The Virtuous Tart_HC
I THE VIRTUOUS TART VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 1 8/1/16 10:12 AM
I I I SINFUL BUT SAINTLY RECIPES FOR SWEETS, TREATS, AND SNACKS SUSAN JANE WHITE ROOST BOOKS BOULDER 2017 VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 3 8/1/16 10:12 AM
I V I N T R O D U C T I O N ROOST BOOKS An imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc. 4720 Walnut Street Boulder, Colorado 80301 roostbooks.com © 2015 by Susan Jane White Photography © 2015 by Joanne Murphy Styled by Orla Neligan of Cornershop Productions: www.cornershopproductions.com Assisted by Susie Coakley and Ross Murphy Cooke 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. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First U.S. Edition Printed in China 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: The virtuous tart: sinful but saintly recipes for sweets, treats, and snacks / Susan Jane White. Description: First edition. | Boulder: Roost Books, 2017. | Originally published: The virtuous tart: recipes free from wheat, dairy and cane sugar. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 2015. | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016017938 | ISBN 9781611804058 (hardcover: acid-free paper) Subjects: LCSH: Snack foods. | Confectionery. | LCGFT: Cookbooks. Classification: LCC TX740 .W473 2017 | DDC 641.5/3—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016017938. VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 4 8/1/16 10:12 AM
V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THANK YOU To my readers, without whom none of these crazy-assed recipes could transpire. A heartfelt body slam. To my sparkling team at Roost Books, especially Sara Bercholz, Jennifer Urban-Brown, Audra Figgins, Steven Pomije, and KJ. I do hope your adrenal glands are still on speaking terms with you! Your dedication and talent are gobsmacking. A sincere thank you. To the Snazz Meister, Graham Thew, whose brilliance is peerless. To photographer Jo Murphy and stylist Orla Neligan, two fireflies behind the lens. To megassistants Susie and Ross, for their tireless enthusiasm and blessed Marigolds. Rascals one and two: your courage to sample everything Mummy makes is, well, alarming. You rock. To my mother, Olive, an excellent role model who only ever sees the positive things in life. Like turning burnt cake into exotic granola. And making my lips a feature to distract from my flat chest. A final and thunderous thanks goes to my fearless (self-appointed) editor-in-chief, TW. You drive me bonkers. (In a good way.) VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 5 8/1/16 10:12 AM
CONTENTS VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 6 8/1/16 10:12 AM
V I I 1 INTRODUCTION 2 What’s It All About? 5 Why Sugar-Free? 21 Why Dairy-Free? 33 What About Wheat? And Gluten? 41 Tips from a Tart 43 A Note on the Measurements Used in This Book 45 VIRGIN DRINKS 46 Hazelnut Milk 49 Golden Turmeric Milk 51 Almond and Hemp Milk 56 Black Sesame Milk 59 Almond Milk Chai Latte 60 Caffeine-Free Nightcap 63 Matcho Latte 66 Coffee and Almond Milkshake 68 Hipsteria—Peanut Butter Chocolate Shake 70 The Hot Cocoa 75 Piña Kaleada 77 Hot Shots 78 Limonade 80 How to Brew Your Own Kombucha 83 Probiotic Coffee 85 VIRTUOUS TARTS 86 MILF Muffins 88 Boozy Cherry Cupcakes 93 Brainiac Brownies 94 WTF Brownies 97 Chocolate Guinness Cake 98 Banoffee Mess 101 Earl Grey Chocolate Tartlets 102 Macaccino Torte with Roasted Pecan and Chocolate Crumb VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 7 8/1/16 10:12 AM
V I I I 107 After Eight Dinner Party Torte 108 Pressed Coconut Torte with Tamarind and Miso Caramel 111 Rawvolutionary Carrot Cake 112 Victoria Sponge with Chia Jam and Coconut Cream 115 Lemon Shizzle Cake 118 Orange, Cardamom, and Polenta Cake 121 Strawberry and Basil Cheesecake 122 My Wedding Cake 125 SAINTLY TREATS 126 BBQ Kale Crisps 129 Vegetable Crisps 130 Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt 133 Raspberry Jam—The Healthy Kind 134 Teff, Ginger, and Black Pepper Cookies 136 Anti-Cholesterol Cookies 137 American Peanut Butter Cookies 140 Camu Camu Cookies 142 Leonard Cohen Granola Bars 145 Superhero Tiffin 146 Honuts—The Healthy Donut 149 Chia Breakfast Pud with Passion Fruit and Sea Salt 150 Apple and Winter Squash Crumble 155 Secret Agent Gingerbread 156 Anti-Aging Chocolate Mousse 158 Chocolate Seed Soldiers 161 Poached Pears with Star Anise 162 Pomegranate Halva 167 White Chocolate Bark with a Touch of Sea Salt 168 That Lemon Curd 171 Birch Sugar Granola 172 Activated Nuts 174 Toasted Pecans 175 Frozen Banana Pops 177 Strawberry and Liquorice Ice Cream C O N T E N T S VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 8 8/1/16 10:12 AM
I X 179 BORN-AGAIN TRUFFLES 181 Amazonian Truffles 182 Mega Raspberry Bombs 186 Spirulina Grenades 189 Peppermint-Laced Energy Balls 190 Health by Chocolate 194 Sea Salteasers 197 Acai and Beetroot Macaroons 199 ONLINE RESOURCES 203 INDEX 213 ABOUT THE AUTHOR C O N T E N T S
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INTRO- DUCTION "A man who gives little time to health will one day give much time to illness." VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 1 8/1/16 10:12 AM
2 I N T R O D U C T I O N WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Healthy food is all very well and good, but it’s got to taste great, right? Damn right! I love cooking for flavor, but cooking for the good of my body makes me giddy. It’s like dating a terribly tasty hunk, then finding out he’s rich too. Health and flavor are my thing, a potent duo. This way of cooking stokes the imagination. Gives wings to your spice rack. Thrills the body. And places vitality at the center of your table. Imagine a nutritional slam-dunk while snacking on a slice of tiffin. Picture your taste buds raving to the tune of BBQ veggie chips or your toes break-dancing with every crunch and snap of a teff cookie. Wholesome food need never tax your taste buds. Food is information. We now know that every bite we eat contains software telling our genes how to express themselves. Food literally has the ability to turn our "good" genes on and our "bad" genes off. By nourishing your body with the right nutrients, your body will nourish you. It makes a lot of sense to count nutrients, not calories. If calorie- controlled diets worked, we’d all be thin (and achingly dull). So what counts as nourishing? Raw, unprocessed food like whole fruit, quirky beans, fresh vegetables, groovy grains such as buckwheat and quinoa, and weird-sounding flours milled from chickpeas and rye. Fat is your friend: chia, olive, flaxseed, almond, avocado, oily fish, and coconut. These choices will service your body like a first-rate Formula 1 pit stop, and you’ll have the winning body to prove it. Whether it’s in the boardroom, college library, or on the track, we want to perform, right? Let’s not sabotage our own fuel supply. Yet that’s exactly what I did ten years ago. I thought I was too busy to cook and cycled past my local grocer, cackling at the queues. Turns out smarter people make time to cook. Smarter people pay the grocer, not the doctor. Smarter people embrace cooking as an adventure, a love affair. Smarter people prioritize their health over their wristwatch. The irony was rather spectacular. It wasn’t wheat, sugar, or dairy that triggered my ill health. It was the industrial amount of it I was consuming and the dodgy expiration dates that accompanied my preferred junk foods. I thought healthy food was for the elderly or infirm. I convinced myself that pepperoni was a vegetable. I counted coffee as one of my five a day (coffee beans are from a plant, VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 2 8/1/16 10:12 AM
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4 I N T R O D U C T I O N right?) and horsed into breakfast cereals with a misguided sense of passion normally seen only in Silvio Berlusconi. Eventually my body said no. Enough. First up was chronic stomach upsets that felt, and sounded, like a civil war was erupting inside my colon. Then exhaustion, with no energy to think straight, to make judicious decisions, to summon patience when required. Then insomnia set in and symptoms rocketed as I dragged my body around campus thinking it was quite acceptable to feel ill and confused in my twenties. My peers weren’t the epitome of health either, but it was difficult to tell hangovers apart from deeper health issues. One thing was clear, though: we were digging our way to the grave with our teeth. The amount of white flour, white sugar, and dairy we eat is borderline pathological. Cereal and milk for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, scones, cake, toast, cookies, pasta— the same old circus day in, day out. Sound familiar? My body begged for a break. Maybe yours is screaming for one too. I’m not against wheat, sugar, and dairy. They’re all delightfully alluring. But my energy levels are a whole lot better when I cut back on their mindless consumption. When I open up my food choices to all the other exhilarating ingredients around me, suddenly I find that eating less wheat, less sugar, and less dairy isn’t restrictive at all. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. My choices become liberated and I discover loads of fabulous stuff I didn’t even know existed. We are excluding so many outrageously tasty foods when we’re stuck in the dairy-wheat-sugar love triangle. Are you a fan of crisps? Wait until you try them made from Jerusalem artichokes! You think I’m joking? Just turn to page 129. Fudge brownies? They’re way better made with sticky dates and walnuts. Love pasta and couscous? Not when you discover at least a dozen tastier choices in the Asian supermarket, ranging from black sticky rice to mung bean noodles. Figure out what makes your body feel good. Pizza, ice cream, and soda can be like a two-faced friend who’s kind to your face, then stabs you in the back. So thrill the bejesus out of your taste buds. Spicy black bean chili? Raw chocolate torte? Maple and sesame halva? Now you’re listening. That was your body talking. Work with your appetite instead of fearing it. You already know what your body needs. VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 4 8/1/16 10:12 AM
5 I ntroduction WHY SUGAR-FREE? I used to carry Kit Kats like cigarettes. An expert sugar junkie. Not anymore. I’ve cut out nasty refined sugar and ditched sodas. This simple change has transformed my energy levels and even my dress size. And guess what? It’s far from restrictive, which was my first assumption when I embarked on this crazy-assed plan. It’s the exact opposite. Suddenly I found loads of different ingredients within my orbit that not only tasted better but treated my body better too. Discoveries included chestnut flour, Medjool dates, coconut sugar, and naturally sweet spices like cinnamon and licorice. These flavors helped nurse my sweet tooth while recalibrating my taste buds. It’s science, right? My taste buds have been reprogrammed. Yours will be too. Along with this reprogramming comes a profound sense of respect for my body and how it works. That’s because every bite I took affected my mood, my skin, and my energy, either positively or negatively. I’m not controlled by the sugar highs anymore. I have escaped their poxy shackles. Ever known what it’s like to be in the nucleus of a comet? This might be your year. So how can you service your cravings and lessen the damage? Look at Mother Nature’s stash of nectar (turn to page 7). All contain valuable trace minerals and vitamins as well as offering that sensual sweet hit —Ray LaMontagne on the lips. If your diet obliges you to stay off sugar, this means quarantining all forms of sugar, good and bad, from your diet, including maple syrup, honey, and even dried fruit. My cookbook evicts only nasty white sugar from your kitchen. I can’t accuse any sugar of being nutritious, but what follows is my list of healthier choices when it comes to tickling a sweet tonsil. Glycemic loads, per serving, are scribbled to the side for diabetics to note. As with all sugars, you can pack on the pounds if you’re using them with glorious abandon. Think of these as sweet treats. If sugar, even natural ones, becomes a staple in your kitchen, you’ll have the waistline to prove it! Candida diets require the elimination of all sugars, including natural, unprocessed sugars like fresh fruit. Small amounts of stevia and xylitol are permissible, but VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 5 8/1/16 10:12 AM
6 I N T R O D U C T I O N it’s always a good idea to find a specialist to embark on this candida pilgrimage with you. You’ll slowly be able to reintroduce natural sugars to your diet, mindfully, just like I did. "I used to carry Kit Kats like cigarettes. An expert sugar junkie." VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 6 8/1/16 10:12 AM
7 I ntroduction AGAVE (LOW GL) --------------------------------------------- Agave syrup doesn’t excite me, but it’s still there on my shelf. So what’s the deal with this fructose syrup? Fructose is a naturally occurring sugar found in fruit and some vegetables, but in small concentrations. It’s also delivered alongside the other minerals and fiber contained within that piece of fruit. When fructose is artificially concentrated, like when agave is manufactured, and in isolation from other nutrients, our body treats it quite differently. Glucose is metabolized by every cell in the body, says endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig. Fructose, however, can be metabolized only by the liver. Too much fructose in a concentrated, isolated form has been shown to burden the liver. Much of the research on high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) exposes its adverse health effects, especially in the form of liquids. Drinks and confections sweetened with HFCS shoot excessive amounts of concentrated fructose into the liver, the outcome of which is more than alarming. For more on this, I recommend reading authors Dr. Robert Lustig, Michael Moss, and Marion Nestle. I think agave can be useful in small quantities for diabetics as an occasional treat. Diabetics have it tough. Honey, maple syrup, dried fruit, date syrup—all are delisted for the diabetic. The alternative for diabetics is xylitol (not a fan), stevia (never liked it), or artificial sweeteners (no chance). In this light, agave has a functional and positive use in the kitchen as long as you don’t stick a straw in the bottle and neck the lot. BARLEY MALT SYRUP (LOW-MEDIUM GL) -------------------------- This licky-sticky yummy stuff is responsible for the taste of Burger King Whoppers, barbecue sauce, bagels, and beer. What’s not to love? Barley malt syrup has great attitude in the kitchen. It’s half as sweet as honey but twice as thick, so don’t substitute it one for one in recipes. This might explain why so few celebrity chefs use it. One diva in the kitchen is already too much. Production of barley malt syrup is peculiar. This rich caramel is made by soaking and germinating barley to activate important enzymes—a process referred to as malting. The sprouted grain is then dried before it’s cooked slowly at a low temperature. I imagine the smell is delightfully inebriating. The resulting ambrosial liquid is strained of any impurities and sent to stores in glass jars. VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 7 8/1/16 10:12 AM
8 I N T R O D U C T I O N coconut sugar coconut nectar raw set honey brown rice syrup lucuma ´ VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 8 8/1/16 10:12 AM
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1 0 I N T R O D U C T I O N BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES (MEDIUM GL) ---------------------------- Molasses is that earthy sweetness found partying in gingerbread and baked beans. This incredulously sticky syrup is closer to tar than sugar cane. At less than 1 cent per gram, it’s a fairly sweet deal too. Blackstrap molasses is the syrup that’s left over from the process of turning sugar cane into table sugar. The plant’s nutrients are concentrated in its juice, then boiled and boiled into a fudgy molasses. Unlike table sugar, artificial sweeteners, or fructose syrups, blackstrap molasses is humming with a variety of minerals that help promote good health. But don’t squeal yet—it’s not the new coconut nectar. Blackstrap molasses is only a fraction as sweet as regular sugar, imparts a mineral flavor that can be an acquired taste, and can frequently misbehave in dishes. More often than not, it’s just misunderstood. Once you get to know it better, you’ll find its inadequacies charming and much easier to work with. For a sugar, blackstrap molasses is a surprisingly good source of iron (useful for vegetarians or incorrigibly moody teens). Without sufficient iron, our bodies struggle to make hemoglobin. This is the stuff that helps transport oxygen around our system. No oxygen, no mojo. Sound familiar, ladies? That’s because iron deficiency is more common in women than in men. One tablespoon of blackstrap molasses also shoots us with 15 percent of our recommended calcium intake, making jam warble with envy. Breathless yet? BROWN RICE SYRUP (LOW-MEDIUM GL) --------------------------- Apparently brown rice syrup is soaked in symbolism. It stands for more than just a sweetener. Ever heard of Russell Brand? Joaquin Phoenix? Jared Leto? All are indecently hunky-looking vegans who prefer brown rice syrup to honey. Brown rice syrup says, "I am kind. I am sweet. I am savvy." So I signed up. Despite brown rice syrup being a fairly processed product, it has low levels of glucose (about 5 percent) and high levels of the more complex carbohydrate maltose (around 55 percent). This gives it an attractive glycemic load that drip-feeds your body’s battery. Table sugar has a high glycemic load, giving you explosive bursts of energy but leaving you with a sugar hangover and often a greater deficit in energy than before the initial hit. Brown rice syrup is made by fermenting the cooked grain with cultured enzymes to break down its carbohydrates. The liquid by-product is boiled to make sweet, sticky syrup. It can come in VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 10 8/1/16 10:13 AM
1 1 I ntroduction a variety of processed gradients worthy of further sleuthing. Sticking to organic seems sensible given the volume of agrichemicals regularly used in rice production. For example, a few years back there was some alarm regarding arsenic levels in brown rice and apples from particular parts of the world. Keep those antennae finely tuned. CINNAMON (LOW GL) ------------------------------------------ This warming spice is naturally very sweet and doesn’t tax blood sugar levels. There is considerable hype about cinnamon’s ability to control diabetes, but these are premature claims, I’m afraid. There is insubstantial evidence to date, or at least none significant enough to merit such accolades. But it tastes great in baked goods, hot chocolate, and oatmeal, so go ahead and parachute it onto your goodies as a natural source of sweetness. COCONUT BLOSSOM SYRUP (LOW GL) ----------------------------- See coconut sugar. The syrup is less heat-treated than crystallized coconut sugar. Coconut Secret in the United States does a splendiferous raw version. Let me know when more brands come on the market where you live —send me a tweet @ SusanJaneHealth #extravirginkitchen. COCONUT SUGAR (LOW GL) ------------------------------------- Recently I flicked coconut blossom sugar out of my cupboard, condemning it as another hysterical trend for the kale-gnawing postcodes of London. But somehow it slipped back under my radar and spectacularly high-jumped my cynicism. Now I like to look at my packet of coconut palm sugar and stroke it like an adorable little sea urchin. Think granulated toffee. Crunchy caramel. Got it? Coconut nectar doesn’t have that sickly sweet kick of regular sugar, which does frightening things to my heartbeat. Too good to be true? Here’s what happens in far-off places like Bali, king of the coconut community. Nectar from the coconut palm tree is collected by securing a vessel underneath the tree’s flowers to collect its sticky sap. This liquid nectar is then roasted in big cauldrons to boil off the water content and turn it into a sweet, viscous syrup. To make a crystallized sugar, the syrup is boiled some more and left to cool before it is massaged and ground into granules. Many small boutique producers in Bali will sieve the sugar to create a fine, powdery coconut palm sugar for the Western market, but locals will use it in big clumsy clumps. Coconut nectar and coconut sugar are unlike any other sweeteners I have tasted: smooth like caramel, yet acidic and fruity. Lip-smackingly fabulous. VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 11 8/1/16 10:13 AM
1 2 I N T R O D U C T I O N The finished product is a whole sweetener, which means its nutrition is intact and hasn’t been stripped away. Don’t get me wrong—coconut sugar is still a sugar, like all these natural sweeteners, but it’s a less evil variety. You’ll find surprising amounts of iron and potassium in coconut sugar, which may help explain why athletes become curiously giddy at the mere mention of it. But this sweetener’s USP is its low glycemic range. Coconut sugar won’t spike your blood sugar levels and leave you with a crashing low that ultimately drives the vicious circle of craving more sugar and another high. DATE SYRUP (MEDIUM-HIGH GL) -------------------------------- These wondrous fruits frequently disrupt my sleep. When I know I have a bag of sticky Medjool dates downstairs, it’s almost traumatic to keep my mind and mitts off them. Try eating one without levitating. These delectable dried fruits contain modest amounts of alkalizing minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Dates can be alchemized into a paste or syrup by boiling different varieties and reducing the liquid to a viscose treacle. Date syrup has a higher glycemic value than other sweeteners, making it desirable for gym bunnies. However, this also means that date syrup is off-limits for diabetics, as it can fiddle with blood sugar levels. While dates aren’t fattening, overindulging will force the body to store its excess sugars with your fat depot. So munch in moderation unless an afternoon with Rich Roll and Brendan Brazier is planned. JAGGERY (MEDIUM GL) ---------------------------------------- Jaggery comes from seventy-foot-high Palmyra palms. The nectar of the fruit is collected, gently heated, and then dehydrated to become an irresistible powdery sweetener. White sugar is boring, predictable, and bankrupt in comparison. Like an ex, you’ll wonder what you ever saw in it. This caramel-colored dust imparts a rich flavor to baked goodies, similar to molasses. It has a desirable low-medium glycemic load and only tiny amounts of fructose (if this concerns you). Deep, dark, musky, and sticky—all the virtues required of a naughty treat. But iron? And B vitamins? There’s the thunderbolt. B vitamins help your battery, your body, and your brain (and don’t forget B for bad hangovers). Stress robs your bank of B vitamins. If you run out of your B supply, your body will struggle to make stress-related hormones, nourish nerves, or VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 12 8/1/16 10:13 AM
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I N T R O D U C T I O N watch House of Cards without your adrenal glands combusting. Stress, then, creates a need for vitamins to be replaced. Often we reach for Marlboros and lattes, when all your body needs is a wholesome meal to get you cantering again. It’s probably better if you nosedive into a bowl of quinoa or a plate of buckwheat pancakes for your hit of B vitamins, but during your hour of need, when faced with a packet of candy or the prospect of a hot Honut (page 146) or MILF Muffin (page 86) in less than twenty minutes, I’d like to think I helped you make the finer decision. LICORICE (LOW GL) ------------------------------------------ Like cinnamon, licorice is another naturally sweet spice that can be used to serenade that sweet tooth. I put it in the Apple and Winter Squash Crumble on page 150 for Christmas. LÚCUMA (LOW GL) -------------------------------------------- You can find lúcuma in powdered form on the shelves of savvy grocers and health stores. A spoonful of this silky smooth Peruvian fruit is enough to incite poetry in Simon Cowell. Dried lúcuma is a scrumptious way of naturally sweetening dishes while providing niacin—aka vitamin B3—to help the crusade against cholesterol and depression. Lúcuma’s iron and beta-carotene content should also help stoke your immunity. A toughie to find in stores, order lúcuma powder online or through your local health food store. It’s insanely expensive, so I use it as a flavor rather than a straight-up sweetener. MAPLE SYRUP (MEDIUM GL) ------------------------------------ Maple syrup is a gloriously rich sweetener. The syrup hails from the concentrated sap of maple trees, which retains surprising amounts of iron and calcium. Grade B maple syrup is considered superior. Maple syrup is one of the few sweeteners (alongside date syrup) that leave an alkaline footprint. Other sugars can be highly acidic to the system, especially cane sugar. Acidity has been shown to leech calcium from bones, while alkaline diets enhance calcium absorption. This is useful information if you suffer from arthritic and osteo conditions. But if you can do the Macarena without wincing, you’re probably okay. Make the switch and see how you feel. RAW HONEY (MEDIUM GL) -------------------------------------- Raw, local honey might sound a little bombastic, but I have a sense it’s already in your cupboard. Local means you’re high-fiving your town’s economy as well as escaping industrial I N T R O D U C T I O N 1 4 VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 14 8/1/16 10:13 AM
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1 6 I N T R O D U C T I O N heat treatments that can diminish the honey’s excitement. Just ask your regular whole food store to point out the local ones and taste the difference. Hay fever veterans swear by it. Local honey contains manageable amounts of pollen from your zip code in it to prepare you for the sneezy season. There’s immune-boosting propolis too and some serious antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial artillery. How is it made? Female bees collect nectar from various plants, shrubs, trees, and flowers, turning it into an alchemist’s dream. Using special enzymes (that’s diplomatic speak for spit), the nectar turns into liquidy honey and is housed symmetrically in honeycomb. Then the bee dance begins (as illustrated in my toddler’s Dr. Seuss book). The female honeybees flap their wings with a fervor usually reserved for an underage rave. This dance helps evaporate the water content from the nectar and turn it into the licky-sticky elixir as we know it. "Honeycomb is altogether miraculous," says Sarah Britton, founder of My New Roots. "To behold its sheer geometrical perfection is like a religious experience, and to see evidence of the deep, clear intelligence that built such a structure is humbling." Raw honey is very special—certainly one of life’s greatest pleasures, along with itching, sneezing, and submitting to chili. Commercial manuka honey can be subjected to intense heat treatment, making it somewhat controversial. Maddening, right? This honey hails from New Zealand’s manuka foliage, which is thought to have particularly high antimicrobial properties. I find raw local honey more potent than most commercial brands of manuka. If you can get raw manuka, then lucky you! Applied topically, manuka honey has shown promising results in treating MRSA sores. It’s worth remembering that you shouldn’t cook with manuka honey either. This special type of honey prefers an empty belly for its health benefits to kick in. STEVIA (ZERO GL) ------------------------------------------- Stevia is so fashionable that MAC is naming a lipstick after it. (Okay, not quite.) Stevia can be purchased in liquid, crystallized, Erylite, or powdered form. It’s sweeter than white sugar, requires no insulin from your body to break it down, and has no calories or nutrients. I’m not a fan, but I can understand why diabetics love it. VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 16 8/1/16 10:13 AM
1 7 I ntroduction Interestingly, there is some controversy over stevia’s ability to trick your mind into thinking you’re eating sugar. Some health experts argue that this "trick" is just as damaging to your blood sugar levels and your health, triggering hypoglycemia in frequent users. But I don’t imagine this would happen when kept to occasional treats, like the American Peanut Butter Cookies (page 137) or Limonade (page 78). Stevia’s peppermint chill gives a weird extraterrestrial vibe to baked goods. You’ll love it or chuck it. XYLITOL (VERY LOW GL) -------------------------------------- I prefer the term "birch sugar" rather than xylitol, which sounds like a bunion buster. This relatively new sweetener is now available in health food stores and select supermarkets. I’m not convinced the processing is "natural," but this hasn’t stopped its roaring rise. The sugar is made mainly by boiling birch sap until viscous and adding several curious chemicals to help the process. Judging by the brands available in our stores, my raised eyebrows note that some are industrially synthesized in labs using corn instead of birch, and details are shaky about their origin. Worthy of further sleuthing? Watch out for piracy too. Newfangled fads attract trouble like a pedigree Chihuahua in heat. Children’s confectionary brands are also turning toward xylitol. There is some noise about the reduction of bacterial growth in the mouth after the consumption of xylitol relative to cane sugar and dried fruit. The idea, then, is that xylitol may help reduce cavities—but so would reducing fizzy cola consumption or remembering to scrub your nashers more often. I’m keeping an open mind given its popularity among diabetics and health bloggers, but it ain’t sharing a place with maple syrup in my kitchen. Trouser trumpets (that’s Latin for flatulence) and intestinal discomfort are an expected side effect for quantities that exceed the recommended daily intake. Many diabetics and weight watchers love xylitol, and sales figures show this. It’s important to make up your own mind about it. In theory, xylitol can be interchanged with white sugar without any mathematical gymnastics, which is good news for diabetics. In practice, it’s a total queen. Xylitol can make a cake surprisingly crumbly, like the bottom of a box of Rice Krispies. If you fancy yourself a culinary MacGyver, you’ll VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 17 8/1/16 10:13 AM
1 8 I N T R O D U C T I O N love the challenge of whipping it into submission. If not, I’ve alchemized a stinking good granola recipe on page 171 to get you started. YACÓN SYRUP (LOW GL) --------------------------------------- Known as the apple of the earth because of its inherent sweetness, this tuber vegetable makes wonderfully sticky syrup. Yacón nectar is definitely the nearest thing to golden syrup for health-conscious, smoothie-swilling folk. Despite the unfortunate onomatopoeic ring to its name, yacón is in fact outlandishly tasty while magically low in calories and glycemic load. Hurrah! This is because of yacón’s naturally high content of inulin, a complex sugar that breaks down very slowly in the body. This food’s trump card? Much of its inulin content will convert to fructooligosaccharides—that’s doctor speak for prebiotics. Fructooligosaccharides make for happy bowels by feeding the good bacteria in our digestive tracts. Prebiotics are necessary for probiotics to multiply—in other words, better colon health. Yacón is both pricey and tricky to source. See page 200 in the resources section for some leads. VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 18 8/1/16 10:13 AM
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2 1 I ntroduction WHY DAIRY-FREE? What’s this cowspiracy? Dairy —friend or foe? Both! My mate Oscar Wilde caught it best when he said, "Everything in moderation, even moderation itself." There’s nothing wrong with dairy. It’s the sheer volume we consume that alarms me. The obsession with having dairy at every meal and its mindless consumption is causing problems in our diet. Too much of any type of food is bound to have negative consequences. Imagine if you ate turkey for breakfast, turkey slices as snacks, then turkey soup for lunch, followed by minced turkey for dinner, and all washed down with turkey sandwiches. You’d think I was right-on bonkers. There’s something pathologically queer about that diet, right? But that’s what I was doing with dairy ten years ago —I had milk and butter at every breakfast, yogurt and smoothies as snacks, cheese sandwiches for lunch, and creamy pasta for dinner. See? No wonder my body objected. We are suffering from a perverse form of dietary OCD (obsessive- compulsive disorder) to have dairy every day, and in some cases, several times a day. Your body needs to samba to other nutrient-rich ingredients too. The dairy industry and lazy dieticians will purport that dairy is an essential part of a balanced diet. But therein lies the problem! Our diet is far from balanced. Dairy has tipped the scales. Let’s be honest—the mindless consumption of wheat and sugar is facing the same problem. That’s why I wrote this book. Let’s get jiggy with some exciting new ingredients to hotwire our batteries and our bodies. Other sources of calcium include tinned sardines and wild salmon (their bones are soft when canned and are wonderfully rich in calcium), soaked or sprouted almonds, hazelnuts, chia seeds, sesame and tahini, figs, chickpeas and hummus, barley grass powder, green leafy veggies and sea veggies. The proper absorption of calcium is a complicated biological process, one which modern science hasn’t cracked. If we had nailed calcium’s conundrum, why is our rate of osteoporosis so high? And our rate of hip fractures even higher than that of Japan’s, where they don’t even eat dairy? Contrary to popular belief, a low intake of calcium isn’t the primary cause of osteoporosis. The standard Western diet causes much of the consumed calcium to be lost in the urine, explains Dr. Joel Fuhrman. "Excess salt, caffeine, sugar, and animal products leech calcium out of bones and promote urinary calcium loss. The Nurses’ Health Study followed 72,337 women for over eighteen years and found that dairy intake did not reduce the VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 21 8/1/16 10:13 AM
2 2 I N T R O D U C T I O N risk of osteoporosis-related hip fractures." It’s not a simple matter, so don’t be hoodwinked by those who tell you otherwise. It’s worth doing your own research if this is an important area for you and your health. The Harvard School of Public Health is a good starting point. I should point out that many other health advocates would outright reject dairy in the diet. I’m not that extreme, but I’m happy to outline their reasons for doing so if it helps you understand the dairy-free movement. 1. Dairy contains a naturally occurring sugar called lactose, which cannot be tolerated by those who do not make the special enzyme lactase to break it down in their body. For example, many Asians don’t produce lactase. 2. Vegans reject dairy because it exploits animals. 3. Some people react to casein, a protein found in milk. They will typically experience adverse effects when dairy is consumed and are likely to avoid milk in order to avoid the intestinal discomfort and drama. Nuff said. 4. Goat’s milk, while still "dairy," is easier to digest, especially for infants. This possibly gives cow’s milk a bad rep by comparison. 5. The use of antibiotics in dairy farming is more than unattractive. Antibiotic residues are thought to transfer to the milk, and subsequently to the consumer. Massive industrial dairy farms, particularly in the United States, treat the animals as horrific engines. Hygiene is dubious, which helps explain the extreme heat treatment to sterilize particles of infected puss found in some of the milk. This is what happens in massive dairy factories where cows are excessively milked and badly treated. These conditions are gruesome and unnatural. Choose organic milk products from smaller dairy farms that take pride in the health of their herds.They need our support, so vote with your wallet. 6. The unnecessary overdosing on one food group (see my introduction above for more details). 7. Milk is, after all, boob juice from a stranger. Would you take your neighbor’s breast milk? If not, ask yourself why a random bovine creature doesn’t repel you. It’s a good point, usually made by vegans. I’m not entirely put off by dairy, but I find myself challenged by this particular sentiment. I’d rather have the taste of homemade almond milk any day, but I tremble at the thought of rejecting a cheese board at a fancy restaurant. VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 22 8/1/16 10:13 AM
See Honuts recipe on page 146. VirtuousTart 7-29-16.indd 23 8/1/16 10:13 AM
2 4 I N T R O D U C T I O N INSTEAD OF COW’S MILK, TRY UNSWEETENED... Almond milk Hazelnut milk Sesame milk Organic non-GM soy milk Hemp milk Oat milk DIY (see pages 46–56) INSTEAD OF SPREADING BUTTER, TRY... Extra virgin coconut oil Extra virgin olive oil Cold-pressed sesame oil (strong) Pumpkin seed butter Tahini Almond butter Roasted cashew butter Hazelnut butter Puréed avocado
ISBN 978-1-61180-405-8 I 52495 9 781611 804058 US $24.95 CAN $33.95