Spiced Nut and Date Bars (No-Bake)

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Cat

By Cat, April 2020 (image, right, cropped from Wikimedia Commons)

Dates at market in Kuwait

I’m always on the lookout for healthful, keto treats, and this recipe fits that to a T. I can hardly wait to try it!

I have loved date bars since I was a child. You might wonder how this can be keto-friendly if it contains such a sweet fruit. Well, while dates are quite sweet, the sugars in the dates are bound by proteins, fats, and fibers, giving them a low glycemic load. That means the sugars are broken down and absorbed slowly over time. Plus, their combination with nuts lowers the glycemic load even more.

See also: 1. Cookies Menu; 2. Fruity Treats Menu Continue reading →

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Homemade Gyro Meat and Gyros (Sandwich)

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Cat

Gyros wrap

By Cat, April 2020 (photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

The gyros (gyro) – pronounced “yee’-rohs” (“yee’-roh), with a slight roll of the tongue on the ‘r’ in the second syllable – at least, that’s the way my Greek friends taught me to say it – but you can just pronounce it without that roll.  Note that gyros is singular and gyri (“yee’-ree”) is plural. See Stavros’ Stuff for a true Greek pronunciation, and for an explanation of the difference between gyros and gyro.

It is a cooked mix of ground meats and herbs that can be rolled flat and thin for a gyros sandwich (more on this below), or into balls for meatballs. Greek restaurants cook it on a hot, rotating cylinder, but you can bake it in your oven, or cook meatballs/burgers in a heavy cast iron pan on stove-top. This recipe bakes it in an 8″ x 4″ loaf pan, then sliced thin for use in a gyros sandwich.

As a sandwich, it is wrapped in pita bread, with lettuce, tomato and tsatziki sauce. The photo above includes fries, but that is an Americanization.

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Coronavirus: SARS-CoV2 Virus and COVID-19 Disease

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Cat

By Cat, March-April 2019

This article has been moved from its original home: Notes on Natural Health Topics, A – C.

The coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 and related disease COVID-19 that started in Wuhan, China in December 2019 is now affecting people around the globe. As I learn more about this virus and the disease it causes, I will add notes and references here. 

See also: 1. Notes on Natural Health Topics Menu Continue reading →

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Notes on natural health/healing topics: H – I

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Cat

By Cat, beginning Feb 2018

These notes are from various health documentary videos and websites, as noted for each item. Topics are in alphabetical order. The article was getting too long, so I’ve separated it into four articles. March 2020 update: H-P article was getting too long, so I separated it into two articles for a total of 5 articles.

Consider moving sections on Inositol and Insulin Resistance to Choline, Inositol, and Insulin Resistance (may need to divide that into 2 articles)

See also:

  1. Natural Health Topics Menu;
  2. Notes by section: A – C; D – G; H – I, below; J – P; Q – Z Continue reading →
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Melitta Drip Coffee; French Press Coffee

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Cat

French Press

By Cat, March 2020 (Image, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

I’ve not made my own coffee for years, as I can get delicious French Press or Espresso coffee where I eat my lunch. But with the new coronavirus pandemic, I’m self-isolating and eating all meals at home.

In the early 70s, I learned how to make drip coffee using a paper filter set into Melitta drip cone set above an empty cup. It was so much better than percolated coffee. That was my coffee preference until I discovered the French Press…

Years ago (late ’70s-early ’80s), I did long-term child-sitting for a couple who often went on month-long trips. The husband was from New Orleans, and taught me how to make French Press coffee, something I’d never had before. I loved it, and bought a press to use at home. The recipe, below, is basically how I learned to make it, with a few hints from The Kitchen (1) added. See also Epicurious (2) for an alternate – more detailed- way to make it.

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Self-Contained Compost Bin for Pet-Waste

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Cat

By Cat, March 2020

I just learned about this from Dr. Mercola’s Healthy Pets website (1a). Instead of polluting the earth’s lands and water with more non-compostable plastic bags, you can build a simple composter for your pet’s poop. From the article, you can “compost dog waste (1b) in your own yard using a [metal or] plastic trash container. According to [Mike] Levenston [at City Farmer in Vancouver BC], it’s environmentally safe as it slowly decomposes due to septic starter, available at most hardware stores. However, he emphasizes, it’s important to note that composted dog waste should not go into your garden.” I wonder, will it also work for cat poop from the litter box?

Continue reading →

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Chicken Paprikash, Oven-Roasted

Posted on February 13, 2020 by Cat

By Cat, Feb 12, 2020 (image, right, from Wikipedia)

Chicken Paprikash

I love trying new dishes, especially ones of foreign origin. This wonderful dish comes from Hungary. Typically the dish is casserole-like, with a savory and spicy sauce (similar to goulash) accompanied with dumplings or egg noodles.

But the recipe from which I have made this adaptation is devoid of the traditional sauce; instead, the well-seasoned chicken pieces are roasted on a sheet pan (I use my cast iron skillet) with roasting potatoes and onion, then drizzled with a pan-drippings and sour cream sauce when served, and accompanied with buttered egg-noodles or dumplings/gnocchi on the side.

My first test of this recipe revealed that the onions are delicious, but potatoes don’t really work well with the paprikash seasonings, so I recommend using just the buttered noodles/dumplings/gnocchi instead of potatoes.

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Chlorella & Cilantro Heavy Metal Detox Protocols

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Cat

Chlorella

By Cat, Feb 2019; updated Mar and June 2020 (moved from Detox from Toxic Heavy Metals); image, right, from Wikimedia Commons

I continue to try new protocols for my mercury toxicity, but so far, this protocol is my favorite. How did I get mercury toxicity? I grew up in the 1950s, and was exposed to mercury from:

  • silver amalgam tooth fillings;
  • using mercurochrome to heal cuts when I was a child;
  • playing with mercury “marbles,” and
  • certain lab experiments in graduate school that involved inhaling mercury.

Detox (detoxification) is “the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver.” (11)

Some heavy metals are good for you (up to a point), such as copper, iron, selenium, zinc, and more. For these, it is best to take them in chelated form, such as bound to a protein, peptide or amino acid (for example, selenomethionine). Taking them in their ionized (salt) form, can be harmful (for example: sodium selenate, zinc chloride, zinc phosphate).

Others are quite toxic (no matter how you are exposed to them), such as aluminum, lead and mercury. These tend to hide and accumulate in specific tissues such as bones and brain, and are thus not detoxed efficiently without help.

Continue reading →

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Apfelkuchen (German Apple Cake)

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Cat

Red Apple

By Cat, Nov 18, 2019 (Image, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

Although this is a German cake, it has similarity to Scandinavian apple cakes, such as Apple-Almond Custard Cake. The combo of apple and almond is delicious and showy.

See also: 1. Cakes & Tortes Menu; 2. European Foods Menu; 3. Scandinavian Foods Menu Continue reading →

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Notes on Cancer Diagnosis & Treatment

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Cat

By Cat, Oct 2019 moved from on Natural Health and Healing Topics: A-C

See also: 1. Natural Health Topics Menu; 2.  Continue reading →

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