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.