Good for you Dessert

Yes, you read that right.  There are desserts you can enjoy with a clear conscience.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim encourages everyone to eat healthy, organic diets for a long and healthy life.  That does include an occasional dessert, especial one that is known to promote good health!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim, when she grew up, never knew what we now call desserts, nor did she know modern medicine.  People were grateful that they had food to eat, any food, and when people got sick, they used traditional medicines, supplied by nature, and Elderberry was one of those medicines, used for the flu, colds, coughs and other minor illnesses, just like is was and is in America and Europe.  Nowadays we know it may also be able to balance your blood glucose, and is a mild diuretic and mild laxative.

But did you know that the Elderberry flowers are just as good for you?  You can use them in many different ways, such as making syrup or ferment them into a drink, or simply dry the flowers and make them into tea; but here is my most favorite way, as my mom made for us in Austria:

Pick any light batter, a nice pancake or waffle batter, and dunk the flowers in – let drip just slightly and put into hot oil, fry on both sides lightly, quickly pat off oil, and enjoy!

Can you taste the light, fruity flavor?  Feel free to either use powered sugar, powdered stevia, or even a little maple syrup.  

Go ahead and give it a try.  However, use care and be 100% sure you have the right plant!

And as an additional bonus, here is a quote from Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s new book, “Seven Steps to Inner Power – how to break through to awesome!”:

While people and events can shape you, for better or for worse, you do have power over those influences, more power than you realize.  It doesn’t matter how bad your current circumstances may seem.  what I have discovered throughout my life is that how I dealt with circumstances was much more important than the circumstances themselves or the environment in which I was raised. 

(page 7)

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No such thing as leftovers

Dr. Tae Yun Kim has been very strong about treating food right and to not abuse it – this means not letting it sit in the refrigerator until it goes bad.  It means you only cook as much as you and those eating with you can eat.  It’s ok to have enough for next day’s lunch, but no out and out leftovers.  It means keeping the kitchen very clean too!

Dr. Kim also wants us to develop and use our creativity.  Sometimes that’s not as easy as it seems.  I mean, what do you do with too much yeast dough?  There is only so much bread I want to make and freeze, because if I make it, I will eat it, right?

First I want to acknowledge the source of my gluten-free yeast doughs.  Shirley of gluten-free Easily has these fantastic roundups, and one of my very favorite ones are her bread roundups.  Click here for one of them.

Since I usually make at least a double batch, sometimes I need another creative use for what might be too much.

All the veggies and herbs came from Dr. Kim’s garden

Pizza is of course always a good choice and I cannot tell you how often I have used “Pizza dough” that started out as something entirely different.

I have also made peach or apple cinnamon buns and they are wonderful even made out of bread dough!

Lastly, if you don’t mind carefully rolling out whatever dough you have, go ahead and improvise an apple strudel, where the filling is peeled and chopped apples, with a generous dose of chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup sugar and a lot of cinnamon, also a couple of tablespoons of starch for every couple of cups of apples.  Let rise for 45 minutes to an hour and bake at 350 for about the same time – check frequently!

Not the most beautiful, but certainly one of the best ones!

And there you have it!  Of course, bread sticks, bread sticks with cheese….and a lot more can be made as well!  Have fun, get creative and know there is no such thing as a failure!

 

 

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Any time apple smoothie

Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s apple trees have been producing like crazy this year!  They are wonderfully sweet, juicy, crisp apples that stand well on their own, and are fabulous in apple sauce, apple pie, coffee cakes and such.

Now that the nice fall temperatures have been taking a break and scorching heat is upon us once more, Dr. Tae Yun Kim has come up with this new, and most fabulously refreshing drink, that will make you think you are having liquid, chilled apple pie, except better, and all healthy and good for you!

Here is what you do (after you picked the apples):

Into the blender container, put the following:

1/8 – 1/4 cup nuts – we use a good mixture of almonds, cashew nuts, pistachios, pine nuts and sometimes peanuts – feel free to use whatever you like, and can tolerate.  We use the same mixture used here.   If you cannot have nuts, we have successfully used all natural, gluten free protein powder

1/2 – 1 cup ice cubes

sprinkle of cinnamon or apple pie spice

2-3 apples, peeled (you can leave the peel on if you prefer)

depending on the sweetness of your apples, add maple syrup to your liking – you can use any sweetener you like, but we love the flavor, and love knowing it is all natural, pretty much straight out of the tree

add chilled water (although coconut milk also works well) – enough to the consistency of your liking – we typically make it more into a cold drink, but enjoy it as smoothie as well

And there you have it!  Enjoy and get energized!

And as an extra bonus, do check out the story of the apple farmers in Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s book, “The Silent Master,” starting on page 127.  You will love it!

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Blueberry and nut power drink – Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s recipe

Sometimes I get really lucky.  A couple of days ago, I got to try Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s her super secret – and now shared – recipe for a very healthy power drink.  You can either have this as a smoothie, or a more liquid drink.  If you prefer a smoothie, make sure your blueberries are frozen, and add some ice cubes.

Here is the original recipe, but feel free to experiment if you have any nut allergies.  The blueberries are there for a reason, as they are helping with antioxidants, fight Alzheimer’s, and do a host of other good things for your body.  But of course, you are welcome to experiment.

Start by assembling the nuts.  To save time, I have made up individual serving baggies that look something like this:

In each bag, there are (approximately) 3 – 4 of each (except more of the pine nuts because they are so small):

Put those in a blender, along with about a cup of blueberries, more or less.  I always use frozen ones.  Add honey according to your sweet tooth, and add enough water to make it your desired thickness.  If you want more of a meal replacement, use any milk instead of water – coconut milk is superb with this.

Blend really really well, and enjoy ice-cold.  If I have this for breakfast, I am not hungry for a long time!

And my quote for the day, by Dr. Tae Yun Kim, doesn’t really have to do with either nuts or berries or even food, but I happened upon it and loved it so much I wanted to share it with you:

“The whole purpose of change, the whole purpose of continuous cycles of yin and yang is to take you higher, to make you grow, to give you more of what will lead you to a truer expression of your Real Self.  Never be afraid of change.  All changes lead you into greater good.  That is the purpose of change and the purpose of life.”  (Seven Steps to Inner Power, page 51)

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There is a season for everything! Blackberry pie

Dr. Tae Yun Kim, has been encouraging all her students to eat organically, eat good foods, balanced diet.  Part of that is eating mostly whatever is in season!

It is definitely berry season here in Northern California, and right at the moment, black berries are prime time!  They are delicious right as they are, but if your family got a ton of them – what’s the best option?  For us, that would be pie!

Now, I had in mind, to show you each step how I make the pie, but somehow the pie ended up in the oven and had completely forgotten to take pictures.  Sigh.  Maybe I needed to make another pie?

As so often happens, a quote right out of Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s book “Seven Steps to Inner Power” came to mind:

“The key to creating harmony in all your life is to live only in the present moment.  Do you do that?  don’t be surprised if you find that an examination of your thought habits reveals that you never or hardly ever live in the present moment.  When it is now, how often are you mentally somewhere else, thinking or worrying about what just happened or what’s going to happen?  Is your mental video recorder constantly playing pictures of the past and concerns for the future?  If so, you are giving up your creative power in the present moment.” (Seven Steps to Inner Power, page 53,54)

Yes, guilty as charged!  As I was putting together the pie, my mind was elsewhere, and it was obvious.  I was far away from the present moment, and I forgot to take pictures of what I was making.  Luckily, I did measure out everything right, and the pie was smashing success!

Normally, I use this pie crust recipe from Shirley.  It is very simple, and easy, and most importantly, it tastes like pie crust is meant to taste – good!  Not some cardboard imitations of a pie crust!  Some pies, I love crustless.  But some pies must have a good, old-fashioned crust, and this is one of them.

For the filling, I do a standard 5-6 cups of blackberries mixed with a little cinnamon and approximately 3 -4 TSP of either arrowroot, or tapioca starch, or corn starch if I don’t have anything else.  I use coconut sugar to taste, it depends on how sweet the berries are.  I have also found that honey works very well!

Sometimes I mix in cinnamon, sometimes vanilla, sometimes even almond extract.  Once in a while I sprinkle some lemon juice – I don’t really measure too much for the filling other than perhaps the amount of starch.  Oh, confession time – sometimes I let the berries soak in some brandy – also very very good!

As you can see from the pictures, this time I did something I normally don’t do – I used a ready-made gluten-free pie crust. This came from Whole Foods Store. I had just gotten my cast removed and can move now, but at the same time – this moving is also a lot more painful – therefore the shortcut on the crust.

For the topping, I used this recipe  – delicious and gluten free!

So, here is the finished beauty – I did not forget to take pictures of the baked pie!

Additional note:  This pie was made with all gluten free ingredients.  The oatmeal/oat flour was certified gluten free, and the rest of the items were naturally gluten free.

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How homemade ice cream can help you take charge of your thoughts!

A few years ago Dr. Tae Yun Kim went to Jeju island, Korea.  I got to come with her, as videographer.  All was well, except it was extremely hot.  Hot and humid, as in, over 100 degrees, and about 80+ humidity.  Dr.  Kim was cool as a cucumber, in her black, knit St. Johns pantsuit, not even breaking a sweat, while the rest of us were moaning and groaning and sweating like crazy.

Add to that the fact that most Koreans do not like air conditioning, so the rooms and lecture halls that she was giving speeches in, had no A/C, and the fan, if there was one, operated at a speed slower than snails.

Your thoughts create your reality!  This is one of Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s signature sayings.  She also said that if you focus on the heat, you will feel the heat a lot more.  If you focus on being cool, the heat will not get to you.

Dr.  Tae Yun Kim also says that “The first step in taking charge of your life is to learn to take charge of your thinking.  The difference between a limited you and an unlimited you begins with your attitude and state of mind.” (Seven steps to Inner Power, page 17)

So, in furnace like weather like today – mid 90s – I thought about that a lot.  And among other things, ice cream came to mind!

Armed with a recipe for ice cream from Shirley (You can find it here) I got our new blender ready – love this totally insanely great machine!  No, they don’t pay me for writing this and they don’t even know I exist, but here is the beauty:

Look at all these helpful buttons!  I have used almost all them and this is really great machine!

I put all ingredients into the blender, and had some fun.

I even went outside to get some roses for the ice cream bowls.

From my taste tests during the preparation, I knew I had a winner!  It was completely wonderful!

So, when it’s hot out there – do yourself a favor – make this ice cream and chill!

New note to this blog: this is indeed the best ice cream ever!  It was just declared such by a 16-year old ice cream afficionado/connoisseur…

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Healthy Almond Snack

So, a while ago, I learned there is such a thing as National Almond day. It was February 16th.

And while I didn’t post it on that day, I did make these great almond snacks, totally healthy and very delicious!

Dr.  Tae Yun Kim wants all her students to live a healthy life, and eat the best healthy foods, and will give advice to those that seek it.

In today’s world, it’s hard to find good, healthy, gluten-free snacks.  Not that they aren’t easily available – far from it!  But it’s just that there is so much else out there that is competing with the healthy and wholesome items!  So, to make it easy, here is a very simple recipe for outstanding almonds.  We all know that nuts, especially almonds, are good for us – they contain the good kind of fats and lots of minerals, so, here we go!

Do give these a try – they are one of  Dr.  Tae Yun Kim s favorite snacks!

First, get some whole almonds.  If you can get them already blanched, great. But if you want to go the extra mile, get almonds with the skin still on, and soak them in cool water until the skin comes lose.  (Yes, it’s a lot easier if you pour hot water on the almonds and peel immediately. However, it alters the consistency of the almonds and they turn mealy rather than light, crunchy, yet almost fruity if you take the time to soak them in cool water.

Once peeled, dry them and put them in a pan with hot olive oil.  Lightly sprinkle with Himalayan Salt, or any salt you like, and garlic powder.  (Fresh is ok too, but tends to burn too easily).  Add finely chopped fresh rosemary, or dried rosemary to your liking, and roast thoroughly.  At this point, feel free to experiment with other spices, but this is my original recipe.

Arrange them nicely, offer them, and watch them disappear in a hurry!  Now, it’s time to feel good about a naturally gluten-free, very healthy, and most delicious snack!

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Nutty Christmas cookies, gluten free

Since Dr. Tae Yun Kim, my Martial Arts Grandmaster and Mentor, will be celebrating Christmas in Korea, her home country, this year, I really wanted to send some healthy cookies that also hold up well during their long trip.  Not only do they have to be sturdy enough to not disintegrate, but they also cannot spoil along the way.

What to do?

I saw this recipe, and this inspired these absolutely marvelous, incredible, irresistible cookies:

http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/2012/12/red-velvet-peppermint-blossom-cookies/

Pretty, huh?

So, first order of business, I had to convert them to gluten-free and that seemed pretty simple.  Just take a gluten-free cake mix.  Although – be careful with that, not all gluten-free cake mixes are created equal and you have to do your homework to make sure you get one that is actually certified gluten-free.  I happened to have a Betty Crocker mix at home, and just used that.

But then I wanted to make double amount, and I only had one gluten-free cake mix.  I didn’t have time to go to the store – they cookies had to go out that day – and so I measured the amount of mix in the bag.  Instead of another cake mix, I used half almond flour and half Pamela’s baking mix and doubled the rest of the ingredients.

In addition, I added about 3/4 finely chopped walnuts, and about 1/8 cup maple syrup.

And the rest I just followed along the original recipe, times 2.

They tasted wonderful, nice, tender, yet very “cookie.”  You know, comfort food cookie.  And from what I heard, they survived the journey beautifully!  So, give it a try and see if you like it!

And because I happened to read and really like this one today, I thought I would share with you:

“Doesn’t a flower bloom just by being true to its own nature?  What if it tried to be a potato for some reason?  Wouldn’t this be a senseless waste of energy?  It takes far less effort to be your original self and far more energy to fight against your true reality!” (The First Element, by Dr. Tae Yun Kim.)

I hope you all had a most beautiful Christmas, and I wish you all the best in 2013!

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Beautiful sights and smells on a drab and rainy day

Don’t get me wrong – I love this 55 degree rainy and blustery weather – it’s very rare this time of year where I live!  But for other household members and many native Californian Jung Suwon warriors, this is not what they would call fun weather.

So, while I normally would post a recipe for soup on a day like this (read up on yesterday’s blog, that’s the soup I have on the stove right now) here are some bright and wonderfully sweet, yet still healthful treats.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has emphasized the goodness and healthful qualities of nuts, and so today’s contribution is for peanut butter sandwich cookies!  These are gluten-free, and healthy enough for Jung Suwon warriors as a snack in between classes, or as a post Jung Suwon class pick-me-up.  There is no flour in these cookies, and you can even use less sugar than the recipe tells you to, I have tried it out with as little as 1/2 the amount and the cookies still came out great.

The recipe for these cookies and the idea to make them into sandwiches comes entirely from Shirley Braden , and you get get the recipe for them here,  from her very informative website called, “gluten free easily.”

And while you make these little gems, keep Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s words, from her book, “The Silent Master,” in your mind and thought:

“When you prepare your food, the energy you put into the process will affect the quality of the outcome.  Was your food prepared with love and care and the will to nourish?  Or was it prepared with feelings of anger and resentment, anxiety and hurry?  When you eat food prepared either way, it will have a nourishing quality that corresponds to the energy and intent of the preparer.”

If you have the will power to let them cool off unharmed – while they are cooling off, whip some low-fat cream cheese until very smooth, and add some nutella.  How much, is up to your taste buds.  Sometimes I just go with straight nutella, but I do like the tanginess of the cream cheese.

These are worth the wait though.  As Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim says, great things seldom come from convenience or fast food stores, but put in your energy and see the results!

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Quick, very healthy and gluten free lunch sandwich

It’s Memorial Day weekend, and we practically live outdoors now, especially since the temperatures are wonderful, around 65 degrees!  Perfect!

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has invited us to all kinds of great outdoor activities, including a BBQ.  But until then, hungry warriors are storming Jung Suwon, and something has got to be done about that!

It can’t take too much time to make food either, so here is a very healthy and very fast sandwich idea to keep Jung Suwon warriors going!  This can be made with regular bread, or, like I do, with your favorite gluten free bread.

Asparagus sandwich:

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.

Wash, and thinly slice lengthwise a handful of asparagus spears (about 6 or so spears per 2 sandwiches).  Sautee in one tablespoon of oil, with freshly crushed garlic, and add a tablespoon of chopped cashew nuts.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Saute until the asparagus is crip/tender.

While you saute the asparagus, toast 2 slices (per serving) of your favorite (gluten free) bread, and spread thinly with mustard.  Put on a layer of thinly slices avocadoes.  Heap the asparagus mixture on top of the avocado slices, and top with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.  Broil for a few minutes until cheese is melty.

If you have really ravenous Jung Suwon warriors knocking at your door (or anyone else for that matter), you could also add a basted egg on top.  Either way, it’s delicious!

Happy Memorial Day to all, and please take a minute or two and think of all our service members and the great sacrifices they make to make the world a better place to live in!

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