Saturday, July 27, 2013

Recipes for Vista Library Demo

How to Sprout Lentils:

1:  Soak lentils for 6-8 hours in distilled/ purified water




2:  Drain soak water from lentils and rinse with fresh water.

3:  There are many ways that you can sprout from here.

     A.  Mason Jar with purchased plastic strainer top or cheesecloth and rubber band (the sprouts sometimes get caught in the cheesecloth and make it difficult to rinse).



     B.  Bowl and large colander ( I use this method when I am doing a large batch) covered with dish towel.



     C.  Sprout/Nut Milk bag.



     D.  Automatic Sprouter like "FreshLife Sprouter" by Tribest



4:  Very Important!!!  Make sure to rinse at least twice a day...morning and night.  You wouldn't want any bad bacteria to be growing with your sprouts.

5:  In my kitchen in So Cal in July it took about 24 hrs to sprout the lentils (your sprout time may vary depending on room temperature).  Don't let the tails get too much longer than 1/4" or they will taste watery.



Almond Milk:

Simple Almond Milk (As seen at the library)
1/2 C Raw Almonds
1 or 2 Dates
1 t Vanilla
4 C water
Blend almonds into powder add rest of ingredients and blend.  Strain with nut milk bag.  See pics below.

Creamy Almond Milk (super yummy, thick and frothy)
****Dry Ingredients***
1 C Rolled Oats (not technically raw, but can purchase raw oats from internet, can also sprout oat groats)
2/3 C Raw Almonds
1/3 C Shredded Coconut
pinch of sea salt
***Wet Ingredients***
1 T Vanilla
2 T Raw Agave Nectar (or honey or dates)
Water (see below for amount)

Always be ready for quick milk, by storing your dry ingredients in mason jar



Ingredients you will need for your almond milk



Place all dry ingredients into high speed blender



Grind them to a powder



Add wet ingredients, fill water to about 1 cup away from top of pitcher



You will need a nut milk bag, use the bags that have elastic, cotton strings tend to mold



Blend till creamy



Place nut milk bag over a large pitcher



Strain milk through bag



Squeeze all liquid out of nut milk bag (like milking a cow?)



Store in mason jars 



Don't forget to vacuum seal (see Juicing 101 post from 2012 for details)


Basic Nut Cheese
1 C Raw Cashews or Macadamia Nuts (soaked for 4 hrs)
1 Probiotic capsule
1/4 to 1/2 C Water (start with 1/4 C and add more if needed)

Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender, looking for a very smooth, creamy consistency.


1. Here's the stack up.  Bottom: bowl to catch water.  Middle: Strainer.  Top:  Cheesecloth or tulle


2.  Place blended nuts/ probiotics and water onto cheesecloth.


3.  Cover the "cheese" mixture completely with cheesecloth and place bowl or plate to help press out extra water.  Let it ferment for approx 48 hrs on kitchen counter away from direct sun.  



4.  Once cheese is fermented remove from cheesecloth, place in bowl with other ingredients.
1T Nutritional Yeast, 1/2 T Onion Powder, 1/2 t sea salt, 1/8 t nutmeg.



5.  With a spoon incorporate the rest of ingredients.


6. Use cheese mold, cheescake ring or bowl to shape cheese.



7.  Fill mold with cheese mixture.


8.  Using a mortar and pestle, crush the peppercorns. I used maybe 2 T.



9.  Garnish the top with crushed peppercorns.  Refrigerate until set, 2 hours.


10.  Finished nut cheese.  Serve with crackers or raw veggies.



Green Smoothie Recipe is on previous post from 2012.

Thank you for attending my food demo at the Vista Library.  Hope to see you in one of my classes.









Sunday, January 13, 2013

Chocolate Almond Truffles

Chocolate Almond Truffles
 
 
Process the following in food processor, not totally smooth, some texture is good:
 
6 Large Medjool Dates
 
1/2 C Raw Almonds
 
1/2 C Raw Walnuts
 
Add:
 
1/2 C Raw Cacao powder
 
1/4 C Raw Clear Agave syrup
 
pinch of sea salt
 
Process intil incorporated.  If too sticky place in freezer for a few minutes.  Roll into balls and optional roll in shredded coconut or walnuts.  Enjoy!
 
 
 



Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Juicing 101

Bible verse of the week:  Exodus 16:31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. "It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.

I find it interesting that God's choice to sustain the Israelites in the desert for 40 years was vegan bread, and when they grumbled wanting meat, God sent them quail and He struck them down with a severe plague, and they were buried with the people who had craved other food. (Num. 11:33,34)

Juicing:


Why Juice?
Juicing is like intravenous vitamins that go straight to the cells to nourish and build your immune system.  Vegetables today have far less nutrient content as they did just 100 years ago.  Today it would take 80 bunches of spinach to equal the nutrient content in 1900.  Since we cannot eat and process that many vegetables, juicing is key to a vibrant, healthy body.  Man-made, heat processed multi vitamins can never replace or compare to the health benefits of juicing.

Enemies of fresh vegetable juice:
1.  Oxidation
2.  Heat
Both of these cause the enzymes and nutritional quality of the juice to be severely compromised.  If you are going to take the time and spend the money, do it right!

Choose the right juicer:
1.  Avoid the centrifugal juicers, these are the ones that have a spinning basket, which pushes air into the juice and oxidizes it. The blades also spin at such high RPM's that it creates friction that cause heat, the other enemy of juice.  So just the design these juicers do not provide you with high quality juice.  Some on the market are, Juiceman, Jack LaLanne, Breville.  You must drink the juice immediately!  Cannot store it!

2.  Masticating juicers are a decent choice, they are affordable and do a great job in juicing carrots and other hard veggies, a little more prep need to be taken for leafy greens because they tend to wrap around the blade.  The Champion juicer was the masticating juicer I chose when I had cancer. Drink the juice from these juicers within 24 hours, or if vacuum sealing within 48 hours.

3.  Twin Gear juicers are wonderful for making green juices, but are very difficult to juice hard veggies, especially carrots.  Especially if you are weak from a health challenge these juicers may be very difficult to use.  I call these the "twice as much" juicers.  Twice as many parts to clean than the champion, twice as much money to buy them.  But also juice that lasts twice as long and has more quantity than the masticating juicers.  The Green Star is a great twin gear, but make sure you love it before you buy it!  Juice is good for 2 days right from juicer and 4 days vacuum sealed.


4.  Auger Style, my new favorite. This juicer works with gravity.  You literally drop the veggies in the chute and they are fed into the auger that crushes the juice out of them, works just as good on carrots and greens. The juice straight from the juicer lasts for 72 hours, if vacuum sealed my juice last an average of 5 days.  The Hurom and Omega VRT are both manufactured by the Hurom company, and are the same design.  I however carry the Omega VRT 350 because their warranty and customer service is much better.


New shipment just arrived today.  I only have 2 left.  The price is $379.95.  
Thank you for supporting my ministry!


I have all three of the recommended juicers if you would like to try them out for yourselves.  But after using the Omega VRT 350 you will not want to use another juicer.

5.  Oh yeah, can't forget.  If you can afford one, there is always the Mercedes of juicers which is the Norwalk juicer.  Several thousand dollars for one, and it is a 2 step process.  Step one grinds the veggies and puts them in a cloth bag.  Step two presses the juice out of the cloth bags.  Nice juicer but expensive and very heavy.

Now that you have the right juicer, here is the set-up that I use:

Cutting Board, Good Knife and some Large Colanders

Carrot Peeler 


Large Pitchers and Strainer


Juicer, pulp catching bowl, juice catching pitcher


Veggies to Juice

My Basic Juice Recipe
 Yield approx.12, 8 ounce cups (seen doubled here)

1 Ten pound of organic carrots (Costco)
1 bunch of chard
1 bunch of spinach
4 stalks of celery
2 green apples
1/2 beet and beet greens
2 organic cucumbers
Juice all veggies through the juicer and strain out any extra pulp.

Additions:
Kale (bitter, so use as your taste buds can handle)
Dandelion Leaf (great liver detox, also bitter)
Lambs quarter (yummy weed not bitter)
Ginger
Red/ Orange or Yellow Bell Pepper (Green ones are not ripe yet!)
Lemon (peel and all)

Use your imagination, if you don't have all of the ingredients juice what you have on hand.  Make it different each time.  Let your body decide what nutrients it needs.


Line up several carrots against the side of a knife, an cut off the tips and tails.



Through the carrot peeler they go.  Steve can peel 20 lbs of carrots in 5 minutes!

Why do I peel my carrots?  We have found that the juice tastes much sweeter and have done side by side tests of peeled vs not peeled juice and the not peeled juice seemed to turn bad faster.  I believe that it is the bacteria that is left in the carrot peels that start the decaying processes faster.  If you are interested in purchasing one, I have an account with the company and can get it for you, they cost $99.95.

Place all of the veggies in a sink full of water and approx 1/4 C apple cider vinegar


Rinse them off and let the water drain off them


This is my sweet friend, Emma Grace who juices for me 2 times a week :)
Just drop the veggies into the juicer, I like to rotate, green leafy and carrot or other hard veggie.
Never over load your juicer, make sure the veggies have gone through completely!


Juice coming out of juicer, notice pulp coming out other side.  Make sure you strain the juice one more time, to get out all of the pulp and make it easy on your digestive system.


How to store the finished juice:

What you need: Vacuum Sealer, Lid Adapter and Mason Jar.  I like using the 8 oz. wide mouth jars, so that I can just grab one and go.  If you use larger jars, you would need to reseal it each time after opening.


Fill your jars up about 1/4" from the top, place round top on jar (not the ring)


Place lid adapter over the round top on the jar. (yes the jar is under there)


Place tip of vacuum sealer into the hole in the middle of lid adapter and press button on vacuum sealer to suck out all of the air.


Place ring on jar, and refrigerate ASAP.

The Vacuum Sealer will double the life of the food/ juice you store in them.  It works well for leftovers as well as avocados...I had an avo stored for a week without turning brown, which is really oxidation happening right before your eyes.  

I have a large order of vacuum sealers and lids on order and should be here by the next Culinary Class.  Let me know if you would like one, they sell out fast!  Price for Vacuum Sealer and Lid Adapter is $29.95.

























Thursday, February 16, 2012

Green Smoothie, Ariel's Salad

Favorite Bible verse of the week:  Gen 1:29- (of course)  Then God said, " I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.  They will be yours for food."  


When reading the Bible like a novel, I really noticed that the 1st ten generations on a plant based diet lived really long...like 969 years old.  After the flood when God added meat to our diets the life span fell dramatically over the next few generations, because God said our years on earth would now be 120 years.  


Leslie's Favorite Green Smoothie
Load blender in this order
1 fresh organic banana
2 or more large handfuls of greens, spinach, chard, kale, sorrel, lambsquarter, lettuce, etc
1 handful frozen pineapple
1 handful frozen mango
11/2 C coconut water (from fresh young coconut best choice or Zico brand)


Green Smoothie Before:  




Green Smoothie After:



Even Sheltie Pups like green smoothies!
Go Gunther!




I prefer mine to go in a "Red Solo Cup", have you heard the new country song with that title?
Goes like this "Red Solo Cup,  I fill you up, let's have a party, let's have a party"  I guess they will write a song about anything :)  Seriously funny song!


Gotta have the awesome smoothie straws, the sell them at Wal Mart:


A pretty typical day starts with 8 oz of fresh veggie juice and some yummy Barley Max.  Then an hour or so later I make a smoothie.  Make sure you change the greens everyday.  I like to add berries but then it turns out to be a brown smoothie especially if using blueberries.  Start with more fruit if you are a beginner and then add more greens everday.

Here is one of my dinners last week:

Ariel's Salad and Kelp Noodles with Pesto Trapenese...super yummy!


Recipe for Salad:
Place in bowl:
1/2 head of Romaine lettuce, washed and torn
drizzle some olive oil or flax seed oil over lettuce (2 Tbls more or less)
squeeze half of a lemon or lime over leaves
Add:
3 T + nutritional yeast
1/2 t sea salt
2 garlic cloves, pressed  
1 T spirulina
1/2 avocado
Mix and enjoy.  May have to adjust seasonings to taste.


This is a fast easy nutrient dense salad.  Sometimes I replace the lettuce with kale or red cabbage that I put in the food processor with the "S" blade.  Then I do not usually add the spirulina.  I buy my Spirulina from my buddies at www.healthforce.com  Hmmm...think I will go make this salad for lunch today!




Here is a picture of the salad I made for the Culinary Class on Thursday and Friday.  Wild greens with Raspberry Vinegarette Dressing....sorry have to come to classes to get the recipes!




Veggie Garden Make-over. Before:


BAD GOPHER!


Even though the mesh was still good after 11 years of gardening, the little stinker came in the sides where the wood had rotted.  But, he was definitely scoping it out from below!

Bye, bye veggie bed!

Will have to come to gardening class in March to see new the new gopher proof beds!