Homemade Greek Roast Chicken

My kids love Greek food.  One of their favorites is a dish in Cyma called Kotopoulos Lemonato, a kind of greek chicken adobo.

I experimented on the flavors and came out with this dish.  I like that it’s simple and gluten free at the same time.

Recipe:

1 kg whole chicken

8 small potatoes, boiled

1 whole lemon, juiced

1 T oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

8 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1 T rock salt

Marinate chicken in lemon, oregano, pepper, garlic and olive oil and salt for around 3 to 4 hours in a round pyrex dish. Place potatoes around the chicken.  Put the pyrex dish in the turbo broiler.  Roast in turbo broiler or oven  for around 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 F.

Brush the chicken skin with the marinade after 30 minutes. Brush again 15 minutes after.

NATURAL COUGH REMEDY #3 : APPLE CIDER VINEGAR SOLUTION

Did you know that raw unfiltered apple cider has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties?

As far as 400 B.C.  Hippocrates the father of modern medicine knew about apple cider vinegar’s antibiotic properties and  recommended it to his patients for its’ healing properties. 

I tried gargling  with a mixture of  apple cider and mineral water today to help with a cough, a sore throat and a slightly inflamed right ear.

It actually helped. I felt  relief after 15 to 20 minutes, but you have to gargle several times in a day to make it work.  Germs have difficulty surviving in an acidic environment created by the vinegar.

It also helps to take other medication prescribed by your doctor as well.

Recipe:

1 T  raw unfiltered organic Bragg’s apple cider

¾ cup of water

Mix together and gargle.

I’d suggest gargling 3 to 4 times a day.

NOTE: Always dilute apple cider.  Apple cider is very acidic and can burn tissues in the mouth.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets #1 : Gluten Free Cassein Free Version

My kids like McDonald’s chicken nuggets a lot.  I don’t really let them eat them often because they’re processed and chock-full of chemicals.  This shares with you our homemade version of chicken nuggets.

Ingredients:

2 organic chicken breasts, chopped finely

1/4 cup pork backfat

1/2 tsp Hain organic salt

1/2 tsp Mc Cormick oregano

1/2tsp parsely flakes

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp  paprika

2 organic egg

1 cup  rice flour

gfcf breadcrumbs

Procedure:

Mix chicken, pork backfat, salt, pepper, oregano, parsely flakes, paprika,  1 organic egg together.

Line a container with wax paper .  Roll chicken nugget mixture into mini patties and freeze.

Before cooking, brush patties with egg and roll in rice flour.  Dip again and roll in breadcrumbs if desired.

Fry.  (make sure that the oil is hot , before frying and don’t overcrowd the pan).

Gluten Free Crispy Thai Fried Chicken Recipe

1 kg chicken drumsticks

6 cloves of chopped garlic

cilantro roots, chopped from a small bundle of wansuy or cilantro

1 teaspoon rock salt

3 T Thai oyster sauce (use gluten free)

2T Thai fish sauce (use gluten free)

1/2 tsp pepper

Oil

Mix all ingredients together and marinate for 1 to 2 hours.

Flour coating:

1/2 cup  rice flour +  1/2 cup  cornstarch

Mix rice flour and cornstarch together. Heat oil in a wok.  Put enough oil to fry drumsticks in.  Dredge drumsticks in flour.

Please make sure not to overcrowd the pan.  Fry for 10 to 12 minutes.  Drain chicken on paper towels before serving.

Notes : These chickens are tasty even when they’re cold.

Natural Cough Remedy #2: Homemade Salt Solution

Colds and cough can be irritating.  One of the best ways to help reduce common symptoms of a cold is to gargle with salt water.   I often gargle with salt solution whenever my throat feels irritated.

According to Dr. Philip Hagen editor in chief of MAYO CLINIC Book for Home Remedies, “ a saline solution can not only draw excess fluid from inflamed tissues in the mouth.”  Dr. Hagen further points out that “ gargling also loosens loose mucus, which can  remove irritants like allergens, bacteria, and fungi from the throat.

A randomized study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2005, showed 400 volunteers who were observed for 60 days during the colds and flu season.

Some of the subjects were actually told to gargle salt solution for 3 times day.  Interestingly, the group who gargled regularly  had a 40% decrease in upper respiratory tract infections compared to the control group.  There have been other studies that found that gargling was helpful versus sore throats and congestion.

Recipe

1 /2 to 1 teaspoon of rock salt  ( or Himalayan pink salt).

8 oz water

Mix until the rock crystals are melted.

Gargle solution and spit out after a few seconds.

Recommendations: Gargle regularly for best results.

Natural Cough Remedy #1 : Homemade Ginger Tea and Honey

Drinking homemade ginger tea with honey can help alleviate symptoms of congestion which is a symptom of the common cold.  It can also relieve the feeling of an itchy throat.

What many of us don’t know is that ginger can actual help boost your immune system, it can also keep you warm during a cold day.  It also helps promote healthy sweating  which is helpful during colds and flu.  Sweat may do simply more than aiding in detoxification, German researchers recently found that sweat  contains a germ fighting agent that may help fight infections.

According to Dr. James Steckelberg  M.D. , honey is an effective cough suppressant.  In a study done on children ages 2 and up with respiratory tract infections, they were given 2 teaspoons of honey at bedtime. The honey seemed to reduce night time coughing and improve sleep.  In the study, honey seemed to be as effective as a common cough ingredient dextromethorphan in typical low doses.

Recipe:

100 g ginger

4 ½  cups of water

honey

Remove the skin from the ginger. Crush the ginger with the flat side of a knife.  Add to 5 cups of water .  Boil until the water changes color.

Allow to cool. Estimated time 10 minutes.

Add 2 tsp of honey for every glass of ginger tea.

Makes  4 cups of ginger tea.

Suggestion: Have the child drink the ginger honey tea prior to bedtime.

Warning: Never give honey to a child 1 year or younger due to the risk of infant botulism.

The Juice Experiment #4: Watermelon and Green Apple Juice

Watermelons are a childhood favourite of mine.  I tried mixing watermelons and green apples today to balance out the sweetness .

Ripe watermelons are a wonderful source of lycopene. The lycopene levels  of watermelons store well even up to 7 days  in well refrigerated conditions.   Lycopene is a well known oxidant  with the ability to neutralize free radical molecules. It also contains a good amount of Vitamin C and vitamin A.  It also contains potassium and magnesium.

Apples are a good source of polyphenols which function as antioxidants.  Most of the nutrients of the apples are actually concentrated on the skin.  When buying non-organic apples, one must be sure to wash the apple thoroughly while brushing with a bristle brush to get rid of the wax  on the apple.

Watermelon and Apple Juice

½  of a chilled watermelon

3 chilled green apples

Juice together.

This is a refreshingly cool drink and none too sweet.

Suggestions:  Drink within 30 minutes of juicing to retain freshness.

The Juice Experiment #3 : Cantaloupe or Melon and Apple Juice

Decided to try mixing cantaloupes or melons with Fuji apples today.   Cantaloupes- I learned were far richer in betacarotenes than oranges were.  The betacarotene level of cantaloupes are 30 x times more than that of oranges.

Cantaloupes are rich in vitamin C, A (carotenoids) , potassium, folate, vitamin b6, vitamin b3, b1 and magnesium.  They contain a wide variety of  antioxidant and anti-inflammatory  phytonutrients.

Fuji apples contain 5 mg of vitamin C for every 100g.  An average 125 g apple can actually provide 25% of your body’s daily requirement for Vitamin C.

As my youngest son was nursing a cold and the doctor specifically had orders to stay away from citrus fruits, we decided to give him cantaloupe or melon mixed with  apple juice today for an added dose of vitamins.

Cantaloupe or melon with Fuji apple juice:

1 melon

3 apples

Juice together.

The resulting juice was a little on the sweet side due to the natural sweetness of the melons.  My kids liked this a lot though.

Recommendations: Ripe melons should be chilled.  Wash melons and apples carefully prior to cutting.  Cantaloupes or Melons are prone to molds.  I often remove the skin of the apples as well.

Happy juicing everyone!

The Juice Experiment #2 Carrot and Apple Juice

 

I thought of mixing both carrots and apples today to make sure that my kids got both their fruits and vegetables in one go.

To get the most out of a carrot, you need to either cook , grind or juice them in order to get the nutritional benefits of carrots which are tightly encased in protein sacs.

Juicing them increases the availability of carotenoids by 600 percent.

Apples on the other hand, are very high in vitamin C.  They also come packed with other vitamins such as  B1, B2, B6, A and Folate.

I loved how tasty the combination turned out to be.  A little  sweet and healthy- just right for my kids.

CARROT –APPLE Juice combination:

1 big CARROT

2  to 3 apples

Juice together and place in an covered jar to slow down oxidation.

Suggestion:  You can chill both the carrot and the apple hours before juicing.

*  I normally peel both carrots and apples  to be safe from pesticides.

 

 

 

The Juice Experiment #1 Pomelo and Green Mandarin or Ponkan Orange

I went downtown today on a fruit buying binge and came across sweet pomelos and green ponkan oranges.

The Pomelo is a citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia.  In the Philippines, the most famous pomelos comes from Davao.  Pomelos come in various sizes, the best way to tell if the pomelo is sweet is to check out the rind of the fruit.  Davao pomelos usually have thinner rinds and taste like a  sweet mild grapefruit.

They are great to snack on because they contain a lot of fiber, and have 0% fat.  They contain around 41 mg of vitamin C per 100g.

Green ponkan or green mandarin oranges are imported usually from Taiwan.  They have around 0.1 % of fat.  They are rich in vitamin C, B1, A and folate.  To get the most out of your ponkan, avoid exposing the orange to heat as this destroys the vitamin C.

I was happy to find out that green ponkan is juicier than the typical oranges I buy for my kids.  I was actually able to get 5 kilos of ponkan at around Php 50.00 per kilo.  A good buy compared to the oranges being sold around the Manila area for around 5 for 100 php.

According to the vendor who sold me the oranges, green ponkans are great for juicing .   They can stay as long as two weeks in the refrigerator and still come out juicy.

Ingredients:

1 Pomelo

3 green ponkan oranges

Juice  pomelo and green ponkan oranges together.  Serve immediately within 30 minutes of juicing to retain freshness.

* You can chill the green ponkan oranges in the refrigerator prior to juicing.

Verdict: Delicious.