Homemade Ginger "Tea"

For many years now, since a little girl, the remedy for cold and flu was always Ginger - with tumeric cooked in milk, known as "Huldee Doodh"

Read about the benefits of Ginger

Since recognising that dairy is the cause of an inflamed gut, I started making ginger tea with just plain water. It has been as effective as the version with milk.

When I look at the Ginger Root, it reminds me of Ogre feet :-) Yes, the little girl inside of me is always alive and kicking :-)

So, when explaining this recipe to fellow Sleek Geek Members who needed to boost their immune system for a big workout or just to keep well on a daily basis, I described it like this:

You will need one toe of an Ogre's foot (A root of ginger about the size of your thumb)
1 litre of boiling water 
A 1.5 litre saucepan

Wash and chop up the ginger root into little pieces, place it in the saucepan and add the boiling water. Allow this to simmer on the stove top on low-medium heat for about 30 minutes.

And viola! Ginger tea.

You can have this with a drop of raw honey or as is. Alternatively you can squeeze half a lemon in the ginger tea and enjoy it either with or without raw honey.

Drink a mug of this three times a day when you feel an onset of flu or cold symptoms. Otherwise, a cup a day first thing in the morning or after your biggest meal.

Lamb Curry - "Reboot" Friendly / Paleo

I have previously blogged the lamb curry / chicken curry recipe which was not necessarily "reboot" friendly. It was the traditional way that my mother and grandmother used to cook it.

Since beginning my Reboot journey, in March 2015, I have tweaked the recipe to suit the eating plan.  It's not that different at all, it's just swapping out the seed oil for coconut oil and the normal potatoes for sweet potatoes.  You must know that for a Durbanite Indian, a meat or chicken curry is always incomplete without potatoes! :-)

At least once in two weeks I enjoy a good curry - either chicken or lamb. We had load shedding this morning, so the curry was cooked over a gas cooker :-)

So here is what you need to gather and prepare for the curry:

Ingredients list

• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 3 sweet potatoes - peeled and chopped
• 1 kg lamb pieces
• 1/2 tomato grated
• 1 Teaspoon (heaped) crushed garlic
• 1/2 Teaspoon crushed ginger
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (not melted - if melted then make it 2 tablespoons) 
• Fresh chopped coriander

Whole spices

• 3 whole cloves
• 3 small sticks cinnamon
• 3 pods Cardamom (Elaichi)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)

Masala

• 1 1/2 heaped tablespoon curry powder  (I buy blends which are clean i.e no cereal and thickeners and I further blend them. 100g Taj mixed with 150g Bombay delight)
• 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala (can be bought, but you can also make your own)

Preparation

Top left to bottom right: whole spices, chopped onion, mixed curry powder
with garam masala, Garlic, coconut oil, pink salt and whole cumin seeds
Chopped sweet potato, lamb pieces, 1/2 grated tomato

This is how you put it all together....

Method

Heat pan and then add the coconut oil, throw in the whole spices and toss around till it sizzles. Add the onion and cook until it reaches a golden brown tinge. Add the ginger and garlic paste and the curry powder and stir until all is mixed well with the onion. Add 1/4 cup or less boiling water to cook the spices and immediately add the meat and stir well, so that the meat is coated well with the spices.

Add salt to taste and sprinkle the cumin seeds over the meat. Cover and allow to cook on medium to high heat. After 15 minutes, add the sweet potatoes and stir in to blend with the spices. At this point you will notice that the juices from the meat has been released and the curry has some gravy already. 

If the curry seems dry, add 1/2 cup boiling water and then cover the pot and allow the curry to continue cooking. After 15 minutes, add the grated tomato and stir well - be careful to not stir too heavily, as this will break the potatoes.

Add another 1/2 cup boiling water and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave the pot on the stove. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and allow to rest.

Serve up with Cauliflower rice and a fresh tomato samble accompaniment to keep it strictly Reboot friendly. I had a stir fry veg as my meal accompaniment.

Brilliant for cold days! 

Healthy and wholesome :-)

Steamed Cauliflower Rice - Reboot / Paleo

The craze that turned Cauliflower into "rice" had me puzzled for a while. I ended up making my first batch like my mother made cauliflower curry! There was not much distinction between the cauli rice and the curry on my plate. I then found an easier way to prepare it.

I buy a head of cauliflower and grate it to make the "rice".

I then put it in a microwave glass bowl with a lid, sprinkle some salt and pepper over it, and add a few cumin seeds and fennel seeds.  I cover the bowl and microwave for 4 minutes and then I sprinkle some chopped coriander over it and stir it in. Very simple and very easy.

Preparation

Ingredients

• 1/2 a head grated cauliflower - alternatively you can purchase the ready made Cauli Rice from Woolworths and use half a bag.
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped fresh coriander 

Method
Place cauli rice into a microwavable dish with a lid and add the salt, pepper and seeds. Microwave for 4 minutes on high and then sprinkle with coriander. Fluff with a fork and it's ready to serve.

Enjoy! :-) 

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup - Paleo

Eating healthily has never been more important in my life as it is now. Growing up in an Indian home, with curries and rotis and traditional ways of cooking vegetables, it never occurred to me that there could be other ways of cooking.

I guess this is what happens when you are culturally and racially segregated from others. The good news is that I took a subject called Home Economics when I started high school, and I found out that there were hundreds and if not thousands of delicious ways to prepare food. Still, at that time, the concept of "healthy" hadn't hit home. It was all about "diet" never about "healthy". I dropped Home Economics for Music, when the time came to pick our exam subjects. So, all education on food turned into a different kind - food for the soul.

Mushrooms, I discovered in 2011, is toxic to my body. It is something that my body doesn't like. After a great deal of detoxing and eventually seeking the path to healing with God, I can safely eat almost anything :-) Even real, filter coffee with caffeine in it! God is Good!

So recently in March 2015, I started a health journey which called for eating mainly the Paleo way. But whilst Paleo does allow for honey and maple syrup and other sweeteners, This way of eating is mostly a detox and it doesn't allow for any sugar or sugar substitutes. If you would like to follow my health journey, you can on this blog called "A Journey Called "Reboot""

Longing for that once creamy mushroom soup which was my favorite as an adult, I planned this recipe in my mind several times over with a substitute for cream and dairy, and imagined tasting it until I could no longer imagine it. I had to turn it into a reality!

This is what I did...

For the Ingredients:

• I had an incredibly large Portabello Mushroom, which I chopped up into tiny pieces. 
• I chopped up 1 Large Onion, finely
• I used 250g of chicken breast and chopped it up finely
• I took 2 cans of coconut milk (use brands that do not contain preservatives or bleaching agents. I used Jemz. Staffords is another brand that is clean - alternatively, make your own)
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to tase
• 1 teaspoon of finely crushed garlic
• 1 level tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 Tablespoon Tapioca Flour
• 3 Tablespoons cold water
• 3 Tablespoons finely chopped parsley or corriander

The Method was the easiest

In a saucepan, I heated up the coconut oil, then added the onion and cooked them until they had a golden brown tinge. I then added the chopped up chicken breast, mushrooms and garlic and I continued stirring until the onion, chicken and mushrooms were all mixed well.

Now, because chicken breasts cook very quickly, it only makes sense that this dish will be the quickest you will ever make.

I added the salt and black pepper in small quantities and then poured in the coconut milk. I brought this to a boil, and then lowered the heat to simmer.  I tasted the soup and felt that more salt and pepper was required, so I topped it up accordingly.

You will notice that the coconut milk does not thicken on its own. In order to have a soup with some body, mix 1 tablespoon of Tapioca Flour with 3 tablespoons of water and then pour it into the simmering soup. This will thicken but will not make it heavy in texture. At this point I added the coriander and turned off the heat.

When I served this dish, I garnished it with a little more coriander.

It brought back the taste of the good old days of enjoying this as my starter at most dinner evenings out. Absolutely delicious!

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup

Let's recap

Ingredients

• 1 large Portabello Mushroom
• 1 Large Onion, finely chopped
• 250g of chicken breast chopped finely
• 2 cans of coconut milk (use brands that do not contain preservatives or bleaching agents. I used Jemz. Staffords is another brand that is clean - alternatively, make your own)
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon of finely crushed garlic
• 1 level tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 Tablespoon Tapioca Flour
• 3 Tablespoons cold water
• 3 Tablespoons finely chopped parsley or coriander

Method
In a saucepan, heat up the coconut oil, then add the onion and cook them until they have a golden brown tinge. Add the chopped up chicken breasts, mushrooms and garlic and continue stirring until the onion, chicken and mushrooms were all mixed well.

Add the salt and black pepper in small quantities and then poured in the coconut milk. Bring this to a boil, and then lower the heat to simmer. Taste the soup and if more salt or pepper is required, top it up accordingly.

Mix 1 tablespoon of Tapioca Flour with 3 tablespoons of water and then pour it into the simmering soup. This will thicken but will not make it heavy in texture. At this point add the parsley / coriander and turn off the heat.

When serving, garnish with a little more parsley or coriander.

This quantity yields 4 servings.

A very healthy Bon Appetite to you!

Chocolate Coconut Pancakes - Paleo

During my new healthy eating lifestyle, (Reboot - based on Paleo) I found out that there are wonderful things that can be made without flour, sugar and dairy. There are a plethora of websites on Paleo recipes but some clash with my way of eating, which is zero butter, sugar or natural and artificial sweeteners.

I found a coconut flour pancake recipe which I was eager to try out - especially for those times of the month when you become The Hulk and want to eat like one! :-)

I tweaked it a little and turned them into a decadence.

Here's what I did:

I put a non stick frying pan (a small one - side plate sized or smaller) on meduim - high heat to sort of "preheat" itself, and then...

I took the following ingredients:
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (Baking Soda)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons of natural cocoa powder - unsweetened

I mixed these dry ingredients well in a bowl

In a separate bowl I mixed the following ingredients:
3 large eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - you can also use the pod and scrape the vanilla from the inside.

How I cooked them:
I mixed the liquid ingredients really well and then poured it into the dry ingredients bowl and lightly mixed it until dry ingredients were mixed well. Once the batter was made - almost running consistency, I dropped a few drops of coconut oil into the preheated frying pan, and poured two heaped tablespoons of batter into it.  I let it cook for 1 minute until I saw bubbles on the top of the pancake.  I then flipped it over and let it cook for another minute.

They came out light and fluffy and smelled great! - It made four pancakes (slightly smaller than a side plate) which could easily serve two people, or save two in the fridge for breakfast the next day :-)

I then became really creative, driven by the Hulk inside of me :-) haha!

I took a tablespoon of Date Paste (which I made by enhancing the recipe I had - just cooked the dates for 30 minutes before cooling and liquidising) and spread it over one side of the pancake, and then covered it with another pancake. I chopped up bananas, strawberries, raspberries and pecan nuts and topped the pancake with the fruit first, and the used a large dollop of Coconut Cream and some more date paste, before sprinkling the pecan nuts on top.

It looked like a princess of all pancakes!

What do you think?

Toppings can be modified as well, like this one I made last night. I used Macadamia Nut Butter and sliced bananas. You can use Cashew or Almond Nut Butter as well - as long as it is in the Reboot Allowed Foods list.

Enjoy :-)

Homemade Coconut Milk and Coconut Flour

Have you ever calculated the cost of purchasing coconut milk, coconut cream, and coconut flour, especially if you are dairy and gluten intolerant, or following a Paleo lifestyle? In today's economic times, it does help to make the most out of your purchase.

In South Africa, we pay around R12.00 - R16.00 for a 500g pack of desiccated coconut (Dry shredded), and anything between R19.99 to R32.00 for a 410g can of coconut milk and between R42.00 - R50.00 for 500g of coconut flour.

As the saying goes, if you are Indian, Scottish or Jewish, it's an instinct to look for value for money. I am Indian! 

So, how do we get more for R16.00? 

First, do you own a blender? 

Second, do you own a coffee grinder? 

Or if you are a pro chef, you probably have all the gadgets needed to make magic! :-)

Coconut Milk

Ingredients

500g pack of desiccated coconut

3 cups water

A blender

A large bowl

Sieve

A clean dish towel

A large glass jar with a lid

Method

Add half the bag of desiccated coconut into your liquidizer, add 1 and a half cups of warm water. Let it stand for about 10 minutes and then blend for 3 minutes. Place a sieve over the large bowl, rinse the clean dish towel with warm water and thoroughly squeeze dry, then place the dish towel over the sieve and pour out the contents of the blender into the wet dish towel.

Wrap the contents from the blender with the dish towel - almost like squeezing a piping bag, but with more strength, so that all the coconut milk is emptied out in to the bowl.

When there is no more liquid running out of the dish towel, empty it out in a baking tray and set it aside. Pour the coconut milk into a clean sterilised glass jar. Repeat the process with the other half of the desiccated coconut. 

Seal the jar with a lid and keep in the fridge and use as desired for breakfasts (ground mixed seeds, fruit nuts and warm coconut milk), for use in pancake batter and for cooking with meat and veggies.

Coconut Flour

Ingredients

The liquid drained coconut shreds that you set aside in a baking tray

Method

Turn oven on to 190 deg cel.

distribute coconut shreds evenly on the baking tray and place in the oven. Keep an eye out on it as it toasts. Remove from the oven every 20 minutes and stir and distribute coconut evenly again - the coconut on the edges will normally brown quicker than in the middle.

Once the coconut shreds are evenly golden brown, remove it from the oven and allow to cool. 

Using a coffee grinder or any food processor that can grind finely, grind the toasted coconut until it is fine enough to use as coconut flour.

Store in an air tight container for future use.

There you have it! :-) Depending on your usage of coconut milk, you can easily make this once a week or every two weeks. 

Coconut Cream

When the homemade coconut milk sits in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight, the cream rises to the top. So you can also get coconut cream for use as toppings over pancakes and to eat with fruit. 

When coconut milk stands for a few hours, the cream rises to the top
You can scoop this out and then mix the rest to form a
thinner coconut milk

Left: Freshly made coconut milk
Right: Refrigerated overnight coconut milk - resulted in coconut cream rising to the top

Indian Food - The Paleo way

3 Ingredient Paleo Naan (Indian bread)

Author: Ashley Thomas


Ingredients
½ cup Almond Flour
½ cup Tapioca Flour
1 cup Organic Coconut Milk, canned and full fat
optional: salt, Grassfed Organic Ghee (slather that bread!)

Instructions
Mix all the ingredients together.
Heat a 9.5 inch Nonstick Pan over medium heat and pour batter to desired thickness (see notes below).
Once the batter fluffs up and looks firm/mostly cooked, flip it over to cook the other side (be patient, this takes a little time!).
Enjoy this and make it often.

Notes
Options for Size:

• You can pour half the batter onto a 9.5 inch pan and cook - then repeat for a total of 2 large naans.
• You can pour ¼ cup of the batter onto your pan to make 6 small naans. These will cook faster than the large naans. 
• If you want to make a dessert crepe, pour the batter and spread it out as thin as you can. 
• If you are not using a non-stick pan, you will need to use some sort of oil/ghee/fat to keep the batter from sticking.
• If the cream has solidified in your canned coconut milk, then mix well before using.

Direct link to this recipe : http://myheartbeets.com/paleo-naan-indian-bread/

For more recipes The Paleo way, visit www.myheartbeets.com