Kettle Popcorn

I love this recipe!
Kettle Popcorn

3 T. Coconut Oil, melted in the bottom of a large saucepan
2 pkgs, or 1t. Truvia, sprinkled over the melted oil.
3 T. Unpopped Corn, sprinkled over oil and Truvia

Allow oil to get hot enough to sizzle corn, cover pan with lid and when the corn begins to pop turn down the heat to med-low. Shake the pan every few seconds to keep the popping going. When the corn stops popping, it's done!

This makes about 6 Cups of Kettle Corn.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Nutritarian Food Pyramid

Let's compare food pyramids for just a few minutes.
The University of Michigan was on the right track with their Healing Foods Pyramid, and I do like that they include water, but I think this new one by Dr. Fuhrman is better.
What do you think?
For more information on The Nutritarian Food Pyramid,
click here.

"Let Food Be Your Medicine", Hippocrates

Netflix is running several documentaries regarding eating and health, which I have watched with great interest. So much so that I am on a juice fast after seeing the results that Joe Cross had in his quest for improved health that he journals in "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". In two days I have lost 5 1/2 pounds and I feel great.

But I just finished watching Frontline's "The Medicated Child" (also on Netflix) and I could hardly believe what I saw! Well, actually, I can believe it, but it breaks my heart and makes me angry at this "system" that most of us have been taught to trustingly and innocently follow trying to take good care of ourselves and our families.
I don't profess to be any kind of an expert but as a thinking individual who has been reading alternative health care books for decades I am so very saddened by the fact that America's children are paying such a huge price.
It is my hope that anyone who reads this little piece will consider the insight of Hippocrates who said "Let food be your medicine", and may I add that in doing this we should also consider removing the non-foods, like chemicals, the over-processed and artificial substances from our diet at the same time... or sooner! In "The Medicated Child" not one word is ever mentioned about diet or eating more fruits and veggies. Instead children are filmed eating ice cream and corn dogs and they don't know why they're sick!!
Many thanks again to you Netflix and film producers and yes, some doctors too, :) who put forth time, money and effort to educate individuals and parents on this vital issue, through programs like "Food Matters", "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and " Forks Over Knives". At some point we may hopefully come to realize that our medical profession is wonderful when we need help after we've been injured but most know very little about how to get and keep people truly healthy.
In my humble, albeit emphatic opinion, why not try cleaning up our diets and doing a bit of reading in order to know for ourselves how to cure what ails us. Better yet, how about preventing those ailments altogether.

How To Make Carob Candy Bars and Nut Clusters

I've tried to find carob candies in health food stores and diet sections of the grocery store to no avail, so I've resorted to making my own. The best thing about doing this is that you get exactly what you like! Today I'm just doing candy bars and nut clusters but at Christmas time I'll do some filled "chocolates". Here we go!

It all starts with a bag of Sunspire brand Carob Chips which I buy by the case from Amazon because my store no longer carries carob chips without milk and over-refined sugar, and the price is good.
Empty one 10 oz. bag of chips into a glass bowl with high sides or a large glass measuring cup. Using glass will help protect the carob from becoming too hot.
Add 1 1/2T. Coconut Oil
And 1/2t. Vanilla Flavoring or Peppermint, etc. (does not need to be oil-based)
Sweeten to taste if desired with 1 packet Xylitol or Stevia
Set into another bowl with medium hot tap water, not boiling. Remember that getting carob too hot will cause it to become stiff and chewy so warm only enough to gently melt carob. Stirring will help the chips melt with less heat and will blend in the other ingredients. Once the chips are melted and you're into your candy making, don't add more chips. Remelting means reheating, so wait until you use up what you've already melted and then start again with more chips. This melted carob can be used over ice cream like magic shell, or proceed to make candy bars.

Spoon a little of the melted carob into a chocolate mold. They have some that are meant specifically for candy bars or use whatever shapes you like! Tap the mold on the table lightly to remove air bubbles and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Remove the mold from the freezer and gently loosen the hardened carob. When inverting onto the foil, catch the candy bar and set it down to keep it from breaking. It will be brittle.
If you want to divide the bar, wait until it warms to room temperature. Using a straight edged sharp knife, carefully cut the bar. If you are going to store the candy to serve later, wrap in foil and keep in a cool place or in the refrigerator.
If you are making nut clusters simply drop nuts into melted carob and stir to coat the nuts. I used roasted and salted peanuts. Drop by spoonfuls into candy cups or onto waxed paper. Cool and harden in the fridge or freezer. Store in covered container.
Now, when everyone is having a sweet treat, you can have one too! Or, you can share your goodies with your friends and family, helping them to learn to enjoy something a little healthier.
PS. If the carob turns grey it is only from being cold. Simply let it warm or you can use a blow dryer to warm it and it will brown right up! And by the way, chocolate does the same thing and can be fixed the same way, too :)

Healthy Fats

Remember how in the old days Grandma liked getting out that spoon for the kids' weekly dose of cod liver oil?! Our bodies need small amounts of these healthy fats daily. We know Omega 3's are important and high amounts are found in Fish Oils and by eating foods like Salmon, Walnuts, Flax Seeds, and Veggies like Broccoli and Spinach.
I personally have believed for several years now that added fats in capsules or that come by spreading or pouring are not the best way to go; that foods were meant to be eaten in their whole state, as they come, wherever possible.
It is important to use moderation in our food choices, and it's vital to our well being to include a few foods that are rich in healthy fats such as Avocadoes, Walnuts, and Olives. These seem to have gotten a "bad rap" when it comes to dieting, but in my experience, these foods, when eaten in moderation, in no way interfere with losing weight, in fact, just the opposite.
Replacing the oil in baked goods with applesauce works very well but Olive Oil and Coconut Oil may be the exceptions to the rule when looking to add fat in cooking. Olive Oil and Coconut Oil have impressive lists of health benefits, in fact there are some who even take 3T. of Coconut Oil a day to aid with weight loss! If you choose to add coconut oil to a recipe, measure slightly less. And remember, Coconut Oil does not harden with higher temperatures so you can even fry foods in a little of it.
For me, I don't take doses of just fat, I'll take the Walnuts or Avocadoes or Olives, thank you! But again, when I eat popcorn I drizzle on some melted Coconut Oil and sprinkle it with Real Salt. YUM!!

Kitchen Chemistry

Over the years I have spent many hours, not always enough thought, and a fair amount of money into experimenting with recipes trying to make them healthier. Some with success and others? Well, not so much. I have yet to find the all-encompassing food chemistry manual of my dreams. You know, the one that includes things like what will result by using coconut oil in the recipe instead of shortening. (Don't do it by-the-way, without some study. I once tried to make popcorn balls using coconut oil instead of butter and they never held together because one of coconut oil's virtues is that it resists hardening when heated to high temperatures. And I knew that?)

Well, we all start from somewhere. For me, my journey began with switching from refined grains and sweeteners to natural. That was a huge beginning. In addition to learning the reasons why it would be worth it I also had to learn how to do it. Things like:
~ When baking with whole wheat flour, you can use just a little less than refined white because of its bulk, otherwise your results may be too dry.
~ Again, when using honey you can use a bit less because it's sweeter than sugar.
~ And, when substituting any liquid for a dry ingredient, you must compensate for the change somewhere else in the recipe. For example, 1C. of honey also adds 1/4th C. of liquid so you use 1/4th C. less other liquid. If the recipe is for cookies and doesn't have a wet ingredient like water or milk, search for someone else's recipe for best results!
Back then there were no computers in our homes for relative ease in research. Now, thanks to Google and other search engines, so much info is at our fingertips. Still, we have to know enough about our subject to know what to ask!
From time to time, I'll be adding to this little page of mine, facts and figures to hopefully make the use of "new" food more practical and still tasty.