Gluten Free Fridays: Pork & Green Chili Stew

Some of my readers have asked me what is the best diet for egg quality? I think that you have to take fertility diet recommendations and find what works for you. Listen to your body after you eat certain foods. Do they make you bloated, for example?

I have had good results with Chinese medicine for gynecological problems. In Chinese medicine, it is recommended to avoid wheat, along with other foods, for optimum fertility. Angela Wu, author of Fertility Wisdom recommends the following:

Avoid

• Wheat
• Refined Sweets
• Dairy
• Processed or bleached foods
• Coffee and soft drinks
• Alcohol
• Iced, chilled, or frozen foods or drinks
• Deep fried foods

Foods like wheat and dairy are considered "cooling" foods in Chinese medicine, and you don't want anything cooling off your reproductive organs! Wheat and dairy are also considered "damp" foods or phlem producing foods. These are kinda vague and mysterious terms to Westerners. When I stopped eating dairy, the first thing I noticed is that my nose cleared up. Very literally, dairy creates phlem. In the reproductive organs, I think excesses of these foods can exacerbate problems like fibroids and polyps. Cold, damp, and/or phlem producing foods basically restrict blood flow to the uterus and ovaries or life force energy flow to these organs, called Chi or Qi in Chinese. Wheat and dairy are staples in the average Western diet, so you can imagine what it does to our reproductive organs! When maximizing your fertility, you want to make sure you have good blood flow to your reproductive organs. Diet is only one of the key elements to improving blood flow and Qi to your girly parts. But enough blathering, let's eat!

Recipe Remodel

When I get bored with my usual meals and all my cookbooks, I get on the web and search for new recipes. This week on Gluten Free Fridays, I'll show you how to remodel a gluten laden recipe to make it gluten free and delicious. I found this recipe for Pork & Green Chili Stew on Rec.ipezaar (wwwdotrecipezaardotcom).

BEFORE RECIPE REMODEL:

Ingredients:

POTATO SOUP BASE

• 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1-2 clove garlic, minced
  
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin (or more)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or more!)
• 1 teaspoon oregano

PORK

• 1-2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper (or more)

TO FINISH

• 4-6 red potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3 (4-5 1/3 ounce) cans whole green chilies, roughly cut
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can hominy

Directions:

1. POTATO SOUP BASE: Heat oil in 2 quart saucepan, add all ingredients, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Set aside.
3. PORK Dredge pork chunks in the flour mixture, heat vegetable oil in a sturdy Dutch oven or soup pot, and cook the pork in batches till browned.
4. Once you're done, place all the pork back in the pot.
5. Add the SOUP BASE, and potatoes,chilies,chicken broth,and hominy.
6. Bring to a boil,then simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
7. Creative Additions-- For a richer flavor, add sour cream to the soup base.
8. Use shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack for garnish.
9. Serve with tortilla chips or Saltines.
10. I sometimes add Frank's Hot Sauce to MY bowl.

There are some obvious problems with this recipe, such as the flour the pork gets dredged in. I first substituted this with a gluten-free flour mix, but discovered this whole step with dredging the pork was a pain-in-the-ass, and tasted just as good without doing all that. Besides, who has time to do all that? I mean, having a baby the non-old fashion way is just plain expensive, so you have to work hard to pay off all those loans. You don't want recipes that have you laboring in the kitchen for hours. Here is my new and improved gluten-free, expedited version of this recipe:

AFTER RECIPE REMODEL:

Pork and Green Chili Stew

Ingredients:

POTATO SOUP BASE

• 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1-2 clove garlic, minced, or more
  
• 1 Tablespoon cumin (or more)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or more!)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder (or more); note, I use straight chili powder from this company, the New Mexico red mild. I like it because there is no other crap in it. You have to be careful with spices that there are not fillers you can not pronounce or contain gluten.
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of garlic salt or salt, to taste
  

PORK

• 1-2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces (1/2" cubes); note: if you don't have time to cut up pork tenderloin, substitute with ground pork. This version is shown above in the photo.
  
• season with garlic salt and fresh ground black pepper
  

TO FINISH

• 4-6 red potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3 (4-5 1/3 ounce) cans diced green chilies
  
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
  

Directions:

1. POTATO SOUP BASE: Heat oil in 2 quart saucepan, add all ingredients, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Set aside.
3. PORK Brown pork chunks on medium heat with a little vegetable oil and season with garlic salt and ground black pepper. Cook the pork in batches till all is browned.
4. Once you're done, place all the pork back in the pot with the SOUP BASE.
   
5. Add to the SOUP BASE the potatoes, chilies, chicken broth, and diced tomatoes.
6. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes to an hour uncovered until the potatoes start breaking down. Stir hard or stir with a sturdy whisk to let the potatoes naturally thicken the green chili.
   
7. Serve with sides of your choice, like guacamole, Chocolate tortilla chips (I kid you not! Probably not the best fertility food, but it's better than a chocolate bar!), and brown rice tortillas. Don't forget some slices of fresh lime too!