Coconut Cream Torte Dessert

Chef Wendell Coconut Cream Torte

Chef Wendell shows Daniel Miller how to make Coconut Cream Torte.

http://www.chefwendellfowler.blogspot.com/

Ingredients:
1 cup organic shredded coconut unsweetened, divided
2-2/3 cup organic, unprocessed coconut milk (low fat)
1/8 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup cornstarch
pinch of sea salt
¼ cup pure maple syrup (no Aunt Jamima, please)

Walnut, Almond, or Pecan Crust (Tons of recipes on-line-avoid butter and processed sugar, however. Try Smart Balance and Sucanat))

Directions:
Danger, Danger... It's almost pure High Fructose Corn Syrup ready to plump you up and raise glucose levels. (1) prepared Roasted Almond Nut Crust (Almonds are loaded with Essential Fatty Acid)

In a 350° oven toast the coconut on a cookie sheet pan for 5 or 6 minutes. Don't walk away. When it becomes brown on the edges, watch carefully. Stir and set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, stir the 1/3 cup of coconut milk into the cornstarch. Use a wooden spoon and press out any lumps.
In a small sauce pan, gently add the remaining 2 1/3 cups coconut milk, salt and syrup.
Whisk in the cornstarch slurry, stirring constantly over medium high heat until the mix comes to a full rolling boil. Simmer on low for a minute or two.
Remove from the heat and stir in the toasted coconut.
Pour the filling into the crust and sprinkle with remaining toasted coconut for garnish.
Refrigerate before serving. The filling will slowly thicken as the creamy mix cools and sets.

Let Nature Nurture with a Full Flavored Dessert that Flatters the Waist Line and Satisfies the Appetite
Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer.Wikipedia says that Coconut oil is one of the most stable oils you can buy. It does not turn rancid easily. It does not attack your arteries. If it is hydrogenated or processed, it becomes unhealthy. In fact, coconut oil was one of the foods Weston Price studied in his journeys. He discovered that the coconut was considered, by the local populations, a medicine food. Weston Price found that those civilizations that consumed coconut regularly had no knowledge of cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes.

Spectrum Brand has a Virgin coconut oil that is perfect not only for cooking, but for your skin. http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/nutrition/coconut.htm

Locavores: Good Home Economics

Locavores: Good Home Economics

Like looking from the moon to the earth, it often takes a step back, observing others in a different perspective, to see the economic big picture. Life is indeed a voyage long and strange.
Freshly returned from a week in bucolic Vermont, I had an epiphany of sorts when I observed that nearly everyone eats organic, locally produced produce, meats, cheeses, local homemade creations, and clothing. It’s good to spend money locally to support the economy. And, honestly, I looked high and low for folks who were overweight. It was darned hard.

Everywhere I stepped, Locavores thrived. (Oxford American Dictionary ‘Word of the Year’, 2007). Don’t mistake me; these people are far from poor. I witnessed local businessmen and women, doctors, bankers, housewives, purchasing lovely second hand clothing at the local thrift shop. As one giggling 95 year old gal took a line from a Bogart movie,” We don’t need no stinkin’ over-priced, department stores.” They are a thrifty bunch of Blue Bloods, indeed. Also, recycling clothing is as standard to them as recycling left-over’s, cans, bottles, plastic, and McDonald wrappers that affront our glorious Blue Planet.

A Locavore is an enlightened culinary adventurer making an effort to eat only foods grown or harvested within a 100 mile radius. As we’ve discussed before, local produce has been scientifically proven to contain more Universal nutrients and significantly less chemicals. If you mention the term GMO (Genetically modified) in Vermont, you’ll receive contemptuous glare.

Man cannot improve on the bounty that our Universe has unselfishly bestowed. If it’s from nature, let it nurture your mind, body, and your spiritual walk.

What makes this all successful without prices skyrocketing is local support. My brother and I spent one afternoon picking 12 pounds of blueberries off the vine; still warm from the afternoon sun. We saved 40 bucks and created an enduring memory communing with nature and beloved family. How special is that? Plant a Victory Garden for the future, or seek out U-Pick Em’ farms. Take the kids too so they discover where food originates. We picked and arranged them on sheet pans, placed them in freezer, and then stored them in zip-locks for the winter.

From what I read, affordable, local sustainable agriculture is the future. As energy cost increase, no longer will we be able to afford produce shipped from a source 2000 miles from home. Those products were picked before maturation; therefore contain less of the nutrients such as Folate and Selenium. Anytime you pluck food from the vine prematurely for monetary gain, nutrient content suffers. We’ have to eat three times the amount of produce today to get the same amount of nutrients we received 30 years ago from that same produce.

Mono-crop farming does not allow farmland to go fallow which regenerates the soil; the way God planned it. I come from a heritage of farmers and I’m certain our Grandparents would be saddened if they knew that today, fossil-fuel based fertilizers are used in Factory Farms to re-nourish the good earth. It goes against Nature to think costly prescription drugs are better than the act of pro-active whole foods prevention. Health is about our Celestial Apothecary, your garden, not liver stressing drugs.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was right on the ole’ button when in 400 BC proclaimed, “Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.” Eatlocalchallenge.com
Sure beats the heck out of $50,000 heart surgery. Do I hear an Amen?

We can help ourselves to the earth, but don’t take too much. Dominion is subjective. The queen of England has dominion over her subjects, but she doesn’t eat them. I can't remember where I heard that.

Eat Right, Now!

Chef Wendell

www.wendellfowler.com

Parental Role Modeling-Food

Parents: Disease-Proof your off-springs with these sensible tips:
Eat Right. If you eat right, in harmoney with nature, your kids are likely to role model your actions. That means five servings of organic fruits and veggies each day, variety of whole grains instead of refined products, and a limited number of red meats and sugar-laden processed foods.
Move It. Inspire your kids to get 60 minutes of vigorous exercise most days of the week by engaging in your own fitness program. Discuss the many values of being active with your kids too.
Avoid smoking and smokers. Don't smoke, don't hang out around smokers, and chat with your youngsters about the dangers of smoking.
Practice skin Maintenance. Protect your own skin from the sun, and slather your kids too. And teach them this American Cancer Society jingle: Slip! Slop! Slap! Wrap! Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, and wrap sunglasses around your eyes.

If a parent has the defeatist attitude that they are not good at something, his or her children will pick up on that and follow the same path.

Trans-Fats-A Country in Denial

To illustrate the ugliness that money changes peoples values, there is a nutritionist I bump into occasionally who works for a grocry chain and the soy council that constantly berates me when I talke negatively about trans fats. One day she got so infuriated that she danced up and down, red faced with spittle coming out of her mouth. She wanted to know where I got my information regarding trans-fats as well as High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). I told her the FDA and the USDA and she vehemently asserted they are all wrong. I can certainly sympathize with the nutritionist also paid by a grocer that carries millions of dollars worth of product loaded with trans fats and HFCS. Historically, money distorts ones thinking. We should be committed to despensing the latest, incouraging health news, hot off the griddle.

I am pleased to announce that the State of California just became the first state to ban artery clogging trans fats from restaurant food. On December 5, 2006, the Board of Health approved an amendment to the Health Code to phase out artificial trans fat in all NYC restaurants and other food service establishments. It is now in full effect.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/15/health/webmd/main2185844.shtml

Chef Wendell

www.wendellfowler.com

Hot Dogs Kill Children

During these dog days of summer, we worship the grilled American icon on a white bread bun: the Tube Steak.

Sing along. Do you wish you were an Oscar Meyer Weiner? The dog kids love to bite? When I think of a hot dog, I think of Oscar Meyer. Frankfurters, however, originated in Frankfurt, Germany in 1852.

Today, beloved Wieners are served in 95 % of the homes in the U.S.A. Japanese owned Seven-Eleven is North America's number-one retailer of hot dogs, selling approximately100 million each year. NASA even approved hot dogs as a regular item on Apollo moon flights, Skylab missions & space shuttle flights. Babe Ruth once sucked down 12 hot dogs along with 8 bottles of soda between games of a double header. He was reportedly scurried to the hospital after the game with a severe case of indigestion. Ya think? Isn’t gluttony, one of God’s Seven Deadly Sins? Proverbs 6:16-19.

Yes, I’m aware the Good Book says not to pass judgment on one another, so I‘m calling this, ‘Privileged Information: on a need-to-know-basis’.
Three different studies have come out in the past year, finding that the consumption of hot dogs can be a risk factor for childhood cancer. The worst meat goes into hot dogs—animal cheeks, lips, ears, scrotum, and rear ends. These byproducts should be thrown away; instead they pump them full of nitrates, sodium and dyes. Without the red color produced by the nefarious preservative, hot dogs would be brown.
In Denver researchers studied childhood cancer cases and discovered that children born to mothers who consumed hot dogs one or more times weekly during pregnancy, doubles the risk of developing brain tumors. Children who munch hot dogs one or more times per week that were cooked by Dad were at higher risk of brain cancer. I feel compelled to share my research with you, because I care.

Weenies contain less protein in 3-1/2 ounces than any other meat source. The ‘offal’ list of ingredients; 56 percent water and up to 3 percent offal, along with powdered bone, fat and a delightful assortment of additives to combat botulism.
The Cancer Prevention Coalition says that as frankfurters cook, nitrites combine with amines naturally present in meat to form nasty carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds. It is suspected that nitrites can combine with amines in the human stomach to form N-nitroso compounds. These compounds are known carcinogens and have been associated with cancer of the oral cavity, urinary bladder, esophagus, and brain. Why not sip an embalming fluid Martini? We place this into our Holy Temple? Yikes.
Source: The Onion and www.preventcancer.com/patients/children/hotdogs.htm

MSG is used as an unlisted flavor enhancer in hot dogs. According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, an author and neurosurgeon, there is a link between sudden cardiac death, particularly in athletes, and excitotoxic damage caused by MSG and artificial sweeteners.
If hot dogs are labeled all-meat or all-beef, they must contain at least 85 percent meat or beef. The all-meat version can contain a blend of beef, pork, chicken or turkey and of course, succulent, edible offal. Sandi and I eat Smart Dogs by Lightlife. Soy Smart Dog Dogs are packed with 8 grams of soy protein and tomato pulp used as a coloring agent rather than nitrates and food colorings. Recent English studies discovered food colorings intensify aggressive behavior in children and adults with ADD or ADHD. The meat-free pups do not grill very well, so boil, not microwave and don’t make a big deal out of it. Be lovingly sneaky.
The sensible solution? Read ingredient labels, and avoid hot dogs, bacon, or Jerky that contain nitrites. Nitrite is also used for its red color.

Not all hot dogs on the market contain nitrites you might consider becoming an agent of change by contacting your local school board to find out whether your children are being fed nitrite hot dogs in the cafeteria. Diplomatically request they serve nitrite-free hot dogs
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. Romans, Chapter 14:

What Employees Really Want

www.the-papers.com July 2008

SENIOR LIFE.

HEALTH & FITNESS
By Wendell Fowler: What employees really want

By JULIE YOUNG
Feature Writer
Wendell Fowler truly believes in the adage "You are what you eat."
Speaking before 170 people at the Indiana Chamber on June 10, the motivational
speaker, chef, humorist and Senior Life correspondent talked about the importance
of living well, especially during these difficult times. "Employee wellness is a
hot topic these days as health insurance rates keep going up," he said.

While many Americans may want to blame the insurance companies, the heart
of the problem lies with the individual who suffers from poor nutrition and a lack of
physical activity. As a result, now more than ever, Americans are at greater risk for
developing diabetes, heart disease and stroke along with some forms of cancer.
"Wellness is more of the absence of disease," he mused. "It is a state of well-being
that comes from the ripples in our pond of health decisions each day."
Drawing from his own experiences. as a smoker, alcohol drinker and an admittedly obese individual, Fowler said he was lethargic at work, unproductive and unable to reach his full
potential. Eating "dead food" which stunted his mental growth.

At one point, he was diagnosed with terminal viral cardio myopathy and told he
would die. Soon. Clocking in at 285 pounds, Fowler knew he was a French fry and a cocktail
away from a long "nap" after his physicians said his heart looked like Jell-O. The news
was all the motivation he needed to lose 100 pounds and get a new lease on life.
"I didn't know I could write, let alone win nine national awards and publish
four books. I was simply an average chef, but as a result I've now written five books, speak
to corporations, have a syndicated health column and host a successful TV segment on
CBS, WISH-TV."

Fowler said health and wellness is an issue many industries are taking seriously.
Restaurants are addressing consumer and government concerns about obesity and
health in a variety of ways. So, restaurants are changing their menus to appeal to
nutrition-conscious consumer. To meet legislative mandates, many city governments are passing legislation banning trans fats in restaurants.

"Employers are becoming more aware that obesity, diabetes and a lack of exercise are adversely affecting the health and productivity of their employees and ultimately, the business bottom line," he said.

Thanks to this knowledge, what they may not be able to offer in insurance benefits,
companies are putting together work-site-based health promotion and proactive, reward based wellness programs to help support employees as they move toward towards a healthier lifestyle.

"When I catered for the NBA for 16 years, it was interesting to track what each team ate and then kept tabs on their standings in the win/loss column. Sure enough, the teams that
continually ate deep fried this, unctuous meats, and gravy, the State Beverage, lost-after
all. Head lettuce salads and vegetables were for sissies,"Fowler noted. Chef Wendell said eating healthy does not mean foregoing our favorite things. When men and women choose to change their diets, most eat less of what they perceive as harmful, rather than more of something beneficially healthful. Businesses are responding to the issue and Fowler said employers ,are becoming acutely aware that education is crucial since medical costs for so many companies can consume half of the company's profits. "Knowing what to eat and why has a far reaching effects on the whole business," he said.

Jennifer Gillis, manager and conference center meeting planner for the Indiana
Chamber of Commerce said participants who attended the Indiana Employer's Summit
on Soaring Health Care Costs enjoyed Fowler's speech and embraced his passion for
his work.

"What struck me was his enthusiasm on his topic,"she said. "He knows what he is talking about and he is certainly interested in the health and well-being of employees and how it can benefit
a company. l heard from a lot of people that they enjoyed hearing what he had to say."

Diabetic Recipe-Jicama, MandarinOrange, Berrys

Chef Wendell: Jicama-Orange Salad with Summer Berries

Chef Wendell shows Daniel Miller how to make Jicama-Orange Salad with Summer Berries.
http://www.chefwendellfowler.blogspot.com/
(Low-Glycemic-Appropriate for Diabetics)
Yields: 8 servings

We already know the magic of eating berries off the vine. The anthocyanins, which give them their deep color, are the hero's that are brimming with phytochemicals, especially, antioxidants which protect us from cancer, age related eye disorders, and a constellation of degenerative diseases. Blueberries are dirt cheap, so lower your shopping bill and keep your loving family healthy at the same time. Berries can be tossed into granola, smoothies, yogurt, stir-fry, but NOT with COOL WHIP. PLEASE!!! Wash them first then eat them like candy. They also protect against colon and ovarian cancer.Berries are also loaded with vitamin C, manganese, fiber, and vitamin E.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup lime juice-FRESH
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. chile powder
1 pound of Jicama, the Mexican Potato
Mandarin Oranges, drained
2 minced green onions
Blue and Red Raspberry's for garnish
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the lime, salt, chile powder and cayenne together.
Add the peeled and diced Jicama, oranges, green onions and toss to coat.
Place into a pretty glass bowl, and top with berries.
Serve chilled-Do not attempt to mix the berries into the salad. They will break down and ruin the look of the colorful dish.
Nutritional Highlights of Jicama:
Jicama (raw, sliced), 1 cup (100g)
Calories: 46
Protein: 0.86g
Carbohydrate: 10.6g
Total Fat: 0.11g
Fiber: 5.8g
Excellent source of: Vitamin C (24mg)

Health Benefits of Jicama:

Sweet Jicama is a large root vegetable with a thin brown skin and a moist, white crunchy flesh.
Asthma---Vitamin C, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory- A large study has shown that young children with asthma experience significantly less wheezing if they eat a diet high in fruits rich in vitamin C.
Scurvy Prevention-Vitamin C
Capillary fragility--Eating plenty of flavonoids- and vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables helps to support the structure of capillaries.
High homocysteine-- A controlled trial showed that eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables containing folic acid, beta-carotene, and vitamin C effectively lowered homocysteine levels.
Multiple sclerosis (MS)--In one survey, researchers gathered information from nearly 400 people (half with MS) over three years. They found that consumption of vegetable protein, fruit juice, and foods rich in vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, and potassium correlated with a decreased MS risk. Wonderful news.

Peace, Love, and Understanding

Chef Wendell

www.wendellfowler.com