Recipe: Creamy Avocado Zucchini Pasta with Salmon and Dill

Gosh I find cooking therapeutic! Not only is the act of cooking so enjoyable, it’s so empowering to know I am nourishing and healing my body each time I prepare a meal. My food is my medicine. I made this lovely zucchini pasta recipe for a friend the other day. I am going to be brutally honest I do not normally consume farmed salmon which makes up the majority of the salmon found in Australia, unless you source fresh frozen Canadian wild salmon from The Canadian Way, or purchase genuine tinned wild salmon from Vital Choice or Wild Planet wild Alaskan salmon off Iherb. Farmed salmon is marketed as a health food but it is farm from it.

Farmed salmon live in overcrowded unnatural conditions fed a diet of toxic food pellets containing refined grains, soy, seeds oils, chemicals (to colour their flesh pink) and antibiotics. A FYI fish don’t normally eat these foods. Their natural diet of krill, algae, and small amounts of other fish is what gives them such a high omega 3 content. Farmed salmon is much higher in the pro-inflammatory omega 6 and much lower in omega 3. The farming practices are also destroying the environment surrounding the farming areas. Another word of warning, look out for the proposed ‘Frankensalmon‘ a genetically modified salmon.

Now you can see how farmed salmon may need to be a ‘treat’ not an everyday kinda thing to avoid traces of antibiotics, pesticides, omega 6 excess and canthaxanthin. This recipe can be made with tinned or fresh wild salmon but for a special occasion I had some farmed smoked salmon. It would also go nicely with some activated walnuts, chicken or other wild fish instead of salmon.

Recipe: Creamy Avocado Zucchini Pasta with Salmon and Dill

Ingredients

2 large zucchinis

Dill

Capers

1/2 avocado

1 red onion

Salmon

unrefined Celtic or Himalayan salt

Method

Create zucchini pasta by peeling, using a julienne peeler or spirooli. Sprinkle with salt and let it sit to wilt.

Meanwhile caramelise the red onion with a pinch of salt in a pan.

Finely chop some dill and capers then mash them with some avocado until combined but still slightly chunky.

Add the avocado mixture to the zucchini pasta and toss through. Serve with salmon, caramelised onion and a dollop more of avocado, caper and some dill on top.

Pretty simple but yumo!

Recipe: Fermented Buckwheat Pancakes

If there is one persudo grain I would consume it would be buckwheat. I personally do not tolerate any grains generally and completely avoid all gluten containing grains because of an intolerance to the protein. Buckwheat is technically the seed of a flower and comes from the same group of plants as rhubarb and sorrel. Buckwheat is particularly high in magnesium, fiber and manganese.

Like all nuts, seeds, grains and legumes buckwheat should be properly prepared for consumption by soaking, sprouting and/or fermenting to remove the toxins which reside in the husk. These substances protect the seed until conditions are suitable for the nut, seed, grain or legume to sprout where it discards the toxins in its outer layer. These substances include the phytate phytic acid which binds to important minerals such as zinc, magnesium and iron in the intestinal tract carrying them out of the body, blocking their absorption. Enzyme inhibitors are also found in the husk which inhibit the action of enzymes. These substances destroy, interrupt or warp the action of the enzyme interfering with digestion. Tannins and saponins are also often present.

Soaking, fermenting and sprouting nuts, seeds, legumes and grains also increases their nutrient value. Digestibility is increased, enzymes are activated and nutrients are bioavailable.

This buckwheat pancakes recipe produces the most delightful, fluffy pancakes.

Recipe: Fermented Buckwheat Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups of raw organic buckwheat

Water to cover when soaking the buckwheat

1 cup of water

1 tsp of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar with the mother

2 x pinch of celtic sea salt

2 whole eggs

3 eggs separated

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla powder

stevia or raw honey to taste

1/2 tsp bi carb soda

Tsp coconut oil

Method

Soak 2 cups of buckwheat in water to cover and a pinch of salt for 6 hours of overnight. Rinse the buckwheat. Place back in a large bowl with another pinch of salt, a cup of water and the raw vinegar. Using a stick blender to blend to a smooth paste. Cover and leave to ferment over night or for roughly 12 hours. After this time you can give it another blend to ensure a smooth consistency. Add the 2 whole eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, bi carb soda and honey/stevia. Separate the 3 remaining eggs. Add the egg yolks. Whip the 3 egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form. Add the egg whites to the mix, mixing roughly attempting to keep the mixture air rated.

Heat a tsp of coconut oil in a pan on a medium heat. Place a nice dollop of the mixture in the pan. The mixture goes great in small size pancakes or large. Serve with fruit, yogurt, raw honey or whatever your heart desires. You can even omit the sweet additions and create savoury buckwheat crepes and serve with bacon.

Food reactions and a Recipe: Pumpkin & Coconut Custard

I love experimenting with new recipes that not only nourish my body and suit my complex dietary requirements but taste amazing! Food sensitivities, intolerances and what are known as IgG food allergies are becoming increasingly common. In ME/CFS food reactions effect the majority of sufferers and are inevitable when leaky gut is suffered. Leaky gut occurs when the small intestinal walls becomes damaged and permeable due to various lifestyle and dietary factors. Large undigested food particles find their way across the gut wall and activate an immune response because the immune system see these food particles as foreign. These reactions cause inflammation throughout the body and can lead to symptoms that include gastrointestinal distress, fatigue, skin eruptions, mood changes, joint and muscle pain, sinus congestion plus many more. Any food could be potentially causing an IgG reaction from nuts, meats and eggs to fruit, vegetables and grains.

Food intolerances such as gluten and dairy intolerance are extremely common but do not necessarily involve an immune response. The most common reaction to dairy is lactose intolerance where the individual lacks the enzyme lactase to digest the lactose present in the dairy product, causing gastrointestinal symptoms. Gluten intolerance tends to occur due to an individuals inability to digest the problematic proteins found in gluten containing grains. The exact etiology of gluten intolerance is not known and the reaction may vary from person to person. The immune system may still be involved but it is not the same as celiac disease where an auto-immune reaction occurs. Both gluten intolerance/sensitivity and celiac disease can lead to severe damage to small intestinal villi, hindering absorption of nutrients. Gluten intolerance can cause not only gastrointestinal symptoms but neurological symptoms, muscle and joint pain and many other symptoms. Grains, particularly modern wheat contain other problematic components that can cause issues. But that is another post in itself.

Some people also react to certain foods due to the foods manufacturing process, that leaves their chemical composition essentially damaged and nutritional factors destroyed. An example is milk. Conventional milk comes from cows that are barn raised, fed unnatural feed (grains, soy), hormones and antibiotics. The milk is then pasteurised and homogenised which destroys live enzymes including the enzyme lactase that helps digest the disaccharide lactose and lipase that digests fat. Nutrition content is also affected. Homogenisation is used to break up the fat in the milk and evenly distribute it throughout the product. This process causes fat to oxidise. Many people find that consuming conventional milk makes them feel very ill with an array of symptoms from stomach cramps, sinus congestion to fatigue. Many have observed their symptoms cease when consuming only organic, raw milk or at the very least organic, unhomogenised milk from cows (goats or sheep) roaming freely, consuming their natural feed of pesticide free grass, access to fresh air, sunshine, and no antibiotic or hormone residues.

There are also some people who may tolerate organic, raw, fermented dairy products who would not otherwise tolerate dairy because the fermentation process creates a food that is highly digestible and the lactose present is consumed by probiotic bacteria.

That’s enough for now on food reactions. The whole subject is complex and highly individual. It is well worth looking into if you have any unexplained symptoms. A warning, testing can be expensive and is never 100% accurate. The gold standard in finding out what may be causing symptoms: cut out! and observe how you feel.. It is best done under the care of a health care professional.

Thankfully eating an allergy friendly diet is NOT boring and there exists many beautiful substitutes. I will post on these next time. But for now, for those of you who cannot tolerate dairy for whatever reason or have a sweet tooth try my pumpkin, coconut custard!

This recipe uses coconut milk without any additives and without guar gum that can be potentially irritating to the gut, organic pumpkin, gelatin from grass fed humanly raised cows, organic egg yolk, stevia and spices. The custard provides a rich source of vitamin A, D, E, K, B vitamins, EFA’s, minerals, beta-carotene, medium chain triglycerides, lauric acid and gelatin providing amino acids for the building and repairing of our own proteins. It is not only nutritious but highly delish!

Recipe: Pumpkin & Coconut Custard

Ingredients

1 can of Ayum coconut milk

1 cup of grated pumpkin

1 organic egg yolk

3 teaspoons of gelatin (I use Great Lakes brand.)

Stevia to taste or raw honey to sweeten

Cinnamon, nutmeg and or vanilla powder to taste

Method

Heat up coconut milk and pumpkin in a small pot on medium heat until simmering.

Simmer with lid on for about 5 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and use a stick blender to puree. Add in the egg yolk and continue to blend. Place back onto a low heat and continue to wisk for 5 minutes. Take the custard off the heat.

Mix the gelatin with 2 tablespoons of water. Then add a tablespoon of hot water to properly dissolve. Add the gelatin mixture to the rest of the ingredients and continue to wisk for another minute. Add the stevia and spices.

Place in a bowl or what ever you choose to serve it in. Set in the fridge or quickly in the freezer. You can eat it warm or cold. I served mine with blueberries and a dash of coconut cream.