Leek me Shitake that Virus
This is so incredibly yummy served on its own, or as a sauce for garlic noodle pasta or brown rice.
It just so happens to be super simple and quick to prepare. Plus, its incredible good for your immunity. So cut, heat, stir, then eat, and let the shitakes tackle the oncoming virus and cold.
Total time from cutting board to fork: 11 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- One organic leek, chopped
- 10 organic shitake mushrooms, washed
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic, fresh or dried
- 1 tablespoon organic, first cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
- 1 heaping tablespoon organic miso paste (alternatively may use non-soy based)
- teaspoon himalayan salt, to taste (alternatively can use soy, tamari, or bragg's amino acids)
METHOD:
- Cut leek and wash throughly
- Add olive oil to a fry pan on medium low heat
- Saute garlic for a few minutes
- Move heat to medium. Add leeks and salt. Saute for a few minutes until leeks are well sauteed.
- Chop or use your hands to rip up the shikates. I rip them up, it saves soooo much time.
- The mushrooms will release water, don't mind the water, it is nutritious and will become a sauce soon.
- When mushrooms are finished cooking, move heat to low and add miso paste. Stir the miso in throughout the dish and allow it to be totally absorbed.
- Remove from heat and eat!
THE LOW DOWN:
- For starters, garlic, leeks, and shitake mushrooms all have immune boosting, virus killing, cold destroying, properties. Eat them plentifully all year round to ward away colds and when you are feeling cold coming on.
- Miso paste, a probiotic rich food, has beneficial bacteria for really important gut health. Your gut health is key to not only proper digestion but for your overall immune health. Miso paste also wards away seasonal allergies.
Do note, there are living beneficial bacteria in miso paste. Although heating it kills the beneficial bacteria, even when dead (as in miso soup), it has shown to provide benefits. In this recipe, were heating the miso on low, keeping the bacteria killing to a minimum and benefits to a maximum.
- Since were using olive oil, lets not cook the oil at high heat, it will denature the oil and make it bad for you. When the mushrooms release some water, you can switch to medium high for a couple minutes to speed up the cooking time. Just watch the dish and make sure it doesn't smoke.
- Tip: rip the mushroom with your hands. Seriously, do you really want to pull out your cutting board if you dont gotta?
Green Pesto Low-carb Noodles
Here’s a recipe for an amazing summer salad that take all of 6 minutes.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 zucchinis
- Handful of basil
- two tablespoons pine nuts
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- teaspoon himalayan salt
- a few chopped sundried or fresh cherry tomatoes
- optional: sprinkling of parmesan cheese
METHOD:
1. Using a spirilizer, create noodles out of zucchinis. If you don’t have a spirilizer, you can use a veggie peeler or grater and create thin strips. (but seriously, buy a spirilizer!)
2. Blend basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and salt
3. Toss zucchini with pesto dressing and add chopped sundried or cherry tomatoes
4. Serve.
THE LOW DOWN:
The glory of this recipe is that it takes all of 6 minutes. But here's the thing, most people just have pine nuts lying around. They're an expensive nut and unless you're making pesto all the time, or tossing them in your salad its an easy thing to not have lying around. So here's a list of alternatives to what's listed. Get creative with your spin on pesto. Use up the stuff in your fridge or try something new!
- Instead of pine nuts, brazil nuts work really well! And they are full of selenium which counteracts mercury (for those of you that eat fish), you may also try cashews and walnuts.
- In addition to the olive oil, or in place of it, use half an avocado. If you are skipping the oil, use a bit of water so that it will blend.
- Traditional pesto calls for basil, but you can totally add tarragon or spinach for a twist on it.
- Garlic. If you are a garlic lover and need garlic in everything. Then you must add a clove or two to this. Just note that Its going to be raw and therefore very sharp tasting garlic, so adjust to your tastebuds or use a few teaspoons of garlic powder. Garlic powder is not as nutritionally optimal as fresh garlic, but a great deal easier to chew on.
Protein Pumped Pasta
No-brainer recipe for consuming tons of protein and fiber in a tasty non-fattening, low-carb way.
THE LOW DOWN:
I've never met a person who doesn't enjoy a bit of oil in their sautéed veggies. However, rather than sautéing the onions in oil, saute them in water. Save the really good for you, omega-3 flaxseed oil to top the pasta instead of using oil to cook with.
The cool thing is that it will taste just as if you've sautéed the dish in oil, except this way you are getting the brain strengthening Omega 3s that would get denatured by the heat.
Here's the other trick in this recipe. The pasta is made entirely of beans! Which means its not only gluten free, but it has protein and fiber. Traditional pasta has virtually no fiber, which means that the carbs will spike your blood sugar and then dramatically lower them after they digest. Think of it as pure sugar, your body sees almost no difference, and neither will your waist line!
INGREDIENTS:
- Pasta made from beans. I used Tolerant brand because the only ingredient was red lentils.
- 1 can of organic lentils in a bpa free can
- 1 can of organic roasted tomatoes in a bpa free can
- half chopped onion
- couple tablespoons fresh organic cold pressed flaxseed oil
- Himalayan salt
- Fresh garlic or tons of garlic powder
- Chipotle powder to taste
- Handful of Asparagus and broccoli or whatever veggies you have in the fridge
- handful of Kale or spinach
METHOD:
- Boil pasta
- In a separate pan, saute onions with a few tablespoons water
- Add all the other veggies to the pan along with spices
- Combine cooked pasta with veggie dish and allow to cool for a couple minutes. When its not piping hot, top with flaxseed oil and a bit of himalayan salt
- Eat it.