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This page will evolve over time. Food for the Spirit
will always seek healthy recipes for the body, and
perhaps also for the mind, and of course the spirit. Health Benefits of Coconut Oil
Make sure it is not hydrogenated and it is food grade.
Organic is certainly preferred.
Dr. Ben Kim's hot chocolate smoothie recipe Dr. Ben Kim's recipe for homemade almond milk
Ingredients:
1 to 1 ½ cups of raw almonds
4 cups of filtered or spring water
3-8 dates (optional)
Directions:
1. Soak almonds in water for at least six hours.
2. Drain soaked almonds, and blend with 4 cups of fresh water until
you get a milk-like consistency. Blend with dates (that have been
soaked for at least an hour) if you like a hint of sweetness to your
milk.
3. Strain once to remove almond granules.
The result is a delicious, creamy milk that's free of added oils,
concentrated sugars, and synthetic nutrients. This all-natural almond
milk keeps for four to five days in an air-tight jar in the
refrigerator. Ginger Tea recipe
- Buy some fresh ginger. If you are near a Chinese market, that is the place to go. CAM International is one excellent source.
- Scrub the ginger and cut off any parts that are dried or otherwise look different.
- Slice the ginger into thin slices. If you have a mandolin (relatively cheap, but watch your finger tips) use that. Otherwise use a knife.
- If you have a food processor or blender, you can use that to chop the ginger, but you are giving up the candied ginger option (below).
- Put the ginger into a pot of hot water. If you have one large ginger root to start, use about a quart of water. You have to decide how strong you want this tea to be.
- If you want your tea to be sweet, add sugar, honey or stevia. It is better to leave it unsweetened than to use any of the artificial sweeteners, including NutraSweet, Splenda or saccharin.
- Check out the benefits of ginger on the Living Healthy page.
Candied Ginger - Retrieve the ginger slices from the Ginger Tea (above)
- In a large skillet of sauce pan, put in enough ginger tea (water will work) to cover the bottom of the pan or pot.
- Add some sugar or honey to the tea and heat it. Boiling is OK at the beginning of the process.
- Put in the sliced ginger and begin to evaporate the liquid.
- Stir the ginger slices so that they are coated on all sides.
- Continue stirring while heating to evaporate the ginger. If you are patient, the ginger slices will be coated with sugar.
- When you are satisfied with the amount of sugar or honey, scoop out the ginger slices and put them on a cookie sheet.
If you don't have a cookie sheet, you can put them out on aluminum foil or in a baking dish. - Dry the slices either in the oven at the lowest heat (170 degrees Fahrenheit or so) or on the counter.
- When dried, store in an air tight container. If the slices aren't dry, they will probably mold.
Frozen Food Dinners Many of us don't have the time or
energy to whip up every meal from scratch. Frozen meals are an easy
solution — but are they healthy? Charles Platkin, a nationally
recognized nutrition and public health advocate says, YES, they can be. Dr. Platkin lists several things to consider in choosing your frozen meals: - Find meals that have about 20 grams of protein per package.
- They should contain no more than 15 grams of total fat.
- No more than 30 percent of the total calories should come from fat.
- There shouldn’t be more than 200 milligrams of sodium per 100 calories.
- You might want to add a piece of fruit and a salad or some more mixed (frozen) veggies to the meal.
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