Substituting eggs

When someone can't eat eggs anymore, baking becomes a nightmare! Does that mean that they can't have pancakes and muffins anymore? No way.

Here are some easy ways to use ingredients you already have to replace eggs in your favorite recipes.

When there is only one egg in a recipe, it's in there as a binder.
Try using 1 Tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 Tbsp warm water or 3 Tbsp of pureed fruit instead.

When there are two to three eggs in a recipe, it's there as a leavener.
Try using 1 heaping tsp baking powder, 1 Tbsp oil, and 1 Tbsp warm water instead.

Happy baking!

Kerri

Eggless Banana Bread

Delicious and moist, this is a recommended recipe for anyone!

Mix the following ingredients into a small bowl:
1 1/2 cup flour (I use 1 cup barley flour and 1/2 cup arrowroot flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Mix the following ingredients into a large bowl:
1 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar (less is still very tasty!)
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup milk (almond milk works well too)

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

Freezes really well so I always make two loaves!!

Enjoy

Kerri

In Defense of Food

The next point is to 'avoid foods containting ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or d) that include high-fructose corn syrup.'

This is my favorite point because it's practical to take shopping with you. Next time you shop, read the ingredients on everything that goes into your cart. It will open your eyes.

Many people have learned to look at the nutritional facts part of the label, but don't bother to look at the ingredients list.

Bread is the most fasinating section to look at. The more 'nutritious' the bread, the more additives there seem to be. The white breads that are as healthy as whole grains...look back at my blog about fibre please. This is a marketing ploy!

How about cookies? Or go to the snacks section...scary stuff folks!

Let's get back to food and away from chemicals. You're body will thank-you.

Yours in Health,

Kerri

What is gluten anyway?

Many people are becoming aware of gluten-free products but are not always sure of what that means. Here is a breif summary.


Gluten is a protein found in many commonly used grains such as wheat, rye, spelt, kamut, and barley.


Oats are in a grey area because although they do not contain gluten, it is often contaminated with glutinous grains.





Why is gluten bad? It's not to most people. However, people who have celieac disease are destroying thier guts by eating gluten containing foods. The good news is, when it's completely avoided, their guts do heal up. Naturopaths can help speed this process up and deal with the associated complications from having celiac disease.





What grains are safe for celiac patients? Buckwheat, amaranth, rice, soy, millet (in the grey area with oats), corn, and quinoa.





An important note: if you are experiencing gastrointestinal problems, try to get a celiac test done before removing gluten from your diet. Once it's removed, the intestines start to heal and the tests can come back inconclusive or negative.

This is only important if a confirmed diagnosis is important to you. If you've removed gluten, and you are improving. Don't let a negative diagnosis deter your new dietary efforts. Your body is ultimately the final word.

Yours in Health,

Kerri

Lovely Tea Biscuits

This is my late Grandad's recipe for tea biscuits. The best around that's for sure!

Compared to a Tim Horton's plain Tea biscuit, it's nutrition is much more sound. They freeze well so make a batch, throw them in the freezer and take one with you instead of buying one.

Tims: 250 cal, 9 g fat, 590 mg sodium

Grandpa's: 105 cal, 2.7 g fat, 220 mg sodium

Recipe

4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

4 tsp cream of tartar

4 tbsp canola oil

1 3/4 cups 1% buttermilk

Mix the dry ingredients in mixer. (this is the place to add cheese or raisins to the mix - old cheddar works best, I use almost a whole brick)

Add oil.

Add milk.

Spread dough over floured table to about 1.5 inches thick. Use circular cutter to cut out 24 biscuits. Place so that they are all touching on a cookie sheet (I preheat mine). Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Kerri

In Defense of Food

With New Year's Resolution's in full swing, I decided to re-connect with one of my all-time favorite books. Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it.

I was watching the Hour on CBC a couple of years ago. There was Michael Pollan talking about the twinkie that he's had for years. Still soft and squishy like when he first got it. He recommended making it a personal rule to never eat anything that won't spoil. If bacteria won't eat it, then it isn't food. That was what made me go and purchase his book.

The book is summarized by three points. Eat food. Not Too Much. Mostly plants. I will share his points, and some of my comments to go with them over the next few Mondays.

Sadly, Eat Food needs to be expanded on. As he discusses so well in part two of his book, food needs to be defined. We have been so diluted by the industry, that we no longer recognize what is imitating food.

His first suggestion is to not eat anything that your Great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. His example is brilliant - yogurt tubes. Look at the list of ingredients. It's not yogurt!

Simple, whole foods have been replaced with highly processed foods. They are full of sugar, fat, and salt - things that we love. We eat more of them than we need. We crave more once we've stopped. And so our obssession with food goes.

I see this with many of my patients. A homemade meal has become a frozen meal they bought at the grocery store and put in the oven at home. This is not homemade - it's home cooked I guess.

Let's teach our kids about food. Let's make this next generation have the taste for food in it's natural state - without the additives. To me, that would be the best reform to health care that we could make.

Yours in health,

Kerri

Where to find recipes

Many of my patients need inspiration when changing their diets. My two favorite sites for finding recipes are

• http://www.epicurious.com/


• http://www.vegetariantimes.com/

I just type in the food that I'm trying to eat more of in the search bar, and away we go!

Happy cooking!

Kerri

Wonderful winter chili

I love chili to keep me warm in the winter! With all the goodness of beans and the warmth of chili powder, this is one of my favorites. The sausage adds a new twist!


If you stuggle at getting the veggies in, put a handful of baby spinach in the bottom of the bowl before you serve the chili. It wilts up nicely and is barely noticed! Or, make yourself a taco salad by putting it over a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, old cheddar, green onions - top it off with some crushed corn chips and a dollop of sour cream! Mmm mm good.

Recipe

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 mild italian sausages
2 large onions, cut into chunks
2 large peppers (use orange, red, or yellow to add some great nutrition and colour), cut into chunks
1 Tbsp chili powder (add a tsp or two extra if you like heat)
2 tsp ground cumin
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
15 oz can of each: white kidney beans, red kidney beans, black beans - drained and rinsed


Heat oil in large saucepan. Remove meat from sausage caseing and place in pan. Crumble and cook through. Remove sausage. Add onions to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes. Add peppers and saute for another minute. Add chili powder and cumin and stir until aromatic (half a minute or so). Add tomatoes and beans and sausage. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Kerri

New year's weight loss resolution

I wanted to comment on the all-to-common New Year's Resolution of weight loss.

Although a noble one, it seldom works. Why not try a new approach? Why not choose to do what has successful worked for countless people?

So, how are people losing weight and (more importantly) keeping it off? Check out the National Weight Control Registry at http://www.nwcr.ws/default.htm.

They have gathered info from adults who have lost at least 30 lbs and maintained that loss for at least one year. Here's some quick facts:

• 78% eat breakfast every day.


• 75% weigh them self at least once a week.


• 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.


• 90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day


• 98% of Registry participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight


• 94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking

What's the take home message here? There is a simple recipe for weight loss. Exercise more, eat less, and pay attention. You'll notice I said 'simple' not easy.

Yours in Health,

Kerri