Fall is here, and the cooler weather and longer nights bring with them cravings for comfort foods. Many of my patients have learned that some (or all) of their comfort foods have actually been at the root of some (or all) of their health issues over the years. Hearing that your comfort foods are causing or contributing to your health problems is…well, it’s just absolutely not what anyone wants to hear! However, if we truly want to get healthy, we know that change is necessary.
Some Seasonal Comfort Foods & Beverages Reinvented
Pumpkin Spice Latté
If you’re able to drink *coffee and are craving one of those specialty high-sugar pumpkin spice coffee masterpieces from a coffee shop (usually chemical-filled), stop and think about how you can make your own–but in a healthier way. For instance, the minute the autumn leaves start to fall, a friend of mine makes her own pumpkin spice coffee (consider using organic fresh roasted coffee with beans roasted no more than a week so as to avoid rancid oils) with organic monkfruit sweetener (a little goes a long way!), organic pumpkin pie spice, and a little organic milk. However, since most anti-inflammatory diets have you avoid dairy, I usually discourage the use of dairy products. You can try using unsweetened hemp milk in your coffee, or any kind of unsweetened nut milk.
Here is a recipe for Homemade Cashew/Almond Milk:
- Soak 2 cups of cashews or almonds for 2-3 days
- Blend with water (4-5 cups) – enough to make a milk-like consistency
If you make your own nut milk, you’ll avoid the usual additives in the grocery store nut milks.
*Some people are unable to drink coffee because they have both the variant of the gene CYP1A2 affecting caffeine metabolism, and gene TA2SR23 affecting liver detoxification of fat soluble compounds. >>> Watch for our future article on The Bad Coffee Gene
Pumpkin Spice Tea
If you can’t have coffee but want a hot pumpkin spice drink, we found this lovely-looking (and sounding) organic tea online: Deluxe Pumpkin Spice Tea with all organic ingredients — no sulfites, no artificial chemicals, non-GMO (from PlumDeluxe.com).
Rather Than Thickening Stews with Potatoes and White Flour…
Try using yams instead of potatoes in your stew. They are lower on the glycemic index than potatoes and therefore do not affect your blood sugar as adversely as potatoes. Yams contain far more potassium, and more dietary fiber than potatoes. Also, yams lack the inflammatory properties of white potatoes.
Try thickening your stews with arrowroot powder or tapioca starch instead of flour.
One of our team made this fabulous Sweet Potato Beef Stew (from Wholefully.com) in a crockpot. This stew has absolutely become one of our cool-weather comfort foods! We made it with the following changes:
- Replace butter with avocado oil
- Replace flour with arrowroot powder
- Make sure the red wine is organic and sulfite-free.
- If you object to using red wine, it can be replaced with some apple cider vinegar (just a little) + more broth or water.
Autumn/Winter Cake (gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free)
Speaking of comfort foods, people who can no longer have gluten often miss having a piece of cake now and then. There’s no need to give up this comfort food. Many people who cannot tolerate wheat do very well with buckwheat:
Buckwheat Applesauce Cake (gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free)
This isn’t a light and fluffy cake, but is satisfying and good with a cup of tea in the afternoon or evening.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups Buckwheat flour
- 1 1/4 tsp Baking powder aluminum-free
- 1 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Chia seeds
Wet Ingredients
- 2 cups Unsweetened applesauce Heap the second cup a bit.
- 1/2 cup Honey Try to use local honey.
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 handful Walnuts optional
Instructions
- Mix chia seeds with apple sauce and set aside.
- Pre-heat oven to 350°.
- Lightly oil a bread loaf pan.
- Mix dry ingredients together.
- Stir in wet ingredients (including the applesauce with chia seeds).
- Bake in preheated 350° oven for about 35 – 40 mins.
- Start checking at 30 mins by inserting toothpick. This is a bit different for all ovens. Also, some people like it more moist.
Recipe Notes
Note: This Buckwheat Applesauce Cake is pictured with frosting made of semi-room temp Soy-free Earth Balance (1 cup), arrowroot powder (½ cup), maple syrup (½ cup) and vanilla extract (½ tsp). However, the cake is GREAT without the frosting and also lower on the glycemic index.
Coconut Flour Pumpkin Bars
Attention pumpkin pie lovers, and pumpkin spice lovers: these easy, gluten-free Coconut Flour Bars by Detoxinista are FABULOUS!
Pumpkin pie (gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free)
Speaking of comfort foods, here is a Vegan Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe by Minimalist Baker :
Low Carb Walnut Pumpkin Seed Granola
This easy, yummy, nutrient-filled snack will hit the cinnamon-sweet-crunchy spot!
Go to recipe: Low Carb Walnut Pumpkin Seed Granola
Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment and Have FUN Doing So!
Look at the changes to your diet and lifestyle as an adventure instead of a chore. Many peoples’ mindset in the kitchen is: “This is how I was taught to do such-and-such and I can’t do it any other way,” or even, “Any other way is wrong.” That is a mental tape we all must work to erase, and set out on our own journeys of different ingredients and recipes that are healthy for us. Once you start finding new things that not only satisfy you but make you feel good in both the short term AND the long term, you will feel a sense of accomplishment rather than deprivation, sadness and discomfort.
The recipes above are only a few ideas with which to get started. Perhaps some of them will work for you and your health needs (depending upon food tolerances and other issues), or you may need to modify them. Once again, don’t be afraid to experiment and find out what’s right for you. By the way, we would love to hear what you come up with!
