Mango chocolate chip Ice cream, it's dairy-free!

As the weather starts to heat up ,it always tempting to grab a cool treat. Stock up the refrigerator with such nutritious fruity home made ice cream which make best thirst quenching snacks. The best part about a home made ice cream is you control every ingredient that goes in the recipe , use your favorite fruit of the season , a better healthier substitute to sugar,raw eggs and heavy cream.

Thanks to Rachel's ingenious ideas in the ice dream cookbook , i've been trying new flavors with same base recipe that uses coconut milk and healthier sweeteners. The sweet ripe mangoes give a simply divine touch to the ice cream. The chunky dark chocolate chips are magnificent compliment to the sweetness of mangoes.

Recipe : Dairy free Mango Ice cream ,inspired by Rachel Albert-Matesz's Ice Dream Cookbook.. Find my review here.

Yields 1 3/4 cup
Ingredients
one 14 ounce can Coconut milk(preservative free,I use Thai Kitchen brand)
2 medium ripe mangoes, peeled ,seeded and chopped
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup honey,agave nectar or 1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup cool or cold filtered water
2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin or 3/4 teaspoon agar agar powder (not the flakes)
pinch of salt
Sliced Mangoes for garnish

Method
1.Warm the water in small sauce pan.Sprinkle the gelatin or agar-agar,do no stir,let dissolved completely 4-5 minutes.Turn off the heat.
2.Process the mangoes in a food processor or vitamix along with the coconut milk,sweetener(honey or agave),salt,the gelatin or agar-agar mixture and blend again until well combined and smooth.
3-Pour into one or more wide-mouthed jars. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before churning.

4-Scrape the chilled custard into the canister of your ice cream maker. Churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.Mix in the chocolate chips.

5-Serve immediately or spoon into several 8-to 16-ounce freezer safe containers. Cover and freeze for 3 or more hours for a firmer texture.

6-Soften solidly frozen dessert by placing it in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes or on the counter for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.Garnish with fresh mango slices

Without the Ice cream machine method
After the step 2,transfer the Ice Cream mixture in to a freezer proof container,preferably air tight.Freeze for about an hour,then get the container out and whisk the mixture using a spatula or hand held whisk or electric whisk to break the ice crystals forming over the edges of the container.Freeze and whisk again after 30-40 minutes ,repeat this for about 6 hours until the mixture is almost frozen.Serve immediately or freeze.Do as in step 6 to serve.

Ice Cream Cone and ADHD

Next time you serve your kids an ice cream cone...remember this:

NO one wishes harm on their children, but if you feed them trans-fats, you are unknowingly setting them up for severe health issues. This is because trans-fats in foods are like BIG SUV's trying to park into a "compact" parking spaces of our cells that are reserved for healthy Omega 3 fats (DHA). When this happens, our neurotransmitters responsible for focus, mood, and memory have a hard time finding and recognizing their receptors due to the inflammation of the membranes on the brain cells caused by the consumption of trans fats.

Brain levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine (important for mood and focus) are lowered by 95% when you ingest trans fats. BUT what is even more disturbing, is that when you switch to eating 100% trans-fat free our brain remains unable to produce normal amounts of dopamine in

the hippocampus (the part of the brain most responsible for consolidating memory). This is one reason for the high rates of ADHD and depression. To read more on Brain Chemicals, check out my book: Secrets to Controlling Your Weight Cravings and Mood

Children who start at age 3 or 4 eating a steady diet of fast food, pop tarts, commercially prepared fish sticks, stick margarine, cake, candy, cookies and microwave popcorn can be expected to have a harder time focusing, an increase risk of depression, have heart disease and strokes at earlier ages. BUT even if you avoid typical "junk food," you must remain a detective! I have seen trans-fats in refrigerated SALSA!

Ingredients in a store bought cake cone: Enriched Wheat Flour (contains Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)Tapioca Flour, Sugar, Vegetable Oil Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Canola Oil, and or Corn Oil)Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate)Salt, Natural Flavor, Annato (Vegetable Color)

Here is a very tasty recipe for a classic ice cream cone!

1 egg white, whipped

1 TBS butter (melted)
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup vanilla whey protein OR egg white protein

Heat a pizzelle skillet on high. In a medium bowl, whip the egg white until frothy. Add in all the other ingredients and mix until smooth. Place 1 TBS dough onto greased skillet, close tightly. Let sit for 1-3 minutes depending on skillet directions. While you are removing, before it cools, roll into a cone shape. Makes 8 cones.

Nutritional COMPARISON (per cone):
Traditional Sugar CONE = 114 calories, 5g fat, 1g protein, 23.8 carbs, 0.5 fiber
"Healthified" Cone = 50 calories, 3g fat, 4.2g protein, 0.9 carbs, trace fiber

Click HERE to find the Pizzelle Skillet I use.

Crackers and FACTS on Gestational DIABETES

During pregnancy, women become even more sensitive to carbohydrates due to an evolutionary adaption in which they become slightly insulin resistant to allow a positive flow of nutrients to the developing fetus through the placenta. If the mom was more insulin sensitive than the fetus we could end up in a nutrient shortage situation. Biology fixes this problem by making mom a little insulin resistant, effectively “pushing” nutrients to the fetus. Problems happen when our typical American diet make this otherwise favorable adaptation dangerous. Too many carbohydrates, even "complex" carbohydrates, and loss of insulin sensitivity due to a diet high in fructose, low in healthy fats and sleep deprivation can push pregnant women into gestational diabetes.

If the moms-to-be decide “this is my chance to eat anything…I’m going to get fat anyway!” ...now we have a really terrible situation for the moms and the fetus.

I also see a lot of pregnant clients who often feel nauseous and only want to feed on Saltine crackers. Well, let's just see how detrimental those little crackers are to our system...INGREDIENTS: Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Yeast, Malted Barley Flour, Baking Soda, Vegetable Monoglycerider, Calcium Carbonate.

Dietary trans fats from hydrogenated vegetable oil find their way across the placenta and into the growing fetus. Mothers who consume trans fats are more likley to suffer pre-eclampsia.

The damage continues after birth, as trans fats in the mother's diet also contaminate the milk. These trans fats in human milk displace 'essential omega 3 fatty acids' that helps the baby's brain and nervous system grow and develop. It is also known that dietary trans fats inhibit assimilation of essential fatty acids, so the children of mothers who eat a trans fat-filled diet suffer a nutritional "double double whammy".

1. Trans fats interferes with the activity of a cell receptor involved in inflammation, glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. This, in turn, leads to infertility due to the condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome.
2. Eating trans-fats have been proven to increase endometriosis.
3. There is an increased risk of pre-eclampsia.
4. The growing fetus takes up trans fat into its tissues. Changing the baby's cells into "partially hydrogenated" at a very early age.
5. Breast milk has less essential fatty acids the baby needs to develop a healthy brain. Omega-3s affect parts of the brain relating to learning ability, mood, and perception, specifically the development of the eye and visual system.
6. The trans fats inhibit the baby's absorption of the already depleted essential fatty acids in its mother's milk.

It has been found that, if a person stops eating trans fats altogether on a given date, it will take anywhere from 9 months to 2 years for the trans fat in their bodies to be cleared through by the natural turnover of fat in body tissue. Because of this, I advise women to try and avoid dietary trans fat for two years before becoming pregnant, not only to avoid passing trans fat to the baby in milk, but also to prevent trans fat being directly passed to the fetus.

"American mothers produce milk that often has only one-fifth to one-tenth of the omega-3 content of the milk that well-nourished, nut-eating Nigerian mothers provide their infants."



Try these instead!
1/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup unflavored whey protein
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1-2 TBS water (just enough to hold the dough together)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift all the dry ingredients together. Slowly add in water, 1 TBS at a time until dough can hold a ball shape. Grease 2 pieces of parchment paper. Place 8 TBS dough onto greased parchment, top with the second piece of parchment (greased side down). Roll the dough using a rolling pin on top of the parchment. Roll until 1/16th in thick square. Remove the top piece of parchment. Place the bottom parchment (with the rolled out dough) onto a cookie sheet, repeat with remaining dough. Score the dough with a pizza cutter into 2 X 2 inch squares. Place cookie sheet in oven and bake 6 minutes, remove from oven and score the crackers with the pizza cutter again. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven to completely cool. Makes 4 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per 1 serving)
Saltine crackers = 125 calories, 20 carbs, trace fiber
"Healthified" Crackers = 104 calories, 2 carbs, 1g fiber

So if you are feeling queasy and need something to ease the nausea, try these crackers with my "Healthified" Chicken "Noodle" Soup!

Recipe for the soup can be found in my cookbook: NUTRITIOUS and DELICIOUS

Eggplant French Fries

SMOKED CHICKEN and EGGPLANT FRIES!

I'm not a fan of chicken; it is often too dry for my liking. BUT we just got a smoker and OH MY! Smoked chicken is SO good! The flavor is unbeatable! Click HERE to find the one I use.

Smoking meats is one of the most natural (Paleo) ways to prepare meats. Happy Eating!

2 eggplants
2 cups ground almonds
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
Coconut Oil Spray

Peel and cut the eggplant into french-fry shapes. Set aside.

In a shallow bowl, stir together the almond flour, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Place the eggs in a separate bowl and whip until frothy. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Dip the eggplant pieces into the egg, then into the flour mixture, then back into the egg, and back into the flour mixture. Place the eggplant on a cookie sheet (I sprayed that with the coconut oil), then spray eggplant with a dusting of coconut oil. Bake for 15 minutes or until crispy and brown.

Note: I reheated them in the oven the next day because the eggplant I used was HUGE, and they got even crispier and we like them better.

Make sure to watch the ketchup...those sugars can really add up.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per cup):
Potato = 116 calories, 28 carbs, 4 fiber
Eggplant = 20 calories, 5 carbs, 3 fiber

Portabella Pizza

What type of marinara sauce are you using? Does it have soybean oil or olive oil? Does it have sugar? After much searching, I have found Mario Batali's brand being a good store bought option. Here's to a healthy gut-flora!


2 large portabella mushrooms
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (freshly shredded)
1/4 cup no sugar marinara (Mario Batali brand)
1 Bolinski Organic Chicken Sausage (Italian)
2 TBS sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove mushroom stems, chop, and set aside. Place mushroom caps on a greased baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.

Remove sheet from the oven but leave oven on. Blot excess liquid from mushroom caps and set aside.

Equally distribute sauce between mushroom caps; spread until smooth and even. Sprinkle shredded/grated cheese over the saucy layer on each cap. Top with chopped mushroom stems, chicken sausage, and olives.

Bake in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes, until cheese has melted. Eat as soon as you can without burning your mouth! Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional Information (per serving) = 118 calories, 7.5g carbs, 1.75g fiber, 11.5g protein, 4.75g fat

Baked Ricotta Cheese and Coconut Khalakhand

Khalakhand or Qalaqand , is one of the most celebrated delicacies in the Indian subcontinent. My recipe here uses low fat Ricotta cheese in addition with shred coconut ,the milk powder adds firmer texture ,sweetened with condensed milk and hint of aromatic cardamom ,this recipe is incredibly simple and easy when compared to the elaborate traditional method.
My sister shared this idea of baked ricotta to make khalakhad ,i tweaked her recipe a little by adding shred coconut. And one can always reduce the sweetness or replace with a healthier sweetener(I mention both in the recipe). And if ricotta cheese is not available ,you could definitely replace with equal quantity of Paneer(Indian Cottage cheese).

Ingredients
4 oz. low fat ricotta cheese
4 oz. unsweetened fine shred coconut (I use the frozen)
4 oz. low fat milk powder
2 oz. sweetened condensed milk or 3/4 cup Agave nectar.
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder


Method
In a large mixing bowl,bring together all of the ingredients ,mix until well combined. Transfer in an 8x8 baking tray ,lined with parchment paper. Bake in preheated oven at 350F ,until firm about 25-30 minutes . For a darker brown khalakhand ,let bake another 15-20 minutes at 325F. Let cool (garnish with fine chopped pistachios/almonds or speck of saffron),then slice in squares. Can be refrigerated for about 2-3 weeks.

Ranch Dressing and Facts on Vitamin D

Are you using fat free salad dressing? Well, did you know that vitamins A, D, E and K are FAT-SOLUBLE vitamins? You can't absorb these vitamins without a fat, which is why fortifying skim milk with vitamin D is a waste of money! I have so many clients deficient in vitamin D. Could our low fat diets be the problem? Taking a vitamin d supplement with a bowl of cereal and skim milk will NOT let the vitamin D absorb into the bloodstream.

Having low vitamin d levels can effect us in so many ways. Here are just a few:
1. Last year it was proven that vitamin D deficiency is likely to be a major factor for the development of type one diabetes in children.
2. Activated vitamin D in the adrenal gland regulates tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate limiting enzyme essential for the production of dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine. Check out Secrets to Your Weight Cravings and Mood for more information.
3. Low vitamin D contributes to chronic fatigue and depression.
4. Insulin resistance is one of the major factors not only leading to the cancers, but also to the number one killer in the US, heart disease. Northern countries have higher levels of heart disease and more heart attacks occur in the winter months (when our vitamin D levels plummet).
5. Infertility is associated with low vitamin D, and PMS has been completely reversed by addition of magnesium and vitamin D.
6. Progression of degenerative arthritis of the knee and hip is faster in people with lower vitamin D levels.
7. Autoimmune Disorders: Multiple Sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroiditis and Crohn's disease have all been linked with low vitamin D levels.
8. Obesity: Vitamin D has recently been shown to lower leptin secretion. Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells and isinvolved in weight regulation. It is thought that the hormone signals the brain when fat cells are "full." To read more check out Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism.

Not only that, I've tried fat free ranch dressing in my past life...it tastes terrible, no wonder why people don't like salads. You need a great dressing to jazz up the veggies. Fat free dressings are nothing but sugar and corn syrup. Yuck.

Ingredients in Free Ranch: Water, Corn Syrup, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Buttermilk (Adds a Trivial Amount of Fat, Adds a Trivial Amount of Cholesterol)Salt, Less Than 2% of Vinegar, Garlic Puree, Onion Puree, Garlic (Dried)Onion (Dried)Green Onion (Dried)Spice, Sour Cream (Cream, Nonfat Milk, Cultures; Adds a Trivial Amount of Fat, Adds a Trivial Amount of Cholesterol)Xanthan Gum, Lecithin, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil and/or Soybean Oil; Adds a Trivial Amount of Fat)Monoglycerides (Adds a Trivial Amount of Fat)Natural Flavor, Artificial Color, Monosodium Glutamate, Lactic Acid, Phosphoric Acid)Disodium Phosphate, with Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, TBHQ and Calcium Disodium EDTA as Preservatives, Alpha Tocopherols (Vitamin E)

Click HERE to read about TBHQ!

I know my recipe sounds a little crazy, but it tastes awesome. The cream cheese makes it so thick. This added an amazing flavor without extra calories, 1 TBS of mayo is 100 calories, 1 TBS of cream cheese is 50 calories. Since cream cheese is so much thicker, you can add a flavorful broth to thin the dressing and you save a lot of calories.



1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken or beef broth
1/2 tsp dried chives
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp Celtic salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

In a blender or a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, broth, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving (it will thicken up as it rests). Makes 12 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Ranch = 153 calories, 1.1 carbs, 0 fiber
KRAFT Fat Free Ranch = 50 calories, 11 carbs, 0 fiber
"Healthified" Ranch = 66 calories, 0.75 carbs, 0 fiber


CLICK HERE TO FIND THE GLASS (NEVER PLASTIC...estrogens!) SALAD DRESSING MAKER I USE.