Comfort Food that's as good for you as it is to eat!

As the February month of cold and snow creeps forward I find myself wanting to eat poorly. This comes not only from the cold months triggering the body toward fat reserves to just plain cravings of chocolate for upcoming Valentine’s Day. Although I do eat chocolate regularly; I will save my recipes for that toward the coming special day.
When I do indulge in a comfort food I love to eat carbs. I am not a big fan of eating simple carbs however and will almost always try to eat whole wheat or other grains instead of white flour. The insulin hit I get is just not worth spending the next three days trying to get back into glucose balance. I try to make this a treat instead of a regular habit and tonight that’s exactly what’s for supper.
So enjoy my selection and feel free to tweak the recipe to suit your pantry and tastes.
You'll notice that I made the garlic bread with real garlic; this is awesome for the immune system and I will never use anything else.

Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce and homemade Garlic Bread

One package of whole wheat angel hair pasta
2lbs of organic hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jar of organic spaghetti sauce of your choice
1 cup of water
1 Tbsp of olive oil
Salt and pepper
½ tsp oregano
½ thyme

Bolognese Sauce
In a large saucepan cook the hamburger in the olive oil until brown, add onion, pepper and cook until veggies are soft. Add the sauce and water, turn up until boiling stirring constantly. After 3 minutes turn down to a simmer. In the meantime heat 4 quarts of water in a large stock pot with 3 Tbsp of sea salt. Cook the sauce for approximately 25 to 30 minutes; add more water if needed; stirring occasionally. Add spices the last 3 minutes of cooking. Turn off heat and set aside.
Add the spaghetti; in my case whole wheat organic to the boiling water. Cook spaghetti approx. 9 min or until al dente. Drain water and place in a large serving bowl and pour sauce on top.

This makes approximately 6 servings
Calorie count 320 calories per serving

Homemade Whole Wheat Bread
6 cups of whole wheat organic flour approximately
¼ cup of olive oil
1 cup of lukewarm water
2 pkg of yeast
½ tsp sea salt
¼ cup of honey
4 eggs
Heat oven to 375 F
In a mixer bowl put the water, honey and yeast. Let sit for one minute; this allows the yeast to grow and will allow you to find out if your yeast is still good or not. If the yeast is old or not active it will not foam and fluff up in the water. With the dough hook attachment add the eggs and beat well. Add ½ of the flour and mix thoroughly. Add the oil and the rest of the flour and the salt.
Turn out on a floured surface and knead the bread for several minutes; adding more flour as necessary to reach a firm, smooth dough. Put into a large glass bowl that’s been oiled. Cover lightly with a clean dish towel or piece of waxed paper. Set the bowl in a warm area of the kitchen that is free of drafts. This is because a cold draft will cause the yeast to not grow and the dough won’t rise properly.
Let rise for about 1 hour and punch down the mixture that should have doubled in size. Turn out onto the work surface and form into a desired shape. Dribble more oil or melted butter on top and let rise for another 30 minutes.
Place into the warmed oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. You know the bread is done if you thump it and it makes a hollow sound. Take out of the oven and let cool.

To make garlic bread mix ¼ cup of organic butter (no substitute butter!) and 1 garlic clove that’s been finely minced. Spread on slices of bread and eat or toast briefly in oven to get a crisp edge.
Calorie count 140 calories per serving

I usually make a wonderful big tossed salad and serve a nice bottle of wine with this meal……enjoy!

What to do about Milk....

One of the parts of being an herbalist is helping people to look at food alternatives. One of those things is milk. Milk comes from cows, sheep or goats. In itself for the animal it’s a wonderful product to feed their young… for us not so much. Milk produces mucus in the body and causes problems ranging from allergies, skin and sinus issues to bigger health problems with lungs and immune disorders.

So what to do without it?
On my path of changing the way to look at recipes I found this to be difficult. I have always loved milky products from cheese in casseroles to milky soups and gravies. It’s been a difficult problem with me in translation to my new “healthier” me. But one thing I did find is the joy of Almond milk. No it’s not the flavor of cow’s milk; it has a much different taste but in some recipes I’ve found it to be a delicious alternative. There are many alternatives out there including Soy, Rice, and even Hemp milk. Here is a recipe with Almond milk for the person that feels they just can’t do without a creamy dessert. I think you’ll find that this milk is particularly good in this recipe….in fact my family likes it better than cow’s milk!

You will note that I use a substitute sugar called Xylitol; which is a great alternative for glucose issues in people with diabetes. Its other name Birch Sugar is an indicator of where it comes from. (Please note this product is toxic to animals so don’t let Fido ingest!) It can cause stomach issues in some people so keep that in mind.


Kim’s Almond Rice Pudding

1 cup of brown rice; organic if possible
2 cups Almond milk; either regular or vanilla flavored
1 cup of water (more may be needed)
½ tsp. sea salt
Fresh grated nutmeg or ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter; organic
1 tsp. pure vanilla
Nutmeg ¼ tsp
Cinnamon ½ tsp
½ cup of Xylitol alternative sugar, cane sugar, Stevia or honey (use ¼ of honey to any other sweetener as it is 4 times as sweet)
In a large saucepan place the rice, 1 cup water, Almond milk and salt.
Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Stir well once and place a lid on pan. Cook approximately 25 to thirty minutes or until rice has absorbed all the liquid. Test the rice for softness. This rice will not be as soft as white rice but is much better for your health and is a great alternative. If you

find it’s still very firm add ½ cup more water to mixture; stir in well and return to heat. Cook for another 10 minutes or until rice absorbs most of the liquid. Take off the heat and leave covered for another 5 minutes.
Take off stove and add butter, nutmeg and sweetener of your choice.
Place in bowls and sprinkle with even amounts of cinnamon.

This will make approximately 2 servings
Calorie count: 46 approximate calories

Eating healthy doesn't have to be bad......

I watched with interest today the blogs and the comments about all the Super bowl food to be served and realized something…..this day probably does more damage to the health and weight of the American public than all the other special days put together.
I myself have been on a journey of sorts with health as well. For this reason today was not much different than any in our household of two. We ate a meal of stir fry beef and veggies served over brown rice at noon and hamburgers with whole wheat buns; coleslaw and a decadent dessert of rich delicious brownies.
I thought about my dessert recipe and after a few comments from friends decided that a blog on alternative cooking was called for.
Now having said that; please don’t think this place will be all about rice cakes and tofu. I detest horrible diet food and when I decided I needed to make changes; set to make my most favorite foods not only palatable but “Normal” if you know what I mean. Normal in the sense that they would taste as good (or better in some cases) than my old standbys with calorie count down and ingredients to help my body get to homeostasis.
You see as an herbalist I find the alternatives to most regular food can be somewhat of a shock to the palate with unfamiliar ingredients and hard to find; exorbitantly priced goods. This is unacceptable to me. I live in a little rural community that doesn’t even boast a Walmart; let alone a Whole Foods or Sams. I needed to find things I could either freeze when I do get out of town or things that would set on my shelf for periods of time without spoiling.
So today I will show you an example of a good tasting; healthy recipe that will have you smiling and your family thinking you’ve finally given up terrible diet food so you can all enjoy the same things. I will post approximate amounts of calories but I don’t have the ability to break down the nutrition list as of yet. Please note that I will post all I can on nutrition as I find it.

Here is my version of

Super Bowl Super Healthy Brownies

Heat oven to 375 F and place rack in the middle of the oven
1 cup of coconut, gluten free wheat or rice flour
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup honey
½ cup coconut, grapeseed or olive oil (I used equal parts grapeseed and olive)
½ tsp sea salt
2 organic free range eggs
¼ tsp baking soda
5 oz of dark chocolate
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
*optional
½ cup of chocolate chips or nuts of any kind

Line the bottom of a greased 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. Heat oil and chocolate over low heat in a saucepan until blended. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl blend flour, salt, soda, sugar,honey, vanilla and add eggs; beating well after each. Add chocolate and oil mixture; beat until it thickens; about 2 minutes. Add chocolate chips or nuts as desired.
Pour mixture into pan; spread evenly. Place into oven and bake 28 to 31 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of the pan mixture comes clean. Cool in a refrigerator until cool.
This brownie mix is slightly more crumbly than other mixes but is absolutely delish!
Serving size: approx. 8
Calorie count: 330 calories with ½ cup chocolate chips or ¼ cup walnuts