Tag: Cinnamon

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Upside Down Apple Cake

Here is a great Upside Down Apple Cake recipe as an alternative to apple pie. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

Time: 35-40 min

Ingredients
Topping
¼ cup packed raw sugar
¼ maple syrup
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 medium apples, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 tbsp arrowroot flour or corn starch

Cake
¼ cup buttermilk/yogurt/coconut or nut milk
2 eggs
½ cup maple syrup + ¼ cup raw sugar
¼ tsp coconut oil (or sunflower oil or butter)
2 and ¾ cups of flour (I use freshly ground kamut and oat)
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ salt
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla

Preparation

Heat oven to 325°F. Rub the bottom and sides of 8- or 9-inch square pan with coconut oil.

In 1-quart saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in maple syrup and raw sugar. Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Pour into pan; spread evenly. Pour arrow root powder over apples and stir. Arrange apple wedges over brown sugar mixture, overlapping tightly and making 2 layers if necessary.

In medium bowl, mix (can sift the flour for a lighter and fluffy cake) flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and the salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with milk, beating after each addition until smooth. Spread batter over apple wedges in brown sugar mixture.

Bake about 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on cooling rack 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat whipping cream on high speed until it begins to thicken. Gradually add 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, beating until soft peaks form.

Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Remove pan. Serve warm cake with whipped cream. Store cake loosely covered.


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Herbal Protection for Acute Viral Infections

virus ebola

Over the last few months, headlines around the world have focused on the Ebola epidemic sweeping West Africa. In early August of this year, the World Health Organization defined the outbreak as a Public Health Event of International Concern. Closer to home, the focus has been on the recent outbreak in the US, with calls for special hospitals equipped to handle Ebola and for specialists to recognize and treat the disease as well as to be trained in monitoring travelers at airports.1

I’ve recently had numerous inquiries from people who are concerned about Ebola. It’s important to understand that the possibility of an Ebola epidemic in the United States is extremely low.2 However, because of increasing concern about the disease, I’m presenting information from my research and guidance as far as what I personally would do if I was inadvertently exposed to the virus, or if I actually contracted the disease. Although I have no factual scientific data on any of these recommendations, based on the etiology of Ebola, I would look to the herbal toolbox I have used for decades as my first line of defense.

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The Relationship of Insulin Resistance and Cancer: A Botanical Approach

It’s well known that elevated fasting blood sugar is a precursor to diabetes. Less well known, but increasingly recognized, is that elevated fasting serum glucose and/or insulin levels are also risk factors for cancer, and the risk grows as fasting blood sugar and insulin levels rise. With the escalation of obesity and diabetes worldwide, it is important to recognize these diseases as causative factors for cancer development, especially for older individuals.

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Can A Ketogenic Diet Cure Cancer?

Ketogenic Diet

I’ve recently received a number of queries from patients and practitioners who are curious about a handful of studies and anecdotal reports that indicate a ketogenic diet may help to curtail cancer growth. For those not familiar with the ketogenic diet, it’s a very low carbohydrate diet that contains moderate amounts of protein and a high percentage of fats.

I prefer to think of foods in their whole, natural forms (for example, almonds, apples, asparagus, blueberries, oatmeal, olives, potatoes, rye, and salmon) instead of in reductionist terms of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Keeping this in mind, the primary purpose of dietary carbohydrates is for fuel—the body converts carbohydrates via the liver into glucose, which is used for everything from powering muscles to brain function. When confronted with a lack of carbohydrates, the body switches to burning fats for energy by converting fats (again via the liver) into ketone bodies.

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