It's What's For Dinner Tonight---Grass-Fed Sirloin Tip Roast

 

After a few days of enjoying leftover Thanksgiving poultry I'm ready for some beef! But not just any beef!! This beautiful sirloin-tip roast has been thawing in the frig for 5-6 days. It's part of my annual "half-cow" purchase from my friend Robert at  Amber Grassfed Beef. 

I love this cut. It's not a big roast, only 2-3 pounds and an inch to inch and a half thick. I cook it long, slow, and low (300 oven for 2 hours) for the tenderest and tastiest result. The best part, though, is knowing the health benefits of this grass-fed delicacy! Check out this article from Eat Wild if you need to be convinced (or reminded) grass-only is the ONLY way to go!!

A great colorful duo of rainbow carrots and heirloom potatoes look so yummy alongside the beef.  Coarse Celtic salt, cracked pepper, sliced yellow onion and a generous handful of fresh thyme snippets are sprinkled on top just before covering and popping into the slow oven. 

I usually remove the meat and veggies from the pan juices with a slotted spoon, add freshly ground flour, cook for a few minutes on medium heat, turn off heat and stir in milk until smooth, and cook the gravy on medium-low until thick. Add some extra salt and pepper then add back the veggies and meat! What can I say! This Southern girl loves gravy. (And my super-fresh organic ingredients make it healthy and guilt-free!!)

Savory Sauté

Out in the garden the cabbage is well on its way to forming heads but, alas, I can never wait. I'm always out there with my kitchen scissors, stealing those dark green, tender, baby leaves from all sides. I only clip a few from each plant, hoping they won't notice and will go about their business producing some nice, for-real cabbage heads in a few more weeks.

Aren't those little new potatoes the prettiest? Found them at Fresh Market, conveniently packaged in  little net bags. I bought them with the cabbage in mind for one of my favorite (and so simple) cold weather dishes.

In my coveted cast iron skillet I sauté the olive oil-coated sliced potatoes and onions on high heat to start the browning process. Then I cover with the skillet lid, turn down the heat and let the potatoes cook until tender. I'm careful not to turn the potatoes so the bottom layer of slices stay extra crispy brown.

The only seasonings are coarse Celtic gray salt, cracked pepper, and caraway seed.

The thinly shredded cabbage leaves are added last and only cooked to tender crisp. If I'm in the mood for a heartier stew-type dish. I'll add some butter, sprinkle with some flour, stir in some milk or half and half and cook on low until cabbage is tender and sauce is thickened. For the creamy version I'll usually stir in some Taleggio cheese or sprinkle with Parmesan and serve with toasted rye bread. YUM!!!

Fast--Day 6

 

Yeah, I know. A little strange to begin my fasting post with a yummy food pic, but it fits what my day was like today. I literally cooked all day!!

First, I prepared for dehydration the 3-4 pounds of organic pumpkin seed I had soaked in water "seasoned" with cumin, chile,  and cayenne powders, salt and lime juice. (Did you know the only way we should consume nuts and seeds is to purchase raw [organic if possible] and soak before eating? Here's why.)

I also made bread and cinnamon rolls to give away and freeze. (I grind my own GMO-free, organic wheat berries, so the flour is fresh, not rancid as is store-bought whole wheat.  Yep, all of it. Here's why. Many health professionals and nutritionists believe the huge increase in gluten intolerance experienced in this country is not actually a sudden inability of half the population to eat bread (we couldn't have survived as a human race if that had always been the case!) but is, in fact, a reaction to modern-day GMO, chemical-laden wheat farming practices. Most gluten-intolerant folks can easily digest bread made with heirloom and organic wheat varieties that have been freshly ground!!

And, then yes, I made an absolutely wonderful (smelling:) beef and barley soup---complete with homemade beef stock! I tried something different this time--roasting the potatoes and carrots before adding them to the soup. I served it to my daughter and a friend for dinner and got rave reviews:) I'll break my fast with the flavorful broth tomorrow and graduate to the soft vegetables by evening, holding off on meat until the next day and then only gently-cooked small portions, like the grass-fed stew meat in the soup.

Speaking of the fast, I'm soooo glad this is the last day. But, I have to say, it's been the best!! I have honestly felt euphoric today. Full of energy. Thankful for life. Looking forward to the future. That's a huge step for me seeing as I've had a majorly stressful last year and a half.  Fasting for me is cleaning everything, even my attitude!!!

Fast--Day 5

Yum! Isn't that a delicious-looking fresh juice! Certainly that recipe would be a good place to start if the idea of drinking your vegetables doesn't excite you one bit.  I'd serve that at a summer picnic, wouldn't you?

I'm a little late in the day posting. From 4:30 a.m., when I awoke to teach a Spin class (taught a second one a few hours later), until this moment I've been on the move all day---and felt great! Yes, the mental pity parties sneak in occasionally, but the tangible evidence of what this fast is doing more than makes up for the fact that there are far too many gorgeous recipe blogs out there!!! Yep, that's how I spent the last hour or so before bed last night, perusing for the food blogs with the best-looking photos--all healthy, off course!!

So funny!! As usual both mentally and physically I'm tracking along almost exactly with my 2012 10-day fast. Check in HERE for more details and to read about one MD who wholeheartedly endorses fasting for healing and preventative health. Talk to (at?) you guys tomorrow. Day 6!. Next to last day!!!

Fast---Day 4

Solitude. Reflection.  Quiet.  Inside and out.

So peaceful---and with my digestive system on vacation the peace is inside and out!

I was so blessed this morning to have some quiet time alone at the home of a dear friend who lives on the bay. A minute or two before I took this photo a huge pelican had plunged into the water just in front of me. Other than that awesome disturbance, the slight breeze and ever-so-gentle sounds of the water were the only background for my senses.  

I needed that time alone with God. It was the reboot I needed to start hump day. 

Fasting is denial of a strong psychological desire---notice I did not say physiological. I am not hungry in the traditional sense of the word, but I am desperately hungry for the experience of eating!  (Read HERE to see I felt similar feelings on day 4 of the 2012 fast:)) Fasting certainly makes me aware of how much I idolize the pleasure of eating. So I ask God to help me use my denial of food to help me deny my flesh in other ways. Yes, in this sense, fasting definitely has a spiritual component for me.

More antioxidants than red wine!!!

So yesterday I got a juice at a local cafe that juices fresh and organic. Today was the first day I juiced at home. The beautiful concoction made festive for my mom and me is pictured above. Ingredients are carrots, cucumber, kale, beets, green apple, Swiss chard, broccoli leaves, and ginger. Cheers!!!

Fast--Day 3

Oh MY!!!

The mental game was somewhat difficult yesterday, especially when I was cooking grass-fed beef tips, caramelized onions, fingerling potatoes and fresh-picked broccoli, cabbage and Swiss chard from the garden for my kids' dinner!!! If you've never fasted it's hard to describe how intense your sense of smell becomes!!

While the beef and potatoes were stewing I kept myself out of the kitchen and found this excellent scientific study.  It's a little technical, but it proves another awesome chemical/hormonal effect of fasting: It substantially elevates levels of human growth hormone (HGH)! HGH is the "Fountain of Youth" hormone, production of which drops off dramatically after our twenties.  One way to keep levels maximized is to engage in regular periods of high intensity exercise since that is the only time our super fast twitch muscle fiber is used, and using it sparks our body to output HGH!

It's great to know my fast, along with my fitness program, really is turning back the clock a bit. And every bit helps!!

Today was busy, and long. I certainly had some bad attitude moments. I'm not hungry and I really never came close to considering stopping the fast. I just kinda get mad at the world and how much glorious food is in it. Honestly, I'm obsessed with looking at yummy recipe sites. At least I'm getting all my holiday menus planned early!!!

Oh! I had my first fresh juice today: carrot, kale, beet, cucumber, ginger, and cayenne. It was a little tangy but good!!  Speaking of juice, take time to look at some beautiful produce I juiced during my last fast and learn some more reasons why fasting should be an important part of most folks' health care regimen! Click HERE.

Day 2--Fast

Last tea of the day, a generous glass of water and my nighttime essential oils.

This was my nightstand last night. I was ready to turn in at 8:19! Sleep is very interesting during a fast. I'm usually tired but restless the first night, feel drugged sleep is so deep the second night, and bouncing all around from one extreme to the other as the fast progresses. One thing that always seems to be true: As I get further into a fast, I require less and less sleep (unless a healing crises has me down) but feel more refreshed than I ever have in my life!

A study published in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism found that during sleep after a 7-day fast subjects experienced less arousal and leg movements and a general increase in quality of sleep, increased daytime concentration, vigor, and emotional balance. See the full results of the study here.

Oh, by the way, the three oils are Frankincense, Myrrh and Vetiver---all great oils for sleep. (Click on the oil names to find out more about their sleep-inducing properties.) I put a few drops of each in the palm of my hand, inhale the scent deeply a few times then rub on the soles of my feet.


Click HERE for a great post (even if I do say so myself:)) I did during my last 10-day fast. I was surprised at how similar my emotions are on the same day of the two fasts.

Fast--Day 1

Today's Menu

If drinking my EveryDay Detox tea means I can't call this part of the fast a "water" fast, then so be it. I still feel fair in describing it water only because I am not taking in any calories, protein, vitamins, etc. If the herbs in the tea (that's all that's in there---herbs) were all included in the supplement pictured to the left, and I downed the pill with warm water, it would be considered a water fast, wouldn't it? To some extreme purists I guess maybe not because even taking the liver support herbs---in any form---would knock it out of "water only" category.

In any case, what I'm doing today is warm tea---using that tea bag 3-4 times, so very weak tea!!-- and the Bupleurum Liver Cleanse support pill two times today(downed with the warm tea).

During a fast the liver is working extremely hard to filter out all the toxins being dumped in the blood and lymph.  When you add to that workload the fact that, to the degree we succumb to the Standard American Diet, all our livers are compromised a good bit----well, I think being very nice to my liver during a fast is super important!!!

Here's what the Traditional Medicines website says about the EveryDay Detox tea:

Personality Balanced, protective and helpful. 
Herbal Power Promotes healthy liver function.* 
Reason to Love Based on a combination of herbs inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine, our herbalists blended dandelion and chicory roots—bitter and earthy and used to stimulate your liver’s natural detoxification processes*—with schisandra berries, whose use was first documented 5,000 years ago. Called “five flavor berry” in Chinese, schisandra is unique in that it has all five tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent (or warmly spicy). A delightfully, complex-tasting tea, we love it because it gives the liver the love it deserves. 
Taste A complex blend of all five tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty.

I add the Planetary Herbals liver formula because it contains even more awesome liver lovers!

From the  Planetary Herbals website:
Bupleurum Liver Cleanse™ is a unique herbal formula that unites the healing traditions of three cultures to provide a comprehensive and well-balanced program for deep internal cleansing. It helps the overburdened liver by “dredging” it of old, stored-up waste matter, and strengthening it with nourishing herbs.

The Liver’s Role in Detoxification
The liver is the largest of our vital organs. It is responsible for facilitating digestion and elimination, and filtering potentially toxic waste products from the blood. Liver detoxification is especially important today, due to the increasing prevalence of chemical pollutants in our environment.

Traditional Liver Cleansing
Every culture in the world used to have a traditional practice of cleansing the liver at least once a year. Many of the old people of our own Appalachian Mountains still do this. It is a wise practice to continue. There are many toxins the liver cannot effectively eliminate. Eventually it stores up more than it can handle. This can lead to problems such as environmental sensitivities.

The Bupleurum Liver Cleanse™ Team
Bupleurum is the most widely used herbal detoxifier in Chinese herbalism. It is the major ingredient of literally dozens of herbal “liver” formulas, and is the star of the Bupleurum Liver Cleanse formula. Supporting bupleurum’s antioxidant powers is milk thistle seed extract (yielding 80 mg silymarin), one of the most well researched herbal substances in Germany. It has a powerful protective action, helping the liver stand up to the onslaught of chemical pollutants and antagonists. Dandelion root has traditionally been used in North America for internal spring-cleaning. Wild yam supports the liver’s cleansing powers, alleviating some of the stress to this vital organ. Dong quai root from China provides powerful tonifying and antioxidant properties. Additional liver-supportive herbs include lycii fruit, cyperus rhizome, peony root, fennel fruit, ginger root, and Chinese skullcap root. Together, these renowned botanicals from three continents provide a thorough herbal approach for supporting a healthy liver. The quality of this formulation, together with the care that goes into its preparation, boosts your liver’s abilities to eliminate toxins.

Clinically Derived Formulas
Bupleurum Liver Cleanse is part of the Planetary Herbals line of products that draws on the wisdom of traditional cultures and the new knowledge emerging from scientific research. Planetary Herbals products are developed or selected by acupuncturist, herbalist and author Michael Tierra, L.Ac., O.M.D., and used on a daily basis in his clinical practice. The result: premier botanicals, unsurpassed for dependability and consumer satisfaction.

Remember to check out my Day 1 post from 2012 for some great information on fasting!!!!!!

Fasting for Health: Body, Mind, and Spirit

Cleanse

 Reflect

 Rejuvenate

 Replenish

 Heal

It's time once again for my annual 7-10 day fast. I will post here each day both the links to my fasting journal from a ten-day fast I completed in January of 2012 and a brief addendum about this current fast. I point you back to the 2012 posts because during that fast I posted detailed daily reflections and information on the concept of fasting. Those posts are a great starting place for those of you new to fasting  and will help you understand what to expect.

I will emphasize here again I am not a medical professional and my only intent is both to share with you my personal experience and point you to sources of information collected by people much more capable than I in guiding your use of this wonderful healing tool.

Today is my last day of eating and I started the day by sipping on a cleansing cup of my ginger-lemon-cayenne tea---which I will drink daily during the fast. I think tonight I'll watch the wonderful documentary referred to in this post to motivate me and confirm my reasons for the fast!!

Making Elberberry Syrup

One of the best cold and flu preventatives to have in your medicine cabinet this winter is elderberry syrup. Although there are plenty of terrific store-bought options at your local health food grocery, it's so easy to make at home, why not!?! (Especially when the ginger is as beautiful and fresh as that I found at my local organic co-op grocery.)

Elderberries:

• are soothing and anti-inflammatory to the entire system
• are high in vitamin C
• are a wonderful antioxidant
• possess antiviral properties to fight colds and flu

I couldn't do better than give you the link to this wonderful step-by-step on preparing and using your own syrup from Homespun Seasonal Living.