Autism

Oh have I got a treat for you today!

I’ve held on to this recipe for months and am wondering why the heck I waited this long to make it. I guess there just isn’t enough time in the day to try each and every single recipe I have pinned, tweeted and Facebooked.

But there will always be enough time for brownies, always. Even if they are months in the Read More »

About one month ago, I put out my Breakfast Millet article to rave reviews. I had gotten so many emails thanking me for putting out the article and most of them requesting that I put out another one for a savory millet dish. As I am not one to disappoint may I just say…..the millet saga continues.

I seriously never get tired of talking about millet. Delicious, healthy and versatile millet is a lot like rice and can be the vehicle to transform even the most mundane dish into something exciting.

In my last article, I made a bold statement saying “you will find that if you look up recipes for basic millet as a savory dish on the internet, that everyone seems to say it is 3 cups of liquid to 1 cup
uncooked millet (3 to 1ratio). I am here to tell you that this is WRONG.” This brazen statement still holds true. I went on to say that I do what I call “starving the grain” to make it light and fluffy every time and I added my cooking tip which was; the amount of liquid needed to cook the grain depends on your desired outcome of the dish. This is also still true, and here is why.

Just like rice, too much water and you have a goopy mess of rice that is too sticky to be separate and fluffed. Too little water and your rice will not cook all the way through. Millet is no different. I like a little give in my millet (and in my rice). I want the grains to be fluffy and separate so when you combine it with other ingredients (or eat it plain), the end result is not a big sticky mess. To accomplish this all you need to do is follow a few simple rules, and they are; rinse your grains, dry/toast your grains, leave the lid on the pot until done and do not peak….you see, that wasn’t so hard now was it?

Peaking and not rinsing are the biggest killers of grain dishes. You will notice that when you rinse your millet, that just like rice a cloudy film rinses off. If you rinse the millet under cold water a few times you will yield a much better end result after it is cooked; this also makes it easier to digest and for your body to absorb all the health benefits of the grain. Peaking is another common mistake as you are letting out the steam that the millet needs in order to cook properly.

Millet is actually one of my favorite items to serve at a party. Like a bulgur salad, it can be stretched really far when adding lots of delicious, healthy veggies to it. It’s perfect for a room temperature salad and can be made well in advance. In fact, I just had my friends, Patrice and Joy over this past weekend. They are a little more health conscious than the average person and are getting ready for the grand opening of their day spa in NJ called, Indulgence Day Spa. So, this dish was party ready and healthy to boot.

So on to it! This dish is seriously one of my favorites. I never get bored of eating it and it can be made to anyone’s particular tastes. Do you prefer dill over scallions, no problem! Do you like peas over corn, dump it in there! Today though, I am going to give my favorite recipe for warm millet salad (room temperature). So here we go!

Warm Millet Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of Millet; rinsed about 2 or 3 times and drained
• 2 cups of Water
• 1 – 8 oz pkg of Shiitake Mushrooms
• 1 orange or yellow Bell Pepper; diced
• ½ of an Onion; diced
• 1 – 15 oz can of Corn; drained
• 2 small  or 1 large Scallions; green and white parts
• 1 cup of Mustard Vinaigrette (see recipe below)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Basic Mustard Vinaigrette
(Mix all ingredients below and whisk thoroughly to combine)

• 2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/3 cup Rice Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• A pinch of Salt and Pepper

Method:

1. In a large pot (or wok), add the rinsed millet and dry it out from the rinsing over a medium low heat; keep it moving in the pan so it does not burn.
2. After it is dry (about 2 minutes), add 1 tbsp of olive oil and continue to stir to coat the millet for about 1 more millet; remove the pan from the heat.
3. In a second large pot with a heavy or a snug fitting lid, bring the 2 cups of water to a boil.
4. Add the millet to the pot or water and bring the pot back to a boil; place the cover on and lower the heat to low. Set a timer for 25 minutes (do not uncover or touch the millet again until it is done).
5. While the millet is simmering; in a large sauté pan or wok, sauté the onions and bell pepper in about 3 tbsps of olive oil over a medium low heat for about 4 minutes until the peppers and onions are slightly tender.
6. Now add the corn and the shiitake mushrooms to the pan and raise the heat to high and continue to cook mixture for about 3 minutes; you are only looking to warm the corn and mushrooms through at this point. After the mixture is done, set aside and cover the pan to keep warm.
7. After 25 minutes when the millet is done, shut the heat off, uncover the pot and set the timer for 10 minutes (do not touch or stir the millet). This will allow the millet to dry out a bit and fluff up nicely.
8. After the 10 minutes, use a fork with large tines and fluff by raking the fork through the millet.
9. Dump the millet into a large mixing bowl (big enough for the millet and vegetable mixture), add the vegetable mixture to the bowl along with the scallions and gently fold to combine.
10. Add all of the vinaigrette to the millet mixture with your desired amount of salt and pepper and again fold gently to combine.
11. Place millet salad in the fridge for about 20 minutes so the flavors have a chance to combine.
12. Take the millet out of the fridge after the 20 minutes and zap it in the microwave for about 30 seconds or so just to bring it back to a warm temperature (but not hot).
13. Serve.

I find that letting the millet sit for a while really allows all of the flavors to come together and to intensify. Of course you can eat the millet right after you make it without refrigeration, but the full impact of the flavors will not be present without a little resting. In fact, you can let this chill in the fridge for quite a few hours if you want to make this before hand for a party.

Serving suggestions; this millet salad pairs really well with a fresh tomato and shallot salad on the side (as seen in the picture above). I like grape-tomatoes and shallot with a dash of balsamic vinegar and some dark green olive oil the best.

Side Note: this recipe was for a “millet salad” and not millet as a side dish like a rice pilaf. In order to get the right consistency for a dinner side dish, you would need 2 ¼ cups of water as opposed to the 2 cups of water I used for this salad recipe. My recipe above calls for the addition of a good amount of extra liquid by way of the vinaigrette. This goes back to what I said, “the amount of liquid needed to cook the grain depends on your desired outcome of the dish.”

Variation: sick of fried rice, why not make a “fried millet” instead? Use leftover plain millet just like you would rice to make a healthier version of this favorite Chinese side.

Squash and Turkey Bacon Hash on Arugula and Mixed Greens

Squash and turkey bacon hash takes a savory-sweet spin on many of the usual Thanksgiving ingredients – a spin that is tasty and very nutritious! The secret to the development of the flavors is being patient and allowing the ingredie Read More »

Summer is here and that means ice cream!

While almost all of us love ice cream, sometimes it doesn’t love us back. (That includes me!)

Here are five great ice cream recipes using gluten-free AND dairy-free ingredients that you can mix and match according to your dietary needs! Try these recipes and let us know how you like them!

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream with Toasted Coconut and Almonds Recipe

This is a pretty simple and straight forward recipe. You can feel free to change the add-ins to what ever you would like. Read More »

Every morning my freshman year in high school, I felt sick. I would miss a lot of first period class & summer swim workouts as a consequence. My mother and I could not figure out what was wrong.

Bob’s Red Mill chocolate chip cookie mix using soy free Earth Balance

Every day shortly after breakfast, I would get nauseous and have to lie down. One morning, I told my swim coach, who was frustrated with me missing so many workouts, I had “morning sickness.” At the time I was 14 and clueless to the usual context in which that phrase in used. Mom was mortified. I had to clarify to coach that I was not actually with child, and then it was off to the doctor, who confirmed I was likely lactose intolerant, so I stayed off dairy.

Down the road in college, I started getting sick after many meals, and after a few years of searching, I finally got a diagnosis of gluten sensitivity. First milk, now Read More »

A five year old Canadian boy, diagnosed with severe autism, was cured when the true cause of his mental disorder was found to be celiac disease and he was treated with a gluten-free diet and nutritional supplements.

Photo originally posted to Flickr as “Jack”

His autism was cured because he was never really autistic in the first place. He had celiac disease, an immune response to wheat, barley, rye and oats that damages the intestines leading to malabsorption of nutrients.

Gluten-restricted diets have become increasingly popular among parents seeking treatment for children diagnosed with autism.(1)

What if certain children who are diagnosed with autism actually have celiac disease?

Neurological disorders stemming from celiac disease have been widely documented in medical literature. Some of these conditions include poor balance, tremors, migraines, chronic fatigue, schizophrenia, epilepsy, apathy, depression, insomnia, behavioral disorders, inability to concentrate and anxiety.(2)

Many of these issues are due to nutritional deficiencies resulting from the intestinal damage that celiac disease causes. If caused by celiac disease, they improve once gluten is removed from the diet and the intestine heals and functions properly.

Genuis and Bouchard, researchers at the University of Alberta, recently published the case of the 5-year-old boy who had been diagnosed with severe autism at a specialty clinic for autistic spectrum disorders. After an initial investigation suggested underlying celiac disease and varied nutrient deficiencies, a gluten-free diet was instituted.(1) His diet and supplements were adjusted to secure nutritional sufficiency.

The patient’s gastrointestinal symptoms rapidly resolved, and signs and symptoms suggestive of autism progressively abated.(1)

This case is an example of a common malabsorption syndrome (celiac disease) associated with central nervous system dysfunction and suggests that in some cases, nutritional deficiency may be a cause of developmental delay.

Genuis and Bouchard recommended that all children with neurodevelopmental problems Read More »

If you or someone you know has a child with a mental illness, behavioral problem or unexplained neurological issue, you must watch this video. It vividly illustrates how gluten and celiac disease can cause neurological illnesses and how removing gluten from the diet can improve or cure the child. [Note: The title says two videos because there were two videos originally, but Youtube removed them. A reader informed us about the one below. Originally posted May 2009.]

Eamon Murphy started exhibiting mental aberrations and problems eating at three months of age. By the time he was three, his parents were frantically trying to understand what had caused his developmental delay in walking and talking, and now his trances, seizure-like episodes and regression. After a determined effort by his mother and a series of extraordinarily lucky events, he was finally diagnosed with celiac disease…and Read More »

Zucchini is a veggie that you can easily add to just about anything, and that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing with it. Grated, it makes a wonderful “raw” pasta substitute, I love it lightly stir-fried with other veggies, it’s delicious sauteed and added to salads, omelets, or whatever else is cooking, and then of course there’s always zucchini bread. My grandmother used to make it every summer. She would bake it in loaves, and then sandwich softened cream cheese between thin slices. It tasted like cake, and I suppose it practically was the way she made it. YUM.

I started looking online for gluten free zucchini bread recipes, and I came across some zucchini mini muffins with chocolate chips over on Elana’s Pantry. I love that website, and I have her Gluten Free Almond Flour cookbook, which I use regularly. She now also has a Gluten-Free Cupcakes book, which is now on my wish list, if anyone is feeling generous.

But I digress. Here is the original Gluten Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins recipe, and the only things I changed were my typical substitutions using Read More »

Coconut cream pops Expo West

Expo West is simply the best and the largest natural foods event in the United States. Each year the event grows in exhibitors and attendees and shows no signs of slowing down. One of the trends noted this year was the surge of vegan/gluten-free products, like bread, cheese, cheesecake, cookies, frozen desserts, macaroni and cheese, salad dressings, yogurt, etc.

Here are this Examiner’s top 20 gluten, dairy, and vegan product finds:

• CoYo’s coconut milk yogurt hails from Australia and is made from coconut cream and natural flavors in four varieties: Natural, Mango, Mixed Berry, and Raw Chocolate. The berry and mango are incredibly creamy without a funny taste or texture and taste fantastic. This product debuted at Expo West 2014, but this was my first time trying it and color me impressed. Availability: In stores

• Cosmo’s Dairy-Free Spicy Ranch is thick, rich, and mildly spicy. Made from coconuts, it works as a salad dressing, dip, and sandwich spread adding a nice kick to what would be ordinary. It does contain eggs, but is soy and nut free. Availability: Online for now

• Daiya Foods, Inc. gets a nod for their new Cheezecakes and Cheezy Mac kits that are soy free and vegan. Available in three flavors, Deluxe Alfredo, Deluxe Cheddar, and Deluxe White Cheddar Veggie Medley, each kit comes with a bag of liquid cheezy sauce ready to be combined with cooked brown rice pasta.Their cheezecakes are also available in four flavors: New York, Chocolate, Key Lime, and Strawberry. Availability: Rolling into stores now

Read More »