Zucchini Fritters

These zucchini fritters are a great side dish for brunch or as the main dish with a poached egg on top! The recipe is pretty quick to make - and even quicker if you use a food processor. I used a hand held grater for these. 

Ingredients:

- 3  medium zucchinis 

- 2 eggs

- 2 Tbsp coconut flour

- 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 1/4 of a yellow onion diced

- coconut oil for cooking

Directions:

Grate zucchinis with either a box grater or food processor. Place zucchini in a large bowl and sprinkle with sea salt. Let sit for about 10 minutes. While you let the zucchini sit saute the onion in coconut oil until transparent. Remove from pan and set aside.  Take zucchini in separate handfuls and squeeze in between two paper towels as much moisture out of them as you can. OR if you have a cheesecloth use the cloth to squeeze all the moisture out of the shreds.  If you skip this step you will have some very sad looking soggy fritters :( 

Place all ingredients in a large bowl except coconut oil. Hand mix well. Heat a skillet to medium heat with coconut oil. Drop pancake sized fritters and cook until golden brown on each side. About 3 minutes a side. Add more coconut oil for each batch you cook. 

Serve as a side dish with brunch or as a zucchini "pancake" topped with a poached egg. 

The Forgotten Tradition: Bone Broth

Bone Broth was a staple in traditional diets. It is usually made of bones, knuckles, hooves/feet and carcasses. Okay I know this sounds a little icky...but hear me out. Traditional societies did not waste or discard any part of the animal. This ancient wisdom should not be forgotten. 

Bone broth contains many life sustaining nutrients. According to an old South American proverb "good broth will resurrect the dead". Broth was seen as an essential part of the diet. Chicken soup has the reputation of healing the sick for a reason. 

Broth contains minerals in an easily absorbable form. Such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur and other trace minerals. Real broth contains gelatin and collagen from the broken down cartilage and tendons. This is the reason Mom gave you Jell-O when you were sick. Though real gelatin and Jell-O packets are not created equal. Gelatin and collagen are important for joint and ligament health along with hair, skin and nails. Bone broth can also heal your gut. Amino acids proline and glycine are very helpful for digestion, gut health and a strong immune system. 

Below is what's considered to be the mother of all bone broth recipes from Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions. Click here for a link to her book. It is a great resource of information on how the American diet has been altered and the negative effect this has had on health. It also contains many nutrient dense recipes. 

Chicken Stock Recipe

- 1 whole free-range chicken or 2 to 3 pounds of bony chicken parts, such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings*
- gizzards from one chicken (optional)
- 2-4 chicken feet (optional)
- 4 quarts cold filtered water
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (essential ingredient- breaks down the  bones to release release minerals)
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
- 1 bunch parsley

*Note: Farm-raised, free-range chickens give the best results. Many battery-raised chickens will not produce stock that gels.

Instructions:

Place chicken or chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot with water (you can use a crockpot), vinegar and all vegetables except parsley. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be. About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley. This will impart additional mineral ions to the broth.

Remove whole chicken or pieces with a slotted spoon. If you are using a whole chicken, let cool and remove chicken meat from the carcass. Reserve for other uses, such as chicken salads, enchiladas, sandwiches or curries. Strain the stock into a large bowl and reserve in your refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and reserve the stock in covered containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

How to Use Broth

Many people drink warm broth each morning. Imagine how many strange looks you will get substituting broth for coffee! But imagine how many compliments you will receive about your skin and hair :) But you do not need to drink it plain. You can of course make a soup out of it. Add veggies and/or meat and eat as a meal.  You can also add broth to any dish you make. If you need a sauce for a meat dish make it with broth instead of water. Most savory recipes that call for water can be made with broth instead. It will enhance the flavor. Any decent restaurant still makes its own broth or stock for use in all their dishes because the taste is wonderful. Any leftover broth that you don't use in the first few days should be frozen. I like to freeze broth in ice cube trays and pop one out each time I need to use a little in a dish. 

Good bones can be hard to find. If you can't find quality bones at your local grocery store try these websites for high quality soup bones and meat. 

This website will help you find a pasture-raised source of meat in your area: Eat Wild. 

This site will ship frozen grass fed meats and bones to you:

US Wellness Meats  

Making broth is part of what I love about the tradition. There is something about the act of making broth that is very soothing. A low boiling pot on your stove all day filling the house with that savory smell is very peaceful and calming.  

Gelatin Berry Smoothie

Bone broth is an amazing source of gelatin. But I don't always have home made broth on hand. Sometimes it's more practical to get gelatin in a powder form. It's really simple to add the powder to hot tea or a smoothie. Coconut milk makes this smoothie really creamy and it's packed with anti-oxidants from the berries along with the superfood powers of gelatin. 

Gelatin is absent from the modern diet. Traditional diets were very high in gelatin. Man used to practice nose to tail eating (eating all parts of the animal). Bones, organs and tendons are very high in gelatin. Most Americans do not regularly eat these parts of the animal. But why is gelatin so important?


Benefits of Gelatin

Skin, Hair and Nail Health

Gelatin has the amino acids needed for collagen production. Collagen is an essential building block for skin, hair and nails. Collagen gives skin elasticity and helps prevent wrinkles and fine lines.  Collagen cannot be absorbed through the skin - so all the expensive skin creams do not provide the benefits that ingesting collagen does. Collagen is thought to protect the skin against the damaging effects of UV rays as well. 

Gut Health

Gelatin can heal the stomach and intestinal lining. This can repair or prevent leaky gut. Leaky gut is often the cause of food allergies, food intolerances and autoimmune disease. 

Joint Health

Gelatin reduces inflammation and helps joint recovery. This can help prevent joint injury, pain and arthritis. Gelatin should be included in any weight lifters supplement program.

Directions:

Add all ingredients in blender or magic bullet until smooth. 

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup coconut milk (no sugar added full fat coconut milk)

- 1/2 cup water

- 6-8 frozen berries ( I used blueberries, blackberries and raspberries) 

- 1 Tablespoon gelatin (Great Lakes grass-fed gelatin)

- 2-3 ice cubes

Sweet Potato Chips

I love how I feel when eat a grain-free diet. I don't feel bloated, I have stable energy and clearer skin. But sometimes I need something crunchy- and of course a vehicle for guacamole delivery.  Since tortilla chips and crackers are off the table it calls for some creativity in the kitchen. 

These sweet potato chips are so easy to make and go great with guacamole. Sweet potatoes have more nutrients in them than store bought chips and crackers. Eating grain-free isn't just about avoiding grains. It's about the nutrient dense foods you are eating instead of grains. Removing foods that don't offer many nutrients and replacing them with foods that nourish your body is what truly improves your health.

One sweet potato will yield about 25 chips

Directions:
-Heat oven to 400
-Cut sweet potato into thin slices.
-Melt coconut oil (you can put an oven safe is in the oven until the oil melts or place oil in small pan on the stove and heat until melted.
-Using a kitchen brush, brush oil on both sides of the chips.
-Place on baking sheet and salt.
-Place in oven for for 15 minutes. Flip the chips at the halfway point and add more salt.

Ingredients:
1-2 sweet potatoes -depending on how many chips you need.
1/4 cup coconut oil
sea salt

Stop Fearing Fat

Most Americans are still fat phobic. Fat has been vilianizied for decades. This may be the most harmful lie we have ever been told.

When people began cutting fat out of their diets there was a rise in obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Fat was blamed for causing all of these things.  More and more studies are showing that fat and cholesterol have been made out to be the enemy when in reality they play many important roles in the functioning of your body.

Below is a graph showing the beginning of the low-fat guidelines issued by the government and the increase in obesity that followed.




SOURCE:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19623/


First let's explore why fat is vital to health:

• Fat is necessary for the absorption of Vitamins A, D, E, K 
• Source of sustained energy
• Building blocks of all cell membranes
• Fat and cholesterol are necessary for production of all hormones (including sex hormones)
• Fat is necessary for bile production 

Recent studies have shown that dietary cholesterol/saturated fat has little to do with blood cholesterol levels. The human body produces cholesterol. The less you eat the more it produces, the more you eat the less it produces. Cholesterol is so essential that the body is able to produce it if it is absent from the diet.

Fat from real sources is an extremely nutrient dense food. Healthy fat is a vital component of a healthy diet.

We can't talk about fat without talking about sugar. This is how sugar affects the body:

When sugar is consumed the body will:

• Release Insulin 
• Insulin's job is to shuttle sugar (glucose) out of the bloodstream and into your cells
• Insulin is a storage hormone. When the body has chronic high insulin (high sugar intake)  the body is always in storage mode                   
• Release excess insulin
• Often the body will release excess insulin. This causes the body to remove too much glucose from the bloodstream resulting in low blood sugar (the shaky, light headed feeling you may get between meals). 
• Release Cortisol
• When blood sugar levels become too low the body will release cortisol 
• Cortisol is a stress hormone (it tells your body that you need more sugar to balance your blood sugar levels) but also has the effect of making you feel stressed or anxious

The wonderful thing about fat is it gives you energy without causing insulin spikes and the output of excess stress hormones. It also provides many other benefits to your body besides energy that sugar does not. 


Healthy Fats:

Coconut Oil
Butter (grass-fed)
Beef Tallow (grass-fed)
Ghee
Raw nuts and seeds
Olive Oil*
Flax Seed Oil*

* these types of oils should never be heated. This will damage the fat. Look for these sold in dark containers that light cannot penetrate and are labeled cold-pressed.

Avoid these fats:

Margarine
Canola Oil
Vegetable Oil
Corn Oil
Soybean Oil
~These are all highly unstable oils and go rancid during processing. Avoid these at all costs!

Try adding some of these healthy fats into your diet while reducing your sugar intake. This will improve your energy level and stabilize your hormones.