By Jasmin Schellenberg –
Anytime Cookies (makes 12)
Sweetened by dried fruit, these cookies make a great start to your kids’ day.
Ingredients
¼ cup coconut flour
½ cup almond butter
6 pitted dates (soaked in warm water for 15 min)
¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp sea salt
½ tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp dried cherries
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
3 Tbsp currants
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine coconut flour, almond butter, and dates in a food processor (or blender) for one minute until dates are well broken down. Add the rest of ingredients except the last three. Process for 30 seconds then add the remaining ingredients. Only pulse twice. Using a large tablespoon, drop the dough in heaping spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Dip a fork in water and press down each ball gently. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden on top and slightly brown on the edges. Serve warm or cold.
NUTRIENT DENSE MEAL
Pot Roast with Apples, Sweet Potatoes, and Prunes (serves 6-8)
Ingredients
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp coriander
¼ tsp ground cloves
4 lb round roast beef or pork
3 Tbsp tallow
1 onion, quartered
3 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 cups pitted prunes
4 cups beef broth
2 cups hard or sweet apple cider
Method
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
Combine all spices. Rinse meat and pat dry. Rub spices into all sides of meat.
Melt tallow in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Sear meat for 3 minutes on each side. Arrange onions, apples, sweet potatoes, and prunes around the meat, then pour in the broth and apple cider. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and transfer the pot into the oven for 4 hours until the meat becomes tender.
You can also use a crock pot on low setting for 8-10 hours.
Enjoy!
MYTHS UNVEILED
The spin from trans fats to free radicals.
Chemists discovered in the 1940s that if they heat vegetable oil (such as corn, safflower, soybeans, and cottonseeds) to over 180 degrees C and added hydrogen gas molecules resulting in hydrogenated oils, which also are called trans fats, these oils would not go bad. But now the oil has little nutritional value and is dead. Researchers warned these hydrogenated oils would become a health hazard and we know now they can cause heart disease and cancer since they are alien to our bodies.
These fats are hidden in margarine and processed foods including breakfast cereals. Kids are an easy target and have a hard time avoiding these foods making them prone to attract any of the new diseases at an early age.
Be aware of fat-free or guilt-free proclamations. That usually means Olestra is in them (that flat-out stops absorption of crucial high blood pressure-preventing and cancer-preventing antioxidants like Vitamins A, E, D, K, beta-carotene, and CoQ10).
Trans-fats become free radicals.
What are free radicals? They are highly unstable molecules that interact quickly and aggressively with other molecules in our bodies to create abnormal cells. Free radicals destroy cellular membranes, enzymes, and DNA. Free radicals are unstable because they have unpaired electrons in their molecular structure. This causes them to react almost instantly with any substance in their vicinity. Oxygen-or oxyl free radicals are especially dangerous. They accelerate aging and are linked to over 60 diseases, including cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. The major sources of dietary free radicals are chemically altered fats from commercial vegetable oils, vegetable shortening, and all oils heated to very high temperatures.
This is where antioxidants come in. Antioxidants are nature’s way of providing your cells with adequate defense against attack by reactive oxygen species (free radicals). As long as you have these important micronutrients, your body will be able to resist aging caused by your everyday exposure to pollutants.
Your main antioxidants are vitamins A(best source is cod-liver oil), E (cold pressed, unrefined nut and olive oil), and C (green leafy vegetables and fruits), beta-carotene, glutathione, bioflavonoids, selenium, zinc, CoQ10, green tea, and some herbs like milk thistle, ginko, turmeric, and curry are good place to start.
Remember when buying certified organic products you are avoiding all the chemical inputs commodity food can offer you.
A WALK THROUGH YOUR PANTRY:
GET RID OF: Hydrogenated oils most commonly hidden in processed foods like cereals, salad dressings, dips, margarines, breads, chips, crackers, cookies, donuts, TV dinners, etc.
REPLACE WITH: Coconut oil, beef tallow, or pork lard for cooking (these can stand high temperatures), and extra virgin olive oil for salad dressings. Use fresh, organic, whole ingredients for cooking your meals to make sure no trans-fats or olestra, fertilizers, pesticides, or growth hormones are added.
Brought to you by Jasmin Schellenberg
Inspired by and resourced from “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon; and: www.westonaprice.org article by S. Byrnes “Staying on Top of Oxidative Stress” and “The High Blood Pressure Hoax” by Sherry Rogers MD. For “Nourishing our Children” past newsletters see www.thegreengazette.ca.
