Saturday, December 3, 2011
Gluten free beer!
Okay I know alcohol is highly limited on the anti-inflammatory diet but I'm a microbrew connoisseur and the complete inability to have a beer has been mildly torturous. Yes cider is gluten free but higher in sugar content and frankly it's just not the same. So I was happy to find New Grist gluten-free beer which is made from sorghum and rice extracts instead of wheat or barley. It's sort of a light lager but with a distinct non-crap beer taste. I am happy to find an occasional treat to satiate my beer craving.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Week 5
Since I began the anti-inflammatory vegan diet I feel so great. Before I started I was in so much pain I was taking prescription headache medicine just to get through the day and narcotic pain meds to be able to sleep. I took so much Advil I developed an ulcer. I could barely walk two blocks without pain. Now I can proudly say that despite all the things I love to consume being now off limits I feel better than ever! I have only taken prescription headache meds once since starting this diet and even then at half my usual dose. For the past two weeks I've been on the East Coast waking up early and walking at least 2 miles a day. One day I spent in New York I woke up at 6am walked a mile to catch the bus and walked up and down the East Village, Greenwich and the lower east side for hours. Now it could be being off the gloomy Pacific NW coast but my spirits have been high and alive more possibly than they have in years and I've lost some weight that has needed to come off for quite a few years now. I'll admit I still get sad about not being able the have a beer on occasion and I have yet to find a dietary acceptable version of pizza (which I never realized I'd miss) but the benefits have been so positive that on most days it's not hard to keep to it anymore (on most days).
While in Boston I learned to eat more and more. I'm still not a big cook and found myself at Boloco more than once ordering some version of brown rice, black beans and veggies. They are very nice about food allergies and willing to work with you; they even gave me suggestions for extra veggies and piled on a mountain of cilantro for no extra charge.
I'll admit I eat a lot of hummus, and Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips. But I've been expanding cooking up cooking greens (found next to the bag salads) and root veggies with a can of lentil soup. Apples and butternut squash are great with this mix as well.
The culinary highlight of my trip however was dining at 10 Tables Restaurant in Jamaica Plain. This place is tiny and reservations are recommended but very worth the wait. My friend works in the kitchen there and while hanging out I casually challenged him to a "chopped" style challenge to create an amazing gourmet meal using the restrictions of a vegan anti-inflammatory diet. Most culinary chefs can't work with vegetarian or vegan restrictions very well without my additional restrictions but 10 tables was up for the challenge. It was a splurge but so very delicious and worth it. These guys will literally work with your diet to create a personalized culinary masterpiece just for you. Big props to youz guys: Joe, Hope and Peter you rock.
Also eating in the airport is a challenge on a vegan anti-inflammatory diet. I made stir fry and salad and brought it in my 3 tier lunch box with some chips, coconut yogurt and hummus. The hummus and yogurt were flagged by security but when I explained the situation as medically prescribed they let my hummus and yogurt slide. Not that everyone will be that nice and I was fully prepared to trash my not at all cheap food.
Also a note on caffeine and alcohol. I'm very good on caffeine. I only have trace amounts in white and green tea. I also don't drink beer but what's a girl to do when it's her birthday celebrating out of town while reuniting with friends? I did drink a glass of wine here and there and hard cider. Also once a vodka and seltzer. The important thing I think when deciding to drink is to keep the other rules: no gluten, no extra sugar.
And importantly, I've slipped up. If you break your diet once it's not defeat (although it can result in feeling crappy). The moment you break the diet there are endless points to get back on the wagon so to speak and also different degrees of diet breaking. For example I was a guest in someone's home and was offered pasta and garlic bread which I respectfully declined. But then feeling very rude I accepted an offer of a glass of Pepsi. Having broken my diet with one glass of soda however did not mean I then changed my mind and had the pasta as well nor that I drank the whole 2 liter. It was not defeat, just a slip up and one that gave me powerful information about the effect of high fructose corn syrup on my body in the form of excruciating hip pain that night. Instead of feeling defeated see it as a test against a food, pay attention to how your body reacts and move forward with healthy anti-inflammatory foods from there.
A few pics from 10 tables I wish I knew how to describe in all their fancy terminology what this all is.
While in Boston I learned to eat more and more. I'm still not a big cook and found myself at Boloco more than once ordering some version of brown rice, black beans and veggies. They are very nice about food allergies and willing to work with you; they even gave me suggestions for extra veggies and piled on a mountain of cilantro for no extra charge.
I'll admit I eat a lot of hummus, and Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips. But I've been expanding cooking up cooking greens (found next to the bag salads) and root veggies with a can of lentil soup. Apples and butternut squash are great with this mix as well.
The culinary highlight of my trip however was dining at 10 Tables Restaurant in Jamaica Plain. This place is tiny and reservations are recommended but very worth the wait. My friend works in the kitchen there and while hanging out I casually challenged him to a "chopped" style challenge to create an amazing gourmet meal using the restrictions of a vegan anti-inflammatory diet. Most culinary chefs can't work with vegetarian or vegan restrictions very well without my additional restrictions but 10 tables was up for the challenge. It was a splurge but so very delicious and worth it. These guys will literally work with your diet to create a personalized culinary masterpiece just for you. Big props to youz guys: Joe, Hope and Peter you rock.
Also eating in the airport is a challenge on a vegan anti-inflammatory diet. I made stir fry and salad and brought it in my 3 tier lunch box with some chips, coconut yogurt and hummus. The hummus and yogurt were flagged by security but when I explained the situation as medically prescribed they let my hummus and yogurt slide. Not that everyone will be that nice and I was fully prepared to trash my not at all cheap food.
Also a note on caffeine and alcohol. I'm very good on caffeine. I only have trace amounts in white and green tea. I also don't drink beer but what's a girl to do when it's her birthday celebrating out of town while reuniting with friends? I did drink a glass of wine here and there and hard cider. Also once a vodka and seltzer. The important thing I think when deciding to drink is to keep the other rules: no gluten, no extra sugar.
And importantly, I've slipped up. If you break your diet once it's not defeat (although it can result in feeling crappy). The moment you break the diet there are endless points to get back on the wagon so to speak and also different degrees of diet breaking. For example I was a guest in someone's home and was offered pasta and garlic bread which I respectfully declined. But then feeling very rude I accepted an offer of a glass of Pepsi. Having broken my diet with one glass of soda however did not mean I then changed my mind and had the pasta as well nor that I drank the whole 2 liter. It was not defeat, just a slip up and one that gave me powerful information about the effect of high fructose corn syrup on my body in the form of excruciating hip pain that night. Instead of feeling defeated see it as a test against a food, pay attention to how your body reacts and move forward with healthy anti-inflammatory foods from there.
A few pics from 10 tables I wish I knew how to describe in all their fancy terminology what this all is.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
A Few Recipes I've Found
These come from The Pacific Northwest Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook's free online preview. They are better than most recipes I've found online which include all kinds of non-anti-inflammatory ingredients including everything from chili powder to beef to all purpose white flour. These are the few I want to remember.
BANANA NUT PANCAKES
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Rice Flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 Tbps No-aluminum baking powder
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 cup hazlenut milk
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. Water
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
2 mashed bananas
Coconut Oil (recipe calls for canola, I say coconut) for griddle
Dishes: Large Mixing Bowl, Small Mixing Bowl, Mixing Spoon, Cast Iron Griddle, Spatula
PREPARATION:
1. Preheat standing griddle to 350 ºF. (You can also use a non-stick pan over
medium heat.)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, cinnamon, baking powder
and pecans.
3. In a separate bowl, combine hazelnut milk, water and brown rice syrup,
stirring until mixed well.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and stir until just mixed. Add
mashed bananas and stir until incorporated.
5. Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon. oil onto preheated griddle and wipe away
excess with a paper towel.
6. Gently pour batter onto griddle, making 4” pancakes, and cook until bubbles
appear in the center of the pancake. Flip and cook another 2 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Delicious with Berry Compote, Fresh Fruit or Real Maple Syrup.
AVOCADO BLACK BEAN DIP
INGREDIENTS:
½ cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large ripe avocado, pitted and removed from skin
1 whole garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons red onion, minced
½ cup cooked brown rice
To taste salt and pepper
DISHES:
Small sauce pan or pot with lid, Mixing Bowl, Mixing Spoon
PREPARATION:
1. Warm black beans over low heat until just soft, and cool.
2. Finely chop the avocado, and mix with the garlic clove and red onion. This mixture should have the texture of a rough paste.
3. Mix the cooked rice into the avocado mixture, and then add the black beans stirring gently, so as not to break up the beans too much.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
EXTRA TIPS:
Try using millet instead of brown rice, or substitute white or pinto beans for the black beans.
Add some parsley or cilantro, and stir in a teaspoon of toasted cumin.
MANGO RICE PILAF
INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon canola oil
¼ cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
1 1/3 cups cooked brown basmati rice
1/3 cup cooked wild rice
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
¼ cup green onion, thinly sliced
1/8 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
1/8 cup AI-friendly broth (p. 22)
¾ cup fresh or frozen mango, diced small
PREPARATION:
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add mushrooms and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes.
Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the brown rice, wild rice, salt, pepper, thyme,
green onion, almonds and broth. Mix well.
Add mangoes and heat through.
Serve warm.
EXTRA TIPS:
If using frozen mango, allow to thaw slightly before adding to the rice.
Try adding other fruit, such as pineapple or papaya.
Use something else instead of mushrooms?
BLUEBERRY-ALMOND CRISP
This I have to say does not look particularly delicious. Hopefully I'm wrong. It says it can be frozen and reheated easily. Good to know.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup rice flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup (divided)
1/3 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (alcohol free)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups frozen blueberries
DISHES:
Medium Mixing Bowl, Mixing Spoon, Small Mixing Bowl, 9"X13" Pan, Foil or Lid for Pan.
PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Add the oil and ¼ cup of the rice syrup, mixing well. Stir in nuts and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the water, 2 tablespoons rice syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. Put blueberries in a 9” x 13” pan, and pour the liquid mixture on top. Toss gently to evenly coat the blueberries.
5. Spread the flour and nut mixture evenly over the blueberries. Cover with aluminum foil.
6. Bake for 20 minutes. Then increase the oven temperature to 425º, uncover, and bake another 10 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and crisp.
Not a bad cookbook. Might be worth buying for all the recipes.
BANANA NUT PANCAKES
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Rice Flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 Tbps No-aluminum baking powder
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 cup hazlenut milk
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. Water
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
2 mashed bananas
Coconut Oil (recipe calls for canola, I say coconut) for griddle
Dishes: Large Mixing Bowl, Small Mixing Bowl, Mixing Spoon, Cast Iron Griddle, Spatula
PREPARATION:
1. Preheat standing griddle to 350 ºF. (You can also use a non-stick pan over
medium heat.)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, cinnamon, baking powder
and pecans.
3. In a separate bowl, combine hazelnut milk, water and brown rice syrup,
stirring until mixed well.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and stir until just mixed. Add
mashed bananas and stir until incorporated.
5. Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon. oil onto preheated griddle and wipe away
excess with a paper towel.
6. Gently pour batter onto griddle, making 4” pancakes, and cook until bubbles
appear in the center of the pancake. Flip and cook another 2 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Delicious with Berry Compote, Fresh Fruit or Real Maple Syrup.
AVOCADO BLACK BEAN DIP
INGREDIENTS:
½ cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large ripe avocado, pitted and removed from skin
1 whole garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons red onion, minced
½ cup cooked brown rice
To taste salt and pepper
DISHES:
Small sauce pan or pot with lid, Mixing Bowl, Mixing Spoon
PREPARATION:
1. Warm black beans over low heat until just soft, and cool.
2. Finely chop the avocado, and mix with the garlic clove and red onion. This mixture should have the texture of a rough paste.
3. Mix the cooked rice into the avocado mixture, and then add the black beans stirring gently, so as not to break up the beans too much.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
EXTRA TIPS:
Try using millet instead of brown rice, or substitute white or pinto beans for the black beans.
Add some parsley or cilantro, and stir in a teaspoon of toasted cumin.
MANGO RICE PILAF
INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon canola oil
¼ cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
1 1/3 cups cooked brown basmati rice
1/3 cup cooked wild rice
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
¼ cup green onion, thinly sliced
1/8 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
1/8 cup AI-friendly broth (p. 22)
¾ cup fresh or frozen mango, diced small
PREPARATION:
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add mushrooms and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes.
Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the brown rice, wild rice, salt, pepper, thyme,
green onion, almonds and broth. Mix well.
Add mangoes and heat through.
Serve warm.
EXTRA TIPS:
If using frozen mango, allow to thaw slightly before adding to the rice.
Try adding other fruit, such as pineapple or papaya.
Use something else instead of mushrooms?
BLUEBERRY-ALMOND CRISP
This I have to say does not look particularly delicious. Hopefully I'm wrong. It says it can be frozen and reheated easily. Good to know.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup rice flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup (divided)
1/3 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (alcohol free)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups frozen blueberries
DISHES:
Medium Mixing Bowl, Mixing Spoon, Small Mixing Bowl, 9"X13" Pan, Foil or Lid for Pan.
PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Add the oil and ¼ cup of the rice syrup, mixing well. Stir in nuts and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the water, 2 tablespoons rice syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. Put blueberries in a 9” x 13” pan, and pour the liquid mixture on top. Toss gently to evenly coat the blueberries.
5. Spread the flour and nut mixture evenly over the blueberries. Cover with aluminum foil.
6. Bake for 20 minutes. Then increase the oven temperature to 425º, uncover, and bake another 10 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and crisp.
Not a bad cookbook. Might be worth buying for all the recipes.
Quick Snack Ideas
I've been so stuck on what to eat on this diet I don't really cook and have been eating out all week--which even at Portland's finest vegan restaurants is a chore to find something suited to the anti-inflammatory diet. I can't fill myself with seaweed I just keep eating and eating it hoping to subside my hunger knowing it's a futile task--regardless Roasted Seaweed Snacks from Trader Joe's are pretty good; I like the wasabi flavor. I've gotta clean the kitchen so it's actually functional until then it's snackin' it up. Maybe by the end of the day...
Here's a couple of yummy snack recipes the (P) is to recognize a protein source.
YUMMY CURRY CUMIN POPCORN:
Something I have forgot to mention about this diet thus far is that it heavily restricts the use of microwaves. Microwaves according to my doctor rob your food of 70% of the nutrients (I may be remembering that wrong). Also microwave popcorn is full of chemicals and harmful ingredients. I am still unsure whether I can have nutritional yeast, which I often eat on popcorn so I came up with this as an alternative and it was honestly more delicious. Here is a delicious microwave free snack.
Ingredients:
Organic Popcorn Kernels (I bought mine at Trader Joe's in a bag for a buck and change)
Coconut Oil (best oil for cooking at high temperatures)
Olive Oil
Curry Powder
Cumin Powder
Spike
Dishes Needed: Pot w/ Lid, Your Favorite Popcorn Bowl
1. In whatever size pot you like spoon in enough coconut oil to coat the entire bottom of the pot well enough so the popcorn kernels will not stick to the bottom. (Use High Heat Setting)
2. Add enough popcorn kernels to the pot to cover the bottom of the pot in a single layer.
3. Cover and gentle shake the pot continually in a forward and back motion over the burner to prevent kernels from burning to the pan.
4. Popcorn will begin to pop rapidly. Continue shaking as the popcorn pops. Once the pot is full remove from heat and gently lift lid just enough to allow the final kernels to pop.
5. Put popcorn into your favorite popcorn bowl. Drizzle just enough olive oil over the corn to coat and then sprinkle spike, cumin and curry over the top to taste. My proportion for a medium size bowl is about a half teaspoon spike, teaspoon cumin and a dash of curry powder.
CHIPS AND MANGO-CURRY-BLACK BEAN SALSA
Life without tomatoes and peppers equates to life without salsa which to me is a life not worth living. Here is an alternate type of salsa that contains no nightshades. You could also add a can of organic corn to make it a little more hearty--although you might want to scrap the corn chips if you do.
Ingredients:
Avocado (P)
Mango
Canned Black Beans (read the ingredients I got beans with bacon in them once) (P)
Cilantro
Curry Powder
Cumin Powder
Organic Corn Chips
Dishes: Knife, Cutting Board, Can Opener, Medium to Large Size Mixing Bowl.
1. Cut avocado and mango into small cubes and place into bowl.
2. Open black beans, strain and rinse thoroughly and add to salsa.
3. Add curry and cumin powder to taste (how spicy you want it)
4. Destem cilantro leaves and add liberally. I recommend one cup cilantro leaves for every 2 cups salsa minimum. But I love cilantro so I would probably use twice that.
Serve with Organic Corn Chips and enjoy! This would also be delicious with rice chips or bean chips. I found both these varieties of chips at Barbur World Foods on Barbur Blvd. in Portland. I think Trader Joe's also has rice chips for much lower cost.
FRUIT AND AVOCADO SUSHI
Really you can put anything in sushi once you know how to make it. I have loved Mango Avocado Sushi ever since the Sushi Chef at my local Stop N Shop in Somerville, Mass made it on a fluke that I happened to find. Since it was a one time thing, and isn't commonly found in most sushi restaurants I learned to make it my own and it was not hard to swap out the brown rice to make it fit the anti-inflammatory diet. Thinking about the different fruits you can use I think everything tastes good with avocado so try anything in season: apples, strawberries, pears, mangos. The only ones I don't recommend are bananas (because it doesn't sound good) or small berries like blackberries, raspberries or blueberries (because they are impossible to cut into long strips, although if you could figure out how to make it work it would be delicious!)
Ingredients:
Brown Rice (cooked thoroughly)
Rice Vinegar
Brown Rice Syrup
Fruit of your choice
Avocado (P)
Wasabi (if you like it)
Nori Wraps
Dishes: Rice Cooker or Pot to cook the rice (unless you already have it cooked). Small pot or sauce pan. Mixing bowl (large). Sharp knife and cutting board. Bamboo Sushi Mat.
1. Cook the Brown Rice Fully.
2. While the rice is cooking heat about 1/3 cup rice vinegar and 3 Tbsp. Brown Rice Syrup in a small pot until the rice syrup melts and blends into a thin sauce.
3. Slice avocado and fruit into long thin strips.
4. Mix sauce and rice in a large mixing bowl until seasoned throughout (now you have "sushi rice")--I had a delicious seaweed based seasoning on my food the other day that would add a lovely something as well if you can find it and it will be like sprinkling protein into your food.
5. Lay one piece of Nori across sushi mat and spread sushi rice in a thin-medium layer across 2/3 of the Nori paper.
6. Line fruit and avocado across the rice towards the end that has rice on it.
7. Use Sushi Mat to Roll into rolls and repeat.
8. Using a very sharp knife slice rolls into sushi pieces.
9. Serve with Wasabi and Pickeled Ginger if desired to make it just like a restaurant.
This would be great with Miso Soup!
SIMPLE ALMOND BUTTER SNACKS
Ingredients:
Almond Butter (P)
Rice Cake, Apple Slices, Bananas or whatever else sounds good.
Dishes: (maybe a butter knife?)
Directions: Spread and serve.
I also used cashew butter when my hubby accidentally bought a brand of almond butter containing cane sugar and I was surprisingly full and satisfied. Cashews really are an under appreciated nutritious and delicious food.
Here's a couple of yummy snack recipes the (P) is to recognize a protein source.
YUMMY CURRY CUMIN POPCORN:
Something I have forgot to mention about this diet thus far is that it heavily restricts the use of microwaves. Microwaves according to my doctor rob your food of 70% of the nutrients (I may be remembering that wrong). Also microwave popcorn is full of chemicals and harmful ingredients. I am still unsure whether I can have nutritional yeast, which I often eat on popcorn so I came up with this as an alternative and it was honestly more delicious. Here is a delicious microwave free snack.
Ingredients:
Organic Popcorn Kernels (I bought mine at Trader Joe's in a bag for a buck and change)
Coconut Oil (best oil for cooking at high temperatures)
Olive Oil
Curry Powder
Cumin Powder
Spike
Dishes Needed: Pot w/ Lid, Your Favorite Popcorn Bowl
1. In whatever size pot you like spoon in enough coconut oil to coat the entire bottom of the pot well enough so the popcorn kernels will not stick to the bottom. (Use High Heat Setting)
2. Add enough popcorn kernels to the pot to cover the bottom of the pot in a single layer.
3. Cover and gentle shake the pot continually in a forward and back motion over the burner to prevent kernels from burning to the pan.
4. Popcorn will begin to pop rapidly. Continue shaking as the popcorn pops. Once the pot is full remove from heat and gently lift lid just enough to allow the final kernels to pop.
5. Put popcorn into your favorite popcorn bowl. Drizzle just enough olive oil over the corn to coat and then sprinkle spike, cumin and curry over the top to taste. My proportion for a medium size bowl is about a half teaspoon spike, teaspoon cumin and a dash of curry powder.
CHIPS AND MANGO-CURRY-BLACK BEAN SALSA
Life without tomatoes and peppers equates to life without salsa which to me is a life not worth living. Here is an alternate type of salsa that contains no nightshades. You could also add a can of organic corn to make it a little more hearty--although you might want to scrap the corn chips if you do.
Ingredients:
Avocado (P)
Mango
Canned Black Beans (read the ingredients I got beans with bacon in them once) (P)
Cilantro
Curry Powder
Cumin Powder
Organic Corn Chips
Dishes: Knife, Cutting Board, Can Opener, Medium to Large Size Mixing Bowl.
1. Cut avocado and mango into small cubes and place into bowl.
2. Open black beans, strain and rinse thoroughly and add to salsa.
3. Add curry and cumin powder to taste (how spicy you want it)
4. Destem cilantro leaves and add liberally. I recommend one cup cilantro leaves for every 2 cups salsa minimum. But I love cilantro so I would probably use twice that.
Serve with Organic Corn Chips and enjoy! This would also be delicious with rice chips or bean chips. I found both these varieties of chips at Barbur World Foods on Barbur Blvd. in Portland. I think Trader Joe's also has rice chips for much lower cost.
FRUIT AND AVOCADO SUSHI
Really you can put anything in sushi once you know how to make it. I have loved Mango Avocado Sushi ever since the Sushi Chef at my local Stop N Shop in Somerville, Mass made it on a fluke that I happened to find. Since it was a one time thing, and isn't commonly found in most sushi restaurants I learned to make it my own and it was not hard to swap out the brown rice to make it fit the anti-inflammatory diet. Thinking about the different fruits you can use I think everything tastes good with avocado so try anything in season: apples, strawberries, pears, mangos. The only ones I don't recommend are bananas (because it doesn't sound good) or small berries like blackberries, raspberries or blueberries (because they are impossible to cut into long strips, although if you could figure out how to make it work it would be delicious!)
Ingredients:
Brown Rice (cooked thoroughly)
Rice Vinegar
Brown Rice Syrup
Fruit of your choice
Avocado (P)
Wasabi (if you like it)
Nori Wraps
Dishes: Rice Cooker or Pot to cook the rice (unless you already have it cooked). Small pot or sauce pan. Mixing bowl (large). Sharp knife and cutting board. Bamboo Sushi Mat.
1. Cook the Brown Rice Fully.
2. While the rice is cooking heat about 1/3 cup rice vinegar and 3 Tbsp. Brown Rice Syrup in a small pot until the rice syrup melts and blends into a thin sauce.
3. Slice avocado and fruit into long thin strips.
4. Mix sauce and rice in a large mixing bowl until seasoned throughout (now you have "sushi rice")--I had a delicious seaweed based seasoning on my food the other day that would add a lovely something as well if you can find it and it will be like sprinkling protein into your food.
5. Lay one piece of Nori across sushi mat and spread sushi rice in a thin-medium layer across 2/3 of the Nori paper.
6. Line fruit and avocado across the rice towards the end that has rice on it.
7. Use Sushi Mat to Roll into rolls and repeat.
8. Using a very sharp knife slice rolls into sushi pieces.
9. Serve with Wasabi and Pickeled Ginger if desired to make it just like a restaurant.
This would be great with Miso Soup!
SIMPLE ALMOND BUTTER SNACKS
Ingredients:
Almond Butter (P)
Rice Cake, Apple Slices, Bananas or whatever else sounds good.
Dishes: (maybe a butter knife?)
Directions: Spread and serve.
I also used cashew butter when my hubby accidentally bought a brand of almond butter containing cane sugar and I was surprisingly full and satisfied. Cashews really are an under appreciated nutritious and delicious food.
Why Anti-Inflammatory Vegan
I have been vegetarian more or less all my life. However this Rosh Hashanah I came to a spiritual realization and made the decision to become vegan. I have never felt deprived for my lack of eating meat, I never craved it, I may have felt marginalized or even ostracized for my being a lifelong vegetarian but my decision was never even a decision. I never developed the proper enzymes to digest meat, in fact if even the smallest piece slips accidentally into my food it will make me violently ill: a condition my sister and I have come to call meat poisoning. The point is I never felt deprived of food until I went vegan. Suddenly I found myself craving foods like Cheese Pizza and Nutella and white chocolate all of which I could not eat as an ethical vegan. This was my first experience with what it truly must be like for a meat eater to try to go vegetarian.
A few weeks after my decision to go vegan I was thrown a curve ball by my need to take up the anti-inflammatory diet for medical reasons. This diet put my choice to go vegan on steroids limiting not only things that overlap with a vegan lifestyle (eggs, dairy, honey, most meats--which I never ate anyway) but also things that are traditionally mainstays of a vegan diet (all soy except tempeh and miso, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, all variations of peppers from sweet delicious red bell peppers to spicy jalapenos, all sugar including natural cane sugar, citrus, peanuts and the most drastic: wheat and all other forms of gluten (e.g. Barley, Rye, etc.).
Additionally the diet restricts corn to only organic corn, and rice to only brown or basmati. There is a "strong suggestion" to give up all caffeine including caffeinated tea and to heavily limit alcohol (beer of course is entirely out because it is wheat/barley, a.k.a. gluten). This diet made the deprivation of going vegan seem trivial.
Basically this is a diet more drastic than a vegan celiac's. But after three different doctors from all areas of the country have told you to give the same diet a try over the past 5 years, it might be time to listen and getting rid of my pain--if it really works--might just be worth it.
I am making this blog as a personal journal about my experience with a vegan anti-inflammatory diet at the end of my first full week of the diet (the first two were sort of teasers and I cheated more than once). Hopefully if it works it can help others and if nothing else will be a place for me to record the recipes I want to try as I think of them.
A few weeks after my decision to go vegan I was thrown a curve ball by my need to take up the anti-inflammatory diet for medical reasons. This diet put my choice to go vegan on steroids limiting not only things that overlap with a vegan lifestyle (eggs, dairy, honey, most meats--which I never ate anyway) but also things that are traditionally mainstays of a vegan diet (all soy except tempeh and miso, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, all variations of peppers from sweet delicious red bell peppers to spicy jalapenos, all sugar including natural cane sugar, citrus, peanuts and the most drastic: wheat and all other forms of gluten (e.g. Barley, Rye, etc.).
Additionally the diet restricts corn to only organic corn, and rice to only brown or basmati. There is a "strong suggestion" to give up all caffeine including caffeinated tea and to heavily limit alcohol (beer of course is entirely out because it is wheat/barley, a.k.a. gluten). This diet made the deprivation of going vegan seem trivial.
Basically this is a diet more drastic than a vegan celiac's. But after three different doctors from all areas of the country have told you to give the same diet a try over the past 5 years, it might be time to listen and getting rid of my pain--if it really works--might just be worth it.
I am making this blog as a personal journal about my experience with a vegan anti-inflammatory diet at the end of my first full week of the diet (the first two were sort of teasers and I cheated more than once). Hopefully if it works it can help others and if nothing else will be a place for me to record the recipes I want to try as I think of them.
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