Bonjour mes loverlies!
Condiment madness is on! Yummy yummy and super healthy, the joy of knowing what is going into your food is wonderful and so do-able. Today I want to begin with some simple recipes which are perfect for replacing MSG and chemical laden comdiments that need to be purged from your kitchen's and lives! Do not uderestimate the impact these things have on your health, MSG aka monosodium glutamate is used in a variety of Asain cuisines but has become a sneaky ingredient that has found its way into many of our snacks and spices/sauces that we use regularly. We often expose ourselves without realizing it. The following is an exerpt from an article written by Dr. Mercola with the link so you can find out more. I want you to understand how prevalent and dangerous consumption of this chemical is so you will comprehend the importance of making your own alternatives. First step is reading this post, then gather your ingredients and ditch any MSG lurking in your cupboards and fridges, all of it!
A widespread and silent killer that's worse for your health than alcohol, nicotine and many drugs is likely lurking in your kitchen cabinets right now.
"It" is monosodium glutamate (MSG)1, a flavor enhancer that's known widely as an addition to Chinese food, but that's actually added to thousands of the foods you and your family regularly eat, especially if you are like most Americans and eat the majority of your food as processed foods or in restaurants.
MSG is one of the worst food additives on the market and is used in canned soups, crackers, meats, salad dressings, frozen dinners and much more. It's found in your local supermarket and restaurants, in your child's school cafeteria and, amazingly, even in baby food and infant formula.
MSG is more than just a seasoning like salt and pepper, it actually enhances the flavor of foods, making processed meats and frozen dinners taste fresher and smell better, salad dressings more tasty, and canned foods less tinny.
While MSG's benefits to the food industry are quite clear, this food additive could be slowly and silently doing major damage to your health.
In 1959, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeled MSG as "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS), and it has remained that way ever since. Yet, it was a telling sign when just 10 years later a condition known as "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" entered the medical literature, describing the numerous side effects, from numbness to heart palpitations, that people experienced after eating MSG.
Today that syndrome is more appropriately called "MSG Symptom Complex," which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identifies as "short-term reactions" to MSG. More on those "reactions" to come.
Why MSG is so Dangerous?
One of the best overviews of the very real dangers of MSG comes from Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of "Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills." In it he explains that MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees -- and potentially even triggering or worsening learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease and more.
Part of the problem also is that free glutamic acid is the same neurotransmitter that your brain, nervous system, eyes, pancreas and other organs use to initiate certain processes in your body.4 Even the FDA states:
"Studies have shown that the body uses glutamate, an amino acid, as a nerve impulse transmitter in the brain and that there are glutamate-responsive tissues in other parts of the body, as well.
Abnormal function of glutamate receptors has been linked with certain neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's chorea. Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have resulted in damage to nerve cells in the brain."5
Although the FDA continues to claim that consuming MSG in food does not cause these ill effects, many other experts say otherwise.
According to Dr. Blaylock, numerous glutamate receptors have been found both within your heart's electrical conduction system and the heart muscle itself. This can be damaging to your heart, and may even explain the sudden deaths sometimes seen among young athletes.
He says:
"When an excess of food-borne excitotoxins, such as MSG, hydrolyzed protein soy protein isolate and concentrate, natural flavoring, sodium caseinate and aspartate from aspartame, are consumed, these glutamate receptors are over-stimulated, producing cardiac arrhythmias.Many other adverse effects have also been linked to regular consumption of MSG, including:
When magnesium stores are low, as we see in athletes, the glutamate receptors are so sensitive that even low levels of these excitotoxins can result in cardiac arrhythmias and death." 6
Further, even the FDA admits that "short-term reactions" known as MSG Symptom Complex can occur in certain groups of people, namely those who have eaten "large doses" of MSG or those who have asthma.7
- Obesity
- Eye damage
- Headaches
- Fatigue and disorientation
- Depression
According to the FDA, MSG Symptom Complex can involve symptoms such as:
No one knows for sure just how many people may be "sensitive" to MSG, but studies from the 1970s suggested that 25 percent to 30 percent of the U.S. population was intolerant of MSG -- at levels then found in food. Since the use of MSG has expanded dramatically since that time, it's been estimated that up to 40 percent of the population may be impacted.8
- Numbness
- Burning sensation
- Tingling
- Facial pressure or tightness
- Chest pain or difficulty breathing
- Headache
- Nausea
- Rapid heartbeat
- Drowsiness
- Weakness
So I think it's safe to state that we should all say:
So I am going to give you a few variations on seasoning comdiments that are quick to make, last a while, are versatile, and not difficult or overly expensive. The first is a repost of a recipe for these Vegan Cheezie Sprinkles which I cannot do without. I use them in a variety of applications from raw vegan crackers to sauces, raw dips, vegetable sprinkles for added depth of flavour, and even in smoothies. Yes, I wrote smoothies. Here is what they look like and the recipe follows along with the others below:
Vegan Cheezie Sprinkles:
Ingredients
-1 C ground almonds
-1 1/2 C ground raw sesame seeds (use a coffee grinder to grind a few tablespoons at a time)
-1/4 C nutritional yeast
-3 Tbsp miso (make sure it's gluten-free)
Method:
-Combine all in a bowl, use a spatula to incorporate well and keep in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator.
-Lasts for months as it has a high salt content, just keep it refrigerated.
The picture on the right with the peppers is an addition for a vegan vegetable slather, you can peep that recipe here:
http://thekinkycoconut.blogspot.ca/2013/03/gluten-free-raw-food-vegetable-slather.html
For the cheezie condiment I used a fermented product called Miso, it's found in the fridge section of your healthfood store, is best organic, and will add that rich umami flavour and beneficial bacteria to your gut. That means Miso is our friend!
Onto another condiment which is loaded with calcium thanks to the sesame seeds and gives a rich buttery taste to your food because of them as well.
White Sesame Gomasio or Black Sesame Gomasio
Ingredients:
1 Cup Sesame seeds of choice (I use unhulled, black, or toasted, depending on what I am in the mood for)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
Method:
-You are supposed to grind this down in a suribachi but I throw it all in 3 smaller parts in an electric coffee grinder, grind it by pulsing until it's the texture like in the pic above and below. It's a 30-45 second thing.
-Store in a glass jar in the fridge, lasts for a few months.
This rich sea delight, is made with 3 ingredients!
Sea Palm and Sunflower Condiment
Ingredients:
1 Sheet taosted nori, the same size as used for making a sushi roll (aka sea palm)
1 1/2 Cup sunflower seeds raw
1/2 tsp sea salt
Method:
-Tear the nori into small pieces or cut up with scissors.
-In a blender grind the sunflowers for 20 seconds, add torn up pieces of nori and salt.
-Blend together until you reach a consistency like in the above picture. Will take about 60 seconds
or sometimes a bit more. I do this in 3 parts when I use my spice grinder.
-Store in fridge for several weeks.
This condiment has a strong ocean taste with a nice nutty saltiness, goes well with fish, rice, and soups.
In this next pic was some Vegan Cheezie sprinkles I made which you will need for the recipe that I will be posting Wednesday for some beautiful cracker recipes, one of which I put a picture of right after the sprinkles.
Delights of raw food crackers to come so keep checking back!
Leave comments or questions down below, I really like to hear from you.
Have a blessed and wonderful start to the week!
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