Recipe
Premixed Beet Salad
After studying how to support liver health, I thought to myself that I must share my favorite easy beet salad. I love the combination of roasted beets, oregano, and citrus dressing!
1 cup of chopped roasted beets - my favorite are golden beets!
1 teaspoon of oregano
1/8 cup of citrus dressing
Mix all of these ingredients together in a medium-size mixing bowl.
Serve and enjoy immediately!
I understand that life can be super busy, so I created a salad recipe that is easy peasy to make or to find at an open salad bar. For folks who have time to cook, some of these ingredients can be batched cooked (roasted beats, carrots, and Brussels sprouts).
I have also included a citrus dressing that you can make in larger quantities for future use too. The citrus dressing combines its sour flavor with the bitter flavors from the salad; flavors that stimulate the liver and gallbladder to work while adding a punch to your tastebuds!
To understand more on why I included these ingredients in a detox salad, click here for an article I wrote on foods, herbs, and spices to help your liver support you more. .
These ratios ca serve around 2-3 people
2 cup of sliced kale or collard greens
1/2 part of an apple diced in 1/4 inches
2 cups of arugula or parsley
6 radishes thinly sliced
1/4 cup of roasted and sliced steamed beets, carrots, onions, and/or Brussels sprouts
2-3 kumquats; a 1/2 of a blood orange or lemon thinly sliced for the topping is optional
4 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp of sea salt or to taste
2 freshly squeezed lemons
1/2 clove of crushed garlic (if you wait 10 minutes, you will enjoy the peak of allicin activation)
Lastly, a diet filled with a diverse amount of whole foods - like the ingredients in these types of salads - can help your liver function like a well oiled machine. Basically, what you eat matters! Without the appropriate ingredients, your liver can become inflamed, scarred, and lead to congestion in not only your liver, but your gallbladder and the rest of your digestive system - why it is important to include foods and herbs I have mentioned in this salad and in a previous post.
I hope you enjoy this salad and how it feels to feed yourself these nourishing ingredients!
After writing an article about how to support your liver function, I wanted to include some recipes related to liver support. One of my favorite recipes for liver support is a shot that includes ginger, turmeric, lemon juice, licorice, and lemon peels.
For folks who have an autoimmune condition and are TH2 dominant, you may want to remove turmeric from the ingredients. For more information about why, please click here.
Personally, I like to have at least 2 shots of this drink before meals. Now give it a try! And remember to let me know what you think!
2.5 cups filtered water for the fresh ginger version; 2 cups for the ginger tea bag version
2 tbsp peeled (optional) and cubed ginger or 4 ginger tea bags
1 tablespoon turmeric powder or fresh turmeric
4 lemon peels from a full lemon
1 freshly squeezed lemon (optional)
2 licorice tea bags (optional)
Boil or pressure cook the freshly sliced ginger for a full 30 minutes. Turn off the heat.
If you are using ginger tea bags, add the ginger tea bags after the water has come to a boil. Allow the ginger tea bags to sit for 8-10 minutes with the rest of the ingredients (turmeric and licorice)}.
If you are using a pressure cooker, use fresh ginger or dried loosed ginger. Add the turmeric at this time too.
Add the licorice tea bags when it is near the time (around 5 minutes) to serve.
Pour the mixture into 4 shot glasses. Add the lemon peels. Wait for the liquid to cool to your drinking preference.
Photo by Erin Roberts Design
1/2 lemon juice
1/8 cup of collagen*
1/8 cup of agar agar
1/2 cup peeled apples (pink ladies are my favorite for this recipe)
zest from 4-5 kumquats (optional)
1/4 cup zest from Meyer lemons (regular lemons are fine, but I prefer the sweeter taste of meyer lemons)
*If you want a sweeter recipe, replace the collagen with agar; equal parts. You can also use the leftover apple juice; just add more agar accordingly.
I hate baking, because I hate measuring things and don’t like how most gluten-free baked goods taste. For my mindful dinner I wanted to offer a dessert as the fourth course, so I decided to work on synergizing the creamy textures from agar agar and gelatin with the sweet and sour flavors of citrus fruits. My first version worked well with folks who ate paleo, but folks who were use to eating added sugars thought it tasted strange. After a couple of iterations, I ended up with this current recipe. I normally serve this dish with my version of greek style coconut yogurt - what I now call 'coconut crush'.
Lemon: vitamin C, A, B1, P, potassium, magnesium, & folic acid, flavonids, phyotochemical (ex. limonene; lemon peels have high amounts of oxalates it is recommended that people with a history ofcalcium-oxalate kidney stonesshould limit their intake of them. Zest contains essential oils (ex. limonene, citral, citronellal, alphaterpineol, linalyl, geranyl acetate).
Apple: vitamin C, fiber (ex. pectin), potassium; when raw they contain measureable amounts of phytonutrients (ellagic acid, chlorogenic) & flavonoids (ex. quercetin).
Kumquat: vitamin C, calcium, potassium, vitamin A
Collagen peptides: glycine, may be beneficial for people with conditions affecting connective tissues and the skin.
Agar agar: used on a daily basis, appears to help obese people lose weight
Murray, M. Pizzorno, J. Pizzorno, L. (2005). The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods. New York, New York: Atria Books.
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Consumer Version. (2009) Find a Vitamin Or Supplement. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-80-agar.aspx?activeingredientid=80&
Photo taken by Lucy Chen
My favorite liver pâté recipe!
Read More
In this shot, you see a quince on the upper left. You can peel it and cut it into fours, so it can fit inside. You can also cut a lemon into fours to fit inside your chicken as well. As for herbs, my favorite is sage. Parsley is a fine additional herb or substitution.
With Thanksgiving coming around, I want to admit to you that I don't like eating Turkey. Because I prefer the taste and texture of chicken and duck over this large bird, I wanted to share with you a recipe for roasting chicken with duck flavors - just in case you can convince your dinner party to eat something different this year.
Ingredients:
Whole chicken
1/4 tablespoon of Sea Salt
2 tablespoons of duck fat (you can use ghee or lard if you don't like the flavor of duck)
Herbs and Citrus of your choice
Directions:
For starters, please make sure you have a roasting pan that fits your chicken. If not, go buy one or improvise something else. If you do not have a roasting pan, a baking sheet is fine. With a baking sheet, the bottom side of the chicken will be absorbing the delicious drippings so it won't be as crispy on this side. The taste of this bird will still be delicious.
If you bought a frozen chicken, please allow it to defrost the day before you plan to roast it.
The day before or a couple of hours before you plan to roast your chicken, rub it with about a 1/2 tablespoon of sea salt. No worries if you don’t have the time. The taste will still be great! You can stuff your chicken with herbs and citrus fruit at this time too.
Stuff your chicken as much as possible. The stuffing will shrink inside as the juices drip off to the bottom of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the chicken for 5-10 min in the oven. Take it out, when you are ready to baste it with duck fat.
After the first baste, you can repeat this part every 15-20 minute.
Flip your entire chicken before your 3rd baste.
Roast it for a total of 60 minutes (Please make sure your chicken is fully cooked. If it needs more time, go for it!)
Basting your chicken with duck fat will help keep the chicken from drying out and getting burnt. It will also have a more savory taste to it.
After your chicken is fully cooked, you can increase its crispy texture by broiling it. Before broiling it, move your roasting pan, so that your chicken is directly under or over broiler. Different ovens have different set-ups, so just work what you got. Broil it for 5-10 minutes, depending on how crispy you want it.
You can use the leftover drippings for gravy or use it to make mashed potatoes or cauliflower.
C'est la fin!
Please let me know how this recipe went for you!
If you have leftovers, stuff it into a roasted winter squash.
I am in the middle of preparing to leave for a meditation and yoga retreat. I am super excited for some downtime! Plus, I look forward to exploring whatever new insights that come up for me - whether it be mind, body, or spirit related. Even though I have a daily practice of meditation and yoga, I have found that retreats to be an important part to revitalizing and expanding my daily practice.
Before I go, I wanted to leave you with a recipe for a meal that is both nutritious and tastey - just how I like my meals to be.
Rice Soup
1/4 Parts of rice used to make risotto - my current favorite is Aquerello Italian Carnaroli or Lundberg’s White Arborio.
3/4 Parts of bone broth
Other ingredients:
Sea salt - to taste - personally I like to use a 1/4 teaspoon for every 4 cups of bone broth.
Olive oil - for every cup of bone both, add 1 tbsp of olive - feel free to add more after cooking it.
Chopped fresh parsely - for every cup of bone both, add 1 tbsp.
One garlic clove for every 2 cups of bone broth - feel free to add more if you are into garlic breath.
Liver Pâté
I plan to write out my favorite home recipe when I return from retreat. In the meantime, check out the bacon-beef liver pâté recipe by Mickey Trescott.
Tools: pressure cooker and measuring cup or your eyes (my preference).
Instructions:
Add rice, bone broth, sea salt, olive oil, and garlic to the pressure cooker. If you are using a stovetop pressure cooker, cook these ingredients at medium heat for about 10-12 minutes. Adjust the burner so that the pressure remains between low and high. If you are using an instant pot, choose the high heat setting and cook for no more than 10 minutes. After the time is up, allow the pressure cooker to cool down on its own. Once the pressure cooker is ready to be safely opened, open it and mix in the parsely. The soup is now ready to be served with liver pate. I personally like dunking my pâté into the soup, but do whatever works for you.
When I get back, I look forward to hearing how the recipe worked for you and sharing what I learned from retreat.