Category: Recipes

Recipe Leek and Ginger Soup Good For Colds and Flu

Gluten Free Recipe For Lentil-Leek and Ginger Soup

WOW.  Nothing like having a hot, freshly-made soup in the winter to antidote the flu.  This is my own peppered-up version of leek soup which helps to drive those bugs away.

Note:  If you are on blood thinners such as Warfarin, then you should not indulge in this soup.  Leeks and Ginger are both natural blood thinners, so if you have any quantity of these foods and combine them with artificial blood thinners, you could end up being over-dosed on blood thinners.  A nose bleed may result.  Far better to get your health requirements from your diet, in my estimation, than to take the artificial replacements.  It would be a better thing if doctors would work out an appropriate diet which includes the remedial substances that their patients need, rather than resort to prescribing artificial blood thinners, etc, instead.

Leeks Are Good For The Immune System: The vegetable basis of this soup recipe is leeks, which are a classic herbal remedy for colds and flu, as well as being an anti-cancer food, and good for the eyesight because of their high Lutein and Zeaxanthin content.

Fresh Ginger Roots Are Good For The Immune System:  This soup also contains another great remedy for colds and flu – ginger roots.  The active ingredients in fresh ginger are the Terpenes and Gingerols which have powerful germ-destroying properties.  Ginger is also noted as an anti-cancer agent, as an anti-inflammatory for arthritis,  a remedy for nausea, and an enhancer of the digestion.

Gluten Free Brown Lentils Are Nutritious and have Anti-Cancer Components:  The main protein content  in this gluten free soup recipe comes from the brown lentils whcih also have anti-cancer properties.  They are one of the few foods which have good quantities of Folic acid, and Zinc.

Lentils are a favourite food for vegetarians and for people on gluten-free diets.  They are not only delicious, but are rich in nutrients such as protein, fibre, B Vitamins, Folate, Iron, and Zinc.  Their high Zinc content boosts the immune system so that your system can fight those bad germs better.  Lentils also contain Isoflavins and Lignan, which help in keeping cancer at bay.

This recipe also uses one unpeeled grated apple, seeds and all.  Apples are another healing food, rich in pectin, Vitamin C, and fibre.

Recipe For Leek-Lentil-Ginger Soup

You will need:  Dry Lentils, One Leek, Fresh Ginger Roots, One Apple, One Carrot, Sea Salt, Red Paprika, Mild Curry Powder.

Take One and a 1/2 cups of dry lentils.

Add Lentils to a litre of water.

Bring to the boil.  Simmer gently for half an hour.

Add one whole chopped leek to the lentils after half an hour of cooking.

Peel a good chunk of ginger.

Chop the ginger up finely – enough to fill two tablespoons.

Add the ginger to the soup.

Chop up three cloves of  garlic and add to the soup.

Grate the carrot and add to the soup.

Add also one desertspoon mild curry powder.

Add half a teaspoon red paprika powder and one teaspoon sea-salt.

Cook altogether for another half an hour on low heat.

Add one whole grated apple five minutes before the end of the cooking, as well as a half teaspoon of cinnamon powder.

You may need to add a little more water to the soup after the leeks have been added.  Use one or two cups of extra water – enough to make it soupey and not too thick.

The soup can be served as it is, or with an added lump of butter or some grated cheese.

Alternatively, ground sesame seeds could be added to substitute the dairy food.

If you have the flu, or a cold, then it is best to eat the soup without any dairy added.

I think that this is a great food for people wanting to lose weight.  If it is eaten as the main meal, without added dairy, or bread,  then you can eat as much of it as you like without fear of putting on weight.

 

 

Cooking For Two – Gluten Free Recipe For Tapioca Steamed Pudding

How To Make Gluten Free Tapioca Pudding On The Stove-Top

This is a really easy and quick Gluten-Free Dessert to make.  It is a steamed pudding, which means that it is not cooked in the oven, but on the stove top.  This conserves power.  The steamed pudding is a handy method to use  for when you go camping, or are holidaying in a place where kitchen facilities are limited.  All you need for your utensils are a stove-top or burner, a large saucepan with a lid, and a smaller enamel or stainless steel bowl to fit inside the saucepan.  The pudding basin should be large enough to hold the ingredients below, with a little room at the top for the pudding to swell when it heats up.

This is a never-fail recipe.  All you have to remember is to stir the pudding at the beginning of the cooking for a few minutes, and not to let the water boil away as it is cooking.  Check the water halfway through the cooking to make sure there is enough in the saucepan.

Now for the ingredients:

You will need

One large free range organic egg

Three tablespoons of tapioca powder, or tapioca flour.  Tapioca is a gluten-free root vegetable which is very nutritious and easily digested.

Three tablespoons of dessicated coconut

Two tablespoons of brown sugar OR honey OR  Two tablespoons of home made jam, such as quince jam.

Two cups of organic milk or soy milk

Pinch of Sea Salt

In your small enamel or stainless steel bowl, put the tapioca powder, coconut, sea salt, and the brown sugar or your jam or honey.  Gradually add enough milk to make a smooth paste, and then stir in the rest of the milk.  Beat the egg lightly in a cup with a fork, and stir into the tapioca and milk mixture.

Now put two cups of water into your saucepan and put it on the stove to boil.  When the water has reached boiling point, take the saucepan off the heat while you carefully put in the bowl which contains the tapioca pudding.  Make sure that you do not burn yourself with the boiling water in the saucepan.  The bowl of pudding should sit inside the saucepan, with the water coming up to about halfway up the bowl.  The water should not go inside the bowl, so make sure the water level is well below the top level of the pudding basin.

Put the saucepan with its pudding inside  carefully back onto the stove with the lid on.  Turn up the heat just for a minute, until it begins to simmer.  Then turn the heat down to low.  The water should be just bubbling lightly.

After a couple of minutes, take off the lid and stir the pudding for a bit, so that it mixes in smoothly with the milk.    Be careful, again, not to burn yourself with the boiling water in the saucepan.  Then put the lid back onto the pudding for two more minutes.  Then, take the lid off and stir the pudding again, this time for a little longer, as the tapioca will be starting to thicken up.  Stir for several minutes,  then put the lid back on.  This time, there is no need to keep stirring.  Simply cook the pudding in the saucepan for around another 20 minutes.  Now you can turn off the heat.  Leave the pudding to sit in the saucepan, with the heat turned off, for ten minutes.  Then serve. The whole cooking period should be no more than half an hour, with an added 10 minutes to leave the pudding to sit.

If you want to make a larger pudding to serve more people, then simply double the recipe and use a larger bowl.  The method is exactly the same.

Dates or sultanas or other dried fruit can be used instead of the sugar if you wish to avoid sugar.

This gluten free tapioca steamed pudding is protein-rich and is a good food to nourish growing children or to strengthen older, frail people. It is a very delicious, creamy pudding.

Recipe For Vegetarian and Gluten Free Potassium Protein-Rich Soup

Nutrient-Rich Adzuki Bean Soup Is Entirely Gluten Free and Vegetarian.

This is my own recipe for gluten-free vegetarian broth which I have found is an excellent sustaining food, being rich in protein and healthy carbohydrates.  It is a great protein food, and is an excellent source of  important minerals and vitamins.  It has just about the whole range – iron, potassium, iodine, magnesium, manganese, traces of the other minerals, depending on where the vegetables were grown, and where the kelp was sourced. It is also very high in Vitamins, especially beta-carotene, the essential ingredient which the body uses to make Vitamin A. Vitamin A helps protect the immune system, helps fight off infections, and is important for the health of just about everything in the body, including skin, hair, nails, bones and the nervous system.

This broth makes a great meal, perhaps in combination with some gluten-free cornbread, or rice, or raw or stewed fruit, or salad to follow. You can also use this gluten-free broth as part of your cleansing programme, and to help you on the road to losing  weight, and that unwanted fat.

It can either be used for several days as a mono-diet, to help detoxify the body, or in combination with raw salads.  If you were to have a bowl of this soup three times a day, wih a salad afterwards, and ate raw foods the rest of the day whenever you were hungry, your body should reward you.

How To Make Adzuki Bean Soup – Protein Rich, Vegetarian and  Gluten-Free.

Take 2 cups of dry brown adzuki beans.  You could use dry green mung beans if these are not available, but I like the brown adzuki beans for this soup.

Put these into a large saucepan, large enough to hold a couple of litres.

Cover with one litre of water.

Now chop up one large onion.  Add this to the adzuki bean pot.

Chop up two medium sized carrots and add these also.

Chop up one large potato, or a couple of medium sized ones,  into walnut sized pieces.  Unless the potato has started to sprout, or is green, leave the skin on the potato.  Potato skin is a rich source of potassium, Vitamin A and other nutrients, but it is no good to use the skin if the potato is green or sprouting, as the solanum in green potato skin is slightly poisonous and will make your soup taste bitter.

Bring the pot to the boil, then turn down to the lowest heat so that the soup mixture is just simmering.

Leave to simmer gently for two hours  with a lid lightly over the pot to keep the steam in.

After two hours, take off the heat and allow to cool.  Then blend up the soup in your blender.  Put back into the pot and add another half  litre of water.  Bring to the boil again, then turn the heat off.

At this stage,  just before serving, chop two or three organic tomatoes into the soup.  Add 1 teaspoon sea salt or kelp to taste, and a few dashes of  sweet, red, powdered paprika pepper.

Pick two nice young silver beet leaves from your garden and, using only the green part of the silver beet, chop it very finely.   Chop a little freshly picked parsley and coriander, if you have it.  If not, it does not matter, as the soup will still taste good.  It is important to have some fresh green leaves in the soup though.  You could use some celery tops and some Chinese cabbage such as bok soy, or spinach, instead of the silver beet. Tip the silver beet and herbs into your soup pot.

These greens should be chopped nice and fine.  Do not cook the soup any more once the tomatoes and chopped greens have been added.  They will wilt nicely in the soup, but because they are not directly exposed to stove heat,  will still contain many of their nutrients.

Serve immediately.  Of course, any remaining soup can be let to cool and then stored in the refrigerator for a day or two, but fresh is always best. Try to use the soup up on the day that you make it.

How To Make Gluten Free Green Chlorophyll And Protein Blender Drink

This recipe used almonds, sunflower seeds, spinach or silver beet, and pear to sweeten it.  It contains no added sugar, except for the pear, and is totally gluten-free. It really is a delicious way to take that raw green chlorophyll into your system.  This drink  is rich in health-giving enzymes and anti-cancer vitamins.  You will find that it is easy to digest, and that it has a beneficial effect on the bowel function.  It is a great compliment to a vegetarian meal, as it contains protein; Vitamin B Complex;  anti-cancer Vitamin B17 ,called Laetrile; Vitamin C; essential fatty acids; abundant calcium, iron, magnesium, and a host of other beneficial food components. If you are on a raw foods diet to reverse cancer or other degenerative disease, then this chlorophyll-rich blender drink might be a welcome addtition to spice up that diet a bit.

How to make your gluten free green chlorophyll and protein blender drink:  Note that this quantity will make around six servings of the blender drink, which you can serve up to the family, or keep in the fridge.

Put a handful of almonds into your blender, with a handful of sunflower seeds OR sesame seeds.  Blend up into a coarse powder before adding the other ingredients.

Now – chop up 2 fresh, young leaves or either silver beet or spinach.  Put into the blender.

Chop up one ripe, organic pear, and put this into the blender as well.  To make a variation, either a banana, or the flesh of one organic orange can be substituted for the pear.  Use only one fruit at a time, though, as citrus does not combine well with sweet fruits.  Alternatively, if you do not have a piece of fresh fruit to use,  1/2 cup of stoned dates go very well.  Dates are very nutritious, being rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Magnesium, Potassium,Iron, and Calcium.

Optional:  You can add a raw free range  egg to this mixture if this suits your dietary needs. This gives more protein, more B Vitamins, more lecithin, iron, and Vitamins.

Optional:  You can also add a handful of freshly picked parsley and/or coriander to the mixture.  This increases the vitamin content, and the lactobacilli, and gives interesting flavour to the drink.

Now fill the blender up about three-quarters full with water.

Bllend the lot for around two minutes.  Dilute the drink with 2 cupfuls of water after the blending process is completed.

You can drink a cupful of the drink straight away.  However, the mixture is best if it is left to sit for a couple of hours. This actually increases the enzyme content and the nutritional value of the drink.  Keep the remainder in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then make up a fresh drink.

Recipe For Medium Hot Curry Powder To Use In Vegetarian Curry, or Meat Curry

Cumin, Coriander, Chilli, Garam masala, Ginger, and Turmeric are the basic dry spices which you will need to make your curry powder.  This can be mixed and stored in a tin or a jar, for ready use.  When you come to make your curry, you will also need tamarind paste, some fresh garlic, some fresh coriander leaves, and some fresh green or red chillis.

This amount of curry powder will make around eight curries of a size to serve four to six people.

3 tablespoons coriander powder

2 tablespoons chilli powder

1 tablespoon ground ginger

4 tablespoons ground cumin

4 tablespoons garam masala

2 tablespoons ground turmeric

Mix all the above spices together and store in an airtight container.

When you make your curry up, you would use 2 tablespoons of the above curry for an average family size curry.  Lightly toast the 2 tablespoons of curry powder in a fry pan with two tablespoons of  butter for one minute.  To this you would add:

1/2 cup of fresh coriander leaves, chopped up.

6 cloves of minced garlic

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons of tamarind paste

4 fresh chillis which have been deseeded and chopped.  Do not use the seeds in your curry, as this will make the curry burning hot.  Stir well together into the butter. Remove from the heat.  Stir in a cup of coconut cream.

If using meats, then pre-cook the meats in a fry pan first.  If using beans or lentils with vegetables, have the beans cooked in advance.

Add the fried  spices and coconut cream mixture  to the vegetables or pre-cooked beans or meats which you are putting into the curry.   Add a little more  coconut milk  if necessary, to give the curry a creamy consistency. If you prefer, you can dilute the coconut cream with a little water.   Then  cook for a further 1/2 hour on low heat.   Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

Preparing your curry powder in this way saves quite a lot of messing about in the kitchen, and makes curry-making a relatively simple process.   You can experiment with more or less chilli,  and the addition of a little cardamom powder, or paprika pepper, to suit your taste.