Smoothies are a great way to pack in extra fruit and veggies to your diet! We’re excited to share 2 of our favorites that we call the Green Machine and Berry Blast.

Get a head start on those New Year’s resolutions with these delicious blend-and-go healthy breakfast smoothies.

How much fruit is too much? Read more as we share a short video from Dr. Michael Greger. We also share the surprising facts about cinnamon and turmeric…

For 2 delicious smoothies, all you need is a high speed blender, 2 large glasses or Ball Mason Jars and…

• 16 ounces coconut water
• 4 cups (about 2 ounces) power greens
• 3 cups frozen fruit
• 1/2 – 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 – 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon

You don’t necessarily need the newest or most powerful blender on the market. You just need a good blender for smoothies, one that can cut through frozen fruits and pulverize even the stringiest produce into a smooth liquid.

If we had to choose a favorite appliance, it would be our vitamix. It is worth the investment and we use it for so many things, from our morning smoothies to nut milks and from soups to sauces.

Coconut Water

Loaded with health benefits, coconut water is the perfect beverage for restoring hydration and replenishing electrolytes lost during exercise.

The Greens

Greens are one of the healthiest foods. About 2 cups of mixed power greens go into each smoothie. For convenience, we buy the pre-packaged greens that contain spinach, mizuna, chard, and kale.

We don’t even taste the greens. However, if you’ve never had a smoothie with greens, start by just adding a handful of baby spinach. You may hardly even taste the greens. As you add more and more greens, your taste buds will adapt and your body will love you.

The Fruit

It’s important to use whole fruits rather than just their juice. This is because, when juicing, the fiber and all the phytonutrients bound to it are lost.

For our Berry Blast, we chose blueberries, strawberries, cherries, and bananas.

berry blast mise en place

The Green Machine is loaded with pineapple, mango, strawberries, and banana.

Switch up your smoothies a bit, depending on what fruits are in season. Aim for 1-1/2 cups of fruit per smoothie. Frozen fruit is the best since it blends up thicker than fresh.

We always have bananas and pineapples on hand. When the bananas are ripe, they are peeled, cut and frozen in large ziplocks. The fresh pineapple is trimmed, cut into cubes, and stored in the freezer. We prefer to freeze our own pineapples since we don’t have much luck in getting tasty store bought frozen ones.

As far as the berries and other fruit, most of the year we buy blueberries, strawberries, cherries, and mango frozen.

Add-Ins

To the batch of smoothies, add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder (or fresh turmeric) and 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of Ceylon cinnamon.

Sometimes we’ll also add chia or flax seeds, or top our smoothies with hemp seeds.

How Much Fruit is Too Much?

Some people have concerns about the sugar content of fruit, thus restricting their fruit intake. Dr. Michael Greger puts fruit to the test in this short video (just under 4 minutes), how much fruit is too much?

The Truth About Cinnamon and Turmeric

Cinnamon and turmeric are two of the healthiest spices on the planet! That’s a fact, but there are things to be aware of.

-Cassia (known as regular cinnamon) and Ceylon (known as true cinnamon) are the 2 types of cinnamon. Most cinnamon available on the market is Cassia. Cassia cinnamon contains high amounts of coumarin, which has been linked to conditions like liver damage and cancer.

Ceylon cinnamon only contains trace amounts of coumarin, so when possible purchase Ceylon. Cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, is linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, lowers blood sugar levels, fights various infections, helps protect against cancer, and has beneficial effects on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

-Be sure to purchase high quality turmeric, as there can be a danger of lead contamination. Bangladesh is one of the leading turmeric-growing regions in the world. Some spice processors in Bangladesh use an industrial lead chromate pigment to infuse turmeric with a bright yellow color. Lead can also come from soil contamination.

Turmeric is used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat inflammation. Uses include cancer prevention and treatment as well as treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and infections.

A few years ago, Joel suffered from severe inflammation that almost forced him to quit work. Months after taking turmeric supplements and going on a plant-based diet, his inflammation was gone. Today, he’s in the best shape ever!

Chef Joel’s Tips

• To save time in the morning, pick a day to make smoothie kits. Measure 3 cups of your favorite fruit combinations and place into ziplock quart freezer bags (3 cups of fruit makes 2 smoothies). Prepare enough fruit kits for the week ahead and freeze. In the morning, all you’ll have to do is add liquid, greens, and add-ins to your blender. Then dump in the frozen fruit and blend for about 30 seconds.

smoothie kits

• If you add lemon or other acidic fruits or vegetables to your smoothie, the enamel on your teeth may soften temporarily. Be sure to rinse your mouth with water after drinking a sour smoothie.

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Superfood Smoothies

Author Your Allergy Chefs

Yield 2 Servings

Free of: gluten and top 8 allergens.

Delicious blend-and-go breakfast smoothies!

Ingredients

Berry Blast

16 ounces chilled coconut water

4 cups (about 2 ounces) power greens (see recipe notes)

1 cup frozen blueberries

3/4 cup frozen strawberries

3/4 cup frozen banana slices

1/2 cup frozen cherries

1/2 – 1 tsp turmeric powder (or about a 3/4-inch piece of peeled fresh turmeric)

1/2 – 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Pour coconut water into a high-speed blender.
2. Add power greens, frozen fruit, turmeric, and cinnamon.
3. Start blender on low speed and gradually increase to high speed, blending for about 30 seconds until smooth. If the smoothie is too thick, add 1/4 cup or so of distilled water and continue blending.

Notes

Most markets sell a mix of power greens especially for making smoothies. Mix up your favorite greens, from spinach to kale, or mizuna to chard.

Use 3 cups of your favorite fruits. Frozen fruit is best since it blends up thicker than fresh.

For the Green Machine, use 3 cups of a combination of pineapple, mango, strawberries, and banana.

Courses Beverages

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Got lots of apples? Try this apple butter, bursting with the flavors of fall’s harvest and warm spices.

Don’t let the name fool you. There’s no actual butter in this delicious jam-like spread. The name comes from its smooth and buttery texture. In addition to fresh apples, you’ll need a little apple juice, some pure maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice, and a touch of cloves.

Just a few ingredients needed for delicious apple butter that tastes sooooooo much better than the store-bought stuff and with fractions of the sugar!

More versatile than ketchup, Apple Butter and…

• cinnamon raisin toast
• biscuits
• scones
• pancakes
• yogurt
• muffins
• spice cake filling
• thumbprint cookies
• ice cream
• crepes
• Overnight Oats for a real breakfast treat!
• and more!

How about including it on your holiday cheeze board? It’s also a great savory option as a marinade or glaze for proteins such as chicken or pork.

Apples

Granny Smith, Fuji, Braeburn, McIntosh, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, and Winesap are good varietals for making apple butter. We like using Granny Smith, but oftentimes we’ll use a combination of mostly Granny Smith with 2 soft and sweet varieties. For this batch we used Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Fuji.

Granny Smith apples are more firm and tart and have a higher pectin content than sweet apples. The higher pectin allows for a nice setting or gelling.

First Stage of Cooking

Core, peel, and cut the apples into quarters. Then cut each quarter in half crosswise.

Put the apples into a large pot. Add water and apple juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until apples are soft.

Now it’s time to puree. We like to use an immersion blender (hand blender), but you can also use a food mill, blender, or food processor. If you’re not using a hand blender, you’ll want to puree in batches. Be careful – the mixture is hot!

There are lots of immersion blenders on the market. We have several, but the one we used today was a Cuisinart, our most economical hand blender.

Second Stage of Cooking

Add maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Puree just to combine. If you didn’t use an immersion blender, add the syrup and spices to one of the batches in the blender or food processor. Transfer batches back to the original pot.

Apple butter’s nice golden brown color comes from the caramelization of the sugars in the apples during this extended cooking time.

Raise the heat to medium-high. When mixture comes to a boil, lower heat to medium-low and cook at a gentle simmer until apple mixture darkens and is thick, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

The apple butter should be thick enough to hold a dollop on a plate with no liquid seeping out around the edges. There is no magical amount of time that this takes. It may only take 45 minutes, or it could take up to 1-1/2 hours, depending on the width of your pot and temperature of the stove.

the perfect consistency

Canning

We’re storing some apple butter in the fridge for the coming week. We’ll freeze the rest in Ball plastic freezer jars. The shelf life in the freezer is 4-6 months.

You could “can” the apple butter by heat processing in boiling water. However, we’ve made this with an extremely low amount of sugar. That being said, the shelf life of canning this apple butter diminishes. We suggest freezing the leftovers.

Sugar is a powerful preservative. Jams and preserves with higher amounts of sugar hold their quality longer than lower sugar preserves. That’s why most store bought jams and recipes for canning have such high amounts of sugar.

Some apple butter recipes call for up to 3-1/2 cups of sugar for the same amount of apples as our recipe. However, we only used 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup. In fact, some jam and preserve references suggest the ratio between sweet fruits and sugar as 2:1 (2 parts fruit to 1 part sugar). Bitter fruits can even have more sugar with a ratio of 3:2.

Don’t get me wrong. We love canning. For years we made jams, jellies, and preserves year round. It was like one of our most favorite things to do. We’d head to the farmers market weekly for the picks of the season and start jammin’!

We’re just looking forward to making more jams, jellies, and preserves without all the sugar.

Try our Blueberry Jam which was made with just 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup.

And now it’s time for dinner. A nice salad and baked sweet potato fries with…yes, apple butter!!!

Delicious!

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Apple Butter

Author Your Allergy Chefs

Yield 4 1/2 Cups

Free of: gluten and top 8 allergens.

Smooth, buttery texture, that tastes like apple pie!

Ingredients

4 pounds apples, about 10 to 14 medium (see recipe notes)

2 cups water

1 cup apple juice or apple cider

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (see recipe notes)

1  tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Instructions

1. Wash apples under cold running water. Core, peel, and cut the apples into quarters. Then cut each quarter in half crosswise. You should have 12 cups of chopped apples.
2. Combine apples, water, and apple juice in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When liquid comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes, until apples are soft. Puree mixture using an immersion blender, or in batches using a food mill, blender, or food processor.
3. Add maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves and puree just to combine.
4. Raise heat to medium-high. When mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook at a gentle simmer until apple mixture is dark and thick enough to hold a dollop on a plate with no liquid seeping out around the edges, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. This may take 45 minutes or it could take up to 1-1/2 hours, depending on the width of your pot. Remove from heat. As the hot apple butter thickens, it splatters a bit. If you have one, you may want to use a splatter screen.
5. Let cool completely and portion what you need for the coming week into a container and store in the fridge. We suggest freezing the rest. Apple butter freezes well for 4-6 months. Ball’s plastic freezer jars are perfect for storing apple butter and other jams and preserves in the freezer.

Notes

• Granny Smith, Fuji, Braeburn, McIntosh, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, and Winesap are good varietals for making apple butter. We like using Granny Smith, but oftentimes we’ll use a combination of mostly Granny Smith with 2 soft and sweet varieties. For this batch we used Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Fuji. Granny Smith apples are more firm and tart and have a higher pectin content than sweet apples. The higher pectin allows for a nice setting or gelling of the apple butter.
• Pure maple syrup can be replaced with honey, 3/4 cup brown sugar, or 3/4 cup granulated sugar. If you like a sweeter apple butter, increase the maple syrup to 3/4 cup or as desired. The amount of sugar also depends on the apple varietal and its sweetness.

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You may know hibiscus tea as agua de jamaica. My weekly routine for years included several stops at a favorite Mexican restaurant in Portland to get my fix of this nourishing drink.

Hibiscus tea is enjoyed around the world and is one of the healthiest drinks imaginable. We found ourselves asking, what health benefits doesn’t it offer?

Refined sugars are often used to sweeten hibiscus tea. Eliminating those sugars and offering several healthier substitutions makes it even better!

With a contested origin between Africa and India, jamaica (hibiscus) flowers are now deeply rooted in many cuisines.

Although strongly associated with Mexico and Latin America, Agua de Jamaica is known around the world under a variety of names. Here are just a few:

• Australia calls it Rosella
• U.S. – Hibiscus Tea or Agua de Jamaica
• Caribbean – Sorrel or Red Sorrel
• Italy – Cascadé or Italian tea
• Thailand – Roselle or Karkady
• Panama – Saril
• Africa – Karkadé, Zobo or Bissap

Did you know, this wonder tea was also consumed by the Pharaohs in ancient Egypt?

The roselle plant is a species of hibiscus thought to be native to West Africa. Pictured below are dried calyces used to make the drink, though fresh flowers can also be used.

dried hibiscus flowers

Health Benefits of Hibiscus Tea

We are just amazed by the numerous health benefits!

Hibiscus tea:

• Manages Blood Pressure
• Lowers Cholesterol
• Protects the Liver and helps in treating liver diseases.
• Has Anti-cancer Properties: Has anti-tumor and antioxidant properties. A study conducted by the Department and Institute of Biochemistry at the Chung Shan Medical and Dental College, in Taichung, Taiwan suggests that hibiscus slows down the growth of cancerous cells by inducing apoptosis, commonly known as programmed cell death.
• Relieves Menstrual Pain and helps in restoring hormonal balance.
• Acts as an Antidepressant Agent: Calms the nervous system, and may reduce anxiety and depression by creating a relaxed sensation in the mind and body.
• Improves Digestion
• Helps Lower Inflammation
• Helps strengthen the Immune System
• Satiates Thirst: It is also used as a sports drink and has the ability to cool down the body quickly.
• Promotes Weight Loss: Speeds up metabolism and helps in healthy, gradual weight loss.
• Rich in Vitamin C, Minerals and Antioxidants 
• Summer & Winter Drink, great iced or hot.

Other Effects of Hibiscus Tea to be Mindful of…

Since the health benefits of hibiscus tea include lowering blood pressure, it is not recommended for people who already have hypotension, or low blood pressure. It may cause faintness, dizziness and other health problems if consumed by anyone with low blood pressure.

Hibiscus tea is also not recommended for pregnant women because of its effects of stimulating menstruation or blood flow in the pelvic region.

Time for Punch

What an easy tea to make, or call it a punch. And look, there are not a lot of ingredients.

mise en place

Water is brought to a boil and poured over dried hibiscus flowers and other fun stuff. We use a cinnamon stick and orange peel. Fresh ginger is another great healthy addition. Covered and allowed to steep for 20 minutes, it’s then strained into a pitcher. A sweetener and a little fresh orange juice are added, or if you prefer, you can add fresh lime juice.

That’s all there is to it. We like to keep a large mason jar of hibiscus tea in the fridge. A glass jar is preferable, because plastic containers seem to give the tea an off taste as well as the tea tends to stain the plastic.

Cheers to a delicious and healthy drink!

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Hibiscus Tea

Author Your Allergy Chefs

Yield 10 Cups

Free of: gluten and top 8 allergens.

This tea is enjoyed around the world and is one of the healthiest drinks imaginable. The question should almost be, what health benefit doesn’t it offer?

 

Ingredients

10 cups water

1/2 cup coconut sugar (see recipe notes)

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup dried hibiscus flowers (flor de jamaica), rinsed

2 (2-inch) strips of fresh orange peel

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

Lime wedges, optional

Strawberry halves, optional

Instructions

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Turn off heat and remove pot from stovetop.
2. Immediately add sugar, cinnamon stick, hibiscus flowers and orange peel. Stir to dissolve sugar. Cover and let steep for 20 minutes. Strain into a pitcher and discard the cinnamon stick, hibiscus flowers and orange peel.
3. Add the orange juice. Let cool and place in refrigerator and chill until cold. Serve with lime wedges and fresh strawberries. Enjoy!

Notes

You can use a variety of sweeteners.

Coconut sugar causes much less of a blood sugar spike than regular white sugar because it has a lower glycemic index. It’s also healthy for the gut.

Raw honey is quite different from supermarket honey, which is often blended from a lot of different sources. Store bought has a higher glycemic index and does not have the raw, healing properties of honey from nature. It’s best to buy local, raw and organic. If using honey in this recipe, replace the 1 cup coconut sugar with 3/4 cup honey.

Stevia is processed from an herb, with zero calories and a glycemic index number (its effect on blood sugar) of 0. There have been almost 400 scientific studies done on Stevia actually healing the body in many ways. To use Stevia, omit the coconut sugar. Add Stevia to taste when serving or with the addition of the orange juice. There are both liquid and powder forms. Follow manufacturer’s recommendation for replacing sugar with Stevia. 

Piloncillo is an unrefined Mexican sugar usually molded into cones or sticks and traditionally used to sweeten agua de jamaica.

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free from gluten and top 8 allergens

Welcome to Your Allergy Chefs and our first post. We developed a recipe for one of our favorite foods…mushrooms. We are excited to share it with you and hope you stick around.

Mushrooms are magical and one of the most versatile foods on the planet. They come in all shapes, sizes, and flavor profiles. As a result, chanterelles, cremini, maitake, oyster, portobello, shiitake and porcini, just to name a bunch can all be breaded and fried or baked. But which one will be best for our mushroom strips? You have probably guessed it, the Mighty Portobello because of its size and meaty texture. Whether you spell it portobello, portobella or portabella… you’ve spelled it right.

Did you know that button, cremini (a.k.a. baby bella) and portobello mushrooms are of the same variety? The difference between these popular mushrooms is age. While the white button is the baby, the more mature cremini is the middle mushroom and the adult portobello is the most mature of the three, as they are left to grow for longer periods of time. Apparently in the early 1980’s when whole foods and natural foods became popular, some ingenious marketer discovered there was a market for these overgrown creminis and that a higher price could be fetched.

Shopping for the Perfect Mushroom

We love shopping for mushrooms and picking the right mushroom is extremely important in creating the perfect strip. So what do we look for when shopping for portobellos? If possible, we buy loose mushrooms rather than pre-packaged so we can closely examine them. By the same token, loose or ‘bulk’ mushrooms are not always fresher or of higher quality than packaged mushrooms. If the package in question shows a fair amount of condensation, keep on searching. We check for firm caps and stems, while avoiding shriveled, bruised or soft caps. The gills should be dry. If they are wet looking or intensely black, the mushrooms are past their prime. In addition, mushrooms store well in the refrigerator as long as they have proper ventilation, hence being stored in a paper bag, which holds on to some moisture while allowing air to pass through.

Proper Technique for Cleaning a Portobello

Even though it is not necessary to remove the gills from portobello mushrooms before using, we usually do. While gills can discolor a sauce, they can also hide sand, dirt and even insects. Therefore, scooping out the gills prevents any grittiness in your finished dish. To remove the gills, first break away the stem by bending it back and forth. It should break off where it joins the cap. The key to removing the gills is to scrape the inside of the cap with the tip of a spoon as Joel is doing here. Finally, wipe the inside of the mushroom cap with a paper towel.

To Brush or to Bathe

We couldn’t resist commenting about brushing and bathing. Haven’t you heard never to wash mushrooms in water because they are porous and will become waterlogged? Most authorities will say a brush is the way to remove dirt and “compost” from mushrooms. Have you ever used a mushroom brush? We have. As a result we just give them a quick rinse under cold water. The key is not to give them a leisurely soak, as that would drown the magnificent fungus.

The Secret Ingredient

The key seasoning that will make these strips everyone’s favorite is Montreal Steak Seasoning. But why would we want to use a steak seasoning on vegetables? Much as it sounds outrageous, this seasoning is good on just about anything. If you’ve ever had the allergen-free chicken tenders at Walt Disney World you’ll agree, as the secret ingredient in these chicken tenders is Montreal Steak Seasoning.

Keeping these Secrets can be Dangerous!

Many grocers carry the seasoning blend, however  the ingredient list on the brand we found read “spices (including black and red pepper)”. This manufacturer is keeping their spice blend a secret, which could be deadly for someone with a spice allergy. We are confident that one day soon we will have complete transparency of ingredients on labels and of recipe ingredients in all restaurants.  Until then, there are many copycat recipes for Montreal seasoning that use slight variations on spices. Search for a recipe that works for you. It will be worth it! These baked mushrooms outshine any fried mushrooms because they are guilt free with all the taste and texture you and your family will enjoy.

crush those cornflakes

breading station

The recipe takes you through the breading process, making the best crispy portobello strips!

2 votes

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Crispy Baked Portobello Strips

Author Your Allergy Chefs

Yield 4 Servings

Free of: gluten and top 8 allergens.

Crispy on the outside and deliciously meaty on the inside, these strips make an irresistible appetizer or entree.

 

Ingredients

4 large portobello mushrooms

1 cup garbanzo bean flour

1 tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning, crushed

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1 cup lukewarm water

4 cups gluten-free cornflakes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. To prepare the mushrooms, first clean by wiping each mushroom cap with a damp paper towel or rinse cap quickly under cool running water and dry with paper towel. To remove the gills, break away the stem by bending it back and forth. It should break off where it joins the cap. With the tip of the spoon, scrape out the dark gills from underneath each mushroom and discard. Wipe the inside of the mushroom cap with a dry paper towel.
3. Cut each mushroom into 1/2 to 3/4-inch strips. Stack on a plate and set aside.
4. Sift garbanzo bean flour into a small bowl. Mix in Montreal Seasoning. Transfer to a shallow dish or pie pan. Set aside.
5. In another small bowl, whisk together the flaxseed meal and water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk again. After another 5 minutes, whisk vigorously; it will be gelatinous. Transfer to a shallow dish or pie pan. Set aside.
6. Place cornflakes in a food processor. Process until coarse crumbs remain. You will have approximately 2 cups. Place the crumbs into a shallow dish or pie pan.
7. To set up breading station, start with the plate of mushrooms on the far left. To the right of the mushrooms, place the flour followed by the flaxseed mixture. Next to the flaxseed mixture place the cornflakes and end with a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and a screen.
8. One by one, dredge the mushroom slices with seasoned flour. Place in flaxseed mixture to coat, gently shaking off any excess and finally place into the crumbs and coat so that each slice is well breaded. If the flaxseed mixture gets too thick, add 1 tbsp water as needed.
9. Arrange breaded mushrooms on the screen. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. If you do not have a screen, bake directly on baking sheet lined with foil and turn once during cooking. 
10. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Notes

We love these served with barbecue sauce and honey mustard. They also are good with ketchup or a sweet and sour sauce.

Courses Mains, Starters

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