Day 46 (part 1): Dairy Free Chestnut Soup with Pan-Fried Mushrooms
Fem365: Fitness. Food. Femininity.
It takes a lot to get my husband excited about soup, but this one does the job. It’s rich and creamy, and full of deep, earthy flavors. It’s company-worthy. Yet easy!
I had never eaten a chestnut before moving to Germany. Once I tried them I was hooked! Unfortunately, “chestnut season” is over. I saw them all over the place in November and December, but alas, they’re no longer readily available. We found a pack of chestnuts on our recent trip to France and we snagged it (there were only two left). We probably won’t get to make this soup again until next Fall, but this is a recipe worth “sitting on” for 6 months to a year. I promise!
You can roast your own chestnuts (time consuming!), or buy pre-shelled/pre-cooked packs like this one (recommended for this recipe):
ready-to-eat packaged chestnuts
Dairy Free Chestnut Soup with Pan-Fried Mushrooms
Serves 3-4
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil or olive oil (or a combination of the two)
- l large carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3.5 cups chicken stock
- 1 pack pre-cooked chestnuts (amounts to approx 1.5 cups of chestnuts when removed from package)
- 1/4 cup cooking sherry
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp celery seeds
- 1/4 tsp caraway seeds
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (full-fat, from a can)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp coconut or olive oil
- 15-20 mushrooms, sliced
Directions:
- Heat oil in medium soup pot over medium heat. When oil is nice and hot, add carrot, celery, garlic, and 1/4 tsp salt. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently so garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add broth and chestnuts. Simmer 20 minutes.
- Add sherry, thyme, celery seeds, and caraway seeds. Simmer 5 minutes.
- Pour soup into a blender and puree until smooth (or use immersion blender right in your soup pot. I WISH I HAD ONE OF THOSE!!!) Pour pureed soup back into your soup pot and stir in coconut milk, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. I probably used an additional 1/2 tsp of salt… You may prefer more or less depending on the saltiness of your stock. Heat soup gently, just until it starts to simmer (3-5 minutes). Soup is done!
- Toward the end of your soup-cooking process, heat 1 Tbsp oil in large skillet. When oil is hot, spread sliced mushrooms in a single layer in skillet. Let sizzle for 2-3 minutes, then stir/flip, and let sizzle for another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
- To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with pan-fried mushrooms. You may want to sprinkle a bit of fresh parsley or dill on top of each serving for garnish… It looks pretty, but it’s not necessary.
so yum!
Day 45: Grain Free Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Decadent Cocoa-Nut Butter
Fem365: Fitness. Food. Femininity.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Sooooo… These pancakes are not a “health food.” They are grain free, but I’m not fooling myself into believing they are something that I should (or could) eat on a daily basis. But they were GOOD. We ate these rich, chocolaty lovelies this morning to honor our Valentine’s Day tradition: Every year we make chocolate-chocolate chip pancakes. They have always been gluten free and dairy free, but now they’re grain free as well. And better than ever when topped with amazingly decadent cocoa-nut butter.
We have been over indulging lately. Sugar has crept back into our lives, I’ve been taking in too much caffeine (I’m not opposed to coffee, but 4 cups a day is too much for me), and we’ve been drinking more wine and spirits than usual. It’s time to back off. For the next 10 days we’re going to get back to the basics. I won’t be posting about “treats” — no matter how “paleo” they are — for a couple of weeks. But first, I want to share this recipe and two more family favorites.
Read on for the pancakes we had this morning, and check back tomorrow for TWO MORE POSTS with recipes from our Valentine’s Day weekend… Two of my husband’s favorites: Dairy Free Chestnut Soup, and a fantastic Savory Grain Free Dutch Baby. YUM!
First, the pancakes. A happy way to start the day.
Grain Free Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Decadent Cocoa-Nut Butter
For Pancakes:
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup coconut milk (full-fat, from a can… Stir it up well so it’s not too thick)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- Coconut oil (or butter, or ghee, or bacon fat) for frying
For Nut Butter:
- 1/2 cup roasted almonds
- 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp agave
- 2 Tbsp coconut milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Directions (Pancakes): Throw all ingredients EXCEPT CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND FAT FOR FRYING into a blender and blend until smooth. *Regarding the coconut milk: start with 1/4 cup coconut milk and add up to 1/2 coconut milk to reach desired consistency.* Let batter sit for 5-10 minutes to allow it to thicken slightly.
Place griddle or skillet over medium heat and melt coconut oil (or ghee, or butter, or bacon fat) for frying. When pan and fat is nice and hot, ladle on the batter. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips onto each pancake while they are cooking. We have found that this works better than stirring the chocolate chips into the batter. When you add them directly to the batter, they all sink to the bottom!
Flip pancakes when small bubbles form around the edges. Makes approximately 8 large-ish pancakes. We had leftovers (maybe).
Directions (Nut Butter):
Throw all ingredients into food processor. Whizz until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Top pancakes with nut butter and devour with coffee for a serious caffeine buzz!
My son, enjoying his HUGE pancake (special treat!)
Day 44: FemFusion Fitness for Intimacy, on my bookshelf!!!
Fem365: Fitness. Food. Femininity.
Check this out! It’s a screenshot of my iBooks “bookshelf” with my book on it!!! It’s not the “real deal” yet — it’s just a proof — but it’s so exciting for me to see my e-book on my virtual bookshelf. More details about the release date and a fun launch party for those in the Kaiserslautern area to come!
Day 42: Leave a legacy of health.
Fem365: Fitness. Food. Femininity.
I might have already mentioned that I’m in the midst of Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University” course. Dave likes to talk about “changing your family tree” in terms of dumping debt, learning how to manage money wisely, and then passing the information on to your kids, grandkids, etc. He is a proponent of change… Changing the way future generations think of finances: Rising up from the roots of money mis-management, growing a more solid financial foundation for your family, and then sustaining this positive direction of financial growth for future generations. I like it.
I was pondering the idea of “changing your family tree” today as I thought of two friends who recently reported to me — in the same day, at separate times — that one of their parents was dealing with a major medical crisis. Lord, time flies. I am approaching the age when my friends and I are having to think of the health of our parents. Let’s face it: We’re all getting older, and mom and dad — our protectors, our guardians, the backbones of our family of origin — will need help from us at some point in the future. It’s a scary thought to me; I’m not ready for it. Luckily, my parents are both extremely healthy so I don’t have to worry about it… Yet.
My parents with their pride and joy --- their grandbaby.
To my knowledge, the parents of the two friends I mentioned above do not fall into the medical conditions and demographics that I am about to discuss. However, their current medical crises got me thinking about the medical conditions — in general — that our aging society is dealing with today. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes together account for the majority of all non-accident/injury deaths, and they are largely preventable according to numerous studies. “An impressive body of research has implicated modifiable lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical activity, diet and body weight in the causes of these diseases,” state the authors of an August 2009 Archives of Internal Medicine article. (I realize this is not the most current article, but the evidence has not changed over the last 2.5 years…)
A review of this article states that:
After adjusting for age, sex, education level and occupation, individuals with more healthy lifestyle factors were less likely to develop chronic diseases. Participants who had all four factors at the beginning of the study had a 78 percent lower risk of developing any of the chronic diseases during the follow-up period than those who had none of the healthy factors. The four factors were associated with a 93 percent reduced risk of diabetes, 81 percent reduced risk of heart attack, 50 percent reduced risk of stroke and 36 percent reduced risk of cancer.
The largest reduction in risk was associated with having a BMI lower than 30, followed by never smoking, at least 3.5 hours of physical activity and then adhering to good dietary principles.
Are you engaging in any of these four risk factors? Are you carrying extra body fat (notice I did not say weight, as some people weigh much more due to muscle mass/bone structure, therefore BMI may not be the best measure of excess body fat… But I digress…)? Do you smoke (dear heaven, I hope you said “no”)? Are you exercising regularly? How is your diet? Are you eating enough produce (please say “yes!”)? Is the majority of your food processed (please say “no!”)?
me and my boy
Think about these risk factors in relation to your life. Think about your future, and the future of your children who are going to have to deal with you when you develop cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or cancer. Do you want your children to have to deal with that? Or do you want to live a vibrant life for as long as possible?
Of course, sh*t happens and sometimes the healthiest person who does everything “right” will still develop one of these chronic diseases. But give it your best shot to avoid falling victim to them. When you change your behaviors and adopt healthier lifestyle habits you will pass these habits, traits, and values on to your children and grandchildren. You will change your family tree.
A legacy of health is the best gift you can leave your family as time (inevitably) marches on.
What are you doing to leave a legacy of health for your loved ones? Please comment below!
Day 41: Aphrodisiacs for women
Valentine’s Day is coming up! If you need to do some grocery shopping this weekend, you might want to add a few of these items to your shopping cart: chocolate, honey, asparagus, pine nuts, vanilla, avocado, ginger, anise, basil… YUM! Take a look at these links to see common foods that are known for their “aphrodisiac” properties.
Feminine Review: Female Aphrodisiac Foods, and Loveology University: Aphrodisiacs
What are my Valentine’s Day food plans? I’m planning to make “Honeyed Almond-Stuffed Figs” (inspired by Abby’s Table in Portland, Oregon…) I’m going to stuff dried figs with roasted, salted almonds and drizzle them with with vanilla-infused honey (anything “infused” instantly sounds super cool to me). I’m also going to make two of my husband’s favorite recipes: Savory Grain-Free Dutchbaby, and Dairy Free Chestnut Soup (recipes to come). For breakfast, we will continue our family’s tradition of chocolate-chocolate chip pancakes, but this year they will be grain-free. At least we’ll give it a try! If it’s a success, I’ll share the recipe.
This weekend, show love and affection freely and without hesitation. Remember:
“Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.”
-David Grayson