Hypertension
Paleo Naan Bread-Almond & Arrowroot flour
Ingredients;
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup arrowroot or tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 tbsp ghee, melted
- 1/2 tbsp parsley and crushed garlic (optional)
Directions;
- Place the almond flour, arrowroot or tapioca flour, baking soda and pinch of salt in a bowl.
- Add the coconut milk, water and apple cider vinegar.
- Mix to combine.
- Heat a small frying pan over medium heat.
- Brush with 1/4 of the melted ghee.
- Pour in 1/4 cup of batter and swirl around slightly.
- Cook for 3 minutes per side or until golden and crisp.
- Repeat with the remaining mixture.
Optional;
- Brush with remaining melted ghee, sprinkle with chopped parsley and garlic and serve.
Serves 2
Master Elixir Recipe
Ingredients;
- turmeric root
- chopped garlic
- diced onion
- chopped hot chillies (wear gloves and be prepared to have your sinuses cleared!)
- grated or sliced ginger
- grated horseradish
- chopped carrot
- chopped apple
- diced celery
- orange and lemon pieces
Optional;
- mustard seeds
- parsley
- oregano
- thyme
- juniper berries
- Himalayan salt
Apple Cider Vinegar (make sure it’s organic with the “Mother”)
Instructions;
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, except for the vinegar.
- Fill 2/3 of a large jar with the mixture. Make sure the jar seals well.
- Pour in the apple cider vinegar on top of the mixture until it fills up to the top.
- Close tightly.
- Shake well.
- Store the jar in a cool, dark place for up to 2 weeks. Shake well as often as possible, at least once a day.
- After 14 days, strain it through a muslin cloth, into a bowl, to pour into a jar.
- Squeeze well to make sure all the juice comes out.
This elixir will be VERY HOT, so start with small amounts, maybe use it as a salad dressing first and then build up the amount as your taste buds get used to it. It’s best not to dilute it with water.
This elixir may help with;
- stimulating the immune system
- feeding beneficial gut bacteria as a pre-biotic
- killing harmful gut bacteria and yeasts (including candida)
- stimulating metabolism
- weight loss by increasing satiety (a feeling of fullness) and reducing appetite
- reducing blood triglycerides, cholesterol and blood pressure
- regulating blood sugar levels
- alkalising the system by regulating the pH level
- preventing and reducing indigestion and reflux
- detoxification of the liver
- cleansing lymph nodes of toxic waste
- soothing and healing mucous membranes such as throat, gut lining, urinary tract
- inhibiting and reducing muscle cramps
- reducing post exercise muscle fatigue
As this is a fermented drink, it may cause issues for those suffering from high levels of histamines. Come and see me to reduce histamine levels naturally.
Banana Beetroot Brownies
Ingredients:
- 3 large or 4 small beetroots, peeled and boiled until tender
- 2 bananas
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cacao or carob powder
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp. raw cacao nibs or 75% dark chocolate, chopped (optional)
- 1 tbsp. chopped walnuts (optional)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup or honey (optional)
Icing:
- 60ml melted coconut oil
- 2 tbsp beetroot juice (made from cooked beetroot)
- A handful of fresh rose petals (pesticide free) to garnish
- Blend the beetroot in a food processor into a paste.
- Squeeze the paste through a sieve and collect 2 tbsp of your beetroot juice to set aside for the icing (you may have to add 1 tbsp water to this). Keep the paste in a bowl.
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and blend until smooth.
- Stir in the cacao nibs, dark chocolate bits, or nuts if desired
- Pour into a well-greased pan about 20cm x 20cm
- Bake at 180C for about 40 minutes.
To make the icing:
- Mix the melted coconut oil and beetroot juice together.
- Roughly drizzle half of it onto the brownies.
- Sprinkle with rose petals.
- Drizzle over the rest of the icing.
Vegetarian and Vegan “Bone Broth”
Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced (or regular if shiitake unavailable)
½ chilli, sliced (use more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tablespoon coconut or rice bran oil 1 Tblespn of dried wakame reconstituted in a bowl of water
1 carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
5cm piece of ginger, peeled 5cm piece of turmeric root 1 bay leaf
2 1/2 litres water
1/2 cup loosely packed coriander leaves 1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup spinach and/or kale
1 tspn sea salt
juice of ½ a lemon
Tamari to taste
1 Tblespn of organic light miso paste
1 tspn spirulina
- Heat the oil and sauté the onions, garlic, chilli and mushrooms together until soft.
- Drain the water off the wakame and combine with carrots, celery, ginger, turmeric and water in a pot, bring to a boil, and then simmer 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat and strain.
- Combine broth with sautéed mushroom mixture, coriander, spinach, kale, lemon juice, sea salt, tamari, miso and spirulina.
- Allow the heat of your broth to wilt the coriander, parsley, spinach and kale.
- Ladle into bowls or mugs and enjoy the spicy aroma of this fabulous gut-healing broth.
Fish Bone Broth
Prep Time: 15 minutes • Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1-2 non-oily fish carcasses from cod, sole, haddock, hake, etc.
- 1 Tbs. ghee or butter (use coconut oil for dairy free option)
- Vegetables: 1 onion or leek, 1-2 carrots, 1-2 celery stalks diced finely
- 1 cup dry white wine, optional
- Herbs, optional – 3-4 sprigs thyme, 2 bay leaves, ½ -1 tsp. peppercorns
- Cold, filtered water, to cover
- 1-2 fish heads, gills removed
- Simmer veggies in Ghee, butter or oil over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes. Place fish carcasses, fish heads (if using), herbs and peppercorns over veggies, cover and simmer 5-10 more minutes. This will stimulate the fish to release their flavours before adding the water.
- Add wine (if using) and water to cover the carcasses and bring to a simmer and skim scum that forms on the surface. The scum won’t hurt you! It’s just some impurities that get released. This happens in all types of bone broths.
- Simmer gently 45-60 minutes.
- Strain broth from carcasses and veggies.
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freeze, whatever you won’t use in that time, and use within 3 months
Notes:
Non-oily fish is necessary because the fish oils in fatty fish such as salmon become rancid in cooking.
The cartilage in fish bones breaks down to gelatin very quickly, so it’s best to cook broth on the stove top.
Make sure you use the carcasses from non-oily whitefish such as cod, sole, snapper, haddock and hake. Any non-oily fish works fine. Avoid oily fish like salmon, tuna, herring and swordfish (though their flesh works great in chowders and other fish-based soups).
Also, if possible, try to get some fish heads in addition to the carcasses. Generally speaking, you probably won’t get much gelatin from just fish carcasses.
Finally, as opposed to other types of bone broths, be sure to dice the veggies finely. This allows them to release their flavours more efficiently with the shorter cooking time.
Image courtesy of olovedog at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
The wonderful benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
I love Apple Cider Vinegar. It is one of nature’s gifts that has been giving it’s health benefits to people for centuries.
The Egyptian have been using it since 3000 B.C, even Cleopatra is said to have dissolved a pearl in vinegar and then drunk it! The Greeks and Romans (including Caesar’s army) drank it for it’s health properties.
Some of it’s many benefits include;
- Balances blood sugar levels, which is great news for those or at risk of, or who suffer from diabetes, metabolic syndrome, PCOS and Insulin resistance
- Reduces heartburn
- Improves stomach acid production (which naturally declines with age)
- Helps reduce joint inflammation and pain
- It’s naturally rich in potassium, which is a key mineral for muscle growth, nervous system, and heart health.
- The acetic acid may help reduce blood pressure and there is some evidence of it reducing LDL’s (the bad cholesterol)
- A.C.V may encourage weight loss.
- It is a potent microbial which helps to balance the microbiome in the gut
- It may even protect against some forms of cancer
- Effective treatment for asthma and possibly for other auto-immune conditions
- Taken internally and applied diluted as a douche, may help with the unpleasant symptoms of candida
Apple Cider Vinegar also contains enzymes, pectin, B vitamins and folic acid. It stimulates acid production in the stomach and enzyme production in the gut that helps breakdown and therefore helps the gut to absorb nutrients more effectively. Because of it’s benefits to gut bacteria, it can support bowel regularity and increases the removal of toxins.
It also contains acetate which is the molecule our own beneficial bacteria, in the gut, manufacture. Acetate is thought to be responsible for helping the immune system to stop over-reacting to perceived foreign invaders or even our own tissues (as in asthma, hayfever and Rheumatoid arthritis).
How to take Apple Cider Vinegar
As A.C.V is an acid, it needs to be diluted in water. I usually recommend starting with 1 teaspoon of ACV in a small shot glass of water, twice a day, half an hour before meals (to help with digestion). Once you are used to the flavour, you can slowly increase it to 1 tablespoon twice a day.
