More on our Snacking Table (& Why We Sprout)

Our snacking table is still a success! We are getting more foods from the farmers market, and eating all of it by the end of the week. The nagging for snacks between meals has stopped almost completely too! Here we have cucumber, carrots, sliced apples, almond butter, raw corn on the cob (yes raw- it's straight from the farm and super sweet- no cooking or butter needed!), and steamed broccoli.

Here: Snap peas are a great snack since you eat the entire pod and they are sweet and crunchy, plus more watermelon, some lightly steamed broccoli with sea salt, and sprouted sunflower seeds.

A quick word about sprouting nuts: What are sprouted nuts, and why would someone want to sprout them? I learned about sprouting from Alissa Cohen's "Living on Live Food" book. Her explanation is great, so I'll just post it here:

"There are some very good reasons to soak and sprout. Soaking nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes removes their natural enzyme inhibitors: phytates and oxalates.

Sprouting greatly increases the nutritional value of these foods and makes them far more digestible because their protein is broken down into amino acids, their starches are changed into simple sugars, and their fats are converted into soluble fatty acids.

Sprouting increases the enzyme content of these foods. Even though they are initially raw, their enzymes are lying dormant. Sprouting activates them. If you do not sprout them, your body has to use its own enzymes to break up these foods.

Soaked and sprouted nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes are highly nutritious and produce an amazing amount of nourishment than otherwise would not be available."

Also, I've noticed with Brad's allergies that food he normal reacts negatively to doesn't bother him if sprouted. For instance wheat breads and tortillas bother him, but he does fine with sprouted wheat breads and tortillas. The same goes for some nuts he eats.

How do you sprout? Well, that is another post entirely. Certain foods can simply be soaked, others actually need to be sprouted. For most of the nuts and seeds we have been using at our snacking table, I simply put them in a large bowl and cover them with enough filtered water so they expand, then let them soak overnight on the kitchen counter. The next morning, rinse them well and they are officially "sprouted." The soaking obviously makes them soft, so I throw them in my dehydrator and season them (sea salt mainly, but you can use oil or other seasonings to spice them up- lime and Chile powder are good on pistachios and cashews!), and they crunch back up. This way we can receive the benefit of raw, sprouted nuts but enjoy the taste of roasted, crunchy, salted ones!

Food for Thought

I just had to share this little tidbit I learned this week. I just finished reading Michael Pollan's"Food Rules" book, and am about halfway through a book by Dr. Furhman called "Disease Proof Your Child." Both are great reads on feeding your children and family a whole foods diet- basically just feeding them real, unprocessed foods. Dr. Furhman said that at the beginning of each day they cut up some fresh fruits and veggies and put them in bowls on the kitchen table along with some selections of raw nuts. They leave this food out the whole day for the family to snack on. It's really a simple thing, but I tried it out this week and it had amazing results.

Especially since we home school, my kids seem like they are eating 24-7. And, not always the best of choices. But, I cut up several different types of raw and steamed veggies, one big bowl of fruit, and put out several different types of nuts throughout the week. The result: They stopped asking me for food between meals. They would just go over and eat what was out. They were eating raw fruits, veggies, and nuts all day long too! I found that my husband and I were going over and snacking on the produce too. And since the whole family was eating good stuff throughout the day, I didn't find myself worrying or nagging them to eat up veggies at mealtimes. I still served them, but it wasn't like that was all they were going to eat for the day, so it made me feel really relaxed.

When I got home from the market, I took about 30-40 minutes and washed all the produce and cut it up and put it in containers in the fridge. Each morning it took me all of about 5 minutes to set stuff out. I made sure to put out different stuff every day and put out stuff I know my kids like, plus some foods that they've never tried. I learned this week that Benjamin loves red bell pepper. Over the course of a couple days he ate 2 raw bell peppers himself! Bradley ate an entire jicama this week, plus an array of other great foods. Savanna really like the broccoli and kale salad. I found that I really like raw celery and carrot sticks. I've never eaten too many veggies without some sort of dip or dressing, but since they were all just out solo, I found I was munching on them throughout the day.

This week our snacking table consisted of: carrots, celery, jicama, bell pepper, kale, artichokes, peanuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, strawberries, oranges, cucumber, tomatoes, apples, cantaloupe, and peas...isn't that cool?!? Just thought I'd pass on this little tip!

Grandma's Pasta Gravy!

I have slowly been adding more meat and dairy into our diets. I am not a big meat eater- never have been. I just don't care for it, so I tend to not cook a lot of it. My kids don't do well with dairy from cows either, and Brad has his whole allergy issues. Plus, I have done too much reading about what happens to our food before it hits our tables, especially in the animal products realm, that it has been a slow adjustment for me to bring these into the home. So needless to say, our menus have been strictly limited. However, I have started to transition from the extremist view of complete abstinence from certain foods to one of an informed consumer. I have found some great local farms that sell organic, free-range, grass-fed meats that I feel good about supporting. I also buy my kids goat products which tend to be healthier not only because they are easier to digest, but because they don't contain the hormones, antibiotics, etc. that a lot of dairy products from cows contain. So, we still eat mostly a plant-based diet, but have our animal products in moderation throughout the week. The meat or dairy tend to be the side dish of most meals we make...we follow Dr. T. Colin Campbell's rule from his great nutritional study, "The China Study," which says that 90% of our diet should come from plants, 10% from animals. Anyway, the kids are doing great with the changes, and we've made some very yummy recipes lately! It feels liberating. :)

Here is my grandma's recipe for pasta gravy. You can make this without the meat or with some kind of meat substitute, but we made it with the organic ground beef from New Frontiers health food store.

Ingredients:

3 lbs ground beef

2-4 chopped garlic cloves

1 large red onion

2 large cans of tomato puree

1 large can of Italian seasoned chopped tomatoes

2 small cans of tomato sauce

Seasonings to taste: LOTS of garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasonings, oregano, and parsley

Directions:

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a small pan.

Cook meat or meat substitute, if using, and drain.

Combine the onions and garlic with the meat and all the rest of the ingredients.

Cook over low heat for several hours or put in a slow cooker for the day.

Pour over noodles, grilled or fried eggplant, use in lasagna, etc.

We poured it over fried eggplant and served it with garlic bread and salad- so good!

This recipe made enough for 2 meals (for the whole family), and we had three jars on top of that left over! We store our pasta sauce in mason jars in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Savanna and I made this yesterday- SOOO good! Not really one of my healthiest recipes, but it's seriously good!

Ingredients:

• I package of organic frozen spinach, defrosted
• 7-8 artichoke hearts, chopped (you can use the marinated kind or I just bought a bag of frozen hearts at Trader Joes and defrosted them)
• 1/2 cup of grated mozzarella cheese (you can use any kind you like- if you use soy cheese, use the Follow Your Heart brand. It's the only kind that melts. We actually used goat cheese- sounds weird, but it's really good).
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 container of Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
• garlic powder and sea salt to taste

Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil on low. Add the defrosted spinach and artichoke hearts. Stir in the Tofutti cream cheese and grated cheese and whatever spices you want until well mixed. Put this mixture in a baking dish and bake at 325 degrees until hot and cheese is melted all the way through- about 15- 20 minutes. Super fast, and super delicious!

***A friend of ours has a goat farm and she was telling us all about the benefits of using goat products over cow products. Now our family doesn't eat very much cow dairy, and I'm trying to get away from using soy products a lot, so we thought we'd give it a try. Goat's milk does have some lactose, but it does not have Casein, the protein in cow's milk. Casein is a huge allergen, and two out of the three of my kids can't tolerate it at all. Savanna really liked the goat cheese, and it tasted just like regular cheese in this dish. Even James thought it was great and ate it up- and that says a lot!

Green Smoothies

Many of us are looking to find easy, tasty ways to add not only fresh fruits and vegetables into our diet, but fresh greens.

What is a Green Smoothie? A Green Smoothie is simply a smoothie made with fresh, organic (whenever possible) greens, fruit, and water or juice.

What are greens? Here are a few of the greens that can be added to your daily smoothies:

Arugula

Asparagus

Beet Greens (the tops)

Bok Choy

Broccoli

Carrot Tops

Chard

Celery

Collard Greens

Endive

Escarole

Frisee

Kale

Green and Red Leaf Lettuce

Mustard Greens

Romaine

Green and Red Leaf Lettuce

Spinach

You can also add weeds, herbs, or sprouts such as:

Weeds:

Chickweed

Clover

Dandelion

Lambsquarters

Purslane

Stinging Nettles

Herbs:

Aloe Vera

Baby dill

Basil

Cilantro

Fennel

Mint

Parsley

Peppermint Leaves

Spearmint

Sprouts:

Alfalfa

Broccoli

Clover

Fenugreek

Radish

Sunflower

Why do we need greens? A few of the many great benefits greens provide include:

*An abundance of protein in the form of readily available essential amino acids (as opposed to long molecules of protein found in other sources that the body has to break down and then reassemble).

*An abundance of insoluble fiber, a *sponge* that can absorb large amounts of toxins and take them out of the body.

*An abundance of Chlorophyll which counteracts toxins, provides iron to organs, helps purify the liver, cleanses the bowels, and eliminates body odors, to name a few.

*They can raise or maintain an appropriate level of stomach acid. (Stomach acid is responsible for the proper absorption and assimilation of vital nutrients, the destruction of harmful microorganisms such as bacteria, and the digestion of large protein molecules which can prevent allergies from forming).

*They make the body more alkaline. (Most diseases, including cancer, thrive in an acidic environment, sokeeping the body alkaline is essential for health).

Why is blending our greens so great? Greens are full of nutrients, but most people don't receive them because of two main reasons: 1) People cook them, destroying up to 80% of their nutrients and enzymes; and 2) People eat them raw but don't chew them well enough. Greens have a tough cellular wall that must be completely ruptured to release the vital nutrients inside. Blending your greens is the perfect solution.

* I received the bulk of this information from *Green for Life,* written by Victoria Boutenko.*

Kale Chips

I don't ever remember eating Kale as a child. I personally don't like the taste of Kale, but have been putting it my green smoothies for awhile now because of its nutritional content.

Diana Dyer, a dietitian and author on the subject of cancer survival, has this to say about kale on her blog http://www.365daysofkale.com/: "The standouts are the high content of calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin K, potassium, manganese, copper, and even the plant form of omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid). In addition to the carotenoid beta-carotene, kale contains other very important carotenoid molecules called lutein and zeaxanthin (both necessary for eye health) and numerous others (probably too many to count, and maybe even yet identified)."

In other words, Kale is REALLY good for you. And, I finally found a way to eat kale that I like- Kale chips! My kids also love these Kale chips and best of all, it's another super simple, quick recipe! We make big batches of these every other week.

Kale Chips:

• 2 bunches of kale (I like the Dino Kale- the Kale with the huge leaves. Savanna likes the curled types of kale- those are the ones you often see as garnish on your plate at restaurants- she says they make crunchier chips)


• Olive Oil (approx 3 Tb, depending on the amount of Kale used)


• Sea Salt (approx 2 Tb)


• Apple Cider Vinegar (optional- a dash or two)

I usually just eyeball this recipe, so you'll have to bear with me. First, cut the leaves off of the stalks. Set the stalks aside (you can save the stalks for soups or smoothies). Cut the leaves into chip-sized pieces. In a large bowl mix the leaf pieces with a fair amount of olive oil and sea salt and just a dash or two of acv. I like to massage the leaves to make sure that each chip is covered in the marinade. They taste better if you allow them to marinate for about 20 minutes. Spread onto a baking sheet in a single layer and bake on the lowest setting of your oven. Check after about 30-40 minutes. They will wilt at first, and then crisp up.

I usually don't bake them in the oven, so they I'm not positive how long that will take- on the lowest setting, it could be a while. I bake my chips in my dehydrator at 105 degrees for several hours until they reach the desired crispiness. They store really well in the gallon-sized Ziploc bags and do not need to be refrigerated. You can play around with the amount of oil and different types of seasonings.

Enjoy!

Ben's Strawberry-Banana Birthday Pie

Okay, well this may look/sound strange to some of you, but I've been making pies like this for years. They are quick, simple, VERY delicious, and, best of all, made with whole raw food ingredients (no additives), so it's safe for the whole family to enjoy.

This recipe comes from Alissa Cohen, and is in her book "Living on Live Food." Alissa is a raw food chef and consultant. With Brad's allergies, I am so grateful for raw, vegan cookbooks! I can make him wonderful desserts, snacks, and meals using just a few ingredients. It takes little time and has HUGE health benefits, even for those of us without allergy issues.

Forgive me as I digress, but I think nutrition and how the body works is fascinating. Matt Amsden, another raw food chef, has this posted on his website. It's a VERY basic explanation of why everyone should incorporate more fresh fruits and veggies in their diet. I could go on and on (And I might at a later date. Hey, it's my blog. I can say what I want!), but this should suffice for now. :)

The top 3 things that are sapping your energy & compromising your health:

1. DEHYDRATION: Our body is over seventy percent water, shouldn't your food choices mirror this? A great way to get a head start on becoming hydrated is to consume food that has not had the natural water removed from it through cooking. Cooked food does nothing to provide your body with much-needed water and dehydrates you further in your bodies attempt to digest it. Everything you put in your stomach needs to be turned into liquid to be digested. How easily is your current diet liquefied?
2. MALNUTRITION: Recent data shows that nutritional deficiencies are most often caused by what we eat rather than by what we do not eat. Your current diet may be robbing you of precious vitamins and minerals. A well balanced diet of consciously prepared raw plant foods contains the full compliment of essential vitamins and minerals, while food prepared using conventional methods destroys over 80% of that foods nutrition. Can you afford 80% less nutrition than is naturally found in your food?
3. LACK OF ENZYMES: Enzymes are responsible for every metabolic process that takes place in your body from digestion to healing. Most prepared food is served with up to 100% of the natural enzymes destroyed. One hundred percent! When the lipase and amylase enzymes are destroyed, the body cannot digest fats or carbohydrates and they are stored in the body, causing you to gain weight. When you consume living, enzyme rich food, it practically digests itself. This leaves you with a surplus of energy to play harder, work more efficiently and do more of what you love! To learn more from Matt visit www.rawvolution.com.

Okay, onto the recipe!

Strawberry Pie

CRUST:

2 cups of almonds (I used pecans and walnuts work great too)

1 1/2 cups of dates, pitted and soaked until soft

1 cup of strawberries, diced

FILLING:

2 1/2 cups of strawberries

3 very ripe bananas

FOR CRUST:

1. In a food processor, blend nuts until fine
2. Add dates and blend until smooth
3. Place in a bowl and mix in the diced strawberries
4. Mold into a pie plate

FOR FILLING:

1. Dice 1/2 cup of the strawberries and set aside
2. In a food processor blend the remaining 2 cups of strawberries
3. Place in a bowl and stir in the diced strawberries
4. Pour into crust
5. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight and serve!

(I made his name out of blueberries.)

This is seriously so good. It tastes like Yoplait yogurt with a nut crust underneath- total hit and guilt-free!

**For more info or recipes from Alissa Cohen, go to http://www.alissacohen.com/!

Green Smoothie Recipes

I posted this on a friend's food blog, but thought I'd post it here too!

Our family has been making green smoothies pretty much daily for about a year and half. I have noticed TREMENDOUS benefits in our health from adding more servings of fruit and dark greens. We are a veggie-eating family, but some of those dense, leafy greens are hard to get down. If you want to learn more about the benefits of making and drinking green smoothies, I HIGHLY recommend the book "GREEN FOR LIFE" by Victoria Boutenko. It's a quick read and chalked full of great nutritional info.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post a few of our family-favorites! You may need to add less greens in the beginning and more fruit (especially for the kiddos), but as you do this more and more, you will be able to drink more greens and like them! I sometimes sweeten our smoothies with a little agave nectar or raw honey. However, that's not really necessary if you use very ripe fruits. I hit the sales on super ripe bananas or day-old strawberries and freeze them in large batches. Frozen grapes are really good for smoothies too.

Smoothie #1
3 bananas

1 cup of papaya

4 big handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water


Smoothie #2 (similar to #1, but still a hit)
3 bananas

3 huge handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water


Smoothie #3
2 bananas

6-7 strawberries

juice from 2 oranges

2 handfuls of romaine

1 cup of water


Smoothie #4
Half a head of green or red leaf lettuce

2 bananas

juice from 2 tangelos

1/2 a bag of frozen mangoes

1 pear

1 cup of water


Smoothie #5
6 ounces of orange juice

1 cup of pineapple

1/2 cup of coconut milk (this is the best if you get a Thai coconut and use the water and meat, but the canned stuff works too)

2 handfuls of romaine/spring mix/or red leaf lettuce


Smoothie #6
1 stalk of celery

2 cups of blueberries

1 banana

2 cups of water


Smoothie #7
6 to 7 romaine leaves

1 cup of red grapes

1 medium orange (peeled, but whole, not juiced)

1 banana

2 cups of water


Smoothie #8
2 large grapefruits- juiced

6-7 frozen strawberries

1 cup of peaches

2 handfuls of bok choy


Smoothie #9
4 ripe pears

4-5 kale leaves

1/2 bunch of mint

2 cups of water

(I would add sweetener on this one!)


Smoothie #10
2 bananas

2 large collard or chard leaves

1/2 pack of Trader Joes frozen "Mangolicious" blend (has frozen mango, raspberries, and blueberries)

1-2 cups of water or orange juice

**You can substitute water with any juice you like. The amount you put in depends upon the consistency you like. My kids like it thick like ice cream...I like it almost as thin as juice.

The possibilities are endless really. You can add greens to any of your usual smoothie favorites. It will change the color, but if you do it in a small amount, it shouldn't take away from the flavor much. You can substitute in these recipes for any greens you like. Our favorites are KALE, COLLARD GREENS, SWISS CHARD, SPINACH, ROMAINE, and BOK CHOY. I sometimes also add ground flax or nuts/nut butter for added protein. Most of these recipes will yield a quart of green smoothies (32 oz). Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!