Dyspepsia? Try this iced tea

60 million Americans suffer from some form of dyspepsia- the generic term for digestive unrest. The typical prescription is a proton-pump inhibitor- the same drugs we now know cause a whole raft of diseases down the road, like dementia and osteoperosis. Why? Turns out if you inhibit acid, you don't digest your food- hence no nutrients, hence all of the bioprotective aspects of food are severely limited.

Unless you have acute symptoms that need to be controlled as quickly as possible, a better course might be to ingest foods known traditionally for their digestive aid. In this tea recipe, I combine the power of turmeric and other digestion-friendly spices, honey, ginger and green tea to produce a delicious iced tea that Abbey dubs "Michael's pumpkin pie iced tea." it does contain coconut cream, which some people can be sensitive to for its high fat content. Feel free to substitute whatever milk or cream that suits your digestion best.

ingredients:

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp powdered ginger, or pulverized fresh ginger
1 tbl honey
green- loose or matcha (or black) tea
coconut or other milk or cream, to the top

method:

brew a cup of the tea of your choice according to the usual sort of directions- just big enough for a traditional CUP, NOT MUG, of tea but you want it to be on the strong side, so whatever tea you'd put in a mug is fine.

as the tea is brewing, add the spices. let them sit in the tea five minutes after the tea is finished brewing.

now the tea should be hot, but not blazing. add the honey and mix until incorporated.

Prepare a tumbler with cubed or crushed ice.

pour the fortified cup of tea in the tumbler. Top it off with the milk or cream of your choice. mix.

Enjoy! I have periodic problems with indigestion- some days it's pretty awful- but this tea never fails to calm things down and soothe my insides. I hope it does the same for you.

Best scrambled tofu ever

We make a lot of scrambled tofu around here, so I've had some practice. It seems every recipe is  good, but has some aspect I don't like- too much spice, not enough spice, tofu is too dry, tofu is too wet, etc.

The one I made this morning was a sort of synthesis of what I've learned from those recipes that I have tried, and turned out to be pretty amazing.

Warning, this is not strictly vegan. I used Go Veggie grated topping, which contains casein. You could substitute nutritional yeast for similar results.

Ingredients

a brick of firm tofu, drained. It's also important to pat it dry.
a couple handfuls of raw spinach
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
a couple grinds of pepper
1-2 scallions, green parts only, approx. 4 stalks, thinly sliced
1/4 cup water
generous shakes of Galaxy foods Go Veggie grated topping
1-2 tsp oil, I use avocado

Preparation

Heat the oil in a nonstick pan on medium. When the pan is up to temp, break up the tofu into large chunks and place in the pan. leave it undisturbed for at least 5 minutes.  While this is happening, mix the spices and salt with the water and set aside. Flip one of the pieces over and see if it is browning. If it is, it is time to flip all of them, otherwise leave it for another minute or so. Once everything is flipped, toss on the spinach- basically enough to form a shallow mound covering the tofu. When the spinach starts wilting, turn the heat up to medium high and pour in the water and spice mixture. Let the water evaporate; this should take about 2 minutes. at this point, toss in the scallions and flip everything over again. the tofu should be uniformly yellow at this point. Give it another minute for the onions to soften. It's quite delicious served with spelt toast.

Superfoods: Turmeric (two recipes)

Turmeric has been used in India for over 2000 years, and was one of the principal spices traded along the old spice routes of the ancient far East. That it has health benefits seems to have been known for some time, but recently science has been championing its cause as well. It doesn't hurt its healthful reputation that the Okinawans, known for the being one of the few places on Earth where men frequently live as old as women, consume a lot of turmeric- and, in fact, begin their day with a cup of the stuff brewed as tea. I just had to try this on my own, and I found it surprisingly tasty. In fact, I experimented with it and added some other healthy ingredients, and the result is what I assume is a very healthy beverage that I've been drinking every morning since.

Mike's Turmeric Breakfast Tea

Ingredients:

1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup warmed soy milk
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp matcha (actual ground green tea leaves, popular in Japan, and becoming more so in the West. Health benefits of Matcha)

1 tsp honey. I use Manuka but any real honey would probably be fine.

Combine the water and soy milk in a small bowl. Temperature should be about right for a hot beverage: if not, microwave briefly to the point you want. Add the powdered ingredients and whisk until fully incorporated. Add the honey and stir until incorporated.

I suspect these ingredients would make a tasty latte, too, but I have not tried it- yet!

I tried the more traditional turmeric tea recipe- in which turmeric and hot water are combined with palm sugar and lime juice- which I found tasty as well. The flavor fit right in with Thai cuisine. Lately we have been using Crab Classic as a way to quickly make a salad with a light protein source (Crab Classic is made of two different fish species with light flesh). As I've been interested in adding turmeric to my diet, the challenge today was to make a crab salad with a Thai edge. This is the result.

Crab Classic Salad with Thai Spices

Ingredients:

1 package of flake style Crab Classic, separated
1/2 bell pepper, diced
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 tomato, diced
small handful of chopped fresh mint
small handful of chopped fresh basil
2 scallions, greens only, sliced
1 small handful cilantro
1/3 cup mayonnaise or Vegenaise (what I used)
1 tbl lime juice
a splash of rice vinegar
a splash of light vegetable oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp kosher salt
grinds of black pepper to taste
a squirt each of Sriracha and blue agave nectar

Make the dressing: combine the mayonnaise, spices, rice vinegar, lime juice, Sriracha, agave nectar,  and oil in a bowl. whisk until thick and incorporated. Put in the diced vegetables and Crab Classic, and combine. Toss in the herbs and mix. Serve on a bed of lettuce. I used an Organic Girl mix with baby kale, which is pretty good! I really don't like kale, but the baby stuff, I like.

One thing I thought of after the fact was the dressing might benefit from a grating or two of ginger root- another superfood.

I really hope you enjoy these recipes and find other ways to get turmeric into your diet!