| Curing oneself of the condition called
acid reflux can be accomplished
by using natural, healthy methods.
I suffered from this condition
for years, taking harmful, expensive
PPI drugs (proton inhibitors),
which only masked the symptoms.
These drugs, not only had myriad
side effects, but became ineffective
over time. I was forced to find
another answer. I wanted to cure
myself without the use of drugs.
My doctor was no help. He didn’t
have a clue about natural healing
and nutrition. After a great deal
of research I discover that with
the proper use of herbs, health
store items, meditation, exercise
and diet, one can heal themselves
of acid reflux. The first thing
that I learned is that acid reflux,
sometimes called gerd (gastro
esophageal reflux disease), is
not a disease at all. Contrary
to what the medical community
would have us believe, it is simply
a condition, brought on by poor
eating habits. Besides eating
the wrong foods, not chewing food
properly is probably the root
cause of this ailment. The Acid
reflux condition would not exist
without a damaged esophagus and
a weakened LES (lower esophageal
sphincter). If the condition is
to be eliminated, healing the
esophagus must be the first order
of business. During this reflux
recovery period, eating anything
which could irritate or damage
the esophagus, must be avoided.
Things like poorly chewed chips,
crackers, cereal or any hard foods
with sharp edges are culinary
culprits - they cause little lacerations
to develop in the esophagus. Until
the lacerations have had a chance
to heal, spicy foods, such as
acidic tomato products, hot peppers,
raw garlic and raw onions should
also be eliminated from the diet.
They just further irritate the
condition. Smoking and drinking
alcohol relax the LES, allowing
stomach acid to splash up into
the esophagus, thus impeding the
healing process. The key to acid
reflux recovery is to eat only
mild, easy to digest food until
the esophagus has healed. Eat
early, giving yourself at least
three hours of sitting or walking
time before lying down. Eat slowly
and chew your food completely.
And last, but not least, try to
eat in a relaxed, pleasant environment.
I have listed a few of my favorite
recipes that I enjoyed during
my own recovery period. They can
be made quickly and easily. Try
doubling these recipes so that
you can reheat them later in the
week…..less time in the kitchen.
Remember that cooking from scratch,
instead of relying on convenience
foods, is a better approach to
good health, in general. It is
also nice to know what you are
really eating. For breakfast,
I believe that fresh fruit is
the best way to go. I especially
like melon and papaya. For lunch
I eat more fruit like apples,
bananas and, perhaps some almonds,
or walnuts. It’s better to eat
many little healthy meals during
the day. I try to buy only organic
fruits, however, sometimes when
I am rushed, I purchase “ready
to go” containers of mixed fruit
at the grocery store. Try to stay
away from pineapple, as I find
it hard to digest. How about starters
in the evening? Serving vegetables
raw is the ultimate healthy way
to present them. Try creating
a beautiful platter of crudité
(crew di tay) better known as
elegant rabbit food. Serve it
with a savory tofu dip. Use cauliflower,
broccoli, English cucumbers, radishes,
green & yellow zucchinis, Belgium
endive, carrot sticks, whole small
mushrooms, or whatever appeals
to you. Cut the vegetables in
bite size pieces for dipping.
The Belgium endive is a natural
edible scoop for dipping. Just
cut off the ends and peel off
the leaves. Make the tofu dip
by putting one package of soft
or silken tofu in a food processor
or blender, adding garlic powder,
cumin, paprika and chopped chives
or parsley for flavor and color.
Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Add a little fresh squeezed lemon
juice if the mixture is too thick.
Process until smooth and creamy.
If you are in a rush, ready made
dips and raw vegetable platters
are available in the produce sections
of most supermarkets, but make
a concerted effort to eat only
organic, if possible. I hope that
you enjoy the following dishes.
Even though I have cured myself
of acid reflux, I still cook these
recipes on a regular basis. I
prefer food slightly under cooked.
Feel free to adjust the cooking
times and seasonings to your own
taste. Bon appetite! Sautéed White
Fish On A Bed Of Mashed Potatoes
This recipe is for one serving.
Increase the ingredients for additional
servings as needed. One 4oz filet
of white fish (orange roughly,
sole, turbot, flounder, etc) One
med. Potato Steamed green vegetable
such as broccoli, spinach, peas
or asparagus Parsley or chives
for garnish ¼ tbsp unsalted butter,
olive oil or Pam We will start
with the potatoes because they
take the longest to cook and they
tend to retain their heat the
longest. The fish and vegetable
take only minutes to cook. Peel
and cube potato. Place in cold
water to cover. Bring to the boil,
and then simmer until fork tender.
Drain, leaving just enough cooking
liquid for mashing or whipping.
You may also use the vegetable
broth (recipe below) instead.
Add salt to taste. Hold in a warm
place. Season fish with salt and
pepper to taste. Place non-stick
sauté pan over med high heat.
Add butter, oil or spray with
Pam. When not quite smoking, add
fish. Cook two minutes, turn and
cook other side for two minutes,
or until the filet is light brown
and cooked through. If the filet
is very thin, one minute on each
side may be enough. (You can broil
or bake the fish if desired) Serve
fish on top of mashed potatoes,
surrounded by the steamed vegetables.
Garnish with chopped parsley or
chives. Vegetable Broth This broth
is very alkaline and rich in minerals.
It can be served as a simple soup,
or used as a stock (as above)
for cooking. Cook and save the
potatoes and beets to use as a
vegetable side dish or to add
to soup. 2 cups red skinned potato
peelings 3 cups celery stalk 2
cups celery tops 2 cups beet tops
1 small zucchini or yellow squash
2 cups carrots One small onion
Sprig of parsley 2 ½ quarts distilled
water Chop all vegetables into
very fine pieces. Place in water
and bring to the boil. Simmer
for 20 minutes. Strain & refrigerate
for future use. Note: By cooking
pearled barley in the finished
broth with the addition of chopped
vegetables, one can prepare a
healthy soup for a first course.
Pasta Primavera Primavera means
“spring” in Italian. This pasta
dish offers a great opportunity
to use all the wonderful fresh
spring vegetables at your disposal.
However, you can make this dish
anytime of the year by using whatever
fresh vegetables you can find
at your food market. I have chosen
a mixture of vegetables that I
happen to love, for this recipe.
You can use these or replace them
with your favorites. During the
reflux healing period, try to
stay away from tomatoes, raw onions
and raw garlic. I have included
garlic in this recipe (*see note
regarding roasted garlic). If
you can tolerate a little garlic,
then make sure to cook it well
at a low temperature, without
browning it. If you want to be
a bit daring, you can add the
optional cup of heavy cream. You
may substitute parsley for the
basil and the penne regatta for
fettuccini, or another pasta.
The whole family can enjoy this
classic pasta dish. 1 cup sliced
mushrooms 1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup baby peas 1 cup sliced asparagus
spears 1 cup snow peas or sugar
snaps 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
or roasted 1 lb. penne regatta
1 tsp. salt 3 tbsp extra virgin,
first cold pressed olive oil ½
cup shredded basil ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
cheese ½ cup heavy cream (optional)
Place a steamer basket in a pot
with a small amount of water and
bring to the boil. Place vegetables
in basket, cover and steam until
tender (about 4 minutes). Rinse
under cold running water to stop
the cooking and preserve the color,
and drain. To a large pot of boiling
water, add salt and the penne
regatta. Cook uncovered according
to the instructions on box, preferably
al dente. Meanwhile in a large
sauté pan, heat the olive oil.
Add the garlic and cook at a low
flame for a couple of minutes
(do not brown). Add the steamed
vegetables and optional heavy
cream and raise the heat to medium.
Cook just enough to heat. Drain
the pasta and add to the sauté
pan and mix well. Sprinkle with
Parmigianino Reggiano, and shredded
basil. Heat the dish thoroughly
and serve. If the dish needs more
salt, use extra cheese instead,
at the table. Serve this dish
with a heart of romaine salad
with lemon chive dressing (recipe
below) * Note: It takes more than
two cloves of roasted garlic,
for this recipe. On a sheet of
alluminium foil place two heads
of garlic and cut the stem end
off with a knife. Drizzle a little
olive oil over them and wrap tightly.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for
one hour. When cool enough to
handle, squeeze out the roasted
garlic, into a bowl, discarding
the shells. Mash well with a fork.
Another use for roasted garlic
is my version of pesto sauce.
I use walnuts instead of pine
nuts, which I find indigestible,
with the roasted garlic and basil.
Use whatever proportion you like
and drizzle first pressed, extra
virgin olive oil into the blender.
If your sauce is too thin, adjust
with more walnuts, basil and garlic.
If it is too thick, use more olive
oil. This is all a matter of taste.
Serve with your favorite pasta.
I prefer linguini or fettuccini.
Lemon chive salad dressing This
is a simple, yet classic vinaigrette
for green salads. Use heart of
Romaine, Boston or Bipp lettuce.
Make this dressing and hour or
so before serving, in order that
the chive flavor is fully incorporated.
Remember to toss well before serving.
The advantage here is using lemon
juice, instead of vinegar. I find
that lemon juice becomes alkaline
after being ingested. 1 lemon
juiced Sea salt (pinch) 3 tbsp.
extra fine sugar 6 tbsp. extra-virgin
olive oil 6 tbsp. minced chives
(you can’t have too many) Freshly
ground black pepper Combine lemon
juice, salt and sugar in a mixing
bowl. Whisk until the sugar and
salt are dissolved. Continue whisking
in the olive oil, chives and several
grinds of pepper. Keep whisking
until dressing is emulsified.
(Note: You can make this dressing
for two by reducing the lemon
juice to two tbsp. and the other
ingredients by 1/3.) Keep left
over dressing in a jar in fridge
for future use. It will keep for
about a week. Savory Lentils with
Texmati Brown Rice 1 lb of organic
lentils (2 ½ cups), rinsed 8 cups
water or stock 1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped 2
carrots, sliced 2 stalks celery,
chopped 1 bay leaf 2 sprigs of
thyme, or ½ tsp dried Organic
Texmati brown rice (follow instructions
on package) To a large pot bring
water and lentils to a boil. Add
other ingredients. Reduce to the
simmer, partially covered. Cook
until tender (about 20 to 30 minutes),
stirring occasionally and adding
more liquid as needed.. Remove
the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
Season with salt and freshly ground
black pepper to taste. Serve over
organic Texmati brown rice. Garnish
with chopped parsley. Serve with
a light green salad, dressed with
the lemon chive dressing above.
Baked Chicken Breasts on Mushroom
Caps with steamed broccoli and
new potatoes 6 chicken breasts
(either bone in or halves with
skin on) 1 tsp dried thyme Olive
oil 6 large Portobello mushrooms
(or enough smaller mushrooms to
cover the bottom of the baking
pan) 1 tbsp minced garlic Salt
& pepper to taste 2 cups dry white
wine or dry vermouth ¼ cup fresh
chopped parsley Place rack in
center of oven and preheat to
400 degrees. Into a lightly oiled
baking pan, large enough to hold
chicken breasts, arrange mushrooms
gill side down. Sprinkle with
minced garlic, salt & pepper.
Pour wine over mushrooms. Place
chicken breasts skin side up over
mushrooms and brush with olive
oil. Bake uncovered about 20 minutes,
until the breasts are golden brown.
If the wine has evaporated during
the cooking process, add a little
more (for those of you who can’t
tolerate alcohol, keep in mind
that it burns off during the cooking
process, leaving only the flavor).
Baste the breasts with the pan
juices and turn over. Cook until
breasts are completely done and
springy to the finger, about 15
minutes more. With a slotted spoon,
place the chicken and mushrooms
on a platter, mushrooms on the
bottom and breasts on top, skin
side up. Skim off excess fat and
spoon juices over the chicken.
Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with
steamed broccoli and boiled new
potatoes. (Substitute brown rice
for potatoes, if desired) Stir
fried shrimp and vegetables Served
over millet, brown rice or quinoa
3 tbsp Canola oil 1lb. raw medium
peeled shrimp 2 cups broccoli
florets 2 cups sliced mushrooms
4 scallions, trimmed and chopped
2 tbsp Garlic, minced 2 tbsp fresh
ginger, minced 1 cup cold vegetable
broth (see recipe above), mixed
with 2tbsps, cornstarch 1 package
of organic millet Into a hot wok
or sauté pan pour oil until just
smoking Add vegetables and stir
constantly to cook al dente Add
shrimp and continue to stir until
just turning pink Add broth and
cover for a couple of minutes
until shrimp is almost done Uncover
and add cornstarch mixture, stir
until thickened and turn off heat
Serve over millet cooked according
to package instructions Season
to taste with tamari light soy
sauce Note: This dish must be
done very quickly, as you don’t
want to over cook the shrimp or
the vegetables. I have chosen
Millet because it is an extremely
alkaline grain. It is neutral
in taste and will absorb the flavors
of this dish. You may substitute
brown rice instead. For more information
about healing acid reflux the
natural way, go to:www.refluxgoneforever.com
Charles Stewart Richey is a self-educated
expert on how to cure acid reflux
disease, by natural means. He
has written an extensive report
entitled, “REFLUX GONE FOREVER”,
Natural Acid Reflux Remedies”.
He explains how the proper application
of herbs, health store items,
meditation, diet and exercise,
can heal acid reflux, gerd and
heartburn. For more information
go to http://www.refluxgoneforever.com
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