Omicron: no need to feel like a sitting duck
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGSqEw5P0-c
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COVID-19
This article is intended to be a discussion of our current situation, taken from my personal and professional perspective. Any specific recommendations are meant for educational purposes only and are entirely in keeping with my level of qualification. Please seek medical advice to make medical decisions but incorporate what you've learnt here to inform your discussions with other professionals!
Like many of you when I first realised how serious this thing was becoming for us in the UK I wondered why the government wasn't doing more and if I should keep my children at home ahead of them being sent home.
Having been brought up to date by the UK Chief Medical Officer and the epidemiologists from the WHO I now have a different view. I'm going to assume that you've made your peace with the idea that this thing is coming, that there can be no vaccine as yet and that we are relying heavily on basic but effective strategies...
Cassava flour scones
These are something between a scone and a roll. I've used them for a cream tea as well as to go with soup. It all depends what you put on them! Cassava flour has a fairly plain taste and creates a good texture so works well as a flour substitute for these reasons.
Ingredients
4 eggs
50g extra virgin olive oil
100g cassava flour
45g arrowroot
2 tbsp psyllium husk fibre
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
Turn on the oven to 190 °C.
If you have a reasonably high powered food processor then you might be able to do as I do and put all of the ingredients in together and whizz and scrape until it's all well mixed.
To mix by hand I would mix wet ingredients together into one bowl and then sieve all the dry ingredients together in another bowl. Then adding the wet to the dry, beat until thoroughly incorporated.
In either...
Kale Crips
Kale crisps are, without doubt, my absolute number 1 way to eat kale. Given how they cook down you can eat quite a lot of its green, leafy goodness this way too. This recipe is inspired by the kale crisps I came across in Pret. Basically I looked at the list of ingredients on the packet and started making my own for much cheaper!
As always, I use compromises which allow me to make them more quickly. One shortcut is that I use baby kale rather than normal (adult?!) kale because it takes a long time to separate all the tough stalks from the leaves of your usual kale which must be done to get good results. Sadly I've been known to have kale go to waste on more than one occasion because I never got round to finding a slot of time long enough to do this essential preparation job. Instead of risking this happening again I found I could...
Nutri-Brex Bites
Before I get going let me just say that neither Nutri-Brex nor the Bites that I've made using them are foods that I'd recommend anyone eat in large quantities. They are a compromise but they are also kind of useful and make a delicious little treat that doesn't break the health bank too badly. Nutri-Brex are very similar to Weetabix but made from the gluten-free, low lectin, high resistant starch, ancient grain, sorghum. Yes, the sorghum is no longer in its truly whole grain form, which is where they fall down on the optimum food stakes but I'll forgive them that because, 1. my children like them and I know these are better for them than pretty much any cereal I can think of and 2. they are useful for making these little treats which are shockingly easy to prepare. They are quite widely available in supermarkets too.
What you see here, from left to right, are Chocolate Bites, Apricot and Almond Bites and...
Cassava bread
The idea of a soft, light, gluten-free bread loaf which doesn't need toasting or heating to become palatable is not something one can usually buy, even in the shops, let alone make at home. That this would also be relatively high in protein and fibre and have a low glycaemic index compared to any grain-based loaf puts it into a league of its own. Additionally it's quick and easy to make (no proving or kneading are involved) because this is the way I like things. Need I say more?!
As an aside...some people try a gluten-free diet and resolve certain problems whilst creating new ones. Many gluten free alternatives (both products and ingredients) are very refined which is terrible for blood sugar balance. Nut flours have far less glycaemic impact but introduce large amounts of omega 6s which can upset omega 3 : omega 6 ratios. Shop bought products generally contain additives to counter the properties of the missing gluten which...
Konjac rice pudding
This is just the thing for the onset of autumn. Delicious hot or cold, this was very easy to make.
For 2 servings you'll need:
a bag of miracle rice
4 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tin full-fat coconut milk (preferably without stabilisers and / or emulsifiers - I like Biona's)
2 tbsp xylitol or use anything else you prefer though if you use raw honey ideally add after cooking and cooling
1 egg / 1.5 tbsp intact linseed which should be freshly ground
1 tsp vanilla extract
Freshly grated nutmeg
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Thoroughly rinse the miracle rice for 1 minute and leave to drain. Mix the arrowroot with a little coconut milk until there are no lumps. Grease an ovenproof dish and mix all the ingredients into this and cook for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Variations:
add a 1 tsp ghee (Fushi's French, organic is the best I've found) if you like
add cacao...
Apple and cinnamon ‘porridge’
Breakfast can be an awkward meal for those wishing to side-step the refined carbohydrate frenzy that is the typical western breakfast and still make it out of the house in time for the school run or work. This is pretty quick to make fresh but you can save time in the morning by preparing some or all of it the night before.
The 'porridge' base is a mixture of half and half:
freshly ground linseed (use a coffee grinder if you don't have something more purpose-made)
psyllium husk fibre
...plus ground cinnamon and enough milk of your choice (A2 / Jersey / dairy free) to make into your preferred porridge consistency. Allow a couple of minutes for the base ingredients to soak up the milk; perhaps while you prepare the apple.
The topping is one chopped eating apple (plus a teaspoon of ghee or coconut oil) cooked gently in a small amount of water with the lid on the pan until the skin...
Cake for breakfast? Oh go on then!
I'm a big fan of challenges drawing out some of the best stuff from us. If I had not had a problem with yesterday's breakfast (more on that to come in future posts) I would not have created this, and even if I say so myself, it's yummy!
Each of these little beauts contains:
1tbsp cassava flour
1tbsp coconut flour
1 "linseed egg" (1tbsp milled linseed soaked in 2.5tbsp water for 5 minutes then all added)
1tbsp coconut oil (I used the no-flavour one)
1tbsp perilla oil (Totally not necessary to use this - I was just trying it out. Another time I'd try more coconut oil or, even better, MCT oil now I know that the recipe works (MCT oil is pricey).)
0.5tsp baking powder (I would reduce this a little another time. I got a good rise and texture but could slightly taste this raising agent.)
Good pinch Himalayan sea salt (any sea salt is fine).
1 heaped tsp...