Gluten Free Dairy Free Oil Free Pot Pie

Right before creating this recipe, I had the opportunity to hear Caldwell Esselstyn speak. Dr Esselstyn, formerly a surgeon with the Cleveland Clinic, who has since published the landmark book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, makes a very compelling case for avoiding the use of oils in food preparation. He describes something called the Brachiel Artery Tourniquet Test (BART) which clearly demonstrates that eating for up to six hours after eating a meal containing meat, dairy or fat, the endothelium (lining of arteries) is damaged and won't dilate properly. The implications being that the risk of an adverse cardiac event is immediately and directly increased by eating the wrong foods -- even so called heart-healthy olive oil!

So I dedicate this recipe to you Dr Esselstyn! (click the title to visit his website)

Makes Four Servings

Cooks notes: 1) I keep tofu frozen in my freezer -- it keeps for many months. Freezing tofu changes the texture profoundly and makes it work well in this recipe. I can thaw it quickly for any use by simply popping a pound into a pot of boiling water. 2) Because potatoes, corn and soy are now widely genetically modified -- I only use these from organic sources. 3) You can alter this recipe to also be soy-free by substituting a half teaspoon of salt plus a TBS apple cider vinegar, and leave out the tofu and instead add a can of your favorite beans.


Crust:

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp Ener- G Egg Replacer
1 small apple cut into slices, core removed
3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
  1. Place the water and 1/4 cup of flax seed into a blender and blend on high until smooth.
  2. Add the apple and egg replacer and blend another minute.
  3. Add the xanthan gum to the blender and blend until very thick
  4. Place the flours, 3/4 cup of flax seeds and baking soda into a bowl and mix well with a wire wisk.
  5. Add the contents of the blender to the flour mixture and mix until moisture is evenly distributed with a spatula or spoon, then use your hands to knead it until it is like play-dough. Divide the dough into two peices of 1/3 and 2/3 the original mass.
  6. Using a two large peices of parchment paper, place the larger peice of dough in between sheets and using a combination of pressing with your hands and rolling with a rolling pin press the ball into a large flat circle about 14 inches in diameter. Sprinkle each side with rice flour occaisionally to keep it from sticking to the parchment paper.
  7. Carefull lay the bottom sheet of the paper into a 1.5 quart casserole dish with slanted (not verticle) sides. Use your fingers to press the dough (leaving the paper in place between the dough and the dish -- it will be cooked this way) into the dish. Check carefully to see that no dough is caught in folds of paper -- the paper can still have folds -- just make sure they are behind the dough. Leave a little lip of dough sticking out around the edges.
  8. Now take the smaller piece of the dough and roll it out into a circle about 12 inches in diameter using the same technique. Leave it sitting on a peice of parchment --- but not covered by parchment.
  9. Fill the casserole dish with the filling (see below) -- it should be slightly overfull.
  10. Carefully flip the 12 inch dough circle onto the top of the casserole and remove the parchment it was on. Use your fingers to pinch the edges of the top crusts to the bottom crust and form a nice rim. Poke the top a few times with a fork to allow steam to escape when it cooks. Trim any parchment that sticks out too far from the dish (see photo on the right)
  11. Place the pot pie into a preheated oven and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Filling:

1/2 cup water
1 cube Rapunzel Bouillon
1 medium onion diced
2 cup sliced carrots
2 cups diced organic potatoes
1 lb organic water packed tofu frozen and then thawed
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBS organic wheat free tamari (San J is a good choice)
1 cup fresh or frozen green beens (cut into 1 inch pieces)
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 cup fresh or frozen organic corn
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
3 TBS nutritional yeast flakes
1 TBS arrowroot powder
1/3 cup plain unsweetened soymilk

  1. Place the water into a cast iron skillet and break up the bouillon cube into the water and bring it to a boil on high. Use a fork to mash the bouillion up until it is well distributed in the water.
  2. Add the onions and allow to boil for five minutes
  3. Add the carrots and potatoes.
  4. Tear the thawed tofu into chunks about the size of large marbles and add to the skillet.
  5. Add the vinegar and tamari and boil skillet until vegetables become soft. Stir often.
  6. Add all the remaining ingredients and while stirring often, bring to a boil then remove from heat.

About 60% of Americans have the genes that predispose them to becoming gluten sensitive.

Recent research (By Dr. Kenneth Fine) suggests that about half of these people have detectable immunological reactions to gluten, and the majority will NEVER meet the classic definition of celiac disease -- even though gluten IS triggering an autoimmune reaction in their body which may affect many organs or tissues other then the small intestine.


Recipe for these GFCF Penguins is in my book!

Are You Educated on Genetic Engineering?

Biotechnology is the new frontier. Yet, few people in our country right now, have any idea, just how dramatically Genetic Engineering is poised to change our lives. Proponents believe biotech holds the possibility of doing some great things, and I believe it might have some great applications, but there is also evidence that this technology if misapplied or allowed out of the lab/hospital setting, could have significant and even disasterous consequences for our health, and well being. The problem is, there is so much money to be made right now in biotech, and so little required in terms of safety testing, and no requirement for product labeling, that human hubris and capitalism being what they are, I think we are headed for some difficult lessons -- before appropriate safeguards are put in place. I believe at the very least, people should have the option of taking the risk of exposure or avoiding this risk if they so choose. (But that is currently NOT the case.) Please watch the video below (it is less then 20 minutes long) of how one mother (who just happened to be a wall street food analyst) woke up to this issue. Then go explore this site: Seeds of Deception to learn the facts so that you can protect yourself and your family.

Should you avoid Genetically Engineered Foods?

Check this out -- Vitamin D

Many of us probably have suboptimal levels of vitamin D, which can be a contributing factor to the development of many of the related conditions and symptoms more common in those who are gluten sensitive. Watch this video -- It's worth the investment of thirty minutes of your time. I should mention however, that while some authorities consider D3 superior to D2, there is good data that if D2 is taken in reasonable amounts (like 1000-2000 iu daily -- not the huge megadoses that some doctors recommend taking on a weekly basis) that D2 is very effective. (And for someone like me who prefers to minimize any possible exposure to prions which may contaminate animal derrived substances -- of which D3 is one -- this is very good news.)

Dietition Jack Norris has great info on Vitamin D here. Be sure also to read Vitamin D Researcher/MD Michael Hollick's book, The UV Advantage.

Recurrent Abdominal Pain (R.A.P.)

Pre Celiac Disease?

As soon as my daughter could talk she began to report to me that her tummy almost always hurt. Although it didn't become really bad until she was about 8 years old -- this I believe was due to long term exclusive breastfeeding. Throughout her early years, I raised the issue of her chronic abdominal pain with our family doctor on many occaisions, and he would assure me that nothing was wrong, that RAP was very common in children and usually due to emotional issues. When it increased in severity we went to see another doctor -- he thought she might have ulcers -- but that test came back negative and the other tests he ran showed that she was in good health. He thought she was fine too. Eventually I learned about gluten from a friend and well you can read the rest of this story by clicking on the links to articles at the top of this page. However the main point I wish to make here is this: In looking back, it is clear to me now that my daughter -- probably from birth was reacting to gluten. Her fussiness, her greenish stools, her starting to nurse and then pulling off and crying, and then years of tummy aches -- all suggest that gluten was causing her issues from the very beginning. On many occaisions I suspected that wheat might be affecting her -- but its withdrawal never entirely resolved her issues. Now of course I know that gluten is not just in wheat, but also barley, spelt, rye, oats and lots of things made from these. RAP is very common and most the time, it's cause is never found. I would urge anyone who's child is suffering, to explore the possibility that gluten might be the cause of their distress.

Why is Gluten so Problematic?

August of 2009 Scientific American published this very in-depth article on Celiac Disease:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=celiac-disease-insights

With this quote in it:

"Gluten, however, has a peculiar structure: it is unusually rich in the amino acids glutamine and proline. This property renders part of the molecule impervious to our protein-chopping machinery, leaving small protein fragments, or peptides, intact."

However one thing the article left unanswered. I want to know what is the scientific basis for so many doctors believing that antigliadin antibodies are non-specific and are not (by themselves) indicitive of a problem? The article said that anti-gliadin antibodies are NOT considered specific to celiac disease because they are often found in people who do not have celiac disease. But given that it has only been about 65 years that the medical profession has even made the connection between celiac disease and gluten, and only SIX years since the medical profession realized the incidence was at least TEN TIMES more common then they previously thought....why are they still assuming that anti-gliadin antibodies are nonspecific?

Could it be that all those people who do have antigliadin antibodies in their systems, but don't show damage to the villi are still having a dangerous reaction to gluten? Should the definition of celiac disease be altered...or else dropped altogether and simply be part of a condition called gluten sensitivity which may or may not create visible damage to the villi of the small intestine?

Taxonomic Relationship Amongst Grains

Taxonomic Relationship Amongst Grains
Only the Hordeae tribe make their own gluten -- but oats can absorb gluten if they are grown or stored near gluten containing grains.
.
.