Port Washington resident Cathleen Seaquist and her sister Tina Ellerby recently collaborated on a cookbook called Now Heal This: Eating To Save Your Life. The cookbook contains more than 175 grain-free, gluten-free and sugar-free recipes. As part of their “Cooking and Recipes for Healthy Living Month,” The Dolphin Bookshop & Cafe will hold a launch and book signing on Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Thomas Edison once said, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” This is the principle upon which Ellerby and Seaquist build their belief system.
Now Heal This is designed to help people maximize their body’s ability to heal and maintain wellness and to inspire home chefs.
Low-glycemic eating is not a new concept. It is the general premise behind the Atkin’s diet, the diet promoted by the book Wheat Belly and the Paleo diet, though there are differences. Ellerby explained, “We differ from Paleo eaters, predominantly by having lower-glycemic foods as our staples. We avoid things such as honey, and higher carb, higher starch veggies and fruits.”
She continued, “We also use more fat—organic and raw—when possible for milks and cheeses. Most recipes are easily adaptable by Paleo followers, as they are adept at converting recipes to match their lifestyle, the same way we do.”
Many recipes in the book only require slight tweaks to what you might be used to. For example, the Cheesy, Creamy, Zucchini Soup uses coconut flour instead of all-purpose flour as a thickener, while A Tisket…A Biscuit replaces white flour with a combination of almond, chickpea and coconut flour. Many of the recipes are naturally grain- and sugar-free, such as the Strawberry Salsa, Avocado Relish Flank Steak, Devilish Eggs made with homemade mayonnaise and Cobb Salad Parfait. None of the dishes are lacking in flavor.
At the bottom of each page is a suggestion on how to alter the recipe, either an ingredient or a means of preparation or a way to serve it, meant to inspire readers to play with their options. There are also fun and useful facts on every page. For example, the fact on the “Cool-As-A-Cucumba” Dip page is “Do not store cucumbers near fruit. Fruits emit ethylene gas causing cucumbers to rot quickly.”
The book goes beyond recipes and includes advice on how to improve your entire lifestyle, beyond diet. The authors also provide a list of recommended reading at the end to delve even deeper into the hows and whys of their recommendations.
Ellerby, who currently resides in Florida, is the author of several children’s books. For most of her adult life, she has suffered from an assortment of medical ailments, until she discovered the answer to healing could be found in the types of food that she ate. With the advice of a holistic healer, Dr. Michael Balas, Ellerby changed her diet and quickly experienced improvement in her health.
Ellerby soon formed a grain-free, sugar-free eating club. Recipe-sharing and her efforts to modify existing recipes eventually led to the development of Now Heal This.
Coauthor Seaquist, who resides in Port Washington with her husband and daughter, attended the New York College of Health Professions in Syosset and became a licensed massage therapist. She found her niche in aromatherapy and owns and operates a successful aromatherapy product line called Healing Hunny, sold in many natural markets, including Whole Foods.
In 2013, the Long Island Crisis Center named Seaquist Person of the Year for her support of the Bellmore-based 24/7 suicide prevention and crisis intervention hotline.
Seeing the great improvements in her sister’s health, Seaquist embraced the same eating plan for herself and her family. Her passion is helping others and coauthoring this venture was a natural progression.
“My favorite recipe is the Lemon Heaven Bars. They are fabulous,” said Seaquist. She isexcited to share the confection with visitors who attend the book signing at the Dolphin Bookshop.
“I practically live at North Shore Farms,” Seaquist said. “I run a Farmigo [an online farmers market] community at Beacon Church and always hit the organic marketplace on Saturdays at the Town Dock. Gotta get all my local organic sustainable foods.”
Ellerby gives this piece of advice to those looking to improve their diets: “Read, read and read more. Learn about the importance of eliminating rapid rise spiking blood sugar in [your] daily diet,” she said. “All sickness starts in the gut. We easily throw that off and cause our immune system to suffer. The trickle down [concept is something] we are all familiar with. We can do great healing by changing the foods [we eat].”
Now Heal This is available for purchase on Amazon. For more information about the book, visit www.2wellnessnow.com or www.facebook.com/nowhealthis.
The Dolphin Bookshop is located at 299 Main St. For more details about the book signing, call 516-767-2650 or visit www.thedolphinbookshop.com.
