"Cheese-less" Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese Soup

I made this on a whim today as part of my pursuit of a grainless, more veggies, more protein diet.  Last week I spoke of cleansing by eating more vegetables.  Broccoli and cauliflower are both cruciferous vegetables which have detoxifying and cancer-fighting properties.  They both contain isothiocyanates, substances which have been shown inhibit growth of cancerous tumors.  They also contain sulfur containing compounds which detoxify our bodies at the cellular level.  The best thing is that this soup tastes so good that my girls said that they couldn't stop eating it--it was that good.  I hope you enjoy it!
(Gluten, dairy and egg-free)

1 head broccoli, cut up
1 small head cauliflower, cut up
2 carrots, shredded
Optional:  1/4 cup wakame soaked in 1 cup water for 15 minutes, then drained and chopped(dried seaweed--can find at Whole Foods)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 T. Olive oil
filtered water
1 T. soy-free Earth Balance spread or olive oil
sea salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
2 tsp. tapioca starch
2 cups plain, unsweetened almond milk (not vanilla!)

Saute' onions and garlic in olive oil.  Add remaining vegetables and a few tsp. sea salt.  Bring to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender.   Place about 2/3's of the soup and the optional wakame in a blender and puree until smooth.  Set the rest of the soup aside in another container (the un-pureed part.)  In the soup pot add Earth Balance or olive oil, mustard powder and tapioca starch and stir the roux being careful not to burn.  Slowly pour in almond milk, stirring constantly until thickened.  Add the pureed soup and the reserved un-pureed soup back into the pot.  Season to taste with sea salt.

Spring Detox

It's time for spring cleaning--moving all that unwanted junk that's piled up in the basement out to the garage for a sale or out to the curb for trash pickup.  So while you're cleaning your house, why not think about spring cleaning for your body?  You can think of the liver as the basement of your body.  It's one the the primary organs for detoxification and can get burdened with "piles" of junk that the body needs to deal with.  The liver can get bogged down when it runs out of the raw materials or biochemicals it needs to neutralize and flush out toxins and wastes.  What is this "trash" that the liver needs to manage?---it comes from prescription and over-the-counter drugs, pesticides and herbicides from our food supply, stress-induced hormones, processed foods, alcohol and stimulants such as caffeine.  Ever notice that you can't drink as much coffee as you used to without feeling jittery?  This may be your liver giving you a hint to clean up!

How do you detox?  There's no need for colonics, bowel and liver cleanses which may be harsh and result in flushing out even the good bacteria that grow in the gut.  You can start with modifying your diet and drinking plenty of filtered (not bottled) water. Foods such as dark leafy greens-kale, collards, darker green lettuce--, asparagus, watercress, celery, ginger, cilantro, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and so on have natural detoxifying properties.  Make sure to choose organic versions so as not to add to the toxic burden from pesticides and fertilizers from conventionally grown produce.  Also consider adding a good quality non-dairy probiotic to your daily regimen to replace those good critters that get wiped out with antibiotic use.  If you're hooked on coffee, try replacing it with green tea which contains antioxidants and a fraction of the caffeine of coffee.

Detox may seem daunting but it doesn't have to be an all or none process.  Start with one change and add new changes on a daily basis.  You may also pick one day per week to eat a veggie-based diet of cooked and raw veggies and soups made from vegetables.

Raw Foods

What comes to mind when someone says "I eat raw foods"?  Insanity was my first thought--I pictured a commune of food fadists gnawing on raw beef bones, carrots sticks and sushi.  I admit--I was very skeptical and thought that my poor gut would really be ticked off when I included more raw foods in my diet (keep in mind that I had no intention of adding raw MEATS except for the occasional sushi.) However, I was pleasantly surprised with the results of my experimental diet--not only did my digestion improve but I felt that I needed less food to satisfy me and my cravings for processed foods diminished.  One of my favorite dishes was raw zucchini and summer squash "noodles"  with a raw marinara sauce made from fresh and sundried tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil and so on.  Suprisingly, my initially skeptical 7 year old who managed to choke down one bite of my creation requested it for lunch the next day.  I will be posting more on this topic as my experiments continue. 

Marta's Gluten-Free Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

I'd like to share one of my favorite recipes:  Gluten Free Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes.  I developed this recipe from my own pancake recipe and it is not only gluten and wheat-free but egg- and dairy-free as well.  Amazingly, these taste better than any pancakes I've ever had even without the traditional ingredients and the flax seed adds fiber and other important nutrients.  I hope you enjoy them!!  Note:  for those of you who don't need to eliminate allergens, substitute regular flour for the rice flour, eggs for the flax seed and buttermilk for the soured milk--see my notes)

Marta's Gluten-Free Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

1 cup organic brown rice flour
1 cup organic buckwheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. organic sugar (optional)

1/2 cup flax seed egg substitute (mix 1 T. of whole flax seed with 3 T. water in a blender for each egg.  I usually make a large batch--1/2 cup flax + 1 1/2 water-- and then scoop out 1/4 cup of this mixture for each egg in the recipe.  Store the leftovers in the fridge and use in other baked goods)

2 cups non-dairy milk (coconut, soy, rice or almond) soured with 2 T. apple cider vinegar--mix together and allow to stand for several minutes before using--then stir before adding to other ingredients (this is a substitute for buttermilk)

1 cup wild organic blueberries (you can use more or less to taste)

In medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients.  Mix in blueberries, then all wet ingredients all at once.  Stir gently until dry ingredients are moistened.  Heat griddle to medium heat.  Drop batter 1/4 cup at a time onto griddle, spreading out with the back of a spoon.  Cook until top of pancake looks dry and underside is lightly browned.  Flip over and cook a few more minutes until browned.  Serve with your favorite fruit or syrup.

Makes about 16 pancakes.

Christmas Success

Christmas or any holiday, for that matter, is always a big challenge for someone with food allergies.  Allergies to dairy, wheat, and eggs pretty much cut out Christmas cookies, cakes (foods we should limit anyway) and many traditional foods.  This year, however, I was able to recreate some wonderful holiday treats without any of the allergenic ingredients.  My Christmas spread this year included Chocolate Chestnut Rum Torte,  Grandma Harris' Fruitcake (not my grandma's but a recipe I found a few years ago that will convert most non-fruitcake lovers),  GF Rice Krispies and the traditional Christmas Eve Dinner, Ukrainian Borscht and Pierogies, all made without wheat/gluten, eggs and dairy products.  So now many of you may be thinking "I wonder if they tasted like cardboard?".  Ask my husband, the true judge of my culinary creations,  or any of my guests or just take my word for it--I really didn't miss the traditional ingredients and I would say the word of the day was "YUMMMY".   If any of you are interested, I will be post some of my recipes on this blog.  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!