Wednesday, May 9, 2012

BERRY VANILLA TRIFLE, ALMONDS & OMEGA 3'S

I do not claim to be a nutritionist. I am only sharing the information that I have found that has helped me this last year on my journey back to health. I am not where I want to be, but praise God, I have come a long way in a year's time. This time last year my liver was failing, my blood sugar & blood pressure were high, cholesterol was high and arthritis had taken control of my entire body. I was in terrible pain 24/7. I got through work everyday, but would go home & not be able to move & literally would cry myself to sleep because I was in so much pain.

Now, a year later, taking NO DRUGS, my cholesterol is perfect, blood sugar & blood pressure is perfect, liver is healthy and I can walk, even jog with minimal pain. I'm not going to lie & say I am pain free. I have permanent nerve & joint damage & bone spurs. But I CAN MOVE & I enjoy it! I even started exercising a couple of months ago. I bought a Malibu Pilates Chair. I keep it in the living room so I can exercise while Kevin is on the dialysis machine. I am feeling better & stronger than I have felt in 15 years. And NO DRUGS!! It is amazing how good & strong you can feel when you focus on eating the foods that God put on the earth for us to eat & stay away from processed foods. 

I have found that eating an anti inflammatory diet is the key for me. Which is lots of nuts, eggs, green veggies, fruit (berries & pineapple especially), beans, whole grains, avocados, etc. I probably eat more meat than I should, but I love meat & being from Oklahoma, I love beef. I eat very little sugar, white flour & processed foods. I eat a handful of almonds (no salt, no oil) everyday as well as put almond milk in my coffee. Almonds are an amazing superfood. They are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which makes them anti inflammatory. Almonds have fiber & 1 cup has 25% of our daily calcium &125% of our daily Vitamin E (which is a powerful antioxidant). Our bodies do not produce Omega 3 fatty acids, but they are essential to good health. Our only source of Omega 3's is through food. Omega 3's are needed for healthy cells, brain & nerve function. The best sources for Omega 3's are fish and nuts.

I am trying to use almond milk more. Lately I have used it when baking & am very pleased with the results. Here is a comparison of cow's milk vs. almond milk: 
Almond milk - 1 cup = 30 calories, 2.5 g fat, 1 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 0 sugar, 1 g protein
Skim milk - 1 cup = 130 calories, 0 fat, 18 carbs, 0 fiber, 18 sugar, 10 g protein
1% milk - 1 cup = 120 calories, 2.5 g fat, 15 g carbs, 0 fiber, 15 sugar, 10g protein
2% milk - 1 cup = 130 calories, 5 g fat, 13 carbs, 0 fiber, 13 sugar, 9g protein
whole milk - 1 cup = 150 calories, 8 g fat, 11 carbs, 0 fiber, 11 sugar, 8g protein
Notice that when the fat is taken out, the sugar & carbs go UP. Almond milk is great for people with dairy allergies. Vitamin D is also added to almond milk. And there are no hormones or antibiotics in almond milk like there are in dairy.

Last weekend was my Mother in law's birthday. She loves strawberry shortcake, so I tried to "healthy it up" a bit. My friend, Lana, suggested layering the berries with vanilla pudding which sounded very tasty. So I made a trifle with a sugar free homemade vanilla pudding using almond milk. I did 1/2 almond & 1/2 dairy, but next time I will use only almond milk. The pudding turned out sooooo delicious! I hope you enjoy!


SUGAR FREE BERRY-KIWI VANILLA TRIFLE

2 pints of fresh strawberries, sliced                                                          
3 kiwis, peeled, sliced & halved
1 cup blueberries                                    
1 cup Stevia or Ideal
¼ cup orange juice

Place all ingredients in a bowl & mix together making sure that fruit is thoroughly coated in Stevia. Cover & place in refrigerator. You can make this the night before & it will be juicy & delicious. But, it will still be good if you don’t.

VANILLA PUDDING
¾ cup Stevia or Ideal
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ cups Almond milk  (YOU CAN OMIT THE DAIRY & USE 3 CUPS OF ALMOND MILK)
1 ½ cups milk (I used 1%)
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon butter
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

1)               In a medium saucepan, combine sugar & cornstarch.
2)               Stir in milk. Cook & stir over medium heat until thickened & bubbly.
NOTE: It’s going to take awhile, but I promise, it is worth it.
3)               Remove from heat. Gradually stir 1 cup of milk mixture into egg yolks.
4)               Add egg mixture to milk mixture in pan. STIR CONSTANTLY until mixture comes to a GENTLE boil.
5)               Turn off heat. Cook & STIR 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
6)               Stir in butter & vanilla.
7)               You just made completely from scratch, no processed ingredients, sugar free & healthier vanilla pudding.
8)               Delicious warm or cold.
9)               For this recipe, you will want the pudding chilled.

In a trifle bowl, spread a layer of fruit on bottom. Spread a layer of pudding over fruit, then another layer of fruit over pudding and so on.

OPTIONS:  You can tear angel food cake into chunks & layer it under the fruit. You could also top with slivered almonds or shaved chocolate or toasted coconut or whipped cream.


IF IT DIDN'T GROW, CRAWL, SWIM OR WALK, EAT IN VERY LIMITED AMOUNTS. 

EATING TO LIVE, NOT LIVING TO EAT. 

Blessings to all, 
Lori 



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