Anti Inflammatory Sugar Free Cole Slaw

Southerners eat a lot of cole slaw. And they like their cole slaw sweet. I admit that I used to like mine that way also. I love cole slaw, but can't eat it at most restaurants because a lot of people put celery or celery seed in it. YUCK! One thing you will never find in this blog is a recipe with celery or celery seed. Just saying the word makes me nauseous. As a matter of fact, I just call it "The C Word". Ewwww.

Ok. Back to happy thoughts. Cabbage is so good for us. But Southerners have a knack for taking a food that is healthy and turning it into something that is very unhealthy. Most cole slaws have lots of sugar and if you buy a bottled dressing, it most likely will have high fructose corn syrup, preservatives & other chemicals in it. So, I have taken out the sugar and tried to increase the nutritional value, but still have a tasty cole slaw that Southerners would eat.

It takes about 10 minutes to make this recipe. It is really so simple that anyone can do it. Instead of grabbing a pre-made cole slaw at the grocery store or buing a bottle of slaw dressing, try this. You will feel better knowing that you ate something that was good for your body instead of loading it up with sugar & chemicals.
FYI - Cabbage, apples, apple cider vinegar, olive oil  & cayenne pepper are all anti inflammatory.
Cabbage has more Vitamin C than oranges, plus fiber, antioxidants, iodine & Vitamin E.
Apples have lots of fiber, flavanoids, polyphenols, Vitamins C & A, iron, potassium & folate.
Apple Cider Vinegar is anti bacterial, anti fungal, increases metabolism, detoxes the liver, has potassium & magnesium.
Greek Yogurt has protein, calcium & acidophilus.
Cayenne pepper increases metabolism & lowers blood pressure.

ANTI INFLAMMATORY SUGAR FREE COLE SLAW

2 bags of shredded cabbage & carrots (cole slaw mix)

½ onion, minced

½ apple, minced (any type of apple will work)

DRESSING

¾ cup Mayo with Olive Oil

¼ cup Plain Greek Yogurt

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp lime juice

1/4 cup orange juice

¾ cup Stevia or Ideal
1 tsp garlic

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper or Louisiana Hot Sauce

Empty one bag of cole slaw mix, onion & apple into LARGE bowl. You need a LARGE bowl in order to mix everything up well. It will fill up a large bowl & look like a lot, but after it sits for a few hours or overnight, it shrinks way down.

Add all dressing ingredients to a small bowl & whisk together until completely smooth. If dressing is a little thick, add a couple of teaspoons of milk to thin it out.

Pour dressing over cole slaw mix & mix until thoroughly coated. Add the remaining bag of cole slaw mix & mix until all is thoroughly coated. The dressing thins out & the veggies soak it up the longer it sits. It might not look moist enough today, but tomorrow it will be plenty moist. And if not, you can always add a little milk or make 1/2 batch of dressing & add to it.

Refrigerate at least a few hours before serving, preferably overnight. Taste better the longer it sits. 

EATING TO LIVE, NOT LIVING TO EAT. 

Lori 

when dialysis machine crashes

Well, tonight was a first since starting home dialysis in August 2010. I got Kevin all hooked up to the machine and got his vitals & machine numbers all written down. Then usually it is 15 minutes until the alarm goes off & I have to take his vitals & machine numbers again. Then every 30 minutes after that. However, after about 10 minutes, the alarm goes off. I check the screen & it is a RED 610. FYI - Red is bad, yellow is cautionary.We are used to alarms, they are part of life with dialysis, but we have never seen 610 before. I try rebooting the machine & it wouldn't let me. I turned the power off & back on. It tried to power back up, but then back to RED 610. After 3 attempts, we tried to call dialysis nurse & got no answer. So we called NXStage, the dialysis company. Of course, it is like talking to any support desk. I got a foreigner that wants to read from a computer screen.

During dialysis a pint of his blood is out of his body until the very end when we use the machine to push his blood back to him. We were taught in dialysis class & it is in all of our manuals that you only have a few minutes to get his blood back to him before it clots off, then you lose all of the blood that is in the machine. So, it's been awhile now & the support guy wants me to keep going through all of the same steps that I've already done 3 times. I notice that Kevin's blood is getting pretty dark, so I know that I need to get his blood back to him as soon as I can.

I tell the guy to just tell me what RED 610 means! He finally says that it is a machine pump failure. Really!? Why couldn't you have told me that 10 minutes ago!? I told him that I am just going to get his blood back to him now & forget it. Then he says that he will send a new machine tomorrow. Great! Thanks!

I got all of his blood back to him. And for now all is good. Except, he did not get the dialysis that he needed tonight. In order to keep feeling good & keep the toxins from building up in his body, he has to do dialysis 6 days a week. He has had a fishing trip with his buddies from church planned for several weeks, so was planning on using tomorrow as his night off. If he goes 2 days without dialysis, he swells up, chest starts hurting & he gets really tired.

Most dialysis days are not this dramatic, thank goodness. He has been on the transplant list for a year now. He is an O blood type, which has the longest waiting list. We still hold tightly to our faith and know that God has a plan and when the purpose of that plan is revealed, we know it is going to be spectacular.

Lori

Italian Cheesy Bread

I don't know anybody that doesn't like cheesy bread. It's great with pasta or a salad or as an appetizer. It is so simple, yet so delicious. Topping with fresh chopped herbs really puts it over the top. I hope you try it & enjoy.

I also sprinkle a little garlic powder over the crust before the Italian Seasoning. BUT, you have to be careful not to use too much. Too much garlic will make the whole dish bitter & inedible. 

HEALTHIER VERSION - use an organic or whole grain crust or pita bread. Since I don't eat white bread anymore, I use whole grain pita bread & it is just as delicious. When using the pita, I follow steps 1-6 then put in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
 

ITALIAN CHEESY BREAD

1 refrigerated pizza crust

2-3 cups of shredded Italian cheese

1 medium tomato – chopped

Olive Oil

McCormick Italian Seasoning

Chopped fresh or dried parsley

Chopped fresh or dried basil

1)               Spread pizza crust onto a greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

2)               Drizzle olive oil on crust.  Using a pastry brush or your hand, spread olive oil all over crust.

3)               Sprinkle Italian seasoning all over crust.

4)               Spread Italian cheese onto crust being sure to cover completely (otherwise it’s not cheesy bread).

5)               Add chopped tomato on top of cheese.

6)               Top with parsley and basil.

7)               Bake according to directions on pizza crust.

8)               Cut into squares & enjoy!

Party food - mini cheesecake bites

It is only April and this year has already been full of parties, showers & weddings. My friend's daughter had her Sweet 16 party a couple of weeks ago. They allowed me the privilege of preparing food for the party. I only have sons, so I am used to doing "guy food". My boys & their friends like meatball sliders, taco cheese dip, sausage balls, barbecue, etc. I decided it was best to stay away from messy foods & wanted to keep it simple with bite-size foods they could eat with their hands. Since we are in "party season" with graduations, weddings, etc. I thought I might share some quick and easy party food recipes with you. They are not healthy by any means, but sometimes we all need to indulge and party.

The menu was ham & turkey wraps, crackers & cheese logs, garlic cheesy bread & mini cheesecake bites.
Each of these recipes are very easy and make a beautiful presentation. I will post the other recipes in separate posts so they are easy to find. Please let me know if you try them and if you liked them or not.

I didn't get a great picture of these, but I can tell you they are very pretty and yummy.

MINI CHEESECAKE BITES

 

2 – 8 ounce blocks cream cheese (ROOM TEMPERATURE)

2 – 7 ounce jars marshmallow cream

1 – 8 ounce tub Cool Whip

Nilla Wafers (or Oreos)

 

1)     Beat cream cheese & marshmallow cream together.

2)     Fold in Cool whip

3)     Place a Nilla Wafer in mini muffin liners

4)     Spoon or pipe mixture onto Nilla Wafers

5)     Place in refrigerator for a few hours to set up

Makes about 60 mini cheesecake bites.

NOTE:  I add strawberries, blueberries, maraschino cherries and/or kiwi on top. I also like to drizzle melted chocolate over the top.

Other additions could be: toasted coconut, slivered almonds, etc. Make it your own. Add whatever toppings you like. 

For Easter, green coconut would be pretty on top with a couple of jelly beans.

For July 4^th or Christmas, red or green coconut would look great and of course, strawberries & blueberries for July 4^th would look great also. 

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Reuben sandwiches - health benefits of sauerkraut

I have always loved sandwiches. Good bread has always been my drug of choice. For some it is chocolate, ice cream or anything sugary. Not, me, I LOVE bread. Sadly, I have discovered that breads made with white flour & high fructose corn syrup were the main causes of inflammation in my body. I started noticing that every time I eat white flour or HFCS my hands, feet, legs, etc. began to swell within an hour. Eliminating those ingredients from my diet has greatly reduced the inflammation and pain in my body.

I still love bread. But, I have learned to be very careful about which breads I eat. It is getting easier as more companies are realizing that consumers want better quality ingredients in their food, so they are making healthier breads. On a recent trip to my local grocery store, I found a Jewish Rye bread that was calling out to me. It is made by Oroweat with unbleached wheat flour, malted barley flour & rye flour and NO HFCS. I thought this bread would be wonderful to make one of my all time favorite sandwiches, THE REUBEN. There are many variations of the reuben. Some people use roast beef, some pastrami, some corned beef. Some use rye bread, some pumpernickel. Some use thousand island or russian dressing. Some use swiss cheese or other white cheeses. But in order to be a reuben the sandwich must be grilled and have sauerkraut. YUM!

I always use either pastrami or corned beef. In my opinion, roast beef is not a reuben and roast beef does not go with sauerkraut. But, to each his own. Also, my family is partial to Provolone cheese and we do not like thousand island or russian dressing. I love pumpernickel bread with mine sometimes, but Kevin doesn't care for pumpernickel bread. We do like a good spicy brown mustard with our reubens. So, here is my version of one of my favorite sandwiches.

REUBEN SANDWICH

Oroweat Jewish Rye Bread
2-3 slices of pastrami
sauerkraut (drained)
provolone cheese
butter
spicy brown mustard

1) Pour saurkraut in colander to drain off excess liquid.
2) Place skillet or griddle on medium-medium high heat.
3) While griddle is getting hot, butter both sides of bread.
4) Place bread on hot griddle. When first side is toasted, flip over & place pastrami, provolone & sauerkraut on toasted side of bread.
5) Place toasted side of other piece of bread on top.
6) After a few minutes, carefully flip sandwich over to toast the other side.
7) When cheese is melted & bread is toasted, remove from griddle, add spicy brown mustard & ENJOY.

Of course, if you have a panini or sandwich maker, you can skip the flipping over step.

I served with grilled asparagus on the side.


FYI - The only BAD ingredient here is the pastrami. Pastrami is a cured meat. Some people believe that cured meats cause cancer. I do limit my intake of cured meats, but for my body, that doesn't seem to affect me as much as the white flour, sugar & HFCS. So, again, it is all about choices and knowing what works for you.

Sauerkraut is SUPER healthy! It is anti inflammatory, anti fungal, high in Vitamins A & C, probiotic & cleans your "gut". I try to eat sauerkraut at least twice a week. And again, I only use real butter. The spicy brown mustard I use has turmeric in it, which is also anti inflammatory as well as being good for your liver & heart.

Here's a link to just one article on the healthy benefits of sauerkraut.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/374784-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-sauerkraut/

Healthier Gumbo with Flaxseed & Coconut oil

Here is a healthier version of my Gumbo. Using turkey sausage cuts down on the fat.  Using brown rice instead of white adds fiber & also has lower glycemic index. Flaxseed adds fiber and is super heart healthy. Flaxseed has lots of Omega 3's which are anti-inflammatory. And I keep reading & hearing great things about coconut oil. Dr. Oz & lots of others believe that adding 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to your diet everyday reduces belly fat. I've just recently started using the coconut oil, so hope to post more recipes with it later.

 HEALTHIER GUMBO   

 

1 pkg. Turkey smoked sausage (cut in 1/4 in. pieces)

chopped onion 
2-3 tbsp Coconut oil

1 pkg. frozen okra

1 can of stewed tomatoes

1 can RoTel tomatoes

chopped jalapeno or a couple dashes of hot sauce 

2 cups brown rice
1/4 cup ground flaxseed

chicken broth (about 4 small cans)

shredded cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts (2-4 pieces depending on how much chicken you want) OR use rotisserie chicken from the grocery store

Cayenne Pepper or Cajun Seasoning (a few dashes)

Minced garlic (to your taste)

2 handfuls of large thawed frozen shrimp (if desired)

 Place sausage & onion in soup pot with a coconut oil and stir fry a few minutes until sausage is browned & onions are tender. Add chicken broth, rice & flaxseed & bring to a boil for about 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes, okra, chicken and Cayenne Pepper and garlic to taste. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Add more chicken broth if needed, depending on how soupy you want it.

Add a couple of handfuls of large shrimp to the pot the last 5 minutes.  I use thawed frozen shrimp. FYI – if you cook the shrimp too long, it will be rubbery. The frozen shrimp is already cooked, so you just need to incorporate it into your soup.

Sinus congestion & Gumbo

Cole & Tiffany are married! We got so much rain that they had to move the wedding indoors, but it was beautiful, she was gorgeous, the ceremony was priceless and I am a Mother in Law. I decided a long time ago that I would call her my daughter in love and never daughter in law. She is a wonderful addition to our family. They are so happy and that is what every Mom dreams of for her children. 

Spring has sprung in Oklahoma which means allergies and respiratory problems are plentiful. Several years ago I came up with my version of Gumbo. It is basically a jacked up chicken and rice soup. You can make it as spicy as you like. But, the spicier it is, the better it works at knocking out that sinus & chest congestion.

These days I make it a little healthier by using turkey smoked sausage instead of Kielbalsa and brown rice instead of white. Enjoy!

GUMBO   

 

1 pkg. Kielbalsa smoked sausage (cut in 1/4 in. pieces)

chopped onion

1 pkg. frozen okra

1 can of stewed tomatoes (Cajun recipe)

1 can RoTel tomatoes

chopped jalapeno or a couple dashes of hot sauce 

2 cups Minute rice

chicken broth (about 4 small cans)

shredded cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts (2-4 pieces depending on how much chicken you want) OR use rotisserie chicken from the grocery store

Cayenne Pepper or Cajun Seasoning (a few dashes)

Minced garlic (to your taste)

2 handfuls of large thawed frozen shrimp (if desired)

 Place sausage & onion in soup pot with a little oil and stir fry a few minutes until sausage is browned & onions are tender. Add chicken broth & rice & bring to a boil for about 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes, okra, chicken and Cayenne Pepper and garlic to taste. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Add more chicken broth if needed.

Add a couple of handfuls of large shrimp to the pot the last 5 minutes.  I use thawed frozen shrimp. FYI – if you cook the shrimp too long, it will be rubbery. The frozen shrimp is already cooked, so you just need to incorporate it into your soup.

TASTES EVEN BETTER THE SECOND DAY!!  Yummy with cornbread!!!