Sparkling Apple Cider

Fall is my favorite time of year. We tried to eat a large portion of our diet seasonally in addition to being mostly raw. This year we thought we would even do this with our water kefir.

Ingredients:
3 cups water kefir ready for second fermentation
1/4 cup apple juice or cider
1/2 cinnamon stick
a small piece of nutmeg
2 whole cloves

Directions:
combine all the above ingredients in a 1 quart mason jar and seal with a plastic lid. Leave on the counter for a day and then refrigerate.

Raw Tomato Soup

We are joining Whitney Paige in her 5 day vibrant cleanse but putting a more raw twist to it.
Dinner for the first day is Tomato Soup with Grilled Avo Sandwiches.
We made a raw tomato soup version and used our raw onion bread with an herby almond spread.

Ingredients: serves 4
2 lbs Roma tomatoes
1 garlic clove
1 celery stalk
1/4 cup onion
1 cup soaked sundried tomatoes, save the soaking water
1/2 cup cashews, soaked at least 1 hour, drain, rinse, and drain, or hemp seeds, no need to soak
2 dates
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil, divided saving some to garnish with fresh leaves
Directions: add everything to the high speed blender using soup cycle including 1 cup of the tomato soaking water.

Tomatoes release the lycopene  when heated. The high speed blender gets warm enough to release it and cool enough to stay raw.

Paleo Bread

We purchased a paleo (almond meal based) box bread mix this week. The bread was amazing. After searching the internet, we found multiple recipes with similar ingredients. Using the basic recipes, we were able to expand it to the three types of breads from the box using the following recipes:

Loaf: 7.5x3.5 loaf pan, bake 350 for 35-45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ¾ cup arrowroot powder
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions: combine all the ingredients. Place in a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.

Flatbread: bake 350 for 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ¾ cup arrowroot powder
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 TBS olive oil

Directions: combine all the ingredients. Place in a cookie sheet pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Dinner rolls in muffin tins, bake 350 for 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ¾ cup arrowroot powder
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 cup water

Directions: combine all the ingredients. Place in a greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Oil Free Poppy Seed Dressing

 

We love poppy seed salad dressing but were interested in creating a healthier version. This is oil free. The pumpkin seeds add fat to assist with absorption of fat soluble nutrients.

This makes ~ 16 ounces

Ingredients:

2 TBS kombucha mustard

3-4 TBS apple cider vinegar, we like it with more of a vinegar taste, so we added 4.

3 pitted dates

2 TBS honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 clove garlic, we used fermented garlic cloves from the carrots

1/2  to 3/4 cup cucumber (we added 3/4 cups because we love the alkalinity of the cucumbers

1/4 cup crispie pumpkin seeds

6 TBS water

Blend in a high speed blender.

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 TBS poppy seeds

stir in the above blend

Sattvic Diet

The Sattvic diet is a diet based on foods with the sattva quality (guna). In Yoga and Ayurveda literature, the Sattvic diet is said to restore and maintain a sattvic or sentient state of living.

This is from zliving 

Here are some of the foods you must, and must not include in your Yogic diet.

Foods To Include:

• You can eat all kinds of vegetables, except for onions and garlics as they are categorized as being Tamasic (foods that are said to cause mental dullness).
• Fruits are an important part of the diet, especially apples, mangoes, and papaya, since they are naturally sweet.
• Whole grains like oats, wheat and unpolished rice are also Sattvic.
• Plant-based oils such as sunflower, olive and sesame oil are permitted.
• Nuts and seeds can be eaten, as long as they are not salted, or flavored with extra ingredients.
• You can also include sweet spices like cinnamon, cardamom, mint and fennel, herbal teas, natural sweeteners like honey and raw sugar, cow’s milk, butter, and ghee.

Foods To Avoid:

• Meat, poultry, fish and fertilized eggs are said to be Tamasic. Any product derived from animal fat, or by killing or hurting animals is avoidable.
• Processed foods with additives and artificial flavoring are to be omitted.
• You must also stay away from junk and fried food, refined and canned food, spicy food (since it agitates the mind), and genetically modified food. Doing so is considered part of a healthy diet, in any case.
• Avoid stale or overcooked food.
• Avoid tobacco, alcohol, or any other kind of stimulant.
• Avoid eating too quickly, or in a chaotic manner.

The Sattvic diet is recommended for people practicing yoga, or those who are on a spiritual path. By following this diet and making sure your experience with food imparts a sense of love and peace, you will improve your body, mind and spirit. Combine it with a healthy yoga routine and you will naturally be able to harness health and joy.

Recipes

Sweet Potato Hash Browns

The Hubby woke from a dream with a recipe for Sweet Potato Hash Browns. This became part of our son's lunch.

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, grated
1/2 sweet onion, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 TBS maple syrup (if eating for breakfast)
2 eggs
olive oil to grease  the pan

pan fry cooking until done

Shocking to find out that bananas...

We were shocked when we read the article 12-non-vegan-foods. Our son has an anaphylactic shock reaction to seafood, shellfish being the worst. He loves smoothies but has been experiencing apnea and cyanosis episodes lately. We have been adding bananas to increase his caloric intake, ironically he has been losing weight.
"This one is a shocker!  For those who have a shellfish allergy or who are vegan or vegetarian, yourbananas may be treated with a spray made from shellfish.  Bananas are sprayed with Chitosan, a bacteria fighting spray made from shrimp and crab shells.  It is essential to purchase organic bananas.  If you are allergic, you may have gone your whole life thinking you were allergic to bananas, only to find out you are really allergic to shellfish! (3)

If you are allergic to shellfish, buy organic bananas to avoid eating bananas treated with a shellfish spray!"

We think we will stop all bananas for a couple of weeks, good thing apples and pears are in season.