My Heart Healthy and Lectin Free Kitchen

My refrigerator magnets spell out, "The Cold is Here!"  What is better on a cold day than homemade soup.   Keeping with my goal to be as lectin-free as possible I embarked on a goal to make something that would be warm and spicy without any beans. (I have issues eating too many beans too often)  I know, a tall order.  But then I came up with this Green Salsa Taco Style Soup.  If you don't have a problem with eating corn, you can substitute the Chayote squash and/or mushrooms for a large can of hominy.  But since I am no longer eating corn I went on the hunt for something else for my particular crock pot of soup. Give it a try.  We loved it enough to eat it two days in a row!  If you like it spicier, then add more Sriracha sauce to it.

One of the things I love to eat for breakfast during late fall and winter is hot cereal.  Most of us think 'Oatmeal' or 'Cream of Wheat' or something similar.  As a kid I really loved Malt-O-Meal.  This morning was cold (we got our first snow last night) and I needed ( NEEDED ) Hot Cereal for breakfast, so last night I put together my mini  size crock pot with Sorghum and Millet grain.  It turned out OH SO GOOD!   Give it a try and let me know what you think. 

Before my gluten-free days I loved using the recipes that King Arthur Flour (KAF) had on their website.  Since then not so much.  So earlier this year I asked them if their kitchen would work up some truly gluten free recipes that would also taste good.  This week in their catalogue I saw they had a Chocolate Torte recipe that had absolutely no wheat, rice, oat or barley flour in it.   Of course, I also don't use sugar or sugary products like honey in my baking since I am also diabetic, and I don't use cow milk products. . . so. . . .you guessed it, I adapted KAF's awesome recipe to fit my other needs and IT WAS SO GOOD!  It met my need for a chocolaty dessert on so many levels.   Thanks King Arthur!

That's right, gluten free, sugar free, lactose free and probably the best tasting quick bread I've made in a long time! My friend Tammy came to me with this recipe a couple of months ago and asked me if I could rewrite it to be friendly for diabetics.  Of course I said yes, and now she and I have another great tasting fall and winter type bread we can enjoy without feeling guilty. Thanks for believing in me Tammy.  I'm bringing it to Bible study tomorrow. 😊

When I was growing up we ate all kinds of crackers with all kinds of food; something my husband and I continued doing after we got married (28 years ago! 😊)  Then last year I started eating lectin free which means striving to be wheat free.  I scoured the internet for something that I could use (they also can't have any rice or potato flour in them) to meet my cracker addiction.  Nothing. My next thought was, if I can make bread that is compliant, why can't I also make crackers?  A lot of other cooks must have thought the same thing because I began seeing different kinds of "gluten-free" and "paleo" cracker recipes pop up in blogs and Facebook groups.   Some of them tasted okay, most just tasted nasty and bland.  So . . .You guessed it, I started experimenting until I came up with one that I liked the taste of, but more important, that my dog and husband also liked.  My recipe calls for two XL eggs .  If you only have large eggs on...

Potatoes on a lectin free diet?!?  Per Dr. Gundry yes if you pressure cook them (I used my steam vegetables setting), but only do it occasionally.  They are still heavy in carbs and if you are diabetic like me, they will make your blood sugar go up some.   With that being said, I went about creating a yummy, creamy potato soup like the ones my husband used to make for us, only more compliant with the Plant Paradox way of eating.

I was at a craft show over the weekend and bought a small jar of Pumpkin-Apple Butter from one of the vendors.  Not at all on my diet and chalked full of those lectins I have give up.  Well, I bought it for some muffins I made to take to my Bible study and everyone loved it so I decided I had to find a way to manipulate the recipe so I could enjoy it too.  It was so simple of a conversion I didn't even finish a cup of tea while doing it!  It is full of all those traditional fall flavors so many of us love to eat.  Hope you enjoy it too.