A quick blender lunch

I call it "Avocado Gazpacho" and it only takes minutes to make.  It's wonderfully healthy and satisfying, great for a candida or gluten-free diet, as well as vegetarian.  My recipe is for two servings, and please note --all amounts and ingredients are up to you!  I like mine chunky but just blend it to desired consistency.  It's great cold for a summer soup, but you can use hot water for cold weather eating.


In your blender or VitaMix, cut up and combine:

• 1/2-1 tomato
• 1/2 c. cucumber
• 1/3 c. green pepper
• 1/2-1 green onion
• 1/2-1 stalk celery
• 1 handful cilantro
• 1/2 avocado
• 1-2 T. olive oil
• garlic salt (or if you're brave, fresh garlic and salt)
• approximately 2/3 c. water or chicken broth

M-m-m, good!

Candida "Bread"

I've posted before about something that can serve as a basic "bread" for those on a strict candida diet, Cauliflower Pancakes.  I discovered a nice modification I use when I run out of cauliflower...use eggplant!


I peel and cube a whole eggplant and use 5-6 eggs in the blender, with a little salt.  Bake them similarly on a non-stick griddle.  They take a bit longer to bake, and as with the cauliflower ones, I turn them over, back and forth, a couple of times so they are gooey inside.


I use the pancakes for...

• Cinnamon toast!...butter, cinnamon, stevia
• Tacos!...seasoned meat, veggies, avocado, mayonnaise (I make my own) & salsa
• Sandwiches!...tuna, chicken, or turkey salad loaded with diced veggies and lettuce
• Toast and jelly!...butter and cooked cranberries with stevia & vegetable glycerin (my jam)
• Handy wraps for just about anything!...mayo or butter, sliced leftover meat or sausage, etc.

I've even put baked ones in the toaster oven and crisped them up...and they become crackers.


Anyway, they're sure a blessing when you're going through a low-carb season.  Give 'em a try!

Cabbage wraps

If you're looking for an alternative for sandwiches, try a cabbage wrap!


Just use an outer cabbage leaf like you would a burrito wrap, fill it with mayo, meat, veggies, cheese, fold it up like a burrito, and voila!  A very yummy and healthy lunch.  There is no 'cabbage-y' taste, just a satisfying and filling crunch.  Cabbage leaves also don't wilt as quickly as a lettuce-leaf wrap.  And cabbage is a powerhouse of nutrition, a vegetable I think we probably all need more of in our diets.  (The kids might even like it!)


A favorite of mine is a homemade chicken or salmon patty with red onion, tomato, avocado slices, and mayo.  Yum!

Help for your soups

I learned a great health tip this year in one of my candida-diet cookbooks for cooking soups.

People who are dealing with candida tend not to absorb nutrients as well as they should, so a candida diet should focus on obtaining the highest quality nutrition possible.

Soups should be cooked only until the veggies are done but slightly crunchy.  I think I have overcooked my soups forever, but now that I do it this way, I love the flavors and textures.

So now, this is my soup-making process:

• Make my own broth ahead of time, chill, and de-fat it.  My pressure cooker is fantastic for this; I freeze it in quart jars.


• I pre-cook the meat I will use:  chicken, hamburger, roast, sausage.  This, too, can be done in large batches ahead of time and frozen.


• To prepare, I bring the broth and meat to a simmer and add the vegetables.


• I cook the soup from 5-15 minutes, depending on the vegetables, the less time the better.

Delicious!  Try it and see if you don't notice a difference.  :-)

Simplify your Thanksgiving cooking

Our pastor's wife is an amazing lady.  Besides her very loving and personal commitment to each of us, her creativity and energy, she's a wonderful cook.  She is always preparing or hosting something, complete with delicious homecooked food.  I stand in awe.  So this week I asked her how she does it.  Peaceful, unflappable, and always prepared.

Her secret is doing a lot stuff ahead of time and using her freezer.  Instead of putting Italian sausage away in the freezer when she gets home from shopping, she fries it up in two big skillets, throws in tomato sauce and seasonings, then freezes it measured out, all ready for lasagne.

I especially loved the way she does Thanksgiving.  While all the special food is wonderful, I really dislike spending the whole day in the kitchen, trying to put on a Normal Rockwell spread, ending with the turkey-picking and a mountain of dishes.

Here's a few of her tips...which, all taken together, free her up to go play games with the family and be with PEOPLE, not just food all day.

• Pre-cook sweet potatoes, peel, dice, and cover with your topping; cover and freeze.  Defrost on T-Day and warm in the oven.


• Pre-cook the turkey a few days ahead of time.  (Then you don't have to find room for it in your fridge or freezer!)  Slice and drizzle some of the broth over; cover and freeze.  Warm in the microwave at serving time (not the oven -- she says that gives it that leftover taste).


• The rest of the broth frozen, ready to thaw and make gravy.


• Cooks up her turkey soup ahead of time, instead of the day after.


• She uses festive paper plates and napkins -- that don't have to be washed!  She sets the table the night before.

And I know there are other short-cuts that work...freezing dinner rolls, having the cranberry sauce pre-cooked or pre-sliced.  Freezing your pumpkin pies.

You know, I think my freezer is too small.  I can see whole vistas of this method for year-round, simplifying my life even more.   Think how handy to have a pre-done casserole or pot of soup for that unexpected company.  Though I've done some of this on a sporadic basis, I'm going to get really intentional about it.

Have a blessed and stress-free Thanksgiving!