True Health Medicine will be closed from Thursday September 3rd at 1pm until Tuesday September 9th at 9am for the Labor Day holiday weekend. Please feel free to leave us a message at 503-691-0901 and we'll get back to you next week.
I'm heading out camping for the holiday weekend and have been working hard all week to plan for a healthy movable feast for the long weekend. In addition to many fresh fruits and vegetables for snacks, I hit upon the idea of making and bringing a new snack favorite for a crunchy, salty treat for the weekend. If you haven't yet learned to love kale, consider these kale chips a different food altogether and try them! Before these (and a raw kale salad from Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet), I ate my kale because it was good for me - now I eat it because I love it!
Sundried Tomato Kale Chips
Amounts are approximate, adjust seasonings to taste.
Note: for best results, a dehydrator is needed.
1-2 bunches kale
1/2-1 cup sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup tahini
1-2 cup nut or rice milk or tomato soak water
1 Tbsp oregano
1-2 Tbsp basil
2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
1-2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
(available in the bulk department at New Seasons, also delicious on toast or popcorn)
Soak sundried tomatoes in enough water to cover. While tomatoes are soaking, prepare kale. Rinse kale and cut out central vein. I have left this in before, but we usually ended up eating around it, so I cut it out now for easier eating. If the vein doesn't extend to the tip, you can also cut off the end of the kale (up to where the vein starts to get thick) as a separate chip. These "tip chips" are always my favorite. Usually after cutting out the vein, you're left with two halves. I cut these in half again for chips that are about 1/4 the size of the original leaf. You could also cut them smaller.
By the time you finish preparing the kale, the sundried tomatoes will have soaked long enough. Mix tomatoes, tahini, spices and 1/2 liquid (rice/nut milk or soak water) in blender until tomatoes are well blended. Pour mixture into bowl. You may add the remaining liquid now or as you go. Mix well.
The next step is to get the tomato mixture onto the kale leaves and there are many ways to accomplish this. You can pour many leave into the mixture and mix with a spoon or clean hands or you can put the leaves in one at a time. In any event, you will likely be removing the kale from the mixture and squeezing off excess dressing with your hands. You want the kale to be covered with the dressing on both surfaces without using it all up on a couple of leaves. After dehydrating, the flavor is more concentrated, so it doesn't take much dressing per leaf. As you get to the bottom of the dressing bowl, you may need to add more liquid, even water, to thin and extend the dressing. Use a spatula to scrap down the sides of the bowl, too. I have not found that "marinating" for any length of time is necessary - just cover the leaves by whatever method you prefer and then lay the leaves out on a dehydrator tray.
Depending on your dehydrator, it may take more or less time for the chips to be ready. It takes mine about 4 hours until they are mostly dry. If I'm eating them pretty soon, I may even leave them slightly moist (still dry and crispy, but not completely dried out). If you don't have a dehydrator, you can also try baking these in a low oven. I would set the oven as low as it will go and either leave it slightly open or pulse the oven on and off to keep the temperature low as it doesn't take much heat for these to dry.
These are my favorite, but you can also make them with any other dressing you can think of. I've even made them with apple cider vinegar and salt and they were delicious! There's no limit - enjoy!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Reminder: Last Raw Food Talk!
Don't miss our last Raw Food Talk of the summer season. Tomorrow, Thursday August 27 at 7pm at New Seasons Market Happy Valley. Call 503.558.9214 to reserve your spot today.
Our other raw food talks have been well-attended with great feedback from people with no experience in raw food to people who have made and enjoyed raw gourmet meals. We discuss the health benefits of raw food and how to get started with this fresh, live, wheat and sugar free cuisine. This Thursday, we'll be teaching in the Happy Valley cooking school, so we'll be doing a live demo showing how quick and easy it is to make a raw dessert.
If you're interested in raw diet/cuisine and can't make it to this talk, please send us a note or leave a comment. Dr. Devo will be teaching some raw un-cooking classes starting in January and we'd be happy to send you a reminder when that is on the schedule!
Our other raw food talks have been well-attended with great feedback from people with no experience in raw food to people who have made and enjoyed raw gourmet meals. We discuss the health benefits of raw food and how to get started with this fresh, live, wheat and sugar free cuisine. This Thursday, we'll be teaching in the Happy Valley cooking school, so we'll be doing a live demo showing how quick and easy it is to make a raw dessert.
If you're interested in raw diet/cuisine and can't make it to this talk, please send us a note or leave a comment. Dr. Devo will be teaching some raw un-cooking classes starting in January and we'd be happy to send you a reminder when that is on the schedule!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Shepard's Pie (Vegetarian Option)
I signed up for a farm share through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program this summer and have been getting a bag of farm fresh produce every week throughout the summer. It's been a challenge keeping up with everything, so I've been trying to come up with ideas for how to use a lot of the veggies all at once. This Shepard's Pie helped me use up a lot of the farm produce and so, get a lot of vegetables into one meal!
I tend to think of Shepard's Pie as a fall or winter meal, because it is so hardy, but the fresh herbs and beans kept it light and fresh tasting. Enjoy!
Shepard's Pie
Top Layer: Mashed Potatoes
I've gotten pretty creative with my mashed potato recipes - starting with adding onions and garlic, I've gone all the way to adding basil and balsamic vinegar. For this dish, I used what was at hand and was pleased with the results, but make the mashed potatoes your favorite way!
4 red potatoes
1 leek, thoroughly cleaned and chopped
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
handful fresh basil
milk or soy milk - used to blend to preferred consistency
Chop and boil red potatoes, leaving skins on. Drain and set aside. Saute leek in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Mix potatoes, leeks and milk - use electric mixer and more milk for smooth consistency or hand-masher and less milk for a thicker texture. Mix in chopped basil and salt and pepper to taste.
Middle Layer: Veggie Medley
Any veggies will do for the middle layer - in the past, I've used a bag of frozen mixed veggies with corn, green beans and peas. For this summer version, I used fresh green beans, yellow wax beans, carrot and yellow summer squash. Wash and trim green beans, wax beans, carrot and squash. Slice carrot and squash into coin shapes and cut green and wax beans into 1 inch pieces. Steam together.
Bottom Layer: Meat Layer
1/2 pound ground Buffalo or organic grass fed beef
OR
1-2 cups of vegetarian grounds
OR
2 vegetarian burger patties (I used 2 Amy's original burger patties, warmed up and then broken into pieces)
2-4 Tbsp chopped or minced onion (optional)
2-4 Tbsp chopped peppers - use mildly spicy peppers for a great flavor (I used the small wrinkled Italian variety - they are mildly spicy, but very flavorful and it made the meat(less) layer a big hit!)
1 cup chopped cherry/grape tomatoes
Lightly saute onions and peppers, add meat or vegetarian crumbles/patties. Cook until done, add chopped tomatoes, turn off heat and put a lid on for 5 minutes or until ready to assemble. This will lightly cook the tomatoes and help blend the flavors.
Assembly: It couldn't get any easier than pouring each layer into a casserole dish in order. Individual ramekins would also be a great way to serve this dish. Everything is already cooked fully, so it doesn't really need to bake, but you can either keep it warm in a low oven or let it bake a little to crisp the top. We ate this one night as is (with a little salt and pepper to taste) and added a little cheddar cheese on top the next - both ways were delicious. Enjoy!
I tend to think of Shepard's Pie as a fall or winter meal, because it is so hardy, but the fresh herbs and beans kept it light and fresh tasting. Enjoy!
Shepard's Pie
Top Layer: Mashed Potatoes
I've gotten pretty creative with my mashed potato recipes - starting with adding onions and garlic, I've gone all the way to adding basil and balsamic vinegar. For this dish, I used what was at hand and was pleased with the results, but make the mashed potatoes your favorite way!
4 red potatoes
1 leek, thoroughly cleaned and chopped
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
handful fresh basil
milk or soy milk - used to blend to preferred consistency
Chop and boil red potatoes, leaving skins on. Drain and set aside. Saute leek in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Mix potatoes, leeks and milk - use electric mixer and more milk for smooth consistency or hand-masher and less milk for a thicker texture. Mix in chopped basil and salt and pepper to taste.
Middle Layer: Veggie Medley
Any veggies will do for the middle layer - in the past, I've used a bag of frozen mixed veggies with corn, green beans and peas. For this summer version, I used fresh green beans, yellow wax beans, carrot and yellow summer squash. Wash and trim green beans, wax beans, carrot and squash. Slice carrot and squash into coin shapes and cut green and wax beans into 1 inch pieces. Steam together.
Bottom Layer: Meat Layer
1/2 pound ground Buffalo or organic grass fed beef
OR
1-2 cups of vegetarian grounds
OR
2 vegetarian burger patties (I used 2 Amy's original burger patties, warmed up and then broken into pieces)
2-4 Tbsp chopped or minced onion (optional)
2-4 Tbsp chopped peppers - use mildly spicy peppers for a great flavor (I used the small wrinkled Italian variety - they are mildly spicy, but very flavorful and it made the meat(less) layer a big hit!)
1 cup chopped cherry/grape tomatoes
Lightly saute onions and peppers, add meat or vegetarian crumbles/patties. Cook until done, add chopped tomatoes, turn off heat and put a lid on for 5 minutes or until ready to assemble. This will lightly cook the tomatoes and help blend the flavors.
Assembly: It couldn't get any easier than pouring each layer into a casserole dish in order. Individual ramekins would also be a great way to serve this dish. Everything is already cooked fully, so it doesn't really need to bake, but you can either keep it warm in a low oven or let it bake a little to crisp the top. We ate this one night as is (with a little salt and pepper to taste) and added a little cheddar cheese on top the next - both ways were delicious. Enjoy!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Thanks for Stopping By!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth at the Tualatin Crawfish Festival.
We had a great time and enjoyed meeting so many members of our community.
If you didn't have time to stop by and get your questions answered,
please send us a note or give us a call - we'd be happy to talk to you.
503-691-0901
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tualatin Crawfish Festival
Top 10 Reasons to Attend the 2009 Tualatin Crawfish Festival
10. Hot Rod Show
9. Kayak rides in the lake
8. 5K Run/Walk
7. Skateboard Show/Competition
6. Dog fashion show, Atsa My Dawg Show, K-9 Demonstration
5. Photography contest
4. Dancing Impala and Indian Folk Dance Demonstrations
3. Crawfish, crawfish and more crawfish, including
a cook-off and eating contests
2. Come say "Howdy" to your favorite local naturopaths at the
True Health Medicine booth!
1. A great time in our community together!
There really is something for everyone at the Crawfish Festival. Bring the whole family for a great day at this Wild West Fest. For more information, click here.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Out and About
It's summer and we're out and about town. In addition to our booths at nearby community events, the doctors of True Health Medicine are continuing our speaking schedule. Tonight at 7pm at New Seasons Market Orenco Station, Dr. Jeff Clark is speaking on Healthy Weight Loss and Maintenance.
Whether you feel you're at your ideal weight or you'd like to lose a few (or more) pounds, you'll likely learn something valuable from this course. We'll cover what ideal weight is and why it matters, how your weight is related to disease risk and lifespan, complicating factors that might make it hard to lose weight and how medically assisted weight loss can help.
RSVP 503.648.6968
Cost: Free
Address: New Seasons Market, Orenco Station
1453 NE 61st Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97124
Whether you feel you're at your ideal weight or you'd like to lose a few (or more) pounds, you'll likely learn something valuable from this course. We'll cover what ideal weight is and why it matters, how your weight is related to disease risk and lifespan, complicating factors that might make it hard to lose weight and how medically assisted weight loss can help.
RSVP 503.648.6968
Cost: Free
Address: New Seasons Market, Orenco Station
1453 NE 61st Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97124
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wilsonville Fun in the Park
True Health Medicine is participating in Wilsonville's Fun in the Park event this Saturday from 10am to 5pm at the Wilsonville Town Center Park. Come see us at our booth to learn more about naturopathic medicine or acupuncture. Enter for a chance to win a massage, acupuncture treatment or non-surgical face lift and tone treatment. We hope to see you at the park!
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