Blog & Recipes — Susan Teton

Viewing entries tagged
healthy foods

Comment

Share

The Most Delicious Dressing Ever - The Golden Elixir For Salads & Veggies

This delicious dressing, often called the "Golden Elixir" is to live for. People often say they want to drink it. Full of Essential Fatty Acids, fresh lemon, tahini, sea kelp, and ginger, this dressing is a must for salads, fish or grains. Yum!

This is the dressing that started my cooking career. No joke.

Early on in my nutritional foodie career I understood the difference between good and bad fats. Bad fats are as inflammation causing as sugar. Deep fried everything, and dressings made from cheap olive oil, canola and sunflower oil are all lumped into a category that include Omega 6’s.

Not to get too technical, but the Omega 6’s are the omega’s that you want to avoid. I know, it is hard if you are eating out. Most all of your food service establishments buy poor quality oils because that is all they can afford. By poor quality, I mean that they are not fresh. They have most likely been bleached and deodorized so they they remain shelf stable. Food producers must do this for nut and seed oils because they are tinder and go rancid easily with heat and light. Even though food is not always deep fried in many of the restaurant food, the poor quality oils are also used for everything else like cooking and for sauces. Many people do not realize this.

Other than olive oil, the only oils that are of any substance of quality are cold pressed oils made from nuts and seeds. They are few and far between in your local stores, so you usually have to purchase them online. But, even then you must use them quickly so they do not go rancid.

I believe, in part, one of the reasons “raw food” culinary methods are so healthy and satisfying is because of the methods (soaking and sprouting) of nuts and seeds, which makes the valuable nutrients them available for your cells and joints. This is why I produced the “Raw Food Series”. Learning raw food methods are one of the most powerful ways you can put nutrient dense food into your precious body. The course is still available - check it out HERE.

Think about it. If you are not eating a bunch of nuts and seeds (walnuts, pumpkin, sunflower, flax, and chia) then you are most likely starving for good fats. This is the reason to make delicious sauces and dressings from excellent fats. I love Barlean’s Flax oil because they press it and ship it straight to your door, or the store. It does not sit on a distributor shelf somewhere for months on end. But, the best part is that they are slam dunk delicious. Of course, a high quality olive oil is always wonderful, but it is limited in its nutrient value and flavor. It is nice to mix it up now and then. Those of you who have my “sauces and dressings” course know how I mixed up the raw and cooked foods together to make them super delicious and nutrient dense.

Knowing this early on my career had me in the kitchen making delicious dressings for salads and cooked and raw vegetables. We named this one the “Golden Elixir”. Enjoy!

Tip: If you eat out a lot, you might consider making some delicious dressings at home and then taking a small amount out when you go out to lunch. Then you can get a great salad - hold the dressing, because you will have your own. Make sure it is in a leaf proof container.

Recipe for the Golden Elixir

Ingredients

1⁄2 cup        Flax Oil - Barlean’s High Lignan is best (Olive Oil can be replaced if preferred, but will have different taste)

1⁄4 cup        fresh lemon juice (or juice of a whole lemon)

1⁄4 cup        water

1⁄4 cup        low sodium Tamari (use a little less if it is regular)

2 tbsp          Sesame Tahini (raw or toasted)

2 tsp Sea Kelp Powder (this will provide flavor and also thicken mixture)

2 tsp fresh ginger juice (grate fresh ginger and squeeze out juice), or add small piece of ginger.

1 garlic clove (if wanted - peeled) - optional dash of cayenne

Blend all the ingredients except the oil. Once the ingredients are blended, add the oil slowly while the blender is on low speed.

Enjoy immediately, or chill before serving.

The dressing keeps up to several days in the refrigerator, however, for essential fatty acids to remain in integrity from the Flax Oil, (or dressings) it should be consumed within 6 weeks.

Note: The dressing will thicken a little over time because of the thickening quality of sea (kelp) veggies.

Comment

Share

Comment

Share

Rosemary Tofu Toast


When I discovered using fresh herbs on my everyday meals everything changed. A fresh herb, cooked or raw, can change a boring meal into something special.

Here is my special Rosemary Tofu Toast. Everyone I make this for thinks I am nuts when I pull raw tofu out of the fridge. Although I don't eat tofu a lot, every now and then I have to have this meal. Give it a try, and if you really don't like the idea of raw tofu, then use some raw goat cheese, avocado or just plain toast with the rosemary and olive oil.

Recipe
1 piece of your favorite toast (mine is spelt sourdough)
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons of EVOO
2 slices of raw (firm) tofu

Warm sauce pan and add olive oil (don't get it too hot).

Finely chop the rosemary and add it to the olive oil, and cook it for just a minute or so (it should sizzle, but don't let it burn).

Pop bread into the toaster.

When the toast is crispy, place about 1 tablespoon of the EVOO rosemary mixture on the toast.

Top with the tofu, and all the remaining EVOO rosemary mixture.

Salt and pepper and then top it off with chili flakes (a must).

PS. If you haven’t heard, my friend Kami McBride has an amazing herb book called The Herbal Kitchen and it has… drumroll…250 (Yes, two hundred and fifty) recipes that have inspired my herbal kitchen for sure. You can check it out here 

Comment

Share

Comment

Share

Yummy Ramen Recipe

This recipe was inspired by Edible Hawaiian Islands Magazine - the winter edition.

When I saw this recipe I thought that Ramen might be a good thing to share with you. I have been buying this Lotus brand of Ramen for several months. Ramen is one of the most simple meals when you are not in the mood to cook much, and every now and then a gal needs noodles!

I keep mine in the freezer so that it stays fresh. Use whatever vegetables you might have on hand and whatever broth you might have. It is all good!

Instructions:

Boil the noodles for 4 minutes.

Strain and place the noodles into a bowl. Add warm broth, chopped veggies and whatever else your little heart desires.

In the picture I used some steamed spinach, left over pumpkin squash and chopped cabbage. Enjoy!

Check out the Edible Recipe HERE for more ideas.

Comment

Share

Comment

Share

Sweet Potato with A La Oil

This is a simple recipe that is perfect for when hunger comes out of no where. I like to always keep some sweet potatoes on hand and then make them extra delicious with my sesame tamari sauce. The sesame powder I add on top is that extra little crunch and a pop of protein. The best part is to make a larger batch and store the sesame powder in the fridge for later use. I love to add it on top of roasted veggies or even a fresh green salad.

Sesame Tamari Sauce Ingredients

½ cup      Barlean’s flax oil, and/or EVOO
¼ cup      tamari soy sauce (low sodium best) – or Celtic sea salt
½ cup      ground hulled sesame seeds – sesame powder
or if you do not like soy sauce, use Celtic Sea Salt – Grey Find Ground.

To make the delicious sesame powder, I put white hulled sesame seeds in coffee grinder or blender and grind into a powder.

Next I cook vegetables of my choice. This sauce is excellent on Swiss chard, cooked beets and carrots, yams and sweet potatoes, and all other veggies.

First sprinkle sesame seeds evenly on top of cooked vegetables. Pour the oil as evenly as possible over the top of the vegetables followed by the tamari.  Salt is best on the yams and sweet potatoes.

If you are using a leafy green such as chard, knead mixture into chard, slightly stirring sesame seeds, oil and tamari to form a sauce. And just like that you have a hearty lunch filled with good healthy fats!

Comment

Share

Comment

Share

How I Got Turned on Again to a Fabulous Diet!

There are many reasons to eat well, we all know that. It is actually vital to a healthy existence, and we know that too. But, let’s just think about the stress we put on ourselves with regards to diet. I can think of several stresses food and diet put on us that don’t even involve taking a bite of food. This is what I want to speak to in this post, because choosing a path and sticking with it has alleviated so much stress from me. And, the best part is that I have had enormous pleasure in doing just that. Yes, it takes a little more time in the kitchen, but by being nourishing and delicious it creates a stress free feeling overall. Below is a little bit about the path I chose and some of the reasons why I don’t feel a bit stressed over my diet anymore.

Most of you know by now that I am a foodie and after all, I do call myself “Chef Teton”. My foodie path all started with my advocacy work (hyperlink to book) and then I ended up using all of that knowledge in the kitchen. For a good part of my life diet and nutrition partnered with agricultural practices and policies has been the passion behind my work. I tell you this because even with all of this dedication and study, it could be that I am as confused as you might be. There have been so many diets birthed in the last 20 years that one might wonder, what’s next? The Acorn Diet?

Adding to the challenge of choice, we have the task of feeding ourselves and our families with budgetary constraints and fresh food availability. Then mental beliefs, judgements and sometimes guilt are all thrown into the body along with every bite we take, or don’t take. The whole idea can be stressful, not to mention confusing.  Out of sheer desperation at the onset of my mystery illness I had to pick and path and stick with it because honestly, I had lost my way. I was cutting corners and not nourishing myself with what my body needed for the demands I was placing on it. Additional stress was happening on various levels.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I had been to the ER four times with these short episodes of my heart pounding, shortness of breath, and dizziness. Each time the episode would come on I would become terrified. I felt silly going to the ER again, so I would sit in a few minutes of fear based confusion until I had to make a decision to call a friend, an ambulance, or ride it out. The doctors had already ruled out any life threatening situations so what should I do? I did not have a clue how to heal or reverse the situation.

A friend recommended I read the Medical Medium (MM), by Anthony William. I had heard of him and his book, but never read it because I thought it was just another ‘slant’ on the same old stuff. Desperate for anything to help my “mystery illness” I purchased it on Audible and began to listen. I was blown away. I found the MM to shed an intriguing light on autoimmune diseases - not what I had at all expected, and I felt like he was speaking directly to me. He spoke about the symptoms of autoimmune diseases attacking so many people today, and the case studies that he shared resonated like nothing else. He blasted some of the current medical myths wide open and gave me confidence that all these problems were reversible. His message landed in my like truth. I believed him, and began to practice his dietary protocol and supplementation with grateful dedication.

The MM gave me clarity and hope. Anthony William is not a doctor, nor a nutritionist. He is a man who has been gifted with the voice of “spirit” who speaks to him. His story is actually quite fascinating.  Could we call this “spirit” God, or a divine angel that has come to help us with an area of life we obviously need help with? Some may laugh at this, but the path he laid out made sense to me. Adrenal Fatigue and/or Chronic Fatigue were included in his chapters, which I intuited as my problem.  I was in.

I began juicing daily, eating (and I must add enjoying) fruits, dates and a wide variety of vegetables and plant foods like never before. His protocol for healing is basically an abundance of fruit, vegetables, squash, potatoes, beans, coconut oil and/or olive oil, and animal foods (if desired) once a day. He stresses more of a low fat diet, no eggs, dairy or grains. Did I have some rice or a piece of toast now and then? Absolutely. It took me awhile to adjust, particularly with regards to fats, and I also included bone broth. His recommendation to lower animal food consumption was mostly due to the high fat content. This protocol was a big shift for me for the following reasons:

  1. I had to lower my fat consumption. I was consuming a lot of butter, especially in my morning coffee and/or Yerba Mate. It might work for some, but not for me while healing. No more stimulants, and no more massive butter contributions, yet I still enjoyed a bit of butter here and there on veggies.

  2. Nourishing myself became the focus. It was not about what I did not eat, it was about what I did eat.

  3. The creativity was fun. I began to make wonderful fruit salads, and soups, which I had not enjoyed for a long time. I munched on dates, dried figs and nuts for a snack often throughout the day.

  4. Enjoying fresh fruit was so liberating. I had adopted the belief somewhere in me that too much fruit was not that great because of the sugar content, which influences candida, parasites, and more. I so enjoy fruit now and the small little problems I had with my skin are gone.

  5. At first it was an adjustment, but once in the groove of feeding/nourishing myself, it became easier, and I began to feel lighter and more clear headed.

  6. There were no complex recipes to follow, which is what I advocate in my teaching. Rather, you prepare the food raw, or cooked and consume it as it is with just a few condiments as needed. There is really no need for a ton of ingredients to make a dish. The method of combining raw and cooked together is actually what started my cooking/teaching career. Keep it simple and fill up with plant foods.

  7. As for the supplements he recommended, well, there were a lot of them. I took it slow in that department and integrated them over a bit of time.

The MM dietary and healing protocol was humming along nicely for me for a few weeks when the Shingles attacked me. For this I am very grateful because the MM also had an entire chapter on Shingles, so I was somewhat prepared with a path I felt would support me. I understood it would take some time. Even though I had fallen into the mindset of immediate healing or transformation, I could feel in my body that this would not go away with a couple of good nights sleep. I rested in knowing I was on a new journey that would require layers of space and change.

Why I recommend reading MM is not only for the food and diet but to understand and/or get a new perspective on autoimmune conditions, the fatigue and stress symptoms, and the potentially misleading information we are getting. I mean, if there was true healing for Thyroid Disease, Chronic Fatigue and/or Lupus, as an example, from the medical establishment, then great. But, from my own understanding, there is not. Medicine may alleviate symptoms but it does not truly heal and reverse most conditions. The MM explains that the EPV (Epstein Barr Virus) is the root cause of many of these conditions. I am sure there is much more for us to discover, but we know that there is a problem brewing in many of us, and shedding a new light of wisdom and a protocol that brings healing is what we need.

During my 2 months of Shingles trauma friends delivered tons of fresh veggies and fruits to me. One day there were three people in my kitchen washing and prepping everything so all I had to do was juice, cut and/or cook. What a dream that was. When people offered to bring food, I had a clear idea of what to ask for. There is more I will share in the future about getting help and some of the ways my tribe here has learned to help one another in a way that is easy and organized for all.

It has taken a bit of a learning curve in how to make nourishing myself “simple”, especially now that I am up and integrating into the world again. It was easy when others were doing the shopping and my only task each day was to prepare food for myself. I continually asked myself, “How do people do this who work. How will I do it?”  I will be sharing my recipes and methods on my Blog as I journey along. I am already seeing how easy it is to get back into the stressful mode of short cuts and hurry, or sheer laziness.

To tie this up, I am going to make a strong recommendation to you, and that is to do everything you can to put fresh organic plants (fruits and veggies) into your body. If you are inclined, read the Medical Medium or listen to it on Audible - if only to get inspired as to the power of these foods, some of the myths we have come to believe, and how food can bring your body and soul back into balance. You will be inspired by the case studies and I guarantee your will drop some confusion, if you have any about your diet.


Lastly if you want to lose weight, I think the MM protocol might be the best way possible because it is not a fad, and you will not go hungry. I felt like all I did was eat, and I still lost weight. This diet is a lifetime practice for nourishment and well being. In my opinion it is in alignment with “Living As a Spiritual Practice” in that it is in alignment with what the Earth provides for us at her best. Do it!

You can purchase the Medical Medium on Amazon.

Coming Up:

The wonderful world of pain meds, marijuana and CBD’s.

How to enlist your family and friends for the help.

How to identify the stress in your life, and how to get rid of it.






Comment

Share

1 Comment

Share

Sunflower Cocoa Ashwagandha Smoothie with Barlean's Chocolate Silk

This morning our sunflower milk, made with fresh sunflower seeds soaking over night, was turned into a rich powerhouse of a smoothie with Barlean's Chocolate Silk Greens. Whoa! Many of you know that I am a huge fan of making your own seed milks. They are so simple and provide you with so many nutrients when made fresh. Here is how we brought this smoothie together. Make your own version if you like!

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup sunflower seeds soaked and rinsed.

1 quart of filtered water

1 scoop of Barleans's Greens (Chocolate Silk flavor). This is Barlean's antioxidant blend of cocoa, fruits and vegetables, probiotics and enzymes to aid in digestion. Can you belief all this in one scoop of delicious flavor. No wonder they call it slik!

2 tbsp of cacao powder

1/2 tsp of Ashwagandha powder

1 tsp Maca

1 tbsp of coconut cream/butter (you could use coconut oil as well)

The above ingredients made a great foundation. From here we added:

1/3 cup of organic cold pressed coffee concentrate (if you don't have concentrate, which I believe is rather scarce now) and you really want caffeine, just cut down on the water and add some strong coffee.

2 dates

sprinkle of cayenne

Blend all of the ingredients. Add ice if you want it thicker and cold.

Basically, the Barlean's Greens will give you the base of flavor and sweetness. We merely wanted to get more decadent, and wished to add the Ashwagandha powder and Maca. Along with the cacao powder, Ashwagandha powder and coffee concentrate, which added extra bitterness, we were able to get away with adding the dates. If you are sugar sensitive you may want to use more stevia or perhaps it will be sweet enough.

Enjoy!!

1 Comment

Share

9 Comments

Share

My New Dietary Makeover Course Launched

I am very excited to announce the launch of my new 4-week Dietary Makeover Course!

My DVD, recipes & new audio series are now in an online course for those wanting to make dramatic lifestyle changes.

People who have my DVD's, and many others requested that I make a course that includes all my media materials in a format they can access and integrate into their lives a little at a time. This way, new habits can be formed with a step by step process and positive changes will be lasting.

So, I listened and customized the schedule I use when coaching my clients, and created an on-line format that everyone can access-easily!

This new 4-Week Dietary Makeover is organized with easy instructions that include:

• All of my professional video cooking shows-streaming

• Award winning recipes

• Inspiring audio series

• Shopping lists

• Resources

• Course Curricula

This revolutionary Dietary Makeover online course combines the best of raw food, ancient traditions of cooked foods, and the powerful probiotic rich foods.

There’s no other course that has the comprehensive components laid out in a cohesive simple way for you to access any time, any day at your convenience.

It taps into the latest in health, nutrition and culinary secrets to achieve natural weight loss, a flat tummy, radiant skin, flexible joints and mental clarity. A bonus is satiating enjoyment because the food is so good!

It’s your opportunity to learn in the comfort of your own home, at your own speed, with your own coach.

For one week only, we are offering the course at ½ price discount – only $49.50 – as an Introductory Offer for my existing subscribers and those lucky enough to check my website this week. Sale ends. June 25, 2012

 Learn More Now - Go to: http://www.DietaryMakeover.com, and read what others say about this course. Watch a video clip on the powerful luscious food that’s covered in this course, and find out for yourself how much is offered for so little.

 

 

9 Comments

Share