Health Food

It's been another slow week.  I'm so grateful that regardless of the lack of activity, the time continues to pass at a decent pace. 

I've been busying myself with the business of finding new recipes.  John and I are currently attempting to remove all gluten, dairy, eggs, garlic and brown rice from our diets. I am doing this because...well, I have to. And John is because he's a nice husband and wants to make meal planning easier for me. The above foods seem to be a cause of inflammation for me, and removing them from my diet (hopefully not a coincidence) seemed to alleviate some of my pain. Now, most people understand the "why" of removing wheat and dairy, but garlic and eggs...no, they weren't a random choice. I had a blood test done to see if I had subtle sensitivities to foods that might be creating inflammation, water retention and malabsorption of vital minerals and other nutrients. Anyway, enough on that.

I made it to the kitchen once, this week.  I made a quinoa salad.  It was quite tasty!  I got the recipe from a friend earlier this week.  I soaked the quinoa overnight to sprout it (easier for digestion) and put it together this afternoon for lunch.  It wasn't as flavourful as I expected it to be, but for a very healthy meal, it was enjoyable.  John also made a beet salad, which I loved even more- so fresh and tasty.

QUINOA SALAD:

The Night Before:

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Rinse 1 cup Quinoa well, drain.

In glass containter, soak Quinoa with 1 cup fresh water and 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar (or 1 Tbsp lemon juice)
In The Morning:
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Bring 1 cup of chicken stock to boil.  Add soaked Quinoa (drained) to mixture and bring back to boil.

Turn heat to low, skim off foam.
Simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
Cool Quinoa.

carrots, grated, as much as you want.
1 tsp fresh grated ginger (I doubled it)
3 chopped scallions (I doubled this, as well)
1 clove minced garlic
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes
some chopped fresh cilantro
Separately mix:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp lemon juice
a very tiny bit of cayenne
1 tsp sea salt
1 dollop of peanut butter
Eat.  =)

BEET SALAD

Chop beets into bite sized pieces.  Cook.  Cool.  Add Vidalia onion and fresh parsley.  Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Toss.  Chill.