Annabelle Lee - The Ultimate Grain-Free Cookbook: Sugar-Free, Starch-Free, Whole Food Recipes from My California Country Kitchen

Copyright 2018 by Annabelle Lee

Photos on pages x, 133, and 239 by Derek Hackett

Cover photo and all other photos by Jacob Lee

Photo styling by Jahara Singh

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lee, Annabelle, (fashion model), author.

Title: The ultimate grain-free cookbook : sugar-free, starch-free, whole food from my California country kitchen / Annabelle Lee.

Description: New York, NY : Skyhorse Publishing, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018005611| ISBN 9781510729490 (hardcover : alk. paper) |

ISBN 9781510729483 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Gluten-free diet--Recipes. | Sugar-free diet--Recipes. |

LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC RM237.86 .L43 2018 | DDC 641.5/639311--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018005611

Cover design by Mary Ann Smith

Cover photograph by Jacob Lee

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-2949-0

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-2948-3

Printed in China

I would like to dedicate this book to those of you, who, like me, feel fairly confident that we will always be a work in progress.

I believe life is too short to give up our fun and too long to give up our health, so I choose to keep both!

Contents

Preface

T he journey to bringing this book to print has been a bit of a long and winding road for me. Ill save you the details; however, I want you to know that over the years that have passed during this hike, my purpose for bringing you this book has not so much changed, but has grown. Its grown into something much more meaningful to me than simply sharing some thoughts and recipes. Lord knows, there are enough great recipes floating around to fulfill almost anyones desires. So, simply bringing you more recipes or telling you to eat more fruits, vegetables, protein, and healthy fats is kind of preaching to the choir for many of you. What can be a bit difficult is figuring out a sustainable way to do this in our fast-paced world full of temptation, misinformation, and confusing diet suggestions, right?

My hope is that this book will actually help to change the process and make navigating what should be an enjoyable part of your life easier. I hope this book helps you feel better, have more energy, and even lose some weight, without stressing over perfect meal plans and hard to follow diet-cult strategies. I hope youll learn that, while breaking emotional ties to food is important, enjoying your childhood favorites with my recipes can be fun and even healthy. I hope to encourage you to have more confidence and courage in your kitchen, by simply learning easy and unique ways to prepare real human food, the delicious gifts from nature that are meant to provide humankind a happy, healthy life.

Over the years Ive learned that the Universe is certainly not on my timeframe, and while it can be excruciatingly frustrating at times, Ive also learned to trust the Universe, just as Ive learned to trust the divinity of nature for my food source. Some great things happened during the time I was not-so-patiently waiting for publishers and contract changes. For one, the natural foods market has exploded, giving us more buying options than ever. Among other foods, we now have an array of whole food flours and sweeteners to choose from, with more competitive pricing, making this type of baking even more fun. When I wrote my cupcake book The California Country Gals Sweet Secrets: Real Food Cupcakes , I used blanched almonds and shredded coconut and the food processor. Now, most of these recipes can be made with ground flours and your blender. I also decided to include My Favorite Basics section to show you what has helped make living a whole foods lifestyle easier for me.

Well, it may be true that all good things come to those who wait. While I was waiting on publishing changes, I know more of you have been waiting on a book like this. So, I welcome you to My California Country Kitchen , and I hope youll find its been worth the wait.

Wishing you lots of love, sunshine, and good health,

Annabelle

xo

Introduction

I d like to begin by answering a few questions you may have: Am I a doctor, a scientist, a nutritionistor even a veterinarian? No. Am I a celebrity or VIP? Well... no. Am I a triathlete, bungee jumper, or marathon runner? Umm... no. Well then, who am I? Outside of my family, who loves me for being meand maybe my dogs who might miss a meal if Im not aroundIm really just a curious, health-conscious person by nature, who took some time out of my life to read a lot of books and papers to educate myself about health, food, and nutrition, while experimenting in the kitchen. This was important to me because I wanted to raise healthy children and for many years Id also been managing what doctors refer to as auto-immune conditions.

For decades, I had mysterious knee pain with swelling, along with widespread body and joint pain. Eventually, I had wacky hormone levels, sleepless nights, tummy troubles, and other delightful symptoms. Tests confirmed past viral/bacterial infections and nutritional deficiencies, and, finally, a doctor of rheumatology suggested I had lupus. Lupus, like other mystery illnesses, is usually diagnosed on symptoms and a positive blood marker that indicates an autoimmune attack in the body somewhere. While Im not sure I agree with this specific label, it was clear my body needed help. Prior years of my own research had already led me to conclude that a healthy body is far too smart to suddenly begin attacking itself; therefore Ive come to believe the vast majority of these types of diseases manifest from previous or current infections brought on by common (and some not-so-common) pathogens and toxins. Depending upon the type of pathogen, where it migrates to, a persons individual weaknesses (genetic and deficiencies), and the germs ability to hide, transform, and adapt for its survival (hence, super bugs) determines the illness. With these thoughts, I chose to decline a form of oral chemotherapy and painkillers, which was mainstream medicines treatment offered to me. Instead I embarked upon more research and a determination to vastly step up what I already thought was a fairly healthy lifestyle, all in an attempt to change and control my symptoms without the help of Western medicines drugs. While I dont know that I will ever completely clear my body of resistant pathogens, my vigilance to correct my bodys weaknesses and heighten my immune system has remarkably reduced my symptoms and kept me from even so much as contracting a cold or flu in over a decade.