Twist and turns, also in my home country!

Now it is not only Swedish traditional media that is jumping on the low carb train. Today Finland's main newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat takes a balanced stand on the diet as well. For those of you blessed with the knowledge of our beautiful language, here the editor's opinion: It's not worth it to put down the low carb diet.

I guess the editor is reacting on the tv debate some days ago, which I had already made some reflections about but not yet had time to publish here on my blog.

Some days ago I saw a debate on low carb diet on Finnish National Television. As usual, there were the two sides represented among the debators: pro-fat/low carb and pro-low fat/"high fiber through carbs". I was amazed to see how the low carb (high fat) society is gaining territory through simply stating the personal benefits such diet has brought on their life while it seems as if the official state position of defending low fat does just not sound so convincing anymore. Or is it just me interpreting things here? It can't be, super markets are sold out on butter and lowcarb articles are present even in all evening press editions - also here on the eastern side of the pond.


What really puzzles me in this current food debate is that there are researchers out there that are not interested in digging into some real interesting topics, which clear potentials of making remarkable contributions to science and instead they claim that there are more valuable areas to which they can dedicate their time. Somehow their argument that where they get their financing has nothing to do with what they do research about just does not sound so convincing . So once again, why don't they want to do research that can bring them fame and glory then?

To be clear on things here, I am not promoting a Low Carb High Fat diet to anyone! I am in favor of everyone figuring out what their own body needs. Even more so after having read Michael Pollan's  very balanced book "In defense of food" this weekend. However, the connection between LCHF and "real food" for common people is usually that when you go on a carb-detox a la LCHF you quickly notice how much space in the grocery store is completely useless because it is occupied by products that according to Pollan's arguments "would not be recognized as food by your great grand mother". You start reading labels and you realize how much stuff is filled with substances that you do not want nowhere near your metabolic system. This is not food, says Pollan, this is food science and if you want to live a long and healthy life, you'd better stay away from those products.

There, two flies in one. You can see the Finnish telly debate here: A Talk - karppaaminen.

And if you're interested in Pollan then please check out his homepage: In Defense of Food

Sunday Pizza!

Sunday evening, post-party feeling among parents (kids happily unaware of our halloween countriside ventures last night) and a very long day from having turned the time towards winter time last night... what else than pizza on such a day?

Ok, now you might be puzzled...me, pizza? And what about the wheat free stuff? I figured out a way around the problem. It's not exactly wise choice, since the pizza contained a lot of cheese (not lacteo-free) but I still think it is decent in nutrion.

The pizza was made on fiberhusk, yest, water, olive oil, buckwheat flour, rice flour and grounded sunflower seeds. As a topping I dug out what I could find: tomatoe sause, tuna, zucchini, yellow sweet chili and a lot of cheese.

The pizza was such a success that there are no pictures of the creation. Neither do I have the time to sort out the exact amount of each ingredient right now.  But I can say this: my tummy is smiling!

To balance things out a bit...

Ok, after reading that book about wheat I have had serious problems to completely accept the obvious and evident truth that the author is proposing... It sounds intriguing and some parts of it is probably more than true, although scientific studies are not accounted for to give him more credibility in his arguments.

This paleo-blogger was a welcomed balance in this crazy information flow:

http://huntgatherlove.com/content/wheat-belly

Very well contested. Just what I needed, somebody to sort out my own thoughts, with balanced arguments.

Still, I am highly suspicious to both wheat and sugar. It might be anecdotal and not scientifically prooven, but for my body they did mess up an awful lot of things.

The Concept of Truth

What is truth? What is knowledge? And what are beliefs? Philosophical questions that are also present in the debate over who is right and who is wrong regarding the harms or benefits of animal fats.

Well, it all depends on who you ask, and maybe even more important is the question of when you ask. Just a couple of years ago, a Swedish phycisian was excluded from the national doctors society because she was prescribing High Fat (and low carb) diets to her diabetes patients. The doctors society regarded her prescription "life threatening". But court gave her the right and she could continue practicing medicine.

Today more and more people are starting to question the concept of truth in the butter-paranoid dietary advices. When scientific evidence has been scares, people have instead relied on their beliefs in the LCHF-movement, supported by numerous descriptive stories of formerly obese diabetics, today healthy and energetic low carb high fat eaters. Now these beliefs are being backed up by an increasing amount of scientific studies as well. Like this one showing evidence that sugar increases the risk of heart deseases while there seems to be no correlation to fat.

Sugar increases the risk of heart dease (In Swedish)

Are we seing a shift in the concept of truth here? In the end, who is it actually that has the facts and who has the beliefs?

Interesting times we are living...

White desire - in English

I guess the equivalent in English to the recent Swedish book "White Desire" would be this one:


Suicide by Sugar


Here is the description of the book:

"

It is a dangerous, addictive white powder that can be found in abundance throughout this country. It is not illegal. In fact, it is available near playgrounds, schools, and workplaces. It is in practically everything we eat and drink, and once we are hooked on it, the cravings can be overwhelming. This white substance of abuse is sugar.

Over two decades ago, Nancy Appleton’s Lick the Sugar Habit exposed the health dangers of America’s high-sugar diet. Now, in Suicide by Sugar, Appleton, along with journalist G.N. Jacobs, presents a broader view of the problems caused by our favorite ingredient. The authors offer startling facts that link a range of disorders—from dementia and hypoglycemia to obesity and cancer—to our growing sugar addiction. Rounding out the book is a sound diet plan along with a number of recipes for sweet, easy-to prepare dishes—all made without sugar or fruit.

"

I was about to buy it but decided not to. I kind of get the message from having last summer watched Dr. Robert Lustig's 90 minutes lecture on "the bitter truth about sugar" (check the side bar) and having read "Wheat  Belly"...Instead I put my efforts into other dense reading - more in line with my main interests...remember, this is only a hobby...while cooking food for my family is basically about - staying alive.

White desire

 Now there is a new book in Swedish about sugar addiction. It's called "Vitt begär" (White desire) and I can recognize much of my own battle in this book.

Here is her blog, if anyone is interested:

http://vittbegar.blogspot.com/

For me, going off sugar has been the best deicision of my life. It has made me aware of what that substance did to my body and it has given me a healthier relationship to food all in all.

It wasn't easy to let go, but once I had said bye bye to both sugar and wheat I could start enjoying a happier life! I am very greatful for all these stories being made public today, because what if I'd had to struggle the rest of my life with this addiction, without anywhere to turn? Today you can find support in thousands of blogs and web-discussions, there are cook books and help-yourself-books. Really, it has never been so easy to go sugarfree... eh, wait a minute....never so hard either. Because anywhere you go, you will have the sugar there right in your face. So if you really want to get rid of the curse, it isn't that easy to start with... but I can assure you, it is definatelly worth a try!!!


Bytheway, I made some muffins after all. Bought almond flour from the store. Problem solved: blueberry and chocolate muffins it is for tomorrow's coffee!

That sweet coffee bread...

I am in a battle with myself right now. It just happens that as I finished the book on how bad actually wheat is for the human body, I am also tomorrow supposed to be serving coffee and something to go with the coffee for my colleagues. Talk about bad timing! To make this situation even worse our food processor decided to brake down (again, second time this year, Gigantti better be faster this time, last time the service took 4 weeks!) and so I can hardly make any muffins or alike, especially not for more than 10 persons without the help of my almond grinder...

So do I go to the bakery down the street to pick up some wheat and sugar filled cinnamon buns, although painfully aware of the multiple harm these buns provoke on (most) human bodies? Or do I only pick up some nuts and fruits from the grocery store and let the sweet tooth of my colleagues go unnoticed? To be or not to be - the freak - that is the question at stake over here right now.... A possible solution would be some glutenfree coffee bread, although this is still against my principle of avoiding sugar dense products (rising bloodsugar - insuline - insuline resistance). On the other hand, not having a clue of how bloodsugar is affected by the "wise choice" bakeries baked at home with dates and bananas (it might even be worse than white sugar, how would I know, I haven't checked....), I might as well skip that principle right away.

It just feels really awkard after having undressed the truth about sugar and wheat to then the next day be offering, as a kind gesture, such baked products to others (not eating it myself, of course). I mean, who would as a kind gesture be giving away cigarettes at a coffee break at work? You might think I am overreacting here, but I guess that is fairly normal reaction to the potent message transmitted through the very informative book by Mr. Davis...

And no, I have no intentions to go into details or lecturing on the harms of wheat tomorrow... I rather stay focused on my work...so maybe just because of that I'll skip my principles for one day and go and pick up a tasty 'pullapitko' down the street. It's their coice if they eat it or not, right? And at least I am giving my support to the local SME, small contribution to make our neighbourhood flourish! The bakeries can't have it easy these days, with all the talk about low carb and the 'evil' bread...

And that is how I justify my choices. Simple as that! I thank my blog for having helped me in my agony.

Inspiring, Impressive, Insane

Much of this relates to my own journey of discovery. Have not emailed Erin Brokovich yet, but then again I live in Finland, not in USA. On the other hand, although she is criticing the food politics and food safety in the United States, I do not think we have it much better over here....

Physillium bread

I think I was a little bit too enthusiastic foodie last weekend... Thanking myself this week that there were a lot of left overs left from Monday to Thursday. Today is the first day I have plan ahead what to cook for dinner. Still have not decided.

My only input in the kitchen this week, except for porridge and heated food has been Physsilium based bread  (gluten & wheat free). The bread was good (my only doubt is the yieest - good or bad, anyone?) and now we have Kidone's Thursday picnic food solved for a month ahead (4 pieces in the freezer) - you can imagine that she was happy to have bread in her bag after 2 months on eggs, carrots, nuts and apples. I guess peer pressure is quite powerful already at the age of 4.

Here is the recipe:

25 g yeest
2,5 dl water or milk (I happened to have unpastorized, unhomogenized goat milk and used that one)
0,5 tbls Fiberhusk (powdered physsilium seeds)
1 tbls olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 dl buckwheat flour.

Heat the liquid to 37 degree and add the yeest and fiberhusk. Mix and let this swell for 10 minutes. Add the rest. Make small buns and let swell for another 35-45 minutes. Owen, 200 degrees, 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

How to kill a pumpkin

I bought a pumpkin yesterday. Pumpkins are not part of the traditional Finnish october Offerings, but I guess it has become more usual together with the imported Halloween traditions. Anyways, there I was with 5 kilos of pumpkin in the kitchen and not a clue of what do to with it (except a Jack-o-Latern, which would of course have delighted the younger generation in our family). Well, today I managed to slice it in bits and pieces and make some natural food with no sugar, no wheat, no milk added.

Pumpkin-carrot-white bean soup:
400 g pumpkin
3 carrots
water
vegetable spices
4 dl coconut milk
tamari
fresh ginger
variety of herbs

Boil pumpkin and carrots (sliced into cubes) in water with veggie spices until soft. Throw away most of the water. add coconutmilk, tamari, herbs and som fresh ginger. Mix it all. Add water if needed. Enjoy!

Carrot-pumpkin cake
(adapted from Renée Voltaire's book "Salig Blanding)

Base;
1 dl almonds
1 dl hazelnuts
2,5 dl dried (unswetened) apricots (lay in water 30 minutes before use)

Mix all the three ingredients and cover the bottom of the baking tin with it. The baking tin should be one of those where you can separate the walls from the bottom.

Topping:
8 dl carrots, pealed and grated
250 g cooked pumpkins
4 dl cashew nuts (lay in water before use)
2 dl higs (in water before use)
2 dl dates
3 tbsp coconut oil
1,5 tsp vanilla powder (no sugar)
1 tsp ginger powder
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cardamom
pecan nuts for decoration

Mix all ingredients to a smooth blend. Add water if too dry, cashews if too watery. Add the blend on top of the cake tin and place it in the refrigerator for an hour. Remove the walls of the cake before serving and decorate it with the pecan nuts at the end.

Note: kids liked both the soup and the cake. I am amazed. I have never been able to get them to eat beans before. Now they did not even notice them. I also thought they would find the cake to spicy. But no, they had two slices each. Other invited kids (and adults) also like the cake.

Now I have 4 liters of pumpkin soup in the freezer. The freezer is after today also equipped with some 30 falafels (first time I managed to make the falafels without having to add egg to keep them together!) and some 10 kilos of pre-cooked chick peas, black beans and white beans. Its been a busy weekend, and hopefully this will make the weeks to come less hectic!

A MUST READ!!!

I was going to sum up the message of the book "Wheat Belly" once I had finished it but knowing me, there is a (very high) risk of that never happening. Especially now with so much else to read. But the message in this book is probably the most important one, at least as important as Eenfeldt's message in his book "Food Revolution" (so far available only in Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish).

So please all of you who would like to improve your (future) health, not  by medicine but by eating the right stuff please read this review of the book. It says it all.

Wheat Belly Review

And when you're done reading that you might as well get the book itself. I have it, those in the neighbourhood are more than welcomed to borrow my piece (after having had my whole family reading it first...so you'll have to wait until Christmas or next year).

"Hold the toast" is my new discovery of the day. Excellent blog. She has apparently been lowcarb for 10 years already and she is also into the connection of ADHD and low carb, which particularly is of interest to me having observed remarkable shifts in my own and the kids behavior by excluding wheat, sugar and a serious cut down in milk consumption. Hold the toast sails straight into my blog list on the right side of my blog, where by the way Mr Davis' Wheat Belly already has secured its position as one of the most interesting diet blogs out there.

Swedish chef

I have just had the honor to be nominated Swedish chef by hubby. Wonder why? (Hint: check the mess in  this movie...)

But the food was apparently good....

When Public Opinion changes

Sweden is ahead of the rest of the world in the ongoing food debate. This much because of some (one) brave medical doctors that dared going against the state diet recommendations for overweight and diabetes patients. Instead of low colesterol and high carb diet, these doctors are recommending low carb and high (animal) fat to their patients, with encouraging results. However, the debate hase been highly controversial, and media has been hesitant to show support for this "fanatical fat movement". Discussion boards and blogs on Internet have instead been an effective source of information for those wanting to get rid of their sweet tooth and start a new life, high in fat. But today, in one of Swedens most important news papers, the editor's letter is giving a strong signal of where the traditional media debate is heading:

Rather fatty than fruity (in Swedish)

Apparently parents of kids in Sweden are supposed to bring fruits for the kids' afternoon snack so that the kids do not get hungry. Nice! If we could get the sugarfilled berry soups replaced with real fruit, that would certainly be a nice start! But some parents got apparently upset about this because it is not supposed to cost anything to take your kids to school... Well, the editor here reacted saying that if the lunch would be rich in fat and protein instead of rich in (wheat flour) carbohydrates and low fat margarine, kids bloodsugar would not drop two hours later and they would not need that fruit. He has a point. And hopefully the authorities start noticing the demands coming from the masses, especially now as this text can be a real sign of  an official shift in the public opinion debate.

And once they are done debating and implementing on the other side of the pond, I really hope the vibes make it fairly fast all the way over to Finland as well. I am thorn on how to deal with the daycare food that my kids receive every day. One the one hand, it is fine that their diet is somewhat balanced, I truly believe there is someone planning a diverse warm food for our children. But on the other hand, having here at home done the switch from margarine to butter, from fat free to fatty, from wheat to wheatfree and from sugar to natural, I know that a balanced diet is the key to balanced and focused kids. Less carbs, more fat lead to less hunger and more concentration. I do not buy into the colesterol-agenda anymore. How can a diet that is based on natural food and that makes you feel healthy be bad? And yes, it is really hard for me to accept the fact that they are fed  margarine everyday (and once I am done reading "wheat belly" I will probably also be horrified with the wheat...). I would really like to be sure that once my kids hit their teens, they're not heading to the local grocery store each day to get their hunger satisfied with energy drinks and cookies - as the youths currently are doing; yes big mama watching them everyday as they walk by...Do their parents know? Do they care? I would

Our daily bread

Ok, this program messes with my mind. I need to stop watching it... But it is just so informative on how we used to eat, in the past.

Landet Brunsås: det söta brödet

This weeks program is about the daily (sweet) bread of Sweden. Very interesting once again but it is clear that they have not read the book Wheat Belly that I fell asleep to last night (its interesting stuff, but I had read some 15 academic articles during the day, you get dizzy with less, especially as my 13 year old reading glasses are mysteriously lost). According to Mr. Wheat Belly, wheat has been crossbread and manipulated in the past 60 years so much that it is nowhere close to "natural wheat". Its a hybride, its addictive, and.... it is the cause of some very spooky (and common) deseases. Guess where the title comes from?

Done blogging for today, think I even filled the quota for the rest of the week tonight. Be good! And, please comment, if you're out there!

Interactivity!

Hey guys, I am not on Facebook anymore! If you're reading, please comment! Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, German, French - any language will do!

On the way home today...

I past by Hakaniemi and got some food. My back almost broke as I biked home with some 10 books, 50 articles and all this in my back pack:

Once again, the Asian&African stores on Hämeentie rox this planet! The only down side to this place is exactly that, the place, it is not close enough to make life easy. They have so much good stuff, so much cheaper than in the normal stores. You'll find big bags of coconut flour, chick peas, beans, lentils, phsylllium flour (which costs a fortune at Stockmann!), cashew nuts, unsweetened ginger (why on earth is all dried ginger in normal stores always sweetened???). My new discovery of the day: Tamarind. It looked like dates and I didn't dare to ask at the cashier what it is (my paranoia of the freak syndrome again, stupid, yes I know) so I kind of bought a "suprise package". It was sweet and sour. Interesting taste. Will see if I find use for it at some point.

Today we ate liver, fresh from the Hakaniemi indoor market. Haven't had that since I was a child, and then hated it. Now it tasted really delicious. The kids liked it as well (ok, kidone agreed to eat once she could pretend she was a dinosaur, table manners will be trained later, right now we are in survival mode...). This won't be part of our daily diet, but I think it is good to eat a variety of foods - including those high in vitamines that we normally do not eat.

I also got some fresh elk minced meat. How much more ecological can one be? Yes, I am not too happy about the ecological footprint that all our coconut products, nuts, beans, avocado and quinoa leaves behind...so this elk meat, which tomorrow will be included in a lasagna (where the pasta has been replaced with eggplants) comes handy. Its fresh, its local, it saves human lives (by not being the cause of accidents on our highways), and above all: its very ecological (except if the poor elk has chewed some pesticide bushes in the wild, you never know these days...)!

About that Paleo diet again

Here, another LCHF-blogger, this one concentrates on LCHF and training.

Anyway, interestingly enough I found a post on exactly what I was writing about the other day: the paleo diet and about milk in our modern diet as supposed to what our ancestors ate.

http://www.jonasbergqvist.se/sidor/tankar-om-mat/

Unfortunatelly the blog is in Swedish. Google-translate, for my foreign friends, maybe?

About baby food!

Very interesting program on the ingredients in the premade baby food cans. This mother has bad bad concious now. Kidone never ate those (surprise?) but Kidtwo is breeded on them, between 6 and 12 months. Hard to imagine now but at that point it was a matter of my own survival....

Testing tonight's dinner for lunch

I have put the home office under siege today (just take a look at the Finnish wheather forecast and you'll understand why). At lunch time I decided to do some efficient "home work"; test my own recipee on spinach and chantarelle pancakes with the purpose to introduce it to the critical masses at dinner. It past the first test. Now to wait and see if this can be the answer to how to get the kids to eat delicious mushrooms (chantarelles, Finnish forest's golden plant!)  and how to replace those industrial-made spinach pancakes with something a little bit more nutritious.

Whatever the kid's verdict is, I can still share the recipee with the rest of you because my own, very biased, opinion was that this was goody good!


Spinach and Chantarelle pancakes:

5 eggs
2 dl creamy coconut milk (the package where the water part is not included)
1,5 dl almond cross (left overs from the almond milk I made this morning, I guess you can take normal almonds as well)
some chantarelles (previously fried in coconut oil)
2 small cubes of frozen spinach
coconut oil for frying

Mix all ingredients and add the eggs when the rest is well mixed. Fry in a lot of coconut oil. Since the pancakes do not contain gluten, they easily fall apart if you do not let them fry for longer than usual pancakes. Its a bit tricky to get them in one piece out of the frying pan, but with practice and patience it all turns out just perfect!

Soft Ice - Aj kalllaaa!

After a somewhat surprising turn to the weekend program, I am in no mode to start writing long post right now. My bed has put a spell on me and right now I should be heading that direction... But, I just wanted to share my latest discovery with you.

The kids had some strawberry soft ice cream tonight. And in order to make it less fruity and more veggie-like, I mixed in some zucchini in the blend. They did not notice a thing! And even better, we had more soft ice to share! All of it was gone in less than 20 minutes and I heard some complaints about "ajjjj, kallaaa" (auch, cold!) as the pinkish smooth blend disappeared down the throuts of very eager ice cream eaters. Gluttony, one of the seven sins. But in this family it's far from a sin when the ingredients are as in the below recipe.

Strawberry Soft Ice:
1 avocado
1/2 pealed zucchini
1 banana
1/3 bag of frozen mango cubes
10-15 frozen strawberries
vanilla powder (nb: it's only powder, no sugar in it)
---> All mixed together to a smooth blend,
topped with coconut flakes for the fun of it!

Next time I think I'll try hiding some almonds or maybe sesame seeds in the mixture as well, boosting the calcium level in the ice cream... There is a risk though that our fine taster will detect such attempts, so I'd better make two batches in case the first one is rejected.

Milk and the freaky paleo diet....

The last chapter of "Landet Brunsås" made an impact on me (see the insert on the right: Inform yourself, "Mjölkpropaganda"). Since then I've been thinking a lot about what our anchestors actually used to eat. Well, it wasn't exactly the same as the official recommendations transmitted by the health center nurse. We Finnish moms are indoctrinated with the message coming from there: eat this and that, and a long list of what not to eat or to feed your baby - ever since the first visit confirming pregnancy. For an unexperienced mother, this information flow can be quite stressful,  believe me, I know, I've been doing double check ups because of a weight curve sailing around -15 in those early years.  What do you say to the nurse when she asked if your kid get their doze of calcium per day and when all your baby ever agreed to eat was avocado, water melon and pear...

Ironically, just some months ago, I had a friend and her son over for lunch. We were (as usual) talking about food for us adults and food for the kids, and about the changes in diet that I have gone through. She asked: so are you also into the paleo-diet? I said, h*ll no, I am not that freaky....and after some seconds I said, not yet at least...and we laughed. Because, this food business is really a journey of discovery. Once you've decided to dig, it's hard to stop. And now, thinking of human anchestor eating habits, half a litre of highly processed milk does not that easily fit the picture. Add to that the yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, butter... Nope, I bump into major coherence problems to make the puzzle complete. Neither did they eat highly processed wheat, sugar or meat every day. What did they eat? Well nuts, grains, veggies, dried fruits and berries, fish, lots of fish if my anchestors lived anywhere close to where the persons appearing in out family tree. Well, that anchestor fish is nowadays on the health center prohibited list: too toxic. Instead we are adviced to eat industrial breeded fish (define irony...). Grains are consumed as highly processed bread (many times with added sugar). And our consumption of milk products has skyrocketed since the 1940s.

So next time I have my friend over for lunch, and she asks about the paleo diet, I might just answer yes, we are steadily heading in that direction. Ironically enough.

Where did my sense of mainstream disappear now again?

Student food and Friday treats

Hellooo?  Did I really eat this stuff every day? Finnish student food is subsidized by the state. I think it costs around 2,5 euros and that is actually a good deal; you supposedly get warm nutritious food. After having spent x numbers of years outside the university cafeteria, I had forgot what this food was like. Sometimes there is something really delicious but usually the rise is dry, the lettuce and carrots as well and the warm food is some strange looking sauce or wheat-filled dishes. Actually, the best thing at the uni-café where I sporadically eat lunch has always been their bread and their Friday Pizza (Finnish style pizza: lots of dough, lots of cheese and some ham in between). With this kind of offering, it can be a real challenge for me to make a low carb, wheat-free, high nutrious choice. I mean, there is no way to fill my tummy with bread anymore. Instead, I have to do the most crazy combinations, like yesterday pea soup in one plate and the some (dry) carrots, cabbage and salmon balls (that did contain wheat, but without those I would not have made it through the day). I actually used to think that the food at this uni-cafe was better than at many others, especially those in the buildings of University of Helsinki. Well, I gather things change in x number of years. Today I made it all the way out to the countryside campus (Viikki - expanding my boundaries), and guess what? The lunch I had there was 10 times better: falafel with a fresh variety of vegetables from the salad bar - wheat free. And this was 10 minutes to closing time. I think this is worth some more empirical studies in the weeks to come....

Tonight kids got their sugar rush, on chocolate balls and strawberry-mango smoothie. As said before, it feels good to be feeding the sweets that actually include tons of nutrients. These were the ingredients:

Chocolate balls:
- dates
- oatmeal
- coco nut flakes
- coco nut oil
- zip of cold coffee (they still fell aslepp within an hour, no caffeine rush...)
--> Mixed together and then
- rolled in cranberry and buckberry powder

Strawberry-mango smoothie:
- rice milk
- sesame seeds
- almonds
- banana
- strawberries, frozen
- mango, frozen
- organic frozen spinach
- flaxseed oil
- whey protein powder

Yammy - it all turned out delicious (and we still have some choco balls lefties for tomorrow's Saturday treats)!

Benefits of going wheat-free

Here from Wheat Belly's blog some very interesting facts on wheat. (The book has been dispatched, together with "Cinderella ate my daughter", excellent reading coming up this weekend - if I can get myself away from my other theory building books, that is.)

What is in modern wheat beyond gluten? The biggies:

1) Gliadin–Gliadin is a subfraction of gluten. Even if you are not gluten-sensitive, continued exposure to wheat means you are still exposed to the unique and plentiful gliadin proteins that have emerged from the genetics laboratories, the gliadin that is a very effective appetite stimulant. Eat wheat: get hungry, eat more. Gliadin explains why we have all-you-can-eat lunch buffets and why overweight athletes.

2) Amylopectin A–This is the highly-digestible carbohydrate that accounts for wheat’s high-glycemic index and ability to increase blood sugar higher than table sugar or candy.

3) Lectins–The wheat lectin, wheat germ agglutinin, that is resistant to digestion in the human intestinal tract, is the protein that “unlocks” the normal intestinal barriers to foreign substances. Not everything that goes in your mouth should have access to your bloodstream, so intestinal cells are designed to be selective in allowing or preventing various components in foods to be absorbed. Wheat germ agglutinin disables this selectivity, allowing all manner of foreign substances to gain entry. This is why wheat consumers have more inflammatory and autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Source>http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2011/10/gluten-free-is-for-sissies/

Back to reality, chavela!

Soup on a nail

I have practically cooked soup on a nail today. Ideas and ingredients running low - add "no time" to that equation and you'll have our situation this afternoon. So dinner and bedtime meal were improvised, big time. And after some nagging (I know, I was supposed to quite that bad habit of mine), the food did serve its purpose and I even made some chocolate ice creams of the smoothie left overs. It's a bit hard to make acceptable smoothies without banans and dates in the house... and I mistakenly poored tamari into the mixer instead of flaxseed oil, did not exactly make the cocktail any more delicious. But as said, it was a success (from earlier blog I can just brief you that a successful smoothie in this house means that one glass makes it down to the tummy of A, and two glasses to G = high acceptability rate).

Another anecdote; why is it that after half an hour nagging, tricking, treating, threatening, when you finally get the kid to eat something, this kid looks at you and tells you: "Mom, you made really delicious food today". I think I will never understand how the brain of my kids work... But I guess that's just the challenge of being a mother! And I also take it that it won't get any easier in the years to come.

Three patiperros internationally on air and online

Here is the link to the radio program where the two patiperros chicos and I participated last Saturday. It's in Swedish - no google translate available for our voices, but you can listen to the normal chaos and high decibel level in our kitchen. (key word: mera = more)


Sugarfree Family Life (between 10 and 20 minutes in the program)

I am happy the program had a down-to-earth touch, we were not portrayed as sugar paranoic freaks - although many times I myself feel like such. I am convinced this is the way to go and the benefits are to many to return to old routines. But still, sometimes I feel like I am stretching my believes too far, close to becoming a religious anti-sugar fanatic freak... so when I found Renee Voltaire's book "Salig Blanding"  as a complement to my pink bible "Råsmart Familj", it was a true joy to read how her own kids have been guinea pigs in her odysseé of natural food discovery and that they nowadays take the food served at home for granted. I will start testing the new recipees in Voltaire's book soon - implementing my personal touch to make them suitable for the taste buds in this family.


I ordered the book "Wheat Belly" from Amazon yesterday. It should arrive before the weekend. Waiting, waiting...

Me, a year ago

This was me, exactly a year ago. Badly addicted to chocolate. Think it makes a wonderful combination with the title of my new blog.

Luckily, nowadays I wake up with other kind of thoughts in the middle of the night. Still annoyed that my brain doesn't let me sleep though...

Family life on air!

About food and children, with special guest stars.

Unfortunately only in Swedish, but you can listen to the voices!

By the way, this is not accesible outside Finland due to copyright issues. I'll post the podcast as soon as it is uploaded.