Caring for Carcinoid Foundation

As 2013 concludes, I want to share this opportunity to donate to the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation and have your funds matched. This is the only foundation that is dedicated to raising research funds for pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer (my type of cancer) and other neuroendocrine cancers. The Foundation also provides support for individuals diagnosed with these rare types of cancer.  Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors are diagnosed in 0.3 - 0.4 out of every 100,000 people each year. (Lucky me!!) Because they are so rare, there are minimal research funds available, so foundations such as this one are critical to making strides in diagnosis and treatment. There are many needs in this world, and if this one doesn't fit your giving priorities, then I'm confident you will find other ways to "live and give".  

We are so grateful for your support.  If you have already made your year end gift, please accept our sincere thank you.  If you have not yet made your gift to the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation, there is still time!  Donate now, while there is still time, and take advantage of the $1 million dollar challenge.  Your support, matched by the challenge will continue to fuel progress in 2014.  Remember the December 31st tax deadline. Donations made to the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation  before midnight on December 31st are deductible on your 2013 federal income taxes.  Thank you!   With the help of our $1 million grant from the Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation,  every increased gift to our year end appeal will be matched dollar for dollar, and every gift increased by 50% or more will be matched two to one - doubling and tripling the impact of support.

Deck the Halls with Green

This morning on the Today show, one of the guests  (don't ask me who -- I have no memory for celebrity names)  brought their "green drink" to show the viewing world. That's all it took to motivate me to make one for my breakfast.  I generally don't like cold drinks during the winter, but it looked so tasty that I quickly overcame my aversion to anything cold.  So I looked at what I had available in the fridge and put it into my Magic Bullet. Ah...just right for taste.  It was a small amount and fit perfectly in the glass that our son got at the All Pints North Brew Fest. I was just about to start taking the photos for this post,  when I spilled it on the table. So, I decked the halls and the table with green.  I quickly snapped the photos anyway so you could witness the start of my day.  Then I scraped it back into the glass and enjoyed every sip!!  Wow....I have missed my green juices and vow to have them regularly, cold weather or not. Besides, it is a glistening, relatively warm (25 degrees) Pzazz of a day here in Duluth. 

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh spinach
1 stalk celery, cut into 3 -4 pieces
1/2 Braeburn or Granny Smith Apple        
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (appoximate)
4 Tablespoons fresh parsley  (approximate)
enough water to make it puree in the Magic Bullet (about 1/4 cup)

Preparation:
Put all ingredients in a Magic Bullet or similar device and watch the Magic of healthy, delectable Green Juice appear!


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: 1 cup              
Calories: 67
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 63 mg
Total Carbs: 17 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 2 g

Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I made these for Thanksgiving last month and they were a big hit with everyone! So I made a double batch of them Friday to bring to a family Christmas celebration yesterday.  Again, several people requested the recipe, surprised at how much they liked savory sweet potatoes. These are definitely a much healthier alternative to the usual fare of candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, like the ones I ate growing up.  If you like garlic, use the full 4 cloves listed in the ingredients, but if not, feel free to reduce the amount to whatever fits your "Pzazz-ometer". This recipe is an adaptation of one from the blog of Our Savory Life.  


Ingredients:
4 medium-sized sweet potatoes
(choose ones that are all about the same size)
coconut oil for coating the potatoes
Additional 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 Tablespoons minced fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
dash of freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pierce the potatoes several times with a fork, then lightly coat them with coconut oil,and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. (One time I coated them first and then tried to pierce them....slippery and dangerous. Yikes!) Bake for 45 minutes or until juice from the potatoes are oozing. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

While the sweet potatoes are baking, saute the minced garlic cloves in the coconut oil over medium heat until fragrant and turning light brown (about 3 - 5 minutes).  Add the minced fresh thyme and continue cooking for about 3 - 4 more minutes.

Just a note about fresh thyme. Thyme is a very tiny herb and it is time consuming to strip it from the stem and then mince it. To get 2 - 3 Tablespoons of it for this recipe, I used about 10 sprigs. However, if time and energy are at a premium, use the dried ground form --- maybe about 1 -2 teaspoons.  The fresh thyme imparts such an incredibly good flavor, though, that if you can manage it, it is definitely worth the time and effort.


Remove the skin from the sweet potatoes and mash the pulp to desired consistency.  Add salt, pepper, and thyme/garlic oil mixture. Mix until well combined. These refrigerate well so they are a great dish to make a day before your holiday event. Simply warm them up in the microwave. Then be prepared to share the recipe!








Nutrition per serving:  
Servings per recipe: 4            
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Calories: 138
Total Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium:  332 mg
Total Carbs: 25 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 3 g

Beans-Greens & Garlic Dip/Spread/Sauce

Healthy, quick and versatile, besides being yummy!  I made this recipe last fall when I had an abundance of Swiss chard from the garden.  Today, spinach was the green of choice.  Any leafy green would work well, I think.  The versatility also comes in the form of being able to use this as a dip for crackers (or raw vegetables for those of you who can eat them) or as a sauce for pasta, or as a spread on bread.  Pzazz!  It tastes so creamy that you will be convinced it is fat-laden, but not a bit of fat can be found in it.  

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz.) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed, but reserve the  fluid
  (the better alternative would be to cook your own beans and save the liquid. I was lazy.)
1 cup fresh spinach, torn into bite size pieces

1 clove garlic, minced
dash of salt and freshly ground pepper
splash of lemon juice

Preparation:
Put the beans, the spinach, and the garlic in the Magic Bullet.  To make it as a dip, put in about 1/4 cup of the reserved fluid. To use it as a pasta sauce, thin with about 1/4 cup more reserved liquid. Whirl away to desired consistency.  Add a dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and splash of lemon juice.  

Other spices that might be good to try would be a dash of cayenne pepper, or rosemary, or let your imagination run wild.   Running wild sounds fun, doesn't it!! 


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 5

Serving Size: 1/4 cup
Calories: 72
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 103 mg
Total Carbs: 14 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 5 g

Creamy Black Bean Soup

Creamy Black Bean Soup

I originally found this incredibly easy pureed black bean soup recipe on Spark People, which is the site I use to calculate nutritional information for most of my recipes.  Then I also saw the recipe on the side of a can of black beans.  This is the easiest, quickest black bean soup recipe I have ever seen, taking a maximum of 10 minutes to make.  If you are still tired from preparing your Thanksgiving feast and starting to do some baking or cooking for Christmas, this quick and delicious and nutritious soup is a lifesaver!   Pzazz for sure! Of course, you can vary the type of salsa you use for variety, too.  

Ingredients:
1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa

Preparation:
Put all ingredients in a Magic Bullet or similar device and puree to desired consistency, making in into a "creamy" black bean soup.  Ladle single serving into a bowl and heat in the microwave. Stir in a squirt of lime juice. Garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley, and/or a dollop of yogurt. I used parsley and goat yogurt and it was yummy!!

Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 2
Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup
Calories: 200
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 954 mg
Total Carbs: 43 g
Dietary Fiber: 11 g
Protein: 14 g

Pear Cranberry Crisp (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)

I am trying out a couple of new recipes before Thanksgiving Day arrives so I know which ones I want to make for the day.  This one will certainly be on the menu!   You might be wondering as you look at the photo if that cranberry really won't cause an obstruction.  Well, it is so soft that it honestly could squeeze through a tube of toothpaste!  But that's not what you will be thinking about when you eat this dessert.  You will only be thinking how you can keep it to yourself.  The combination of pears and cranberries is the perfect combination of sweet and tang.  I have enjoyed it as a dessert many times this week, as you will see by the variety of photos. 

This is also a gluten-free and dairy-free dessert.   In August, my physicians determined that I may have another disease process at work, called polymyositis.  It is a disease of muscle inflammation, and a certain subset of patients respond well to a dairy-free and gluten-free diet.  I had always eaten large quantities of bread products, so couldn't fathom what this new dietary restriction might mean for me.   What was most fascinating as I ventured into this new territory of no gluten and absolutely no dairy products ( I previously ate only cultured dairy products such as kefir and yogurt)  was how it improved my digestion almost immediately. But I have no way of knowing if it was the elimination of dairy or the gluten that had improved my digestion since I eliminated both of them at the same time.  I guess that sometime during the upcoming holidays, I may not have the willpower to resist some gluten products, so maybe I will find out for sure.

This recipe is an adaptation of one I found on the blog of Cookie and Kate.  It also gave a gluten-free version of the recipe, but it still contained dairy products of butter and yogurt.   I made it dairy-free by using coconut oil instead of the butter and I used goat yogurt rather than the cow yogurt.  I also strained the goat yogurt for about 30 minutes so it was thick and creamy.  (The brand of goat yogurt I discovered that I like is Redwood Hill Farms.) I also modified the recipe by eliminating the walnuts and substituted Sucanat for the brown sugar. If you aren't familiar with Sucanat, it is a natural cane sweetener. The brand name is an acronym from Sugar Cane Natural and it has substantially less carbohydrates in it than brown sugar. I have purchased it for many years in the bulk section at the Duluth Whole Foods Co-op.  The almond meal used for the topping with the oats is a "staple" in our pantry, because Tom frequently uses it to make his own crackers. (More about those tasty treats another time.)   

But back to this delectable dessert!  When Tom tried it, he said "anyone would like this - it's great!"  The honey-sweetened pears form the basis for this easy, and easy to digest dessert that will grace our Thanksgiving table next week.  

Ingredients:
2 Bartlett pears, cored, peeled and sliced into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
3 Tablespoons honey
1 1/2 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 tsp cinnamon


Topping:
1/2  cup gluten free oats (Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup almond meal (Bob's Red Mill)                  
3 Tablespoons Sucanat
1/8 tsp fine-grain sea salt
2 Tablespoons coconut oil - melted
1 1/2 Tablespoon goat yogurt, strained

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the pears, cranberries, honey, cornstarch, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon and place in a small baking dish. Mix the oats, almond meal, sucanat, and salt. Set aside. Melt the coconut oil and cool it a bit. Add it to the rest of the topping mix and stir lightly. Add the drained yogurt and crumble it together, then put it on the top of the fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until all of the fruit is very soft.   Eat and be thankful!

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 8
Serving Size: 1/8 of the pan
Calories: 147
Total Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 41 mg
Total Carbs: 23 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 2 g

Cauliflower & Potato Soup with Kale Crumbles

On October 30,  I posted the recipe for Cauliflower Soup with Kale Crumbles, and I promised the next post would be for another version of it that added potatoes.  Well, here it is.  Potatoes are one of my favorite foods,  but they often have an undeserved bad nutritional reputation.   They are easy to digest, which make them a winner with me, but they are also extremely nutritional.  They contain complex carbohydrates along with proteins, vitamins, and minerals such as vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium and iron.  Pzazz for sure!  When I made the soup this time, I used Pacific low-sodium vegetable broth, which substantially reduced the amount of sodium in the soup and I thought the flavor was improved.  Pzazz again!

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 
About 1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning
2 cups peeled, cubed potatoes (about 1/2" cubes)

Preparation:

Melt oil in a deep soup pot. Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent. Meanwhile, cut cauliflower florets into smaller pieces. When the onions are translucent, add the cauliflower florets, the chicken broth, the potatoes and the seasoning. Cover and simmer on low until the cauliflower pieces and potatoes are very tender.  Puree with an immersion stick or other device of your choice.  Garnish with kale crumbles, or you could add them prior to pureeing.   

To make the kale crumbles, simply chop a bunch of kale into bite sized pieces.  Use whatever variety of kale you prefer.  I like the Lacinato Kale best.(Lacinato kale is also known as Dinosaur kale, Tuscan kale, or black kale.) Then put them into a bowl and spray with olive oil cooking spray and season with just a dash of salt and pepper.  Stir to distribute the olive oil spray and then spread them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.  Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 8 - 10 minutes, until crispy.  Crumble into the soup.
  


Nutrition per serving:   (includes kale crumbles)                                       

Servings per recipe: 4
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 138
Total Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 249 mg 
Total Carbs: 28 g 
Dietary Fiber: 8 g
Protein: 6 g