Transitioning to Raw Part IV
I posted about my transition to the raw living foods lifestyle and talked about it being my one year anniversary. I then continued to add Part II, Part III, and now Part IV. After collecting a small library of raw cookbooks and notebooks full of recipes I got off the Internet, I was ready to officially stock my raw pantry. Again I proceeded very slowly and got only the bare minimum. I purchased about four different types of nuts and seeds, first cold pressed olive oil, local honey, coconut vinegar, coconut aminos, sea salt, coconut oil, raw honey, hemp protein powder, alcohol free vanilla extract, nori sheets, kelp noodles, blue green algae capsules, oat groats, quinoa, buckwheat, nutritional yeast (isn't raw but in several recipes), garlic, and sea vegetables.
It made it so much easier to prepare the recipes now that I had things on hand. It got very frustrating running back and forth to the store each time I wanted to experiment with a new recipe. Something I learned very quickly was to plan ahead and make a weekly menu. That way I could make one trip to the store and have everything I needed for a weeks worth of raw entrees. I would have to go for fresh fruits and vegetables in the middle of the week but other than that I was pretty well stocked up.
Next thing on my goal sheet was to learn how to sprout. I searched the Internet for sprouting how to videos. I found some really great ones and some really lame ones. Here is a great one to teach you how to soak and sprout buckwheat, sunflower and oats. Sprouting YouTube from The Renegade Health Show. Trust me it not as hard as it seems!! It is super easy. You will definately get motivated to sprout once you hear what nutritional powerhouses sprouts are.
So what about green sprouts like broccoli, red clover, white radish, sunflower, mung and adzuki? I posted about my easy sprouting technique here.
Here is a written atricle also that you could print out and refer to as you are learning.
If you want to go to Sprout School take a look at this web site. Scroll down their main page and on the left hand side they have a Sprout School to teach you everything you'd ever want to know about sprouting. This is the main site that I used to learn and I think it is fantastic.
I also wanted to learn how to sprout grains so I could make raw breads, crackers and morning cereal. I bought some oat groats and decided to try soaking them and using them in different recipes. I think my favorite recipe with oat groats has to be Oat Groat Pilaf.
I served it on top of cucumber rounds and even in romaine wraps with Roma tomatoes and sprouts. It is fantastic.
Oat Groat Pilaf
3/4 C oat groats, soaked 12 hrs
1/3 C pumpkin seeds, soaked 3 hrs, drain and let sprout 1 day
After oat groats have soaked 12 hrs, drain and rinse well and squeeze out the excess water. Pulse the groats in a food processor and set aside. Pulse the pumpkin seeds with:
1 T Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp Italian herb blend
1 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp onion powder
Next combine the oat groats and pumpkin seed mixture with 1/3 cup of pine nuts. Drizzle all with some wheat free Tamari and first cold pressed EVOO, mix well. Use as a filling for collards or romaine leaves and top with sprouts of choice or serve on top of cucumber rounds. Enjoy!
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for everything I have been blessed with. As I watched the parents line up today, 24 hours in advance, for the Toys for Tots distribution tomorrow I couldn't help but think how fortunate we are. My daughter and I have been volunteering 3 days a week for the past month sorting and counting books and art activities for the needy families in our town. Tomorrow is distribution day and we will be giving out toys to 1700 recipients!! You would not believe the beautiful things that have been donated, it truly is amazing. I got goose bumps from head to toe when I saw a room full of bags filled to the top with toys. Here are some pics of our area. We sorted more books, playdough, movies, music and art activites than you could imagine. Now I need to concentrate on preparing for Chritmas in our household.
It made it so much easier to prepare the recipes now that I had things on hand. It got very frustrating running back and forth to the store each time I wanted to experiment with a new recipe. Something I learned very quickly was to plan ahead and make a weekly menu. That way I could make one trip to the store and have everything I needed for a weeks worth of raw entrees. I would have to go for fresh fruits and vegetables in the middle of the week but other than that I was pretty well stocked up.
Next thing on my goal sheet was to learn how to sprout. I searched the Internet for sprouting how to videos. I found some really great ones and some really lame ones. Here is a great one to teach you how to soak and sprout buckwheat, sunflower and oats. Sprouting YouTube from The Renegade Health Show. Trust me it not as hard as it seems!! It is super easy. You will definately get motivated to sprout once you hear what nutritional powerhouses sprouts are.
So what about green sprouts like broccoli, red clover, white radish, sunflower, mung and adzuki? I posted about my easy sprouting technique here.
Here is a written atricle also that you could print out and refer to as you are learning.
If you want to go to Sprout School take a look at this web site. Scroll down their main page and on the left hand side they have a Sprout School to teach you everything you'd ever want to know about sprouting. This is the main site that I used to learn and I think it is fantastic.
I also wanted to learn how to sprout grains so I could make raw breads, crackers and morning cereal. I bought some oat groats and decided to try soaking them and using them in different recipes. I think my favorite recipe with oat groats has to be Oat Groat Pilaf.
I served it on top of cucumber rounds and even in romaine wraps with Roma tomatoes and sprouts. It is fantastic.
Oat Groat Pilaf
3/4 C oat groats, soaked 12 hrs
1/3 C pumpkin seeds, soaked 3 hrs, drain and let sprout 1 day
After oat groats have soaked 12 hrs, drain and rinse well and squeeze out the excess water. Pulse the groats in a food processor and set aside. Pulse the pumpkin seeds with:
1 T Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp Italian herb blend
1 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp onion powder
Next combine the oat groats and pumpkin seed mixture with 1/3 cup of pine nuts. Drizzle all with some wheat free Tamari and first cold pressed EVOO, mix well. Use as a filling for collards or romaine leaves and top with sprouts of choice or serve on top of cucumber rounds. Enjoy!
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for everything I have been blessed with. As I watched the parents line up today, 24 hours in advance, for the Toys for Tots distribution tomorrow I couldn't help but think how fortunate we are. My daughter and I have been volunteering 3 days a week for the past month sorting and counting books and art activities for the needy families in our town. Tomorrow is distribution day and we will be giving out toys to 1700 recipients!! You would not believe the beautiful things that have been donated, it truly is amazing. I got goose bumps from head to toe when I saw a room full of bags filled to the top with toys. Here are some pics of our area. We sorted more books, playdough, movies, music and art activites than you could imagine. Now I need to concentrate on preparing for Chritmas in our household.
Comments
Your oat groat pilaf sounds and looks really good.:)