Tasty Naughty Healthy Nice_HC
TASTY. NAUGHTY. HEALTHY. NICE.
Tasty. Naugh Healthy Roost Books Boulder 2017
y. Whole Food Made Sinfully Delicious Susan Jane White ughty. hy. Nice.
Roost Books An imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc. 4720 Walnut Street Boulder, Colorado 80301 roostbooks.com © 2014 by Susan Jane White Photography © 2014 by Joanne Murphy Styled by Orla Neligan of Cornershop Productions: www.cornershopproductions.com Assisted by Liosa MacNamara and Kerrie Mitchell Food prepared by Susan Jane White All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Originally published by Gill Books, 2014. 987654321 First U.S. Edition Printed in China o This edition is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39.48 Standard. k Shambhala Publications makes every effort to print on recycled paper. For more information please visit www.shambhala.com. Distributed in the United States by Penguin Random House LLC and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: White, Susan Jane, author. Title: Tasty. Naughty. Healthy. Nice: whole food made sinfully delicious / Susan Jane White. Description: First U.S. edition. | Boulder: Roost, 2017. | Includes index. "Originally published by Gill Books, 2014." Identifiers: LCCN 2016030394 | ISBN 9781611804362 (hardcover: alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Cooking (Natural foods) | Sugar-free diet—Recipes. | Wheat-free diet—Recipes. | Milk-free diet—Recipes. | LCGFT: Cookbooks. Classification: LCC TX741.W464 2017 | DDC 641.3/02—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016030394
CONTENTS ++++++++ Acknowledgments ------- 1 INTRODUCTION: FALLING DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE ------- 3 Nifty Q&As ------- 8 Your Kitchen’s Artillery ------- 16 IDEAS FOR BREAKFAST The Only Granola Recipe You’ll Ever Need ------- 20 Mango, Blackberry, and Buckwheat Porridge ------- 22 Metro Muesli with Chia Jam ------- 23 Decent Millet Porridge and Apple Syrup ------- 25 Double Decker Amaranth and Banana Pud ------- 26 Chia and Chai Breakfast Pudding ------- 29 Badass Breakfast Bars ------- 30 High-Octane Banana Nutmeg Bars ------- 34 Maple and Cardamom Peaches ------- 36 6 a.m. Toddler Cookies ------- 37 Sticky Cinnamon and Prune Cakes ------- 38 Scrambled Tofu with Caramelized Onion and Shiitake Mushrooms ------- 40 Baked Sweet Potatoes ------- 42 Green Eggs ------- 43 Miso Eggs and Soy Sauce ------- 44 Millet and Chestnut Crêpes with Passion Fruit Syrup ------- 47 Smoked Salmon Blini with Healthier Hollandaise ------- 48 Your New Wheat-Free Bread ------- 51 Rye Banana Bread with Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread ------- 52 Flaxseed Focaccia with Olives and Sun-Dried Tomatoes ------- 54 Multiseed Rye Bread with Caraway Spice ------- 56 CONTENTS
VI SNACKS AND OTHER NUTRITIONAL HITS Hot and Smoky Seeds ------- 60 Office Bombs ------- 62 Crispy Kale ------- 63 Chia Bonbons ------- 64 Barley Grass Balls ------- 66 Dr. Smoothie ------- 68 Protein Grenades ------- 69 Applesauce and Cinnamon Cookies ------- 71 Spirulina Shots ------- 72 Nut Milk ------- 75 Strawberry and Banana Shoelaces ------- 76 Buckwheat Pancakes ------- 78 Superfood Spreads Brazil Nut Red Pesto ------- 79 Dibis W’rashi ------- 79 Masala Walnut Butter ------- 82 Omega Parsley Butter ------- 85 Fig and Sesame Butter ------- 85 Sweet and Salty Chili Sauce ------- 86 Avonnaise ------- 86 Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread ------- 87 Peanut Butter, Banana, and Maple Spread ------- 87 SOUPS Lemongrass, Coconut, and Sweet Potato Soup ------- 91 Hitchcock and Nutmeg Soup ------- 92 Roasted Garlic and Wild Nettle Soup ------- 94 Picnic Gazpacho ------- 97 Smoky Black Bean Soup ------- 98 Chilled Avocado and Watercress Soup ------- 99 90-Second Barley Miso Soup ------- 100 Jewish Penicillin ------- 101 CONTENTS
VII SALADS Spiralizer Recipes Making Spaghetti from Zucchini ------- 104 The Happy Zucchini ------- 106 Wasabi Pea Carbonara ------- 107 Flaked Salmon with Spicy Pomegranate Noodles ------- 108 Garlicky Tagliatelle with Black Olives and Pine Nut Ricotta ------- 111 Red Pepper and Walnut (Muhammara) Noodles ------- 112 Curly Carrots ------- 113 Carrot Ribbons and Spring Pesto ------- 113 Moon-dried Tomatoes and Sprouted Hummus ------- 114 Irish Superfood Salad ------- 117 Basil Butter Beans ------- 118 Dining al Desko Beet Salad ------- 119 "F%*k Me" Salad ------- 120 Say Hello to Ocean Veggies ------- 122 Sesame Sea Salad ------- 124 Sprouting—The Bean Zoo ------- 126 Superman’s Salad ------- 127 Nectarine and Little Gem Salad with Goji Berry Cream ------- 128 Bond Girl Salad ------- 130 Probiotic Celeriac Slaw ------- 131 Curried Cauli, Banana, and Spinach with Flaked Fish ------- 135 Beginner’s Buckwheat with Grated Apple, Chili, and Pumpkin Seeds ------- 136 SUPPERS Brown Rice and His Cousins ------- 140 Eggy Fried Rice ------- 142 Buckwheat Crêpes with Pine Nut Ricotta and Spinach ------- 143 Children’s Sticky Rice with Cauliflower Confetti ------- 144 Snazzy Broccoli and Soba Noodles ------- 145 Beginner's Quinoa ------- 146 Nothing-in-My-Cupboard Quinoa ------- 149 Smoked Paprika and Cumin Quinoa ------- 150 CONTENTS
VIII Harissa Quinoa with Roasted Lemon Fennel ------- 152 Quinoa with Strawberry and Mint Gremolata ------- 154 Kate Moss Quinoa ------- 155 Children’s Quinoa ------- 156 Basic Lentils ------- 157 Maple Mustard Lentils ------- 158 Pumpkin and Black Garlic Lentils ------- 158 Canned Sardines Five Ways ------- 160 Mackerel Pâté with Anchovy Aioli ------- 162 Baked Hake with Lemongrass Salsa ------- 163 Simple Salmon with Asparagus Soldiers and Whipped Green Tea ------- 164 Salmon Fish Cakes with Curried Coconut Yogurt ------- 166 Chia Crab Cakes with Vietnamese Mint Dipping Sauce ------- 170 Fish Fingers with Beetroot Ketchup ------- 171 Chopped Herring and the Laureates ------- 174 Sole and Satay ------- 175 Cilantro and Pomegranate Ceviche with Bowls of Floppy Fennel ------- 176 Tomato and Banana Bean Curry ------- 178 Centenarian’s Pineapple and Goji Berry Curry with Raita and Spinach ------- 181 Pumpkin Falafel ------- 183 Anti-inflammatory Aloo ------- 187 Red Daal with Wilted Spinach and a Plump Poached Egg ------- 188 Flash-fried Plaice with Pink Peppercorn Salt and Lemon Dust ------- 190 Umami Beef Stew ------- 192 Licky-sticky Wings with Chili Sauce ------- 195 Roast Chicken with Irish Gremolata and Charred Pumpkin ------- 196 10-hour Shoulder of Lamb with Crushed Chickpeas and the Best Sauce You’re Ever Likely to Taste ------- 198 Chocolate Chili con Carne with Coconut Yogurt ------- 200 CONTENTS
IX TASTY HEALTHY TREATS Goji Berry Halva ------- 207 Raw Cacao Nib Toffee ------- 208 Fancy Pants Lúcuma Fudge ------- 209 Lemon Whoopie Pies ------- 210 Delinquent Brownies ------- 212 Dark Peanut Butter Brownies ------- 214 Italian and Rich ------- 216 Sea Salt Probiotic Chocolates ------- 217 Beetroot Candy ------- 218 Fig and Prune Crumble with Ginger-laced Yogurt and Date Syrup ------- 220 Macadamia and Passion Fruit Custard Pie ------- 223 Lemon and Pistachio Pie with Orange Blossom Yogurt ------- 224 Maple and Pumpkin Panna Cotta ------- 227 Hazelnut and Raisin Freezer Cookies ------- 228 White Cacao Truffles ------- 229 Pecan Pillows with Chocolate Puddles ------- 230 Strawberry Shortbread ------- 231 Pitch-dark Cacao Torte ------- 233 Blackberry Tart with Almond Pastry ------- 235 Potlets of Grapefruit, Lime, and Ginger Custard ------- 236 Chili Chocolate Missile ------- 239 "I Can’t Believe It’s Beetroot" Cake ------- 241 Praline Cupcakes ------- 242 Cinnamon and Pecan Malt Ice Cream ------- 244 Iced Green Tea and Manuka Honey Cubes ------- 245 Banana Toffee Ice Cream ------- 247 Coffee Bean Ice Cream ------- 249 Ice Pops ------- 250 WHAT TO READ AND WHERE TO SHOP ------- 252 INDEX ------- 254 CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To Sara Bercholz, for skillfully navigating my crazy-Irish-lady vibe. Thank you for taking a chance on me. To you, I owe so much. To Jennifer Urban-Brown, my sassy, savvy editor who catapulted my work into another stratosphere. Without you, I’d still be in the clouds. A high-five to the wonderful Audra Figgins, my surrogate Irish bro Steven Pomije, and legendary hustler KJ. You gave this book a Formula One engine. Thunderous thanks. To the dazzling team that is Roost Books. I hope you catch my consignment of love-bombs crossing the Atlantic every week. I think you’re magical. A thunderous thank you to photographer Jo Murphy, stylist Orla Neligan, and assistants Kerrie and Liosa. I never expected to have so much fun or to make new friends in the process. Working with you all was beyond inspiring. Tom Dunne and producer Joe Donnelly—radio was never so much fun. A heartfelt thank you. My agent Rebecca Morgan for her tenacity, loyalty, and tireless enthusiasm. Thank you for putting up with me these past fourteen years. I’m grateful to Oliver and his team at Wall & Keogh in Portobello, where I spend hours sipping gorgeous teas, tapping toes, and writing. To my beloved, the most nourishing superfood my body has ever known. You electrify me. Mostly. Our adorable boys, Benjamin and Marty, whose laughter rings through our home. To mum. What a marvel. Many impressive commentators and activists continue to inspire and inform me. My sincere gratitude to you all: Joanna Blythman, Felicity Lawrence, Bee Wilson, Mark Bittman, Michael Pollan, Marion Nestle, Robyn O’Brien, Dr. David A. Kessler, Michael Moss, Gary Taubes, Dr Marilyn Glenville, Eric Schlosser, Robert Lustig, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Dr John Briffa, Dr John McKenna, Colin Tudge, Claudia Hammond, and George Monbiot. And lastly, YOU. I have the best readers in the world. You give flight to my imagination and make it all possible for me. I wrote this book for you.
Introduction FALLING DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE My name is Susan Jane. Picture MacGyver in an apron with a grumpy husband who thinks he’s a restaurant critic and two ravenous little punks to feed six times a day. Food is my thing, it keeps me happy. People say my energy level would rival Serena Williams on acid. But I wasn’t always so bionic. Thirteen years ago I was a college student in Dublin, and later at Oxford University. Juggling deadlines, booze-ups, and tutorials was a skill in itself. If I could fit them all in without expiring, surely I was doing fine, right? Looking back, I could never get enough sugar hits; I was an addict. Everything I did related to or led to my next sugar fix. I even convinced myself that college projects required gallons of coffee and pounds of Curly Wurlies to charge my brain cells, that I couldn’t possibly perform without them. Sound familiar? I never saw myself as someone who needed to change. After all,there was nothing out of the ordinary about my “Western” diet: jam-filled scones, toast, pasta, breakfast cereals, toast, take-out sandwiches, and more toast. Standard Irish fare. No wonder I tried to regulate my moods with criminal amounts of caffeine. INTRODUCTION
4 Let’s be honest: consumers are highly submissive. I hardly thought to ask any questions about the ingredients in my energy drink or the Monster Munch I devoured with the giddy determination of a meter maid spotting a Bentley in the bus lane. I blindly trusted the “food authorities,” whoever they were, and I never imagined that beef burgers, for example, might contain horsemeat, that chicken products could test positive for pork, or that our modern diet would lead millions into “diabesity.” Like Alice in Wonderland, I was jumping feet first into a deep, dark rabbit hole. Except this was no tea party. First we form habits—and then they form us. It wasn’t alcohol or cigarettes that ruined my health. It was food. Junk food. I convinced myself that only boring people had time to cook. Turns out, smarter people make time to cook. One day in the summer of 2005 my body said no, enough. First came the shakes. Horrid urinary infections. Constipation. Mouth ulcers. Exhaustion. But nobody suggested that maybe I was contributing to my ill health. My digestive system wheezed like an asthmatic snail, yet diet apparently had nothing to do with it. Ten years ago the medical community dismissed the idea of food sensitivities like tycoons scoffing at global warming. Contemplating such an idea was daft. After all, test results had shown I was not celiac or diabetic. Case closed. The chronic conditions started to make themselves at home. Thrush. Earaches. Dizziness. Psoriasis. Headaches. Cold sores. But I didn’t have time to respect the symptoms and turned to self-medication. I had papers to submit. There was literally no time to be sick. I ended up in the hospital, with tubes coming out of. . . well, every- where. They sent in doctor after doctor. As the consultants handed me their cards, I noticed the letters after their names kept getting longer and longer. Yet no one could figure out why my body was as limp as wet lettuce. I was numb, physically and emotionally. After twelve courses of antibiotics, several hospitalizations, a course of steroids, anti-fungal colon treatments, and many futile vaccinations, I felt unlucky but in no way responsible. Then my white blood cells packed up. One afternoon in the hospital, I got to chatting with an elderly lady called Lucy in the cubicle next to me. I wasn’t certain why Lucy had been admitted. She was frail but so sweet in her papery mint gown, smiling back over the sheets. We talked for hours. I cried inside when she asked to hold my hand to give her strength. Lucy cooed about INTRODUCTION
5 her love of bread making, yet she was celiac (so her body could not handle gluten). I remember thinking how strange that was: ignoring the signals her system was sending. Across the room, another patient was tucking into jelly and ice cream from the hospital canteen. She was being treated for “complications” arising from diabetes and obesity. It was like death on a plate, and in a horribly ironic twist, the hospital staff were her accomplices. The sight sent a chill up my arms. Both women knew their poison but chose to ignore it. They were digging their way to their graves with their teeth. A little later, I heard a loud, flat bell. Doctors and nurses ran in and sectioned me off from Lucy. I never saw her adorable face again. No one did. INTRODUCTION
6 The following morning I looked in the mirror, and what I saw made me cry. I turned away from the mirror, and in that instant—a wrenching minute of pure self-knowledge, accompanied by a sort of grief for the person I was now saying good-bye to—I made the most important decision of my life: to take control of my health. Raising my head, I looked into that mirror once again. And I nodded. Deal. My nutritional pilgrimage started with a journey to Dr. Joe Fitzgibbon, an Irish GP who specializes in diet and fatigue. I traveled six hours by train for every visit. Together we tackled the Elimination Diet, stripping my meals to very basic foods like meat, fish, pulses, beans, and vegetables. It's not rocket science. In fact, it's pretty bloody obvious, right? But there's “nothing common about common sense,” Dr. Fitzgibbon observed. Every couple of weeks I reintroduced specific foods to my diet to monitor symptoms, like a food detective. It felt like someone was sucking the illness out of my body. That austere diet made me see the intimate connection between energy levels and the food we eat. Good food keeps you on your tippy toes. Poor food will have you on your knees. So I waved good-bye to all manner of processed food. That was ten years ago. The first three weeks were horrific. I don’t want you thinking I was running barefoot through fields of cornflowers, throwing my arms around trees in a state of orgasmic self-enlightenment. Nor did I ever choose to give up junk food. I had to. My body was falling apart. There was no other choice. So I tramped around health food stores with a mixture of confusion and nervous elation, like an ornithologist sighting a new species of bird. All the time I was busy mourning for Diet Cola Girl. “Jesus, I could buy a bottle of wine for the price of that kombucha” and “I can’t afford that weirdo flour, it’s three times the price of the regular stuff!” Eventually I realized there is nothing restrictive about this way of eating. It’s the opposite. This was an empowering opportunity to escape the shackles of processed food and the excesses of the Wheat- Sugar-Dairy merry-go-round. There are legions of grains, flours, and beans to experiment with in place of boring pasta and bread. And instead of lobbing butter into my mouth ten times a day, I now discovered variety from a suite of other healthy fats like walnut, coconut, sesame, and hemp seed oils. Discovering this wealth of INTRODUCTION
7 options was my second lightbulb moment. My “restrictive” diet was nothing of the sort. It was incredibly liberating. By continuing to feed our bodies with one-dimensional foods made from white sugar, white flour, and industrially produced chemicals, we condition our brains to accept crap. Breaking the habit is challenging, but once you experience the benefit of eating whole, unprocessed foods, you will never look back. Make no mistake: it’s a love affair like no other. But don’t just take my word for it. See for yourself. Eating well is intuitive. You already have the secret to wellness. You don’t need a crew of neurotic food fascists on Instagram telling you what to eat. There are thousands of dynamite wholefoods to choose from. Herewith are my favorite recipes. Don’t worry—I won’t threaten you with cabbage soup or Lycra tights. These recipes are less about denial and more about pleasure: they are for joy-inducing foods, like banana malt ice cream, raw chocolate tortes, chestnut crêpes, smoky black bean bowls, spicy pomegranate noodles, and homemade pine nut ricotta. If you approach this book with a sense of adventure, I bet your palate will be tickled and your mojo will return. In time your weight will stabilize, you will sleep more soundly, and hum louder. But there’s more! We now know that a healthy diet signifi- cantly reduces your risk of developing heart disease, many cancers, and type 2 diabetes. If there was a pill promising the same, wouldn’t you want to take it? Whole-food cooking isn’t a pill. It’s a ticket. Of course you shouldn't have to give up wheat, sugar, dairy, or any other food group in order to eat well. Everyone has different needs and different poisons. That’s what makes humans so damn charming. For me, it's about expanding my choices—choices that I was never exposed to before. But whatever your reasons for exploring new and nourishing foods away from the circus of convenience, you are very welcome to my kitchen. Let’s do this together. INTRODUCTION
8 NIFTY Q&As ========== Do I need any Or 325 grams of flour? I find them indecently special equipment You can pick up measuring exciting once you finally before I start? cups in the baking aisle conquer them. Definitely—get yourself of most supermarkets or some tenacity and a sense on Amazon. Dean & DeLuca Are all your recipes probably does frilly ones. gluten-free as well of adventure. Fleetwood British and American cups as wheat-free? Mac’s Greatest Hits is also useful. Or Billie differ, but don't panic— Not all, but most. Gluten Holiday. Whatever tickles the difference is only 13 is found in wheat, rye, your serotonin. milliliters. barley, and some oats. Where do I buy all these weird things? Why don’t you use Why don’t you use spelt? gluten-free flour? In good health food stores Spelt is wheat. Don't I struggle to see the get me wrong—I eat spelt and specialist grocers. point of swapping white and wheat. But the idea Most large supermarkets flour for a "gluten-free" of this cookbook is to stock 80 percent of the version. It reminds me introduce you to new ingredients listed, of when I used to drink foods. such as millet, quinoa, decaf coffee, thinking I seaweed, tamari, and was being healthy. Gluten- even coconut water. free white flour is just If this cookbook is Check out my sources at the back of the book as processed as its first wheat-free, why does cousin, the all-purpose it feature lots for online ordering. white flour. of buckwheat recipes? Despite its name, How come you use cups Admittedly, whole- buckwheat is no relation instead of grams? grain flours are a little to the cereal wheat. Cups are friendlier trickier to tame into There’s no gluten in and make it easier to happy cookies and breads, buckwheat either. visualize quantities. but their nutritional How awesome is that? I think the metric system profile makes them much alienates people in the more desirable. If kitchen. It has a disem- you’ve met my husband, powering effect. Do you you’ll understand why I’m know what 65 grams of attracted to stubborn and dates looks like? contrary ingredients. INTRODUCTION
9 Any pasta recipes? hide under the pretense would be suffering from of being "healthy." depression). However, No. But plenty of quinoa, Most of these oils must choose judiciously. which is far tastier. It’s be processed or hydro- There are good fats and like a new friend with genated to extend their bad fats. Extra virgin, superhuman powers. Pasta shelf life, but not your cold-pressed coconut oil would blush in quinoa’s life. "Cholesterol-free" is a good fat. presence. is a similarly deceptive marketing device among The saturated fat in Ground almonds are the companies that use coconut is made up of same as almond flour, hydrogenated fats. So medium-chain triglyc- right? an ostensibly healthy erides (MCTs), the mere product can do more harm mention of which makes Almost. Both are healthy to your cholesterol than triathletes indecently and come from almonds, good. Dr. Walter Willett, excitable. These MCTs but ground almonds give a professor at Harvard are metabolised quickly a heavier finish in baked Medical School, slammed by the body and can be goodies. Almond flour is this as "the biggest food- used as an alternative much finer and easier to processing disaster in source of energy to find in the United States, US history." carbohydrates. MCTs are but not so much in Europe. also easier to break down Feel free to try almond than the longer- chain How about regular triglycerides in olive, flour in place of ground sunflower oil? almonds whenever you sunflower, and canola see a recipe bound for the For taste reasons, you’re oils. More importantly, oven. However, almond flour welcome to use whatever coconut’s MCTs are will not work so well in oil you fancy. However, composed of lauric and any raw recipe, such as as a cautious mummy of capric acids. These heroic the Chia Bonbons, Hazelnut two growing boys I use antiviral, antifungal and and Raisin Freezer only extra virgin, cold- antibacterial agents are Cookies, or Fancy Pants pressed oils that have also present in mother’s Lúcuma Fudge. not been brutalized by milk to give her baba the processors or adulterated best start in life. by manufacturers. When Is margarine OK in doubt, leave it out. instead of butter? Can I fry with olive oil? Not in my opinion. Be skeptical of pseudo Isn’t coconut oil Frying at a high temper- fattening? foods tailored to "reduce ature will denature almost cholesterol." Inves- It is a fat, yes. But any oil. It doesn’t matter tigative journalist it’s a good fat. Our if you use the best cold- Felicity Lawrence relationship with fat pressed extra virgin oil warns that many is perverse. We need it money can buy. Heating, manufacturers use the in order to manufacture as opposed to warming, cheapest possible oils brain cells and hormones chemically disfigures oil to make margarine and (without which everyone and spoils many health INTRODUCTION
11 benefits. Basically, you require insulin either. no matter what you choose, are creating unhealthy Hardly a reason to include moderation is key. free radicals that are it in our diet. It’s fair liable to fraternize with to say that agave is not a your arteries. If you health food but a useful What’s so terrific about suffer from cholesterol or food. This is an important maple syrup anyway? weight problems, it might differentiation. Evidence Isn’t it just as bad be worth writing this on suggests that a diet rich for you as sugar? the inside of your kitchen in liquid fructose has No. Unless you plan to cupboard to remind you! a deleterious effect on neck a pint of it. Maple the body. The addition of syrup is a wonderfully We use coconut oil because high-fructose corn syrup wholesome natural sugar. of its high smoke point. (HFCS), for example, has But if you’re diabetic, This means it’s a sturdier caused much controversy it’s off limits. oil to cook with than, between health scientists say, flaxseed or sunflower and food manufacturers. Maple syrup is harvested oil. When I’m gently While agave does not fall naturally from maple sweating veggies, I’m within the same category trees and contains happy to use olive oil, as HFCS, it is still surprising amounts of as the heat never reaches classified as fructose. iron and calcium. It’s a perilous point. one of the only sweeteners Agave wouldn’t be my first that helps alkalize the Ghee is clarified butter, choice of sweetener unless body—other sugars can which many lactose-intol- I was diabetic (and even be highly acidic to the erant cooks find they can still, moderation is system. Acidic systems eat without side effects. critical). Issues to have been shown to leach Just like butter, ghee is consider include calcium from our bones, solid at room temperature processing methods and while alkaline systems and holds a higher smoke added ingredients. actually enhance calcium point than most oils. Agave piracy dates back absorption. This is useful We always have some in to 2008, when several information for those who our fridge. supermarket brands of suffer from arthritic or agave were found to be osteo conditions. highly processed and I love agave and use contaminated with other A pal in Québec is it all the time. forms of syrups. It’s struggling to find local Is it good for me? hardly surprising that maple syrup. Rumor has Let’s be clear—no sugar manufacturers want a it the middle-class is healthy. Agave is slice of success when Chinese are buying up touted as a low-glycemic a new food enjoys such all of Canada’s stocks. fructose syrup that does attention. This applies This has consequences not require insulin to to all newfangled foods. for us too, one of which break it down. A health Keep your antennae finely is a rise in the price of boon, right? But science tuned and your gut on this deliciously sticky is rarely that simple. speaking terms with you! nectar. Another is the Eating this page wouldn’t As with all sweeteners, surge of imposters on the INTRODUCTION
12 market. To avoid being sensible given the volume is much more difficult to duped by "maple-flavored" of agrichemicals used adulterate and is a very syrup, always interrogate in rice production. good sub for coconut sugar the labeling. It should There were issues with if glycemic load does not have one ingredient: 100% arsenic in the soil a concern you. pure Canadian maple syrup. few years back too. Grade B is preferable. If rapadura is cane What on earth is coconut sugar, what’s it doing What’s the story sugar? in this book? with brown rice syrup? You’ll notice that Coconut blossom sugar is Healthy or not? a relatively new unrefined rapadura sugar features OK, so, no sugar is sugar on the Western in just three recipes. healthy. The key is to market. Stunning stuff. I wanted to introduce find one that works for you Not as sweet as regular readers to a range of and use it moderately or cane sugar, it offers a healthier sugars in place sparingly. burnt toffee kick. It’s not of the nutritionally void heavily processed either. white variety. Despite brown rice syrup The sap of the coconut being a fairly processed flower is dehydrated to Rapadura is a unique product, it has low levels form honeyed crystals. extra-fine sugar made from of glucose (about 5%) and While coconut sugar can be dehydrating sugarcane high levels of the more classified as a palm sugar, juice. It is caramel in complex carbohydrate it is not to be confused color with a deep mineral maltose (around 55%). with regular palm sugar, taste to it. Find it This gives brown rice which is produced differ- online and in all good syrup an attractive ently and is no friend food stores. Pricey, but glycemic load. Alicia to the diabetic. Coconut worth experiencing. Silverstone, author of sugar is thought to have The Kind Diet, totally a low glycemic value. However, if your diet digs it. As a result, Good news for hyperactive obliges you to stay off Hollywood does too. children, diabetics, and sugar, this would mean bored sedentary workers. quarantining all forms It’s made by fermenting of good and bad sugars, the cooked grain with But watch out! My cynical including rapadura, cultured enzymes to break side predicts that honey, maple syrup, down the carbohydrates. adulterated forms will brown rice syrup, and The liquid by-product is begin to appear on our even fruit. My cookbook boiled to make a sweet, shelves. Look for trusted only manages to evict sticky syrup. Like all brands and ask your local nasty white sugar from trendy products, there health food stockist for our kitchens. are good versions and advice if you’re suspi- seriously processed cious. Coconut sugar is versions. It’s worth pricey and will attract doing your own research. piracy. Them is the facts Sticking to organic seems of life. Rapadura sugar INTRODUCTION
13 I’m diabetic. a similar way to brown a day. With practice, Is this book for me? rice syrup. Some of the you’ll motor through these Absolutely. However, it’s original nutrients found recipes. important to stick to in barley are transferred your low GL principles. to the nectar. While Wherever you see maple barley malt is not as How do I know if I have syrup, use raw agave or sweet as maple syrup, a food intolerance? experiment with xylitol. it’s unusually malty If you’ve already bought Coconut sugar is appar- and licky-sticky. this book, chances are ently low GL, but at the something’s not agreeing time of going to print, Barley malt is a complex with you. Find a regis- there was insufficient sugar, meaning that it tered dietician or doctor independent research to takes quite some time for to do an elimination diet corroborate this for me. it to be broken down by with you. I’m not a huge I urge you to do your own the body. Simple sugars, fan of allergy testing, research. Remember that like white sugar or corn simply because it didn’t dried fruit, date syrup, syrup, are absorbed bring any relief to me. maple syrup, apple syrup, immediately, resulting For best results, become and honey are all high in blood sugar spikes and your own food detective on the glycemic index yo-yo moods. For evidence (with the encouragement and therefore unsuitable. of this, spend thirty of and direction from a Stevia is an inter- minutes at a children’s professional). esting and popular source birthday party. It’s of sweetness for many pretty mental. diabetics, but I don’t Why are soy and tofu like the taste. Perhaps controversial? you will have better Cutting out convenience I’m confused. Are they luck than me. food is difficult. the same thing? How can I cope with Tofu is made from soy cooking all the time? beans. You’re probably Can I use barley malt With great music, the familiar with other soy extract in place sort that makes your bean products, such as of maple syrup? blood pelt around your soy milk, miso soup, soy It’s so much cheaper. body and electrifies your sauce, and tempeh. Milk Sure. Although I haven’t fingertips. Nothing is a is extracted from the soy tried barley malt in all chore when your favorite bean and used to make soy my recipes, I can assure tunes massage your neuro- curd, referred to as tofu. you it gives tremendous transmitters. It’s key It’s not unlike cheese results in baking. Even to cooking. I also throw making. Made this way, raw chocolates work lots of suppers and tofu is supposedly replete with barley malt. Just treats into my freezer, with isoflavones, a big pal remember that it's only ready to plunder on lazy of calcium. Isoflavones half as sweet as honey and days. Be selfish with your have been found to assist maple syrup. This syrup time—conquer many meals in bone density as well as is made from fermenting in one session, rather hormonal imbalances. So and boiling barley, in than cooking three times far, so good. INTRODUCTION
14 Once soy’s health benefits soy protein isolates. Do you eat Quorn? became clear outside of Up to 60 percent of Nope, never. Cutting down Japan, consumer demand packaged supermarket foods on meat seems to be a much rocketed. I think its use this synthetically more sensible approach. explosive rise here in debased soy as a cheap Swapping one bad habit the West encouraged food bulking agent. So don’t be for another makes little companies to find cheaper fooled into thinking soy sense. ways of producing it. is synonymous with health. Consequently, soy’s reputation has been To tap into soy beans’ Are these recipes muddied with chemical bona fide health benefits, suitable for children? isolation techniques, my advice is to stick Definitely. Just leave out synthetic adulteration, with organic, non-GM tofu the salt, black pepper, and genetic modification, and eat it no more than garlic, or tamari—and add all of which raise serious once a week. Even the these to your own plate. questions about the Japanese don’t eat as much Good nutrition is the best beneficial effects of the soy as we do. There are health insurance you end product. That’s why also ethical issues to can offer your family. soy is so controversial. consider. Animal feed is The chemically altered composed largely of soy, soy is a whole different which drives demand for creature to the whole-bean soy plantations. We are soy associated with the witnessing the destruction Asian diet. Frustrating, of hundreds of thousands isn’t it? of wildlife acres to satiate demand for soy The only way you can tell production. In short, the the difference is to read world has gone bonkers the manufacturer’s label for the stuff. If you can on food before you buy. live without it, all the I’ve been advised to avoid better. INTRODUCTION
16 YOUR KITCHEN'S ARTILLERY ************************ HERE ARE YOUR NEW ALLIES IN THE KITCHEN, IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE. Measuring cups Pestle and mortar Food processor You’ll notice I measure If you don’t have a pestle Mine’s a Magimix from in cups, handfuls, and and mortar, find an Asian my mother-in-law. drizzles, which makes food store. You’ll pick The lady’s got style. it easier to visualize up an excellent deal, save I use it every day. quantities as you read yourself a small fortune, the recipe and write your and instantly acquire shopping list. I’ve always bragging rights at the Hand-held or found grams and ounces bar. A pestle and mortar personal blender alienating. It may as well propels you into an under- Also referred to as a be trigonometry to me. ground club of serious soup gun or whizzy thing, Like most tactile people, cooks. Think Jamie Oliver hand-held blenders give a I function on a sort of meets Thomas Keller. much smoother finish than a visual mathematics. No good meal can be made food processor (unless you We use British/Australian without a bit of muscle have a swanky Vitamix). cups where 1 cup = 250 action in the kitchen. Particularly important for milliliters. American cups I guess the bottom of a hummus (page 114). Pick measure 237 milliliters, heavy saucepan would also one up for around 25 bucks. only a touch smaller. work, but it might scare the bejesus out of the neighbors. INTRODUCTION
17 Heavy-based saucepan Spiralizer Empty jam jars or large sauté pan Mine is a Lurch, and To transport food into Heavy-based saucepans it’s definitely love. Not work with you and be spread heat evenly, which essential to your kitchen, the envy of all your helps prevent burning or it’s more of a nerdy toy. coworkers. ingredients "catching" on the bottom of the pan and driving your patience Tefal 8-in-1 Tenacity batty. Le Creuset are the Multi Cooker Available deep down, often Bentleys of the kitchen. To make perfectly fluffy in the same aisle as drive Look out for them during quinoa, measure 2 cups of and desperation. sale season or in discount quinoa to level 2 in the stores like T.J. Maxx. basin. Season with a few The bigger, the better. turns of the sea salt and peppercorn mill. Press the "grains" setting. Oven thermometer The cooker will steam the This is like a lie grain and produce the most detector for ovens. perfect quinoa you’re ever Available online on likely to taste. Amazon and in kitchen stores. For details on how to cook almost every brown rice on the market using this cooker, visit my blog at www.susanjanewhite.com. INTRODUCTION
Ideas for Breakfast "Keep your face to the sunshine, and you will never see the shadows." —Helen Keller
19 The breakfast roll is dead. Who wants to hoover up chemically enhanced meat, bleached rolls, and puddles of cholesterol? We’ve designed this chapter for anyone who dreads the shrill of their alarm clock. Some recipes involve a little forward planning but will ultimately gift you with more snoozage and go-go juice (the High-Octane Banana Nutmeg Bars on page 34 last all week in the fridge, for example). Only six seconds to fuel up? No problem. Stick your hand in the freezer to loot your store of ready-made goodies from this book: Lemon and Pistachio Pie (page 224), Office Bombs (page 62), Your New Wheat-Free Bread (page 51), Goji Berry Halva (page 207), Strawberry Shortbread (page 231), Blackberry Tart (page 235), Flaxseed Focaccia (page 54), Barley Grass Balls (page 66), or Chia Bonbons (page 64). I swear you won’t miss your breakfast cereal and milk. In fact, I bet you’ll look back on your favorite cereal packet like a bad ex and wonder what on earth you ever saw in it. It was a love affair controlled by a sugar rush, and little else. Good riddance. Visit page 12 to learn more about my alternatives to refined cane sugar. IDEAS FOR BREAKFAST
20 THE ONLY GRANOLA RECIPE YOU’LL EVER NEED ****************************************************** A bowl of DIY granola and nut milk is a great way to start the day. It takes just twenty minutes to make, and the benefits last all week. The beauty of making your own granola is the satisfaction of knowing exactly what went into it–none of the cheap fats, preservatives, sugar, or gunk regularly found in commercial ones. For your inner Mary Poppins, tie a ribbon around a jar of granola, and surprise someone. 2 cups nuts (260 g) nuts Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C). Line 2 baking trays (pecans, walnuts, Brazil with parchment paper. nuts, hazelnuts) 2 1/2 cups (225 g) jumbo oats Roughly chop any big nuts (pecans are fine left whole). 1 cup (100 g) quinoa flakes Toss the nuts in a large bowl with the oats, quinoa 1 cup (130 g) combination of flakes, seeds, ground flaxseeds and salt. Feeling sunflower and pumpkin seeds adventurous? A tablespoon of cinnamon or dried ginger 5 tablespoons ground flaxseeds will add another flavor layer. or ground almonds 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes Gently warm the honey, oil, and orange zest together. 3 /4 cup (190 ml) raw honey or Pour over the bowl of oats and coat well. You won’t be maple syrup adding the dried fruit until after baking. 3 /4 cup (190 ml) extra virgin coconut oil Grated zest of 1 orange Spread thinly on the baking trays and transfer to the 2 cups (280 g) dried fruit middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 17–20 minutes. Shake (cranberries, dates, the trays after 8 minutes to prevent burning. You’re raisins, unsulfured aiming for a light golden color. Oats and nuts taste apricots) bitter if you let them turn brown. 1 rough cup (100 g) dried banana, chopped Remove from the oven and allow to cool and solidify completely before tossing through the dried fruit. Makes 20 servings Store in an airtight container for 2–3 weeks. Great with the Brazil nut milk on page 75 or cultured coconut yogurt. Makes enough to last all week for a large family. TA S T Y. N A U G H T Y. H E A LT H Y. N I C E .