Monica’s Recipes Roanoke Chiropractor—spinal adjustments Towers Family Chiropractor

Nut Or Seed Butter

May 16, 2022 by towers

Nut butters can be hard to digest and for people who have less of an ability to digest fats they may be off limits. By preparing your nuts and/or seeds this way you may tolerate them better. Follow the instructions given in a previous post for preparing your nuts/seeds.

What about peanut butter? Well, lots of folks don’t digest it well. Afterall, peanuts are a legume (as in dried beans) and not a true nut. Also, there is the possible contamination of aflatoxins–liver-harming toxins from mold that grows on peanuts even if they are organically grown because they are an underground crop.

If you are allergic to tree nuts, you can use 2 cups of pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of using walnuts.

You will need a blender or food processor.

1 cup “prepared” walnuts

1 cup “prepared” pumpkin seeds

2 Tbsp. ghee, melted (you may substitute coconut oil)

2 tsp. honey, optional

salt to taste if your nuts were nut prepared with salt

Melt the ghee in a metal bowl on low heat. Remove from heat and set aside. Blend the pumpkin seeds first–blend until finely ground. Add to the bowl of melted ghee and stir well. Add the honey if you desire it and stir well again. Blend the walnuts in the blender until finely ground and add to the mixture. Stir well. Taste and add salt if desired. Keep in the refrigerator. It will harden so that it is hard to spread but you can remove the amount you need and allow it to warm to room temperature for easier spreading. Great on apple slices or celery sticks.

Go Nuts

May 16, 2022 by towers

Get the best taste out of your raw nuts while making them easier to digest by following these simple steps. It’s worth the time to make a big batch and store them long-term in the refrigerator. I try to always have one or more varieties available for snacking or baking or making nut butter–my favorites are walnuts but pecans come in second. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds are good too. I have made a nut butter with a walnut and pumpkin seed mix which is yummy–look for the recipe here. I avoid cashews–they are never truly raw because they have to be heated to remove a poisonous compound. They may still contain some of this poison ivy-like compound and I wonder if that is why I don’t feel good when I eat them.

So this is what you need to do:

Purchase raw (be sure they are not roasted or pasteurized) nuts. If you can get organically grown that is best–I order nuts from here. They are expensive but I wait until they have a sale and get enough for free shipping–sign up for their emails for the sale notification. Then store them in the freezer until you are ready to process them. For pumpkin and sunflower seeds, I purchase from here.

Measure about 2 quarts of nuts/seeds and place into a large bowl. Add enough water to totally cover the nuts. Allow to soak overnight or about 12 hours. Drain and rinse very well until the rinse water is clear–the soak water will be very brown with walnuts and pecans. The soaking rids the nuts of some harsh-tasting stuff so be sure to rinse very well. I use a large colander for draining–allow to drain until no water is dripping from the bottom.

Pre-heat an oven to 140 degrees F. or the lowest setting on your oven. Spread the soaked nuts/seeds in large shallow baking pans–a thin layer will cut on the drying time needed to thoroughly dry. Salt the nuts if desired–about a teaspoon of nuts per quart of nuts. Stir well to distribute the salt–some of it remains on the pan so don’t think this is too much salt–and spread again in an even layer in the pan. Place the pans in the oven until the nuts/seeds are thoroughly dry. This may take 4-12 hours depending on your oven temperature and the thickness of the layer in the pan. The first time you make them check them every 2 hours (stir them while you are at it for quicker drying) by biting into one to see if there is still moisture in the center. If your oven has a drying option at 140 or lower, they will nut burn if left longer. In fact, they can may taste better. Once I left walnuts for 16 hours at 140 and they were very buttery and now I leave them past the point of drying.

Remove from the oven once thoroughly dry. Allow to cool and then place in glass jars. I use 1/2 gallon, wide-mouthed mason jars as pictured above. Store in the refrigerator. They will keep for weeks.

Daikon Saute

April 22, 2022 by towers

Daikon radish, though often overlooked, is a nice mild-tasting root vegetable addition to vegetable sautees. It belongs to the cruciferous family of vegetables which is known for many health benefits when included as part of a diet.

Here I have made use of winter-grown vegetables from my greenhouse and cold frame, but these vegetables are all available in the produce section of most grocery stores and natural food co-ops. If you have a cold frame, give daikon radish a try–they grow fast, are very cold hardy, and store well once harvested in the refrigerator. Also, if your collards or kale goes to flower, pick the flower heads before they open–they are similar to broccolini.

This vegetable mix can be served over rice, millet, quinoa, or can be served as a side.

Serves 2

4 Tbsp. ghee

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 cup chopped daikon radish (quarter lengthwise and then slice in 1/4 inch pieces)

1 cup chopped carrot

1 cup broccoli or broccolini florets (or your kale or collard that are starting to flower–see the picture above. Really look like broccoli!)

salt, black pepper to taste

Melt ghee over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onions and saute with an occasional stir for a few minutes. Add the carrots and daikon and stir well. Cover with a lid and continue to cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until carrots are tender. Add florets and stir. Crack the lid and cook until the florets are just tender and bright green–do not overcook! Remove from heat and add salt and black pepper (if desired) to taste. Serve as a side or over rice, millet or quinoa that was previously prepared (see recipe link above).

Sunchokes

January 28, 2022 by towers

If you are a gardener, you are likely planning what to plant for the 2022 growing season right about now. I wanted to put in a plug for sunchoke tubers for lots of reasons:

the tubers are versatile and make delicious soups, roasted or stir-fried vegetables, “pickles”, and raw salad garnish.
they are low-glycemic or low starch even though they resemble potatoes–the carbohydrate in them is called inulin and is a good gut microbe prebiotic. See this recipe for how to roast them–I recently mixed 2 small potatoes, 4 large sunchokes and 1/2 sweet red pepper with the seasonings in the recipe.
they are easy to grow and prolific–meaning 1 plant makes A LOT of tubers (see the picture which shows 1 plant being dug up).
the tubers remaining in the ground will make a new crop the following year.
they store very well in the ground over winter (as long as you mulch them heavily with straw or leaves) so you can dig them up as you need them.
the beautiful sunflower-like yellow flower is enjoyed by pollinators and makes a nice cut flower (Money thought so) if you can reach it! (plants can reach 8 ft. tall).
they spread which is good as long as they are harvested so keep them in a restricted area of the garden. Give them a try!

Meyer Lemon Tree–The Best House Plant!

January 27, 2022 by towers

Meyer lemons are prized as gourmet lemons. Amazingly enough, they are easy to grow as house plants. I have had the same one for over 15 years now and it has consistently produced lemons except for a few years when I wasn’t paying enough attention to it–this year it made 40 lemons despite a trunk diameter of no more than 1.5 inches! This picture has a tangerine tree in front of the lemon but you can see the lemons. The pots are on plastic trays with wheels that make it easy to move around.

From November to March it’s inside in front of a sunny window and we enjoy its fragrant blossoms in late winter. On warm early Spring days we move it outside for the day so the honeybees can pollinate the flowers. Tiny green lemons form and grow all summer long and can be harvested in late Fall once fully yellow. During the warm months of the year we have it outside in full sun on the deck. From a permaculture point of view this is an ideal house plant–it serves many desirable functions. We are so enamored with this tree that we eat the lemon rinds too by drying and grinding for seasoning/tea or candying them in just maple or coconut syrup (1 Tbsp. with chopped rind of 1 lemon simmered with an occasional stir in a shallow pain until rind is soft and has absorbed all the liquid-keep in refigerator). If you decide to try your green thumb with a Meyer lemon, in can help maintain it to foliar feed it once a week with an organic liquid fertilizer (such asSpray’n grow) or to use Espoma organic citrus fertilizer 4 times a year. Give it a try!

Chick Peas and Delicata Squash with Rice

January 18, 2022 by towers

Good winter meal–warming and filling. This type of squash compliments the chick peas very nicely so do your best to find a delicata. Our local Earthfare store carries them.

Just serve with a salad for an easy meal.

Serves 2-4

Rice:

1 cup brown basmati rice, rinsed well and drained

1 and 1/2 cups water,

1/2 tsp. sea salt

Vegetables:

4 Tbsp. ghee

1 cup chopped yellow onion2 tsp. ground cumin

1 and 1/2 cups finely chopped delicata squash (do not peel the squash–just wash well, cut in half and remove the seeds and then cut each half lengthwise again and cut crosswise in 1/4 inch pieces)

2 cups COOKED chick peas

2 Tbsp. organic tamari

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes

1 cup water

sea salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste, optional

Start the rice first. Place rinsed and drained rice in a sauce pan and add water and salt. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat so the mixture just simmers. Cover with a lid. Do not remove the lid until 30 minutes of simmering and if all the water is absorbed, remove from heat. If some water remains, cover again and simmer another 5-10 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Keep covered but set aside until vegetables are ready.

Melt the ghee in a large skillet. Add the onions and stir over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the cumin and stir again. Add the squash and stir well and cook for a few minutes more before adding water and tamari. Once the mixture starts to simmer reduce to low heat and cover with a lid for 10 minutes. Once squash is cooked through add chick peas and nutritional yeast and stir well. Bring to a simmer again and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls over rice immediately.

Superfood Pancakes

October 14, 2021 by towers

Special occasion pancakes for sure! Maybe for a birthday or other celebration? The good news is these pancakes taste like dessert with the optionals but have no added sweetener if made as plain blueberry pancakes. This is a gluten-free and sugar-free, quick and easy recipe filled with superfoods that kids will love.

Serves 2

1 cup finely shredded dried coconut

1/2 cup arrowroot flour

1/4 cup whole flax seed, ground in a blender

1 large ripe pear, skinned and cored

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. sea salt

4 eggs

1/2 cup coconut milk or water

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/4 cup walnut pieces, optional

1/4 of a bar of 85 to 90% dark chocolate, cup up in 1/2 inch square pieces or 2 Tbsp. chocolate chips, optional

ghee and honey as topping, optional

In a food processor place the coconut, arrowroot, ground flax seed, baking powder, and salt. Pulse just enough to mix well. Add chopped pear, eggs, and coconut milk or water. Process until thoroughly blended.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add a little ghee just to grease the bottom lightly–use a spatula to spread evenly. As soon as the pan is hot, spoon 2-3 Tbsp. of batter per pancake. Immediately place 6 or so blueberries on each pancake and a few walnut pieces if desired. Adjust the heat down if necessary so the pancakes do not burn–3-5 minutes per side usually does it in my pan. When you see little bubbles forming on the outside it’s time to flip them. If desired, place a few chocolate pieces or chocolate chips on the top after flipping–they will melt while that side down cooks. Gently spread the melted chocolate over the top. Place on a plate and top with a tsp. of ghee and some honey if desired. A 1/2 tsp of honey per pancake is all it takes to sweeten these up. Serve while warm.

Bacon Rollups

September 22, 2021 by towers

This is a quick meal if you have some bacon and leftover brown rice on hand. We use organic turkey bacon, but preferably bacon should also be from pasture-raised animals whether it is turkey or pork. Also, these would be good for breakfast or lunch and kids will love them. Use other vegetables for the rice mixture if you wish and serve some extra of this rice mixture with the rollups.

Serves 2

4 strips of bacon

2 cups cooked brown rice

2 Tbsp. ghee

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped squash–I used delicata which is the most delicious in my mind but not so easy to find

1 cup thinly sliced rounds of daikon radish, if the radish is large half it or quarter it lengthwise before slicing

1 tsp. ground cumin seed

Organic tamari to taste (replace with salt if desired); and optional hot pepper sauce to taste

Melt the ghee in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and stir a few times for 5 minutes to slightly brown the onions. Add the other vegetables and stir well. Continue to heat over medium heat stirring a few times for another 5 minutes until the vegetables are all tender or easily pierced with a fork. Stir in the rice. Heat for another few minutes. Season with cumin and tamari or salt, to taste. Add hot pepper sauce if desired. Set aside rice mix and cook the bacon however you like–I use a toaster oven set at 350 degree F for five minutes or so. Place the bacon on a plate and spoon some rice mixture on each strip. Spread it evenly while pressing it down. Roll up the bacon and serve on a plate with some extra rice mixture. Enjoy while still warm but I suppose they would be good cold too.

Easy Butternut Squash

September 15, 2021 by towers

Thinking of putting up more food? Don’t forget the vegetables that store very well with no fuss. Butternut squash and sweet potatoes are on the top of the list. We grow them and usually have 30-40 butternuts that we store and eat over the winter months. They keep amazingly well in a cool basement. And don’t forget that butternut squash make excellent “pumpkin” pies.

An easy way to prepare butternut is to bake it whole in a baking pan in a 350 degree F oven for about an hour or until it is soft–a knife should easily pierce the top end (not the round end with the seed cavity). Remove from the oven and cut in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Cut into serving sizes leaving the skin. Top each serving with 1 tsp of ghee or butter. Season with dried onion powder, salt, and other herb seasoning of your choice if desired. Eat out of the skin (discarding the skin) while still warm.

Nut Or Seed Butter

Go Nuts

Daikon Saute

Sunchokes

Meyer Lemon Tree–The Best House Plant!

Chick Peas and Delicata Squash with Rice

Superfood Pancakes

Bacon Rollups

Easy Butternut Squash

Good Nutrition

Nut Or Seed Butter

Children’s Adjustments

Children with back pain

Towers Family Chiropractic