Homemade Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt

                             

Eating dark chocolate helps lower blood pressure, boost brain health and protect tooth enamel.

Health benefits are achieved with very small amounts: as little as 6 gm of dark chocolate a day containing at least 70% cocoa.

Read full article in Canadian Health & Lifestyle

1/2 cup organic coconut oil

1/3 cup liquid honey

1 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Melt coconut oil over low heat.  Remove from heat, add honey, cacao powder and salt.  Whisk until well blended and smooth.  

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Spread chocolate mixture on parchment paper to about 1/8" to 1/4" thick.  Sprinkle more sea salt on top of the chocolate.

Refrigerate until solid.  Break apart in pieces and store in air tight containers in the fridge.

Try to eat only a bit at a time.  Pairs well with houjicha green tea.

Homemade Granola

By Joanne Levesque, Registered Holistic Nutritionist

Home-made granola makes a wonderful, nutritious, and easy breakfast. It also makes a great gift for Christmas.

This recipe also has less sugar and fat than boxed granola. For those eating gluten-free, be sure to purchase pure oats that are guaranteed gluten-free. You can also play around with the nut butter, and try peanut, hazelnut, or almond nut butter. You can find these at your local health food store. You can also vary the flavours with your favourite nuts and seeds. Try hazelnut, walnuts or pumpkin, sesame, hemp, or flax seeds.

6 c rolled oats

1 c pecans, chopped

1/2 c sunflower seeds

1 c almonds, chopped

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 c coconut oil, melted to a liquid

3/4 c macadamia nut butter

1/4 c maple syrup or honey

1 c dried fruit (raisins, apricots, cranberries, etc)

Preheat to 350˚F.  Grease two baking sheets with coconut oil.  In a large bowl, toss together oats, nuts, seeds, and salt (leave out the dried fruit for now).  

In a different bowl, gently whisk together the melted coconut oil, nut butter, and maple syrup or honey.  Pour the oil mixture over the oat mixture and stir well.  Spread the granola on the two baking sheets. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Oats will become dark and golden.  Allow to cool completely before tossing in dried fruit. Store in an airtight container. 

Serve with milk (almond, soy, cow, goat, hemp, rice, etc.) and fresh or frozen berries. Try it with homemade almond milk!

Asparagus with Brown and Wild Rice & White Kidney Beans

This recipe makes a refreshing seasonal salad that is macronutrient balanced and delicious.  Only choose fresh local asparagus.  Avoid asparagus from Peru or the US as it leaves a huge carbon footprint.

Ingredients

1 cup Brown and Wild Rice Blend (Lundberg Wild Blend is nice)

1 cup raw almonds, chopped

1 bunch local asparagus, trimmed and chopped in 2” pieces

1 cup cooked cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Bean Preparation

It is best to soak dried cannellini beans in water for 24 hours and then cook them, as opposed to using canned beans.  Canned beans usually contain some sort of preservative and cause gas and bloating.  Try cooking beans every weekend.  They keep well in the fridge for about one week.  Use the beans in pasta dishes, salads, dips and stir-fry’s.

To prepare the beans, drain and rinse the beans after their 24 hour soak.  Place them in a large pot and cover with two inches of water.  Bring to a boil for 3 minutes.  Drain and rinse the beans and wash the pot.  Return the rinsed partially cooked beans to the clean pot and cover with two inches of water.  Bring to a boil again and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the beans are cooked through and tender.  Remove from heat and salt the beans with about a tablespoon of salt. Let the beans sit for five minutes or so before straining.  

Directions

Cook rice according to directions.  Cool to room temperature.  Add chopped asparagus to a pot of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.  Drain and place asparagus in cold water to stop the cooking process and to preserve the vibrant green colour.  Once cool, drain the asparagus and add to the cooled rice.  Add cooled cooked beans and chopped almonds.  Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.  Season with sea salt and pepper.

Bone Broth

Homemade bone broth is a Super food

According to Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Foundation, bone broth is a cure-all in traditional households.

Homemade bone broth aids digestion and has been used for centuries as a healing folk remedy for the digestive tract.  It is extremely nourishing -- full of minerals, vitamins, amino-acids and various other nutrients in a very bio-available form.

Homemade bone broth provide building blocks for the rapidly growing cells of the gut lining and they have a soothing effect on any areas of inflammation in the gut.

The key to bone broth is the homemade part.  Commercially available broths and stocks, granules or bouillon cubes are highly processed and full of detrimental ingredients.  These need to be avoided.  They will not soothe the gut and may actually contribute to digestive inflammation.

You need meat and bones to make a good bone broth.  Beef, lamb and poultry are all highly suitable and will make broths with different flavours and different nutritional composition.

It is very important to only use bones from organic pastured or wild sources as conventionally raised beef, lamb, and poultry contains hormones, pesticides and other toxins.

The Ottawa Organic Farmers Market is a great source of bones from organic pastured beef, lamb and poultry -- and it is open year round every Saturday between 10am and 2pm.  http://www.oofmarket.ca 

Following are recipes for Bone Broth.  These recipes are adapted from the recipes on the Weston A. Price Foundation website.

Chicken Stock

·         1 whole organic free range chicken or 2 to 3 pounds of bony chicken parts, such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings.

·         gizzard and liver from one chicken (optional)

·         4 liters cold filtered water

·         2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (important! the acid pulls the minerals from the bones)

·         1 large onion, coarsely chopped

·         2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

·         3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

·         1 bunch parsley

If you are using a whole chicken, remove the neck, fat glands and the gizzards from the cavity.  Cut chicken into several pieces. Place chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot with water, vinegar and all vegetables except parsley.  Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 hours.  The longer you cook the broth, the richer and more flavourful it will be.  About 10 minutes before finishing the broth, add parsley.  This will impart additional mineral ions to the broth.

Remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon.  Put the broth through a sieve.  Let the chicken cool and remove chicken meat from the carcass.  Reserve for other uses, such as chicken salads, enchiladas, sandwiches or curries.  Strain the broth into a large bowl and place in your refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals.  Skim off the fat and store the broth in covered containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

Beef or Lamb Stock

·         about 4 pounds marrow and knuckle bones from organic pastured beef or lamb

·         4 or more liters of cold filtered water

·         1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (important! the acid pulls the minerals from the bones)

·         3 onions, coarsely chopped

·         3 carrots, coarsely chopped

·         3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

·         6 cloves of garlic, whole and still in peel

·         several sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together

·         1 teaspoon peppercorns

·         1 bunch parsley

Place the bones, onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a roasting pan and brown at 350 degrees in the oven for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  When well browned, add to a very large pot along with the vegetables. Pour the fat out of the roasting pan, add cold water to the pan, set over a high flame and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen up coagulated juices. Add this liquid to the pot. Add the vinegar and additional water, if necessary, to cover the bones.  Bring to a boil.  A large amount of scum will come to the top, and it is important to remove this with a spoon. After you have skimmed, reduce heat and add the thyme and crushed peppercorns.

Simmer broth for at least 12 and as long as 72 hours. Just before finishing, add the parsley and simmer another 10 minutes. You will now have a pot of rather repulsive-looking brown liquid containing globs of gelatinous and fatty material. It doesn't even smell particularly good. But don't despair. After straining you will have a delicious and nourishing clear broth.

Remove bones with tongs or a slotted spoon. Strain the stock into a large bowl. Let cool in the refrigerator and remove the congealed fat that rises to the top. Transfer to smaller containers and to the freezer for long-term storage.

Steamed Vegetable Salad

Salads can get sort of boring in the winter as other than onions, there is not anything seasonal to put on them.  They are also too cold for a chilly night.  So how is one to enjoy leafy greens on a cold winter night?  Solution - make it warm!

For years, my chef husband and I have topped our winter salads with steamed broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and butternut squash.  Our favourite dressing is a simple dressing made of fresh squeezed lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, dijon mustard and a little Braggs All Liquid seasoning.  Top that with cayenne pepper and you have yourself a warm delicious salad as a prelude to your main meal. 

You can also make this salad your main meal if you top in with a protein source such as salmon, chicken, eggs or even giant lima beans or cannellini beans.

                                                                                                                                 Joanne Levesque, Registered Holistic Nutritionist

 Pure Med Office Manager

 Serves 1

Salad 2 to 3 cups of mixed salad greens (spinach, arugula, romaine etc.) 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped red onion (optional) 1/2 avocado cut in chunks Place ingredients in a large bowl. Vegetables 1/2 cup broccoli flowerettes and peeled stems 1/2 cup cauliflower, cut in bite sized pieces 1/2 cup chopped cabbage 1/2 cup cubed butternut squash Steam vegetables until just done.  Dressing 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

  3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

  1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

  1 teaspoon Bragg All Purpose Seasoning (find in health food stores and in Loblaws Natural Value section)

  Shake ingredients together in a jar.

Assembly

Top salad greens with steamed vegetables.  Drizzle dressing over vegetables and salad.  Season with cayenne pepper, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.  Optional:  top with fish, chicken, soft boiled eggs or beans for a complete meal.

Winter Salad Meal

This is my go to meal when I am alone for dinner.  It is simple and easy to make with ingredients that I always have on hand.

I grow my own greens in my garden from April to November.  Spinach, arugula, mustard greens, and cress do very well in the fall.  As long as there is no snow, I can harvest my greens through to the end of November, even after frosts.  This recipe is best made with the autumn greens.

                                                   Joanne Levesque, RHN, Pure Med OfficeManager

Salad

3 to 4 cups of organic mixed autumn greens such as arugula, mustard greens, cress and spinach

1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped red onion

4 to 6 sundried tomatoes, soaked in water to soften, chopped

4 black kalamata olives, chopped

1/4 cup shredded organic medium cheddar

3 organic free-range eggs, soft or hard boiled

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing

Juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Bragg All Purpose Seasoning (find it in a health food store or Loblaws natural foods section)

Cut greens into bite size pieces.  Top with red onion, tomatoes, olives and cheese. 

Place eggs in a pot of cold water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes for soft boil (runny yolk) or 5 minutes for hard boil (solid yolk).  Drain water and soak in cold water to make them easy to handle.  Remove shell, chop the eggs and add to salad.

While the eggs are cooking make the dressing by combining all ingredients in a jar and shaking until combined and smooth.

Drizzle dressing over salad and season with sea salt and pepper.

Kale Soup

I pulled out a cookbook from Emeril Lagasse the other day and was inspired by his Kale Soup.  The first thing that impressed me about this soup is that it included kale and beans which are a staple in my house.  The second thing that impressed me about this soup is that it made 5 liters of soup.  That is a lot of soup!  Dinner for the rest of the week, yeah!

The original recipe includes chorizo sausage and chicken stock.  This is fine for omnivores.  If you are a vegetarian, then you can omit the sausage and use vegetable broth.

I make it with organic chorizo sausage I sourced from Funny Duck Farms http://www.funnyduckfarms.com/ who are located at the Ottawa Organic Farmers Market http://www.oofmarket.ca every Saturday between 10am and 2pm.

Joanne Levesque, RHN, Pure Med Office Manager

4 tablespoons olive oil  1 pound chorizo sausage, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices  1 large yellow onion, chopped  Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste  6 to 8 cloves garlic, to your taste, minced  1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves  1 cup dried white kidney beans, soaked in water for 24 hours* and drained  1 cup dried red kidney beans, soaked in water for 24 hours* and drained 4 quarts homemade chicken stock, or homemade vegetable stock 2 bay leaves 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, use more if you omitted the sausage 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced 2 bunches kale, well washed, stemmed and cut into thin strips Heat the olive oil in a heavy 8-quart stockpot over medium heat.  Add the sausage and onion and cook stirring for 2 minutes.  Add the garlic, parsley, and beans and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.  Add the chicken (or vegetable stock) and bring to a boil.  Add the bay leaves, thyme, and the crushed red pepper.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the beans are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.  Add the potatoes and kale, season with salt and pepper and continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender, about another 30 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves. This soup keeps well in the refrigerator in jars for up to 10 days. *Do not salt the soup until the beans are cooked.  Salt doubles the cooking time for beans.  As well, the longer you soak the beans in water, the less time you will need to cook them.

Beef Stew

This is a  recipe from Chef Jamie Oliver's official website http://www.jamieoliver.com.  It's  a favorite of his wife Jool's and it's a delicious easy meal that serves as comfort food during the winter months.

The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it's quick and you can add any root vegetables you desire.  It is best to use grass-fed beef available at the Ottawa Organic Farmers Market http://www.oofmarket.ca for the best nutrition and flavour.  I make it in a slow cooker in the morning for a hassle-free dinner.

Joanne Levesque, RHN, Pure Med Office Manager

• olive oil • 2 tablespoons of butter • 1 onion, peeled and chopped • a handful of fresh sage leaves • 800g/1¾lb grass-fed stewing steak or beef skirt, cut into 5cm/2 inch pieces • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • flour, to dust • 2 parsnips, peeled and quartered • 4 carrots, peeled and halved • ½ a butternut squash, halved, deseeded and roughly diced • optional: a handful of Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and halved • 500g/1lb 2oz small potatoes • 2 tablespoons tomato purée • ½ a bottle of red wine • 285ml/½ pint beef or vegetable stock • zest of 1 lemon, finely grated • a handful of rosemary, leaves picked • 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped Preheat the oven to 160ºC/300ºF/. Put a little oil and your butter into an appropriately sized pot or casserole pan. Add your onion and all the sage leaves and fry for 3 or 4 minutes. Toss the meat in a little seasoned flour, then add it to the pan with all the vegetables, the tomato purée, wine and stock, and gently stir together. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and just a little salt. Bring to the boil, place a lid on top, then cook in the preheated oven until the meat is tender. Sometimes this takes 3 hours, sometimes 4 – it depends on what cut of meat you’re using and how fresh it is. The only way to test is to break apart a piece of meat and if it falls apart easily it’s ready. Once it’s cooked, you can turn the oven down to about 110°C/225°F and just hold it there until you’re ready to eat.  Serve with warm bread.  Mix the lemon zest, chopped rosemary and garlic together and sprinkle over the stew before eating.  Just the smallest amount will make a world of difference – as soon as it hits the hot stew it will release an amazing fragrance.

Where’s the Pumpkin? Pie (AKA Raw Pumpkin Pie)

I love this pie.  I usually make it once or twice per year.  It is rich and creamy and spicy and raw – meaning, you do not have to cook it.  It is gluten-free and dairy-free and delicious and does not have pumpkin as an ingredient.  Rather, it gets its colour from carrots.

You do need special equipment for this one.  A juicer to juice the carrots, a food processor – for the almond crust, a large chef’s knife to cut open the young coconut, and a Vita-Mix or high powered blender to blend the filling. 

If you do not have the equipment, try to borrow it from friends and family and then share the pie with them!

Joanne Levesque RHN, Pure Med Office Manager and Holistic Nutritionist

Serves 12 to 16

Crust

2 cups almonds

3 mejool dates, pits removed

2 tablespoons maple syrup

¼ cup coconut oil

Large pinch of sea salt

Place almonds in food processor and process until it is mealy looking. 

Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and process until all ingredients are well blended.  Place contents of food processor onto a nine inch pie plate.  Using your hands, press the crust into the plate creating a nice edge.  Refrigerate the crust while making the filling.

Filling

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours

1 cup young coconut meat (found at Farmboy or Asian Markets), see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPvhxeg_PUA to learn how to properly open a young coconut

2 cups fresh carrot juice

¾ cup coconut oil

6 mejool dates, pits removed

½ cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon sea salt

Place all ingredients in the Vita-Mix and blend on high until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Pour filling into pie crust and refrigerate for eight hours or overnight.  This pie is very rich so it can serve a lot of people.

Herb Cream Cheese Scrambled Eggs

This recipe is not for everyone.  If you are not sensitive to eggs and dairy, then this recipe is quick, delicious and nutritious.

It starts with organic, pastured eggs that you pick up at the organic farmers market.  Eggs are a marvelous food.  A large egg contains 70 calories and is full of iron, vitamins A, D, E, B12, folate, protein, selenium, lutein, zeazanthin, and choline.  They are inexpensive (even the organic, pastured eggs) and are quick to cook.

The following recipe comes from 101cookbooks.com.  I found it when I was looking for recipes that contained lots of fresh herbs, since my garden is abundant with fresh herbs and I am determined to use as much as I can before the frost and snow claim them.

I used Organic Meadows Cream Cheese (found at Farm Boy and Loblaws/Superstore) which is organic and very spreadable.  Play around with the herbs.  Keep in mind that you wants tons of herbs and green onions in the cream cheese

.Joanne Levesque RHN, Pure Med Office Manager and Holistic Nutritionist

Serves 2

125 grams cream cheese at room temperature

4 tablespoons chopped herbs – equal parts thyme, tarragon, oregano

6 green onion, with greens, chopped

1/3 cup chopped chives

Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon butter

5 to 6 eggs, well whisked

Your favourite crusty bread or whole grain (or gluten free) toast

Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl, add the herbs and mash with a fork until the herbs are evenly distributed.  Add the green onions, most of the chives, a pinch of salt, and mash until those are incorporated as well.  Set aside.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-heat.  Add the eggs and let them set a bit.  Use a spatula to fold them over themselves, let them set a bit again, and repeat until they are nearly cooked to your liking.  Remove from heat, add 2 dollops of the cream cheese (roughly a tablespoon each) to the skillet, count to ten, then stir a bit more to work the cream cheese into the eggs.  Serve sprinkled with the remaining chives, salt and pepper to taste, and toast on the side.  You can also add a side of steamed broccoli or Brussels sprouts to make a balanced meal.

Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 5 min

Kale Chips

Kale chips are amazing!  I have not met anyone, adult or child that does not like them.  If you like chips, and know that they are not the best for you, then you will most likely get addicted to kale chips.  The key to this recipe is the cashew “cheese” mixture you make first to coat the kale pieces. 

To make raw kale chips with all the enzymes intact, you need to dehydrate the kale in a dehydrator at 115F.  If you do not have a dehydrator, then you will have to bake the kale and lose the enzymes.

To bake kale chips, place kale on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.  Then bake at 250F for about 30 minutes or until the kale and cheese is crisp.  You may need to bake for longer or shorter as ovens vary. 

Below is the onion and garlic version, but feel free to make your own version by adding different herbs and seasonings.

Joanne Levesque RHN, Pure Med Office Manager and Holistic Nutritionist

Makes two large zip lock bags worth 2 large bunches curly kale or dino kale, stemmed removed, washed and torn into large bite size pieces. 2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 2 hours 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1 teaspoon sea salt Juice of one lemon 1 cup water 1 clove of garlic, chopped ½ of a small onion, chopped Drain and rinse the soaked cashews and place in a food processor.  Add nutritional yeast, sea salt, lemon juice, water, garlic and onion.  Process until the mixture looks like ricotta cheese.  Place kale in a very large bowl.  Pour cashew “cheese” over kale and toss with tongs or your hands to coat all of the kale. Place the kale on dehydrator racks, shake a little bit of sea salt over the kale and then dehydrate for 12 hours at 115F in a dehydrator.  Alternatively, you can bake the chips on parchment paper lined cookie sheets at 250F.  Bake for about 30 minutes then check kale chips to make sure they are crisp.  You may need to bake longer.

Fish Curry

Pacific salmon is still in season but not for much longer.  I usually buy lots when it is in season and then freeze it for the off season.  Since it tends to be a tad drier than other salmon, I like serving pacific salmon in a coconut red curry sauce which locks in the salmon’s moisture.

The following recipe was again inspired by seasonal vegetables (what was available in my garden).  You can serve this curry with jasmine rice, or basmati rice or no rice. Make enough for leftovers the next day.  The flavours seem to intensify the next day.    

Joanne Levesque RHN, Pure Med Office Manager and Holistic Nutritionist

Serves 4

1 medium eggplant, chopped in 1 inch cubes (essential ingredient)
1 medium zucchini, chopped in 1 inch cubes
1 green or red pepper, chopped in 1 inch pieces
2 medium carrots, sliced 1 medium onion, chopped in ½ inch cubes

Optional vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, green beans, sweet potatoes or bok choy

4 servings of pacific salmon, cut in bite size pieces

3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 can coconut milk
½ can (2 tablespoons) of red curry paste 2 tablespoons of fish sauce

Melt coconut oil in a wok over medium heat.  Add onions and eggplant and sauté for about 7 minutes.  Add remaining vegetables and salmon and continue cooking for about five minutes or until salmon is just done.  Set aside.
Heat coconut milk in a large saucepan.  Add red curry paste and mix well.  Simmer for 2 minutes.  Add fish sauce and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Pour coconut milk mixture over vegetables and fish.  Mix in well and heat through.
Serve over rice or by itself and garnish with basil and cilantro.  Yum!