Category Archives: Tips

In Praise of Juicing

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OK, I broke down and purchased a “juicer.” You know those machines that take hearty fruits and veggies and turn out green colored juice? Yes, that’s the one.

Green juice


Now, before you think I’ve gone off the cliff as a reaction to too much holiday baking (and eating), hang in here with me.

Isaac and his juicer

Last month while we were in Florida visiting our son, Isaac, and his family, Isaac told us he had been on a juice fast for two weeks. In fact he and his wife, Kara, had both been drinking juice concoctions as a replacement for meals. Yes, they had some impressive weight losses. What got them inspired? They watched a video documentary called: “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead,” by Joe Cross, a man on a health and weight loss journey. This man is monitored by a doctor along the way, named Dr. Joel Fuhrman.

We tried one of the juices and at first I was a bit hesitant. The smell of cucumber and celery was a bit off putting, to say nothing of the green color from all the kale. But I felt so wonderful for hours after drinking the juice that I found myself craving it.

When we returned home we stumbled upon a program on public television – “Three Steps to Incredible Health” by Dr. Fuhrman. His eating plan is so much more than juicing. He speaks about the importance of getting micronutrients into our bodies through eating and drinking high nutrient fruits and vegetables in much larger quantities than most of us are accustomed to. He also claims that we can reverse disease and food addictions by following his plan. Pretty interesting claims. (Food addictions? You mean like the chocolate chips I’m munching on as I write this?)

Well the week after we saw him on public television, he was a guest on Dr. Oz. (May have been a rerun.) There he shared his suggestion that our diet focus on “G-Bombs”-
Greens
Beans
Onions
Mushrooms
Berries
Seeds and nuts

I didn’t see chocolate chips on the list, but I’m still intrigued. So you may start seeing some interesting new recipes here as I put my big toe into this water. The most difficult part for me is to cut down on animal products because I live on dairy, eggs, poultry and, of course, chocolate. But I know I can incorporate more vegetables and that’s a start.

Quick juice recipe – from Clare – Makes 3 servings
1 cucumber
6-7 bunches of kale
5-6 stalks of celery
3 apples
2 oranges
1 lime
6-8 leaves of romaine lettuce
1 green or red pepper
Few slices of pineapple

Just put it all into the juicer raw and juice away. You can store this in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days, but we try to drink it within 24 hours.

So here’s to a healthy 2013. It’s what we all want – to feel our best. Let me know how your journey is progressing.

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Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

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These dark chocolate zucchini brownies will cure what ails you – and they may prevent a stroke!!!

brownie delight


What? Now you’re thinking, “Clare’s gone over the cliff trying to justify another brownie recipe.” Well yes, but I tore out this article (sorry didn’t note the magazine) that quoted a Swedish study of 33,000 folks. It said the frequent chocolate indulgers were “20% less likely to have a stroke compared to women who ate hardly any chocolate.”*

bit of brownie heaven

Dark chocolate is naturally the best and to get the benefit you should eat 2.3 ounces per week. (Not per hour!)


Now if you sneak some vegetables into the brownies you can eat more of them, right? Well you will want more of these. I first saw a similar recipe on a fun blog called “A Dash of Sass.” http://www.adashofsass.com/2011/07/12/double-chocolate-zucchini-brownies/

mix in zucchini by hand


However after the last attempt to make healthy brownies, I changed these in a number of ways to make sure they would be incredible. And they are – or should I say – they were? The zucchini is finely grated to add moistness to the brownies and little taste. So the chocolate really shines through.

add dark chocolate chips


I hope you tried the zucchini muffin recipe I blogged about recently. It doesn’t contain any chocolate, but the cinnamon really plays well with the delicate moisture in the zucchini. http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2012/08/18/zucchini-cinnamon-muffins/

a stiff batter

Zucchini Help: Grate it – peel and all – with a fine grater and then either press the moisture out with a paper towel – or let the zucchini rest for awhile sitting on a piece of cheesecloth with a bowl under it to catch the drips. (Think of it like a nap on a swing.) Either way, get some of the moisture out and then fluff the beautiful green stuff with a fork. Measure it in the fluffed state. Don’t pack the zucchini in the measuring cup or it will be too dense and too much of a good thing.

Ingredients for Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
2 cups grated zucchini – see note above
1/2 cup coconut oil (a light olive or canola oil will also work)
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp coffee espresso (optional)
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (You could cut back on these a bit.)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease an 8″ or 9″ square pan – or spray with baking spray.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended.
Fold in the zucchini.
Pour batter into pan.
Bake 30 – 40 minutes. It will be difficult to get a toothpick to come out clean because of the chocolate chips. So if the brownie is starting to pull away from the edges of the pan and if the center is mostly set up, they’re done.

They will firm up as they cool, but don’t wait. Eat at least one while they’re warm and gooey.

Optional additions; nuts, craisins, coconut, cacao nibs

This is a recipe to play with. While the zucchini are plentiful in the garden or in the grocery store, stock up, grate and freeze some.
*Susanna C. Larsson, Ph.D., National Institute of Environmental Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden.

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Digest Diet’s Dry “Brownies”

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The words “brownies” and “diet” do not seem fitted for the same sentence. That’s what intrigued me when I saw a recipe for Brownies in the Reader’s Digest Diet Book which came out this year. Yes, I sent for a copy after seeing the hype for several months. The diet starts with four days of protein shakes and soups. Both items I love, but four days of soup for dinner when it was nearly 100 degrees each day seemed like a sacrifice of common sense. But we did it. So on the fifth day, I rewarded our diligence by making their brownies. Or my intention was that they should be a reward.

dry and crumbly


I love brownies. When I got married – centuries ago – I had one cookbook and a dozen brownie recipes. But if you are holding your breath thinking that the Digest Diet brownies were the answer to a diet dessert, I’m afraid you should exhale. They were dry and had a strange flavor.
The only way Ken would eat them was smothered in ice cream and chocolate sauce. Sort of defeats the idea of a “diet.” After nearly a week, the pan sat mostly untouched and I chucked the rest of them into the garbage. Unprecedented for me to pitch brownies, but that’s what happened.

brownies


However, I’m still going to give you their recipe because I know we can improve on it and come up with a tastier option. It did have several things going for it: cocoa powder and honey for a start. But then it drifted into the “egg white” territory with flaxseed meal and you can see why they were dry and crumbly.

But before I move on, check out the link to the
Yummy Lowfat Brownies from Dr. Oz’s TV guest which were a treat: http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2012/06/18/yummy-lowfat-brownies/

If you are gluten for punishment, here’s the Dr. Oz Butt Blasting Brownie that I thought was bitter, but better when baked: http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2012/03/24/dr-ozs-butt-blasting-brownie-experiment/

one bowl

baked and ready

Digest diet brownies

OK, here we go. These are the ingredients exactly as written from the Digest Diet.

¾ cup white whole wheat flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup flaxseed meal
2 TBS turbinado sugar (this is “sugar in the raw” with big crystals)
1 tsp espresso powder
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp fine sea salt
¾ cup honey
½ cup expeller-pressed nut oil, such as almond, or use extra light olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites
2 TBS water

Directions for Digest Diet Brownies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly oil an 8 or 9 inch square pan.
In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients.
Add the honey, oil, vanilla, egg whites and water and stir just until combined.
Scrape batter into baking pan.
Bake 15 – 18 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.

This should make 16 brownies which are 153 calories each.

Clare’s notes:
First of all, I think whole wheat pastry flour is a better option than white whole wheat. It’s ground finer for pastry and wouldn’t have made these so crumbly.
Second – I think if they had used the entire eggs, instead of just the whites it would have been fudgier and less crumbly. Sure you’d add a bit more fat, but they have to be edible.
I think Coconut oil would be a better option than light olive oil. Even light olive oil has a taste that rarely works in baking, in my opinion.
Turbinado sugar is usually best sprinkled on top of muffins or cookies for effect. A finer sugar would have integrated better.
Finally, my brownies took 25 minutes to have the toothpick come out clean. I checked them at 15 and 18 and they were barely cooked.

So there you have it. Play with the recipe if you like – or not. I’d love to know if anyone else has different results.

The Digest calls these “Fudgy Mocha Brownies” but clearly they have never tried a true fudgy brownie.

fudge brownies

If you want pure decadence so that you have something to compare these to check this recipe which is not a low cal or low fat option: http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2012/01/10/brownie-lovers-brownie-with-chocolate-glaze/

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Cleansing Light Citrus Water

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ahh citrus

Citrus fruits – and their juices – are supposed to help pull fat from our body.* Anything that wants to help me blast fat is a friend.
But just sucking on sour lemons or limes is not much of a treat. And a plain lemon in water may wake up my mouth, but it’s not treat-enough either, in my world. On these hot afternoons, I want something refreshing to drink that will trick my brain into thinking we’re having something naughty.

enjoy

dissolve stevia in hot water

slice citrus

a glassful

citrus drink

Carbonated drinks apparently leech the calcium from our bones, so I’ve stopped drinking anything carbonated because I don’t want to be one of those old ladies who are permanently stooped over. However, I did find a tasty alternative that’s really simple and it’s sweetened with Stevia. I’ve occasionally whined about Stevia because I don’t always think the sweetness infuses itself into foods. Dr. Oz has told us repeatedly not to continue with artificial sweeteners because they play tricks on our brain.

But Stevia is somehow considered sugar, without the calories. And now I think I’ve found a way to extract the sweetness in this drink.

Ingredients
1 cup hot water
2-3 TBS Stevia (Or other natural sugar substitutes)
1 lemon
1 lime (or other citrus fruit of your choice)
Many cups cold water (to fill your pitcher)

Directions
Wash the outside of the citrus fruit (If you know what’s good for you!)
Bring the cup of hot water to a boil and mix in the Stevia until it dissolves.
Slice the citrus fruit and put them into a pitcher, squeezing each piece as you go to release the juice into the pitcher.
Cover fruit with ice.
Pour in the hot water-Stevia mixture.
Fill the pitcher to the rim with cold water and more ice.
Stir and chill.
Drink a glass before each meal and snag a piece of the citrus for your drink.

The cleansing citrus water will last one or two days before the citrus tastes bitter, so drink up and make a new batch!

*Sources: Dr. Oz TV show and Reader’s Digest’s Digest Diet, 2012.

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