Category Archives: Weston A. Price Foundation

Chocolate Avocado Pie

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This Chocolate Avocado Pie is a great use for over-ripe avocados and bananas. Actually, over-ripe will give you the best results.

This recipe is NOT safe for someone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

Avocado Pie? Sounds disgusting, right? Well, give it a try and get back to me. This recipe is based on the recipe Choconot (not a spelling mistake) Mousse Pie with Vanilla Cream (not real cream) Frosting from Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods by Renee Loux Underkoffler. This is a raw food, vegan cookbook. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you know that the Weston A Price Foundation does not consider vegan diets healthy, especially for people wanting to have children. Since I respect the diet opinions from the WAPF, I just want to be clear that I don’t endorse the vegan diet either. Nevertheless, this book is a great source for nut-based desserts!

I’ve made a few changes to the recipe, and yes, I recommend topping this delicious dessert with lots of organic, whipping cream! You could use carob instead of cocoa, if desired. If you can’t consume whipping cream, whipped coconut cream makes a nice replacement.

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Here’s the pie with some sprinkled cocoa powder. Melted dark chocolate is also very nice.

Crust
6 organic dates, softened if needed
2c organic walnuts or almonds, or mixture of both
2tsp organic cinnamon
2 pinches sea salt
1T organic coconut oil, to grease pan

If the dates are older and dry, re-hydrate them by pouring some boiling water over the dates and covering for 20 minutes, until soft. Soften 3/4c of dates for both the crust and the filling at the same time. Remove the ends and the pits. In a food processor, blend the six dates for the crust into a paste. Add the nuts, spices and sea salt. Blend until the dough starts to form a ball in the food processor. Remove the dough ball from the food processor and evenly spread in a greased pan.

Filling
1/2-2/3c organic dates, softened if needed
2-3T homemade vanilla extract
1/2tsp sea salt
3-4 organic avocados, very ripe
3 organic bananas, very ripe
2/3c organic cocoa powder
3-4T organic coconut oil
organic cocoa powder, sprinkled (optional)
70% organic dark chocolate, melted and sprinkled (optional)

Use the rest of the softened dates for the filling. In a food processor, blend the dates, vanilla extract and sea salt into a smooth paste. Add the very ripe avocados and blend until smooth. Add the very ripe bananas and blend until smooth. Use a spatula to help mix the ingredient. (Close your eyes and taste the mixture before adding the cocoa. Does it taste good with your eyes closed?) Add the cocoa powder and coconut oil and blend until smooth. The food processor will likely be laboring under the thickness of the filling. This is a good sign. Pour the filling on top of the crust in the greased pan. Top with sprinkled cocoa powder or drizzle with melted, 70% dark chocolate. Refrigerate until chilled and serve with whipped, coconut cream or whipping cream. Both are excellent.

Healthy Household: The Healing Power of Ketogenic Bone Broth

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This post is dedicated to all the brave people suffering from neurological disorders and their families and caregivers struggling for solutions.

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Ketogenic Bone Broth starts with a quality homemade bone broth. A sign of quality bone broth is a jelly-like texture when refrigerated.

Sally Fallon Morell of the Weston A Price Foundation states that bone broth is:
“A cure-all in traditional households and the magic ingredient in classic gourmet cuisine, stock or broth made from bones of chicken, fish and beef builds strong bones, assuages sore throats, nurtures the sick, puts vigor in the step and sparkle in love life?so say grandmothers, midwives and healers. For chefs, stock is the magic elixir for making soul-warming soups and matchless sauces.”

Over the years, I have learned how true these words are. I first started using bone broth as a way to be frugal. Bone broth was a way to use parts of the animal normally discarded in modern households. I quickly learned that bone broth was an amazing addition to soups, stews and sauces. It was much later that I realized the health giving quality of bone broth.

Ketogenic Bone Broth is a nourishing drink for the sick or injured. It’s a great way to get more coconut oil into the diet of a sick person. Ketogenic Bone Broth can be used during a modified fast or during every-other-day fasting for weight loss. It can be used as a coffee substitute or as a way to reduce coffee intake. In the case of neurological problems, Ketogenic Bone Broth may slow cognitive decline. On the day of the injury, I was only prescribed analgesics at the emergency room. But after a couple of days at the appointment with the orthopedic traumatologist, I received a list of drugs more serious. Among them, Soma capsules is a muscle relaxant that does not contain any hormones. It is best to take the drug on an empty stomach, but the drug is not clearly tied to food intake. Soma is prescribed both for chronic joint diseases and temporarily, for example, as for me – joint damage. The drug helped me. The edema began to subside, the pain slowly goes away. It is difficult to recommend this drug, as a doctor should do it. One thing I can say is that the drug helps well with joint problems. Read more at https://icord.org/soma-carisoprodol/.

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Add the best quality ingredients you can find. If possible freshly grate the turmeric root and use a finely creamed coconut. Make your own mushroom powder; see the link below for the recipe.

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Turmeric root will turn the bone broth yellow and the added fats will make this a very nourishing broth. Fresh turmeric gives the broth a rich, complex flavor.

Ketogenic Bone Broth
2c homemade bone broth
1tsp organic turmeric root, finely grated
1tsp organic creamed coconut
1tsp homemade mushroom broth (optional)
1-3tsp organic butter, organic coconut oil, or medium chain triglycerides (MCT) oil
sea salt and freshly ground organic black peppercorn to taste (optional)

In a sauce pan warm the bone broth. Add the freshly grated turmeric root, mushroom broth and creamed coconut. (In a pinch, use dried organic turmeric powder but the fresh turmeric has a richer, complex flavor.) Bring to a light simmer. Add the butter, coconut or MCT oil just before serving. Add the sea salt and freshly ground peppercorns, if desired. Putting the Ketogenic Bone Broth in a stainless steel travel mug will keep the broth hot longer making sipping the broth more pleasant.

In the case of someone with neurological problems such as Alzheimer’s Disease replace the coconut oil with medium chain triglycerides (MCT) oil. Presently, there are clinical trials using two tablespoons of MCT oil each day with Alzheimer’s patients. The results seem promising. If you would like to read more information about dietary treatments for Alzheimer’s disease please read Type 3 Diabetes: Metabolic Causes of Alzheimer?s Disease.

If you would like to learn more about the science of bone broth please read Broth is Beautiful and the Healing Powers of Bone Broth. If you are wondering why fresh turmeric root is being added to the bone broth, please read about this secret golden synergy: 10 Turmeric Benefits Superior to Medication and Two Ancient Superfoods Join Forces.

“Bone broth is rich in protein, collagen, gelatin, glucosamine, chondroitin and key minerals often missing in the diet. These vital nutrients support a wide range of health benefits and body systems including: gut and immune system, joints and lean muscle mass, skin, hair, nails, metabolism and a healthy weight.”
Dr Josh Axe

A stainless steel travel mug will keep the broth hot longer making sipping the broth more pleasant. A go anywhere drink!

A stainless steel travel mug will keep the broth hot longer making sipping the broth more pleasant. A go-anywhere drink!

For more recipes please see Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely.

Fragrant Ginger Snaps

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This recipe makes a soft, chewy cookie with a fragrant taste. Top the cookie with some honeyed ginger or dried fruit pieces.

This recipe is safe for someone on the SCD/GAPS program. Just eliminate the optional blackstrap molasses.

This recipe is based on Ginger Snaps from Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods by Renee Loux Underkoffler. Renee’s cookbook has an amazing section of raw desserts based on nuts and she has a special gift for balancing flavors with spicing.

Living Cuisine was a gift from my sister many years ago. I was new to the SCD/GAPS program at the time. I was frustrated because I had no recipes for making a birthday cake for my youngest daughter that was “SCD/GAPS legal”. After reading Renee’s book, I never had problems with making SCD/GAPS legal desserts again!

2c boiling filtered water
18-20 organic dates, soaked and pitted
1/4c organic ginger, freshly grated very finely
2tsp organic nutmeg, freshly grated very finely
1T organic cinnamon stick, freshly ground
1/2tsp organic whole cloves, freshly ground
1/2tsp sea salt
2T organic blackstrap molasses (optional)
2c organic white beans, soaked, cooked and rinsed
2T organic whole yellow flax, freshly ground
organic raisins or homemade Honeyed Ginger, topping (optional)

Soak the white beans overnight in filtered water. Rinse the beans well before covering with fresh water and cooking for 1-2 hours until very tender. Remove any scum or hard beans during the cooking. Rinse the cooked bean well in cool filtered water before using.

Place the dates in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Cover and let the dates soak for 20-30 minutes. While the dates are soaking, finely grate the ginger and nutmeg and freshly grind the cinnamon and cloves in a spice grinder. When the dates are cool remove the pits and put the pitted dates into a food processor.

In a food processor, blend the dates until very smooth. Add some date soaking water, if needed. Add all the spices, ginger, molasses and sea salt and mix very well. Add the cooked beans and process until very smooth. Add the ground flax seeds last and grind again very well. Refrigerate for a few hours until the dough thickens.

Drop the cookie dough onto the dehydrator sheets in teaspoon amounts. With a wet spoon lightly press down the cookie dough into a round shape. The trick with the cookies to have the cookie dough thick enough not to drip through the dehydrator screen. The cookies are nicer if not over-dried. This produces a moist, chewy cookie.

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Try topping the ginger snaps with raisins or small pieces of honeyed ginger. See the link for a recipe for homemade Honeyed Ginger.

Renee is a raw food vegan and she has developed some delicious nut-based desserts. The Weston A Price Foundation does not consider a vegan diet healthy. In contrast to this view, many WAPF health practitioners use short-term vegan diets for a cleanse. These practitioners just don’t think veganism a good diet for long-term use or if you are planning on have children. Regardless of the WAPF views on vegetarianism, Renee’s desserts are fabulous!

“The Foundation believes that strict vegetarianism (veganism) is detrimental to human health. Vegetarianism that includes eggs and raw (unpasteurized) dairy products, organic vegetables and fruits, properly prepared whole grains, legumes, and nuts, and excludes unfermented soy products and processed foods, can be a healthy option for some people.”
Weston A Price Foundation: Vegetarian Tour

Mary’s Oil

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Mary’s Oil is good in salads, mayonnaise or in cooking.

“This wonderful blend of three oils can be used in salad dressings or as a cooking oil. When used for cooking, flavors come through beautifully, and the blend does not burn as easily as pure coconut oil. In salads, it provides all the benefits of coconut oil and does not have the strong taste of olive oil. In mayonnaise, it provides firmness when chilled.”
Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats by Dr Mary Enig

I have been rereading some of my old books this last month. One book I have really enjoyed is Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats by Dr Mary Enig and Sally Fallon Morell. Even though I have been following many of the recommendations of the Weston A Price Foundation, I have never made Mary’s Oil.

I haven’t made Mary’s Oil because I had trouble finding a good source of reasonably priced organic sesame oil. Recently, I learned about a local Nelson, BC business called Organic Matters that has both raw and toasted sesame oil. I purchase the both oils in 2.5 gallon containers which helped reduce the cost some. Another thing I like about Organic Matters other then their excellent quality products is the company uses excellent containers that can be reused.

For making Mary’s Oil, I use the raw sesame oil. My husband and I both like the toasted sesame oil for cooking.

1c organic cold pressed sesame oil
1c organic coconut oil
1c organic extra virgin olive oil

Use a funnel to decant the sesame oil and the olive oil into a glass bottle. I like reusing flip-top bottles for oils. Put the coconut oil in a 1-2c Pyrex cup. Add some water to a sauce pan and place the Pyrex cup into the water. Bring the sauce pan to a boil, and simmer the coconut in a water bath until completely melted. Add the melted coconut oil to the other oils. I was surprised that at room temperature the oil mixture did not congeal.

Mary’s Oil is a great way to get more coconut oil into your diet.

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Reusable flip-top bottles work great with oils.

Homemade Broth Powder

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This homemade broth powder is a good camping or travel food. Adding some healthy fats to the broth will make this drink very nourishing and sustaining.

“Nutritional yeast is an excellent natural source of B complex vitamins (except for B12) plus a variety of minerals. Look for yeast that has been processed at low temperatures.”
Weston A Price Foundation: Guide to Superfoods

Commercial broth powders, bouillon granules or cubes are filled with some very questionable ingredients. These ersatz foods are among some of the worst industrial foods available. Making your own broth powder is a easy way to say “No!” to a boatload of food additives while still having access to a convenience food. With homemade broth, no one has to pay for convenience with their health.

This homemade broth powder is a good travel food. The powder can be used by itself in hot water or with bone broth. A cup of broth is tasty with 1-3 teaspoons of coconut oil, creamed coconut or butter. Add some extra nutritional yeast or fermented miso, if desired.

1c organic shiitake mushroom powder
1-2T sea salt
1-2T organic sage, finely ground
1-2T organic nutritional yeast, finely ground
1-2T wildcrafted dulse, finely ground (optional)
1 organic birdeye pepper, finely ground (optional)

In a spice grinder, finely grind the sea salt, sage, nutritional yeast, dulse and hot pepper into a very fine powder. In a bowl add the mixture to the shiitake mushroom powder and mix very well. Use 1-2 tablespoons of powder for each 2-3 cups of hot water. Adding some healthy fats to the broth will make the broth very nourishing and sustaining.