Cancer Cookbook

© Patrick Quillin Ph.D., R.D.

"Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food."
Hippocrates, father of modern medicine, circa 400 B.C.

Nutrition and health. It makes so much sense: "You are what you eat." Veterinarians know the irreplacable link between nutrient intake and health. Actually, most of our pets eat better than most Americans. Your dog or cat probably gets a balanced formula of protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Yet, most of us eat for taste, cost, and convenience. The most commonly eaten food in America is heavily refined and nutritionally bankrupt white flour. Meanwhile, our livestock eat the more nutritious wheat germ and bran that we discard. When our crops are not doing well, we examine the soil for nutrients, fluid and pH content. Our gardens prosper when we water, fertilize, and add a little broad spectrum mineral supplement, such as Miracle Gro.

A sign posted near the junk food vending machines in a major city zoo warns: "Do not feed this food to the animals or they may get sick and die." Think about it. The food that might kill a 400 pound ape is okay for a 40 pound child who is biologically very similar? If our gardens, field crops, pets, exotic zoo creatures and every other form of life on earth are all heavily dependent on their diet for health, then what makes us think that humans have transcended this dependence?

Food
Food is a rich tapestry of various chemicals. For some advanced cancer patients, TPN is often the only route which can provide adequate nutrient intake. However, for other patients, food can be an integral part of their recovery. Food contains anti-cancer agents that we are only beginning to understand. One third of all prescription drugs in America originated as plant products. It is food that provides macronutrients, like carbohydrate, fat and protein, that drive extremely influential hormones and prostaglandins in your body. It is food that establishes your pH balance and electrolyte "soup" that bathes every cell in your body. While supplements are valuable, they cannot replace the fundamental importance of a wholesome diet.

This chapter can make or break your cancer-fighting program. The food discussed in this chapter has been fine tuned over the years to be tasty, nutritious, inexpensive and easy to prepare. Our eating habits are all acquired. We base our current diet on what mother cooked when we were younger; what our society, ethnic and religious groups prefer; what is advertised in print and electronic media, and what is available in the local grocery store. People in the Phillipines or the Amazon are born with structurally identical taste buds to Americans, yet they eat entirely different foods.

It takes about 3 weeks to acquire new eating habits. Try this program for 3 weeks, at which time it will become easier to stay with and you may just find that the nutrient-depleted junk food of yesterday really doesn't satisfy your taste buds like the following whole foods outlined by Noreen Quillin.

True Confessions
Patrick Quillin has not always eaten as he does now. I now talk the talk and walk the walk. But I was raised in middle America, with roast beef, potatoes and gravy every Sunday afternoon; Captain Crunch for breakfast and a soda pop if you were good. White bread and bologna were the standard fare at home. My parents provided what they felt were lavish and well balanced meals to the best of their knowledge, as millions of other American families.

As I began studying nutrition in college, my eating habits improved, but were still far from enviable. I remember one semester in college while taking 19 units, 3 labs and working part time, I had no spare time to cook or even eat, so I kept a large box of Twinkies in the back of my van to provide "sustenance" when needed. For many months those Twinkies baked in the hot southern California sun and were always as fresh as the day they were bought. I began to question the shelf life of this food: "If bacteria is not interested in this food, then what makes me think that my body cells are interested in it!"

At that point in my life, my lovely and talented wife Noreen began exploring alternative cooking styles. While I was studying the lofty sciences of nutritional biochemistry, Noreen was busy making nutritious taste delicious. It was a true turning point in my life. I started eating properly, felt better, got fewer colds, and could sincerely lecture on the subject to others. Noreen got books on everything that you can do with soybeans, crockpots, pressure cookers, whole grains and vegetarian lifestyles. She bravely and diligently tried everything. We sometimes would come home with bags of food from some ethnic grocery store that we later had to re-identify in order to try some recipe. Some of it was good. Some was edible. Some we had to throw out. But we learned. And for the past 3 years, Noreen has taught cooking classes to our cancer patients. And we have all learned. What you have in this chapter is a time-tested approach to making your anti-cancer diet practical and tasty. Bon appetit!

Synegistic Forces in Foods
Although 1000 mg. daily of vitamin C has been shown to reduce the risk for stomach cancer, a small glass of orange juice containing only 37 mg of vitamin C is twice as likely to lower the chances for stomach cancer. Something in oranges is even more chemo-protective than vitamin C. Although most people only absorb 20-50% of their ingested calcium, the remaining calcium binds up potentially damaging fats in the intestines to provide protection against colon cancer.

In 1963, a major "player" in the American drug business, Merck, tried to patent a single antibiotic substance that was originally isolated from yogurt. But this substance did not work alone. Since then, researchers have found no less than 7 natural antibiotics that all contribute to yogurt's unique ability to protect the body from infections. There are many anti-cancer agents in plant food, including beta-carotene, chlorophyll, over 500 mixed carotenoids, over 600 various bioflavonoids, lutein, lycopenes and canthaxanthin. The point is: we can isolate and concentrate certain factors in foods for use as therapeutic supplements in cancer therapy, but we must always rely heavily on the mysterious and elegant symphony of ingredients found in wholesome food.

How do Foods Protect Us From Toxins and Cancer?

• By spurring on the body to produce more toxin scavengers, like glutathione peroxidase from indoles in cabbage.
• By bolstering the immune system. Once the external therapies of chemo, radiation and surgery have eliminated the visible tumor, then the real and final cancer battle is totally dependent on the immune factors. Many foods and individual nutrients are influential here.
• By stimulating certain detoxifying enzyme systems, like the liver's cytochrome P450.¹ Selenium, vitamin C and milk thistle help here.
• By shutting down the oncogene in human cells, that acts like a traitor to participate in cancer growth. Soybeans, vitamin A and D help here.
  
• By directly killing tumor cells. The bioflavonoid quercetin, vitamin C, B-12, K, and garlic help here.
  
• By directly killing bacteria or viruses that may cause cancer.
  
• By binding up substances, like bile acids, that can decay into a carcinogenic substance. Fiber is a champion here.
  
• By caging carcinogenic heavy metals, in a process called chelation (say 'key-lay-shun'), and carrying these toxic minerals out of the body. Bioflavonoids, vitamin C and garlic help this way.
  
• By attaching to fats, to stop the carcinogenic fat "rusting" process. Calcium, vitamin E and fiber use this method.
  
• By providing the known essential and unknown important nutrients that the body needs to better defend itself against pollutants.² A well-nourished body is better able to detoxify, neutralize and excrete the ubiquitous poisons of the 20th century.

Using Guidelines That are Universal
There have been a number of diets developed for the cancer patient: Drs. Moerman³, Livingston⁴, Gerson⁵, and the macrobiotic⁶ diets to mention a few. Each of these visionaries was a physician who spent at least several decades ministering to cancer patients. While there are some differences in these diets, there is also some common ground. Peculariarities about each program include:

Dr. Moerman recommends supplements of iron for cancer patients, yet other data shows that elemental iron may accelerate cancer growth. He allows the yolk of the egg, but not the white part.

Macrobiotics allow liberal amounts of soy sauce and pickles, yet restrict intake of fruit and fish.

Dr. Gerson used to encourage raw pureed calf's liver, which can contain a number of dangerous bacteria.

Dr. Livingston prohibits any chicken intake, since a cancer-causing organism thrives in chicken.

The points just mentioned are the oddities about each program which lack a good explanation. Yet, we don't want to throw out the "baby with the bath water". Each of these programs embraces a common thread, which includes a number of explanable nutrition principles. They all provide a diet that:

• uses only unprocessed foods, nothing in a package with a label
• uses high amounts of fresh vegetables
• employs a low fat diet
• emphasizes the importance of regularity
• uses little or no dairy products, with yogurt as the preferred dairy selection
• stabilizes blood sugar levels with no sweets and never eat something sweet by itself
• increases potassium and reduces sodium intake

Superfoods
Though there are many nourishing foods, there are only a few superfoods that contain such a potent collection of protective factors that they deserve regular inclusion in most diets.

Yogurt. While dairy products are the world's most common allergenic food, for 1/2 to 2/3 of the population, yogurt can provide some dramatic immune stimulation. On the surface, yogurt appears to be nothing more than a fermented dairy product. Yet, modern scientists find that the active culture of bacteria in yogurt (Lactobacillus) can fortify the immune system. Yogurt is an impressive immune stimulant.⁷ In both humans and animals, yogurt in the diet tripled the internal production of interferon (a powerful weapon of the immune system against tumor cells) while also raising the level of natural killer cells. Yogurt has been shown to slow down the growth of tumor cells in the GI tract while improving the ability of the immune system to destroy active tumor cells.⁸ Yogurt can block the production of carcinogenic agents in the colon. When scientists looked at the diet of 1010 women with breast cancer and compared them to an equally matched group without breast cancer, they found an inverse dose-dependent relationship: the more yogurt consumed, the lower the risk for breast cancer.⁹

In several European studies, yogurt in animal studies was able to reverse tumor progress. A 1962 study found that 59 percent of 258 mice implanted with sarcoma cells were cured through yogurt. A more recent American study found a 30 percent cure rate through yogurt.¹⁰ While it is doubtful that yogurt is going to cure advanced human cancer, it is likely that yogurt can better fortify the cancer patient's immune system.

Garlic. This stinky little vegetable has been used for 5000 years in various healing formulas. Pasteur noted that garlic killed all of the bacteria in his petri dishes. More importantly, garlic has been found to stimulate natural protection against tumor cells. Tarig Abdullah, MD of Florida found that white blood cells from garlic-fed people were able to kill 139% more tumor cells than white cells from non-garlic eaters.¹¹ Garlic and onions fed to lab animals helped to decrease the number of skin tumors.¹² Researchers found that onions provided major protection against expected tumors from DMBA in test animals.¹³ Mice with a genetic weakness toward cancer were fed raw garlic with a lower-than-expected tumor incidence.¹⁴

The most common form of cancer worldwide is stomach cancer. Chinese researchers find that a high intake of garlic and onions cuts the risk for stomach cancer in half.¹⁵ Garlic provides the liver with a certain amount of protection against carcinogenic chemicals. Scientists find that garlic is deadly to invading pathogens or tumor cells, but is harmless to normal healthy body cells; thus offering the hope of the truly selective toxin against cancer that is being sought worldwide.

Carotenoids. Green plants create sugars by capturing the sun's energy in a process called photosynthesis. The electrons that must be corralled in this process can be highly destructive. Hence, nature has evolved an impressive system of free radical protectors, including carotenoids and bioflavonoids, that act like the lead lining in a nuclear reactor to absorb dangerous unpaired electrons. Both of these substances have potential in stimulating the immune system while there is preliminary evidence that carotenoids may be directly toxic to tumor cells.

Carotenoids are found in green and orange fruits and vegetables. Bioflavonoids are found in citrus, whole grains, honey, and other plant foods.

Cruciferous vegetables. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower were involved in the "ground floor" discovery that nutrition is linked to cancer. Lee Wattenberg, PhD of the University of Minnesota found in the 1970s that animals fed cruciferous vegetables had markedly lower cancer rates than matched controls. Since then, the active ingredient "indoles" have been isolated from cruciferous vegetables and found to be very protective against cancer. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University found that lab animals fed cruciferous vegetables and then exposed to the deadly carcinogen aflatoxin had a 90 percent reduction in their cancer rate.¹⁶

Cruciferous vegetables are able to increase the body's production of glutathione peroxidase, which is one of the more important protective enzyme systems in the body.

Mushrooms. Gourmet chefs have long prized various mushrooms for their subtle and exotic flavors. Now there is an abundance of scientific evidence showing that Rei-shi, Shiitake, and Maitake mushrooms are potent anti-cancer foods.¹⁷ Actually, Maitake literally means "dancing mushroom" since people would dance with joy when finding these delicate mushrooms on a country hillside. Oral extract of Maitake provided complete elimination of tumors in 40% of animals tested, while the remaining 60% of animals had a 90% elimination of tumors. Maitake contains a polysaccharide, called beta-glucan, which stimulates the immune system and even lowers blood pressure.

Legumes. Seed foods (like soybeans) have a substance that can partially protect the seed from digestion, called protease inhibitors (PI). For many years, these substances were thought to be harmful. New evidence finds that PIs may squelch tumor growth.¹⁸ Researchers at the National Cancer Institute find a collection of substances in soybeans, including isoflavones and phytoestrogens, appear to have potent anti-cancer properties.¹⁹ Dr. Ann Kennedy has spent 20 years researching a compound in soybeans that:

• prevents cancer in most animals exposed to a variety of carcinogens
• retards cancer in some studies
• lowers the toxic side effects of chemo and radiation therapy
• reverts a cancer cell back to a normal healthy cell.²⁰

Others. There are numerous foods that show an ability to slow tumor growth in some way. Apples, apricots, barley, citrus fruit, cranberries, fiber, figs, fish oil, fish, ginger, green tea, spinach, seaweed and other foods are among the reasons that I heavily favor the use of a mixed highly nutritious diet as the foundation for nutrition in cancer therapy

Food treats malnutrition. Food contains known essential nutrients that stimulate the immune system and provide valuable protection against carcinogens. Foods also contain poorly understood factors that may add measurably to the recovery of the cancer patient. Many foods have tremendous therapeutic value in helping the patient to internally fight cancer.

How to Use this Section
This cookbook chapter was written with the cancer patient in mind and can also be helpful to people who want to eat properly but have little time to spend in the kitchen. Remember: the more wellness you have, the less illness you can have. One full week of menus is vegetarian style with no dairy products, but eggs are allowed. Another week's menu includes low fat poultry and fish. This will show you how to prepare meals that can be tasty and nutritious. The recipes are just a guide to show you the possibilities in creative cooking.

There is a section of tips to stimulate the appetite or lose weight rationally. Also included is the concept of bulk cooking, which is a great way to have a freezer full of ready-made meals at 1/4 the cost. "Fast food" at our house usually means microwaving some frozen beans, adding leftover bits of chicken or fish, and rolling this tasty collection into whole wheat tortillas with fresh salsa. The seasonings of Spike and Gayelords powdered vegetable broth may be purchased at your local heath food store.

Realize that there is no one perfect diet. Laying out a weekly menu of "nutritious" food is frought with peril, since another nutritionist could have their own valid criticisms of this program. Life is not perfect, nor are our eating habits. The most nourishing meal in the world is useless unless eaten. This chapter demonstrates healthy eating habits within the context of practical and tasty recipes. There are some noteworthy spartan cancer diets that only an extremely dedicated cancer patient can follow.

Given the choice between an unpalatable and labor-intensive eating program or returning to their old destructive eating habits, many cancer patients chose the later. Gleaning from dozens of good cookbooks and years of experience, the menus provided in this chapter make precious few compromises in nutritional quality while emphasizing taste, cost and practical preparation.

To Gain Weight
Don't drink fluids or have soup or salad before the meal. It will fill you up on foods that are low in calorie density.

Eat on a large plate, thus avoiding food portions that appear overwhelming. Have small portions, knowing you can always have more.

People eat more when dining in groups than by themselves. Go to buffets. Eat with friends or other patients if possible. At our hospital, we were constantly battling the problem of patients not wanting to eat, no matter how appetizing the food looked and smelled. One Fourth of July, we set up a family picnic, with broiled chicken, baked beans, watermelon, corn on the cob and more. People who had not eaten well all week suddenly developed a ferocious appetite. We have been serving buffet family style meals ever since.

Distract your mind. Rent a good video and have your meal in front of the TV. Have you ever sat down with a bowl of popcorn and realized you had eaten the whole batch and didn't even realize it?

To Lose Weight
Eat 6 times a day. That doesn't mean 6 Big Macs. It means a light breakfast upon rising; a piece of fruit later in the midmorning; a salad and half a sandwich at lunch; and the other 1/2 of the sandwich at mid-afternoon. Even if you over-indulge at one meal, make sure you eat on schedule. This concept, called periodicity, trains the mind and body that food is constantly coming into the system and there is no need to overindulge or become exceedingly efficient at storing calories.

Have warm fluids, like tea or soup, about 20 minutes before mealtime.

Use a smaller plate. It gives the illusion that you're eating more.

Drink plenty of purified water. It's good for both weight loss, constipation and wrinkles.

Adjust your bathroom scale to the exact weight you want to be. As you lose weight, you can readjust it closer to the zero, but always see your weight as you want it to be. This way when you think about having that huge piece of cake, you will think to yourself, "A person of my weight won't eat that."

Exercise within your own ability. Make sure you enjoy it.

Eat more high-fiber foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans and whole-grain cereals.

Plan your meals and snacks instead of waiting until you are hungry.

Dining Tips For The Cancer Patient
You eat with your eyes first, so make sure that your plate looks appetizing. Have different colors. No matter how tasty the food might be, if it is all the same color (i.e. turkey, mash potatoes, and cauliflower), then you won't enjoy the meal as much.

Crock pot cooking is a great idea. It is a relatively inexpensive kitchen tool which cures the 5 o'clock dilemma of haphazard meal preparation. There are many advantages to making your dinner in the morning. You prepare the food early which means that the kitchen will be clean and the urge to order out at 5 pm has been eliminated. Also, the aromas of cooking food wafting throughout the house can help stimulate a sagging appetite.

Cook up more food than is needed. Freeze leftovers in baggies in individual servings. This way you will have a freezer full of ready-to-eat nutritious meals.

Pressure cooking is wonderful. Your cooking time for whole grains and beans will be cut by 75%.

Instead of soda pop, try diluted apple juice or ginger tea with 1/4 tsp of vitamin C per cup.

Ginger helps to relieve nausea. You can take tablets, or drink ginger tea cold or hot.

Acupressure wrist bands, available at your pharmacy or health food store, also help to relieve nausea.

Avoid frying foods. Make sure that you have foods like carrot sticks or baked whole wheat tortilla chips to satisfy that need for crunchy food.

Eating Out
Iceberg lettuce is the most common salad bar offering, but is "junk food" relative to most other vegetables. Skip the iceberg lettuce and enjoy the healthier fruits, vegetables and whole-grain foods from the salad bar. A good rule of thumb: the deeper the color of the vegetable, the more nourishing it is. Dark greens are better than pale greens, dark orange squash is better than pale squash, and so on. In nature, cauliflower is a dark green vegetable, until human intervention ties the leaves around the developing flower to deprive it of sunlight.

Many restaurants offer low-calorie or light meals with gourmet versions.

Instead of accepting that "fried" meal from a restaurant menu, most places will steam or broil your food.

Airlines can be very accommodating in having a special meal ready for you. Give them at least 1 week advance notice.

Ask for the salad dressing to be served on the side.

Have the rich sauces or gravies left out.

Avoid sauteed and deep-fried food.

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Foods to Highlight in Your Diet
Yogurt
Sprouts
Onions
Garlic
Ginger
Cabbage, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower
Carrots
Coybeans, garbanzo beans and other legumes
Rice, barley and other whole grains
Sea vegetables, a.k.a. seaweed
Dark green and dark orange fruits & vegetables
Apples, berries
Eggs
Figs
Fish
Honey

Beverages to Highlight
Purified water
Cafix
Roma
Herb tea
Vitamin C powder & honey in hot water
Ginger tea
Hot natural apple juice with vitamin C
Fresh orange juice
Postum
Chickory
Japanese Green tea
Roasted rice or barley tea
Vinegar, honey & water

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Dragon-Slayer Shake

I hate taking pills, even when I know the value of using supplements to improve my health. That's why I developed this "shake". While most of us are familiar with milkshakes, there are many variations on that theme which can provide nutrient-dense foods in a convenient format. I have found that many cancer patients would avoid taking their supplements of vitamins, minerals and botanicals because they didn't like swallowing pills. To solve that problem, I have developed this shake, which can incorporate many nutrients in powder form, thus eliminating taking pills at all, and the remaining pills are easier to swallow with the lubricating ability of this smooth shake.

Shakes can be a quick and easy breakfast. Depending on your calorie requirements, use this shake in addition to or instead of the breakfast suggestions listed later. My typical breakfast consists of this Dragon-Slayer shake, whole grain rolls, bagles, muffins or Pita bread, along with a large serving of fresh fruit in season.

Take up to half of your pills with the "Dragon-Slayer shake" and save the remaining pills for later in the day. Taking supplements in small divided dosages helps to maintain sustained levels of nutrients in the bloodstream.

Ingredients:
4-8 ounces of dilute fruit juice, including apple, cranberry, orange, fresh squeezed, juice extracted, etc. I add twice the specified water to a can of frozen unsweetened concentrated apple juice from your grocery store.

10-15 grams of powdered protein from (listed in order of preference): whey, rice, soy, alfalfa, egg white, non-fat yogurt solids, spirulina. Do not use powdered proteins that are based upon non-fat milk solids. Too many people are allergic to this product. Your health food store should have a dozen different products to select from. ProMod is a name brand pure whey protein product.

1/2 tablespoon of Perfect 7. This is an excellent product to maintain regularity and encourage proper detoxification. It includes fiber, an herbal laxative, proper bacteria for colonizing the intestines and botanicals for detoxification. You may be surprised at the fecal matter eliminated in the first few weeks on this program.

One sliced ripe banana or less, depending on how thick you like your shakes. Banana adds texture via pectin to make this shake have true milk shake viscosity.

2-4 grams of buffered vitamin C powder from Emergen-C or Seraphim. Both products have an effervescent action that brings a "soda pop" like flavor to this drink, along with high doses of vitamin C that won't upset even the most delicate stomach.

1 tablespoon of OmegaSyn 1 fatty acids (a blend of EPA and GLA) from BioSyn (800-346-2703)

1/2 tablespoon of pure, cold pressed flaxseed oil (optional)

1/2 tablespoon of wheat germ oil (optional)

For those who need to slow down weight loss or gain weight, add 2 tablespoons of MCT (medium chain triglyceride) oil

Directions:
Use a large blender or a small hand held blender, like the ones originally developed to mix diet drinks. First add the oils (EPA, wheat germ and flax) to coat the bottom of the container for easy mixing and cleaning. Add the powdered ingredients and cut up fruit next. Blend until smooth, or about 15 seconds.

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Bulk Cooking

Yogurt
Scald (foaming but not yet at boiling) 8 cups of milk with one cup of added powdered milk.

Turn heat down and simmer for at least 5 minutes; the longer you simmer (up to 25 minutes) the thicker your yogurt will be.

While the milk is simmering, place 2 tablespoons of live cultured good-tasting yogurt in each of two quart-glass peanut butter jars and stir briefly with a plastic spoon until creamy.

After simmering milk, let the temperature drop to 49 degrees C. (112 F.). You don't want to kill the yogurt bacteria with milk that is too hot.

Add about a half cup of the warm milk to the yogurt starter in each of two jars and stir gently but thoroughly. Then add the rest of the milk to the glass jars.

Place the jars (uncovered) in a picnic thermos (the size that holds a six pack of beer). Close the thermos lid and leave for 6-10 hours. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets. Do not open container and peek while the fermentation is occurring.

This recipe allows you to cut the cost of yogurt from $14.00 per gallon to $2.10 per gallon (cost of milk).

Growing Your Own Sprouts
You will need a glass jar (quart size or larger), a soft plastic screen for the top, and a rubber band to hold the screen in place. There are also commercial sprouting kits available in most health food stores. Place about one heaping tablespoon of seeds in your glass container with the screen doubled on the top. The seeds will expand about tenfold as they sprout, so allow enough room for their expansion. Fill the container half full of purified water and let stand overnight. Next morning drain and rinse the seeds. Let stand inverted over the sink for proper drainage. Rinse and drain twice each day for the next 6-7 days. Keep the jar in a dimly lit area.

Larger seeds, like peas, beans, and lentils take a shorter time to grow and should not be allowed to grow more than a half inch long, since they will develop a bitter flavor. Mung bean sprouts can get up to two inches in length without bitter flavor. Wheat, barley, oats, and other grass plants make terrific sprouts. Smaller seeds, like alfalfa, can grow to an inch in length without any bitter flavor. For some extra vitamin A, let the alfalfa sprouts sit in a sunny window for the last day before eating. The green color indicates the welcome addition of chlorophyll, folacin and beta-carotene.

In excess quantities, sprouts may blunt the immune system in humans. Do not eat more than two cups of sprouts daily.

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Homemade Mayonnaise

1 egg
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbs apple cider
1 cup sunflower or canola oil

Put the egg, mustard, salt, and 1/2 cup of the oil in the container of an electric blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Continue blending or processing while adding the remaining oil very slowly in a steady stream into the center of the egg mixture. Use a small rubber spatula to scrape the mayonnaise into a jar. Store covered in the refrigerator. Yields about 2 cups.

Note: If the mayonnaise curdles, blend or process 1 egg in the container of a clean electric blender or food processor and gradually pour the curdled mayonnaise back in while blending or processing at high speed.

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Spicy Beans

3 cups of pinto beans
1 large onion cut up
3-4 garlic cloves minced
2-3 dry red peppers cut up fine
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/3 cup olive oil
Lite salt

Sort and wash beans in a colander. Soak the beans overnight in about 8 cups of water in a heavy saucepan. Drain, then fill with another 8 cups of clean water. Add rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer for 90-120 minutes or until beans are tender. Blend with an egg beater. Add a bit of salt to taste.

If you need the beans sooner:
Rinse beans. Then fill pot with beans and 8 cups of water Allow to boil for 2 minutes. Let sit in a covered pot for 1 hour. Proceed to next step.

(For best results, use a pressure cooker)
Place the soaked and rinsed beans in 5 cups of water in pot. Add ingredients. Bring lid weight to a gentle rocking motion, then pressure cook for 25 minutes. Let cool down. Beat with a mixer to desired consistency.

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Barley

Rinse barley and cook for 35-45 minutes in a large volume of boiling water. Barley increases its bulk by four fold when cooked. Drain excess water. Store extra barley in baggies and place in freezer for later use. Season the barley with spices that go with the entree. Spike, Mrs. Dash and other herbal seasonings go with anything.

If using a pressure cooker, use twice the amount of barley measurement for the water. Bring to a rock, then immediately remove from stove burner. Follow rest of the directions.

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Better Butter

Blend equal parts of olive oil and softened butter.

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Whole Wheat Piecrust

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup water

Stir dry ingredients together. Mix in oil. Add enough of the water to make the dough form a ball. Roll flat between sheets of waxed paper and lift into pan. Make edge.

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Roasted Brown Rice or Barley Tea

Dry roast uncooked grain over medium flame for 10 minutes or until a fragrant aroma develops. Stir and shake pan occasionally. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the grain to 1 1/2 quarts of purified water. Bring to a boil, simmer 10 to 15 minutes.

The following recipes are not carved in stone. If you do not like a certain spice or seasoning, leave it out. Also, some days you might feel like cooking more than others. These menus were based more on giving maximum variety with different foods than offering no-effort cooking. Feel free to mix the ideas to your pleasure.

Also, it is a good idea to have leftovers to freeze in serving sizes so you can just pull out easy-to-serve dinners on days you want to relax.