Coconut Peanut Butter Chicken Over Soba Noodles

Sometimes within this new food adventure, you have to fly by the seat of your new pants!  When you are looking for what to make for dinner, and have bought some "new to you" items, and have no time to go looking up a recipe on the internet...you just have to do some quick thinking! Be creative and think to yourself what tastes might go together. Don't be afraid! It's just food. What did I have? I recently purchased pastured organic chicken, soba pasta, and coconut milk. I had seen some recipes for Thai coconut soups that included hots, which I would never use, and fish sauce which I have never bought. So... what to do...what to do...

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What's That? Jicama!

What is that round rocky potato looking thing? It's called a Jicama, it's a taproot in the bean family, and it tastes like a giant sweet water chestnut. Jicama makes a crispy addition to salads, and yes you can even juice it! Surprisingly full of nutrition and minerals, this is a wonderful addition to your produce basket.

It's an excellent crunchy snack for diabetics, because it contains very low glucose. 
Jicama also has a lot of dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin C and Vitamin A. Chock-full of anti-oxidants, it's helpful in removing free radicals from your body. Welcome this strange plant, and give it a loving place in your home, where it will last about a month in a cool dry place. Pick firm round medium sized Jicamas. Peel off the skin, cut into chunks or slices, and refrigerate any leftover pieces.

A very versatile vegetable, you can cut it up and place it raw in salads and slaw, or cook it in pilaf, stir-fry and soup dishes.

And yes you can put it in juices too! This is one beautiful root!

So keep a lookout for the Jicama, it's lurking right next to the Yucca root!
Below are videos about Jicama! You will learn how to make fries, rice and sushi.

Making Jicama fries with Brigitte Mars:


Creating jicama rice sushi with Dan The Man:


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The Food Revolution Summit For Free!

It's the International Food Revolution Summit people!!! This is awesome! It's your own opportunity to listen to interviews with some of the top voices in the food movement! For Free!!! All you have to do is sign up by giving an email address, so you can get the links! There is a long list of food people involved, and it will run April 28 to May 6th 2012. 
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Sweet Spring Fling Juice

It's hubby's birthday, and I wanted to make him something sweet, just like him! 

So I added a bit more fruit, than I do in my usual daily green, or mixed veggie juice. 

He loved this combo of natural sweet goodness. Gone are the days of heavy brownies. 

In are the days of heaven with a light fruit and veggie cocktail!

Spring Fling Juice

Cucumber

Bosc Pear

Granny Smith Apple

Gala Apple

1/2 large Jicama

1/2 lemon

1 inch Ginger

3 oz Coconut Water

Optional: 1/4 inch daikon radish for some earthiness

If any of your produce is not organic be sure to peel them. 

Trim produce, remove apple core and seeds, and place each into juicer.

"The Birthday juice was yummo," so says the King!

Easy Roasted Root Vegetables

It just doesn't get any easier than this! Unless you are heating up leftovers. 

Clean. Chop. Zen out. Chop. Oil. Spice. Mix. Roast. Turn  Roast. Eat!

Chop whatever Organic root veggies you have, and place into big bowl. Beets, parsnips, carrots, yukon gold potatoes, yams, onions and celery. Drizzle 2 TBS olive oil.

Throw down some spice! I used rosemary, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, Penzey's 'Sunny Paris' and  'Mural of Flavor.' Toss well.

Spread out evenly on baking sheet.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, turn the veggies, and bake 15 minutes more.

They look so much yummier than french fries!

Serve as side, or even a main dish, as they are that delish!

Now wasn't that sooooo easy!?!!!

Success! Reversing Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and Cholestrol With Plants

Yea Baby! The plan is working! Eat Organic Plants! Juice organic vegetables! And heal yourself! Here is the proof from my most recent lab results and doctor visits. These numbers clearly show that changing what you put into your body has an impact on many key areas of health. By changing just the "quality" of the food you eat, it is possible to change unhealthy body conditions without pharmaceuticals. The super good part is that this food tastes so much better than the old way of eating! I love this food adventure! 

These changes are for a hypothyroid patient who was told on many occasions by doctors, that she would never lose the weight that the low metabolism disease had caused. Last June when this chronically diseased body's low metabolism weight gain had caused me to turn into a diabetic, I said, "enough!" What can I do?" I watched two important documentaries, "Simply Raw," and "Fat, Sick, And Nearly Dead." Go to my "Inspiration To Begin page" and "Diabetic Tips" Pages to learn more about these films.

I found my answer to regaining my health and quality of life, in organic produce! Yum! I am so excited with these changes that are happening, especially my energy level! Now going into the next phase of my plan, I will add exercise, as I realize this addition will be an important improvement to my health as well. Now that I am lighter, I actually feel like I could start moving my body in new ways. So remember I did all these changes as a hypothyroid low metabolism body type with no exercise. It can be done! And most people can do it even quicker if they do not have thyroid issues. Did I mention I am never hungry!?! There are always good foods you can snack on!

Yesterday I ran around my house chasing my 3 year old granddaughter in a game of tag! A year ago I couldn't get up off the sofa, or walk across a room. This improvement is huge! Today during my endocrinologist appointment he told me I was a really good patient! That's because of all the personal interest I take in what is going on with my body, keeping my medical records binder, and of course my fantastic success with eating mostly plants! He said things are still going to improve with me! Whoo hoo! Give me a shiny star!

I began to change my diet to be mostly organic plants, and juicing vegetables in June 2011. Here are the results:

A1C (Reading of the sugar in your blood cells that stays there for 3 months) 

(Reference for Normal 4.4 - 6.4)

May 2011 - 6.7
Nov 2011 - 6.4

April 2012 - 6.1

Daily Blood Sugar:

(Reference for Normal - 70 - 99)

June - Aug  2011 -  Daily Readings ranged from 102 - 176 (average was 130)
Sept - Dec 2011 - Daily Readings ranged from  91 - 125 (average was 110)

April 2012 - Daily Readings Ranged from 74 - 96 (my average now is 86)

Cholesterol Changes:
(Reference for Normal with no chance of heart attack is 150)
April 2009 - 197
May 2011 - 170 
April 2012 - 165

Weight loss Changes:
Sept 2011 - 15 pounds gone
December 2011 - 25 pounds gone
April 2012 - 40 pounds gone

Medicine Changes:
June 2011 - Immediately dropped the diabetes medicine Metformin after two weeks, and said, "no way!" to taking pills to control something I knew I could change with better quality food. My doctor had given me 3 months to prove I could do it, and I did!
December 2011 - Dropped one of my two blood pressure medications. 

We are not done yet folks! So If you know anyone suffering with Diabetes, Obesity, and Thyroid problems please, please, please refer them to my blog, so they can learn how to help themselves and improve the quality of their lives! I want everyone to feel this good! And of course this change to eating tasty, healthy, locally sourced, organic non-toxic, foods is fantastic for anyone! It's okay to take your time to make these changes while you learn about new foods. Just start reading the pages at the top of my blog, for helpful hints and tips to make the transition to a new way of eating for you and your loved ones! Be good to yourself! You are worth it!

UPDATE: You can now read my 'one year after' blog post report here, on more of my fantastic personal health improvements from eating and juicing organic plants! The results are life changing!!!

Also join The Queen's Table blog facebook community for recipes, health tips, FREE GIVEAWAYS and more food news you can use!

Arganica Farm Fresh Home Delivery

PLEASE SEE UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF THIS POST

For the past two weeks my daughter and I have been trying out the home food delivery service called the Arganica Food Club. They specialize in local farm fresh and artisan foods, delivered to homes in the Mid Atlantic State Region. The “Arganica Manifesto” states "Here at Arganica, we believe that it should be easy to eat locally produced, wholesome food throughout the year. Local food from family farms and small-batch kitchens not only tastes better, it is sustainable and supports the local economy. There is an alternative to the global food chain!" Arganica does state that although they try to source sustainable foods, they admit not all farms have the organic certification, and in the winter months some produce may come from warmer climates. Most items we have tried so far, were local with the exception of the Organic Rome Plum tomatoes from Mexico. They sell a variety of products: Beverages, Breads, Grains & Nuts, Chips & Snacks, Dairy & Eggs, Desserts, Dips, Sauces, Spreads, Dried Beans, Fresh Pasta, Fruits & Veggies, Herbs & Spices, Salt & Seaweed, Meat & Poultry, Seafood, Prepared Meals: such as Pasta & Pizza, and Soups

There is no membership fee, although there is a monthly delivery fee of $20.00, which is in addition to the cost of each item ordered through Arganica. By having the food delivered to my daughter's home we can split the delivery cost each month. There is a $35.00 minimum order, which is another reason going in on an order together, makes that amount easy to cover. I get my family's order list to my daughter by email on Tuesday, and she makes the final order on her Arganica account by Wednesday night. Then they deliver the products early Sunday morning. 

Arganica has specials, and adds new products to their market supply weekly. If you are thinking of joining the farm fresh delivery route, just head over to the Arganica website where they answer many of the questions you may have about this service.

The photo above is of my first Arganica order. The local free range eggs were actually cheaper than the organic eggs at the supermarket. The yolks were deep yellow and they certainly tasted great. I have to be honest, egg yolks and cheese are my personal food vices. Even though I have cut back significantly on my dairy intake, I still enjoy the heck out of these two kinds of dairy products when I have them! So if I am going to indulge myself, I am making sure my dairy is hormone free, antibiotic free, GMO free, and pasture raised. My daughter feels the same way, and she was the one who found this company's service, when she searched for safe dairy choices in our area. She had purchased 'Trickling Springs Farm' dairy products in the past, and found out they were associated with the Arganica delivery service.

For my first order I picked out organic farm butter 'just for Ben,' as I have never been a butter eater. Although I may cook with a little ghee sometimes for flavor, I do not put it directly on anything as most people would. Ben says the 'Trickling Springs Farm' butter tastes quite good. In addition, I also ordered the raw honey from Golden Angels Apiary in Virginia, for Ben's allergies, until the beekeeper down the street has his honey ready. Ben thinks Golden Angels Apiary honey is amazing! Okay! Okay! So I did have a taste, and it is super yummy. As you know being diabetic I no longer eat sweet things, so I would only have some in my tea, when I have a cold. Which I seem to have right now, lucky me. Last night I sliced some fresh ginger into my tea mug, along with this new honey, a squirt of fresh lemon, and hot water. Wow! that felt great on my throat!

This weeks order has traditional hummus from 'Cava Mezze', Rome plum tomatoes, artisan cheese, and jam. As you can see I ripped open the cheese, and Ben and I had some of it for lunch today. He made an organic ham and cheese sandwich on Marathon bread, and I had some of this 'Trickling Springs Farm' tomato basil cheddar cheese along with Mary's flax crackers. Oh my! Now that is some full bodied cheese! Quite excellent! Oh! You are looking at the jar of 'Tait Farms' Blackberry Jam aren't you? I will go out to the kitchen and put my finger in... No? Alright I will use a little spoon, and be back to let you know how that tastes... Here is my report... Thatsa sum' goodda tastin' jam! It is actually a low sugar jam with only 5g of cane sugar per tablespoon. Still that is all I would be able to handle. 'Tait Farms' uses a pound of blackberries in each jar, and the jam is very dark, runny, and my fingers got all purple...oh what a giveaway!

One thing I like about the Arganica Market section of their web site is how you can click on the supplier information for most products, and find out about the local farm or artisan. Some of the Farms and Mills look so Interesting that I hope to visit some of them in person one day. Arganica believes in farm transparency, in the tradition of farming visionaries Joel Salatin, and Michael Pollan's viewpoint. Polyface Farm is actually one of their suppliers. Arganica's motto is, "Know Thy Grower."

My daughter bought the 'Tait Farms" Lemon Fig Conserve, (which I do not see listed right now, oh darn!) and said it was out of this world! And that Belgian Chocolate milk called Cocoa Metro using 'Trickling Springs Farm' milk was rich and oh so decadent!!

Now my daughter speaks in her own words about the Arganica Service, and how they handle the delivery at her family's home: "I love them, and I am so grateful for this service. If it wasn't for Argancia, the dairy options that fit the needs of my family would be nearly non-existent. We place a cooler outback, with some ice packs in it. 
I am not sure how they deliver...because we are always still in bed when it arrives. They must make multiple trips from their vehicle to the back door, or have more than one person carry it all up. Everything is either loose or in reused plastic grocery store bags. We really don't have to put our freezer packs in the cooler, because Arganica provides them, along with foam to keep the glass bottles from breaking. Each week is easy because I just leave the packaging in the cooler as i received it, as well as the glass bottles, and place it all outside Saturday evening. 

Shortly after unpacking my cooler the first time, I realized there was a missing piece from my first delivery, but Arganica resolved it immediately when I called. They were very friendly and excited about their work! They really want to know what we think, and what we want...so they can try to make it better. I love reading the weekly post about whats new and fresh, and I think their website is very attractive and easy to use. 
I appreciate the descriptions they put with every item, as well as place of origin."

"We have ordered: Creamline whole milk, whole milk, Belgium choc milk, goats milk, yogurt, cheddar cheese, mozzarella, butter, honey, fig and honey conserve, golden beets, butter lettuce, yukon gold potatoes, among other things that slip my mind right now. My favs are by far the dairy... I feel so good knowing we are making an informed choice about our dairy products. And they are all SO GOOD! Mike LOVES goats milk now! I also LOVE the honey we got... so incredibly delish! This week I am ordering the new baby cereal, so happy to have an option for Liam now too! We all know Aowyn LOVES the dairy... so she is happy. But the most important thing is that I am happy. CUZ IF MAMMA ISN'T HAPPY, AINT NOBODY HAPPY! :-D"

I have really enjoyed getting my goodie bag the past two weeks with our special treats. We think this is a fantastic service for those of us who want great local farm fresh foods! If you live in the Mid-Atlantic Region, check out if Arganica delivers to your area. Then go into the market and see if they have anything that interests your taste buds! With Arganica's wide variety of foods you are bound to find something enticing!

Below : The latest on products we have tried and loved from Arganica! 

Goodwin Creek Farm and Bakery Ciabatta bread  - wonderful light, fluffy, with a slightly chewy crunchy texture. Great flavor! We will get this bread again! Oh we did!

Himalayan Organic Grain Blend - Excellent! Chewy Nutty Mixture that is great for pilaf recipes. Beautiful color.

Fruits and Veggies - Everything we have received each week has been very fresh and tasty, with the exception of one week some plum tomatoes did not look good. Arganica quickly gave us a credit for those. Every other week they were gorgeous and full of flavor.The only other thing we would have preferred to be different was in the 'amount' of strawberries we actually received in our orders one week.There should have had a bit more strawberries to actually fill the blue pint containers. I will strongly say that those strawberries were ripe, and super delish, just the way strawberries should taste!.

The Granny Smith apples, and the lemons, are weekly staples around here, because we make fresh juice with them everyday. We regularly get avocados and kiwis too.

Morrenko's Ice Cream - I may rarely have ice cream, but when I do you can bet it's this brand. Holy Cow! The creamiest ice cream ever! Full of flavor! They do not skip on their ingredients! We have tried the Black Raspberry with Chocolate Chips, and the amazing Honey Lavender Ice Cream. To top off the amazing ice cream how about some...

Tait Farms Strawberry Dark Chocolate Sauce Oh My! That is decadence! So are all the Tait Farm jams and products. The are so worth the money!

Cherry Glen Goat Cheese Chevre - Hubby's favorite.

Mimi's Baby Grains - My daughter is in love with this new baby food option, and is constantly raving about them! Baby Liam is really enjoying them too! They contain no GMO's, no fillers, no preservatives and are minimally processed to retain nutrients.

UPDATE: ARGANICA HAS BEEN BOUGHT OUT BY ANOTHER COMPANY AND NO LONGER SERVES OUR AREA. MAJOR BUMMER. The New Company is called Relay Foods. See this article here. WE are not amused.

Snack Time! Alter Eco Chocolate

A few hours after dinner, our 'go to snack' most evenings is dark chocolate. Quick, easy and healthy. Dark chocolate rocks! Two squares is all it takes to satisfy the soul. Mmmmm choclaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhte Close your eyes and smile!

The Alter Eco brand is fair trade, and organic. These are qualities we look for when we buy chocolate. Alter Eco recently changed their packaging, which came after a delay of not seeing the product for a week or two on the store shelves. Slightly concerned, 
I went to the website to see what's up. There I read a nice explanation that all was well, and they were making some changes that also improved the taste of their chocolate. That's good news, as we would certainly miss this company's dark chocolate if they went away. We tried some other brands that were just okay, and some that were waxy tasting. We highly recommend, and declare that Alter Eco is our favorite brand of the fair trade chocolates, for it's rich dark silky taste. 

So once again we are getting our dark chocolate fix, and all is well with our world. Our ultimate fav is 'Quinoa Crunch', followed by 'Blackout' and 'Almond'. Alter Eco has other flavors such as Toffee, Mint, and chocolate with orange peel. If you are in the organic section of your store and see a wall of chocolate choices. Check this brand out...your taste buds, as well as your soul, will be so glad you did! You can buy Alter Eco - Organic Chocolate Dark Quinoa chocolate right now! haha!

Be sure to watch the excellent video below, that I found on the Alter Eco web site, about the value of choosing fair trade whenever you can!