Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Dr. Christopher-Style Dinners

I'm on a new journey....again!  I'm studying Dr. Christopher right now, whom I look up to as an herbalist almost as much as my Mom.  An amazing man, incredible courage, intelligence beyond imagination....I could go on and on.  As I'm reading Herbal Home Health, I find myself nodding and nodding and nodding.  Coming to the mucousless diet and reading about the pain that can ensue when you clear out all the caked on gross-ness in your colon, I felt inspired!  Perhaps this was what happened to me this last time.  All that cleansing really rocked something out of my body.  COOL!

Anyway....Dr. Christopher had some simple mucous producing food list.  This we call the No-No list.  Basically, no animal products - including meat, dairy and eggs, no salt (I don't know if I want to follow that part - unrefined salt is so healthy for you), no sugar (EEEK!), a few more things and of course, no processed foods.    A nice dinner, he suggested, would include a baked potato - skin and all, some steamed veggies, vegetable juice, a low temperature cooked grain (can't do this because of the allergy so I'll be using a lot of quinoa) and a huge vegetable salad.

So here I am, lost 7 lbs from being sick and I'm scared to eat for two reasons.  One - I don't want to have pain.  Two - as soon as I start eating I'll gain the weight back two fold.  Dr. Christophers plan was SOOOOOOOO much food!  Well, my husband was just going to have to love me even if I was huge.  I ate by his suggestion, minus the vegetable juice...I'm just not there yet, and I was full.  Now not like the Thanksgiving "ugh" full, but the "I feel really good" full.  I was nice and full until late the next morning.

So the big test was the scale.  I stepped on.  Uhhhhhh?  How did I lose a pound?  Must not have hit me yet.  Day two, lost another 1/2 pound.  Hrmmmmm.  Well here we are a couple week later and I'm down 12 pounds!  Almost at my wedding day weight!

So long story short.  I feel awesome.  I had to buy new pants.  I love Dr. Christopher <3

I'll be posting full a lot of full meals, because I really enjoy eating this way!  Enjoy!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Dr. Christopher-Style Dinner #1

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Potato Squash Medley (My favorite mix)
2 medium Potatoes
1 Zucchini
1 Yellow Onion
Water
Seasonings

Using the french fry cutter on a mandolini slicer, slice all veggies into a medium pot.  Add 1/2-1 cup good water.  Heat on high until bubbling, reduce heat to medium (gas), low medium (electric).  Cook until potatoes are soft.  If there is left over water, take lid off and cook until water has evaporated. Add your favorite seasoning - I love using Herb Stop's Toasted Onion Salt.

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Beef-less Cashew Quinoa
2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Beef Flavored Broth or any broth of choice
1 cup washed Quinoa
2 cups Good Water
1 handful Cashew pieces
1/2 -1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Sprinkle & Rub Spice

Cover quinoa with water.  Mix in broth and spice.  Heat on high until simmering then reduce heat to low-medium.  Cover and check on water level every 5 minutes.  When water has about 5 minutes left to absorb, add cashews.  Sprinkle with your favorite salt - I also love Herb Stop's Toasted Onion Salt for this one too!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Massive Salad
1 head of Lettuce, chopped/torn/however you like
1 handful of Cherry/Grape Tomatoes, sliced in half
1 Avocado, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup shredded cabbage
any other veggies you desire
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
1 clove Garlic
In a large bowl, add olive oil and push garlic through a garlic press.  Mix well.  Mix in all veggies, except lettuce.  Add vinegar and mix well.  Add lettuce and toss well.

nom nom nom!!!

Consumption of a Vegan

After that last post of a sad story, I thought I'd write something that made me laugh when I was thinking about it today.

Have you ever wondered what the food consumption of a vegan is?  I sure haven't....I just eat!  hehehehe.  Having been on the potatoes and squash diet for a month now, I could tell you that is one short sentence.  Now, I've expanded my horizons!  I'm also reading Dr. Christopher's books and eating my main meal according to what he believes is the best: 1 potato, steamed vegetables, slow and low temp cooked grains and a large vegetable salad. Lots and lots of food!  So here we are at my daily consumption - I think really I eat a small backyard garden daily, lol.

1 handful of cashews
4 small apples (thanks to my in-laws!)
1 1/2 zucchinis
1 1/2 yellow straight neck squashes
1 1/2 yellow onions
3 medium potatoes
1 cup cooked quinoa
5 scallions
1/2-3/4 cup shredded green cabbage
1 head lettuce
6-8 cherry/grape tomatoes
2 carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove
many many spices
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
of course my current herbs - marshmallow root, comfrey root, hawthorn and devil's claw

I'm especially laughing because the CDC says I need 2 serving of fruit and 2.5 servings of veggies - my goodness the potatoes alone are more than that!  So I'd say the apples are like 2 serving of fruit - done with that part, lol.  What about the veggies....lets be conservative, eh?  Zukes and Squash = 2, onion = 1, potatoes =3, scallions = 1/4, green cabbage = 1/2, lettuce = 1, tomatoes = 1/4, carrots = 1.

I add up 9 servings!  HA!  That is hilarious!  Yummy in my tummy!

Why Haven't You Posted Any Recipes!?!?!?!

As I sit here eating dinner, I'm feeling very guilty about not posting more recipes.  In the recent month, I've had some issues.  I get ahead of myself and think "Oh, I'm totally better!  Let me do a deep cleanse!"  Well, this ended up in disaster about a month ago.

I woke up in the middle of the night with that sense of pain.  Once I awoke I thought, oh no! no! no! no! there is no way my gallbladder is doing this!  Sadly, it was.  After throwing up my lunch and dinner from the previous day - still whole, I might add - I went outside with my doggie and called my Mom.  As I cried and cried telling her that I didn't have the strength to go through with this, I thought to myself that the alternative was either drugs or surgery.  I knew I didn't want either, but I'm still trying to recover from being sick for nearly two years.  How could I muster the energy to battle this?

Luckily my Mother came over and helped me with a million different herbs, teas, aloe, peppermint essential oil, lemon essential oil, reflexology and of course the backrubs to help loosen the excruciating spasms that shoot up to the right shoulder.  After an hour or so, the vomiting commenced.  Once that was done, my Husband went to my shop and got new treatments - ginger, alkaline water, etc.  Long painful story later, I recovered.....so I thought.

Couple weeks later my Husband and I are at our house down in Mesa.  I woke up with pain again.  I had nothing there. Not even a tea.  I decided I would mentally fight this!  I can do this!  I went to the dryer and heated up towels to put over my abdomen.  At the third round, I realized it wasn't helping.  On to hot water.  At around 6 in the morning, I woke my husband up.  My battle had failed.  I was having the worst attack of my life.  I told him we needed to leave, leave immediately.  He scooped up our toothbrushes and essentials and he put me and my doggie in the car.  Of course, Murphey's Law, we needed gas.  As I writhed in agony, moaning loudly, my husband filled up the tank and got me some peppermints from the store.  He got back in the car and we sped - I mean sped - back to Payson.

I never realized that you could vomit from pain until now.  On our way up, I was crying, writhing in pure agony and moaning all of a sudden I said "stop the car right now!"  My Hubby pulled over and I barely had time to open the door.  Up it came!

Finally we got to our house up here and I started with the heating pad and my husband said what do you need?  He had denied my previous begging of "take me to the hospital" knowing that I would be very upset with him the next day if he had listened to my pleading.  My answer:  drugs.  I wanted drugs!  Anyone that knows me, knows that this is completely out of character for me.  He searched the cabinets for something.  I had been prescribed pain killers from an accident I had where my little toe met the hard wood of my bed stand, and I never used them.  So I began to take them.  Finally I could stop thrashing around, although the pain was unbearable.  Of course, this episode would not be complete without vomiting one more time.  Of course that would be all stomach acid, which burned my sinus - making it impossible to breathe through my nose for two days, the end of my nose which is still raw and of course my esophagus right in the middle of my chest.  At the end of the day, I doped myself up and brutally exhausted, I slept.

Waking up the next morning was very scary.  As I silently cried to myself, I begged to please be able to at least have less pain.  I did!  I made it!  The pain was still there, but I could handle it.  I was very grateful my husband had taken such good care of me.  He made me teas that I would take one sip of and I would tell him "nuh uh, try another one" and he would check my temperature, check my eyes for jaundice.   My poor Mom, worried all day and night about me.  I was a rough episode for all of us.

So, this is why there is a lack of recipes as of late.  I have only been able to eat potatoes and squash for the last month.  Luckily, I was able to expand my horizons this past week.  I'm hoping in the next few weeks I'll be able to make some tasty treats for Thanksgiving!

Thank you for your understanding
<3 <3 <3
Natalie

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Green Beans & Pecans In Maple Sauce

I haven't posted in a long time....eeek!  Last night I made this delicious dish and I was excited to post it this morning!  The flavor is sweet and complex!  I love it!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Green Beans & Pecans In Maple Sauce
2 cups Green Beans - cut into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup Pecans - I used the organic mini ones
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup (only use the real stuff!)
1 clove Garlic - pushed through a garlic press
Herb Stop's Toasted Onion Salt

Steam/boil green beans until desired firmness.  I like mine only a little crunchy - which is about 8 minutes.  For very crunchy 3-4 minutes.  Strain and set aside.  In a frying pan, add pecans and turn the heat to medium to medium high.  Place pecans in the pan and "roast" until there is a nice toasty smell.  reduce heat to medium to medium low.  Add in the maple syrup and garlic.  Stirring constantly, let bubble and thicken.  After about 2 minutes, turn off heat and add in green beans.  Toss until well coated.  Once plated, sprinkle with Onion Salt.  ENJOY!

I added a water to a frying pan and added in the green beans. 

roasting nuts

cooking in the pecans and garlic

added in green beans