Monthly Archives: May 2015

Dessert Recipes

Ginger Carob Sorghum Sweet Potato Brownies

Leave a comment

by Bea Garth, copyright 2015

Like most people here on the planet, every once in a while I get a yen for something nice and sweet. I don’t do so well with chocolate given its high histamine content, so carob is a good alternative.

This recipe also uses stevia for most of the sweetener, though I also add in maple syrup. I find if I add in too much stevia the recipe gets bitter. Maple syrup is one of the few sweetners I can tolerate. I even have a problem with boiled honey, agave, or date sugar even though many with histamine issues don’t have a problem with them. Feel free to substitute ingredients as they suit you. Even sugar will do, however I hate what it does to my body. Just kills me! Even though I might like the taste at the time.

The recipe is also egg free. I find using the ground flax seed and chia seed a much better alternative than the eggs. They make these gluten free flours hang together with a wonderful texture. I also put in half a sweet potato, which adds in some sweet while also helping the brownies stay moist and non crumbly.

My bf on the other hand cannot tolerate either carob or stevia, so it just goes to show we are all different. Even the smell of either ingredient baking bothers him!! In such a case, using a similar amount of chocolate powder and sugar (or one of the other sugars mentioned!) or just more maple syrup–will do just fine! Meanwhile I wait til he’s clearly out of the house if I plan on baking these carob stevia brownies! And then open the doors and windows, lol!

If neither the carob nor the chocolate works for you, you could make these into ginger brownies! Just double the amount of ginger, or add more to taste. And maybe put in 1/2 cup to 1 cup more shredded coconut to make up for the carob flour. The extra coconut also adds a great taste!

Recipe: Ginger Carob Brownies:

1st:
Put 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil on low on stove in small pan, cover and let it do its thing!

2nd:
Grind in seed grinder (each separately so grinder does not bind up):
4 Tbsp. sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp. flax seeds
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
As said, grind the above ingredients, and put ground ingredients into a small mixing bowl
Add 1 1/2 cups water, and whisk
Let above mixture sit a bit.

3rd:
Put in blender and then blend:
1/2 medium sized peeled sweet potato, chopped
4 Tbsp. maple syrup (see above alternatives)
The melted 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup water
pour blended ingredients into the sunflower/chia mixture above.

4th:
Then put another 1/2 cup water into the now empty blender and blend again to remove all the ingredients stuck to the blender’s sides etc. Then add to above wet ingredients. Whisk.

5th:
Then add in 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut–whisk

6th:
Then add in 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. powdered stevia
1 tsp. dried ginger
Whisk everything together. Taste to make sure the mixture will be sweet enough for you.

6th:
Then put dry ingredients in a largish mixing bowl and mix them together well:
2 cups sorghum flour (or rice flour etc.?)
1/2 cup dry carob flour (or chocolate–or not! see above)

7th:
Blend wet ingredients in with the dry in the largish bowl. Again taste to see if the sweetness suits you. Add a little more sweetener if you really think you will want it. IMHO best not to go too sweet!

8th:
Oil square pan with coconut oil and then pour in the above completed mixture into it.

9th:
Make sure oven is hot at 350 degrees Farenheit, and bake for 35-40 minutes. Check with fork to see if done enough, take out of oven and let cool at least 15 minutes.

Then enjoy! Delicious and moist!!

I suggest putting the extra into the freezer if you have high histamine issues (when thee carob brownies have cooled, I cut it up into bars. I then wrap the bars with cellophane or wax paper and put in a covered container in the freezer–a closed bag will also do).

Nice with plain yogurt if you can tolerate it. Some folks even make coconut yogurt which is yet another alternative. Or just plain as said is fantastic, IMHO. Do let me know what you think!

Advertisement
Detox Green Smoothie

Super Detox Veggie Smoothie

Leave a comment

SUPER DETOX VEGGIE SMOOTHIE
by Bea Garth, copyright 2015

I have started making a veggie smoothie in the morning or afternoon to give myself more energy. Being 65 years old and having gone through everything that I have, I have noticed my energy went down the drain, especially after being ill with the flu for a month in January and still dragging through most of February. I now feel better, but want to feel better yet.

Solution: nutritious veggie detox smoothies! It is early days yet, but it really seems to be helping me feel a lot better!! So I have the energy to do the things I want to during the day with a spring in my step instead of feeling like a weight is pulling me down. And then at the end of the day I am no longer tired, wired and achey, and can finally sleep–-not historically an easy task for me.

To be honest I started making this detox green smoothie in response to yet another migraine I had the other day. I felt so much better afterwards that I decided to make this part of my usual routine. I am finding this help me avoid having quite as many migraines–plus it really helps relieve the pain from migraines I get anyway!!

I looked up the health benefits and they are astounding! Using the power of fresh green vegetables augmented by chia, flax and super green foods (moringa and chlorella or spirulina) this drink has an amazing lineup of nutritional benefits–-including giving one a powerful boost of folate as well as a host of other vitamins and even some protein and omega 3’s (this last due to the flax and chia seeds).

Although this super energy veggie detox smoothie is not the only thing I am doing to improve my health, however it appears to be an important new addition!

Already I feel very satisfied. My intransigent low blood sugar seems to be far more under control and honestly I want to finish this post so I can go out and enjoy the rest of my day!! I am also looking younger by the minute.

INGREDIENTS (this is enough for two or more people, depending on your level of use. Halve or quarter the recipe as it suits you if its just for yourself–remember to improvise as need be):

Put ingredients into a blender as you proceed:
2 tbsp. chia seeds
2 tbsp fresh ground flax seed
2 + cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
Stir or blend for a moment and let sit a few minutes as you take out your vegetables and other ingredients from the cupboard and fridge.

Add in:
2 caps “Allergy C” by TwinLab (remove caps and use powder inside–sago palm variety of vitamin C–works as an antihistamine)
1 to 2 teaspoons moringa powder
1 to 2 teaspoons chlorella powder or spirulina powder (or just use more of the moringa powder if you are sensitive to the chlorella and/or spirulina)
(Note: start with less since these are powerful green detoxing energetic foods–and not that tasty til you get used to them!)
1 to 2 tsp. milk thistle seed powder (good for liver detox and regeneration–does not mix with water, but good in smoothies!)
Optional: 1/4 tsp. Rhodiola powder (good for adrenal exhaustion, energizes while relaxing you)
Optional: 1/2 tsp Brahmi powder (good for adrenals, anti stress/relaxing while boosting energy overall, powerful anti oxidant, helps body deal with NO2, helps memory etc.)
Optional: 1 to 2 tsp. Eeleuthero powder (again good for healing one’s adrenals and recovering one’s energy/dealing with stress–probably do either Brahmi or Eletheuro, can alternate the two every 6 weeks or so)

Then lightly chop veggies and place in blender as you proceed:
1 stalk celery chopped
roughly 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fennel (optional)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup fresh dandelion greens, or some other fresh green lightly chopped–fresh chard is nice
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 1/2 cup green lettuce, chopped
1 apple (optional) also chopped (makes it all taste a lot better!)
Then blend ingredients well and drink!

Note: if you can’t fit all ingredients in blender, blend some of them and then add the rest. I also add in some extra water afterwards so I can clean out the container and pour into my glass so I can get all the health benefits rather than washing some of it down the sink. I store the bulk of the smoothie in the fridge and drink this concoction throughout the day. I often take a jar full in my cold pack to work. Definitely gives me a boost and helps my body be at its best!

Dessert Recipes

Apple Blueberry Chia Coconut Sweet Potato Bread

Leave a comment

by Bea Garth, copyright 2015
This is a vegan low histamine bread I make on occasion. The fruit and the sweet potato give it the sweetness. If you want to increase that quality you can by adding in some stevia or maple syrup etc. For me I like it as is, though I often serve it with some thawed frozen blueberries. If you eat yogurt, its great with that! Alternatively, coconut milk or cream would be nice too.

I cut the bread up after it has cooled a while and freeze most of it. That way I can have it on hand when I get the munchies or need to eat something quick.

In this recipe I am using sorghum flour, however rice flour would work equally well, as would a variety of other flours. I like sorghum since I find it causes me less inflammation than other gluten free flours. If berries don’t agree with you, leave them out and just put in some other kind of fruit, or maybe put in more apple–or not??

The thing that makes this bread so wonderful to work with is the combination of flax seeds and chia seeds, both of which I grind up and let soak while I put together the rest of the ingredients. Given their springy adhesive qualities, who needs egg or gluten??

INGREDIENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS:
Begin by slowly melting 1 cup coconut oil on top of the stove in a small covered pot on low.

Place following ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix together with a wire whisk:
3 tblsp. chia seed–fresh grind in nut and seed grinder
2 tblsp. flax seeds–fresh grind in nut and seed grinder (note: its best to grind these two types of seeds separately. Otherwise the grinder has to work too hard.)
1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut (I use dry coconut but one could use fresh–maybe chopped and blended with some of the water from below?)
4 cups water

Then add in:
1 cup melted coconut oil–mix in well with wire whisk with above ingredients.

Then stir in:
2 1/2 cups frozen (or really fresh–not moldy!) blueberries or some other berries or other fruit you tolerate.

Shred: peeled medium large sweet potato (makes 2 1/2 cups packed shredded)–if not enough shred some zucchini to make up the difference.
Then add the shredded potato/zuke to above wet mixture, stirring in.

Chop two to three apples and add to above wet mixture, stirring well.

Dry mix in another bowl:
5 cups sorghum (or rice etc.) flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. ground ginger (or finely chop roughly 3 tbsp. of fresh ginger–if so mix in to above wet ingredients instead)

Mix wet bowl with dry ingredients, or vice versa. Stir well. If necessary, you can knead the dough with your hands. Make sure everything is wet and distributed well.

Oil a large rectangular cake pan (roughly 9″ by 14″) liberally with coconut oil. Pour or place dough into the pan and smooth it into place. Put pan into preheated oven to bake 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees. I usually take the bread out and put aluminum foil on top after its baked 30 to 35 minutes to keep the top from getting too browned–to avoid added amines. And then put it back in the oven with the foil on for the last 10 to 15 minutes.

After the bread cools roughly 15 minutes its ready to eat. I usually cut it up into squares and then wrap each piece — that I haven’t eaten already! I then place the saran wrapped pieces in a covered container in the freezer — waiting for those moments I have a yen for something nice.