The Healthy Cooking Coach

Cooking to Heal Digestive Disorders & Promote Health

With all the recipes I have in my cookbooks, I still enjoy trying recipes from other sources: cookbooks, magazine articles, blog posts, and links that some of my friends send me. It keeps my cooking fresh and gives me ideas for new recipes and combinations of ingredients and techniques I haven’t thought of.

This past November I spent four days in the Salt Lake City Utah area with one of my former cooking assistants who now practices Naturopathic Medicine with her husband and another ND at Healing Solutions Pediatric Center in Sandy Utah. They use a holistic approach to prevent and treat chronic diseases, childhood developmental disorders, neurologically imbalances, and other conditions.

Photo credit: Rachel Albert Matesz © 2009

A holistic approach to healing
They work with a lot of parents whose children have developmental disorders and chronic diseases, such as Autism, Asthma, Allergies, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Asperger’s, PDD-NOS, etc. Rather than use psychotropic or immune suppressive drugs to alter neurotransmitter/hormonal levels and neurological function, combined with behavior modification techniques, the Naturopathic doctors at Healing Solutions use a more holistic approach to correcting the imbalances by supporting each individual body to come into balance.

The Two-Day Cooking Intensive
Dr. Mary, Dr. Humpherey’s and I led a two-day cooking intensive to help parents learn how to practice several well-known therapeutic diets that have helped developmentally and nutritionally-challenged children heal and function at a higher level. We focused on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), The GF/CF Diet (gluten-free, casein-free diet), and the The Anti-Candida Diet.

To learn more about a holistic approach to treating your child’s health problems, upcoming cooking classes, cooking intensives, healthy shopping tours, and other services offered by Healing Pediatrics staff in the Sandy, Draper, and Salt Lake City, UT area, you can visit the Healing Pediatrics web site.

A new way to cook
If you have Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, celiac disease, diverticulitis, aor other digestive conditions, changing the way you cook and eat can improve the way you feel and function in a profound way. Very few conventional doctors are aware of the healing power of food. As a result, they rarely prescribe the kind of dietary changes that are required to reduce inflammation, heal the gut lining, and promote healthy digestion, assimilation, and elimination.

In preparation for the cooking intensive I checked out several cookbooks from the library (don’t overlook this source when you’re searching for new books and recipes; if you like the book, then you can buy it with confidence knowing you’ll actually use it).

Here are a couple of recipes I found, prepared, and liked from Eat Well Feel Well: Meals to Help Manage Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, celiac disease, diverticulitis, and other digestive conditions by Kendall Conrad (ClarksonPotter Publishers, New York, 2006) The book contains More than 150 Delicious Specific Carbohydrate Diet-Compliant recipes. I found the recipes easy to follow. I found the instructions clear and concise; you don’t need to be a chef to produce great results. Check out this book if you want to learn more about cooking for the SCD diet.

For a holiday meal in December I served the Mashed Roasted Carrots with Cumin and Orange and The Moroccan Cauliflower with Curried Deviled Eggs and Ham, from Trader Joes. I would make the carrot and cauliflower dish again. If I made the curried eggs I would cut the amount of spices way back. I thought the ham was way too sweet for my tastes, although I’m glad I tried it because I hadn’t had ham in decades.

Mashed Roasted Carrot with Cumin and Orange
Prep: 20 minutes    Cooking: 1 hour, unattended        Yield: 4 servings

This deep. Rich orange puree is a great substitute for mashed potatoes and, if you ask me, has even more flavor. The roasted garlic butter adds even more rich, sweet flavor. Serve with a variety of Moroccan or Middle Eastern-inspired dishes.

My notes: I made a few adjustments in the recipe below. You’ll see my comments in parentheses below. The cooked carrot puree reminded me of sweet potatoes, really sweet, almost dessert like! Made me think of making a carrot pie filling some time.

Ingredients:
2 pounds carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 2-inch pieces
8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/4 cup olive oil (avocado oil and extra-virgin coconut oil also work)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespon grated orange zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (I used Redmond Real Salt, an unrefined sea salt)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
2. In a roasting pan, toss the carrots with the garlic, oil, cumin, zest, salt, and pepper.
3. Roast for 1 hour, until very tender. Drain any excess oil from the carrots and transfer them to a food process (fitted with a metal blade). Squeeze the garlic out of its skin into the food processor and add 1 tablespoon butter. Pulse to a chunky puree. This can be made 2 days in advance and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator. (Better yet, make a bigger batch, then serve it two or three days in a row with different side dishes).
4. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into 6 slices and top each serving with a slice (I skipped this last step since I used a mix of butter and olive oil to roast the carrots and I refrained from pouring off the olive oil after roasting).

Variations:

• * If you follow a casein free diet, you could replace 1/4 cup olive oil with 1/4 cup ghee or extra-virgin coconut oil, then skip the step where she says to pour off the olive oil; just puree the carrots and garlic with the ghee left in the pan. Then, omit the added butter at the table. You could sprinkle chopped, roasted pecans on top for a rich, crunchy garnish.
• * Try this recipe with red garnet or jewel yams. Choose ones that are small in diameter, not any larger than your hand can wrap around otherwise they’re likely to be dry and mealy textured.

Source: Eat Well Feel Well: Meals to Help Manage Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, celiac disease, diverticulitis, and other digestive conditions by Kendall Conrad (ClarksonPotter Publishers, New York, 2006) with foreward by Elaine Gotschall, M.Sc., author of Breaking the Vicious Cycle.


Moroccan Cauliflower
Prep: 20 minutes    Cooking: 15 minutes        Yield: 4 to 6 sevings

The deep red color of paprika seeps into the cauliflower, which is kept whole, making for a beautiful presenation. The cumin and cinnamon add a wonderful flavor to this vegetable side dish. This is great alongside Moroccan Chicken Stew with Cashews, Saffron, and Currants (page 110 of Eat Well Feel Well: Meals to Help Manage Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, celiac disease, diverticulitis, and other digestive conditions).

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head cauliflower
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt (I used Redmond Real Salt, an unrefined sea salt)
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Trim the stalk of the cauliflower to the base, keeping the pretty green leaves intact. Set in a large pot with half an inch of water in it. Cover, set over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Steam until tender, 10 to 12 minutes
2. Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat, lightly toast the paprika, cumin, and cinnamon for 2 to 4 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from the heat and whisk in the oil, juice, garlic, salt, and pepper.
3. Transfer the cauliflower to a platter and pour the spiced oil over the top. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Source: Eat Well Feel Well: Meals to Help Manage Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, celiac disease, diverticulitis, and other digestive conditions by Kendall Conrad (ClarksonPotter Publishers, New York, 2006) with foreward by Elaine Gotschall, M.Sc., author of Breaking the Vicious Cycle.

Root Vegetable Renaissance

What vegetables have you eaten today?
This week? What have you eaten besides lettuce, cucumbers, tomato, broccoli, and potatoes? Have you been ignoring your roots? Now’s the time to repair your relationship with these often ignored vegetables. And you thought I was talking about your great grandparents and their parents? I’m focusing our garden roots here.

At the turn of the century, Americans ate them in abundance. With the advent of fast food these sustaining slow-food staples have fallen out of favor. Nowadays, many people are unable to identify more than one or two root vegetables. If you don’t believe me, take a selection of roots through the checkout line at a supermarket and see how many bewildered looks and questions you get as they try to figure out what you’re buying. Sadly, they can probably name more brands of beer or soda than root vegetables.

Name that root
How many of these roots can you accurately identify?

Black radish
Burdock root
Celeraic
Daikon
Horseradish
Icicle radish
Kohlrabi
Parsnip
Rutabaga
Salsify
Turnip
Watermelon radish
Winter Radish

What’s so great about roots?
They provides stability and a sense of root-ed-ness. Without roots, we tip over, feel awry, un-rooted, up-rooted, unconnected to our origins, and ungrounded. We become lost in upward and outward energy.  If we want our feet firmly planted on the earth, we have to reconnect with the primal energy of Mother Earth. What better time to do this than during the Autumn and winter? And what better way than by eating earthy root vegetables. (Did I mention that most of them taste mildly to strongly sweet when baked, boiled, roasted, stewed, or simmered in a soup with onions?)

The function of roots   
A plant’s roots draw water and minerals from the soil to nourish and sustain its leaves. They regulate water and mineral movement and keep crucial fluids flowing. Roots store energy collected by the leaves, slowly releasing it to fuel growth, activity, and reproduction for plants. During a long cold winter, the underground portion of a plant stores vital energy after the leaves die back, allowing the plant to regenerate in the spring. I like to think of roots as fertilizer for thought, nourishment for the next project, and batteries for bolstering our bodies.

What’s in a root?
From a nutritional standpoint, roots provide carbohydrates, minerals, including potassium and phosphorus, small amounts of iron, vitamin C, fiber, an abundance of phytonutrients, and a cornucopia of carotenoids beyond beta carotene.  One cup of turnip or rutabaga can supply as much vitamin C as one grapefruit or half an orange. And you thought you had to eat oranges to get your C? Given the right internal conditions, your body converts some of the beta carotene in roots into vitamin A.   

Benefits reaped by eating more roots
Volume for volume and calorie for calorie, roots supply more nutrients and fewer calories than grains. Their soluble fiber can increase satiety, aid weight loss, and keep you regular. Using root vegetables as a replacement for grain adds vibrant colors, textures, and flavors to meals. One or two daily doses of roots may lessen your desire for sweets, provided you pair them with ample protein and friendly fat and oils on your plate.

Year round goodness
Depending upon where you live, the harvest time for these vegetables will vary. However, most are amenable to year round use and many may be grown in the dead of winter with the use of cold frames or a greenhouse. In Phoenix, Arizona, we we can enjoy locally grown roots throughout the fall, winter, and spring.

Here’s a great ways to celebrate the season and reconnect with your roots.
   
Roasted Mixed Root Vegetables        

Prep: 20 minutes/ Cooking: 45 minutes/Yield: 8 servings

Oven roasting makes root vegetables caramelize, intensifying their sweetness. You can use a variety of vegetables here. I like to include bright orange, yellow, or red vegetables for the most colorful presentation. You can serve them warm from the oven or chilled in a lunch tote, as a side dish, or arranged on a bed of baby greens with vinaigrette and a side of fish, poultry, meat (or a bean soup if you’re vegetarian). I recommend making enough to serve 2 to 3 days in row; leftovers make the healthiest convenience food. (See picture above for a before and after cooking images.)

Note: Select the smallest roots you can find; large, overgrown specimens usually turn out  tough, dry, and bitter. Look for small, smooth, unblemished sweet potatoes and yams if you include them. Look for less common varieties of beets such as golden or candy-striped specimens, baby turnips, and heirloom carrots.

Ingredients:
1 medium to large onion, optional
2 pounds of root vegetables, scrubbed, rinsed, and trimmed:
carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, beets, or some combination
2 tablespoons clarified butter, ghee, or extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil
juice of 1/2 lemon or orange
2 teaspoons of lemon or orange zest (colored part only)
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, pie spice or dried, powdered rosemary
1/2 teaspoon finely ground, unrefined sea salt, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400˚ F. Add oil to a 14x9x2-inch or 18x9x2-inch roasting pan. 
2. Zest (grate the colored part) of the lemon or orange, then juice the fruit, and set aside.
3. Peel vegetables, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks or wedges and arrange in a prepared pan. If using baby turnips or real baby carrots you can leave them whole. Add the fat or oil, citrus juice, and zest. Toss to coat (use your hands to evenly distribute seasonings). Add spices and toss again.
4. Place the pan in the oven and cook uncovered for about 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the vegetables with a large spatula, return them to the oven, and cook for 20 to 25 more minutes until fork-tender, fragrant, and slightly browned.  Serve warm or allow to cool, then cover, and refrigerate in glass or Pyrex containers. Use within 3 days.
5. Reheat leftovers or serve at room temperature.

1 serving: 118 calories, 2 to 3 g protein, 14 to 19 g carbohydrate (4 to 6 g fiber), 5 g fat, 41 mg calcium, 11 mg sodium

Variations:

*  Roasted Root Vegetables with Ginger Juice: After vegetables have roasted for 30 minutes, toss with 2 tablespoons ginger juice made from peeled, finely grated, and squeezed fresh ginger. (Use a microplane, the smallest holes of a cheese grater, or ginger grater, and discard pulp after you’ve squeezed out the juice.)

* Roasted Root Vegetables with Garlic: After vegetables have roasted for 20 minutes, break a bulb of garlic into individual cloves, leaving the skin on them. Toss them in with the roots, stir, and return to the oven to bake for another 30 minutes.

Source: Modified from The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert-Matesz and Don Matesz (Planetary Press, 2004). For more information and sample recipes click here

Got Cauliflower?

Have you ever noticed that the most heavily processed foods have the biggest advertising campaigns backing them, while some of the most nutritious and natural foods go unnoticed and unadvertised? Have you ever seen a billboard that says, “Got bok choy?” “Got kale, collards, or cauliflower?”

No. Mostly you see ads for processed foods––––pasteurized, homogenized, factory-farmed milk from cows on drugs; artificially flavored,  colored, and carbonated sugar water; fluffed, puffed, extruded, fried, and dextrinized cereal products; worse than butter substitutes and tubs of you-can-believe-it's not really butter products.

Some of the most nutritious foods are on they're own, unless some scientist discovers their virtues and gets someone in the media excited enough to write about them. Even then they may get short shrift. Let's face it, they're more perishable and less profitable than foods with longer shelf lives and more potential for fabrication by food processors.

So, you’ve probably heard you should avoid white foods––-white rice, white bread, white sugar and that the more color a vegetable or fruit has, the more nutrients it contains. Well, there are some exceptions to that rule. Take cauliflower. It's actually more nutritious than you might think at first glance. Like onions, garlic, and mushrooms, this white food packs powerful nutrients your body needs.

What’s so great about cauliflower? 

* Cauliflower, like onions and garlic, is a good source of allicin, which can prevent the common cold,  improve heart health, reduce the risk of having a stroke, fight microbes in your body, and prevent and treat cancer.

* Cauliflower is a good source of selenium, a trace element that promotes healthy liver, thyroid, and immune function. It acts as an antioxidant, scavenging free radicals that would otherwise damage our DNA. It reduces the damaging effects of toxins such as alcohol and second-hand smoke and may reduce the risk of developing cancer.

* Cauliflower is a good source of vitamin C (and you thought oranges were the only source?), which protects your body from damage by free radicals, slows down the againg process, promotes healthy skin and gums, reduces the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and macular degeneration.

* Cauliflower is rich in folate, a B vitamin that reduces the risk of neural tube defect in pregnant women and brain tumors and cardiovascular problems in fetuses, cuts a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer. when teamed up with vitamins B6 and B12, folate helps the body get rid of excess homocysteine, which researchers believe reduces the risk of heart disease and stoke in adults.

* Cauliflower contains indole-3-carbinol, a substance that curbs the growth of tumors and may help prevent breast and other female cancers, such as uterine and cervical cancer.

* Cauliflower contains glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which increase your liver’s ability to neutralize potentially toxic substances you're exposed to on a daily basis.

* Cauliflower contains sulforaphane, an anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer compound that accelerate the activity of detoxification enzymes that neutralize free radicals before they cause mutations. This compound can rid the body of cancer causing chemicals and stop the spread of cancer cells.

* Cauliflower is a good source of potassium, an electrolyte that carries tiny electrical charges throughout your body, ensuring the proper functioning of your heart, brain, respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems.

* It blends easily into soups, especially puréed soups, mashed vegetable dishes, and casseroles.

* It makes a great dipper and chip replacer when cut into florets and blanched in lightly salted boiling water for 3 minutes, then plunged in ice water to stop the cooking and hold the color.

New ways with cauliflower
If you’re tired of steamed cauliflower and raw cauliflower with ranch dip, try this recipe.

FYI: I recommend against eating raw cauliflower and broccoli. These cruciferous vegetables contain substances called goitrogens that can inhibit thyroid function if consumed in large amounts. Cabbage family vegetables also contain enzyme inhibitors that block the activity of digestive enzymes, causing painful gas and bloating. Cooking helps reduce these substances. It reduces bitter compounds and makes them more tender, tasty, and digestible.

I served this dish for Thanksgiving and have made it at other times during the year. It has a more familar flavor and texture than low-carb cauliflower and cheese-based faux mashed potatoes. Experiment with different seasonings, such as horseradish or roasted garlic if you feel adventurous. 

Cauliflower-Potato Mash

Hands-on prep: 15 to 20 minutes/ Cooking: 15 minutes/ Yield: about 4 cups; 6 to 8 servings

I have nothing against potatoes. They’re nutritious, filling, and rate high on the satiety index as long as you avoid them in the form of french fries, potato chips, hashbrowns, fried potato skins, and instant mashed potatoes. However, most people have plenty of carbs coming at them on a daily basis. But most people don’t eat enough cruciferous vegetables. This recipe helps you ease into eating less starch and more crucifers.

I got the idea from Chef Patrick Gaudet who presented his version of this at the West of the West Culinary Festival in Phoenix, Arizona, two or three years ago, when he worked for the Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa (not sure if he's still there). I replace heavy cream with unsweetened coconut milk, which contains half the fat and calories of cream and some powerful antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial compounds, and the butter with coconut oil (yes, its a healthy fat!), and changed the kind of potato.

As always, I recommend making enough for planned-overs you can serve the next day at breakfast with poached or fried eggs and fruit or for lunch or dinner salmon to beef, lamb, or turkey, green salad, and a colorful orange, yellow or red vegetable or fruit. Okay, enough said!

Ingredients:
1 cup homemade Bone Broth (recipe in The Garden of Eating), chicken or turkey broth or stock, or gluten-free preservative-free broth from a natural foods store
2 small Yukon Gold or Yellow Fin potatoes about 1 1/2 to 2 cups, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium cauliflower (about 2 pounds), quartered, cored, and roughly cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt (Celtic, Lima, or RealSalt); reduce if using salted broth

1/4 cup unsweetened, sulfite-free coconut milk (I prefer Thai Kitchen)
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil (butter also works)
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, or to taste, optional
finely chopped scallions, chives, or parsley for garnish
Hungarian paprika or Smoked paprika, optional

1. Add the broth, to a 2- to 3-quart pot. Layer the potatoes over the bottom of the pot. Top with the cauliflower, and sprinkle with sea salt Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until tender enough to mash, about 15 minutes.
2. Transfer the cooked vegetables and remaining liquid to a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the coconut milk, coconut butter, pepper, and optional nutmeg. Purée until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Return the purée to the pot. Cover and refrigerate if you’re not ready to serve it. To serve, warm over medium heat, stirring periodically until warm.
4. Garnish with scallions, chives, or parsley and sprinkle with paprika if desired, then serve.
5.  efrigerator leftovers in a heat-proof Pyrex or Corningware container. Uncover and warm in a 300˚F toaster oven or cover with parchment paper and place on a rack or steamer tray, cover the pot (or steamer) and steam heat for about 10 minutes, until hot.

Source: Chef Rachel Albert-Matesz, The Healthy Cooking Coach

How Far Will Your Food Travel For Thanksgiving?

“When far-flung families get together for Thanksgiving dinners next week, much of their food will have logged more miles than their relatives and friends around the table, finds a new study by the Worldwatch Institute, an environmental and social policy research organization based in Washington, D.C. In the United States, food now travels between 1,500 and 2,500 miles from farm to table, as much as 25 percent farther than two decades ago,” say experts at the World Watch Institute.

"We are spending far more energy to get food to the table than the energy we get from eating the food. A head of lettuce grown in the Salinas Valley of California and shipped nearly 3,000 miles to Washington, D.C., requires about 36 times as much fossil fuel energy in transport as it provides in food energy when it arrives," says Worldwatch Research Associate Brian Halweil, author of Home Grown: The Case for Local Food in a Global Market.

Problems with non local food
Our reliance on food picked long ago and far away undermines local economies, creates numerous opportunities for contamination, and increases fuel use, contributing to global warming. It also reduces the nutritional value of our food. Fresh vegetables and fruits can lose 50 percent of their carotene (pro-vitamin A) content and 60 percent of their vitamin C within three days of being harvested. A week after harvest, these nutrients can be completely lost. Rarely is fresh produce in the consumers’ mouths within a day of harvest when the nutritional value is greatest (assuming the produce was allowed to ripen fully).

Eating more locally grown food reduces fuel use
The solution is to base your holiday meal and the other 1094 meals a year on increasing amounts of locally grown food.  According to some surveys, a typical meal comprised of locally grown ingredients may require four to 17 times less petroleum to transport than the same meal bought from conventional food chains.

How to choose more locally grown food
Picture a bulls-eye (dart board). We’re in the middle. That's your target! The next circle out consists of the rest of our state. The next represents neighboring states, our region, then our bio region. What you want to do is buy more food from the inner circles, the ones closer to home.

If you live in Arizona that means you’d make Arizona grown apples your first choice, California and Washington apples your second choice, apples from the Midwest your third choice, and those from the East coast your fourth choice. You’d stop buying apples from New Zealand. This is most important for the most perishable products and those you use in the largest amounts (vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, seafood, and dairy products vs. dried herbs and spices). It also means you’d eat more apples and fewer bananas if you live in the U.S.

Going local---aim for progress, not perfection
While you may not be able to do this for everything you buy, you can make a positive impact on your local and national economy, world-wide ecology, and your health by increasing the amount of locally grown food you consume now and throughout the year. Don’t fret if you still buy some out of season, out of region foods. I do.

In some cases your budget or time constraints may limit your options. Think of it as a process––not an all or nothing proposition. Every local purchase counts as progress. Start by frequenting your local farmers’ markets. You may be surprised at how many foods grow in your state. Check the origin labels in stores and choose more foods grown in your state and  in the U.S. rather than other countries. Let's give thanks for our local bounty.

You can make this recipe for Mashed Sweet Potato with Lime using locally grown red garnet, jewel, or beauregard yams, which are actually sweet potatoes but we're not going the get people to change their names now. Recipe below.

To learn more about how to shop, cook, and eat this way, sign up for Rachel’s cooking classes TODAY! Click here to find out more about

* Whole Foods Cuisine I and II through Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, AZ
* Rachel’s classes at Kitchen Classics in Phoenix, AZ
* Rachel’s private cooking classes, cooking parties, phone coaching, and kitchen coaching sessions

For locations and hours of farmers’ markets close to your home check out:

Farmers' markets by state

Find farms, farmers' markets & CSAs in your area

10 Reasons to buy locally grown food

What’s on your menu for Thanksgiving? Try this delicious recipe for the holidays and beyond.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Lime 

Prep: 15 to 20 minutes/ Cooking: 1 to 1 1/2 hours/ Yield: 6 to 8 servings   

This family-friendly recipe has been popular with children and adults. It’s easy on the cook and it reheats and freezes well. It also works well served at room temperature in a pack lunch.

Thoroughly baked sweet potatoes can taste delicious without sugar, syrup, or marshmallows if you get good ones. Look for small to medium-size sweet sweet potatoes with firm, smooth, unblemished skin (no mold). Avoid buying jumbo tubers because they usually taste tough and have a mealy texture. Bake them (don’t boil, steam or microwave) until soft and squishy. Note: White/beige sweet potatoes have a drier texture and do not work well in this recipe; they're great just not in this recipe.

Ingredients:
6 medium to large sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds total):
    red garnet or jewel yams, or Beauregard sweet potatoes
1 lime, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoonsunrefined coconut oil or organic butter or 1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts, pecans, almonds, or pistachios for garnish
Finely chopped scallions for garnish, optional

1.  Zest (finely grate) the colored part of the lime skin using a microplane grater or the smallest holes of a box grater. Halve and juice the lime and set aside.
2.  Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400˚ F. Scrub and rinse sweet potatoes. Pat dry but do not peel. Remove soft or black spots. Arrange in a shallow baking pan with sides. For ease of cleanup, line pan with unbleached parchment. Do not cover. Do not add water.
3.  Bake small to medium (6 to 10 ounce) tubers for about 1 hour or until soft and juicy; larger ones may take 1 1/2 hours. If possible, turn them over halfway through cooking.
4.  When cool, slip off and discard skins. Mash with half the lime juice, optional zest, and pepper. Taste and adjust with more juice and zest if desired. Spoon into an oiled heat-proof dish. Warm in a preheated 300˚ F-oven or toaster oven for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
5.  Top individual portions with oil, butter, or nuts at the table. Garnish with chopped scallions if desired. Freeze what you don’t plan to consume within 3 days, refrigerating the rest. Reheat in a toaster oven for energy efficiency and maximum flavor

1 serving w/out oil or nuts: 183 calories, 3 g protein, 42 g carbohydrate (5 g fiber), 48 mg calcium, 17 mg sodium

Variations:

* Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange or Tangerine & Ginger: Replace lime zest and juice with 1 orange or tangerine. Omit pepper; add 2 to 3 teaspoons juice from peeled, finely grated and squeezed ginger root.

© Copyright 2004, Rachel Albert-Matesz & Don Matesz from The Garden of Eating: A Produce Dominated Diet & Cookbook

Grilled Onion Rings

Tis the season to fire up the grill.
What to cook? Onions. Grilled onions have a sweet and smoky flavor. They make a fantastic topping for green salads, burgers, or omelets. Leftovers taste great (unheated), so I always make enough to serve two or three days in a row.

For one-dish dining, serve the onions over dark leaf lettuce with grilled sweet peppers, peeled, seeded and sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, with cooked fish, poultry, or meat, and your favorite salad dressing. Round out the meal with whole grain bread, brown rice, or fresh fruit and you’re set.

What’s to great about onions?
They contain at least 25 identified active disease combating compounds that, like garlic, They posses antibacterial, antifungal, and immune enhancing properties, which may explain their efficacy in warding off colds and relieving upset stomach, and other gastrointestinal imbalances.  Onions appear to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, inhibit growth of cancer cells, reduce stroke risk, and aid in preventing heart disease.

“One medium sized onion contains only 38  calories and as much vitamin C as two apples, one banana, one tomato, or one orange. Prevention Magazine named them one of the 25 superfoods for combating heart disease and cancer.  So, an onion a day..... is a decent way to increase your odds for a long, healthy, and active life.

Onions top red wine and tea...
in their quercetin content. Quercetin,an antioxidants neutralizes free radicals in your body, protecting your cell membranes from damage. (Yellow onions top red onions here.)  And you won’t get pulled over if eat onions and drive––so you can safely indulge----any time!  (I do–daily!)

Raw or cooked? 
Both have benefits.  Cooking softens the bite, sweetens onions, concentrates the volume and nutrients, and allows you to eat more onions in a single sitting.  Cooking leaves the antioxidant quercetin intact.

Grilled Onion Rings

Prep: 15 minutes/ Cooking: 15 minutes/Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 small to medium-size red, white, or yellow onions (about 1 1/4- to 1 ½-pounds)
1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons dried, ground rosemary, rubbed sage, dried, crumbled thyme or your favorite blend
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper or ground black pepper, or to taste, optional
Finely ground, unrefined sea salt (I use Celtic, Malden, or Real Salt), optional

1.    Preheat a grill on high if using. A grill pan is another option.
2.    Cut off the ends of the onions, then peel back and remove the skin. Slice onions into rounds, about 1/3 to 1/2-inch thick using a mandoline, a chef knife, or a sturdy vegetable knife and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet. Do not cut them too thin or they’ll stick, burn, or fall through the grill grates. 
3.    Brush the top and bottom sides of the onion rings with oil. Dust with herbs, pepper, and sea salt if desired.
    On the grill: Arrrange onion rings on the grill, t hen reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side, or until the onions darken around the edges and the rings begin to soften and separate. Turning them with 2 spatulas to keep the rings in tact. Do not let them to burn.
    In a grill pan: Turn on a ventilator fan. Lightly brush a large grill pan with oil and warm on moderate heat until piping hot. Arrange onion rings in the bottom of the pan. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until slightly charred, soft, and rings begin to separate.  Repeat with a seocnd batch as needed.
4.    Serve warm or chilled. Refrigerate leftovers and use within 4 days.

1 serving: 94 calories, 2 g protein, 14 g carbohydrate (1 g fiber), 4 g fat, 38 mg calcium, 6 mg sodium

Source: My previous book, written with Don Matesz, The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook (Planetary Press, 2004), which you can order from The Garden of Eating Web Site