Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Cauliflower-Walnut "Meatballs"

These "meatballs" have worked out awesome in spaghetti, in sandwiches, as falafels, and in my mom's mushroom-tofu marinade. They freeze well, taste great and aren't too time-consuming to make.
Cauliflower-Walnut "Meatballs"

3 cups riced cauliflower
3 cups finely chopped cabbage
2 cups diced onions
2 cups garbanzo bean flour
2/3 cup flax seed
1 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1+ cup chopped parsley
1 heaping tablespoon garlic powder
1 heaping teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
In a food processor, chop each of the following to a rough consistency (cauliflower, cabbage, onions, walnuts) and dump into a large mixing bowl. Mix, add in the bean flour, oil and seasonings and mix again. Now add in all the remaining ingredients and if not too sticky, make into "meatballs" or patties. Bake for 40 minutes on 350F, flipping them after 25 minutes.

Chop the vegies & nuts - leave somewhat coarse for more texture.




Friday, July 20, 2012

Almond-Millet Breakfast Bowl

Often times for breakfast I make some chia pudding or throw a bunch of vegies in the blender for a morning vegie blend. I've even thrown in a good spoon of lentils, millet or brown rice to give a little more sustenance to the blend so I can make it energy-wise to the noon meal. But today, with my rice cooker still warming last nights millet, I thought I'd make my breakfast treat - a real hot breakfast cereal!
Almond-Millet Breakfast Bowl

3/4 cup cooked millet
1 handful washed almonds
2 shakes of cinnamon
1 shake of cloves
1 chunk of fresh ginger***
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1+ cup of water
sea salt
Blend all ingredients to a gruel. Should be easily pourable and not pasty. Sprinkle on a little more cinnamon or cloves. Garnish with a couple of almonds and serve hot!

Today in my lunch I've packed a whopping amount of green vegies and won't indulge in nuts again today, so even though the GI track has some carb coating, it shouldn't hurt me too much, especially as the coconut oil should help lube the way and the ginger is an anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory. Always aiming for balance :) But what a treat! I do love my hot "cereal" breakfast bowl in the a.m.!


*** Hurray! I'm finally able to eat ginger again. Had a personal sensitivity to the wonderful detoxing stuff several months ago so did like books say, avoided the food causing sensitivites for six months before reintroducing it. Yeah, it seems to have worked! Am also using a firmer type of ginger than than the knotty skinny one with higher moisture content and which seems to mold easily. (See North African Millet Stew w/ Greens for reference to former sensitivity)
Other grains

Variation: Adlay (a gluten-free grain) and almonds made in the same way. I omitted the ginger and added a couple dashes of cardamom and coriander to the blender. Turned out as expected - tasty!


Almonds and boiled Adlay grains as garnish!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Sugar- & Gluten-free Red Currant Scones

With red currants, chestnut pieces and whole almonds laced by swirls of tart cherry concentrate and coconut oil, this scone-pie creation looked a marvel! The ingredients are simple, the mixing is as easy as pie, and the taste is extraordinary. And the most amazing thing is, this is totally and completely sugar-free and sugar-substitute free!
Red Currant Scones

1/2 batch of Sugar- & Gluten-free Waffles
5 chestnuts, quartered or cut in eighths
1 large handful of almonds
2 tablespoons red currants, fresh or frozen
1+ tablespoon tart cherry concentrate
2 tablespoons coconut oil
cinnamon for dusting
Pour the waffle mix in a heavily coconut-oiled and gluten-free flour dusted pie dish. Drop the red currants evenly onto the top of the batter. Arrange the almonds and chestnuts on the top as desired. A drizzle of thin tart cherry concentrate over everything, and then two drizzles of coconut oil over everything. The coconut oil is what gives the scones a bit of a glazed look. Dust all with cinnamon and bake on 350F for [sorry, I forgot how long].




Break them into scone shapes and serve hot or cold.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Dips and Side-dishes with Vegies

Sometimes it's fun to just nibble, and tonight was such a night. The weather has been getting hotter and hotter and in the evening I don't feel the need to eat so much as I do in the colder winter evenings after work. So tonight, the menu was light, simple but still very nutritious.

There were celery sticks and brown rice crackers for spreading dips and spreads on. And for the dips and spreads, I had humus (garbanzo bean "mashed potatoes" is pretty close), salsa salad, pumpkin seed dip, and had the leftover mustard sauce/dip from two days ago. The tomato and carrot slices were purely ornamentation. I'll eventually eat the tomatoes but since there was a little tomato in the salsa, that's enough for tonight.





Can't use black or red pepper in the salsa to give it a little flair, but that's OK. This recipe turned out good enough to let my taste buds know that it's just a milder form of salsa .... but it's still salsa!!! I put the onion and garlic in the food processor and whizzed them first, then added all the other ingredients making a very full food processor, which made parts of the salsa a little too liquidy to my liking. Live and learn. Anyway, the food processor will work well keeping this in mind.
Mild Salsa

1 medium-large onion
3 big cloves garlic
1 chuck fresh ginger (optional)
3 cucumbers, peeled
1 tomato
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
sea salt

Monday, July 9, 2012

"Mustard" Sauce

Mustard, the seed, is unfortunately off-limits for people with serious systemic candida. Certainly my friend with candida gets violent headaches every time there are mustard seeds in her Indian or middle eastern dishes. I really don't understand why the mustard seed is off-limits though because six of our common vegetables - cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kale - were all bred from a single species of mustard. That's pretty amazing because worldwide there are 375 genera and 3200 species of mustard, and among them North America has about 55 genera. For those interested, however, it is the black mustard mixed with a vinegar that makes up the common North American mustard commercially sold (info at Wildflower-and-Weeds.com).

Anyway, lately I've been wanting something spicey but not upsetting to my stomach, something to add a little pizazz to my bland vegies, so with adding some extra onion and spilling the turmeric in some of my garbanzo bean "mashed potatoes" a thick spicey sauce that very much reminded me of a mustard sauce was created. With a bit of tweaking with some herbs, it didn't taste all that bad either!
Mustard Sauce (or dip)

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
1/2+ cup garbanzo bean broth
1 small-medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 chunk ginger (optional)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoon mixed herbs (parsley, thyme, marjoram)
2-3 teaspoons turmeric
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Blend all ingredients till roughly smooth in the BlendTec. Serve over vegies as a sauce or using less bean broth serve as a dip. I think this would make an awesome dip between lettuce leaves or seaweed lavers or liberally piled on top of cabbage leaves like an open-face cabbage sandwich. Hmm, must try both ways!

Friday, July 6, 2012

Ginseng-Cinnamon Cooler

Ah, so refreshing! Two nights ago I put the ingredients together in a huge crockpot and let it cook overnight on low. The next morning the smell made me sooo hungry, so I added several ladels to my breakfast hot "cereal".
Breakfast "Oatmeal"

2/3 cup brown rice cooked with (optional) chestnuts
1 handful of washed almonds
3-5 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 chunk of ginger
several dashes of cinnamon powder
a couple shakes of clove powder
a couple shakes of coriander and of cardamom powders
a little sea salt
several ladels of ginseng-cinnamon cooler
Put all ingredients together in a blender and whizz to a tangerine or golden-colored gruel. Anti-inflammatory and so delicious! Eat immediately.

Ginseng-Cinnamon Cooler

1 very long stick of cinnamon bark
1-2  ginseng roots
several wings of anise star
several cloves
lots of water

In a crock pot, allow to cook on low overnight (at least 8 hours). Can be served hot, but it's amazingly refreshing chilled in the fridge. And the color is so vibrant, warm and inviting. Looks like a winter drink? Well, try it in summer!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Collodial Silver and Candida

Candida and Colloidal Silver
(source of this article borrowed in full) 
"Yeast and mold infections are among the most difficult to treat of human ailments. Some of them are also among the most debilitating, such as candida yeast. Candida yeast will readily grow in any moist area of the body, such as the mouth ("thrush"), groin ("jock itch"), vagina ("yeast infection"), and intestines. Candida yeast is found naturally in the body, but is normally kept under control by friendly bacteria, such as acidophilus. But candida yeast often gets out of control following the use of antibiotics. The antibiotic kills off the friendly acidophilus and aerobic bacteria but does not affect the yeast. Without the friendly organisms such as the multiple strains of acidophilus to control it, candida grows fast.

The excess sugar of diabetes will also provide food for yeast, causing it to proliferate. Diabetics are therefore especially prone to this type of problem.

The intestines form perfect breeding grounds for candida. If the condition becomes bad enough, eventually the candida irritates an area of the intestine so much that their toxins penetrate the intestinal wall into the blood stream, where they can break down the immune system. Soon the candida infection itself passes through the intestinal wall and the white blood cells are consumed in their struggle to control the infection, further destroying the immune system. Thus, candida is a common contributor to many diseases and conditions, such as AIDS, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, colds, flus, etc.. Almost all disease and health problems are greatly aggravated by candida.

Candida can sometimes be controlled by increasing the acidity of the body, especially the area the yeast is growing in. This can be done by eating acid foods, such as vinaigrette salad dressings, and by applying vinegar mixed with water to the problem area. The best antibiotic commonly used to treat this condition is Nystatin. But Nystatin is only marginally effective against yeast, and remember that the problems probably started with the use of antibiotics to begin with.
Normally the body can handle minor yeast infections. However, when the yeast reaches the infectious stage wherein it is poisoning the blood and the immune system grows weak, such infections as athlete's foot, vaginal yeast infections, and fungus infections under the nails cannot be fought off.

A common treatment for the general infection is a diet completely free of all sugars, even fruit and starches along with taking Nystatin. However, anyone who has tried this treatment will tell you that this very strict diet is almost impossible to follow and does little more than keep the infection from proliferating.

The most effective tools against yeast infections of all kinds are acidophilus (yogurt), colloidal silver, and upper colonics. Combined, they can rid the body of yeast infections about as fast as the body can dispose of the toxins from dead cultures. However, disposing of these toxins can be a real problem, for two reasons. First of all, if the intestinal infection is killed off too sudden, it is possible for the intestines to become blocked. Obviously this can be serious and sometimes requires professional treatment to clear the bowels. Second, the body tends to dispose of toxins from the blood through the skin, which causes an itchy rash when the process is too fast. Toxins from dead spores can also strain the liver and kidneys. Therefore, it is wise to take as much acidophilus as is convenient, but to build up the use of colloidal silver gradually, usually starting with four oz. of colloidal silver a day, of about ten parts per million, or the equivalent. This is usually increased by about one oz. per day until a breaking out appears or the conditions are relieved. [The blogger is copying directly these obviously incorrect numbers. Sorry for the confusion.]

The colloidal silver provides a three-fold attack on the problems of candida. First, the colloidal silver kills off anaerobic bacteria and virii wherever it comes in contact with them. Therefore, the colloidal silver virtually provides a secondary immune system against all types of disease and infections, while treating the candida. Thus much of the problems of candida are treated immediately, before the candida can be cleaned out of the system. Second, colloidal silver is unusually effective in treating the candida infection itself. And third, colloidal silver has a strange and dynamic way of healing injured and damaged tissues fast. Since yeast infections of all kinds usually attack and consume the living tissue, a healing process is badly needed, and colloidal silver has a very unique way of healing these tissues fast.

Users continually report that colloidal silver will cure athlete's foot, vaginal yeast infections, as well as candida infections of the skin very quickly and then heals the damaged tissues. However, these are often signs of an inner infection. Until the yeast infection within the body is cured, external infections keep on returning. That is no reason not to treat these conditions. But if they return, it is time to look to the source of the problems as being inward. One can, of course, find explanations for the sources of the reinfection. However, a healthy body seldom succumbs to these infections.

Colloidal silver used internally and locally is the most effective treatment available today for all of these conditions. (refer to "The Candida Problem under Health")"
[News Article written by Marvin Robey (Marvin Robey is one of the premiere researchers in the field of Colloidal Silver.)]


OTHER (ABRIDGED) SOURCES ON COLLODIAL SILVER

Holistic Health Talk with Cynthia Perkins, MEd
"Colloidal silver is a popular choice for many people in their arsenal against candida. It is believed to work not by attacking the pathogen, but rather deactivating enzymes that are responsible for the metabolism of the organism ... as I just don’t feel comfortable ingesting a metal for a long period of time. However, I would use it intermittently with other products ... BTW, a condition know as Argyria, a permanent discoloration of the skin – blue-gray, has occurred in people who ingest too much for too long. Although this is extremely rare. There’s a lot of controversy even in the health field about the use of silver. Some people swear by it’s healing properties, while others think it holds too many risks. ... That said, many people find colloidal silver to be very effective against not only candidiasis, but viruses and bacteria as well. It is touted to relieve everything from acne to yeast infections, from boils to strep throat and believed to be effective against over 650 organisms. I’m sorry I can’t give you a personal opinion on whether it’s effective or not, because I haven’t been able to take the product. When I’ve tried taking even 1/16 of a teaspoon it gives me a migraine within 20 minutes. I’m not sure if that is a result of die off or a reaction to the silver itself ..."
Collodial Silver Candida Treatment
"Two popular and natural means to rid the body of Candida infections are to change the body's PH through diet, or to treat the affected area either topically or internally, using a colloidal silver Candida treatment ... The colloidal silver Candida treatment fights fungi on contact both internally and externally. Topically, colloidal silver is safely applied without worry of adverse affects. Recommended applications are two to three times per day until the symptoms subside. Internally, colloidal silver dosage should be small at first, about 1 tablespoon a couple of times per day. It should be noted that when a person begins treating Candida internally, the release of toxic waste by the abundant dying fungus can cause a person to feel initially worse. This is referred to as Candida die off. For this reason it is suggested to begin treating the internal infection gradually at first, with small amounts of colloidal silver, in order to keep the waste substances to a level that is manageable for the body to expel ...  Colloidal silver naturally leaves the body via the urine so that there is no buildup in the body. It is one of the oldest forms of medicine that our civilization has used to treat a myriad of health issues."
Treating Candida Infections with Collodial Silver
"The main theme of Candida infection treatment is strengthening of the human immune system. Colloidal silver is the right choice in this regard as it is well known for its capability of fighting against fungus infections. Colloidal silver is nothing but very fine particles of pure silver, suspended in water. Colloidal silver has antimicrobial properties. A lot of research has been done recently on its functioning. Certain bacteria are essential to healthy body function, such as acidophilus. Several researchers claim colloidal silver only attacks the unfriendly pathogens and will not harm the friendly bacteria. But one must wonder how it can possibly differentiate. One explanation is that the friendly bacteria are aerobic, while unfriendly bacteria are anaerobic. Also, it is said that the silver does not attack bacteria directly, but rather decomposes certain enzymes the anaerobic bacteria, viruses, yeast, and molds require. The silver acts as a catalyst and is not consumed in the process. It is probable that the reason the bacteria cannot develop a resistance to silver, as they do to antibiotics, is because silver does not [affect] them directly, but rather destroys the enzymes they depend on. This is in quite contrast to normal antibiotics, which kills friendly bacteria as well.

The germ fighting properties of colloidal silver has been adopted in soap making and such soaps are in vogue. Regular use of such soap not only helps in keeping the skin clean and healthy but also enhances the body immune system, thus preventing further infections of Candida. Even dermatologists recommend soaps with colloidal silver for the patients with candida infection. However, one must be selective while purchasing such soaps. Soaps containing colloidal silver with 20 ppm are considered the best for daily usage and they have optimum effect on fight against Candida infection."
Cancer, Candida and the Effects of Collodial Silver
"Heavy metals are bad for you. I’ve done a lot of research, and I’ve learned that the metal-based chemical toxins that you should avoid are aluminum, cadmium, carbon monoxide, chlorine, copper, fluoride, hexavalent chromium, industrial and agricultural chemicals, lead, mercury, nitrates and nitrites, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, synthetic and chemical drugs, and tobacco smoke. Silver, gold, and titanium are not on that list. Silver, gold, and titanium are HEALTHY TO INJEST (at the colloidal/monoatomic level), and they are actually EXTREMELY GOOD FOR YOU!!! Silver actually helps the body remove heavy metals through a chelating process!

One cup of 30ppm colloidal silver per day for a month can cost around $1000. Rich people fed their babies with silver spoons because they knew that it was good for them. The British royal family didn’t get the plague at a time when they were eating off of 100% silver plates. One cup of 30ppm colloidal silver per day for a month WILL get rid of the candida in your body, and then the cancer will fall like a house of cards when someone opens a window.

And you can monitor the progress with “the spit test”.

Pau D’Arco is also good against candida, but you never know if the brand you’re buying has enough of the active ingredient. And even if you buy Pau D’Arco tablets that have enough of the active ingredients, the tablets come in gelcaps (aka gelatin capsules). ALL gelcaps have MSG. MSG is an excitotoxin which actually provokes cancer growth. Many great cancer fighting herbs come in gelcaps, and the gelcaps cancel or weaken their effect.

Garlic is a good fighter against candida, but colloidal silver is the best. Well, colloidal titanium is the best, but I don’t know how long you take that. Silver it’s a month at one cup a day.

It’s important to use a high quality colloidal silver product. There are cases of people who used improperly made or home-made colloidal silver and ended up turning themselves BLUE (Argyria). This is not a side effect of colloidal silver, but a side effect of improperly made colloidal silver. Always be confident in the sources of any products that you choose to use."

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Cancer, Candida and the Spit Test

Candida is a yeast that is present in the bodies of 100% of people who have cancer. If cancer were a tree, candida would be the soil. Cancer cannot exist in a body that doesn’t contain candida. A perfectly healthy person has no candida, but you can be reasonably healthy with candida. Everyone who’s taken a pharmaceutical antibiotic in their life has at least some candida in their body unless they’ve made an effort to get rid of it. Several treatments that are known of in the world of alternative cancer research are treatments which do not attack the cancer; they attack the candida. If you get rid of candida, cancer dies, shrinks, vanishes. A person with no candida cannot have cancer.

Doing a candida cleanse in a cancer case is a race against time, because you’re not attacking the cancer itself. You must destroy all the candida for it to have an effect on the cancer. But when you destroy all the candida, the cancer falls like a house of cards when someone opens a window.

Here’s a simple spit test you can do to monitor your candida levels:
Put a glass of water beside your bed at night so you can access it easily when you wake up in the morning. In the morning, spit into that water. Don’t make any efforts to make any more of a gob than whatever is in your mouth. Wait fifteen minutes, and then stir it a bit. Then observe the cup. If your spit is floating on the top of the water, or if it’s dissolving or if it has dissolved, you don’t have enough candida for cancer to form — you’re healthy. But if your spit has formed a cloud or if it’s got leggy strings, you’ve got enough candida for cancer to form and thrive.

You can do that test regularly to monitor the progress of whichever method you use for your candida cleanse. If you have cancer, or if your body CAN have cancer, your morning spit will form a cloud in the cup of water. If you don’t have cancer, or if your body can no longer maintain cancer, your morning spit will float on the top or dissolve, but it’ll generally be around the same consistency, or clarity, as the water.

Another interpretation of the spit test (a basic Candida evaluation test):
The Candida saliva or spit test is a simple test that can be carried out at home and, proponents say, diagnose any form of Candida or yeast-related illness. These illnesses may be referred to simpy as Candida or variously as 'Candida-related Complex', 'Systemic Candidiasis', 'Candida Overgrowth' and the 'Yeast Syndrome'. It is recommended by a number of natural and alternative health care practitioners.
Material excerpt taken from Exploring Infinity, "Cancer, Candida and the Effects of Collodial Silver"
How the Test is Performed
The Candida spit test is very simple. Before going to bed at night, fill a clear glass with water and place it at your bedside. When you wake in the morning, before you do anything else, simply work up a bit of saliva and spit into the glass of water. It is said to be important that nothing enters your mouth or touches your lips before you do this. Sources recommending the test instruct us not to drink any water, brush our teeth or even kiss your partner. After spitting, look at how the saliva looks and then check again 2-3 times every 15 minutes.
  
Interpreting What You See
Proponents explain that the test should be interpreted as such:
  • Healthy saliva will be clear and float on top of the water. It will then begin to slowly dissolve into the water without any cloudiness and without sinking. There would normally be some bubbles or foam present.
  • If the test is suggestive of Candida-related illness then some or all of the following signs will be present:
    • Strings traveling down to the bottom of the glass
    • Cloudy saliva that sinks to the bottom of the glass
    • Cloudy specks suspended in the water
It is suggested that the more strings and cloudiness there are, and the faster this develops, the greater the Candida albicans overgrowth.
An Explanation of the Test?
There seems to be no legitimate explanation or rationale for the Candida spit test and many people report having taken the test and it been "negative" only to find that more reliable tests such as Candida antibody testing, gut fermentation profile, urinary organic acids, or a simple treatment trial reveal Candida may have been a problem after all. Reportedly people who are perfectly healthy frequently test "positive" as well, suggesting the test is not reliable.
The origins of the test are also sketchy. A number of sites on the web suggest that it was invented by (or at least heavily promoted by) Global Health Trax Inc. which sells the Threelac (and now Fivelac) probiotic products. Does this suggest that it has been promoted as a marketing tool?
Everything considered it would be wise to do your own research and ask your health care provider if you have done this test and want to know what to make of your result.

Material taken in its entirity from the EIR (Environmental Illness Resource).