Mediterranean Vegetable Stew Recipe

Still putting the finishing touches on the blog about the extremely powerful antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties of clove, both as an essential oil and a spice/herb. In the meantime, I came across this recipe and with AICR's permission I'm posting it for you. They are our information site for all things pertaining to cancer and nutrition. If you visit, take a minute to donate a little (or a lot) if you can. They are really making a difference in the world of cancer research and information. The original article is here.

Picture by permission from American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR)

Satisfying Spring Stew

This hearty one-pot is full of cancer-fighting vegetables and flavorful herbs and spices. Best of all each serving weighs in at only 300 calories and 6 grams of fat, making it a great dish to help you maintain a healthy weight. Butternut squash and carrots contain cancer-fighting carotenoids while onions and garlic pack quercetin and allixin —compounds that show the ability to slow tumor growth in the lab. Serve with hearty brown rice or whole-wheat couscous for the perfect New American Plate meal.

 Mediterranean Vegetable Stew

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (low-sodium chicken broth may be substituted for a non-vegetarian dish)
1/2 tsp. chili powder, or to taste
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground paprika
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom (or substitute 1 1/2 Tbsp. curry powder for spices from chili powder through cardamom)
1 lb. (2 cups diced) small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup raisins
2 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise, cut into 1/4" slices
1 (15-oz) can garbanzos, drained
1/4 cup pitted black olives, halved
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white or black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1-2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 cups cooked brown rice (whole-wheat couscous may be substituted)

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes.

While broth is simmering, combine spices in a mixing bowl then stir them into pot. Add butternut squash, raisins, carrots and garlic. Cover and continue simmering until vegetables are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Let me know if you try it!

Black beans and artichokes in a simple vegan stew:

Sometime last year I wrote a blog about "The Mighty Artichoke" - see here - and why it is so incredibly healthy and often overlooked as a superfood. And I also posted a recipe that we had adapted from AICR's website with permission - see here. At this time in our household we are dealing with what we believe to be yeast overgrowth which is presenting itself as a large area of Warren's body being covered with rashes. This has been going on for awhile. The dermatologist thought it was psoriasis, so he put him on prednisone, which is a steroid medicine often given for inflammatory conditions. However, it also feeds yeast and makes it worse. Which is what has happened. The reason I'm even telling you this is that we are now VERY interested in changing our diet to eliminate all sources of sugars that would feed anymore yeast growth. We are also treating the rash, but I can tell you it has been a painful miserable process for my husband. In this long process I have been doing a lot more research about yeast and what can be done about it.  Which means I've been searching through a lot of our recipes to see if they could be used now. The black beans and artichoke recipe originally was a simple quick recipe and I made it today. It was a hit and what we call a "keeper". I wanted to share with you this simple but tasty black bean and artichoke simmer II.

Olive oil (just lightly cover the bottom of the pan)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 fresh garlic cloves (one of the best things to fight yeast)
1 quart of Warren's canned tomatoes (I know you can't have these - substitute 2 cans of tomatoes with no sugar or salt added)
1 can (15 oz) organic black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 Tbsp Old Westporte Special seasoning (you'll see me use this spice a lot - here is where you can find it). It's not a "spice" per se but a proprietary blend of dehydrated vegetables.

In medium saucepan, saute the onions until transparent. Add the minced garlic - don't let burn or turn brown. Add the Westporte seasoning and stir in the tomatoes and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the black beans, stirring to mix well, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes or until heated throughout. 

I wasn't sure if it would turn out to be a soup, stew or casserole type dish. It was somewhere between a soup and stew and we served it in bowls. It was really very good. We happened to have cooked spinach as a side dish at the time and tried adding that to the stew, but it pretty much overwhelmed the clean, fresh taste of the artichokes and tomatoes. 

According to AICR's (American Institute for Cancer Research) website this recipe contains 9 servings, with 90 calories each, 1.5 grams total fat (0 grams saturated fat), 15 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams protein, 4 grams dietary fiber and 420 mg sodium. I think using our own canned tomatoes probably reduced the sodium content. I also did not add any salt while cooking. 

Easy, quick and incredibly healthy! Let me know if you have any recipes you'd like to share or advice about yeast overgrowth. After searching through quite a bit of information, it became clear that there is a lot of disagreement about what can or cannot, should or should not be eaten to control yeast. I've had to weigh my education as a nurse with my education as a holistic nutritionist to filter out those things that just don't make sense. I've also watched closely to see clinical improvements or something that might make it worse. I am certainly open to listening to anyone's knowledge in this area.

Thanks for listening!

Artichoke and Bean Medley - Vegan

Below is a recipe that we've adapted from one we received from AICR (American Institute for Cancer Research). You can actually make this as a cold salad or a warm main dish. For more information on how VERY HEALTHY artichokes are, see our blog on The Mighty Artichoke, including cancer prevention benefits. 

RECIPE:

• 1 cup of sweet onions (use green onions if making into a salad)
• 1/2 cup of red bell pepper (chopped)
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
  
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
• Large can of Italian tomatoes (chopped)
• 1/2 cup of black beans (soaked overnight and cooked prior to using)
• 1/2 cup of red kidney beans (soaked overnight and cooked prior to using)
• 1 cup of canned green beans
• 1 cup of red lentils (cooked - cooled if using as a salad)
• 2 cans of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped into quarters
• 1 tbsp olive oil 

Saute onions, celery and bell pepper until transparent in the olive oil.

Add minced garlic and continue to saute for a few minutes - don't burn the garlic (you'll be sorry.)

Combine the canned tomatoes (actually fresh would be really good here if they are available, just add fennel, oregano and thyme or your favorite Italian seasoning), the beans, and lentils with the onions, garlic and pepper.

Simmer on medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts, drained, and simmer for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. You can season with salt according to taste.

Serve in attractive casserole dish - I know you have one.

Artichokes already have a good deal of fiber and protein, by adding the beans and lentils we have greatly increased both the fiber and protein content.

Enjoy! Let us know if you try this, if you tweak it or what you think about it.

Ann

Baking Soda - is it good for many things?

Updated October 11, 2011:  While taking one of our 3-day a week walks with a friend of mine, she mentioned that someone with a natural health education had recommended taking baking soda with water every day. I countered this with the comment that I had heard and studied that in my natural health classes, but I also remember being told in nursing school that it wasn't a good idea, but couldn't remember why but there were cautions with using it internally. After that conversation, I remembered I had written a blog about this a couple of years ago - which follows below. In the meantime, I also decided to look at the box of baking soda itself where it lists cautions and "Warnings" as follows:

1. Ask a doctor before use if you have a sodium restricted diet.
2. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are taking a prescription drug. Antacids may interact with certain prescription drugs.
3. Do not administer to children under age 5 (all in bold letters.)
4. Stomach warning: To avoid serious injury, do not take until powder is completely dissolved. It is very important not to take this product when overly full from food or drink (again all in bold letters.) Consult a doctor if severe stomach pain occurs after taking this product.

While reading this I remember why I thought that this might not be a good idea to use daily in spite of what I learned in natural health classes and/or what I learned in nursing classes. Always understand WHY you are taking anything before taking it and that includes over-the-counter or pharmaceutical drugs. Are you using it to alkalinize your stomach contents to avoid indigestion or are you using it to alkalinize your blood (balance the pH of your body)? Well, if it's to reduce the amount of acid in your stomach - is that really what you need or want to do? As we get older, actually our stomach has less acid and we need it to digest the food that we eat, which is why I do not advocate TUMS or other such products. I do highly advocate probiotics, yogurt and chewable papaya extract tablets (that taste good too!) Even to use to alkalinize or balance the pH of your body, should we be recommending that people do this daily? I'm not convinced yet, but would really love some feedback from those who have tried this and/or advocate it - or not advocate it.

Original article from 2009:

Hardly a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me for advice on how to either “get rid of” the flu or what to do to enhance their immune system to prevent the flu, or how to keep their environment clean to keep the flu from walking in their door. All very good questions, and I love receiving them because I do think I have a lot of good answers for all of those questions. Many of the answers we will be writing more about in the next few weeks as soon as Christmas orders slow down a little, not that I’m complaining for goodness sakes! Thank you one and all for choosing to give Wingsets’ products for Christmas this year! Take a look at our newly reformulated (as of Oct 2011) Breathe Easy, Immune Enhancer and Cold & Flu #2 essential oil blends. I'll be writing more about each of those separately, as well as our Cold & Flu blends.

I did run across an article today about using baking soda, which is simply 100% sodium bicarbonate. I have sitting beside me a large box of the Arm & Hammer because we use it in our bath salts and body powders. It’s an amazing product and has many uses, but one that is largely ignored by the medical community is that it can be used to alkalinize the body. What this means is that it can balance the pH of your blood, which is important for a good strong immune system and general health and well-being. Here is a link to Dr. Mercola’s article about this product and how to use it: Overlooked 150 Year Old Household Cleaner a Remedy for Swine Flu?

Let me repeat here a caution that he mentions about aluminum being present in this Arm & Hammer product. "Many believe that Arm and Hammer Baking Soda as it is contaminated with aluminum even though the company that makes it claims it does not. We have been able to confirm that there are aluminum free baking sodas like Bob’s Red Mill Baking Soda. If you have any information on this please add it to the comment section below.

That being said – we will be changing over to Bob’s Red Mill baking soda. We can still use the Arm & Hammer for cleaning. I just wouldn’t want to take the chance of consuming it or sitting in a bath tub full of it if there is even a remote chance it contains aluminum.