Sprouts, Sprouts, Everywhere
I went to the Studio City Unitarian Universalist church yesterday as planned and the Earth Day service went really well. I was trying to think of something I could do for the Earth Day Lent -- but I'll get there in a minute. I always walk to church and afterwards I walked to Whole Foods to pick up some more sweet potatoes.
When I got home I did some cooking -- I made veggie soup, black beans with wild rice, raw bread, raw green smoothie crackers, dehydrated sprouted lentils, buckwheat groats, and spelt groats, and some slightly dehydrated kiwi slices.
The soup had leftover veggies I needed to use - a bunch of collard greens, carrots, fennel, half a tomato, some sun-dried tomato, a little bit of corn, some yellow pepper, a couple mushrooms, veggie broth (I use the concentrated kind out of a jar that I mix with water - there is no need for all that waste buying packages of veggie broth!), garlic, and seasonings. It was really good! I made a small pot and ate that for lunch.
The black beans and rice were made of a can of black beans, 2 cups cooked wild rice, a tiny bit of corn, garlic, seasonings, and a little water cooked in a pan until the rice and beans absorbed the flavorings. I really just made this to have some on hand for snacks, to eat with salad, etc. Easy, healthy emergency food.
I had sprouted some buckwheat groats, spelt berries, lentils, and quinoa. I still haven't done anything with the quinoa but I split the buckwheat and spelt in half. The first half I used to make raw bread. I took my food processor and put the sprouts in there and added some zucchini and banana and processed into a thick pasty dough. I have no idea what the measurements are but you'll have a pretty good idea if it seems doughy or not. I don't know why everyone is so afraid of making raw bread -- it's so easy! It doesn't have to rise so you don't have to get it exactly right. I also added some cinnamon and a few goji berries. And that's it! I put it on some parchment paper and dehydrated it for 4-5 hours, flipped it over, and then on really low heat overnight.
Here's a picture of the bread (on the left) and my green crackers (on the right).
The crackers are pretty much a dehydrated green smoothie and just a way to use extra produce and make it portable. It has strawberry tops, lots of kale stems, spirulina, kiwi ends, and several clementines that were starting to look unappetizing. That's it! I processed them until smooth and dehydrated them for the same amount of time as the bread. You could do less and they would turn out more like fruit leather or for a longer time and they'll be more crackery. Up to you.
The rest of the buckwheat and spelt sprouts I just mixed with a little bit of blackstrap molasses (just a little) and dehydrated for 4-5 hours until slightly crunchy. I can now use these as cereal - just the way they are -- blend them up to make a finer cereal or even flour, or make them into raw bread later.
I took the sprouted lentils and mixed them with a little Braggs, cumin, and chili powder and dehydrated the same amount of time as the other sprouts. Now they can be used as salad topper or later made into a lentil pate or whatever.
Those sprouts are being kept in an old salsa container. Here's an environmentally friendly tip for you -- save your jars! Wash them out, peel the stickers off, and re-use. I never have to buy any mason jars, etc., because I buy food that comes in them. I even save little things like garlic jars and end up putting sauces in them. I saved my lemon juice jar and use it to put salad dressings in. Save and reuse!!
I went to my audition and then came home and made some more roasted sweet potatoes. I didn't take a picture of my dinner because it was exactly like Saturday - salad and sweet potatoes. But it was better than Saturday's dinner because of my dinner companion -- my mom via Skype!
This morning I got up and immediately put on my workout clothes and went out for a walk. While I was walking I saw these amazing trees with crazy red flowers (I guess they're flowers?).
Aren't those cool? And while I was walking I thought of something I can do for my Earth Day Lent -- pick up trash while I'm on my walk. So I started today and I even added a little vigor to my walk by picking things up and running back to the last trash can I had seen. It does make me sad to see that people still litter (WTF, guys?!) but I'm glad to have thought of another way to help.
In my next post I'm going to talk more about the McDougall Program, Mary's Mini Diet, my expanding theory of disease, and my evolving ideas about how to find the best diet/lifestyle/program for you. And then I'll do another post in the future about all the things I'm doing to help the environment and steps that you can take, both big and small.
When I got home I did some cooking -- I made veggie soup, black beans with wild rice, raw bread, raw green smoothie crackers, dehydrated sprouted lentils, buckwheat groats, and spelt groats, and some slightly dehydrated kiwi slices.
The soup had leftover veggies I needed to use - a bunch of collard greens, carrots, fennel, half a tomato, some sun-dried tomato, a little bit of corn, some yellow pepper, a couple mushrooms, veggie broth (I use the concentrated kind out of a jar that I mix with water - there is no need for all that waste buying packages of veggie broth!), garlic, and seasonings. It was really good! I made a small pot and ate that for lunch.
The black beans and rice were made of a can of black beans, 2 cups cooked wild rice, a tiny bit of corn, garlic, seasonings, and a little water cooked in a pan until the rice and beans absorbed the flavorings. I really just made this to have some on hand for snacks, to eat with salad, etc. Easy, healthy emergency food.
I had sprouted some buckwheat groats, spelt berries, lentils, and quinoa. I still haven't done anything with the quinoa but I split the buckwheat and spelt in half. The first half I used to make raw bread. I took my food processor and put the sprouts in there and added some zucchini and banana and processed into a thick pasty dough. I have no idea what the measurements are but you'll have a pretty good idea if it seems doughy or not. I don't know why everyone is so afraid of making raw bread -- it's so easy! It doesn't have to rise so you don't have to get it exactly right. I also added some cinnamon and a few goji berries. And that's it! I put it on some parchment paper and dehydrated it for 4-5 hours, flipped it over, and then on really low heat overnight.
Here's a picture of the bread (on the left) and my green crackers (on the right).
The crackers are pretty much a dehydrated green smoothie and just a way to use extra produce and make it portable. It has strawberry tops, lots of kale stems, spirulina, kiwi ends, and several clementines that were starting to look unappetizing. That's it! I processed them until smooth and dehydrated them for the same amount of time as the bread. You could do less and they would turn out more like fruit leather or for a longer time and they'll be more crackery. Up to you.
The rest of the buckwheat and spelt sprouts I just mixed with a little bit of blackstrap molasses (just a little) and dehydrated for 4-5 hours until slightly crunchy. I can now use these as cereal - just the way they are -- blend them up to make a finer cereal or even flour, or make them into raw bread later.
I took the sprouted lentils and mixed them with a little Braggs, cumin, and chili powder and dehydrated the same amount of time as the other sprouts. Now they can be used as salad topper or later made into a lentil pate or whatever.
Those sprouts are being kept in an old salsa container. Here's an environmentally friendly tip for you -- save your jars! Wash them out, peel the stickers off, and re-use. I never have to buy any mason jars, etc., because I buy food that comes in them. I even save little things like garlic jars and end up putting sauces in them. I saved my lemon juice jar and use it to put salad dressings in. Save and reuse!!
I went to my audition and then came home and made some more roasted sweet potatoes. I didn't take a picture of my dinner because it was exactly like Saturday - salad and sweet potatoes. But it was better than Saturday's dinner because of my dinner companion -- my mom via Skype!
This morning I got up and immediately put on my workout clothes and went out for a walk. While I was walking I saw these amazing trees with crazy red flowers (I guess they're flowers?).
Aren't those cool? And while I was walking I thought of something I can do for my Earth Day Lent -- pick up trash while I'm on my walk. So I started today and I even added a little vigor to my walk by picking things up and running back to the last trash can I had seen. It does make me sad to see that people still litter (WTF, guys?!) but I'm glad to have thought of another way to help.
In my next post I'm going to talk more about the McDougall Program, Mary's Mini Diet, my expanding theory of disease, and my evolving ideas about how to find the best diet/lifestyle/program for you. And then I'll do another post in the future about all the things I'm doing to help the environment and steps that you can take, both big and small.
