Oh My! So Good!

...and crazy simple! Last month, the family went to the Eastern States Exposition - better known as The Big E. The weather was fantastic, it was great family time, and it planted a seed (pun intended) for the new path on My Journey to Wellness.

The seed that was planted was my discovery of the booth of Hempfully Green Healing House on the Vermont property of The Big E. While hemp is closely related to marijuana - like cauliflower is to broccoli - hemp lacks the quantity of the psychotropic compound "THC" that marijuana has but still has the compound "CBD" that provides the primary benefits of hemp! It's kind of like comparing kombucha to vodka - both have alcohol, but you won't get drunk from kombucha.

The next step on the path was to find a good source of hemp seeds/products to add to my diet. This was a big step! My focus was to find viable hemp seeds that I could sprout to gain the additional benefits. While there are organic sources, everything that I could find was hulled and can't be sprouted. I did find a potential source for viable seeds, the cost was too high - 2 oz. for $20! If my interest was to plant and grow hemp, that might not be so bad. That's not my goal, though. I simply want to gain the additional benefits of the sprouted seeds and there is no way that I can afford a daily 'snack' for $20 each! So, until I can find a good source of viable, sprout-able hemp seeds, I'll go with the organic, shelled seeds.

Call it faith or fate... my next step came from Ocean State Job Lot. Last week, they had a 40th anniversary sale - everything priced less than $10 was on sale for 40% off - so, we went shopping! Ocean State Job Lot has an amazing selection of Bob's Red Mill products - most of which qualified for the sale. I picked up the Hulled Hemp Seed Hearts and the Hemp Protein Powder.

Last night, it took another step on the path - and, the source of the title of this post... Certainly not a great recipe but it was so good! I made a simple mix of the seeds, protein powder and ...drum roll, please... peanut butter!

Today, while composing this post, I took a relatively short step on the path. I made the same mix that I did last night but added a tablespoon of coconut oil. I'm thinking that I am going to cut out the peanut butter from the mix...

A-Z Challenge - 'S'

'Soaked and sprouted' is the topic of the day for the A-Z Challenge. Grains, nuts, and seeds are commonly used in many recipes and processed foods. The problem is that grains, nuts, and seeds are all loaded with anti-nutrients like phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors that can not only render these otherwise nutritious foods useless and even toxic. By properly preparing these grains, nuts, and seeds prior to eating them, we would likely avoid a lot of problems. Soaking and/or sprouting will neutralize the phytic acid and the enzyme inhibitors. In most cases, the nutritional value also improves after sprouting!
Soaking and dehydrating nuts like almonds and peanuts and seeds like pumpkin seeds has become a regular part of my journey to wellness. As I write this entry, I am running some soaked pumpkin seeds through the dehydrator. I soaked them for the last 24 hours in a solution of filtered water, sea salt, cayenne pepper, and turmeric. This makes a really nice, slightly spicy snack.

I recommend the Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook: 250 flourless, Dairyless, Low Temperature, Low Fat, Low Salt, Living Food Vegetarian Recipes for more information about sprouting.

A-Z Challenge - 'E'

Nope, vitamin E is not the topic of the day. Instead, I am choosing Ezekiel 4:9 Bread as my topic. One of the giant steps on my journey to wellness was when I began to follow The Maker's Diet which recommends limiting the intake of bread. When eating bread, however, the author suggests using an Ezekiel-type bread - meaning a bread made from sprouted grains.
Ezekiel Bread gets its name from the biblical passage: "Take also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it..." Food For Life, Inc. says: "We discovered when these six grains and legumes are sprouted and combined, an amazing thing happens. A complete protein is created that closely parallels the protein found in milk and eggs. In fact, the protein quality is so high, that it is 84.3% as efficient as the highest recognized source of protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids. There are 18 amino acids present in this unique bread – from all vegetable sources – naturally balanced in nature.
Ezekiel 4:9® Bread, made from freshly sprouted organically grown grains, is naturally flavorful and bursting with nutrients. Rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and natural fiber with no added fat. Try it served warm to release its exceptionally rich nutty flavor."
One of the major problems with the Standard American Diet is the inclusion of bleached white flour. Whole wheat flour isn't much better, either. Sprouted grains are really what we should be using. I recommend reading any or all of the following books:

• Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats 
• Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook: 250 flourless, Dairyless, Low Temperature, Low Fat, Low Salt, Living Food Vegetarian Recipes
• The Maker's Diet

My New Favorite Candy, Oh!

The Cars were a great band that came out of Boston.  Their second album Candy-O - and the title song - is one that carries a lot of great memories for me.  It is definitely part of the soundtrack of my life.

A while back, I posted an entry about Papaya Pepper.  I had taken the seeds from a fresh papaya, soaked them, dried them, and ground them into a substance that looks just like pepper.  If you haven't already, I invite you to read that original post.

Not too long ago, I discovered my new favorite 'candy.'  While it isn't truly candy at all, I really like chewing on some dehydrated papaya.  Today, I took a trip to I.O.N..  As we are planning to spend Friday night and Saturday away from home, I wanted to get some things that were easily packed as snacks but also healthy.  I bought some raw pumpkin seeds (currently soaking in filtered water, sea salt, and dried, ground pepper from our garden) to make pepitas, some raw almonds (will be soaking while the pepitas are drying tomorrow), some newly discovered Organic Stadium-Style Hot Dogs (more on these later!), and some dried papaya.

Raw, hulled pumpkin seeds soaking.

Bagged, dried papaya.

I.O.N. also operates a restaurant, so I am not sure if they prepare this papaya themselves - I keep forgetting to ask - but it is packaged like something you would buy at a deli - no frills, no fancy label.  Unlike most dried fruit, it is not coated with sugar and has not been treated with sulfur.  It is just dried papaya cut into nice serving size pieces.  Because it still has a significant quantity of endogenous sugar, I really do treat this as a candy-type treat by limiting my consumption of it.  Sulfur - specifically the ion, sulfite - is used as a preservative in dried fruits.
According to WebMD:

Sulfites are a group of sulfur-based compounds that may occur naturally or may be added to food as an enhancer and preservative. The FDA estimates that one out of 100 people is sensitive to the compounds. A person can develop sensitivity to sulfites at any time in life, and the cause of sensitivity is unknown. For a person who is sensitive to sulfites, a reaction can be mild or life threatening.

...definitely something best avoided.

What I wasn't expecting to buy was the package of hot dogs.  I happened to be looking through the freezer section to see if there was anything that might be suitable for The Maker's Diet when I saw these.  The term 'Organic' jumped out at me causing me to take a closer look.  What sold me, however, was the fact that these hot dogs are made from 100% grass fed and finished beef!  The only concern that I have is with the casing.  Neither the package nor the website indicate that there even is a casing.  I just want to be sure that these are not made in a pork casing.  The hot dogs are sold by Applegate Farms.  There are two similar hot dogs listed on their website - the Organic Stadium-Style Hot Dogs (that I bought) and the Great Organic Hot Dog.  Both of these are made from grass fed/finished beef.  Neither product description mentions the casing.  On the product page for the latter, there is a link to a New York Times article.  The article talks about a cellulose casing that is removed prior to packaging.  My only question is if this applies to both products.  The article also has a sidebar that talks about cooking hot dogs that don't have a casing.  The only reason that I am confused is that one of the reviews on the former product's page mentions the casing.  I have sent an email to Applegate Farms with my question, so hopefully I will know soon.  If they turn out to have a pork casing, well, I will probably eat them anyway but I won't buy them again.

Rattle and Hum-mus

If you have known me for any length of time, you should realize that I make a lot of references to music - though looking back in this particular blog I only see a couple.  Of course, the title of this post - Rattle and Hum - is a reference to U2, though the post has absolutely nothing to do with the band.  It is a particularly fitting title, though.  The reason being that after a little rattling of some garbanzo beans and a few other ingredients in my food processor, I have made some hummus.

On Wednesday I made my trip down to Deerfield Farm to get my raw milk.  On the way home I decided to stop in to It's Only Natural and pick up some other things that I had run out of along with a sprouting jar.  Actually, I had planned to pick up just the strainer lid, but the only size they had didn't fit the mason jars I already own, so for only a couple of dollars more I got the complete set - a quart size mason jar with a variety of strainer lids.  Sprouting seeds or grain involves a 3-8 hour soak (depending on the variety of grain/seed) followed by several rinse and aerate periods.  The sprouting lid is designed to make this an extremely easy - though still relatively lengthy - process.  Simply add you grain or seed to the jar, fill with filtered water, and screw on the lid.  Allow for the required time to pass - not an exact science here, but a good rule of thumb is that larger grains/seeds need a longer soak - and invert the jar to drain the liquid.  Because the lid is perforated, there is no need to remove the lid or to employ a separate strainer to catch the seeds.  The kit I bought has three lids with varying sizes of perforations to accommodate a wide variety of seeds - from tiny quinoa and sesame seeds up to monstrous garbanzo beans - without worry of losing them through the mesh.  After draining, simply rinse the seeds with fresh, filtered water.  Drain the rinse water and lay the jar on an angle to allow for excess water to slowly drain and air to circulate.  To accomplish this, I simply took a bowl from my cabinet and placed the jar in it so that the jar lays at about a 30 degree angle with the top lower than the base. 

Here is a picture of my sprouting jar that is currently being used to sprout some wheat berries.  I soaked them all day yesterday.  They are already starting to sprout, so I will probably get the Cuisinart out later today and grind them into flour.

The garbanzo beans soaked for about 8 hours and were ready to use yesterday.  I could have waited longer to allow for larger sprouts, but that wasn't the goal.  The simple act of sprouting adds considerably to the nutritional value of our grains and seeds.  Depending on the intended use, the sprouts can be allowed to grow larger or used at the first sign of sprouting.  As my intent was to make hummus, there was no need to allow for more growth.  After giving the beans a final rinse, I set to peeling them - a process that would likely have been made easier had I let the sprouts grow a bit more.  Just like peanuts in a shell, garbanzo beans have a 'skin' that can be removed.  While it is edible, it is not entirely palatable.  Having learned from a previous attempt at making hummus, I decided to remove the hulls for this attempt.  It took me a little while, but I got the job done in fairly good time.  After peeling them, I set the beans to cook.  Brought to a boil and reduced to a simmer, I let the beans simmer for about two hours.
Once done, I drained the beans and allowed them to cool a bit before adding them to the food processor.  I gave them a pulse or two - causing the 'rattle' - and then added my seasonings; some sea salt, toasted sesame oil (less than 1/4 tsp.), some garlic, some flax seeds, and some lemon juice.  I ran the processor for a minute, scraped down the bowl, ran it again and ended up with the 'hum'-mus.  It came out wonderfully.  My only complaint is that I should have been a little more generous with the seasonings as it is a little bland.  Easily corrected for the next batch.
Oh, and I didn't peel all of the beans.  Instead, I kept out a couple to see if I might grow my own!  The sprouting beans are currently sitting in a bowl on my kitchen counter awaiting planting.  I think that I will plant them indoors until they are a little more established.

I already mentioned today's goal of grinding the wheat berries into flour.  I might go one step further and make some crackers to use with my hummus!

Quinoa for breakfast

A cold, dreary, wet weather day - no, not a 'dark and stormy night' - seemed the perfect setting for a nice, hot breakfast.  You know what?  It was!

As planned, I used quinoa to make a hot 'cereal' for breakfast.  I used about 1/2 cup of quinoa that I had set to soak last night and added some raisins, 1 tsp. of raw honey, about 1 Tbsp. of ground cinnamon, and 1 tsp. of organic maple syrup.  The maple syrup was an afterthought.  Next time that I make this I will probably use either a little more honey OR a little more maple syrup but not both.  I also did as I planned and added one serving of VidaCell.  Without adding any flavor (VidaCell is relatively flavorless), the VidaCell served as a thickening agent for the cereal in addition to adding to the nutrition profile.
It was a great way to start the day!

I forgot to mention in my last post that I now have a food processor - I guess that I was too excited about the quinoa!  I am also really happy to have this, though.  One thing that I really want to do is to make my own flour and dough.  Cutting out all bleached flour and any product that uses it as an ingredient really cuts down on a wide variety of foods!  One way to add some foods back into my diet but still avoid bleached flour is to make my own versions.
Timing is indeed everything.  Through one of my various online activities, I had earned enough points to redeem for a $50.00 amazon.com gift card.  It came in the mail today.  I promptly signed on to amazon.com, entered the gift card code, and went shopping.  I ordered some wheat berries, rye berries, and some buckwheat.  Once my order arrives, I plan to soak, sprout, dehydrate, and mill some of my own flour!
I also want use the food processor to make some almond and/or peanut butter and hummus.  I really have some reading to do, though, because I really don't know everything that this thing can do.  I do know that it is going to help me and my family eat a whole lot healthier!