeh will do just fine and tastes and looks more like meat when cooked correctly than other mock-meat ever could. Whatev....

UrbaNutrient WEDNESDAYS: Wheatgrass Takes on New Meaning

I sure hope all my fellow Californians who love their Virginia-style grass lawns take heed: in Vancouver, BC, they're investigating growing cereal grain on lawns. Of course, there, I suppose the amount of rain precludes sprinklers. Down south, sprinklers will be needed--but at least they will be going to something of benefit to the planet. http://www.vancourier.com/Mayor+Robertson+council+help+fund+cycling+allies/4946083/story.html

FOODFEATURE Tuesdays: Corn is Not So Corny

U.S.DA Photo by Keith Weller

     Hmmm. Corn is considered 'OK' for a gluten-free diet, but it's the source of a lot of problems. Think Frito-Lay Corn Chips. Corn syrup, for another. And yet, plain, organic, unsalted tortilla chips will fit nicely into a low-refined carb diet (not including Atkins, which prohibits corn initially, and then only in very small quantities later on). As well, corn meal is actually quite nutritious, and you could use it in a no-bake, low-refined carb pie crust, and get away with it. Why is that?

U.S.D.A. Photo by Bruce Fritz

Well, we need to distinguish plain old corn, such as kernels of corn that are carnned, or used for popping corn, versus the refined corn products that are loaded with sugar, such as cornbread, or various frosted corn flake breakfast products, or fat and salt, such as various brands of corn chips. According to the USDA, plain corn registers much lower in carbs than amaranth, wheat and rice. I have found that plain tortilla chips, corn on the cob and plain pop-corn are fine on my no-refined carbs diet, and do not impact my weight at all--with the obvious caveats being that you don't want to eat too much of anything, and you don't want to eat too late in the day.


It's best to research foods for yourself. The founder, and former head, of Health Valley foods, since sold off, offers up a corn page with his foundation website. A pretty comprehensive overview of corn's nutritional value is available at LiveStrong.com. Here's a nice-looking Mexican Corn Chili recipe that appears to be free of refined-carbs; you could omit the chicken bouillon, and just add more spices (i.e. salt), or some poultry seasoning to keep it natural.

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CARB NEWS Mondays: They're Addictive

Researchers in New Zealand have found that processed foods containing carbohydrates and sugar are addictive in the same way that nicotine is addictive, according to Rotorua's (New Zealand) The Daily Post. Read it and weep...then make the no-bake, low-refined carb pie I posted last Friday.

RECIPE #3: Yes-Yes Cheesecake (No Bake, No Refined Carbs)

Here's a tasty, ridiculously easy summer cheesecake that doesn't require baking, and has a flour-less crust. It's an adaptation of a wonderful no-bake cheesecake that Mark Bittman featured a couple of years ago in The New York Times -- his had a traditional graham-cracker crust, which is a no-no. At least on this blog. Thanks Mark. (Two small notes: first, I was in rush to make this for a guest, and couldn't take 'during' pix, so the pix are 'after'; second, I'm still working out the crust ingredient proportions--experiment to make it your own.)

1. You will need: for the crust...1 cup of almond meal, half-cup each of regular oats and steel-cut oats, a few tablespoons of roasted flax seed (optional), about four to six tablespoons of softened butter, around 10 chopped-up dates,a fistful of golden raisins. For the filling...a tub of ricotta cheese, one block of cream cheese, about a quarter-cup of honey, a packet or two of stevia or stevia mixture (natural sweetener), and any kind of berries, such as blueberries, blackberries or strawberries (or a combo).

2. Take a food-processor, or a big bowl and either process the crust ingredients or put some elbow grease into mixing them together. Make sure the crust batter is very thick, sticky and spongy so you can form it.

3. In a bowl, mix the filling ingredients, and then stir up vigorously. You may or may not need all the stevia, or you may want to increase or lower the honey amount, depending upon how sweet you want your filling to taste.

4. Take the batter mixture and press into the the floor and sides of a foil pie tin/pan. Spoon the filling into the crusted pie-tin. Place berries in any design you wish on the top of the filling.

5. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper; refrigerate the pie for at least a few hours, and preferably overnight, so the filling sets a little. Enjoy.