My Favorite Paleo Recipes:
Okra, Kielbasa, Shiitake Soup

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist
July 30, 2018

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Okra, Kielbasa, Shiitake Mushroom Soup

 

Okra is a favorite Southern vegetable. It is available where I live in Charleston, SC during the spring and summer months. Lots of fiber and nutrients, but somewhat “slimy”. The “slime” actually acts as a thickener. Here is a great way to eat okra in a soup along with some other goodies.

 

I love this soup. It’s simple and healthy. Basically, I use my homemade bone broth, fresh okra, natural Polish Kielbasa, shiitake mushrooms, and sweet onions. Get a tablespoon and try it.

 

Ingredients:

  • Approximately 3 cups raw okra
  • 1 sweet onion, sliced
  • 5 oz. package of sliced Shiitake mushrooms
  • 12 oz. package of natural Polish Kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch discs
  • 8 cups of bone broth
  • 1/4 Tsp red pepper flakes
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

Preparation:

  1. Place whole okras into a steamer pot
  2. Steam for 5 minutes
  3. Cut steamed okra into 1/4-inch discs and place into a Dutch Oven pot
  4. Place onions, mushrooms, and sausage into steamer pot
  5. Steam for 5 minutes
  6. Place into Dutch Oven pot with okra

  7. Add 8 cups of bone broth to Dutch Oven pot
  8. Add red pepper flakes
  9. Bring to boil; then cover and simmer for 20 minutes
  10. Salt and pepper to taste
  11. Enjoy!!!

 

 

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My Favorite Paleo Recipes:
Sweet & Savory Brussels Sprouts

Alvin H. Danenberg, DDS • Nutritional Periodontist
January 3, 2018

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Sweet & Savory Brussels SproutsThis dish has some great flavors. A little sweet from the molasses and a little burn from the red pepper flakes. It also brings three nutrient-dense foods together in one place – Brussels sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, and homemade bone broth.

 

  • Brussels sprouts are in the crucifeous family. They are an excellent source for vitamin C and vitamin K. They also are a good source for numerous nutrients including folate, manganese, vitamin B6, dietary fiber, choline, copper, vitamin B1, potassium, phosphorus and omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Shiitake mushrooms are an excellent source for copper, Vitamin B5, and selenium as well as other nutrients to a lesser extent. In addition, it is a good food source for vitamin D.
  • Bone broth has unique nutrients including chondroitin, glucosamine, glycine, glutamine, proline and hyaluronic acid.

In addition, I sneaked some Kelp Granules into the ingredients for their micronutrients, especially naturally occurring iodine from seaweeds.

 

Sweet & Savory Brussels Sprouts

 

Ingredients

  • 1 14-oz. package Brussels sprouts
  • 2 4-oz. packages shiitake mushrooms
  • 4 tbs. ghee
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 cup bone broth
  • 1 tsp. Kelp Granules (Maine Coast Sea Seasonings for micronutrients, especially iodine)
  • 2 tbs. molasses
  • salt & pepper to taste

 

Preparation

  1. Slice Brussels sprouts in half
  2. Remove stems from shiitake mushrooms and cut caps into quarters
  3. Heat ghee in a large pot over low heat.
  4. Stir red pepper flakes and chopped garlic into the oil, cover and let them infuse into the heated oil for about 5 minutes.
  5. Raise heat to medium, stir the mushrooms into the mixture, and cover. Allow mushrooms to release their liquid, stirring occasionally. This should take about 5-10 minutes.
  6. Add chopped onion and Brussels sprouts into the mixture. Stir and cook covered for about 10 minutes.
  7. Add 1 cup bone broth, molasses, and Kelp Granules. Stir and simmer covered for about 10 minutes to allow vegetables to get tender.
  8. Remove the lid. Keep cooking until all the liquid has evaporated. This should take about 5 more minutes.
  9. Salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Serve as a side dish. Or, you could top with chopped bacon for a delicious meal.

 

 

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My Favorite Paleo Recipes:
Bone Broth Fusion

Alvin H. Danenberg, DDS • Nutritional Periodontist
February 22, 2017

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bone broth fusionHealthy goodies in one simple drink! I incorporate my bone broth recipe with raw honey, ground ginger, and coconut cream to create bone broth fusion. I purchase raw honey from a local beekeeper, and I use my bone broth recipe. I also use an egg yolk, which acts as an emulsifier to thoroughly combine the bone broth with the coconut cream.

 

Bone Broth Fusion


 

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups warm bone broth
  • 1/2 Tsp ground ginger
  • 1 Tbs raw honey (adjust amount for desired sweetness)
  • 1/2 Cup coconut cream*
  • 1 Pastured, raw egg yolk
  • Fresh strawberries as garnish

 

Preparation:

  1. Gently warm bone broth in a saucepan over low heat. Only warm; not hot!
  2. Place bone broth to mixing bowl and add ginger, raw honey, coconut cream, and raw egg yolk.
  3. Blend with a stick blender.
  4. Pour into glasses, and garnish with fresh strawberries.

 

* Put 1 can of coconut milk into the freezer for about 5 minutes. This will allow the coconut “cream” to separate from the milk and solidify. Then, open the can and scoop out the “cream” to use for this recipe. There should be approximately 1/2 cup of coconut cream. (I use the 13.5-ounce can of Trader Joe’s Organic Coconut Milk, which is only water and organic coconut – no other ingredients.)

 

 

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Healthier Mouth … Healthier Lifestyle … Healthier You
Part 3 of 5

Alvin H. Danenberg, DDS ● Nutritional Periodontist
October 10, 2014

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evolution rIn keeping with my emphasis on evolutionary lifestyles, these are the foods that were and still are critical for our bodies not only to survive but also to thrive.

 

Foods to Include (organic is best):

• Every time you eat – be it a meal or a snack – think of it as “a plate of food.” The types of food on that plate should be divided up as follows:

• • At least 1/2 should be non-starchy vegetables
• • Less than 1/4 should be a protein source with all of its healthy fats
• • Less than 1/4 could consist of deeply colored fruits and/or nuts and seeds and/or a starchy vegetable along with additional healthy fats

 

• Saturated fats that have been demonized are essential for many biological functions. We need to eat all forms of healthy fats, which also include many essential micronutrients. Healthy fats made up as much as 60% of calories of our primal ancestors’ diets. Healthy fats are found in avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, wild-caught oily fish like salmon, organ foods like liver and brain from pastured animals, butter from grass-fed cows, and fats from pastured animals. One of my favorite sources for healthy fats is salmon roe. Here is a source I use regularly.

 

• The micronutrients in non-starchy vegetables provide essential building blocks for our individual cells. These vegetables also provide necessary fibers for our gut and gut bacteria. A great way to “eat” your veggies is to “drink” some of them in a smoothie. Here is a link to my favorite green smoothie.

 

• Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, full-fat plain yogurt, full-fat plain kefir, other fermented vegetables, and kombucha (fermented tea) offer healthy bacteria that can support a healthy gut. Be sure they contain live cultures. Include these with your meals as often as you can. Here is a source for fermented vegetables. And, here is an article by Helen Sanders from Health Ambitions.

 

• Protein from grass-fed and grass-finished meats, wild caught fish (especially small varieties like sardines, herring, and anchovies) and shellfish, pastured chickens and their eggs, and pastured hogs contain essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats that need to be included in your diet.

 

• Homemade bone broth offers unique nutrients for your body and especially your gut and joints. Here is my favorite recipe. If you are not going to make it on your own, here is a reliable source for pastured bone broths.

 

• Sea vegetables (seaweeds) are also unique because of their abundance of trace minerals. Examples are wakame, kelp, and dulse. Here is my favorite recipe for seaweed soup using bone broth as a base.

 

• Filtered water provides minimal toxins and necessary hydration. Recent evidence suggests that if you drink when you are thirsty, you will have sufficient water intake. Usually 6-8 cups a day should be adequate. Adding ? cup of fresh lemon juice, lime juice, or apple cider vinegar to your water during the course of a day can help prevent kidney stones. These work because their citric acid inhibits stone formation and breaks up small stones that are beginning to form.

 

• Nuts and seeds provide healthy nutrients, but they also contain anti-nutrients. It is best to soak all nuts and seeds overnight to remove the anti-nutrients, and then allow them to dry.

 

• Fruits are generally healthy, but they contain fructose and should be eaten in moderation. Their level of carbohydrates can be a concern especially if you are trying to lose weight. The best choices are all berries (like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries).

 

• Herbs and spices offer many nutrients even when used in small quantities. Not only do these make food tastier, they also are very healthy. Consider chili peppers, cocoa, sage, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, rosemary, turmeric, parsley, and oregano to name a few.

 

Tomorrow I will suggest some supplements that you may want to include in your diet. I do not believe in supplements usually because our bodies were designed to be nourished from nutrient-dense whole foods found in nature – not packaged substitutes. However, the ones I recommend are unlike the packaged nutritional supplements with which you may be familiar.

 

NOTE:
I DO NOT RECEIVE ANY COMPENSATION FROM ANY OF THE COMPANIES I HAVE RECOMMENDED.

 

 

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My Favorite Paleo Recipes:
Mushroom and Seaweed Soup

evolution rThis is an extremely healthy soup. It incorporates the many benefits of bone broth and the unique combination of the trace minerals and micronutrients found in a variety of seaweeds as well as the health benefits from mushrooms, onions, garlic, and fresh ginger. Some of the seaweeds and mushrooms you might find in the store or online dried, which will need to be reconstituted before using the suggested measurements below. You can experiment with the quantity of seaweeds and mushrooms to satisfy your individual taste.
 
PALEO MUSHROOM AND SEAWEED SOUP
 
Ingredients:
 
10-15 shiitake mushroom caps, quartered
10-15 porcini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup kelp seaweed, chopped
1/2 cup wakame seaweed, chopped
2 tbs coconut oil
1 medium sweet onion, quartered and sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 cups warm bone broth
1-2 tbs minced fresh ginger
3-4 tbs coconut aminos
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tbs Dulse flakes
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1-2 tsp maple syrup (grade B)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
 
Preparation:
 
• In a medium bowl, containing 2 cups lukewarm water, place the mushrooms and seaweed, then set aside for at least 30 minutes.
 
• Once the mushrooms and seaweed are soft, thoroughly rinse, strain, chop, and set aside.
 
• In a large pot, heat the oil over low heat and cook the onion and garlic until soft.
 
• Add in the bone broth, ginger, coconut aminos, vinegar, Dulse flakes, red pepper flakes, and the mushrooms and seaweed.
 
• Raise heat and bring to a boil; then reduce to a simmer.
 
• Salt and pepper to taste.
 
• Simmer for 10 minutes.
 
• Remove from the heat, stir in maple syrup, and serve.
 
• Refrigerate or freeze leftovers for another day. (Only reheat on the stove; a microwave can destroy nutrients.)
 

My Favorite Paleo Recipes:
Bone Broth

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist
September 6, 2014

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evolution rBone broth has been called the miracle drink. It is loaded with healing nutrients – some of which you only can get from homemade bone broth. Be sure to use only grass-fed/grass-finished beef bones and/or pastured chicken or pork bones and/or venison bones (ideally marrow, oxtail, knuckles, and feet bones). Here are a few of the benefits:

  • Helps heal and seal your gut, and promotes healthy digestion
  • Inhibits infection caused by cold and flu viruses
  • Fights inflammation
  • Promotes strong, healthy bones
  • Promotes healthy hair and nail growth

 

Ingredients:

  • 6-quart Slow Cooker (or Instant Pot pressure cooker)
  • 2-4 lbs bones
  • 1 onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 tbs apple cider vinegar (helps leach the minerals from the bones)
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

Preparation:

  1. Roughly chop the vegetables
  2. Place all the vegetables (except parsley) and bones in slow cooker (or Instant Pot pressure cooker)
  3. Add apple cider vinegar
  4. Cover with water
  5. Cook at low temperature for 24-36 hours (cook at low temperature for 2 hours in Instant Pot pressure cooker)
  6. 10 minutes before completion, add parsley (If using Instant Pot, add parsley for 10 minutes after 2 hours of cooking)
  7. Let cool down and strain to collect all the liquid; throw away the solid stuff
  8. Salt and pepper to taste

 

Portion out and use it as a drink or use it in recipes. You also can freeze some for later use in a Mason jar (leave air space for expansion or the glass could crack) or ice-cube trays. When you reheat the bone broth, only do it in a saucepan (not in the microwave). There may be a chance that the microwave could damage the amino acids, but it may be inconsequential.