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Blueberry and Nettle Pesto

LCHF 11 October, 2015 Leave a comment

Blueberry and Nettle Pesto
Photo; Mikael Eriksson

Nordic Pesto

A classical Italian pesto made from olive oil, basil, Parmesan, and pine nuts complements many dishes of grilled fish, meat, fowl, or vegetables.

Here I’ve made two Nordic variations on this nutritious sauce, using ingredients you may be able to pick for free out in the woods. Use gloves when picking nettle shoots to avoid being stung.

Both sauces are freezer friendly if you happen to make larger quantities; this way you can defrost a container at any time and enjoy a taste of summer throughout the year.

Blueberry Pesto

4 1/2 oz. (200 ml) blueberries
1 1/2 oz. (100 ml) Parmesan (or Swedish Västerbotten) cheese, finely grated
1 1/3 oz. (100 ml) hazelnut flour
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch lemon balm
1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
about 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/3 oz. (100 ml) cold pressed olive oil

Place all ingredients except the oil in a food processor. Process the ingredients to a paste. Pour in the oil in an even stream while running the processor at full speed so that everything is thoroughly mixed.

Taste to see if you need to add additional vinegar or salt. Transfer the pesto to small jars and keep them in the refrigerator (the pesto will keep for a few weeks). Let the sauce come to room temperature for a bit before serving it to allow the full flavor of the sauce to develop.

Blueberries…

Nettle Pesto

2 cups (500 ml) young nettle leaves or shoots
7/8 cup (200 ml) Italian parsley
a scant 1/2 cup (100 ml) basil leaves
7 tablespoons (100 ml) pumpkin seeds
3 1/3 oz. (100 ml), aged Präst cheese (or Havarti)
about 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) black pepper
about 1/4 teaspoon. salt
3 1/3 oz. (100 ml) cold pressed olive oil

Parboil the nettles in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes. Drain off the water, but save it and use it to make stock for a soup later.

Place the nettles together with herbs, pumpkin seeds, cheese, and spices in the bowl of a food processor. Mix the ingredients until all the herbs have been chopped finely, and then add the oil in a thin stream through the feeder tube. Taste to adjust for salt. Keep the pesto in the refrigerator, but let it come back to room temperature before serving to let the olive oil become liquid again.

Nettle pesto keeps for a few weeks in the refrigerator, but make sure that it’s completely covered by olive oil to stop any air from getting to it.

These recipes are from Low Carb High Fat Barbecue. You can find all my cookbooks at Amazon, both in hardcover and on Kindle.

Northern Lights over Åre Mountains last week…

Sugar Free Iced Tea from Low Carb High Fat Barbecue

Keto, LCHF 23 June, 2015 Comments: 3

Ice Tea from LCHF Barbecue
Photo: Mikael Eriksson

Book release

Today is a very special day to me. It’s the official release date for my first cookbook in English, Low Carb High Fat Barbecue.

I’ve been waiting for this day for the last 1½ years, since I first contacted Skyhorse Publishing in New York and they decided to publish all three of my cookbooks.

LCHF Barbecue is available in hardcover and as an E-book on Kindle.

If you like my book, it would make me very happy if you took the time to write a review on Amazon. Just click on the picture below and it will take you directly to the page.

Low Carb High Fat Barbecue at Amazon

My books have been very popular here in Sweden, and now I hope they will inspire people all over the world to start cooking in a more healthy way.

LCHF has changed my life completely. I had a lot of pain and fatigue from a back injury that ended up requiring surgery, and after that, the onset of fibromyalgia.

This diet, free from sugar, starches, grains/gluten and high in natural fats, works very well for many of us, who are suffering from various health conditions.

You can read more about all the health benefits that you can achieve on a LCHF diet here at DietDoctor.com

To celebrate this day I give you one of the recipes from LCHF Barbecue.

Charcoal from LCHF Barbecue
Photo: Mikael Eriksson

Iced tea is a very refreshing drink that goes well both when you’re waiting for the charcoals to get ready for the grill, and as an alcohol-free drink anytime.

But don’t drink the ready-made product sold in cans—it contains lots of added sugar.

My iced tea gets its fresh taste from lemon and peppermint leaves. I use Earl Grey tea, but feel free to choose your favorite blend. The tea bags should steep in cold water to prevent the tea from turning bitter.

Iced Tea with Lemon and Peppermint

4 1/4 cups (1000 ml) cold water
5 tea bags
4 sprigs peppermint
juice of 1 lemon

Pour the cold water into a pitcher and add the tea bags. Leave the pitcher in the refrigerator overnight. One hour before serving, add the peppermint sprigs and lemon juice.

Add ice cubes and serve in glasses garnished with a fresh sprig of mint and a slice of lemon hanging over the rim of the glass.

Lake Öjsjön in my home county, Dalecarlia, Sweden…

Low-Carb Cruise 2015

Okategoriserade 10 June, 2015 Comments: 3

Independence of the Seas…

LCHF Cruise

In the last week of May I made my first trip to America, specifically to Florida along with 200 other people to take part in my first Low-Carb Cruise. A great way to meet many others with a similar interest in healthful food, listen to lectures, see a lot of the Caribbean archipelago and enjoy life.

In December I was interviewed by medical journalist Åsa Holstein for a Swedish magazine about my health benefits from a gluten free LCHF diet. We became quite close via email and when I decided to participate in the cruise I thought I’d take the opportunity to meet with Åsa, who lives in Fort Lauderdale. She decided to come along on the cruise and picked me up when I arrived at the airport.

I stayed at Åsa and her husband Pierre’s house for a few nights, a more hospitable couple than these two is hard to find.

They have lived in Florida for six years now, and the climate has been great for Åsa’s health. Like me, she too has had back surgery and a lot of problems with pain and fatigue.

Åsa, Pierre and I share a common interest in good and natural foods, health and exercise, so we had many long conversations on these topics.

They live just a ten-minute drive from the port so we arrived to the ship, Independence of the Seas, early Sunday afternoon. We didn’t have to stand in line while boarding, we just went directly to our beautiful cabin when we boarded the ship.

Me in the harbor of San Juan, Puerto Rico…

The food in the main dining room was easily adaptable to LCHF, butter was already out on all tables so it was easy to increase the fat content. The dishes on the menu, different every evening, were marked with symbols for different food allergies so many dishes could be served completely gluten-free on request.

The most delicious meal of the entire week was the lobster in garlic butter.

Lobster in garlic butter…

My lovely table mates at dinner, Kathie and Kerri…

Bernie and Janet…

Åsa Holstein…

Quite a few doctors were on the cruise and held lectures, so we were given a lot of interesting facts about the latest news on LCHF.

Low-carb diets have been popular in the US for many years, but now in recent years, high fat has also become a part of this, or as many call it, the ketogenic diet. Eating a high proportion of fat, a moderate amount of protein (about 18–20% of the daily intake) while cutting back drastically on carbohydrates by removing sugar and starches has proven to be successful for many people’s health and weight problems.

Jimmy and Christine Moore…

Dr. Keith Runyan and Dr. Eric Westman opened the first day of lectures with interesting facts about what LCHF and Ketogenic diet can do for patients with Diabetes, both Type 1 and Type 2. Our Swedish DietDoctor, Andreas Eenfeldt, was present with his team and video recorded all lectures, many of them will be available on DietDoctor’s Membersite.

DietDoctor…

Andreas held a very inspiring lecture on the health situation in the world and how we easily can turn many health problems and obesity around by using a diet with fewer carbs.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani held a very interesting lecture about the link between our hormones, thyroid problems and chronic pain and fatigue. Dr. Marchegiani has been suffering from these problems himself, now he helps many of his patients to get healthier by changing their diet. Here’s an article about gluten and the problems it can cause to the brain when you are living with gluten sensitivity.

A few others I could mention is Dr. Ann Childers who talked about the diet from an evolutionary perspective. Dr. Jose Lozada gave a very interesting lecture on the treatment of cancer patients with LCHF.

Andreas Eenfeldt, Simon Victor and Jimmy Moore preparing for video recording on the first day of lectures…

Dana Carpender, acclaimed low-carb cookbook author, living with an ADHD diagnosis, has improved her health with an LCHF diet. We talked for a while about our common interest in writing cookbooks. Unfortunately, the English edition of my Low Carb High Fat Barbecue didn’t arrive from my publisher in time for the cruise, but I had a Swedish copy to present. Dana was impressed by the pictures that Mikael Eriksson has taken for my cookbooks.

My first cookbook in English, now available at Amazon…

I had a long and very inspiring conversation with Dr. Philip Blair and his wife Aida. Philip support a lot of patients worldwide through consultations on the web. Aida has, like me, been suffering from fibromyalgia and she also has become healthier on a gluten free LCHF-diet.

For more reports, pictures and videos from the trip, just visit DietDoctor.com, Eatlowcarbhighfat.com and Livinlavidalowcarb.com

Independence of the Seas Formal Night. I’m dressed in a traditional costume from Offerdal, Jämtland, Sweden. Escorted to the dinner by Major Fredrik Söderlund…

Fort Lauderdale at sunrise…

Fresh coconut at St. Kitts…

Filet of Cod Baked in Foil with Fennel, Asparagus, and Cilantro

LCHF 5 June, 2015 Leave a comment

Fish in foil packets Photo Mikael Eriksson

Filet of Cod Baked in Foil with Fennel, Asparagus, and Cilantro 4 servings

1 bunch white asparagus
7 tablespoons (100 ml) almonds
4 cod fillets, 5 1/4 oz. (150 g) apiece
1/4–1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 tablespoons melted butter (for brushing the foil)
6 3/4 fl. oz. (200 ml) julienned fennel
1/4 cup (50 ml) julienned leek
1/4 cup (50 ml) coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
4 pats of butter (to place on top of the fish)

Break off the woody base of the asparagus spears, and peel the spear from just under the top and down. Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces and parboil them in salted water for 2 minutes. Drain well. Cut the almonds in half lengthwise.Lay out four pieces of heavy-duty foil, each measuring 12 inches x 18 inches. Fold the edges in about 1 inch to make them stronger for when the foil is pressed together. Season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper.

Brush melted butter down the middle and on one half of the sheet of foil; place a small mound of julienned fennel, leek, and asparagus on the foil. Salt lightly. Place the fish on top of the vegetables, and scatter almonds and cilantro over the fish. Cut a few slices of butter and lay them on top of the fish. Fold the other half piece of foil up over the fish so that their edges meet. Fold in the three open edges of foil together, a quarter inch at a time, until you’re up against the fish.

Set the parcels on the grill, with the grate set a little above the embers. The fish will be ready in 10–12 minutes. You can open a packet of foil after 10 minutes to see if the fish is white and firm. Place the packet on a plate, cut a cross in the foil, and open it up when it’s time to serve it. Serve with aioli or butter.

This recipe is taken from my newly released cookbook, Low Carb High Fat Barbecue.