The Magic of Food

Well, welcome to my blog! This comment is as much for me as it is for any readers that venture in here. I have resisted writing for ages and I finally decided it was time so I took the plunge. I have so much to share and this seems the most appropriate avenue to share it with anyone who takes the time to read it!

Enough of that! For those of you that don't know my story, I have degrees in nursing and engineering. Both sciences failed me when my daughter got sick 12 years ago and the doctors couldn't provide us with any answers. That started me on a journey to discover the healing powers of food - and as a side benefit, led me to discover how much fun food is and the magic contained in real food. Wow - it took me 2 degrees and then traveling back and forth to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City to earn a certificate in Health Counseling to find out that the answer to so many of my questions and life challenges were wrapped up in the magic of food.

As a side note, my daughter is now 25, healthy and wonderful!

Now I love teaching people about that magic. I have classes and do individual, group, couple and family counseling. It is so much fun! I teach people what food really is and how to tap into their body to help determine what foods make their body's feel great. I bring samples of cooked foods with me as well as leaving food behind for them to play with so they too can discover the magic!

I decided I wanted to reach a larger audience, hence - this blog!

I am going to post recipes and helpful hints and share with you my success stories and my failures so hopefully you can learn how easy it can be to feel great and in charge of your life.

I have been asked by several people for the following recipe. I just tried it Monday and it was so fabulous I had to share it. It comes from the recently published book "Clean Food" by Terry Walters. Terry is a fellow graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. The book is wonderful and I highly recommend it. It has ingredients listed that some of you may not be familiar with. I use many of these on a daily basis so if you have questions, holler at me! I added my comments in parentheses.

Silky Sweet Potato Pie

Crust:

1-1/2 cups pecans

1/4 cup chickpea flour (also called garbanzo bean flour - located in many grocery stores in the gluten free section)

2 tablespoons canola oil (I use whatever oil I have on hand - sunflower, safflower, green tea, almond, etc.)

2 tablespoons maple syrup (please use REAL maple syrup - not imitation or maple flavored. Real maple syrup is much more gentle on the body than the imitation flavored syrup)

Filling:

3 medium sweet potatoes

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup rice milk (I believe you could use any milk you like - I used real milk - my milk came straight from the cow about 1-1/2 weeks ago - it was still warm when I picked it up from the farmer!)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon arrowroot (look for this in the health food section or in the gluten free section - it is a starch - according to "The Joy of Cooking Cookbook" 1-1/2 teaspoons of arrowroot is the equivalent of 1 tablespoon flour OR 2 teaspoons of arrowroot is the equivalent of 1 tablespoon cornstarch - also remember that 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons so you can substitute flour or cornstarch. I like arrowroot better than either flour or cornstarch)

1 teaspoon agar powder (I used agar flakes - you can find this in asian markets or health food stores. Agar is a sea vegetable and quite healthy for you. It also is used as a thickener. I don't have a good equivalent for this because it is easy to use and it has many healthy properties to it. You may be able to skip it, but I wouldn't)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wash sweet potatoes, place on cookie sheet and bake until soft (time will vary according to the size of potatoes). Remove from oven and set aside.

Preparing Crust:

Meanwhile, chop pecans in a food processor until they resemble fine meal. Add chickpea flour and process briefly to combine. Add oil, syrup and salt and process to form dough. Lightly grease 9-inch pie plate with canola oil, add dough and press to form even crust (about 1/4-inch thick). Pierce several times with a fork and bake 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool.

Preparing Filling:

When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove skins and cut into large pieces. Place in cleaned food processor bowl and add maple syrup, rice milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, arrowroot and agar powder. Process until smooth.

Finishing:

Pour filling into cooled pie crust, cover pie edges with foil and bake 50 minutes to 1 hour until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Serves 6-8

I am too lazy to wrap my crust with foil so I simply used a sharp knife and cut off all excess crust so the crust was level with the sweet potatoes and this worked great. The crust didn't burn. The cooked crust tasted like a cookie!

The author also mentions that she serves this as a side dish. I did that one night and both my husband and I decided it was so yummy we ate it for dessert with a little real whipped cream on top! What a great way to get satifying sweets without the guilt!!

Love to all!

Sarah