One of the hardest things for me to have to give up in my journey was ice cream. I don't enjoy suffering, no matter the cause; and so for years I was making 'alternative' ice cream in my cute little Cuisnart ice cream tumbler. Alternative meaning not cane sugar but substitutes I felt were healthier such as maple syrup, brown rice syrup, barley malt and so forth.
I always recognized that these are still sugars though!
Ice cream is not an exact science and is in fact very forgiving with experimentation, so here is what I have come up with in a bold stroke of genius if I do say so myself...
(Don't forget, milk is still a sugar! But one I'm willing to live with for now)
I use a Cuisinart gel tumbler ice cream maker, you can get them for $50 these days at many stores that sell kitchen goodies.
Ingredients:
2 eggs
*2 cups (light) cream (you can use heavy; I prefer to make Light)
*1 cup (skim) milk (again, use what you like)
1/2 tsp Stevia
1-2 tsp extracts (optional)
4 oz unsweetened (baking) chocolate (optional)
nuts, berries, whatever...
*you can substitute soy milk or nut milks- they have enough fat that it's ok if there's no cream. There is also a great book called Vice Cream that uses Stevia, and is vegan if that's what you're after.*
Beat the eggs.... beat in the cream, then the milk... beat in the stevia. Remember to mix the stevia well, it gets funny with fatty ingredients.
I like Mint Chocolate Chip myself, so here I add 1 tsp vanilla and 2 tsp peppermint extract.
Pour the mix into the machine, follow the manufacturer's instructions.
I wait to add nuts or berries (best if prefrozen) into the mix when it's nearly ice cream (when it's churned up to the top lip of the blade and cover).
For 'chocolate chips':
Melt the chocolate before the ice cream reaches the lip. Add 1/4 tsp stevia, stir well. Add to the ice cream when it's reached the top; the chocolate should be warm enough to flow and make little blebs, but not so hot that it's turning it all back to milk- melt, wait 5 minutes, add. It takes a little finesse, and is tough to explain, sorry... I cook like my granny did...
Freeze, and enjoy!!!
9.17.2006
Not all Stevias are created equal...
A word of caution for you new stevia users out there....
When I began my journey to be sugar free, I got great advice and guidance from a good friend who has been fighting Candida for years. She had been cooking without sugar then for some time. She advised me to buy the Kal brand of Stevia, because it has no aftertaste.
And so I did.
I think I became spoiled, complascent; people would talk about Stevia having a bitter taste and whatnot, and I would think: huh, I haven't experienced that; maybe I can't taste that?
Then people who never eat stevia would eat my peanut butter cups and exclaim that they were wonderful, they were fooled, they'd never suspect it wasn't sugar... so I guessed I wasn't crazy, Kal really is that good.
So recently, I bought a cheaper version of stevia from Trader Joe's. Let me state here that I love TJ's, love their selection and service, etc; but the stevia they got is TERRIBLE. I ruined a batch of PB cups because it was the nastiest, most bitter gross thing EVER. At least they have a good return policy! So Kal it is and shall remain.
So be careful, if you are new to it and experimenting; don't let a bad stevia experience turn you off. It takes finesse to work with it. It takes patience, adding a little at a time, tasting and tasting until it's right. There's not a lot of resources out there yet promoting it as a sweetener because of the FDA b.s., but hopefully one day we will be free of that nonsense and able to eat safe sweets.
Until then, happy cooking!
When I began my journey to be sugar free, I got great advice and guidance from a good friend who has been fighting Candida for years. She had been cooking without sugar then for some time. She advised me to buy the Kal brand of Stevia, because it has no aftertaste.
And so I did.
I think I became spoiled, complascent; people would talk about Stevia having a bitter taste and whatnot, and I would think: huh, I haven't experienced that; maybe I can't taste that?
Then people who never eat stevia would eat my peanut butter cups and exclaim that they were wonderful, they were fooled, they'd never suspect it wasn't sugar... so I guessed I wasn't crazy, Kal really is that good.
So recently, I bought a cheaper version of stevia from Trader Joe's. Let me state here that I love TJ's, love their selection and service, etc; but the stevia they got is TERRIBLE. I ruined a batch of PB cups because it was the nastiest, most bitter gross thing EVER. At least they have a good return policy! So Kal it is and shall remain.
So be careful, if you are new to it and experimenting; don't let a bad stevia experience turn you off. It takes finesse to work with it. It takes patience, adding a little at a time, tasting and tasting until it's right. There's not a lot of resources out there yet promoting it as a sweetener because of the FDA b.s., but hopefully one day we will be free of that nonsense and able to eat safe sweets.
Until then, happy cooking!
8.12.2006
beautiful
That is the word I will use to describe how I have been feeling all summer, since I have stuck to my guns and lived sugar free. I am remembering the ways to work around what is offered me, what other people are doing and eating...
Truly though, I have been feeling cleaner and rested, healthy and happy. I feel my body is more streamlined and whole. My skin feels good, I feel balanced and strong.
The challange will be when school starts again, and this will take some work; the sugar flows free here, as people use it to combat stress... not knowing how much it contributes to stress in the end. I will work hard, because my challange this year is to remain myself and rooted in my ideals: not eating sugar, being true to who I am and what I want. That is my beauty and I wish to keep it so. I will work hard! I no longer want the old ways, habits and addictions to be a part of my Self and my Psyche... so this I will do. I will be prepared and if I stumble, I will be gentle but steer back into my own Way. This is the only way I know to stay healthy and sane.
Truly though, I have been feeling cleaner and rested, healthy and happy. I feel my body is more streamlined and whole. My skin feels good, I feel balanced and strong.
The challange will be when school starts again, and this will take some work; the sugar flows free here, as people use it to combat stress... not knowing how much it contributes to stress in the end. I will work hard, because my challange this year is to remain myself and rooted in my ideals: not eating sugar, being true to who I am and what I want. That is my beauty and I wish to keep it so. I will work hard! I no longer want the old ways, habits and addictions to be a part of my Self and my Psyche... so this I will do. I will be prepared and if I stumble, I will be gentle but steer back into my own Way. This is the only way I know to stay healthy and sane.
5.17.2006
conquering addiction
Humans are habitual. We have our routines, our cycles, are paths we wear down every day. We depend on them, they keep us sane and whole. And so it is not so farfetched to imagine that we have our addictions. I think every single human alive has an addiction of one sort or another. Most are benign, which is why you don't hear of it- some people are addicted to exercise, some to tea or coffee, sugar or what have you... the ones you hear about are the ones who got snagged by something more insidious and harmful, something harder to shake like hard drugs or acohol.
I have heard a few times the theory that alcoholics are sugar addicts who find their sugar in a bottle instead of a candy bar. It makes a lot of sense to me. There is also the companion theory that alcoholism runs in families; runs in mine, in fact. That's something everyone knows. Now think about sugar. That addiction runs in families too. Runs in mine. Take a deeper look and you'll see that both of them, sugar and alcohol, run in the same families all the time. There are people in alcoholic families that refuse to drink... but they hit up dunkin' donuts every day, prove me wrong! I'm one of those; I refuse to drink- so Johnny Walker was no friend of mine, but I invited Ben and Jerry over all the time.
Think about it. What do alcoholics do when they are trying to quit? The eat candy. They suck on suckers, chew on gum, eat ice cream and snickers, whatever they can to keep their blood sugar up, keep their mouths working... it is all the same demon. Only no one talks about sugar addiction because no one thinks it's a problem.
I do.
It was a problem for me. Is it a problem for everyone? Probably not. But I think sometimes how 'hangry' I get when I am crashing off sugar; how much road rage are we seeing? How much teen violence, domestic abuse, the list goes on and on- society is raging, and why? I have a lot of questions and ideas; is it because they are all crashing off sugar? Is it because they have nothing to believe in? Is it because we are working so hard and getting nowhere? I have no answers; all I can say is, you can control what you do to your body and your environment; your own actions, reactions, and so forth- so you might as well make what you are given as good as you can. As healthy as you can. So you can deal with the rest...
I have heard a few times the theory that alcoholics are sugar addicts who find their sugar in a bottle instead of a candy bar. It makes a lot of sense to me. There is also the companion theory that alcoholism runs in families; runs in mine, in fact. That's something everyone knows. Now think about sugar. That addiction runs in families too. Runs in mine. Take a deeper look and you'll see that both of them, sugar and alcohol, run in the same families all the time. There are people in alcoholic families that refuse to drink... but they hit up dunkin' donuts every day, prove me wrong! I'm one of those; I refuse to drink- so Johnny Walker was no friend of mine, but I invited Ben and Jerry over all the time.
Think about it. What do alcoholics do when they are trying to quit? The eat candy. They suck on suckers, chew on gum, eat ice cream and snickers, whatever they can to keep their blood sugar up, keep their mouths working... it is all the same demon. Only no one talks about sugar addiction because no one thinks it's a problem.
I do.
It was a problem for me. Is it a problem for everyone? Probably not. But I think sometimes how 'hangry' I get when I am crashing off sugar; how much road rage are we seeing? How much teen violence, domestic abuse, the list goes on and on- society is raging, and why? I have a lot of questions and ideas; is it because they are all crashing off sugar? Is it because they have nothing to believe in? Is it because we are working so hard and getting nowhere? I have no answers; all I can say is, you can control what you do to your body and your environment; your own actions, reactions, and so forth- so you might as well make what you are given as good as you can. As healthy as you can. So you can deal with the rest...
5.14.2006
Meena's Stevia Peanut Butter Cups
I made this one up myself... after a vegetarian 'natural sugar' recipe, that I have broken down over the years. They are rich, the chocolate is intense, so you may want to use mini-cupcake liners for a tinier taste sensation.
I don't usually measure anything, but I'll do my best for your benefit, you will find you won't need to measure either. Have fun!
Ingredients:
Stevia powder
18 liners in muffin tins (more if you use mini)
6 oz unsweetened chocolate (I prefer Ghiardelhi, Baker's sucks, Hershey's is ok)
1/2 to 3/4 cup plain old peanut butter (natural, no additives, no sugar)
Almond or hazelnut meal (ground up nuts, I found mine at Trader Joe's); 1/4 cup?
little bit o butter, one pat or so
Do it:
#1:
Melt 3 oz of the chocolate on a double boiler/ small pot over LOW heat.
Stir well!! Add Stevia to taste; I use the little tiny spoon it came with, and usually use 4 or 5 of those... between 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. Go slow... keep tasting until you like it. Should be smoothly sweet.
Pour a little into each liner, enough to coat the bottom of each of them.
#2:
In another little pot, melt a little butter (for lube sakes) and throw in the PB. Use whichever amount you like, want em full and gooey? use more then. Sorry, but I cook instinctually... like a granny, you know?
This is where you add Stevia to the PB mix; again, go for your taste, go slow, a little bit at a time. Cooking should be about tasting as you go, so here's your chance.
Add the nut meal slowly until the consistency is mushy, like cookie dough.
Yank those little guys out of the freezer and spoon a little of the PB mix on top of the chocolate, spread it out a little with your pinkie.
#3:
Make some more of the chocolate, same as before.
Ooze that chocolate on top of the PB cups, yum!
I put them in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up, so I can eat one right away. Why wait?
You need to store them in the fridge, they will melt like mad at room temp (you have some finger licking ahead of you) because real chocolate melts in your hand you know... enjoy!
Send me some feedback if you try this out.
I don't usually measure anything, but I'll do my best for your benefit, you will find you won't need to measure either. Have fun!
Ingredients:
Stevia powder
18 liners in muffin tins (more if you use mini)
6 oz unsweetened chocolate (I prefer Ghiardelhi, Baker's sucks, Hershey's is ok)
1/2 to 3/4 cup plain old peanut butter (natural, no additives, no sugar)
Almond or hazelnut meal (ground up nuts, I found mine at Trader Joe's); 1/4 cup?
little bit o butter, one pat or so
Do it:
#1:
Melt 3 oz of the chocolate on a double boiler/ small pot over LOW heat.
Stir well!! Add Stevia to taste; I use the little tiny spoon it came with, and usually use 4 or 5 of those... between 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. Go slow... keep tasting until you like it. Should be smoothly sweet.
Pour a little into each liner, enough to coat the bottom of each of them.
#2:
In another little pot, melt a little butter (for lube sakes) and throw in the PB. Use whichever amount you like, want em full and gooey? use more then. Sorry, but I cook instinctually... like a granny, you know?
This is where you add Stevia to the PB mix; again, go for your taste, go slow, a little bit at a time. Cooking should be about tasting as you go, so here's your chance.
Add the nut meal slowly until the consistency is mushy, like cookie dough.
Yank those little guys out of the freezer and spoon a little of the PB mix on top of the chocolate, spread it out a little with your pinkie.
#3:
Make some more of the chocolate, same as before.
Ooze that chocolate on top of the PB cups, yum!
I put them in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up, so I can eat one right away. Why wait?
You need to store them in the fridge, they will melt like mad at room temp (you have some finger licking ahead of you) because real chocolate melts in your hand you know... enjoy!
Send me some feedback if you try this out.
Stevia, my dear...
When I realized that I had merely traded a white sugar addiction for a 'natural' sugar addiction, I became interested in kicking the whole deal altogether. But how could I possibly live without chocolate? Wasn't it enough that I was suffering the cruel fate of not being able to handle sweets like some other folks could?
So I was turned on to Stevia. It was so mysterious- still is; cloaked in a sordid past because of how this country is run- by beaurocrats who don't know their asses from their elbows, much less what the good of the commonfolk might be. How is it that a powerful lobby of chemical sweeteners could dump the health of the american people into the garbage by making claims that something proven to cause cancer in lab rats is SAFER than something indigenous peoples have been using for over a thousand years? All those Japanese can't be wrong... Stevia is not the big bad boogey man, that evil little blue or pink packet is.
It frustrates the hell out of me! What it comes down to is this: you want to avoid sugar, you either have no sweet nothings (tough call if you were raised on Oreos, like me), or you eat cancer powder in the form of "Lite" or "Sugar Free!" (which, by the way, is not healthier... they have to kick up the fat content to make that crap edible... 'why am I fat, when I eat diet cookies?'). Can you have a Stevia cookie? Nope! You can buy Stevia as a dietary supplement, which means YES you CAN consume it, but you can't buy it as a sweetner... I mean, come on! Who are they fooling!
The down side of all this crappy red tape is that yes, it's out there and amazing, but does anyone really efficiently know how to use it? No, because the market has stayed tiny as a result! And boy is it easy to screw up Stevia cooking. Just ask me. I have one cookbook, by Jeoffrey Goet?something, and the peanut butter cookies came out like dog buscuits. I have heard somthing like Stevia concentrates are better now than they were, so you have to use more or something, can't remember... either way... you almost have to cook on instinct. I have been experimenting, slowly and carefully for a couple of years; I will post my success stories here. But man-0-man it is easy to make it taste like ass!
So do like I did, research Stevia on the 'net, it's out there and all over the place. I like the "Kal" brand (red and white bottle) of powder, they have none/barely any aftertaste. I am keen to try the others and compare. I want more recipe books, I want to be free to buy products marketed with it as it is meant to be- a non caloric, safe sweetener!
Fuck the man. That's all for tonight.
So I was turned on to Stevia. It was so mysterious- still is; cloaked in a sordid past because of how this country is run- by beaurocrats who don't know their asses from their elbows, much less what the good of the commonfolk might be. How is it that a powerful lobby of chemical sweeteners could dump the health of the american people into the garbage by making claims that something proven to cause cancer in lab rats is SAFER than something indigenous peoples have been using for over a thousand years? All those Japanese can't be wrong... Stevia is not the big bad boogey man, that evil little blue or pink packet is.
It frustrates the hell out of me! What it comes down to is this: you want to avoid sugar, you either have no sweet nothings (tough call if you were raised on Oreos, like me), or you eat cancer powder in the form of "Lite" or "Sugar Free!" (which, by the way, is not healthier... they have to kick up the fat content to make that crap edible... 'why am I fat, when I eat diet cookies?'). Can you have a Stevia cookie? Nope! You can buy Stevia as a dietary supplement, which means YES you CAN consume it, but you can't buy it as a sweetner... I mean, come on! Who are they fooling!
The down side of all this crappy red tape is that yes, it's out there and amazing, but does anyone really efficiently know how to use it? No, because the market has stayed tiny as a result! And boy is it easy to screw up Stevia cooking. Just ask me. I have one cookbook, by Jeoffrey Goet?something, and the peanut butter cookies came out like dog buscuits. I have heard somthing like Stevia concentrates are better now than they were, so you have to use more or something, can't remember... either way... you almost have to cook on instinct. I have been experimenting, slowly and carefully for a couple of years; I will post my success stories here. But man-0-man it is easy to make it taste like ass!
So do like I did, research Stevia on the 'net, it's out there and all over the place. I like the "Kal" brand (red and white bottle) of powder, they have none/barely any aftertaste. I am keen to try the others and compare. I want more recipe books, I want to be free to buy products marketed with it as it is meant to be- a non caloric, safe sweetener!
Fuck the man. That's all for tonight.
5.13.2006
Focus and clarity...
One of the best parts of eating well is how I feel. Your food intake is the way you alter your body chemically every single day. The way I am eating now means I am clear and focused, a huge bonus for me to get through vet school and retain something.
I think it's amazing that you can personally modulate your heath and mood just with what you put into your body. So many people in this world just don't know that and when I look around and see the general state of ill health and sadness, I know that it comes down largely to the fact that people are increadibly disconnected; to the earth, to their people, to their own bodies! How can you be so disconnected to your own body that you ignore the warning signs?
But we do, I did, we all do these days. We lost our connection so long ago that most people don't even have it as part of their culture anymore. And those that did- the Native Americans- are losing it as well (think of the alcoholism in that culture now, as a result of what has happened to their social structure...) Wherever we go we bring our poison, and leave a trail of ill health, ill feelings and ill being.
Is it any wonder?
I have almost magically relinquished a lot of the phantom sadness that has plagued me for so long. Could it really be that simply eating better can have this much of an effect on me? It can. No amount of chemically produced candy can give the kind of happiness and high that just feeling good can. Now granted a lot of this is hidden under the stress and strain of the unnatural vet school vibe I reside in... but when summer comes, and I can enjoy the heath and wellbeing I have crafted, I am certain that I will bask in the good times to come.
I think it's amazing that you can personally modulate your heath and mood just with what you put into your body. So many people in this world just don't know that and when I look around and see the general state of ill health and sadness, I know that it comes down largely to the fact that people are increadibly disconnected; to the earth, to their people, to their own bodies! How can you be so disconnected to your own body that you ignore the warning signs?
But we do, I did, we all do these days. We lost our connection so long ago that most people don't even have it as part of their culture anymore. And those that did- the Native Americans- are losing it as well (think of the alcoholism in that culture now, as a result of what has happened to their social structure...) Wherever we go we bring our poison, and leave a trail of ill health, ill feelings and ill being.
Is it any wonder?
I have almost magically relinquished a lot of the phantom sadness that has plagued me for so long. Could it really be that simply eating better can have this much of an effect on me? It can. No amount of chemically produced candy can give the kind of happiness and high that just feeling good can. Now granted a lot of this is hidden under the stress and strain of the unnatural vet school vibe I reside in... but when summer comes, and I can enjoy the heath and wellbeing I have crafted, I am certain that I will bask in the good times to come.
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