About Me

I started this blog to keep track of my kitchen creations. I love cooking and eating. In 2008 I was diagnosed with RA. Food started becoming a huge problem. I needed to find a better way to eat the flavors I love. All the recipes I create are driven by my desire to eat good food that won't create extra pain and inflammation in my internal ecosystem. While the recipes are wholesome, the language is not. I swear. I use the word 'fuck'. A lot! I make no apologies for that. It's just a fair warning. I'm raw and real. Happy cooking! Even happier eating! Cheers! Angie

Thursday, July 16, 2009

BERRY ACAI ANTIOXIDENT ARMY Smoothie

1 cup of hemp milk or almond milk
1 sambazon acai smoothy pack
1/4 cup each of cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries
6 medjool dates pitted
5 apricots

Throw it an the blender and blend until smooth!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

THE PERFECT PROTIEN Smoothie


1 cup hemp or almond milk or a combo of the two
1/2 avacado
6 medjool dates pitted
5 dried apricots
1 banana
1 tablespoon flax seeds
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

You know the routine. This smoothie gets very thick so you will have to add water. If you can't finish the whole thing, you can freeze the rest and eat it later kinda like icecream.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

GREEN GODDESS Smoothie **Green Monster**

1 cup hemp milk or almond milk
1 banana
6 medjool dates pitted and chopped
1/2 of an avacado
3 large kale leaves
1 small handful of baby spinach
2 cubes of frozen wheatgrass juice
1 tablespoon of spirulina powder

Get the milk going and quickly add things, as this has a tendency to get thick fast. You can always thin it with water. It's pretty stong but the dates will sweeten it.

**The term Green Monster is a trademark of Oh She Glows

Monday, July 13, 2009

TROPICAL TREASURE Smoothie


1 cup of hemp milk or almond milk
1 banana
1/3 of a mango
1/4 of a papaya
1 kiwi
6-8 strawberries

Get the milk going then add fruit little at a time. Add ice if you like.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Lupus

This entry is going to focus on Lupus. I just found out that the wife of a friend of mine from high-school has it. Frank is a good guy and I'm sure his wife is a fabulous girl. I have asked him to consider coming over "to the other side" and look into his wife (and him) going gluten-free dairy-free.

Diet is extremely important when dealing with any auto-immune disease. Many doctors will tell you there is no correlation but I truely believe they are wrong. My main reason for this belief is because I have seen the proof in my own blood work and I have felt the difference in my body. If you have an auto-immune disease, you should try to look into getting an immunologist on your team of doctors. I have added one to my arsenal and it has made a huge difference.

Since there are many commonalities between auto-immune diseases, there are also commonalities among what you should and shouldn't eat. For example, having RA, I should avoid veggies in the nightshade family such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. The same can be said fo rthose with lupus. People with lupus should also avoid alfalfa due to one of the amino acids in the plant as it can lead to flares.

Fish oils, especially from cold-water fish such as salmon and sardines, is very good for auto-immune sufferers. We are typically lower in the omegas found in these oils. If you choose to take a suppliment, make sure you choose an oil that has been molecularly distilled to remove all heavy metals and that has been extracted at low temeratures.

Frank, this is for you & your wife!
Angie

This link is the blog of a woman who has Lupus. She is also on the gfcf diet and she has seen remarkable changes in how she feels.
http://lupusandhumor.blogspot.com/


This web site is all about the gluten-free casein-free diet. Although it is centered around Autistic Spectrum Disorders, it can apply to anyone.
http://www.gfcfdiet.com/


This link has a long list of those who would benefit from a gfcf diet.
http://www.nutritional-healing.com.au/content/articles-content.php?heading=Who%20should%20trial%20a%20gluten/casein%20free%20diet


This link has some very good dietary info for people with Lupus. It also has a link to the lupus search page.
http://arthritis-symptom.com/lupus/lupus-diet.htm


I love this site, Everyday Health. It has lots of cool stuff. Lots of info, recipes, and sound advice. It's a free on-line health magaine.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/lupus/manage-diet-to-control-lupus.aspx


This is a link to Amaon for a book that kept popping up in my research. It sounds like it may be worth the read. There are also a lot of other reference books about lupus included.
http://www.amazon.com/Lupus-Recovery-Diet-Approach-Autoimmune/dp/0975870718


This link talks about diet and lupus.
http://www.disabled-world.com/health/autoimmunediseases/lupus/diets.php

CHUNKY MONKEY Smoothie


1 cup hemp milk or almond milk
1 banana
1 handfull of sliced almonds
8-10 pitted medjool dates pitted

Get the milk spinning in the blender and start adding the ingredients a little at a time. If it gets too thick, you can add a little bit of water. Either pour over ice or blend the ice in.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

PLUM CHERRY SHABANG Smoothie

1 cup hemp milk or almond milk
1 large red plum quartered and pitted
2 handfuls of pitted fresh cherries
6 medjool dates pitted
1 handful of sliced raw almonds

Put the hemp milk in a blender on high-speed then add the rest of the ingredients in order one at a time while the blender is still going. Blend for about 3 minutes after you add the last ingredient.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Dairy Dangers Part 4: What's REALLY In Your Milk?

What's Really In Your Milk?

Did you ever wonder what was really in that glass of milk or piece of cheese or pat of butter? Well wonder no more! Just read the next installment of Dairy Dangers.

Whole milk 49% of the calories are from fat.
"2%" milk 35% of the calories are from fat.
Cheddar cheese 74% of the calories are from fat.
Butter 100% of the calories are from fat.

Most folks suspect that butter is all fat. Most folks have no concept of the just how much fat is in the rest of milk and dairy. Perhaps the 54% of Americans who are obese need to comprehend that milk, ice cream, cheeses, yogurts, (yes yogurt!) and all the OTHER products that use milk derivatives (casein, whey, lactose, colostrum) are most likely a significant cause for their weight and health problem.

Calcium
Where do the COWS get calcium for their big bones? Yes... from plants! The calcium they consume from plants has a large amount of magnesium... necessary for the body to absorb and USE the calcium.

The calcium in cow's milk is basically useless because it has insufficient magnesium content (those nations with the highest amount of milk/dairy consumption also have the highest rates of osteoporosis. Proof? How about a controlled study of 78,000 nurses over a period of 12 years?

Cows milk has three times the calcium as does human breast milk. No matter, neither are very usable because in order to be absorbed and used their MUST be an equal quantity of MAGNESIUM (as exists in the greens that cows eat to get all the calcium they need for their big bones). Milk has only enough magnesium to absorb around 11% (33mg per cup) of calcium. If breasfeeding mothers eat their dark leafy greens, they will add more mgnesium to their breast milk.

Per the USDA, 8 ounces (one cup) of cows milk contains:

Calcium, Ca mg 291.336
Magnesium, Mg mg 32.794

The USDA recommends 1200mg of calcium per day. The USDA recommended three cups of milk a day only have 900mg of calcium. Some argue that only 1/3 of the magnesium is necessary. Mother nature seems to suggest it should be one to one. If the ratio for proper absorption were 1/3 magnesium to one calcium then no more than 300mg of that 900mg of calcium is usable. If, in fact, it is a one to one ratio... only 98.38mg of calcium is usable.

It is not a matter of how much calcium one ingests... but how much one does not lose.

PROTEIN
Milk can be thought of as "liquid meat" because of its high protein content which, in concert with other proteins, may actually LEACH calcium from the body. Countries that consume high protein diets (meat, milk and dairy) have the highest rates of osteoporosis. Hmmm. Coincidence?

THE 'WHOLESOME' PROTEIN MYTH
87% of milk is water. That makes it VERY expensive water.

Broken down into its basic groups... WHOLE MILK is:
WATER-87% FAT-3.25% CASEIN-4% OTHER PROTEIN -4.75%

(note: that is 3.25% "milkfat" which includes the 87% water.)

80% of the protein in milk is casein. Casein is a powerful binder... a polymer used to make plastics... and a glue that is better used to make sturdy furniture or hold beer bottle labels in place. It is in thousands of processed foods as a binder... as "something" caseinate.

Casein is a powerful allergen... a histamine that creates lots of mucus. The only medicine in Olympic athlete Flo-Jo's body was Benedryl, a power antihistamine she took to combat her last
meal... pizza (cheese & gluten). Flo-Jo had a seizure disorder and she died from suffication while she had a seizure in her sleep.

OTHER 'STUFF'
Fat and cholesterol. Lots of it. Per the dairy influenced USDA "food pyramid" all milk, dairy and meats should represent no more than 8% of the diet. Statistically, by volume of sales in a nation of 281 million Americans, it works out to almost 40% of the diet for MILK AND DAIRY.. without the meat.

The milk of each of the over 4,700 mammals on earth is formulated specifically for that species. There are special lactoferrins and immunoglobulins (cow specific immunizing stuff) that in humans serve as allergens


Cholestrol
The cholesterol content of those three glasses of milk is equal to what one would get from 53 slices of bacon. Do you know of any doctor who recommends that much bacon per day?

OK! Now for the fun stuff!!!

BACTERIA
Cow's milk is allowed to have feces in it. Ummm, EEWWW!!! This is a major source for bacteria. Milk is typically pasteurized more than once before it gets to your table... each time for only 15 seconds at 162 degrees Fahrenheit.

To sanitize water one is told to boil it (212 degrees F) for several minutes. That is a tremendous disparity, isn't it!

Keep in mind that at room temperature the number of bacteria in milk DOUBLE around every 20 minutes. No wonder milk turns rotten very quickly.

PUS
ONE cubic centimeter (cc) of commercial cow's milk is allowed to have up to 750,000 somatic cells (common name is "PUS") and 20,000 live bacteria... before it is kept off the market.

That amounts to a whopping 20 million live squiggly bacteria and up to 750 MILLION pus cells per liter (bit more than a quart).

1 cup = 236.5882cc 177,441,150 pus cells ~ 4,731,600 bacteria
24 oz (3 glasses) = 532,323,450 pus cells ~ 14,220,000 bacteria
(the "recommended" daily intake)

The EU and the Canadians allow for a less "tasty" 400,000,000 pus cells per liter.

Typically these levels are lower... but they COULD reach these levels and still get to YOUR table.


So, do you STILL want to drink milk??? Remember, all this crap ends up in your body. It doesn't go away during pasturization and homgenization. It just gets more concentrated in the fat.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Moooooooove Over Milk

So, you've decided to lay off the dairy. Or maybe you want to see what else is out there. What do you do? There are a lot of non-dairy alternatives to choose from. Just make sure that what you buy says rennet-free, lactose-free, whey-free, casein-free as these are all derived from milk. Also make sure that if the cheese has lactic acid in it, it specifically says "non-dairy lactic acid". Many cheeses made from soy, rice, and almond will say lactose-free but still contain casein and lactic acid derived from milk.

Lactose is milk sugar, rennet is a complex enzyme (a group of digestive enzymes) that is used to make cheese, and whey & casein are milk protiens. It is produced in mammilian stomachs. Lactic acid is milk acid and it is used in cheeses and sour cream, butter milk, and yogurt.

The products below are things that I have used in the past or use on a regular basis. Really, it's all about trial and error. Should you try and decide it's not for you and you want to continue to use dairy, I strongly reccommend switching to organic dairy as much as possible. The safety standards are held higher and there are no chemicals given to the animals and there are no pesticides in their feed.

CHEESE: Unfortunately, the vegan cheese alternatives aren't the greatest. There are 2 main brands that I have found.

The first brand, which is a mozzerella alternative, is called Veganrella. I do have to warn that it has gluten in it so if you are gluten-free you may not want to eat this. It's not so great plain but I used it on a pizza and it was OK melted. It does melt pretty good but it's gooey so youdon't need a lot.

The second brand of vegan cheese is called The Vegan Gourmet. They have 3 flavors, cheddar, monteray jack, and jalepeno. The texture of all 3 is very similar to tofu. The package says it melts. It does, but not that good. Quite honestly, I did not like the cheddar. The flavor was not cheddar-like in any way. The other 2 are ok. The jalepeno is really good melted for nachos.

MILK: There are a lot of milk options out there. You can choose from soy, rice, almond, hemp and combos of some of these. There are many brands of each. They come sweetened, unsweetened, vanilla flavored, and chocolate flavored. They all can be used in place of regular milk in cooking and baking.

My personal favorite is hemp milk. I get a lot of odd looks and comments when I mention that I drink hemp milk and eat hemp seeds. Yes, it is in the same family as marajuanna but it is a different plant. It's missing the THC which is what produces the "high" you get from smoking or eating marajuanna. I use the brand called Living Harvest. It is the less-grassiest tasting. Hemp milk is probably the healthiest of the lot of milk alternatives. It is chock full of Omegas which are very good for your heart.

YOGURT: The main non-dairy yogurt is soy yogurt. Turtle Hill makes one called Soy Delicious. There are several different flavors and they contain yogurt bacterias. Turtle Hill also makes a coconut milk yogurt called So Delicious that is really good.

SOUR CREAM & CREAM CHEESE: Both of these have a vegan alternative. Tofutti makes them. They aren't too bad. I've made dips, beef stroganoff and many other things with the sour cream and no one has been able to tell the difference. The cream cheese is an aquired taste. I chop up onions, celery, and red bell peppers and mix them in and it makes it taste a lot better. There is also another brand of vegan sour cream called Follow Your Heart which is pretty good.

ICE CREAM: Ice cream is a favorite treat for many. There are a lot of different vegan ice creams. My current fav is the So Delicious coconut milk ice cream made by Turtle Hill. Turtle Hill also makes other vegan ice creams that are not coconut milk based that are delish! There are several flavors and they are all pretty tastey. Temptation makes a fabulous vegan ice cream and they have a mix that you can make at home.

I think I've covered all the main milk products. Should you choose to try any of them, I hope you enjoy!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Food Allergy Queen

I found a great new blog managed by a girl who has multiple food allergies. She has great info and recipes on her site. Check it out!

http://foodallergyqueen.blogspot.com