How about a delicious nutritious low gluten, no-sugar pumpkin pie. Trust us...you want this!

It's late October and pumpkins are everywhere. Seeing them all, my mother reminisced to me about her own grandmother’s delicious pumpkin pie.   My mom was part of a large midwestern family and pumpkin pie was their most favored dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. 

It got me thinking...pumpkin is such a healthy food, couldn't we make pumpkin pie into something that is entirely healthy?  Well, we rolled up our sleeves and got to cookin' and we came up with a delicious pie that is healthy enough that just about anyone can eat it. In fact, we started with my great-grandmother's pumpkin pie recipe. But we've removed the gluten, the sugar and the milk and cream.  

What's left?  Only pure simple, all-American goodness.  This is not a weird, fringed-out, only for extremists and kooks "health food".

This is a pumpkin pie. It smells like a pumpkin pie. It looks like a pumpkin pie.  It tastes like a pumpkin pie.  After all, isn't this exactly what we all want?  Delicious healthy food that keeps our bodies operating at the highest level?

This pie uses einkorn flour, an ancient grain that has a low gluten content.  The sweeteners are a healthy, low-glycemic coconut nectar and stevia powder.  Of course, pumpkin is a very nutritious vegetable (see below) and using organic grass-fed butter ups the inflammation reducing omega-3 content.  Yippee--butter is good for you!

It's nice to know all that, but honestly, it really all comes down to taste factor, doesn't it. Is it tasty and pleasure-ful enough to make it worth the time and trouble to make?  You tell us...

Einkorn Pie Pumpkin Pie

This einkorn pie crust is flavorful, crunchy as opposed to flaky, and slightly nutty.  Very good and easy to handle.

For the crust (double crust):

4-1/2 c Einkorn flour*

2 t kosher salt

12 oz UNSALTED butter, chilled, cut in small pieces

½ c ice water

2 T vodka

Hand Method-- Whisk flour and salt. Rub or cut bits of butter into flour until it looks like sand.  Sprinkle vodka and water over.  Combine into a thick ball barely holding together, adding water as needed.  Shape into a flat circle and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill 30 min.

Food Processor Method-- Put 2 1/2 cups of flour, salt and butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse ten times.  Add remaining 2 cups of flour and pulse 5 times.  Add the liquid 1 T at a time, pulsing for 1 second between each tablespoon.  Combine into two balls barely holding together, adding water if needed.  Shape into a flat circles and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for 30 minutes.  

Roll dough into 10 in rounds ¼ inch thick and place in a 9 in. pie plate lined with parchment paper and weights.  Crimp edges.  Chill 20 min.  Bake in 300 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Remove parchment and weights.  Bake 10 minutes more until pie dough is just cooked but not browned.

Pumpkin Filling:  

1 c pumpkin (any canned organic variety will work)

3 T Coconut Crystals

1/3 c  coconut nectar

1/4 t ginger

½ t cinnamon
4 T melted butter

2 eggs

1 c unsweetened almond milk  (use a rich variety of almond milk, if possible, such as Califia or So Delicious 5x protein).  

Beat eggs well and add stevia, coconut nectar, spices, pumpkin and almond milk. Pour pumpkin mixture into the baked crust and bake at 350 degrees until done, about an hour.  Starting at 50 minutes, test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the pie.  The pie is done when the toothpick pulls out clean.

Whipped Cream Topping Options:  Some people with dairy sensitivities can tolerate goat milk (and goat milk is anti-inflammation).  Goat milk ice cream, especially the Laloo's brand, is absolutely delicious.  For more information on dairy intolerances and goat milk, go here.  

 

*Notes about baking with einkorn flour:  Einkorn is a delicious ancient wheat flour, first used by man 10,000 years ago.  It's gluten content is significantly lower than the flour you would normally buy at the supermarket.  It's protein content is much higher, too.  Einkorn flour is slightly different to work with.  In recipes, it uses 1/3 less liquid than normal wheat flour and einkorn doughs can be stickier.  If you add too much water, the dough will become too soft and sticky to stand up to rolling.  Also, in bread baking, einkorn requires significantly less kneading than regular wheat dough.  

Gettin' Your Greens On--Project 333 Day 3

So, how is it going so far?  You might be noticing some changes by today.  If you suffer from inflammation, and that inflammation shows up in your face and body tissues, the puffiness may be beginning to reside by today.*  Your head may be starting to clear and your thinking getting sharper.

Here are our menu suggestions for Gettin' Your Greens on Day 3.

Day 3 Breakfast--Super Green Smoothie (or Farro with Super Greens and Fried Egg)

Another Su;per Green Smoothie? Or...

We're recommending that you have a Super Green Smoothie again this morning because we believe in their powerful healing properties.  However, if you find that they're just not for you, try substituting our farro and fried egg breakfast.

Cooked farro is absolutely delicious and adding a fried egg makes this meal look more like a traditional breakfast.  Be sure to add those super greens on the side for super energy!

Bring 1 cup of farro* to a boil in 2 cups of organic chicken stock.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.  Stir in 4 tablespoons of grass fed butter and salt and pepper to taste.  Top a serving of the farro with super greens sauteed in olive oil, salt and pepper.  Gently fry a grass fed egg in grass fed butter and place it over the super greens and farro.  If desired, pour a tablespoon of flax oil over the top for additional anti-inflammation healing.

*If you can't find farro, try amaranth grains or pearl barley.  They're all delicious prepared this way.

Day 3 Lunch--Spinach Wrap Sandwich

Here's an easy-to-pack lunch.  Using a large tortilla style wrap, make a sandwich with fresh kale, sliced red bell peppers, cucumbers, shredded carrots, hummus and tzatziki sauce or hummus and baba ghanoush.  (You can find both the hummus and tzatziki at Trader Joe's.)  To make lunch more filling, you could also pack 1/2 avocado with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper and your choice of fruit.  Or, if you love a treat, try our fabulous recipe for low gluten, no sugar Toll House chocolate chip cookies, here.

Roll 'er up, folks!  A hummus and kale wrap that is delicious, filling and healthy!

By the way, if you are on an anti-inflammation diet, you can use a gluten-free wrap. The wrap we used here is made primarily from teff, which is gluten-free.

Day 3 Dinner--Add an Arugula Salad

For tonight's dinner, how about adding an arugula salad to whatever protein and vegetable you have planned.  If it's summer time, we love arugula and watermelon sprinkled with pine nuts and a little feta cheese.  In the cooler months try arugula, pears, walnuts, dried cranberries and a little goat cheese.  To make a great vinaigrette, mix together 2 T olive oil, 1 T flax oil, 1 T lemon juice, 2 t apple cider vinegar, 1/2 t Dijon mustard, 1/4 t dried dill, 2 T finely chopped shallots, sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Pears with arugula and other super greens, cranberries, goat cheese and walnuts.

We're hoping by this point you're getting the hang of Gettin' Your Greens On.

It's easy to add greens into your daily life.  Just start each day with a Super Green Smoothie or add some sauteed greens to your eggs or cooked grains for breakfast.  For lunch, fortify your favorite sandwich with a big handful of fresh greens to add taste, flavor and healing punch.  For dinner, add several handfuls of greens to just about any soup recipe, serve a salad made with super greens, or saute greens and serve them as a side dish. Hey, you're getting this!

 It's all just a matter of getting in the habit of Gettin' Your Greens On!  


*If you're one of those people that tends toward puffiness, it really takes a week of this to see radical results.  In fact, if you want to ban puffiness altogether, make sure to avoid gluten, dairy and sugar while you're Gettin' Your Greens On.  You'll be amazed at what a week of avoiding these three inflammatants and adding super greens will do for your appearance.  Your skin will glow, your eyes will sparkle, your body tissues will de-puff and you will be leaner, stronger and more clear headed.

Gettin' Your Greens On--Project 333 Day 2

So day 1 was easy and we're starting to see that it's not so difficult to add greens to every meal.  What's on the menu for day 2?

Day Two Breakfast--Omelette with Spinach

This couldn't be easier, just add a splash of water to a small omelette pan and add in several generous handfuls of spinach.  Saute until tender.  Dress the spinach with olive oil, salt and pepper and move to a serving plate.  Then melt a little butter in your pan and swish it all around, add in two eggs stirred up with a tablespoon of water and some sea salt and pepper and you have your omelette.  For a little fun, here's Julia Child with her omelette tutorial.

Omelette with sauteed greens.  Oh, if only I could nail the Julia child wrist flip!

Super Green Smoothie fans:  By the way, we're showing you the omelette for a little variety, but if you like the Super Green Smoothie, go ahead and have it every day. Keep it up for a few weeks and you'll be amazed at how much energy you have and how clear your head gets.  

Day Two Lunch  --Super Green Salad with Tuna Tarragon

Tuna is an excellent ingredient for anti-inflammation because it's high in omega-3 oil. Just mix up our tuna tarragon and serve it on a bed of super greens of your choice. You can drizzle a bit of vinaigrette over the greens if you wish.  (Combine 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar or lemon juice.  Season with salt, pepper, dry mustard, dry dill and chopped shallots.)  If you use flax oil for some or all of the oil in your dressing, you'll be upping the inflammation fighting omega-3s even more.  

Tuna tarragon on a bed of super greens.  

Day Three Dinner--Add some greens to your favorite soup recipe.  

What's your favorite soup?  Chicken noodle?  Mexican chicken?  Italian meatball?  Whatever it is, toss a generous quantity of super greens into it.  If you want to try something new, how about this Indian tomato spinach version:

Indian Tomato Spinach Soup

Ingredients:
3 T olive oil
2 leeks chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 t ground cardamon
1/4 t cinnamon
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground pepper
2 t curry powder
3 cups organic chicken stock
2 cans organic stewed tomatoes
6 boneless organic chicken thighs cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup cooked basmati rice
1 can organic chick peas (also known as garbanzo beans)
4 cups spinach or other super green

Put olive oil and leeks into a soup pot and saute until leeks are softened.  Add all ingredients up to tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add in chicken and continue simmering until chicken is just cooked.  Add in rice, chick peas and spinach and heat just until spinach leaves have softened.  Serve.


See our next posting for Day 3

Gettin' Your Greens On--Project 333, Three Days, Three Meals a Day

Let's face it, these days pretty much everyone is aware of the tremendous healing power of kale and the other super greens.  However, many people are unsure of just how to harness this power by adding enough greens into their everyday lives.  Sure, we've all had a kale salad somewhere, but how do we actually significantly add more super greens into our daily meals?

The project--eat more super greens during the next three days.  In fact eat them at every meal for the next three days.  Think of it as a mini-green-cleanse, if you will.  Can it be done?  Greens at every meal for three days?  Three meals, three days.  Of course it can, and we'll show you how.  But first...

Super greens are powerful inflammation fighters.  As you may know, inflammation in the body is a cause of most diseases.  Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, all the auto-immune diseases, arthritis, and many more illnesses are directly related to inflammation.

What are the super greens?  All the dark leafy greens are what we refer to as super greens.  Kale, chard, spinach, collard, beet, arugula, mizuna, quinoa and amaranth, among others, are some of the dark leafy greens that you may be able to purchase at your local supermarket or Farmer's Market.  

Okay, so that said, let's get started.

Day One Breakfast--Super Green Smoothie

At NutritionScienceRX, we're all doing it.  We love our morning Super Green Smoothie.  In fact, we're absolutely addicted to them, especially for the energy and brain power they give us.  Click for our recipe for the Super Green Smoothie.

Start with fresh organic fruits and vegetables.  And don't forget the super greens!!!  There are amaranth greens in this batch, hiding underneath the parsley.  Switch it up--add a different super green each time you fire up your processor or blender.

We look forward to this every morning!

Day One Lunch--Easiest way to get your super greens--Trader Joe's salads!  

Delicious, too.  Trader Joe's has a fabulous collection of affordable pre-made salads.  We keep our refrigerators stocked with them.  Look for salads that have super greens like this Broccoli Slaw and Kale Salad with Chicken.  By the way, this is a favorite of just about everyone who's tried it.

This salad is one of Trader Joe's most popular products, according to my checker last week!

Day One Dinner-- Pea and Greens Salad 

I brought this dish to a church potluck.  It's similar to a salad Nigella prepared on one of her shows.  Just about every ingredient in it is anti-inflammation.  The recipe below makes half the quantity shown in the photo.  Serve it as a side dish for dinner.  In fact, why not make dinner easy, toss an organic chicken in the oven to roast along with some sweet potatoes.  Nothing could be more simple than roasting a chicken.  I just prop the chicken up on a vertical roasting stand (see bottom of posting) and cook until the skin is golden and the juices run clear near the leg joint when poked with a fork.  By the way, organic grass-fed butter is an excellent inflammation fighter.  So go ahead and enjoy those sweet potatoes with butter, salt and pepper.  There you have it.  An easy, PEAsy dinner!  

Pea and Greens Salad

1 16 oz package of frozen peas

2 T olive oil

1 T flax oil (very anti-inflammatory)

1 T lemon juice

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 t mint dried

1 t Dijon mustard

1/2 t sea salt

1/2 t ground pepper

1 1/2 T finely chopped shallots

butter or bibb lettuce

spinach leaves

avocado

fresh mint

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, dried mint, Dijon, salt, pepper and shallots.  Prepare the frozen peas by boiling them for a few minutes in a few inches of water, being careful not to overcook.  Drain them and run cold water over them to keep them from continuing to cook.  Shake the colander to remove as much water as possible.  Pour the vinaigrette over the peas and taste.  If it needs more punch, add additional salt and another t of apple cider vinegar.  Spread the greens on a platter and toss in the peas turning all the peas and leaves together so that the dressing is spread throughout.  Top with avocado and fresh chopped mint leaves.  Nigella used toasted pine nuts, as did I, but I actually think the recipe would be better without them, so I left them out here.  

See tomorrow's posting for Day 2!

Just like Julia

For the second time now, I am reading "My Life in France" Julia Child's autobiography. This book is an easy read and a joy to spend time with.  Julia Child lived life with passion and pleasure and this is apparent in her autobiography.  "My Life in France" is so good that when I read it the first time, about eight years ago, my husband saw how much I loved it, read it too, and was utterly charmed by it. Believe me, women's autobiographies are really not his thing!

Anyway, as part of the fun,  I have been watching Julia's videos on youtube from her old TV show, "The French Chef" and cooking along with her.  Saturday I watched her make a Nicoise salad and Sunday night, that was our dinner.  Of course, much of Julia's cooking is complicated and time consuming, (like the croissants I'm going to tackle today).  Her two volume masterpiece, "The Art of French Cooking", contains all kinds of difficult recipes requiring unusual ingredients, techniques and cooking equipment, at least by the usual American standard.  Even back in the day when I was just beginning to cook and taking cooking lessons from some of Los Angeles' best chefs, I found many of the recipes in her cookbook intimidating.

Nicoise salad is easy in comparison and in, fact, I've made one many times before.

However, this one is different, simply because it's Julia's.  I made it her way, except for the anchovies which I left out.  Julia uses anchovies preserved in salt which she purchases in Nice during the show.  These were a bit hard to obtain in Tahoe City...and I don't really like anchovies much anyway, so they were out.  Otherwise the recipe is pretty much the same.

I am often complimented on my salad dressings and when people ask me why they taste so good, I give the credit to the addition of fresh or freeze-dried shallots, which I feel really add a little tang and excitement to any vinaigrette.    I'll sometimes smash up a garlic clove and let it sit in the dressing for awhile but I remove it before serving.  In Julia's dressing, however, it's all about the garlic.

Vinagrette for Nicoise:

1 garlic clove mashed
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 t lemon juice
1 t wine vinegar
1/2 t dried mustard
fresh ground black pepper
1 t lemon juice
1 t wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Julia starts with the smashed garlic clove in a mortar and pestle.  She then adds in the salt, 11/2 t lemon juice and 1 t wine vinegar and makes a loose paste.  This is then put in a measuring cup to which she adds the dry mustard, pepper, and remaining lemon juice and wine vinegar.  Briskly whisking, the olive oil is slowly dribbled in until she has a good emulsion.

Potato Ingredients:

5 medium round potatoes like Yukon Gold boiled until perfectly done and sliceable, still hot
1 T fine chopped shallots
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 T white wine
water from boiling pan


Slice the potatoes and put them into a bowl while they are still very warm.  Take 1 T of cooking liquid and splash over potatoes.   Add the shallots, generous salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, and white wine.  Let sit until assembly.

Remaining ingredients:

green beans, boiled to al dente
2 summer farmer's market quality tomatoes
Nicoise olives
capers
2-4 fresh boiled eggs
1 can of tuna
1 head of leafy green lettuce such as Boston lettuce, washed and crisping in refrigerator

On a large platter:  Use some of the vinaigrette to dress the lettuce and arrange it in a ring around the exterior of the platter.  Add some vinaigrette to the potatoes and place them in the center of the lettuce.  Quarter the tomatoes and place them in groupings on the lettuce.  Place clumps of olives and capers between tomatoes.  Add the tuna on top of the potatoes, being sure to let some potatoes show.  Place the halved eggs around the tuna.  Add remaining vinaigrette to the green beans, divide them into four clumps and arrange around the platter as shown in photo.

Be sure to wear your pearls and an apron while you're cooking, if you truly want to channel you're inner Julia.

Here's Julia's video if you'd like to watch her in action.  Either way, you must at least watch the first minute or two.  Her unmistakable voice and style is simply, tooooooooo delightful!

 

Fall is in the Air and Squash is at the Markets!

I'm always a little sad to see summer end.  But then I start to think about all the great fall experiences, like watching the leaves change color and blow about in the wind, pulling out cozy sweaters for the first cool weather, and warm, hearty fall cooking.

I love the autumn squashes which are starting to turn up at our local markets about now.  These are harvested in fall, but store very well in a cool place, so you'll see them for sale throughout winter and early spring.

One of my favorite squashes is the spaghetti squash.  It has a delicious sweet flavor and I love to use it as if it were pasta, with fabulous rich toppings that take it from ordinary veggie to sublime experience.

When selecting a spaghetti squash, look for one without spots on the exterior and select the one that seems the heaviest for its size.  There's a little trick to cooking it properly and it all has to do with the timing.  If you over-cook spaghetti squash, you get mush.  If you want the spaghetti-like strands, you need to cook it for the right length of time and no more.  It's easy once you get the hang of it.

For a quick to prepare but knock-your-socks off dish, try the recipe below for Spaghetti Squash with Shiitake Mushrooms.

Fresh shiitake mushrooms from my local Farmer's Market.

As always in a simple recipe, it's all about the quality of the ingredients.  Buy the best you can afford.  I used a beautiful fresh box of shiitake mushrooms from the mushroom grower at my local Farmer's Market.  Also, I used organic grass fed butter.  Grass fed butter is an excellent source of omega-3s that help fight inflammation within the body.  You can eat it guilt-free.  It also tastes fabulous.

I used this torpedo onion from my local farmer's market.  

I also had a gorgeous torpedo onion from my Farmer's Market, but you can easily substitute fresh shallots.  The taste is very similar.

Spaghetti Squash with Shiitake Mushrooms

1 spaghetti squash
1/4 cup torpedo onion or shallots finely chopped.
1 garlic clove minced
1 large box of shiitake mushrooms sliced
3 T organic grass-fed butter
3 T olive oil
fresh thyme or 1/2 t dried thyme
pink Himalayan sea salt or other sea salt fresh ground
freshly ground black pepper

Cut the squash in half and place the two halves inside down on a baking sheet.  Roast the spaghetti squash at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.  Check for doneness.  The flesh should spoon away from the sides of the walls in spaghetti-like strands.

In a sauce pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and saute the onion or shallots until slightly translucent, stirring and watching closely.  Add the shiitake mushrooms and garlic and keep cooking until mushrooms are softened and tender.  Add in the butter, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until the moment that the butter has just melted.  Remove from heat immediately.  To create a serving for one, spoon  a cup of hot roasted spaghetti squash into a bowl or plate and top with a generous portion of mushroom mixture.  Make sure that there is plenty of butter and oil to soak down into the squash just as you would with pasta.