Thursday, January 21, 2021

Apple Crumble

 

Low Histamine Apple Crumble Recipe (also lower oxalate, low lectin) for Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or Histamine Intolerance

This is one of my favorite desserts. It is satisfying and full of histamine lowering ingredients. Apples are a great source of quercetin – a well-known Mast Cell stabilizer.

And we’ve already discussed the great properties of Stevia and Monk Fruit.

Allspice, Clove, and Cinnamon are traditional in baked apple desserts. But these are all Histamine Liberators.

So, instead I use a little Cardamom – which has anti-inflammatory properties.

And here is my secret ingredient…

Camu Camu powder! This is a low histamine, low oxalate foods-based source of Vitamin C. It’s my favorite source of Vitamin C, actually. And it has a nice allspice flavor that works beautifully with apples. You want Organic and a reliable brand free of toxins. I use Navitas Camu Camu powder.

Pecans can be high in mold toxins. To reduce them, I recommend soaking pecans in salt water for 12 hours in the fridge. Then dry them until crispy in a food dehydrator or oven on lowest temperature.

One last tip – make SURE your apples are organic. Conventional apples are notoriously high in pesticide residues that can make Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or Histamine Intolerance worse.

So, let’s put all this together for this recipe:

Ingredients:

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F.
  2. Use ghee or coconut oil to grease a 6×9” glass baking dish.
  3. Wash apples and slice into ¼” slices. The quercetin is mostly in the peel, so I leave the peel on.
  4. Mix together 1 pinch of salt and ¼ tsp each Monk Fruit Powder, Camu Camu powder, Cardamom powder, and Vanilla powder. Toss apples with this mixture.
  5. Arrange apples in bottom of the baking dish.
  6. Put ghee or coconut oil, chopped pecans, 1 pinch salt, Stevia or Monk Fruit, and ¼ tsp each Camu Camu powder, Cardamom powder, and Vanilla powder into a food processor.
  7. Pulse the nut crumble mixture until well combined and the ingredients start to stick together. Don’t over process.
  8. Layer the crumble mixture on top of the apples.
  9. Bake 20-30 minutes, until apples are soft and cooked through. Keep an eye on the topping to make sure it doesn’t burn. If topping starts to get too brown, lower temperature or cover the dish.
  10. This freezes well. Enjoy and freeze the leftovers!

Want to step this recipe up a notch? You can top it with Whipped Coconut Cream!

Optional Coconut Cream Topping:

  1. If using the Coconut Milk:
    After allowing Coconut Milk to sit in the refrigerator all night, remove it from the fridge.
    Then open the package and scoop the thickest cream from the top of the package.
    OR
    If using the Coconut Cream:
    Scoop out 1 cup of coconut cream.
  1. Whip the coconut cream, monk fruit extract, and raw vanilla powder with a whisk.
  2. Top apple crumble with coconut cream.
  3. You can use the leftover coconut water or coconut cream for smoothies or other recipes. You can freeze it in an ice cube tray to make it easier to use.

Saturday, January 16, 2021

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup - to try

 

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup

  • Author: Cookie and Kate
  •  
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  •  
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  •  
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  •  
  • Yield: 4 bowls 1x
  •  
  • Category: Soup
  •  
  • Method: Roasted and blended
  •  
  • Cuisine: Vegetarian

4.8 from 636 reviews

This cauliflower soup recipe is the best! Roasted cauliflower makes it taste amazing, and a little butter (instead of cream) makes it luxuriously creamy. Recipe yields 4 bowls of soup.

SCALE

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • Fine sea salt
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped [sub sweet onion]
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more if needed
  • Scant ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg [skip or sub]
  • For garnish: 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or chives, opt. 

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If desired, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
  2. On the baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until lightly and evenly coated in oil. Arrange the cauliflower in a single layer and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake until the cauliflower is tender and caramelized on the edges, 25 to 35 minutes, tossing halfway.
  3. Once the cauliflower is almost done, in a Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and turning translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the broth.
  5. Reserve 4 of the prettiest roasted cauliflower florets for garnish. Then transfer the remaining cauliflower to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, to give the flavors time to meld.
  6. Once the soup is done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary. (Do not fill past the maximum fill line or the soup could overflow!)
  7. Add the butter and blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice [and nutmeg] and blend again. Add additional salt, to taste (I usually add another ¼ to ¾ teaspoon, depending on the broth). This soup tastes amazing once it’s properly salted! You can also a little more lemon juice, if it needs more zing. Blend again.
  8. Top individual bowls of soup with 1 roasted cauliflower floret and a sprinkle of chopped parsley or chives. This soup keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about four days, or for several months in the freezer.

NOTES

Recipe adapted from my cookbook, Love Real Food.


https://cookieandkate.com/creamy-roasted-cauliflower-soup-recipe/

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Eggs and Peas with Onion Cream Sauce *****

Loved the flavor.  Sauce was a little bit thin.


 Eggs and Peas with Onion Cream Sauce  


1 medium white or yellow onion, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup water
8 ounces frozen green peas* (about 1 cup)
8 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and shelled
1/2 cup heavy cream (OR sour cream OR plain yogurt (see note)
1 tablespoon butter AND 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional, see note)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 oz Swiss cheese [I subbed Cheddar.  Swiss probably would have been better.]

Place the sliced onion in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil and boil for 5-10 minutes until most of the water has evaporated.  

Meanwhile put the peas in a 2-quart casserole.  

Slice the hard-boiled eggs and place over the peas.  

When the onion is tender, place it in a food processor or blender (with left-over water) and puree.  

Melt the butter in the warm saucepan and add the cornstarch.  Mix well and cook for about 10 seconds.   Add the cold milk, whisk well, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  When the white sauce thickens, add cream, onion puree, and salt.  Stir the sauce well then pour over sliced eggs.  

Sprinkle the casserole with Swiss cheese, then place it under the broiler for about 3 -4 minutes until it is browned.  [I baked it at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes]


Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 main dish servings or 8 side dish servings

Note: If you don’t want to bother making a white sauce, replace the cream with sour cream or plain yogurt, reduce the milk to 1/4 cup, and leave out the butter and cornstarch.  When making your sauce, simply mix the sour cream, milk, onion puree, salt and pepper in the warm sauce pan, then pour over the egg mixture.  You will have to broil the casserole a little longer, but it’s still quite yummy (especially with sour cream) and only a little runny.

*Oxalate Note: Green peas are a “lower medium” oxalate vegetable with 5.7 mg. oxalate per 1/2 cup.  All other ingredients are low oxalate or very low oxalate.

Variations:  This is also good with steamed asparagus or sautéed mushrooms  instead of peas.  I haven’t tried it with sautéed zucchini yet, but that’s next on my list.


http://lowoxalateinfo.com/eggs-and-peas-with-onion-cream-sauce/

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Oxalate Levels in Fruits


Fruits



 Very High


Apricots, dried halves
Blackberries
Boysenberries
Elderberries
Figs
Goji Berries
Guava
Mandarin Oranges, canned
Olives
Pomegranate, fruit and seeds
Rhubarb
Starfruit
Tangelo



High

Clementine
Grapefruit, Pink
Kiwi
Mulberries
Orange, Navel
Pears: Anjou, Magness
Persimmon


Medium

Apples: Braeburn, Mackintosh
Banana
Dates
Grapefruit, White
Grapes, Black
Mango, dried
Pear, Bosc
Plum, Red
Raspberries
Tangerine


Low

Apples: Fiji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Green, Pink Lady, Red, 
Applesauce
Avocado: Hass, very ripe
Blueberries
Cherries
Cranberries, fresh and dried, jellied canned organic
Grapes: Red seedless, Thompson green seedless
Jackfruit
Mango, fresh
Melons: Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Watermelon
Nectarine
Peach
Pear: Bartlett
Pineapple
Plum
Strawberries

Oxalate Levels in Vegetables

 Vegetables

(1/2 cup unless otherwise noted)


Extra High

Artichoke: Hearts, Jerusalem
Beets
Green Beans: French Filet 
Hearts of Palm
Okra
Plantains
Potatoes: French Fries, Idaho, Instant Mashed, Russet
Rhubarb
Spinach
Sugar Snap Peas
Sweet Potatoes/Yams
Swiss Chard


High

Carrots, raw
Green Beans
Kale, Curly
Potatoes: New, White, Red
Tomato Sauce (1/4 cup)


Medium


Broccoli, raw or steamed
Broccolini
Brussels Sprouts
Carrots, boiled
Celery, boiled
Collard Greens
Jicama
Leeks
Lima Beans
Parsnips
Peas
Peppers, Sweet Orange, Yellow, Green
Pumpkin Puree
Scallions
Seaweed: Dulse Flakes
Snow Peas
Sprouts: Mung Bean
Squash: Chayote, cubed; Hubbard, mashed  
Tomatillo
Tomato Paste (2 Tbsp)
Tomatoes, chopped


Low

Asparagus
Boy Choy, Baby
Broccoli Florets
Cabbage: Green, Napa, Purple, Savoy
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Corn
Cucumber, Regular, English (no skin)
Endive: Belgium, Curly
Escarole
Garlic
Ginger
Kale: Dino or Lacinato, Purple, Red Russian
Kohlrabi
Lettuce: Bibb, Boston, Looseleaf Green, Looseleaf Red, Romaine
Mushrooms: Button, Portobello, Shiitake
Onion: White, Yellow
Peppers: Mini Bell, Sweet Red 
Pumpkin, Raw
Radicchio
Radish, Daikon, Red, White
Rutabaga
Seaweed: Hijiki, Kombu, Nori Sheets, Wakame
Shallots
Squash: Butternut, Carnival, Delicata, Kabocha, Spaghetti, 
Squash, Summer: Yellow, Zucchini
Tomato Paste (1 Tbsp)
Tomato, Cherry: Sungold (1)
Turnip
Water Chestnut
Watercress