For now, I thought I'd post recipes from a book that I've been reading lately on Leptin. It's called, The Rosedale Diet: Turn Off Your HUNGER SWITCH! by Dr Rosedale, M.D. and Carol Colman.
Leptin is a pretty complex issue, but in short, it's the hormone responsible for telling your body that you're full and to stop eating. (among other functions, too)
Chapter Two is titled, "Are You Leptin Resistant? Take This Quiz." They are "yes"/"no" questions and are as follows:
1. What you go on a weight loss diet, do you have trouble losing fat, that is, do you lose pounds but still remain flabby?
2. Do you have trouble keeping weight off after dieting?
3. Are you constantly hungry?
4. Do you crave sweets?
5. Do you wake up hungry at night?
6. Do you have a "spare tire" or an apple shape?
7. Are you losing muscle mass despite the fact that you are exercising?
8. Do you fee stressed out?
9. Have you been diagnosed with high triglyceride levels?
10. Do you have high blood pressure?
11. Have you been diagnosed with osteoporosis?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you are likely to be suffering the symptoms of leptin resistance and could benefit by checking out Dr Rosedale's book.
I borrowed the book from my local library because I was experiencing many of the symptoms and also have read that there may be a link between increased leptin levels and endometriosis.
I, admittedly, only scanned the book and haven't read it in full myself, but it looks to be pretty interesting. I decided to try out some of the recipes from the 28-day meal plan ideas included in the book.
Here are my family's favorites from the book...
Nutola
This is a healthy version of granola, which is normally laden with carbs and bad fat. Warm spiced nuts, plump sweet blueberries, and cream are a delectable combination and make a fabulous breakfast or snack.
Serves 2
1/2 c sliced almonds
1/2 c hazelnuts, skinless
1/2 c cashews
1/2 c chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of powdered ginger
1 T ghee (clarified butter), melted
1 c blueberries
1/2 c cream
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Mix the nuts, spices & ghee in a medium bowl.
3. Spread the nut mixture on baking sheets & roast for 10-15 mins.
4. Serve warm in bowls, topped w/1/4 c blueberries per person & 1 touch of cream.
Substitutions: We used regular unsalted butter.
To Endo-ize: Use dairy-free/soy-free butter in place of the ghee & dairy-free milk in place of the cream.
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Chai Nuts
Grab a handful of these between meals.
2 c cashews
1/2 tsp cardamom
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of ginger
2 c walnuts, dry-roasted in cast-iron pan
1. Make in batches to last for the week
2. Preheat oven to 400 F
3. Mix the nuts and spices
4. Roast on a baking sheet in the oven for 10-20 mins
5. Cool and store in the fridge, to avoid rancid oils
Notes: I dry-roasted these on my stovetop over low-medium heat in a nonstick pan, instead of roasting them in the oven. The reason being: I tried the above method with the next recipe (Pumpkin Pecans) and burned the heck out of the nuts at only 10 mins in the oven. I figured this was just easier, since I had to dry-roast the walnuts anyway. Everything turned out perfectly!
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Pumpkin Pecans
Grab a handful of these between meals.
2 c pecans
1 tsp melted ghee (clarified butter)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Notes: Sorry I don't have a picture! Again, the method was to roast these, but like I said above, I burned them using that method. Instead, the 2nd time I made them, I just left them raw, threw them in a plastic ziplock bag, added the melted butter (I used regular unsalted butter, to endo-ize use dairy-free/soy-free butter) and pumpkin pie spice, closed the bag and shook it all up! They were delicious!
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Mung Dal Soup
The combination of warming spices and filling beans make this a hearty soup for a chilly day. Mung beans are the beans used for bean sprouts, and they are sold at health stores and many supermarkets. Ghee, or clarified butter, is also sold at health food stores. Garam masala is an Indian spice that is available at Asian markets, many gourmet shops, and health food stores.
1 c mung beans
3 T ghee (clarified butter)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
2.5 c water
pinch of turmeric
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne
1. Wash the beans well in a colander.
2. Melt the ghee in a large saucepan, add the garlic and ginger, and saute for 2 mins.
3. Add the water, beans, turmeric, and garam masala, and simmer for 1 hr.
4. Add the parsley, salt, and cayenne, puree half the soup, return to the pot, and serve with Mesclun Salad and Basil Vinaigrette (see below for recipe).
Notes: Locally, the only store we could find mung beans at was Fresh & Natural Foods. Again, I used unsalted regular butter, but to endo-ize you'll want to use soy-free/dairy-free butter. This smells amazing when you're cooking it! Oh, and I didn't have fresh parsley, so I substituted 1/4 c dried parsley, which seemed to work just fine. My husband raved about this soup. I, on the other hand, wasn't too keen. It was pretty bland for my liking. I think I would've added more turmeric, garam masala and/or cayenne. Maybe more salt, too. And perhaps fresh parsley would've given it more flavor.
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Mesclun Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
Serves 2
Salad:
2 c mesclun greens
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 green apple, thinly sliced
1/4 c chopped almonds
2 tsp grated Parmesan
Basil Vinaigrette:
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
stevia extract powder to taste
salt to taste
1. Mix the vinaigrette in a blender
2. Add mesclun greens, avocado, apple, almonds, and Parmesan to a salad bowl.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss well and serve.
Note: I had to do a lot of substitutions. My mesclun greens were bad, so I used a combination of romaine and green cabbage. I wouldn't recommend the cabbage, but the romaine worked just fine. For the Vinaigrette, I was out of fresh basil, so again I substituted 1/4 c dried. As you can tell from the photo, this did not work! Next time, I will for sure need to use fresh basil. I used a dash or two of sea salt and about 2 pinches of stevia, which was perfect.
