Aloha everyone, here is an easy stir fry recipe for you to try using tempeh. Tempeh, a traditional food native to Indonesia, is made from fermented soybeans which are formed into a cake and can be sliced up and sautéed just like meat.

Some foods, like soybeans, are known to have greater health benefits when they are fermented than when they are not. With soybeans, fermentation removes the trypsin inhibitors, found in the coating of the bean, and unlocks many of the nutrients within making them available for our bodies to absorb. In their un-fermented state, the benefits of these nutrients are lost. Fermented foods of some variety have been a part of every traditional diet. They are full of probiotic cultures which help the body to digest food and absorb more of its nutritional content. Many of the isoflavones, thought to be anti-cancerous, in soy are not in an right form for our bodies to receive the benefits unless they are fermented.

Well with all that in mind, lets get to the recipe! Feel free to mix and match the veggies and sauce options to your taste. I like the red cabbage and the green beans in particular because they make the dish really pretty and they are locally grown! All ingredients are regularly available in our store so I’ll see you at The Hut!

Tempeh Sauté with Veggies

Serves 2-3

1 package of tempeh

1/2 red onion

1 chuck of fresh ginger

1/4 of a red cabbage

1 bunch of green beans

3-4 kale leafs

1-2 tablespoons miso

2-3 tablespoons almond butter

dash of sesame oil

coconut oil, for cooking

Heat large pan to medium and add some coconut oil. Chop red onion and add to hot pan. Sauté until onions are translucent. (Add more coconut oil throughout cooking as needed.) Chop tempeh into bit-sized pieces. Chop ginger into very tiny pieces. Add to pan and toss. Chop cabbage and green beans then add them when the tempeh is bowned. Cover and steam for a few minutes. Tear kale off stems into small pieces, add to pan and cover for a minute. Turn the stove to low, uncover and add miso, almond butter and sesame oil and stir. Add more miso if you prefer a saltier taste. Add a little water if needed to coat almond butter and miso over all ingredients. Serve with chop sticks and enjoy!

Happy Holidays everyone! Well it is that time of year when we are tempted beyond belief to go against our better judgment and indulge in sweets and goodies of all kinds—many of which are not gluten free. For many this means suffering through a host of unwanted side effects! Symptoms from gluten intolerance can range from upset stomach, indigestion, hives and for some the symptoms can be much more serious.

It is no fun to suffer though the holidays and so I set out to adapt one of my favorite holiday cookie recipes, the snickerdoodle, from gluten-rich to gluten-free! I noticed that the key to a nice soft cookie is in the baking. Make sure your oven is fully heated before putting the the cookies in and make sure they are taken out on time (after about 10 minutes). As always please be sure to use all organic ingredients. Happy Holidays. See you at “The Hut!”

Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

(makes about 24 cookies)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick, softened)

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups oat flour (or gluten-free flour of choice)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For topping:

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl mix together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla and blend together. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together separately and then add all ingredients together and mix. Form cookies into small balls and place on baking sheet. Top each cookie with sugar, cinnamon mixture and bake for 10 minutes. Cool and serve!

Please show your support for Tiera Matara, Miss Teen Kapa‘a 2012, who will be competing today in the Miss Hawai‘i Teen Beauty USA!

Tiera is an advocate for healthy lifestyle and organic foods. She has a passion for helping influence others to take control of their health and she is spreading that message today at her pageant! Healthy Hut is one of Tiera’s many sponsors and she is a supporter of Healthy Hut too!

We at Healthy Hut wish Tiera the best of luck! Please go to her facebook page  to show your support! You can also learn more about her by reading her blog. Aloha, and see you all at “The Hut”!

Hello All,

Here is a super easy and quick recipe for delicious pumpkin bread with mini chocolate chips, inspired by one of our customers, that is the perfect thing to bring to Thanksgiving dinner or to any holiday party.

I had originally endeavored to create a gluten-free, vegan version of this recipe but I underestimated the difficulty involved with this kind of cooking and failed miserably. After three failed attempts, I had a new appreciation for all those successful gluten-free bakers out there and the wonderful service they offer to those who must steer clear of gluten… and I decided to make a bread with gluten instead! After this experience, I have begun to study gluten-free baking in more detail so that I will be more successful next time!

In any case, here is the recipe I came up with. It is very easy and takes minimal prep time. After throwing it in the oven, you can just set the timer and do other stuff around the house. Find all your ingredient here at “The Hut!”

For those of you who are desperate for a gluten-free and/or vegan Thanksgiving dessert recipe, check out this link to The Raw Foods Witch web blog, where there is a recipe and video for making an easy, raw, vegan, gluten-free pumpkin pie!! Happy Holidays everyone, aloha!

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

Makes 1 5×7 loaf

1 can organic pumpkin pie mix (sweetened)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons coconut oil

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie mix (optional, add more if you like it spicey)

1 3/4 cups flour (spelt or whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips (optional, you can use any chocolate chips you want)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all wet ingredients together first. Mix all dry ingredients and dump on top of wet. Fold ingredients together and mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix again. Dump batter into a greased and floured 5 x 7 glass bread pan. Bake for about an hour or until tooth pick comes out clean when poked into the middle.

Aloha everyone, here is a delicious recipe for oven-roasted turkey with a honey, herb glaze I found online from allrecipes.com. Don’t forget to visit us for all your Thanksgiving ingredients (many of which are on sale!) See you at “The Hut!”

Herb-Glazed Turkey

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons dried sage leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Rinse the turkey, and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Brush the turkey with olive oil, inside and out.
2. Mix 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and the thyme in a small bowl, and sprinkle the turkey with the mixture.
3. Place the turkey on a rack set in a roasting pan, and roast in the preheated oven for 2 hours.
4. In a bowl, stir together the honey, melted butter, sage, parsley, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper, until the mixture is smooth and well blended. Brush the turkey with the honey glaze, and return to the oven.
5. Roast the turkey until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 2 more hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Continue to brush the turkey with the honey glaze frequently as it roasts. Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Aloha all,

In honor of Thanksgiving I would like to share with you my simple and delicious sweet potato recipe. This recipe uses Okinawa purple sweet potatoes, ginger, cinnamon and coconut milk to give it a sweet and creamy consistency—perfect for Thanksgiving, or anytime. To make it easier, try making the potatoes a day or two beforehand and then just heat them up in the oven right before you serve Thanksgiving dinner. Find all your ingredients here at ‘The Hut’!

Purple Sweet Potatoes

Serves: 4–6

Ingredients:

3 large Okinawa sweet potatoes

1 can organic coconut milk

1-3 teaspoons ginger powder

1-3 teaspoons cinnamon powder

1-3 tablespoons coconut oil (optional)

Wash potatoes, poke several times with fork and place on cookie sheet. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 50 minutes until well done and soft when poked. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle remove skins and place in large mixing bowl. Add can of coconut milk, spices and coconut oil and stir. Mash with fork as you go until potatoes are smooth. Serve an enjoy.

1. Chia Seed Drinks: The latest craze in nourishing drinks, chia seeds add a nice texture, fiber, protein, minerals and omega-3 essential fatty acids! The legendary Tarahumara indians of northern Mexico consume drinks containing chia seeds to give them energy to run great distances—sometimes 50 miles or more! GT’s Synergy Kombucha has put out several chia seed varieties. These are all raw and fermented. Mamma Chia makes some great chia seed drinks as well that are all organic.

2. Ono Pops: These delicious little popsicles are the perfect treat on a sunny day in paradise! All the unique flavors such as “caramel shoyu” and “sonny boy goats freisas” are are created with local ingredients grown right here in Hawai‘i!

3. Tropical Dreams Ice Cream: This Big Island company creates all kinds of premium ice creams, gelatos and sorbets! The flavors are inspired by the tropics, they are smooth and delicious!

The FDA has issued a proposed mandate that represents the greatest threat to dietary supplements since 1994. Back in the early 1990s, consumers were so alarmed by FDA bullying that they staged a massive revolt. The result was that Congress passed a law prohibiting the FDA from banning popular nutrients (as the agency had threatened to do).

There was, however, a loophole in the 1994 law. The FDA was given authority to regulate ingredients introduced after October 15, 1994.

It has been 17 years, but the FDA just issued draconian proposals as to how it intends to regulate what it now calls “new dietary ingredients”. You can find the FDA Draft Guidance on New Dietary Ingredients (NDI’s) here. If implemented, some of the most effective nutrients you are taking will be removed from the market. This includes many fish oil formulas and natural plant extracts. A detailed analysis of the FDA Draft Guidance is available here.

These oppressive rules are exactly what the 1994 law (DSHEA) sought to prevent. The FDA is using its authority in direct violation of Congressional intent.

In order for these ingredients you are using today to return to the market, the FDA will require manufacturers to conduct outrageously expensive studies using absurdly high doses, in some situations multiplied by a “safety factor” up to 2,000-times the recommended dosage on a per product basis.

The FDA defines dietary supplements as being “new” if they were introduced after October 15, 1994. That means that even certain nutrients that have been safely used over the course of three decades will be subject to the FDA’s oppressive policies that mandate costly animal testing.

The FDA Views Supplements in Same Light as Synthetic Food Preservatives

According to the new guidelines, the FDA believes that “new dietary supplements” must be regulated similarly to synthetic food preservatives. The FDA guidelines have modeled the outrageous safety thresholds after those in place for food additives. This appears to be in direct violation of DSHEA, the law enacted in 1994 to protect consumer access to dietary supplements, which classifies dietary supplements as foods, not food additives.

The FDA proposes that new dietary supplement ingredients should adhere to aggressive safety margins, which are typically reserved for chemical compounds known to be dangerous in all but the most miniscule concentrations.

Since food additives or preservatives such as aspartame, monosodium glutamate, and sodium nitrate are known to cause cancer or other severe health problems, the FDA has implemented safety guidelines which limit allowable concentrations of these food additives to levels that are supposed to be physiologically inert.

The fact that the FDA is trying to impose the same limits upon dietary supplements seems to be arbitrary and completely unfounded. In fact, when someone takes a dietary supplement, their intent is to positively affect the structure or function of their bodies in some way – limiting dosages of dietary supplements to physiologically inert levels defeats the entire purpose of supplementation with health-sustaining nutrients.

The FDA’s new guidelines are so flawed that even nutrients shown to be completely safe in hundreds of human clinical studies would fail to accommodate the unreasonable safety margins.

To give you an example, each manufacturer of certain fish oils would have to conduct a one year study where animals would have to consume the human equivalent of 240,000 milligrams each day of fish oil.

Another option under the FDA’s proposed mandates is to conduct a 90-day, 1,000 – fold safety margin study in which two species of animals, one being non-rodent – likely young beagle dogs, will theoretically consume the equivalent of 2.4 million milligrams of fish oil daily. We know of virtually no species can tolerate this high dose, so by default, FDA guidelines will make it impossible for certain omega-3 supplements to be sold. (Note typical dose of EPA/DHA people take each day is around 2,400 mg—100 times less than what the FDA proposes must be tested.)

Since these are not patented drugs, no supplement maker will be able to afford these “safety” studies, which means that many of the nutrients you now purchase at low prices will convert into high-priced drugs.

Pharmaceutical Industry Profit Threatened By Low Cost Supplements

It appears that the FDA is claiming that dietary supplements are unsafe, and in order to “protect consumers” the agency must place a stranglehold on the dietary supplement industry by requesting exorbitant safety testing. These ludicrous safety thresholds are in excess of those required by pharmaceutical drugs despite studies showing supplements are far safer than drugs.

According to the 2001 report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), of the substances implicated in fatal poisonings in 2001, 84.6 percent were pharmaceutical drugs, with analgesics being implicated as the primary cause of death in 32 percent of fatalities or 341 deaths. This compares with 0.8 percent for all dietary supplements combined, even including substances such as dinitrophenol, a dangerous (and illegal) substance banned in 1938, as well as the central nervous system stimulant Ma Huang (Ephedra). Interestingly, the anti-asthma drug theophylline alone was responsible for 15 deaths, 66 percent more than all the available dietary supplements combined.

There is, however, a massive economic benefit for the drug industry if the proposed guidelines are enforced by the FDA. Health conscious Americans who properly supplement slash their risk of degenerative disease. The FDA’s new rules, if enacted, will force the price of many supplements to surge upwards, while removing many effective ones altogether. That means that more aging people will have to rely on side effect laden prescription drugs to treat the degenerative diseases they will contract because they will be denied access to health-promoting nutrients.

What You Can Do to Stop this Impending Carnage!

No one can sit on the sidelines with an emergency of this magnitude about to befall everyone who depends on dietary supplements. As citizens, we have the constitutional right to petition the government to redress our grievances. In this case, the FDA proposals pose a direct threat to our health and longevity.

We therefore have to take extraordinary measures to defend our right to continue using supplements that our very lives depend on, and to gain access to new natural ingredients that demonstrate efficacy in scientific studies.