NUTRITION: Benefits of Eating Ginger

Here's another post from Walk with Walgreen's regarding one of my most favorite spices ... Ginger!


Did you know that ginger is not only a delicious addition to foods and desserts, but it's also great for your health? One of the most useful benefits of ginger is its ability to help soothe muscle aches and pains, a great thing when you are sore from a good, long walk! Daily consumption of ginger is great for those who regularly exercise, and many weightlifters rely on it to help with recovery after intense physical activity. 

The potent anti-inflammatory compounds in ginger have been known to help those who suffer from arthritis to manage their pain levels. Recent studies point to ginger as a possible inhibitor of cancer cells, while its germ-fighting qualities can help to stave off infections and lessen the severity of colds & flus.

Ginger is so packed with these health-promoting substances that you don't even have to use very much of it reap the benefits. For nausea or tummy troubles, you can make ginger tea by steeping a few slices of fresh ginger in hot water.  If the taste is too spicy, you can sweeten it up with a bit of honey. Alternately, a soothing ginger lemonade is delicious any time! Just add some freshly grated ginger to a mixture of ice water, lemon juice and your preferred sweetener. Arthritis patients have found relief by regularly consuming small amounts of ginger in cooked foods, such as sliced up with some mixed vegetables and made into a stir-fry dish. The more ginger you eat, the more noticeable the results will be.

RECIPE: No-atmeal

Crazy name, huh! Well, I have fond memories of eating oatmeal when I was a kid, but since it's a grain, it's a no-no. Since I have sensitivities to oats, it's a double no-no. So, I went in search of alternate recipes for a hot breakfast dish that would be similar to my once-beloved oatmeal. 
I was digitally 'thumbing through' the Primal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook when I fond something interesting ... No-atmeal, submitted by Doug Descant. 
NO-ATMEAL (No-Oat Breakfast Cereal)

INGREDIENTS

1 small handful of walnuts

1 small handful of pecans 

2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened ground coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 pinch of ground nutmeg 

1 pinch ground ginger 

1 tablespoon almond butter 

1 banana, mashed 

3 eggs 

1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (add more if you prefer it a little runny) 

2 teaspoons chopped macadamia nuts*

1 handful of fresh strawberries

(**NOTE: Macadamia nuts are not in photo below - They were an after-thought)

Quoted from the cookbook ... 

"Pronounced “note-meal” (as in, no oatmeal), Doug’s recipe is for all you ex-cereal lovers out there and for anyone who needs a warm bowl of comforting goodness on a cold winter morning. As Doug says, “it’s a hot meal full of essential proteins and fats, not to mention the necessary vitamins and minerals, in order to stay energized for the cold weeks ahead.” Just thinking about eating No-atmeal for breakfast is guaranteed to coax you out of bed in the morning."

DIRECTIONS

1. Add walnuts, pecans, flax seed and spices to a food processor and pulse it down to a course grain, making sure to stop before it’s totally ground into a powder. Set aside. 

2. Whisk together eggs and almond milk until the consistency thickens a little bit into a loose custard. Thoroughly blend together the mashed banana and almond butter and add it to the custard, mixing well.

3. Stir in the nut mixture. 

4. Microwave until the “no-atmeal” reaches your desired consistency; this should only take a few minutes. I checked and stirred it every 30 seconds and removed it after 2 minutes.

5. Sprinkle macadamia nuts and strawberries on top. Add more almond milk if you want. 

6. Lick the bowl clean!

RECIPE: Pumpkin Pie Clafoutis with Walnuts and Coconut

Okay, so I'm cheating a little. Not in what I'm using in this recipe, but because I'm repeating one ... Sort of. As I have mentioned before, I LOVE Pumpkin pie so naturally I love pumpkin pie clafoutis. This time I wanted to venture out and make a few changes. I added walnuts and ground unsweetened coconut. It was FANTASTIC!!
Pumpkin Pie Clafoutis with Walnuts and Coconut

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup coconut oil (or 1/2 cup butter or ghee)
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey
4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts
2 tablespoons grated unsweetened Coconut
(You may prefer less spices, but I prefer experiencing their flavors mixed with the pumpkin!)

 DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter, ghee, or coconut oil (whichever you use) in a small pot over low heat or in the microwave.
3. Blend together all ingredients with the exception of the walnuts and coconut. This time I use my blender to make sure everything is well blended. Taste for sweetness and add more honey, if you feel it needs it. Add the chopped walnuts and coconut then pulse a few times to mix.

 4. Pour into a well greased 9" deep dish pie plate and bake for roughly 45 minutes - until center is set. 

 5. Allow clafoutis to cool before placing it in the refrigerator. It's tasty warm, but it is AMAZING cold!

RECIPE: Pumpkin Pie Clafoutis

One of my favorite things in the whole world is a really good pumpkin pie. Since I have only recently learned what a clafoutis is, I decided to try to combine the two goodnesses and see how it would turn out. I am SOOO glad I tried it ... I absolutely LOVE this recipe and will be using it again and again!
Pumpkin Pie Clafoutis

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup coconut oil (or 1/2 cup butter or ghee)
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey
4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
(You may prefer less spices, but I prefer experiencing their flavors mixed with the pumpkin!)

 DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter, ghee, or coconut oil (whichever you use) in a small pot over low heat or in the microwave.
3. Blend together all ingredients. I use an immersion blender to make sure everything is well blended. Taste for sweetness and add more honey, if you feel it needs it.

 4. Pour into a well greased 8"X8" baking dish and bake for roughly 45 minutes - until center is set. 

 5. Allow clafoutis to cool before placing it in the refrigerator. It's tasty warm, but it is AMAZING cold!

 Pumpkin Pie Clafoutis is fantastic as part of breakfast or as dessert. I made this on Friday and it's almost gone! 

RECIPE: Roasted Acorn Squash with Pecans

Along with the Almond Crusted Chicken, I prepared acorn squash a little differently from how I prepared it a couple of weeks ago. I love honey. I love ginger. I love pecans. This combination seemed like a perfect compliment for an acorn squash.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Pecans
INGREDIENTS:
1 Acorn squash
2 tablespoons Coconut oil (or butter)
2 tablespoons pure Maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh grated Ginger
2 tablespoons chopped Pecans
Sea Salt

 DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash acorn squash and cut it in half from stem to end. Scrape out the seeds and stringy stuff.
3. Place halves in an oven safe baking dish. I prefer to use two small Karhai woks.
4. Put coconut oil (or butter), grated ginger, maple syrup, and a sprinkle of sea salt in the cavity of each squash half.
4. Bake for approximately 1 1/4 hours. At the one hour mark, add the chopped pecan pieces to the mixture in the cavities of the squash. Check tenderness. A fork should easily pierce through the pulp of the squash.
(Baking time can be cut to approximately 20 minutes by following the easy steps listed below.)

***NOTE*** I needed for these squash to be ready sooner, so I took a shortcut that worked very well. Before I put them in the oven I put them in a baking dish with an inch of water in it, then put them in the microwave for 10 minutes. I took them out of the microwave safe dish, put them in the small stainless steel woks and put them in the oven for 10 minutes, then added the pecans and baked for 10 more minutes.

RECIPE: Cool Whip Cookies ... So NOT Paleo!!

Okay, so it's the Christmas Eve eve and I thought I'd share a recipe that's NOT Paleo ... In the least! As I mentioned before, it's just not possible to be 100% 24/7/365, so here's a splurge. I made these in multiple flavors for gifts to my friends this year and everyone seems to love them.
They are called Cool Whip Cookies. They are light and fluffy and down right delicious! I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com. Here's the link: Cool Whip Cookies
Try them for yourself!
INGREDIENTS:
1 - 8 ounce container of Cool Whip topping
2 large eggs
1 box cake mix (I chose Spice Cake)
1 cup powdered confectioners sugar
3 tsp ground ginger (separated)
DIRECTIONS:
Break eggs into a medium to large sized mixing bowl and beat well. 
Add Cool Whip topping and beat again. 
Add 1/2 cake mix and 2 tsp ground ginger, blending well. Then add remaining cake mix and blend well. Batter will be quite sticky and that is normal. 
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put powdered sugar in a bowl and mix in 1+ tsp ground ginger to taste. (Only for ginger cookies, not other flavors!)
Lightly grease cookie sheet.
Drop batter by teaspoonfuls into a bowl of powdered sugar and roll to coat.
Place cookies on the greased cookie sheet and bake for 9 - 11 minutes. 
Cool cookies on racks.
I usually get 5 dozen cookies from one batch.

Mixing Cool Whip and eggs

 Adding cake mix and extra ginger

 Adding ginger to powdered sugar

 The batter and sugar

 Ready to go into the oven

 9 minutes later

Here are some photos of different batches I've made. From upper left: Ginger, Triple Chocolate Fudge, Lemon, Red Velvet

Lemon

 Triple Chocolate Fudge

Ginger 

  Red Velvet (I added a little extra Hershey's cocoa powder to add more chocolate flavor!)