My Favorite Chia Pudding.

Most likely you've seen and heard about all the hype surrounding chia seeds. And most likely you've seen a gazillion recipes for "chia pudding." And... if you're like me, you wrinkle your nose and think sarcastically "really, how can THAT be good?!" Well this food craze wasn't going away, and I decided to stop being a baby and to stop saying "eww" inside my head when I hadn't even tried it. (You know that if you're a foodie, that's rule #1: Don't knock it till you try it). So I sucked it up and haphazardly threw some chia seeds in my smoothie bottle, poured in some vanilla, some this and that, enough liquid that looked appropriate, shook shook shook shook, and left it in the fridge to do it's thing.

Now I can easily say that the jokes on me people. The next morning, as I pulled the chia goo out of the fridge, I was skeptical. But I dipped my spoon in anyways and took a bite. My brain exploded. Holy cow how is this good?! This tapioca-like substance is SOOO not tapioca-like at all. I think I proceeded to eat half the batch I made right then and there. But then I showed restraint, because I knew I'd want some more yumminess later.

Ever since that fateful day, where I felt both like a Queen (hey hey, this girl tried chia pudding and LIKED it) and like a fool (this idiot waited too long to make omg-delicious-pudding), I've been experimenting with my own chia recipes. It is a little bit of a science and an art. You have to combine the right ratio of liquid to chia in order to get the right consistency. The right consistency may be firm after it has set overnight, or it maybe slightly more runny after setting overnight. But the best thing is, you can choose the texture of your pudding! See my tips after the recipe for getting this part right.

I've made this stuff with herbal coffee and coconut milk (divine), with coconut milk and vanilla (divine divine), and also with raw milk and vanilla. I like this recipe because it's the easiest of all, and it literally takes 1 minute to make. Have your roommate/partner/spouse come into the kitchen and time you. Real food doesn't have to take forever to make.

A couple notes, the quality of the liquid which you use as the base of your pudding makes the biggest difference here. In all the test-runs in my kitchen I've always used black chia seeds from my local Whole Foods or other awesome grocery store here in Seattle, so I can't speak for the other varieties of chia. But I do know that whatever milk you use DOES make an incredible difference. The milk I used here is non-canned Arroy-D coconut milk which comes in tetra packs. You can use other alternative milks, but it may make slightly different pudding. For instance, raw grass-fed milk has a much higher fat content than say rice and almond milks, so the end result has slight creaminess to it, and therefore milk alternatives like almond and rice probably will not. But really, this recipe is so versatile, and sure to please anyone in your family.

Someone obviously ate some already ;)

Classic Vanilla Chia Pudding.
     makes one quart mason jar

    1 qt  organic coconut milk, tetra-pak Arroy-D is my fav
    1/2 cup  whole organic black chia seeds
    1/2 tsp  vanilla extract
    15 drops  stevia clear liquid

To make your pudding:
  1)  Grab a clean mason jar with a tight fitting lid.
  2)  Add milk; add vanilla, add stevia
  3)  Pour your chia seeds into the jar.
  4)  Screw on lid and shake shake shake.
  5)  Put jar in fridge and go do something for 5 minutes. Come back, shake shake shake. Return to  fridge, come back a few minutes later. Shake, shake, shake. Repeat.
  6)  Let puddin' do it's thing and get all yummy overnight.

Getting the texture right: Now I know that pudding is like brownies (cakey or fudgey?) and smoothies (thick or thin?), everyone has their own opinion about the perfect texture. This recipe features a pudding that holds together but is not either super firm or very runny. My advice? Start here. If you want the pudding a bit more thick, add a Tbsp of chia seeds and give it time to absorb into the liquid. After a few hours, if it's still too runny, add more, but please know that as this sits in the fridge it does get progressively (just slightly) less runny and a bit more firm as it continues to sit. If you like your puddings more runny, just add 1-2 Tbsp less chia, give it time to sit (4+ hours, overnight is best) and then see where you're at. Overall, very forgiving and you can adjust from there. But in general it's good to have a baseline recipe, and then you can easily switch up some of the ingredients to make it more interesting.

On a non-recipe note, I have been trying to enjoy my summer since it's post-basic science Boards! I am still in classes though, so even though I haven't been doing much studying (me need break) I haven't been sharing my new recipes with y'all. I've got a bunch of them on Notes on my iPhone, and I really need to get cracking, buckle down and make some of these babies and take photos of the yumminess and then share them with you!

Thanks for sticking around even though my posts are less regular as they used to be. Med school kind of re-prioritizes your life.
:)

Grain-free "Recovery" Banana Bread.

One of my lovely family members just recently had surgery and an overnight hospital stay [everything is going well, thanks :)], and so I thought I would share this recipe, as it has been great for her recovery.

Let me explain...

My loved one recently had to have surgery. Post-operation she was having trouble swallowing because she felt so sore. She only wanted cold, soft things, and was also barely able to eat due to the nausea caused by pain meds. Turns out that I had just made some grain-free banana bread that week, in an endeavor to start recipe development for my own grain-free banana bread recipe that I would love just as much my grain-free pumpkin bread recipe. Well, the recipe was not perfect, and was very soft and moist (ie, the texture isn't quite there yet, and therefore not bloggable), but it was still had great flavor and tasted delicious, so I had kept it and was planning on nibbling on it throughout the week.

This "recipe" failure ended up being a blessing, as it's smooth and soft texture was very easy to swollow for my patient, but also gave her the feeling that she was "eating something solid." Win win!

For this recipe I used a smaller loaf pan, not the standard size. It was a medium sized Pyrex glass loaf pan which probably measures 4" x 8" and is tall, not wide, like standard loaf pans. It's very easy to whip up, and is a great idea to bring to the hospital to help your loved one recover! It sets up best in the fridge. So after the bread cools, turn it out, and place it in the fridge.

Grain-free "Recovery" Banana Bread.
    makes one loaf pan, size above

    2  very ripe bananas (or 3 small)
    1 cup  almond flour 
    1/3 cup  coconut flour
    2  medium/large eggs
    1/4 cup runny honey
    1/3 cup  coconut oil - mine was not melted
    3/4 cup  coconut milk - mine is always unsweetened
    1 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
    1 tsp  baking soda
    1-2 tsp  cinnamon or more if desired
    1.5 tsp vanilla

To make your recovery bread:
  1)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees; mine is non-convection.
  2)  Put ingredients in order listed into Vitamix or blender. Blend. Pour into coconut oil greased loaf pan (mine is a glass loaf pan).
  3)  Bake for over 1 hour. LET COOL. Store in fridge. Bread will be moist but will firm up in the fridge.
  4)  Eat with a spoon, or slice it thick. Spread with your favorite nut or coconut butter, for even more nutrition!

Enjoy this bread! I hope it will help your recovering family members, as it did mine, whether they are sick at home or are recovering from major surgery! In fact, we ate up this banana bread so fast because it was so tasty, and I am baking another one right now!

xoxo :)

P.S. I am home for Christmas break. This in the medical school world are going very well. I am tired, but loving my classes and assignments. Stay tuned for some delicious recipes that I can hopefully share with you during the time I am home. As always, thanks for continue to read my blog even though things are slow now-a-days!

Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt.

Happy August everyone!  As I type this post, it's July, and I anticipate some hot weather ahead for New Englanders in August.  But as you read this post, it's August, and I am busy busy studying Organic Chemistry.  I am completing my last pre-requisite before starting the ND program (naturopathic medicine program) in the fall at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington.   This East Coast girl, turned California girl, is now a Seattlite(?)  I never imagined this!  Now can say I've lived in all four corners of the USA.  I was born and raised in Florida, lived in New Hampshire until college, lived in Southern California for my undergrad, and now I am pursuing my doctoral degree in Washington state!  How cool.  Even though I haven't moved around "a lot" in comparison to some people, I still feel as if I have.  Am I an East Coaster now?  Or a West Coaster?  For the past four plus years the West Coast has been my home, and now for the next four plus years (at least) the West Coast will continue to be my home, only instead of the Southwest I'll be in the Pacific Northwest.  Once I was just starting to feel like a true CA girl,  I'm off to Seattle.  Sunshine to rain.  Dirty LA traffic, to clear Seattle roads.  It's a new adventure.

But enough about traveling.  Let's take a look at this yogurt.  YUMMY.  This recipe was inspired by a guest post over at Kimi Harris' blog The Nourishing Gourmet.  I didn't have exactly the right ingredients the original recipe called for, so I made some changes, and now instead of honey and tahini ice cream, it's more like peanut butter frozen yogurt.  The 1/2 cup of raw honey was a little sweet for my taste, so next time I will probably reduce to either 1/3 or 1/4 cup.  If you aren't partial to peanut butter, feel free to use tahini, cashini, cashew butter, almond butter, coconut butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.  But if you're a peanut butter fan (in moderation of course) like me, you'll love this recipe!  Chocolate chips would go great with this too!


Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt.
    Makes almost 2 quarts

    3 cups  raw milk yogurt
    1 cup  raw whole milk or full-fat coconut milk (mine was mixture of both)
    ½ cup  organic peanut butter
    ½ cup  organic raw honey
    2  real eggs
    1T  vanilla extract
    1T  arrowroot powder
    ¼ tsp  unrefined sea salt

To make your delicious peanut butter fro-yo:
  1.  Mix all ingredients in a blender.
  2.  Pour into ice cream maker and churn per manufacturers instructions.
  3.  When ready, scoop into reused plastic yogurt containers (or another vessel) and freeze for at least 12 hours.  Serve when frozen yogurt has hardened.  You may also want to remove from freezer a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy!


Make this frozen yogurt as a healthy "cool-off" treat to beat the August heat.  East Coast humidity is something that I definitely don't miss on the West Coast!  You can also put this fro-yo into popsicle molds for yourself or the little kiddos in your life.  I can't wait to do this when my little nephews get older!

Question for you: how much does your location relate to your identity?

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie SOP

Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is over and you're probably still swimming under leftovers of all kinds! Now with New Years celebrations around the corner, no doubt everyone is going to be looking for some sort of lighter fare.

Photo credit - Healthy Green Kitchen

For my Cell and Molecular Biology class last spring, we were required to make presentations that used the science template for outlining procedures in the laboratory.  We could choose any subject we wished, the more creative the better, and it did not have to be science related either.  The procedure we chose had to be outlined in a specific format and presented in front of the class using a PowerPoint presentation while simultaneously demonstrating what we were talking about.  SOP is the abbreviation for "standard operating procedure" and each of us made our own.  Presenting SOPs is very common in the scientific community, so it was necessary for us to learn this skill.

I decided to do mine on smoothie making.  My professor really enjoys food and I figured that a smoothie would be a great option since I could easily demonstrate it and have samples :)

I have made my original Word document into a PDF.  To view the Smoothie SOP PDF where I outline everything you need to know about proper smoothie making click here.  The SOP also features my favorite peanut butter banana smoothie recipe.   Photos in the SOP are courtesy of Google searches.  You can even download the PDF to your computer and print it for later referencing, or for sharing with a friend who needs some help with creating smoothies!

Enjoy, be safe and healthy in this coming New Year! Happy smoothies!

Thai Coconut Fish Sticks with Soup

This lovely dish was inspired by Ali from Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen. You can find the recipe here. I took a big step over winter break and bought some fish at Whole Foods to experiment with. I am rather new to cooking fish, but after reading Nourishing Traditions and all of the health literature I constantly immerse myself in, I have come to the conclusion that our family does not eat enough fish! Well, I knew that for a long time, but this is the first time I've actually done something about it! This was one baby step in the right direction-- we need to have fish in our diets! The tough part is getting my Mom to continue when I am at school (she is a great cook, but not as adventurous as I am), while also convincing my Dad and brother G that fish besides canned tuna really is delicious!

I happened to think that this recipe was a total success, but the boys did not agree with me so much. They are so new to the idea of fish - even fish sticks was too radical for them! It will take a lot of tries (and probably several different recipes) before they get used to eating more fish. They did conclude that the coconut topping would great on chicken. Hmph, fish is just chicken of the sea, right? My mom and I really loved the dish, however, and will definitely be making it again. I especially liked it because I had an excuse to dip them in some ketchup, of which I am a huge fan!

My Dad would like you to know that this was his plate that I photographed. I had already demolished the good presentation on mine. His plate featured rice with sauce on top. But I opted for no nice and instead had a bed of spinach with a bowl of soup on the side!

Coconut Thai fish sticks

and

Spicy Coconut Thai sauce/soup

Fish sticks

2 wild-caught yellowfin tuna steaks, cut into thick strips

2 wild-caught swordfish steaks, cut into thick strips

^or use 4 fish steaks of choice

organic coconut oil, as needed - for frying

1 cup shredded organic coconut

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp arrowroot powder

1 tsp Thai Kitchen green curry paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Sauce or soup

1 can organic coconut milk, not lite

1 stick REAL butter - will probably reduce next time

4 cups organic chicken stock/broth - I use Imagine or Pacific brand (make sure there is no MSG!)

*Spices to taste: tumeric, black pepper, sea salt, cayenne pepper

To make your fish sticks and dipping sauce or side soup:

1. Take your fish steaks from the package, rinse them in cold water and cut them into desired shapes. I did sticks, but quarter sized square "bites" would be a fun option as well!

2. In a large bowl, mix arrowroot and water, whisking well an adding spices.

3. In a small bowl, add coconut.

4. Heat up a skillet (do not use non-stick - you need to hear the sizzle!) on medium-high heat, and place about 2 Tbsp of coconut oil in to start with.

5. Making an assembly line, take prepared fish and dunk thoroughly in arrowroot/spice liquid, and then into the coconut, being sure to coat all sides of the fish. Don't worry if the arrowroot begins to "fall out" of the liquid. Just give it a whisk and continue to dunk. It will not stay suspended unless you heat it - which I did not do.

6. Place the fish in the skillet and cook until half of the fish is cooked through and has browned slightly on one side, then flip to finish cooking on the other side. Continue in batches until all the fish is done. Keep the ones that are done warm in the oven.

7. While the fish is frying, assemble the ingredients for the soup. Bring chicken stock to a boil and add butter, coconut milk and spices and turn to a low simmer, being sure to stir frequently, until the fish is done.

8. Serve your fish sticks with ketchup, garnished with some fresh parsley or cilantro. Place the fish on top of a bed of rice or greens, and ladel the soup as a sauce on top or serve it in bowls on the side. I also served oven roasted carrots with this recipe. Enjoy!

*I am sorry that I don't have exact measurements here. I found the recipe waiting to be blogged in my saved posts list and I do not remember the actual amounts I once used. As a rule, when adding spices, go light. Add each spice one at a time and adjust at each addition accordingly. Spicing dishes does not have to be scary! Once you try it a couple of times, you get used to how much of a certain spice suits your taste. If you are not used to spicing dishes from scratch (like my Mom) all you have to do is practice. Go slow and enjoy the excitement!

Gluten-free Whole-Grain Banana Bread.

 
Update - 12/21/2009

This bread IS so moist!  We just finished off the first loaf this morning and are into the second one. The one great thing about this bread is that even after sitting outside of the fridge for a couple of days it has not even slightly dried out!

It was my first full day home yesterday and I definitely took advantage of all the rest.  Being the foodie that I am, I later found myself running to the grocery store with my Mom to get some chocolate chips for making fresh from scratch almond joy ice cream.  I also made homemade pizza and banana bread (there was conveniently very overripe bananas waiting for me when I arrived home from the airport).  I might have waited a few days on the banana bread, but I ended up adding 4 full eggs into my beginning ice cream mixture, instead of just egg yolks, and so I had to use the "oops" for something.

I have been very unhappy with all the gluten free banana bread recipes that I have tried.  They are either too dry, too grainy, have too little banana content, or just taste blah and are nothing like the banana bread that I remember.  In the past, I've tried making over my mother's traditional recipe, as well as other gluten free versions online.  While some were tolerable, they weren't great.  Banana bread is easily one one my favorite quick breads, and I really want to find a good gluten free version, one that I can serve to others and be proud of.  This time I finally might be on to something!  This bread passed the "wheat-eater" test with flying colors, my brother G really liked it!  My family and I almost ate the whole half loaf for breakfast!

The bread did really well except for the fact that it is a little moist on the bottom.  This can be alleviated by probably just changing the amount of liquid and also adding bit more baking soda.  I will probably do a combination of both and next time I make another batch of this yummy bread I will update the recipe here.

Gluten-free Whole-Grain Banana Bread.

    yields two loaves

    1 1/2 cup  sorghum flour

    1 cup  unblanched almond flour

    1/2 cup  teff flour

    1/2 cup + 2 T  arrowroot starch

    1/2 cup  tapioca flour

    1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt

    1 1/2 tsp  baking soda

    2 tsp  cinnamon

    2 dashes  nutmeg

    1/2 tsp  xantham gum

    1 cup  organic full-fat coconut milk

    1/4 cup  honey

    3/4 cup  organic maple syrup

    6 drops  clear stevia

    4 cups  mashed bananas

    4  REAL grassfed eggs

To make your banana bread:

  1.  In a large bowl, whisk together: flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

  2.  In separate smaller bowl, add bananas and mash.

  3.  In third small bowl, add eggs, maple syrup, agave and stevia.

  4.  Combine liquid ingredients and slowly add to the dry ingredients, folding together with a spatula.

  5.  Lightly MISTO spray two loaf pans, and divide batter evenly between them.

  6.  Place into a preheated 350 degree oven, and bake for about an hour or until the bread begins to brown, pulls apart from the sides and a stick inserted through the middle comes out clean.

  7.  Let cool in the pans on top of a wire rack. Then gently go around the edges with a dull knife and shake the bread out. Place them on wire racks to fully cool before eating or giving away or freezing.

This bread was so moist and delicious.  I hope you enjoy this banana bread with your family.  The bananas and sweet maple syrup make it especially scrumptious.  If you are averse to the taste of coconut, do not worry, the taste does not shine through in this bread.  The maple syrup taste is not assertive either.  It has just the right amount of sweetness.  Next time I make this bread, I might actually add more cinnamon!

For those of you that are wondering what banana bread recipe I used before I was gluten-free, click here.   I still use this recipe occasionally when I cook for others who do not have any special dietary needs.