Ratatouille (the dish, not the Disney movie)

My favorite thing about summer at the clinic is lunchtime. In the interest of eating well, decreasing stress, and solidifying our relationships, we cook lunch in teams. Every team has a day, so we are constantly eating fabulous, unique dishes and we each only have to cook once per week. Most of the time we also use this as an excuse to try new recipes. It's just another aspect of the wonderful culture that Dr. Frank and Laure have built here at the Frank Clinic!

Dr. Holstein and I make lunch on Thursdays and we always try to come up with something sumptuous but simple. A few of the recipes we have tried out are crockpot barbecue chicken, spaghetti squash with vegan chili, and of course the angel food cake I made for her birthday found its way in there as well.


Like many Disneygenarians out there, I have wanted to try to make Ratatouille since seeing the film. It's naturally paleo and also vegan and is great when you want to feed a whole group of people. This recipe comes from The Comfort of Cooking.

LAYERED RATATOUILLE

YIELD: Makes 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 onion, finely chopped *You won't find onion in any of my recipes, I left this out*
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree
¼ tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small eggplant, such as Italian or Chinese *I recommend actually getting a small one, the large ones present an issue when you start to layer everything. In fact, try to be sure that all of your veggies are approximately the same diameter*
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 long red bell pepper
Few sprigs fresh thyme *We were out so I used rosemary. Basil would also be fabulous*
Salt and pepper

Parchment paper

Look at all of that color!

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish, approximately 10 inches across the long way. Drop the sliced garlic cloves and chopped onion into the sauce, stir in oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, one tablespoon of the olive oil, and season the sauce generously with salt and pepper.

Trim the ends off the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. Trim the top of the red pepper and remove the core.

On a mandoline, adjustable-blade slicer or with a very sharp knife, cut the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper into very thin slices, approximately 1/16-inch thick.

*Or if you don't have fancy kitchen tools, do the best you can with a knife. My slices were anywhere between 1/16 and 3/8 of an inch thick*

Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables. You may have a handful leftover that do not fit.

Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish.

Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside.

Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them.

If you don't want to get too fancy with it, you can actually just bake the vegetables in a large dish, what some people call "Country Ratatouille". Either way, it's colorful and delicious and is an excellent way to incorporate several different kinds of vegetables. I arranged mine in two different patterns, since cooking at the office required a double batch.

Bon Appetit!
Dr. Chelsea

Easy Nutritional Jello/Gummies (no artificial anything!)

What if I told you that you could make delicious jello and/or gummies for your kids (or yourself!) that were completely free of artificial sugar, food dyes, and flavorings? What if I also told you that it is incredibly easy?

Laure adapted this recipe from the fabulous people over at Bulletproof (yes, the people who put butter in coffee, we will explore this later). This particular version uses their Collagelatin, but with some tinkering can also be made with grassfed gelatin.

Why Collagelatin? It is a readily digested source of essential amino acids (13g of protein per Tbsp), promotes healthy joints and skin, and ignites bone and tissue repair. So who may benefit from it? Everyone! In particular,

• children (especially picky eaters who avoid meat)
• athletes and anyone else who exercises
• post-surgical patients and anyone with a fracture
• people with joint pain or arthritis

This can be made with any kind of fruit, but this week Laure chose blueberries.

Ingredients:

2.5 cups fruit (fresh or frozen)

1/4 cup lemon juice (optional-good for berries)

1/4 cup water + 1/2 cup water (separated)

2.5 Tablespoons collagelatin (for jello) OR 3 Tablespoons collagelatin (for gummies)

3 Tablespoons honey or other natural sweetener (buy local whenever possible!)

Instructions:

1. Add fruit and 1/4 cup of water and lemon juice (optional) to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer on medium heat.

2. To a measuring cup add 1/2 cup of water  and add 2.5 OR 3 Tablespoons of collagelatin (see above) and allow the gelatin to bloom for 1 minute.

3. Add the hot fruit mixture and the gelatin to a blender and beat (or puree if you have large fruit chunks).

4. Add honey and any additional flavorings (stay tuned for coffee gummies) to the mixture in the blender and mix again.

5. Pour into a dish (8x8 or 9x9 works well) and refrigerate until firm.

So what are you waiting for?

**The Frank Clinic of Chiropractic does not obtain any sponsorship from Bulletproof, we simply enjoy their forward-thinking**

Staff Bio Series: Dr. Celeste Holstein

My name is Celeste Holstein and I am Dr. Frank's daughter. Dad says he knew I would be a healer of some kind from a very young age. I was always the child that knew if the dog was sick or if our goldfish was going to die. I was also the child that couldn't be told what to do, and my dad understood that and never pushed me toward chiropractic. I always knew I was going to be a doctor, but what kind was to be determined.

I decided to go into pre-med with the goal of being an OBGYN. I wanted to change the way birth happened in the hospital. While I was at New College we had a midwife give a lecture and she talked about how managed care and malpractice were making the OBGYN's in town all retire because they could no longer practice evidence based medicine and their hands were tied by insurance or hospital policy. She talked about how the midwife model of care was much different than the medical model. Midwives believed that birth was natural and a woman's body was made with the wisdom to birth. It was a light bulb moment for me! It sounded a bit like...<gasp> what chiropractic philosophy says about the body!

I immediately decided to transfer schools to become a nurse midwife. Nothing worked, transcripts were lost, the program was full, etc. While I tried to trudge through I started working with Dad in the office therapy department. I remember spending a lot of time with a few new car accident patients who were in serious pain, out of it, grumpy, maybe even a bit rude. Over 2 months time I saw these people transform into happy, bright, grateful people as they healed. I realized maybe I never knew what Dad was doing in his office in the first place. I immediately asked that he hire someone to do my job, and move me in as his transcriptionist so I could watch what  he was doing. I was immediately bitten by the chiropractic bug.

I changed my major back to pre-med at USF and things flowed beautifully. I graduated with my biology degree and went straight to Life University, dad's Alma Mater. I worked hard, learned everything I could because I wanted to be the best doctor I could, and before I knew it, it was graduation time and the Dean was on the phone telling me to write my Valedictorian speech.

How does this whole story come full circle? Chiropractic philosophy says that the body has the ability to heal itself if we just remove the interference. Our goal is to allow the body communicate optimally from brain to body. No time is this more important than we are growing a new human! The pregnant body undergoes enormous change through gestation and quite a bit of that anatomical and biomechanical change happens to the spine. This is precisely why so many midwives advocate chiropractic care for their patients. Through better spinal and pelvic alignment there are often
easier pregnancies, shorter deliveries with less need for intervention, and less stress put on babies during delivery.

My initial desire to help moms achieve more natural births has been met, just on a different path than I originally expected. Now I see pregnant women from preconception through their deliveries and into their aftercare as a chiropractor. Of course, I also see their newborns and their grandparents as well, but prenatal care will always hold a special place in my heart!

Celeste Holstein, D.C.

Lemon Berry Angel Food Layer Cake GF DF SF

Angel food cake is one of my favorite things to bake gluten free! One of the biggest complaints about gluten free baking is that the product is too heavy; angel food solves that with the whipped egg whites, adding air and height and rising as beautifully as a full-gluten cake. Not to mention that it is naturally dairy free and absolutely delicious! This is the quintessential summer dessert and you can make it so many different ways!

This recipe comes from the King Arthur Flour website. I would recommend preparing it a day ahead if you can so everything chills properly; the angel food cake requires a minimum of 2 hours of cooling time and coconut cream always holds together better when it has had time to chill. If you're going to create all of the components today, go right now and stick a metal or glass bowl in your freezer for the cream and put the cans of coconut milk in the fridge. Also read all of the instructions first, I missed the note about having to sift the flour with the sugar and cornstarch and had to do it on the fly.

Lemon Berry Angel Food Layer Cake GF DF SF

King Arthur Angel Food Cake

• 3/4 cup King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour or ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice flour blend*
• 3/4 cup Baker's Special Sugar** or superfine sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups egg whites (10 to 11 large eggs, separated, yolks discarded or reserved for another use)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract or Fiori di Sicilia, optional 
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Baker's Special Sugar** or superfine sugar
• **Can you substitute regular granulated sugar? Yes; it'll take much longer for the egg whites to attain their require volume, and the cake's texture won't be as fine.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in its lowest position.

1. Whisk together and then sift the flour, cornstarch, and 3/4 cup sugar. Set aside.

1. In a large, clean (grease-free) mixing bowl, beat together the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until foamy.
2. Add the flavorings. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer and continue beating until the egg whites have increased in volume, and thickened.
3. Gradually beat in the 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar, a bit at a time, until the meringue holds soft peaks.
4. Gently fold in the sifted flour/sugar blend ¼ cup at a time, just until incorporated.
5. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10" round angel food pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter and remove any large air bubbles.
6. Bake the cake until it's a deep golden brown, and the top springs back when pressed lightly, about 45 minutes.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan onto the neck of a heatproof bottle or funnel, to suspend the cake upside down as it sets and cools, about 2 hours.
8. Remove the cake from the pan by running a thin spatula or knife around the edges of the pan, and turning the cake out onto a plate.
9. Cut the cake with a serrated knife or angel food cake comb. If it's difficult to cut, wet the knife and wipe it clean between slices.
10. Serve with whipped cream and fruit. Wrap any leftovers airtight, and store at room temperature.
11. Yield: one 10" cake, about 12 to 16 servings.
12. *Make your own blend
    Many of our gluten-free recipes use our King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour, which includes ingredients that reduce the grittiness sometimes found in gluten-free baked goods. Our flour also increases the shelf life of your treats, keeping them fresh longer. 
13. 
    The following make-at-home blend, featuring stabilized brown rice flour, works pretty well when substituted; and it tastes better than a blend using regular brown rice flour. 
14. 
    Whisk together 6 cups (28 1/2 ounces) King Arthur stabilized brown rice flour; 2 cups (10 3/4 ounces) potato starch; and 1 cup (4 ounces) tapioca flour or tapioca starch. Store airtight at room temperature. 
15. Note: You can substitute white rice flour for the brown rice flour if you like; it'll make your baked goods grittier (unless you manage to find a finely ground version).

Additional Ingredients:
12 oz. raspberry jam

Fruit of choice

1 package organic blueberries

1 package organic raspberries

Whipped Coconut Cream

4 cans of full fat coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen Organic)

1/4 cup of sugar

6 teaspoons lemon extract

This is not a paid advertisement, simply a celebration because I have always been a huge fan of King Arthur products. I also happen to feel that trying to combine
8 different kinds of gluten free flours to get the right consistency is a pain, so any opportunity to use a great blend is highly cherished! I substituted the 2 tsp  vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp almond for 1 tsp vanillaand 1 1/4 tsp lemon extract to give this a bright flavor.

Like many of you, I'm a home cook with limited space, so I don't just keep superfine sugar in my 

cabinet, and I wasn't about to go buy some just for this recipe. The solution? Throwing cane sugar

in the food processor! 

I recommend processing it in small amounts to make sure 

it grinds evenly and when you go to sift the ingredients 

together, this doesn't happen.

When it is ground properly and sifted, it will be lovely 

and fine, and actually resemble cake flour 

like this.

It will be very tempting to stop beating the egg whites

at this point, keep going a little bit longer!

This is as close as I have ever been able to get to perfect "soft peaks" in a meringue

I panicked a bit when it said to suspend the cake upside down on a funnel; exactly which way

is upside down for an angel food cake? So I settled for placing it on a wire rack and extending

the cooling time a bit. See how it rises so beautifully? You would never know it's gluten free!

Since I had time, this project got separated into a 2-day process in my kitchen, but you can 

easily construct the coconut whipped cream while the cake is baking or cooling (it's quick

and easy if you chilled the bowl ahead of time). For this cake, I omitted the usual vanilla

and cinnamon and instead added 4 teaspoons of lemon extract. I multiplied my usual recipe

by 4 because of the size of the cake, so you may only need 1-2, just taste it as you go and

adjust accordingly.

Whipped Coconut Cream is a staple in my house because it is quick, easy, and decadent!

Knowing this dessert could spend some time sitting out, I opted for layering in a trifle dish.

Coconut cream melts just like standard whipped cream, so you can't leave it out for long. 

If you cut the cake into fewer layers (2-3) and can freeze the construction before serving, you

may be able to make a layer cake like this one. For this cake, cut the cooled angel food into 4-5

sections horizontally. Place the first piece of cake on the bottom of the dish, then layer in coconut

cream, jam, and berries, followed by the next layer of cake.

Get creative with the decoration on top!

Happy Birthday Dr. Holstein!

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Bon Appetit,
Dr. Chelsea

Post note: I made another variety for Laure's birthday too! She doesn't do well with gum additives like guar gum that are in coconut milk, so I improvised a little on the cream. Yes, I have tried using the gum-free coconut milk, no it does not set up properly. However, I found that the So Delicious coconut milk "yogurt" is gum free!

Instead of using raspberry jam and my coconut cream, I used lemon curd (I LOVE Stonewall Kitchen) and what I can only in good consciousness refer to as blueberry "cream" sauce (see below). In addition, I used 2 Tablespoons of lemon extract with 1/4 Tablespoon of almond extract.

Blueberry "Cream" Sauce (recipe in progress)
Ingredients:
4 cups blueberries
1 large banana
1 cup unsweet coconut milk "yogurt"
1 cup coconut palm sugar (or regular sugar or honey)
6 drops lemon essential oil or 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice (to taste)
2 cups Kerry Gold butter or dairy-free butter

Instructions:
1. Add all sauce ingredients to blender.
2. Puree until smooth.
3. Alternate layers of angel food cake with lemon curd, blueberries, and blueberry sauce.
4. Garnish with berries and lemon slices.
5. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate until serving.

If I was going to do this again, I would simmer the berries first and skim off the skins to improve the texture of the sauce. You could also easily skip the banana and/or butter and use more "yogurt", or if you're fine with gums go ahead and blend the berries into my coconut cream. Let me know if you create a variation you like!

Staff Bio Series: Dr. Chelsea

I grew up in a small town in Connecticut where my mom's stories from her job as an operating room nurse were what first inspired me to take a closer look at the human body. At 17, I was already committed to changing the world as a healthcare practitioner and at the time, it seemed the best way to do that would be as a pediatric surgeon. I had done some extensive shadowing in the medical field, including spending a day with my mom in the OR and had no idea what chiropractic was.

The first time I walked into the Frank Clinic that year, I had no idea it would set the stage for the rest of my life; my whole world turned upside down!

My uncle, Dr. Frank explained to me that chiropractors help the body heal itself from above, down, inside, out by removing interference to the communication between the brain and the body, primarily by way of adjusting the spine. No one had ever told me that the body could be helped to heal itself without invasive outside input and it completely shifted my focus. Why should I fight to fix almost irreparable insults to the body with the potential for catastrophic side effects when I could promote internal self-healing? I left knowing with deep certainty that this was to be my path. Two years later I was able to spend a summer off school at the University of Connecticut working at the Frank Clinic and fell in love with the culture of the office.

While I was in chiropractic school at Life University, I continued to follow my passion for pediatrics. I was fortunate to have the privilege to complete extensive coursework in prenatal and pediatric care, particularly for young children with neurodevelopmental issues like Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other neurological concerns, as well as completing my senior internship with Drew Rubin, D.C. D.A.C.C.P, my professor, clinical instructor, and instructor for the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). I recently completed my Webster Technique Certification for pregnancy, in which I have already had training through my education, but now it's official (Dr. Frank and Dr. Holstein were already certified). Chiropractic care for infants and children looks very different than it does for adults, and often involves using the amount of pressure you would use to touch your eyelid. If you have any questions about chiropractic care for pregnancy and children, please never hesitate to ask, and know that children are always welcome in my office.

Outside of the office, I spend time painting, making jewelry, kayaking, hiking, practicing yoga, paleo diet blogging, and spending time with my grandma.

It has been a long journey to end up back at the Frank Clinic, but I feel like I am home here. The fact that up to 5 of my family members show up every day (including Dr. Holstein's daughters) helps, but also our incredible staff have made me truly feel welcome over the past year. Meeting patients, new and old, is a true blessing which I am so thankful for. If we haven't become acquainted yet, I look forward to it!

Wishing you health and happiness!
Dr. Chelsea

Staff Bio Series: Dr. Mark Frank

Greetings Everybody.
This is Dr. Frank answering a question Dr. Chelsea asked about who we are and what we do in the office. To answer this I wanted to talk about the origins of the concepts that I deliver in the office .

I have always loved the multiple approaches that different doctors and healers use to assist in the body's healing. What I have found is every body is created with the ability to heal. As practitioners we have just learned various approaches to nurture and support this inborn healing mechanism. Our goal is to find out what is interfering with this self- healing mechanism in all of us and what can turn it back on.  In fact this has been my passion since 1976 when I was introduced to Paul Pitchford.

Paul was a guest lecturer at University of Idaho where I was studying Wildlife Biology. Paul introduced me to acupuncture and changed my diet from a typical college student diet to a whole foods plant based diet. I noticed immediate benefits. He suggested I attend a week- long conference called the Pacific Gathering of Northwest Healers. It was there that I was exposed to dozens of wholistic health practitioners including Chiropractors, Naturopaths, Homeopaths and Herbalists. Instantly I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life. I was told in those early days to get my DC degree first as naturopathy was only legal in 11 states.

I received my degree in 1981 but have continued to study to integrate all those pathways of Chiropractic, Nutrition, Acupuncture and Homeopathy. All of them have amazing contributions to nurture the healing homeostatic force within each of us. Some have much greater application in certain conditions. I have noticed that children respond especially well to homeopathic practice and like taking those medicines where giving an infant nutritional supplements or herbs can be virtually impossible. With future episodes of this question we will explore each modality and where I have found its best applications.

Mark Frank, D.C.

Staff Bio Series: Laure Frank

I am Laure Frank, co-owner of the Frank Clinic and wife of the good, Dr. Mark Frank for 38 years. I am the Office Manager, Book keeper, Grammie, Daycare provider and resident historian. So, I will give you a bit of background....

We opened our first practice in 1981 at the corner of 301 and 54-W. Three years later we moved and set up a new clinic in the Westgate shopping Center on 54W and Allen Road. We were there for 19 years treating a wide variety of patients with Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Nutrition and Lifestyle management. In 2003 we moved to our current location across the street from Florida Hospital in Zephyrhills. In the last 5 years we have been especially blessed to have our daughter, Celeste Holstein D.C. and my niece, Chelsea Drda D.C. join us. The three doctors round out the practice beautifully with Dr. Frank doing more of the “osseous” manipulation, Acupuncture, NCR, Dry Needling and Nutrition and Dr. Holstein and Dr. Chelsea seeing more women, children, infants and families. All three doctors are well versed in treating with “hands on”, “light touch”, and instrument adjusting.

We have state of the art equipment including 2 of the famous Cox flexion/distraction tables, 4 Leander tables, 2 different types of decompression tables, ATM (Active Therapeutic Movement) rehabilitation unit, electrical stimulation therapy, Ultrasound, as well as exercise programs and Massage.

I have been at the heart of the clinic since we began 35 years ago, I have worked at the front desk, filed insurance claims and worked in our therapy dept. Dr. Frank and I have given numerous Lifestyle and Nutrition classes and Workshops and love guiding patients down the road to better health. I have prepared many meals to serve to our students to show them how healthy food can be delicious too!

I currently spend the majority of my time helping raise two of our grand daughters, continue to keep the books and do my part to keep the office running smoothly. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't change a thing :)

Cheers to your health!

Laure