Sweet Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Another fabulous recipe from the Alkaline Sisters!!!!

and

some awesome facts they’ve shared!

 

Sweet Curry Butternut Squash Soup w/ Cilantro Creme
Yield: 4 servings
1 sm-med sized organic butternut squash
1 sweet organic onion, diced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp fresh lemongrass, tender white portion only, finely minced
1 tbsp raw organic coconut oil
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp organic curry powder
3/4 cup organic coconut milk
1 1/4 cup filtered water + 1/4 cup
2 dried dates, soaked for 1 hour min
Method
Carefully cut squash length wise and remove seeds.  Roast cut side down in 350 degree oven on parchment paper until fork tender, approx 45-60 mins.  Remove from oven, set aside to cool.  Lightly saute onions in pan with coconut oil, ginger, lemongrass, garam masala and curry, adding 1/4 cup water once mixture is heated thru, simmer 1-2 mins and then remove from heat. Scoop squash into blender or food processor, add onion mixture, coconut water and dates and blend til smooth, adjusting consistency with additional water if required.  Serve luke warm with Cilantro Lime creme or you may gently reheat, carefully, so as not to burn.  Enjoy alongside a salad.

Cilantro Lime Creme
Yield: 3/4 cup approx
1/2 cup organic Brazil nuts, soaked 2 hours min
6 tbsp organic cilantro, roughly chopped
juice of one organic lime
1 tbsp raw organic coconut oil
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp fine Himilayan salt
Method
Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and combine until creamy.  Drizzle over soup.

Because this isn’t a raw soup, be sure to serve it with a salad to provide your dose of enzymes and living energy for this meal.

 

The Hard Facts I learned this week about our toxic world;

Preservatives & Additives
There are 3,000 different kinds, and none of them are safe for human consumption and they are in most everything.  The average person consumes 160lbs every year!  This industry is not regulated, there are recommended levels that are still not safe, but are also not being adhered to.  The mandate by the powers that be is “just use what you only need to produce a product”- can you believe???
Benzidine, a yellow colour additive is one of the most lethal- the recommend use is 1 part/billion but uses have been recorded as 5 parts/billion upwards to 941 parts/billion and it is often found in children’s vitamins, candy and treats- the most susceptible age group to chemical intake.  Lead is used to make most colourings and no level of lead exposure is safe.
Caramel flavour IS Amonia-eeek and GMO corn!  Does not resemble food what so ever!  No level of caramel flavour or colouring is safe for consumption especially for children.
30% + cases of ADD/ADHA are closely linked to the chemical toxicity of food, esp colourings; yellow #6 which contains tartrazine/coal tar,  or red #40, or any “natural colouring”.  These should be avoided at all costs especially by children.
Sulphites/Benzoic Acid–found to be linked to Leukemia, blood disorders
Nitrates–inhibit cells from carrying oxygen- eeek- kinda important!  All processed meats have these unless indicated except baby foods.
BHA, BHT–both are known human carcinogens, cancer causing
BVO/Brominated Vegetable Oil–responsible for growth retardation, enlarged heart, thyroid issues; This chemical is accepted and used widely in Canada but has been banned everywhere else in the world!!  A political move of course.  Children and babies are at the highest risk.
MSG-MSG-OMG!!  There are 60 different names for MSG!!!  Just Google it!  It is a popular flavour enhancer that has the ability to cross the blood brain barrier and kills neurons!  Symptoms are headaches, vomiting, nausea, cramps and dizziness.  Babies and children once again along with seniors are at the highest risk.  Torula yeast is MSG-found in seemingly harmless rice chips!  They were my fave until now!
Natural Sweeteners
Any thing labeled with ‘natural sweeteners” is HFCS-high fructose corn syrup, don’t trust it.  Causes increase blood sugar levels and contributes to IBS- irritable bowel syndrome and many, many more terrible symptoms and disease. Stick to powdered stevia, maple syrup or dates for sweeteners.
Artificial Sweeteners
Aspartame–directly linked as a catalyst to MS/multiple sclerosis
PKU/Phenylalanie–causes severe mental retardation in babies- creates a major chemical imbalance in brain yielding depression
Methanol–causes blindness- also used for chemical warfare- how about that!!
Ace-K/Acesulfane-K-causes brain & lung tumors, leukemia
Many of these are found in DIEt pop, meant to thrill, but will kill!!!
Canola Oil– one of least favoured oils for health- Canada paid 50,000,000 dollars to pass the FDA standards!!  Something fishy here don’t you think??
Pasteurization–That which is dead, cannot give you life!  Pasteurized foods have been heated to kill pathogens but now the food is dead.  Anything pasteurized will say Refrigerate or Best Before
Irradiation–used to kill insects, destroy micro organisms but it increase free radicals, does chromosome damage to kids
Measured by RADS- 1 RAD is equal to one chest x-ray.  Potatoes receive 15,000 RADS, Flour 75,000 RADS and Spices 1,000,000 RADS!!  So buy local and grow your own!
Water
Tap water is chlorinated, and has flouride & ammonia added
Distilled Water– has no minerals & is acidic
Reverse Osmosis-low in minerals
Filtered Water- strips minerals and most Chemicals
What is in our water generally, world wide;
Pharmaceuticals– passed thru our bodies end up in our water system as well as vast quantities of medicines that are flushed annually down the toilet by individuals, pharmacies and hospitals.  Just recently a collection system has been devised- a little too late tho!
Vitamins–in whole or dissolved quantities, most of which are synthetically created
Bottled water leaches toxins and is generally just tap water poured into bottles including Brands like Dasani, Aquafina or Nestle so it’s very expensive tap water!  In a pinch the only alkaline water with some minerals is FIJI, that’s why it costs more!  Starbuck’s always carries it esp. in airports after security points when you need it most, for an incredibly dehydrating flight!  Buy Two!
Take a look at this trailer on the water documentary called Tapped to believe it for yourself- you can view it on Netflicks I think or just order the DVD.
Your water needs to be: filtered, full of minerals, alkaline and ideally have an ionic charge that gives energy versus taking energy. Water should be structured so that the molecules cluster properly for optimal absorption by our bodies otherwise we just pee it out with out absorbing it, thus the reason so many people are dehydrated even tho they drink water!  See my water post here.
You can easily create good drinking water by doing this.
Buy an affordable filter for your budget, the more you can afford the more it will extract, just avoid network marketing as you may end up paying more than necessary.  Then either get alkaline drops for adding minerals back or use a brine of soaked Himlayan Rocks.  Soak a few rocks with filered water, continuously in a jar, and add just a teaspoon to your glass of water with lemon (preferably the lemon w/rind has soaked over night in water).  Next to all this you can buy an alkaline water filter and it will  structure, filter and alkalize your water but they can be expensive.  Prices are coming down with the supply and demand so keep your eyes open at Costco in the coming year!
That’s it for now, enough to digest I think!!  Now… I seriously need to study, but thanks for the review:)

Coconut Ice Cream

Believe it or not this is actually an alkaline diet recipe!!! It’s not just beans and greens 😀 😀 😀

Coconut Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 ½ cups coconut meat
1 ½ cups coconut water
¼ cup (or less) of agave syrup
3 tablespoons coconut butter
½ teaspoon lemon or lime juice
Seeds from ½ vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Purée all the ingredients in a blender, until smooth. Place the mixture in a covered serving bowl in the freezer. (If you have an ice cream maker, chill the mixture from the blender then process according to manufacturer’s instructions, before placing in freezer).

From “Raw food, Real World”

Simple Alkaline Salad

Simple pH Balancing Alkaline Salad

 

An acidic diet can cause emotional distress in the body and toxic overload, leading to myriad health problems. It should be of no surprise that the typical Western diet is high in acid and low in alkaline. To restore health, a proper diet should hover around 80 percent alkalinity and 20 percent acidity.

This salad is rich in alkaline foods that help promote the restoration of the body’s pH balance. Not to mention, it’s also easy to make and tastes delicious!

Ingredients

• 5 stalks asparagus
• 1 cup chopped arugula
• 5 red radish
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 cup chopped snow pea sprouts
• 1/2 cup chopped alfalfa sprouts
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander
• 1 Tbsp. diced spring onion
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds

Dressing

• 1 tsp. mustard powder
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. Celtic sea salt
• Add pepper to taste

Directions

In a large bowl combine the dressing ingredients and mix well.

With a vegetable peeler, peel the asparagus stalks just below the leaves and place into a small saucepan. Pour water into the sauce pan to just barely cover the asparagus and simmer on medium heat for about 3 minutes until just barely tender. Remove from heat and drain.

Slice the asparagus stalks into diagonal 1-inch pieces. Then chop the radish into thin slices, and chop and finely dice the snow pea sprouts, coriander and spring onion. The alfalfa sprouts can be pulled apart by hand, but just be sure it’s not one big clumpy piece.

Add the chopped ingredients into the bowl and toss well with the dressing.

Lastly, you have the option to either chop up the avocado and gently fold it into the salad, or serve the half in tact by placing it on top. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and garnish with balsamic vinegar to taste.

-MindBodyGreen-

Hearty Vegetable Soup with Quick, Easy Veggie Broth

This recipe will yield a generous pot of soup that you can invite friends over for or you can portion up left overs for lunch or you can freeze some for other quick meals.  If you plan on re-heating a good portion of the soup it’s a good idea to under cook it a wee bit so that with reheating it doesn’t over do the cooking of the veggies.  Just ladle out a few bowls full before the soup is done, allow to cool and then chill or freeze.

Yield: Serves 8-10, large bowls soup
Please use organic produce
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
3 large carrots, diced
3 potatoes, diced (you can sub sweet potatoes if you like)
1 cup diced autumn squash of your choice
2 large tomatoes, diced,
4 ribs celery, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 red pepper, seeded & diced
1 jar of cannellini beans, rinsed (or dry beans, soaked and pre-cooked)
Himalayan salt or sea salt
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley, additional 2 tbsp for garnish
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley, additional 2 tbsp for garnish
For Broth– additional veggies required
1/4 onion
1/4 small cabbage
2 small zucchinis
4 carrots
4 ribs celery
1/2 red pepper
filtered water
Method
Run all broth veggies thru a juicer and set aside.  In a large pot add diced onion & garlic and 2-3 tbsp filtered water, steam fry for a few minutes til onions are translucent.  Add broth and one cup filtered water.  Heat broth and then add carrots & potatoes & squash, simmer for 5 mins.  Now add celery and zucchini and simmer for 5 mins, then add peppers and tomatoes & cannellini beans and simmer for 5 more mins. Add a little bit more water, 1/2c or so, if broth seems too little.  Test for flavour and season with Himalayan salt or sea salt and stir in chopped herbs.  If any further seasoning is desired, sprinkle with some dulse perhaps.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped basil and parsley.  I even sprinkled mine with hemp nuts for good protein measure and it was yummy!

This recipe was totally stolen from the amazing Alkaline Sisters website!!

😀 😀 😀

 

Alkaline diet – Jason’s Nachos

I found a great site called Honestly Healthy Food, this site is full of awesome recipes and tips to leading an alkaline lifestyle.

 

 

Jason’s Nachos

Ingredients

For the Nachos:

• 120g gluten free flour
• ¼ tsp pink salt
• 1 tbsp xanthan gum
• ¼ cup water

For the Avocado Dip:

• 1 avocado
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Juice & zest of 1/2 a lime
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated
• 1 inch chilli, finely chopped on an angle

For The Black Beans:

• 240g organic black beans
• ¼ tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• Pinch smoked paprika

For the Vegan Sour Cream:

• 6 tbsp Tofutti (this is tofu cream cheese, you should find it in the fridge section of most health food stores)
• Juice and zest of 1/2 a lime
• pinch pink salt
• Optional: 40g hard goats cheese.

Instructions

1. To make the nachos put the flour, salt and xanthan gum into a bowl and mix together. Slowly add the water and combine together to form a dough. Kneed together on a floured surface until completely mixed together. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and put into the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
2. Split the ball of dough into 4 smaller balls and roll each one out – the trick is to roll them as thin as possible – approx. 2-3mm each.
3. Heat a pan and leave to get really hot. Put one of the rolled out tortilla onto the dry hot pan and leave until it starts to go golden brown and bubble on one side (they will only brown where it starts to ‘bubble’). Turn it over and repeat on the other side until all of the 4 tortillas are done.
4. Chop each tortilla into small triangles (about 2cm in length on the long side). Put into a lined baking tray and cover with 1 tbsp of sunflower oil. Make sure you cover them all evenly – the best way to do this is put the oil on your hands and massage it over the chips. Sprinkle with salt and put into the oven for 15 -20 minutes until golden and crispy being sure to check them half way through and turn them over if necessary.
5. While the chips are in the oven make the beans. Put the sunflower oil and cumin into the pan and leave on heat for 1-2 minutes until the oil starts to sizzle. Put the beans in (with their water), add the paprika and stir for 2-3 minutes on a high heat until the liquid around the beans starts to absorb. Remove from the heat and set aside.
6. Make the avocado dip buy removing the skin and pip of the avocado and squeeze half the lemon over the top (this stops it from going brown). Mash up the avocado with a fork and add the grated garlic, the juice and zest of the lime, chopped fresh chili and mix together.
7. Once the chips are cooked, put them onto an oven proof plate and grate the cheese over the top. Dollop the black bean over the top of the cheese and place the dish back into the oven for about 3 minutes until the cheese melts.
8. While the plate is in the oven, make the sour cream but mixing the Tofutti with the lime zest, lime juice and a pinch of salt.
9. Remove the plate from the oven and serve with the avocado dip over the top, a spoonful of vegan sour cream (and a little more cheese if you wish). Garnish with coriander and enjoy!!

http://honestlyhealthyfood.com