"The GenoType Diet"

Our pediatrician was reading "The GenoType Diet" by Dr. Peter J.D'Adamo when we took our kids in for a check-up. She mentioned how fascinating the book was, which sparked our interest because we are always looking for some new experiment...will this diet help me feel better? Help me be more alert at my job? Give me more strength/stamina to run after two young kids all day? Cure my food allergies?!

While I can't say it has been the miracle cure we're always searching for, it has been an interesting book and has led to some fun experiments (including Roast Duck). We also had fun learning how to eat artichokes. I just steamed them and served them with melted butter (for my 3 1/2 year old) and pine nut sauce (pine nuts, olive oil, water, vitamin C powder) for my husband and I.

My husband and I enjoyed doing all the little "tests" to discover our genotype categories - measuring our torsos and legs, our index fingers and ring fingers, determining our head shapes and body types. I think I might be either an Explorer or maybe a Gatherer; my husband thinks he's a Hunter (though he doesn't know his blood-type yet).

The nice thing is that several of the recommended foods for all genotypes are "non-typical" foods in the "Standard American Diet." The extensive (and expensive!) list offers quite a few foods my husband is not allergic or sensitive to. For example: buffalo, goat, lamb, duck, and several different seafoods. Also included are several "whole-foods" sweeteners like agave syrup and molasses (Hunter) and rice syrup and honey (Explorer).

I did try cod and lamb, two things I never really liked before. I enjoyed trying something new and it was fun to try some new recipes (an Indian pilau for the lamb), but I can't say I've been radically won over on them. While I'm proud of myself for trying something new, I realized it is really very difficult to change. I think the important thing was that I tried something new, and I'll be willing to try different foods again...gradually. Changes take time and I can't expect myself to instantly fall in love with something I've never liked - simply because I read a new book about it.

"Chocolate" Oatmeal Cookies

It has been almost two months since I've posted. During that time we've read two new diet books, started the process of buying a new condo and preparing to move, and traveled back to Michigan to say a final goodbye to the best cook I'll ever meet...my grandmother.

I'll write about the other topics later, but here is a great new recipe for a whole-foods cookie:

"Chocolate" Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 c. vegetable shortening (Spectrum)
1/4 c. brown rice syrup
1/2 c. honey
1 t. vanilla
1 c. buckwheat flour
1/4 c. carob powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening, brown rice syrup, honey and vanilla with an electric mixer. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until combined into the shortening mixture (will take a little elbow-grease, add a little more brown rice syrup or honey if the dough seems too dry). Drop by heaping teaspoons onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet after about 2 minutes, being careful because they are more fragile than other cookies; cool on a wire rack.

Happy Easter - the "sneaky" bunny brought a few treats ;)

Last Easter was a food-allergy disaster. The youngest obviously did not have candy, but my then-two-year-old daughter had both mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and a chocolate bunny, and her cheeks broke out in a horrible rash. Her mood totally changed and I was determined to not repeat the same mistake as last year.

However, I also worry about being too cautious and vigilant about sugar, so I decided that if they were going to have sugar and chocolate, it would be as un-processed as possible with a little bit of nutritional value.

I used the same "baskets" they had last year with the little plastic eggs, and shredded colored construction paper in our paper shredder. I put little ziplock snack bags full of dried cranberries, papaya, pineapple, and raisins from the Whole Foods Bulk Food section in the little plastic eggs. Then I stayed up late and baked some Easter Sugar Cookies and Chocolate Biscotti (at the request of my husband). The kids liked the dried fruit and sugar cookies...we let them decorate the sugar cookies with coconut frosting (no dairy) Easter afternoon. The kids didn't like the Chocolate Biscotti, but my husband did!

Easter Sugar Cookies (adapted from "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook"):
2/3 c. shortening (Spectrum palm-vegetable only)
3/4 c. sugar (I used natural cane sugar, a less-refined, less-sweet version from Whole Foods called "Florida Crystals")
1 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 2 T. rice milk
1 t. vanilla
1 c. quinoa flour
1 c. oat flour

Beat shortening & sugar with an electric mixer until well-mixed, then beat in egg replacer and vanilla. Then I mixed in the baking powder and flour with a wooden spoon. I shaped the dough into a ball and chilled for about 30 min. Then I rolled it out, using more flour if necessary, cut out my egg and bunny shapes, and baked at 375 degress for about 7 minutes (watch carefully, how long you bake will depend on how thick your cookies are). I tried to make mine at least 1/4 in thick, because any thinner they'll be too crispy or fall apart.

I love the coconut frosting from "Vegan with a Vengeance." It uses shortening, coconut milk, powdered sugar, and shredded coconut. Yes, we used food coloring - though I know this isn't always considered "safe" - it was a fun special treat.

Creamy Jicama Slaw - Raw Food Craze

I'm just starting to get into the new raw food craze. After spending all winter baking, roasting, and broiling, I'm ready to give the oven a rest. It has not only been heating up our kitchen - but also our gas bill.

As a family with a preschooler and a toddler, it's not really feasible for us to go totally raw. Undoubtedly, there are some things that will need to be cooked...but I'm trying to take small steps to introducing more fresh, living foods. For example, I have tried just lightly steaming broccoli. My daughter was really excited about the mini "snack carrots" she calls them, and the kids all love fresh fruit. "Swiss-style" oats, soaked overnight in water or rice milk (or milk if you can have it), are also a great alternative to cooked oats.

For the raw foods lifestyle, it is essential to have a good food processor (I was lucky to receive the Cuisinart dual food processor/blender for a Christmas gift!) It will slice, shred, chop and puree most vegetables, and though I have broken my plastic bowl and top twice, Cuisinart has replacement parts available at a very reasonable price.

There are great shredded vegetable salad recipes in "The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide." My new favorite is "Creamy Jicama Slaw," basically shredded jicama with what they call "Super Smooth Sauce." The recipe in the book has the sauce made with macadamia nuts (I used the nuts and made nut butter in my juicer), however, I tried a tahini sauce for my kids and they liked it.

Tahini Sauce to dip or mix with shredded vegetables:
1 T. Tahini (I used a super-creamy brand that I found at Russo's in Watertown)
1 T. Water
1/2 t. unbuffered Vitamin C powder (tart-tasting)...I used a brand from Cambridge Naturals
1 T. Oil (I used extra-virgin olive)

Whisk together until smooth with a fork. Pour over fresh shredded jicama, cucumber, cabbage, carrots, or zucchini. This is also a good substitute for mayo (egg allergies).

Also a particular favorite of ours is the Carrot-Olive Salad containing shredded carrots, sliced black olives, and olive oil. My kids also love the coleslaw recipe from "The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook," which uses fresh apples and raisins, and a sauce made from olive oil, rice milk, vinegar, lemon and orange juice instead of mayo. We have also found that Vitamin C Powder is a great substitute for vinegar or lemon juice in salad dressings - my husband claims it's not as rough on his stomach as the more acidic vinegar.

Spring is here! More raw food posts to come this spring/summer...

Gingerbread Cookies

I know it's way past Christmas, but winter is not over here in New England. My daughter really wanted to make gingerbreads, and we had not make them yet this year. I had to think about what I would do for a recipe - I knew I wanted no dairy, refined sugar, or wheat - so that we could eat them together as a family and they would be semi-healthy. I used the oatmeal cookie recipe as a guide in the "Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook," which is excellent by the way and you will have to get the book or borrow it from the library to try it. However, here is my version for gingerbread cookies.

1/2 c. vegetable shortening (make sure it doesn't have soy...try Spectrum's brand)
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 t. vanilla

Cream the above 4 ingredients with an electric mixer.

1/2 c. rye flour
1/2 c. buckwheat flour
1 c. oat flour
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder

Stir into creamed mixture. I used a little of the dough at a time to roll out on a generously floured (I used oat) surface, then cut out my little gingerbread people. We decorated the cookies with raisins and unsweetened coconut. Bake about 7-8 minutes on 350 degrees.

Drinking Healthy - Fresh Juice

Ever since I found a great fresh fruit and vegetable market (A. Russo's, Watertown, MA), I am starting to get back into making my own fresh juice. I would love to have a large kitchen so I could keep my juicer out all the time, but it's probably just as well to get everything out and have a special treat once in a while (even natural fruit and vegetable juice has a high amount of sugar, with no fiber). My favorite juice is Beet - Apple - Carrot. By the way, my 3 year-old and 18-month old love it! We water it down a little though, about 1/2 juice and 1/2 water.

I have the Omega juicer, which I've used for fruit/vegetable juice and for grinding nut or seed -butters (such as almond, sunflower seed and pumpkin seed butter). It has worked well, it's fairly easy to clean, and powerful. However, you have to cut the fruit/vegetables into slices that will go into the machine, so this sometimes takes a few extra minutes.

Juice is a great way to transition to eliminating soft drinks and diet coke/pepsi (which in addition to being a health risk will ironically just cause you to gain weight). If you don't have time to make your own juice and must buy commercial juice, make sure it is 100% Juice. Try mixing a little Sparkling water, like San Pellegrino, in with the juice.

Some people drink soft drinks just to be drinking something. Try getting a water bottle (preferably a hard plastic), and fill up on fresh, filtered water all day. I've read even drinking bottled water is sometimes not so good, because the water is bottled in soft plastic containers that may leak chemicals into the water if exposed to extreme temperatures.

If you are just drinking diet coke for the caffeine or refreshing pick-up, I think it would be better to drink some unsweetened iced green tea mixed with sparkling water. At least it's all natural - and real! Plus, green tea does have some nutritional value and health benefits. Octavia tea is very good.

I used to buy apple juice for my kids and water it down, but now I don't even buy apple juice. They are used to drinking water all day, and I make sure their water bottles are full. It's great to get them in the habit early of drinking lots of water. I can't believe how much I'm saving on my grocery bill by drinking healthy - no juice, beer or wine, coffee, soda - so I can afford to buy treats such as tea, Teeccino, or sparkling water once in a while.

How to kick the coffee habit

I talked to my brother recently - who I always knew to pull all-night study sessions with a cup of strong black coffee - and he was saying he has a hard time sleeping if he drinks any caffeine after 4 p.m. I think most of us have run into this situation at some time or another. I have always loved coffee, but it was among the many things I chose to renounce during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I tried going decaf, but was concerned with the decaffeinating process - I realize the "Swiss Water" method is probably ok, but the thought of formaldehyde possibly entering my body scared me. I now drink herbal tea, but for a while I was really stuck on coffee. My husband and I were craving coffee about a year ago, and he went to Whole Foods to see what he could find. My husband asked an employee for suggestions, who saw my husband holding Teeccino in his hand and exclaimed, "Oh, you wanted ersatz coffee!" Since then, we enjoy an occasional cup of Teeccino for a special caffeine-free coffee treat.