Help! I Can't Have any Butter or Cheese. What Do I Eat With My Sandwich?

My mother, a woman who glorifies nutrition and gives unwanted health lectures to my cat and random strangers, has yet to let go of her habitual coffee with a cheese sandwich in the morning. I suspect she has paid for her wanton ways with unstable blood pressure, general crankiness, nervousness and insane arthritis.*

While it's hard to change our habits, especially if we have been doing the same thing for decades, it's easier to ease into it slowly, substituting one thing, and slowly training our tongue to new and exciting flavors.

This is the first post of my most loved, tasty and easy "butter"/"cheese" substitutions, with my mother's reactions as she tries all of them.

Spreading on a sandwich:

1) Avocado
It is smooth and creamy and fatty, just the right consistency as butter. And yes, avocado does pack about 300 calories per fruit, most of which is fat. We do need healthy fats, though, so slather on.

Mom loved it. In fact, she said it was better than cheese. Creamier and had more flavor.

2) Roasted garlic.
Cut the top of the garlic bulb and roast for 15 minutes on 365 deg F. Spread the roasted garlic on bread and add arugula. Enjoy.

"Very tasty but a bit too dry. The consensus was to combine the avocado with roasted garlic, making a sandwich spread."

3) Pesto or Pistou. Pesto is very easy to make. Combine 1 cup of parsley, basil or any other dark green herb with olive oil, garlic and a little bit of pine nuts in the food processor until it is of spreadable consistency. Spread on whole grain bread. Enjoy. Mom did. Not as much as avocado though.

4) Hummus. Look on any shelf in the supermarket. So many varieties! There's no sense in me writing a recipe, when so many good ones exist elsewhere:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Appetizers-and-Snacks/Dips-and-Spreads/Hummus/ViewAll.aspx

5) Crushed beets with garlic
Fiery and almost purple, it's a very bright, healthy spread.

... more to come. I got sick today, so going to go rest now and dream of some more substitutes...

*Read more about how dairy foods affect arthritis here: USA Weekend.com

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New Study: Baby's Sex is Linked to Mom's Breakfast Eating Habits

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Asparagus with Burdock Root

Burdock root is known as a blood purifier and garlic, Nama Shoyu and asparagus support the immune system. Asparagus also has a diuretic effect, which is good for treating water retention. But more importantly -- it tastes absolutely amazing!

Recipe
1 cup Asparagus Stalks 40 cal more nutrition data
1/2 cup of Burdock Root 55 cal more nutrition data
2 tsp of Nama Shoyu
1 clove of garlic

Scrub burdock to get the skin off. Cut it into matchsticks. Throw burdock, asparagus (with spices or finely chopped garlic, if you wish) in a pan to lightly sautée or pan-boil in minimum amount of water on high heat. When the asparagus turn bright green, turn off heat. Eat, enjoy and laugh at how easy this was.

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 4-5 minutes

You might want to eat this in combination with brown rice or some other whole grain, since it is very low in calories.

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Gluten-Free Passover Blueberry Prune Mousse Cake with Banana Cream

This cake uses the natural sugars of dried fruit and honey and the natural fats of nuts to create a creamy, chewy and satisfying special breakfast.


Ingredients

Filling
1/2 cup of prunes
2 apples
1/4 cup of raisins
1 1/2 cup of blueberries (I used frozen blueberries)
1 tbsp of kuzu root (starch)
2-3 tbsp of agar-agar (can substitute plain gelatin, read directions for ratios)

Crust
1 cup of nuts: pecans, walnuts, almonds
1-2 tbsp of oil (I used lemon flavored fish oil for omega-3's)
1 tbsp of cacao-goji powder mix (buy in a health food store or online)

Creme
2 Bananas
1/2 lemon
1-2 tsp of honey

Find a dish or a mold. Line it with something, like wax paper, or aluminum.

Shred nuts to powder-like consistency, adding a bit of oil to let it stick together. Add a tablespoon (or more to your liking) of the cacao-goji berry powder. Once it turns from a powder to a sticky powder that holds together, take it out of the food processor and press it into a mold to form a pie crust.

Place prunes and raisins into about 1-2 cups of water with agar-agar, on the stove to boil. When they seem soft and agar is dissolved, add a cup of frozen blueberries to melt into the mixture. Dissolve kuzu root and add to mixture.

Shred the prune mixture in the food processor to form a mousse, and pour it into the ready crust in its mold. Place it into the refrigerator overnight or until it sets.

For the creme - puree banana, the fresh-squeezed juice of a 1/2 lemon and honey in the food processor. Spread it over the pie. Lift the pie out of its mold by the paper or aluminum. Plate and dig in. :)

Tested and Approved
This was devoured by my whole family, and was loved by everyone except by the surly teenager. But surly teenagers don't like anything in the presence of their mother and father so it doesn't count.

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Waffle with Banana Goji Berry Cacao Bean Cashew Stuffing

Mushy, sweet and chewy, this breakfast floods your body with energy and anti-oxidants for a feel-good day.

Ingredients
2 natural waffles (I used Van's Organic)
1 banana
goji berries, cacao bean cashew trail mix to taste

Combine in whatever form you see fit. Eat and enjoy.

Tested and Approved
This was tested by my local junk food addict who reported that it was too mushy for his taste, and the waffle needed to be drenched in syrup, but overall this was a big thumbs up.

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Bacteria Breakfast! Kefir with Cranberry Walnut Pecan Raisin Trail Mix

Sour-sweet-crunchy mix of frozen cranberries, raisins and nuts combined with the creamy and smooth taste of kefir.

Recipe
It's very simple: combine raisins, frozen cranberries, nuts and whatever else you'd like. Pour yourself a cup of kefir and you're out the door.

Kefir is a fermented milk drink, originating from Caucasus Mountains. It contains beneficial bacteria that contribute to the health of the digestive system, strengthen the immune system and protect against colon cancer.

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A Music Video Ode to Breakfast or Vintage 80's PSA--Time For Timer/Eat Breakfast!

From the rumbling belly of the internet to you -- eat some kind of breakfast every day!

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Açai Fruit Smoothie

I do love a frozen treat for breakfast. And when that frozen treat tastes like chocolate and berries, packs a "superfood" punch and wakes you up, all the better.

Deep in the Amazon rain forest grows a berry that is assumed to be one of the most nutrient rich foods in the entire world - the Açaí (ah-sigh-ee). It is crammed with more anti-oxidants than blueberries or pomegranates, and has healthy omega-3 oils, protein and dietary fiber. Good for your skin, heart, body and brain. And now, through the wonder of modern food distribution, I found it in the freezer section of the NYC Union Square Whole Foods.

I would love to find an original recipe that Amazon tribes have eaten for centuries, but for now, I will have to console myself with a simple frozen slushy experiment:

Ingredients
frozen açai
organic peach
pineapple

Blend together in a blender or food processor. Salivate, serve, eat and enjoy. :)

My Other Frozen Concoctions
Watermelon Slushy
Mystère de Chocolat

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Breakfast Omelet with Sweet Beet Greens Splashed with Balsamic Vinegar

The slightly sweet taste of the beet greens is accentuated by the darkness of the balsamic vinegar, sweet warm apples, dried plums and walnuts. Lying on a bed of cooked eggs, it's a dish for kings and queens - but assembled from humble ingredients.

Recipe
2 eggs
1 apple
a bunch of beet greens
dried plums
walnuts
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
spices: pepper, turmeric, etc to taste

Make omelet: Heat a small amount of olive oil in skillet on high heat. Crack open eggs into a bowl, add spices and mix together. When skillet is hot, add the egg mixture, cover and 30 seconds later, lower the temperature to low heat. Let it set for 5 minutes.

Cut greens and apples. Add them to a skillet, when omelet is cooked. Heat until the beet tops turn bright green and apples are a little soft. Top with warm spices like cinnamon, dried plums and walnuts. Serve, eat and enjoy.

Why It's Good
I remember hearing about the plight of the Russian retirees 6 or 7 years ago. Without enough money to live from their pensions, they plowed through the garbage bins looking for potato peels, scraps of food, and discarded greens to feed themselves. While this fact still fills me with pity and shame, years later I found out that the best nutrition lies in peels and those discarded leaves. So why do we throw them out?

Beet greens contain significantly more iron, calcium, vitamin C and A, than the roots. They help protect against cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and other diseases of aging as well as help support bone, heart, eye, nervous system, liver and colon health.

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Breakfast in Kenya

My heart breaks a little when I read about big cereal companies replacing traditional breakfasts in Africa:

The Breakfast Cereal Company (K) Limited, manufacturers of Weetabix which is the leading brand in the market, has gone this route. “Our biggest competitors are not other breakfast cereals, but the breads, mandazis, sweet potatoes, fruits and other cooked foods that Kenyans have for breakfast,” says Mr Ahsan Manji, managing director of the company.
Business Daily Africa

Does anyone know of some African traditional breakfast recipes?

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