Recipes

Food is the ultimate expression of self love and nourishment. I have compiled a list of recipes collected through many years of healing and experimentation combined with knowledge passed down from my favorite healers, teachers, and colleagues. Enjoy!

Bone stock: in a large stockpot combine frozen left over veggies or fresh potato, carrot, celery, parsley, onion, and garlic with 3-5 lbs of beef marrow bones OR chicken stock parts. I usually add an entire bunch of rosemary, oregano with some thyme. Cover to the top of the pot. Add ¼-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (this helps pull the marrow from the bones). Let sit for an hour then bring to a boil and simmer for 24 hours (chicken parts) or 48 hours (beef bones). I usually do two simmers with chicken stock. The second simmer will be a weaker version of the first, but still makes good stock. Strain into another large pot and let the stock cool completely to room temperature.  I never skim the top. The fat is where the nourishment is.  Then divide into wide mouth freezer safe glass mason jars, loosely put the lids on and freeze.

Veggie Stock/potassium broth: combine carrots, potatoes, celery, onion, garlic, rosemary, shitake or variety of mushrooms (or anything you want really). Cover with water and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Strain the veggies discard and keep the liquid. This is great to sip when you sick or want to give your digestion a rest for a day or two.

Cookware
I highly recommend investing in some Le Creuset pots. Especially the large dutch oven. I have an additional smaller one I cook my rice and grains in. It is important to research and purchase nontoxic pots and pans for your kitchen.

Breakfast Smoothies

The first recipe is from Kelly Brogan MD's version: this smoothie is packed with the right amount of protein and fat to keep your energy and mood stabilized all day. Drink within 30 minutes of waking up before looking at your phone, email, or work. It is also a great option for a pre- workout boost. The original recipe Dr. Kelly Brogan wrote includes 2 raw egg yolks and ghee. I have an egg and dairy allergy so I changed it up a bit. Try both recipes out and go with the one that feels the best.

• 1 TBS Ghee

• 1/2 cup frozen cherries or berries of choice

• 2 raw egg yolks

• 2-3 TBS of raw organic coconut oil

• 1-2 TBS of tahini or sunflower seed butter

• 1-2 cups of water or coconut water (make sure it is live and does not have any added sugar)

• 1 scoop of vital proteins collagen powder ( whole foods sells it now, or I can have it dropped shipped directly to your house)

• 1 TBS of cacao powder

Modified Version (for individuals with food allergies and inflammation):

• 2-3 TBS of coconut oil

• 1/2 cup frozen cherries, strawberries, or berry of choice

• 1 scoop Garden of Life Protein and Greens (I like chocolate flavor)

• 1 scoop Vital Proteins Collegen (optional)

• 1- 2 TBS Tahini

• 1-2 cups of water

• 1 ice cube (optional)

Lunch for Breakfast

On mornings I need real food instead of the smoothie, I am a big fan of animal protein and a big green salad for breakfast (7-9am). I know it sounds weird, but try it just once. This breakfast will:

• balance hormones and adrenals (which means stable emotions and happy feels)

• help you feel full and satisfied until 1-3pm

• eliminate sugar/ snack food cravings

• eliminate early afternoon exhaustion

Make a big green salad. I like a mixture of organic arugula, spinach, and baby greens. I use a peeler and peel carrot, beet, burdock root, daikon or watermelon daikon radish. I also like to add fresh corn sliced right off the cob and cooked in coconut oil when in season. Always make your own salad dressings. Always. I do a simple olive oil, 3 caps of apple cider vinegar, balsamic, lemon, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Mix in with greens.

The protein: Ground meats are the most convenient for humans on the GO. I rotate between ground bison (or beef), pork, turkey, and chicken. I always have a back stock in my freezer. Marinate the ground meat in coconut aminos (staple in my kitchen), salt and pepper; use a food processor and add in a mixture of fresh fennel, basil and spinach . If you do not have time to do this step, it’s totally fine. You can mix up right before cooking. Make into patties. Cook up in coconut oil or duck confit lard (yum). Make 1 or 2 depending on how hungry you are and add to your salad. You can add fresh avocado and cultured veggies if you like.

*If you are short on time, add the ground meat mixture to an oiled pan and cook in the oven at a 350 for 30 minutes. Easy, delicious, and you can get ready while your breakfast cooks*

Congee

Basic: 1/2 cup mung bean and 1/2 cup brown rice soaked overnight and  rinsed. Put in a heavy bottomed pot and simmer with 8 cups of water stirring every hour or so.

• Use this congee with severe illness, stomach upset, and to cleanse. Eat a small bowel every two hours when no other food can be tolerated.

A combination of choice can be used to flavor it up-

• green onions

• garlic

• ginger

• chicken parts with bone in: breast, leg, neck, back,feet

• 1 handful of raw ground beef soaked in tamari or a high quality organic soy sauce added to the pot directly after cooking is done. Put the lid back on and let steam for 7min

• beaten eggs added to pot after cooking is done

• throw 1-2 bunch of baby bok choy to pot when cook time is done, put the lid back on and let steam for 7 min

• handful of goji berries

Grains and Soups

Minestrone

1. Soak 1 cup aduki beans and 1 cup of Job’s Tears Barley (gluten free, energy boosting, gut bacteria regulating amazing grain) overnight

2. Make your veggie broth base: I use pumpkin (or squash), seeds and skin included, shiitake or mushroom of choice, carrot, potato, fennel stalks, bay leaf, onion. Put in a big pot, cover with water and simmer for 1 hour. Strain.

3. For the Soup- add soaked beans and grain to a big soup pot. Add any veggies you like. I prefer green beans, zucchini, carrot, purple potato, fennel bulb, fresh tomato or canned in glass, bay leaf, oregano, ect.. Pour your veggie broth into the the pot and simmer everything together for 45 minutes. I leave the lid off for the first 20 minutes, then I cover 3/4 way for the remaining cook time. In the last 10 minutes add lots of chopped basil and corn sliced fresh off the cob (when in season). Season generously with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

4. Before serving, top with cold pressed organic olive oil and add a pinch more sea salt.

   
   

Rice/Quinoa/Grain from Sharon Gray of the Nourished Cook: Add 1.5 cups rinsed basmati rice with 2.5 cups water. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, cover, then bake in an oven proof dish at a 350-375 oven for 30 minutes; 35-40 minutes for brown rice.

• Brown rice should be soaked overnight and rinsed well before cooking.

• Can substitute ½ cup beans of choice with 1cup rice.

• Variations: sauté leek and shitake/maitake/king trumpet mushroom until tender, add grain, sauté for few minutes, add water, herbs and sweet potato. Bring to a boil, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. This is a great base to pour soups over or served as a side dish.

Rice, or favorite grain, with figs, dates, and walnuts: Soak the walnuts overnight. Rinse well and roast in a 375 oven for 15 minutes. Rinse 1.5 cups rice, drain and put in a heavy bottomed pot. Add fresh (is best) or dried fig, 3-4 dates, ¼ cup shredded coconut with 2.5 cups water, bring to a simmer for 1 minute, cover and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

• Serve alone or with fresh yogurt or milk substitute of choice.

• Substitute apricots, peaches or any desired fruit.

Simple Bok Choy from Sharon Gray of the Nourished Cook: chop 1 bunch of Bok Choy, add to a pot with a little water, salt, and a pinch of honey. Simmer for 7 minutes. Eat the Bok Choy and drink the liquid.

Cauliflower Soup from Paul Pitchford’s Healing with Whole Foods

• 1 Cauliflower cut up

• 1 small onion or shallot

• 6 cups veggie broth or water

• salt, pepper

• ½ cup oats

• 2 tablespoons sesame seed butter

 Bring broth or water to a boil, add cauliflower, onion, oats, and salt. Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Add the sesame butter then blend in a blender or use an immersion blender. Serve over rice or quinoa with potaotes.

Green Pea Soup

• 2 cups green or yellow peas soaked overnight and rinsed well

• carrots

• onion

• celery or fennel

• parsley

• garlic

• *Pork Chops (optional)

 Bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil. Add peas and pork. Simmer for 1.5 hours. Meanwhile, sauté carrot, fennel, onion until almost tender, add parsley and garlic and sauté a minute longer. Add veggie sauté to peas and pork and simmer for 30 minutes longer or until peas are tender.
*Serve with cornbread. Yum

Basic Veggie Soup: Combine any veggie~ onion, leek, potato, tomato, fennel, celery, carrot, mushroom, collards, fresh tomatos ect.. with chicken stock and/or water. Simmer 30 minutes. Eat alone or over rice.

Squash Soup

• 1 Squash peeled and chopped

• onion

• carrot

Combine with water, veggie, or chicken stock and simmer for 45 minutes.

The MEAT

Seared Chicken with Ginger and Onions: Ask your butcher to cut a whole organic chicken in half and wrap separately. You can store the other half in the freezer for a later time. Sear ½ chicken in ghee or coconut oil 8-12 minutes each side, remove and let the pot cool. Sauté 1-2 chopped onions, a handful of shitake or other variety of mushroom, with thinly sliced fresh ginger root (about ½-1 inch or desired amount) until onions are soft. Add the chicken back in and fill the pot with enough water to almost cover the chicken. Simmer for 45 minutes or transfer to a slow cooker for 8 hours. 

• This recipe can be made with a pork roast(I prefer skin on), baby back ribs, or spare ribs, but the cook time is 2-2.5 hours (or 8 hours slow cook in a ceramic crock pot) until the pork is tender. I usually add my favorite squash or a pumpkin to the pot in the fall and winter months and serve over fresh cabbage leaves.

Braised Chicken with Tomato modified From Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food

• 4 chicken legs, or breasts (legs are the best) or 2 legs 2 breasts WITH skins

• salt, pepper

• olive oil

• 2 onions sliced thick

• 4 cloves garlic

• bay leaf

• rosemary/basil**/ and or oregano (I like a lot of basil in the summer)

• plain yogurt

• 3- 4 large juicy heirloom tomatoes, chopped with juices~ any and all colors

Salt and pepper the chicken the night before. Set at room temperature 1-2 hours before cooking.

In a heavy bottomed pot (dutch oven is best) heat and add 2 TBS of olive oil. Places chicken skin side down and cook until crisp for 12 minutes. Turn and cook for 4 minutes longer. Remove and set aside.

Add onions, cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add and cook for 2 minutes longer garlic, bay leaf and rosemary.

Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes scraping up the brown bits from the pan. When juicy and soupy ADD the chicken skin side down. The liquid should come halfway up the chicken or almost cover. Add stock it doesn’t. Bring to a boil then simmer. Cover and cook in the oven at 325 for 45 minutes (for legs).
*If you used breasts they only need about 20 minutes of cook time in oven.
*Can simmer on the stove if you do not have a dutch oven.
*Serve with organic, plain yogurt.

Black Beans with Pork and Ginger: This is my favorite, but I tend to eat too much and it slows my digestion, meaning a severe case of constipation. Caution.

• 2 cups black beans, soaked overnight and rinsed

• 2 pork chops

• ginger

• onion

• fresh chive

• plain yogurt

 Bring veggie broth or water to a boil, add chops and beans and simmer for 2 hours with ginger and onion. Salt and pepper in the last 30 minutes of cooking. The pork should just fall off the bones. Serve with plain yogurt over the top and chives.

Beef Pot Roast From Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food

• 3 lbs of grass-fed beef chuck roast seasoned with salt and pepper the night before cooking

• pour in:

• 2 tbs olive oil and brown the roast on all sides (3-4 minutes each side) swirl the oil to spread

• Add:

• 1tbs butter and sprinkle the roast with:

• flour (optional)

 Brown for another 3 minutes each side.

 Then add:

• 1 onion

• 1 leek

• 2 carrots

• 2 celery stalks

• 3 cloves garlic

• thyme

• rosemary

• parsley

• bay leaf

 Pour in enough veggie broth with 1 cup red wine to come almost to the top of roast. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook at a very low simmer for 2.5 hours.

While the roast is simmering cook separately in salted boiling water until tender (20 minutes or so).

• 3 carrots cut into pieces

• 3 celery stalks chopped

• 4 medium potatoes~ Red or Yukon Gold

 Strain ( I save the cooking water).

When roast is done, take it out of liquid. Strain the roast liquid and press down on veggies to extract all the juices. Discard.

Return the Roast to the strained liquid, add separately cooked veggies, and additional cooking broth if desired. Bring to a simmer and serve hot.

 * Add a thick cut piece of pancetta to pot for rich flavor.

Oxtail - This is my absolute favorite. Every Woman should be eating this monthly during or after their blood. It is also very good for growing boys.

• 2-4lbs of Oxtails (Order ahead from quality meat source of choice) *Inquire if you need help on what to look for

• 1/2- 1 diakon radish

• leek

• ginger (optional)

Simmer for 2-4 hours or cook in a slow cooker on high for 8-12 hours.