Here is a Caesar Salad Dressing worth making at home. It is so good that it will make store bought salad dressings look like cheap imitations . I hope that you will try this and let me know what you think.

Sweet Almond Oil is what I use in this dressing and my mayonnaise. I purchase sweet almond oil at my local health food store. It is very light and tastes delicious. To me it is a good replacement for Canola oil. Nearly all canola is GMO except for organic! You want to avoid Canola oil as it is highly processed Omega 6 oil.

Wikipedia states that Almond Oil is stable and that…

” In Ayurveda, an ancient system of health care that is native to the Indian subcontinent, almond is considered a nutritive for brain and nervous system. It is said to induce high intellectual level and longevity. Almond oil is called Roghan Badam in both Ayurveda and Tibb Yunani (the Greco-Persian System of Medicine). It is extracted by cold process and is considered a nutritive aphrodisiac both for massage and internal consumption. Recent studies have shown that the constituents of almond have anti-inflammatory, immunity boosting, and anti-hepatotoxicity effects.[22]”  (Source: Wikipedia)

If you buy almond oil make sure that it is Sweet Almond Oil and food grade.

Cost warning: It is expensive! 750ml costs about $14-15 Canadian dollars.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a good choice if you have a good oil that does not have a strong taste.

Caesar Salad Dressing

2 pasture raised organic egg yolks

2 cloves of garlic

½ cup of Real Parmesan Cheese

1 can of Anchovies (50g)

½ tsp of ground mustard

1 cup of Sweet Almond Oil

2-3 tblsp Of whey (optional)

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Put in a jar and store in the fridge. If you added whey, put your dressing in a jar and let sit overnight to allow it to ferment.

Is this recipe worth a five star recipe rating?

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Kelly The Kitchen Kop

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Normally I don’t do a lot of baking for my family. I am just not to confident in that department. My kids do go without dessert a lot of the time. It is time to polish up this skill because I have a lot of homegrown apples that I need to use up. This is the first year that we have had a decent crop of apples off of our trees and they also taste good. They are not sweet apples and rather tart and good on a low carb diet. It is also hard to overeat tart apples as they make your mouth pucker up even when picking them off the tree!

This recipe tastes great and is a very healthy. It is also very aromatic and will make your house smell delicious!

Nutty Apple Crisp

2 cups of chopped tart apples (peeled and cored)

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 cup of ground almonds (preferably soaked and dried to remove anti-nutrients)

1 cup of chopped pecans (preferably soaked and dried to remove anti-nutrients)

1/2 cup of dessicated sugar free coconut

1/2 cup of butter

1 tsp of cinnamon

1/2 tsp of nutmeg

2 tsp of vanilla

4 drops of NOW non bitter stevia

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F

Peel your apples, core and chop into small pieces. Drizzle lemon juice over apples.

Mix in a bowl ground almonds, chopped pecans, coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg, stevia and vanilla. Add butter to the bowl and work it into the “crumb” ingredients.

Take half of the crumb mixture and place it into a 9″ square baking dish. Add apples and top with the remainder of the crumb mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes or until apples are soft.

Enjoy!!

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There is nothing more that my kids love to eat more than their grilled cheese sandwiches. That is their favorite lunch food. Before I decided to give up grains due to Candida Yeast issues, grilled cheese sandwiches were one of my favorites as well.

The other day, i was watching the Rachel Ray Show and she was making a grilled cheese sandwich out of Tomato Slices. Her recipe used grain flour so I had to improvise a bit. Let me tell you how excited I was about this recipe!

Garlic Basil Grilled Cheese Sandwich

1 Large tomato

1/2 cup of ground almonds (or almond flour)

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

small handful of fresh basil (about 1/3 cup)

1 clove of garlic

1 Pasture raised free range egg

Cheese Slices

Salt and Pepper to taste

Butter for frying

Grind your almonds until they have a flour like consistency. Place into a medium mixing bowl. Add your Parmesan cheese and mix well.

Core and thinly slice your tomato (reserve the end pieces for a salad if you like) I got about 4 slices which would make 2 “sandwiches”.

Wisk your egg in a small bowl.

Finely chop your basil and garlic.

Warm up your skillet and melt butter for frying. Dip your tomato in the egg mixture. Then drag your tomato through the almond and Parmesan mixture. Make sure it is well coated. It will be a bit sticky. Do this for all your tomato slices.

Fry your tomato slices in butter. Once browned flip to the other side. This will take 3-5 minutes per side on low to medium heat.

When your tomatoes are nice and crispy top *half * your tomatoes with cheese slices and garlic basil mixture. To make a “sandwich”, place the remaining tomatoes on the garlic basil cheese. Cover your skillet with a lid and let the cheese melt.

Add salt and pepper to taste!

This recipe will make two delicious grilled sandwiches!

Recipe note: Fresh basil tastes very different from dried. You may substitute a good quality pesto if you do not have fresh basil.

Enjoy!

This recipe is submitted as part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Kelly The Kitchen Kop.

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So the cold and flu season is well underway and with all the hoopla about swine flu in the news I have been experimenting with eating raw garlic daily. Garlic works almost immediately when you notice the first signs of a cold coming on. I can feel my nose clearing up within minutes – even if I am not feeling sick!

Garlic can be found in the produce section of your grocery store. It is safe with no nasty side effects and according to Science Daily it is one of the world’s most powerful antioxidant. Not only is it antiviral and antibacterial, garlic is also great as a daily supplement for healing the gut from candida yeast because of its antifungal and antiparasitic properties. Garlic also has been shown to reduce blood glucose levels which are very beneficial for insulin resistant and diabetic health issues. (Source: Indian Journal Of Medical Sciences)

This beautiful medicinal tasty food renowned for its immune boosting and virus killing health benefits is most effective when eaten raw and freshly crushed or chopped. But it is in this state that it is also the most pungent and spicy.  It is also really hard to get little children to eat raw garlic. I have tried and succeeded!

I have combined a list with the most child friendly meals on top.

How To Eat Raw Garlic

1. Salad Dressings – Homemade Creaser Dressing (this one is a favourite for the kids!) Anchovies, 2-3 cloves of raw Garlic, Lemon juice, 2-3 egg yolks, ground mustard and almond oil. Put everything in a blender and blend.
2. Salsa – Tomatoes, Avocado, lemon juice, Salt and Pepper and raw garlic
3. Guacamole -  Avocado, Lemon juice, Salt and Pepper and raw garlic
4. Pesto – Fresh Basil, Raw Garlic, extra virgin olive oil, Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese
5. Chicken Soup – Warm homemade stock with veggies and just before serving add raw garlic.
6. Hummus –  Chick Peas and Tahini, Lemon Juice and raw garlic
7. Veggie dips – Yogurt, mayonnaise, raw garlic, lemon juice and your favourite herbs like oregano and thyme
8. Eggs (sunny side up) sprinkled with turmeric and Salt and Pepper served with fall squashes and raw garlic and butter. This is my favourite breakfast!
9. Garlic and Cheese – I make mini “cheesewiches”! A cheese slice is used as a bread substitute and I just lay thin slices of raw garlic on it and top with basil, tomato, mayonnaise and salt and pepper.
10. Garlic Bread – toast, butter and garlic.  Although not a low carb way of eating garlic but it is the way my husband eats it.
11. Garlic in bacon fat! I spoon some bacon drippings on a spoon, take a fresh crushed clove of garlic, mix together and swallow. The fat neutralizes the heat and odour a bit so the garlic is much less offensive.  Eat garlic like this on a full tummy.

Now its Your Turn!

What is your favourite Raw Garlic Recipe?

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Cheeseslave.

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Well, its that time of year again when zucchinis are growing in abundance and garden growers are trying to sneak them into any meal. That is one great thing about this abundant summer squash – it is so sneakable!

Here is a great tasting zucchini pancake recipe that has a bit of a kick to it:

Spicy Zucchini Coconut Pancakes

1 med. zucchini grated and squeezed

4 green onions

3 tablespoons of coconut flour

3 organic pastured eggs

3 tablespoons of coconut oil or butter (melted)

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne ( feel free to adjust to taste)

pepper to taste

Coconut oil or butter for frying

Grate zucchini and give it a good squeeze too drain the water. Chop green onions.

In a bowl mix dry ingredients: Coconut flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Mix well. To the bowl add melted coconut oil, eggs, zucchini and green onions. Mix well again.

Melt coconut oil in a skillet and spoon 2 tablespoons of pancake mix into it. Cook pancakes until golden brown. Flip pancake and do the same on the other side.

Makes about 10 pancakes.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Kelly The Kitchen Kop

Enjoy!

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There is no need to stay away from all fruit on a low carb and anti-candida diet.

There is a great way to remove sugars and pre-digest the carbohydrates so they don’t negatively impact insulin levels. It is by way of fermentation.

There are many benefits that you can get from fermenting your fruit. When making sauerkraut the vitamin C content is much greater than in a plain old cabbage. The Vitamin C is increased by the fermentation process. So there is a good chance that there may also be a greater vitamin content in fermented fruit. The fermented fruit will not taste sweet. It will have the flavour of the fruit without its sweetness.

If you are suffering from Candida Yeast this is probably the only way to eat fruit. Although I still suffer from symptoms of Candida, they have not gotten noticeably worse from eating this fermented fruit.

I also get severe binging urges when I eat fruit due to insulin resistance (including strawberries and other low sugar fruit). Eating the fermented fruit actually eliminates any sugar craving I may be having and satiates my hunger.

Lacto-Fermented Fruit Recipe

1 pinapple
2 oranges
1 apple
1 inch piece of grated ginger
1/4 cup of rapadura sugar
1/4 cup of whey
1 teaspoon of salt

I cut up the fruit into small pieces. I put the pieces in my jar and gently squished them to get them juicy. I put in the salt, whey and sugar and mixed everything together. Close the jar up and let this sit (fully covered) at room temperature for 2 days. Transfer to the refrigerator after 2 days.

Note:
This is probably not a tasty recipe for most people. I have learned to love the taste of ginger. It spiciness makes the whole batch quite sour. However ginger is a great tonic for the liver and aids any tummy troubles. It is a great anti-inflammatory and and may inhibit cancer cells in the colon.

Since Candida yeast inhabit the colon, there may be some benefits of consuming ginger for candida.

This study shows how effective ginger is at inhibiting oral candida yeast and compares it to Nystatin drug.

The trick here is not to have the urge to add yeast to your fermenting fruit! This can turn your fermenting project into alcohol.

This article is part of Fight Back Fridays hosted by Food Renegade.

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Here is a Low Carb Recipe that you have to try. These Coconut Herb buns are extremely light and yummy. They also contain flax and from what I have read the oils in the flax do not get destroyed when baked.

These buns go great with tomato and cheese.

Low Carb Coconut Herb Buns

1/2 cup of dessicated unsweetened coconut

2 tablespoons of golden flax

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of dill

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon tarragon

1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of bakins soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup of melted butter or coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together coconut and golden flax in a coffee grinder until the mixture is well mixed and finely ground. Put the coconut/flax mixture into a bowl. Add the herbs (garlic, dill, oregano, thyme, basil, tarragon). Add salt, baking powder and baking soda to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add melted butter and eggs to the dry ingredients. Mix well again. Grease a muffin top pan or a muffin pan. I used a muffin top pan that I got at the grocery store. Place about a tablespoon and a half of mixture into each cup.

Place in the oven and bake for 17 min or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Let me know what you think! This post was submitted to the Real Food Wednesday Blog Carnival hosted by Anne Marie aka CHEESESLAVE. To get more real food recipes check out her blog.

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There are many tasty ways that you can add probiotics and enzymes to your diet. Lacto-Fermentation is an ancient way of preserving your food and was done before the invention of refrigerators. By adding whey to your food and letting it sit out at room temperature allows the food digestion process to start before it even reaches your mouth.

The enzymes, lactic acid and beneficial bacteria created during this process ease the strain on the pancreas which is the part of our body that secretes pancreatic juices and digestive enzymes to the small intestine.

Lacto-fermentation helps heal the digestive system by reintroducing beneficial bacteria and discourages the growth of the bad bacteria and pathogenic yeasts. Lacto-fermented foods are crucial for healing from Candida Yeasts.

In these videos I show a wide range of lacto-fermented foods, from homemade mustard, salsa, pickles, sauerkraut, and the makings of fermented milk. I also share how easy it is to make home made sauerkraut.

If you choose to buy your own sauerkraut read the labels to see if it contains live cultures. The ingredient list should only contain “cabbage” and “filtered water” and “salt” and be unpasteurized.

Adding Lacto-fermented foods to your diet will do great things for your health.

To your health and wellness,

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Yesterday I was cleaning up after dinner and I had some leftover ginger that I just did not want to compost. It was already grated and would not keep in the fridge. Ginger is a very healing spice and is great for digestion and nausea as well as a great for detoxing the liver. Candida Yeast sufferers would benefit from this tea because the pathogenic yeasts do release many toxins.

I decided that I would make a tea out of the extra ginger. Originally when I started to eat ginger I did not love it. But it is slowly growing on me as I use it more in different recipes.

I know I am not the first to invent the lemon ginger combination but this is what I came up with last night.

Lemon Ginger Tea

2 cups of boiled water

1 tsp of grated Ginger Root

Squeeze of Lemon

Place Ginger Root in a tea infuser and let steep in hot water for 10-15min. Squeeze lemon to taste. You can add stevia to this if you don’t find it sweet enough. Some lemons are tart and some lemons are sweet.

You can also cool this recipe and add carbonated spring water to this and make a yummy soda pop!

Note: I really enjoyed this tea! I drank it slowly and savored the aftertaste. It cleanses the palate after a meal and is very refreshing.

To your health and wellness,

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I was looking for a good pumpkin pie recipe to use up the last pumpkin from our CSA share. I came up with this wonderful treat using Stevia Sugar. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Top it up with some whipped cream and it will melt in your mouth.

Low Carb Pumpkin Pie Recipe

8 Servings

Almond Crust

1 cup Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Butter
1/4 teaspoon Stevia Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

extra butter for greasing pie dish

Butter pie dish and set aside. Combine almond flour, butter, Stevia and vanilla. Pat down into pie dish.

Almond Crust: Calories 95.6, Total Fat 8.9 g, Total Carbohydrate 2.4 g, Dietary Fiber 1.4 g, Protein 2.6 g

Pumpkin Pie Filling

2 cups pumpkin puree
2 eggs
0.5 can coconut milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 inch fresh ginger (peeled)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cardomon pod
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1.5 tablespoon Stevia Sugar
1 Cup of Pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350F. Put all ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth and spices are all mixed. Pour into pie shell. Add pecans on top of pie filling. Bake for 60-70min. To check the pie if it is ready to come out, insert a knife into and if it comes out clean then it is ready.
Let pie cool completely before cutting it.

Pumpkin Pie Filling: Calories 185.2, Total Fat 17 g, Total Carbohydrate 6.6 g, Dietary Fiber 2.2 g, Protein 3.6 g

To your health and wellness,

Catherine Osthaus

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