A salad with yummy sprouts!

The following article is by my dear friend Denise Holden. I’ve been meaning to post about sprouts for a while now, as they are a prominent part of my diet. They’re such a great way to eat fresh, live, nutrient rich food. Here’s what Denise has to say about them:

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During the winter season, sprouts are an excellent source of fresh vegetables.

Sprouts represent the point of greatest vitality in the life cycle of a plant. During sprouting, vitamin and enzyme content increases dramatically. The sprouting process predigests the nutrients of the seed, making it easier to assimilate and metabolize: starches are converted into simple sugars, proteins into free amino acids, and fats into free fatty acids. This explains why grains and legumes, many of which are common allergens, often do not cause allergies when sprouted.

Alfalfa sprouts are diuretic, will benefit the urinary and intestinal systems, and will help to detoxify the body. One compound in particular called sulforaphane in broccoli sprouts has been shown to improve the liver’s ability to detoxify carcinogens and other toxic compounds.

Sprouts will not enjoy sprouting as much in tap water, making a cleaner water source (like bottled spring water or filtered water) a better choice when sprouting.

Quick serving ideas

• Sprouts make great replacements for lettuce on sandwiches
• Sprinkle tossed green salads with a mix of alfalfa and broccoli sprouts
• Make a healthy burrito by adding a handful of sprouts

One word of caution about alfalfa: this seed has higher than usual amounts of an amino acid called canavanine, which has been associated with worsening of inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Individuals with chronic inflammatory conditions, including autoimmune conditions, may want to avoid alfalfa sprouts for this reason.

HOW TO SPROUT ***** From Healing with Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchford.

All measurements below yield one quart of ready sprouts

Seed Soak Time Days to Sprout

2 Tbsp alfalfa or red clover 6 hours 5-6 days

1/4 cup radish or mustard 6 hours 5-6 days

1/2 cup lentils or fenugreek 8 hours 3 days

1/2 cup mung bean 8 hours 3-5 days

1 cup wheat or rye 12 hours 3 days

1 cup aduki, chick peas, soy, or other legumes or grains 12 hours 3-5 days

2 cups sunflower seeds 12 hours 2 days

1- Cover the mouth of the jar with stainless steel sprouting screen or cheesecloth, which is tied on or secured with a rubber band. After soaking seeds (use distilled or spring water), drain well and keep in warm dark place – sprouting time increases with more light and cooler conditions

2- Rinse twice a day, ideally morning and evening. An exception is soy, which may rot if not rinsed 4 times daily. Keep jar tilted mouth down for better drainage – thorough rinsing and complete draining improve sprout flavor. You can save all rinse water for cooking, animals, or plants.

3- After 3 days place alfalfa, red clover, radish, and mustard sprouts in a cool place with indirect sunlight to induce chlorophyll. Continue rinsing twice daily until sprouts are ready.

4- During the sprouting process, the hulls on certain seeds slough off. It is important to remove hulls from alfalfa and radish sprouts since these easily rot. To remove the hulls, place the sprouts in a large bowl of water and agitate them, further loosening and brushing them aside. Gently reach under the sprouts and lift them out of the water, without disturbing the sunken hulls.

5- Drain sprouts well. If refrigerated, they keep up to one week in a plastic bag or covered glass jar.

(Another great source is The Sprouting Book by Ann Wigmore)

“You want me to drink kale?” This is what goes through some people’s mind the first time they’re introduced to green smoothies. You know the face children make when they don’t want to eat something? I’ve watched that look come across the faces of people before they try it.

But then they give it a shot, and lo and behold, it tastes good! Better yet, it FEELS great! Your body says, “Oh yeah, that’s what I want.”

Why is that? Well, green leafy veggies are one of the most healing foods nature provides. They lower the acidity in the body and help your system restore balance with that all powerful substance: chlorophyll.

Plus they’re loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and more.

Green Smoothie Healing

To me, drinking a green smoothie is part of my yoga practice because it is a kindness to my body. It gives me what I need to perform at my highest level – and not just physically. When your body is in a healthy state, your mental and emotional capacities are also more balanced as they are inseparable.

When you give your body this kind of nutrition, it supports the systems of your body to do their thing more efficiently and easily. I believe my immune system has been far stronger since I started drinking green smoothies last summer.

I mean, think about it; would your body prefer you start off the day with spinach, banana, kiwi, and blueberries rather of some processed cereal and milk or toast and jam?

You can have second breakfast if you want, so you don’t have to cut it out completely, but drinking a green smoothie first sets up a healthy day in a big way!

One of the reasons green smoothies are so healing is because they’re blended up. When you liquefy the greens, it gives them far more bioavailability because the cell walls are broken and your body doesn’t have to work nearly as hard to assimilate the nutrients.

GREEN SMOOTHIE TIP: These tasty smoothies are a lot more enjoyable, and the goodness in them is more easily assimilated when you use a top quality blender, such as a Vita Mix. The result is a smoother drink (no chewing bits of kale that didn’t get blended), plus you’ll find that having a powerful blender is so helpful in the kitchen that you’ll wonder how you did without it before!

I start out every day with a green smoothie. They’re tasty, satisfying and by far one of the best possible foods you can give your body!

This video is actually how I learned to make Green Smoothies:

Check this link for Green Smoothie Recipes and How To Make Green Smoothies.

• Do you drink green smoothies? If not, please share why. If so, what do you think about them and what is one of your favorite recipes?

Okay, I’ve got a new favorite.

This morning’s green smoothie developed from whatever I could find to put in the Vita Mix. Since I’m visiting my parents at the moment, and my dad brought home some kiwis, I thought I’d throw one in.

At some point this summer I ate my first kiwi with the skin on. I know, if you haven’t done it this seems very strange, but it doesn’t taste bad at all, and gives you more fiber and other goodness. So for my smoothie this morning all I did was cut the very tips of the kiwi off (the hard bits) and toss the rest in.

Kiwi is very low on the glycemic index (meaning it’s less likely to spike your blood sugar and insulin levels). It also is high in potassium and vitamin C, as well as other minerals and vitamins.

This green smoothie, like most, gives you an awesome source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, plus a decent amount of fiber and protein. According to my estimated calculations using nutritiondata.com, this smoothie delivers about 10g fiber and 6g protein. Plus all the chlorophyll from the spinach, which is super healing and has anti-inflammatory properties.

And the best part? It tastes amazing!

Recipe:

Water (1.5 cups)

Spinach (a few good sized handfuls)

1 whole kiwi

1 small banana

1/2 cup blueberries

Remember to blend the greens well before adding the fruit so you get the most nutritional benefit.

Enjoy!

• Let me know if you liked it or if you have variation ideas by commenting below.

But then you taste it. And very soon after that you FEEL it.

And lo and behold, it’s really good!

Green smoothies are one of the very best ways to get a whole lot of nutrients, anti-oxidants, and healing green leafy veggies into your system. When you do this, your body responds with energy and vitality. One of the reasons green smoothies are so excellent is because green leavy veggies that are blended are much easier for the body to assimilate. You would have to spend hours chewing greens to get the same benefit that you would from blended green smoothies.

Starting off, use 60% fruit to 40% greens, and play around with different combinations for variety and taste. The following recipes will get you going. There are lots of great green smoothie recipes out there, like ones from Victoria Boutenko, the mother of green smoothies. Find the ones you like best, and remember to switch your fruits and greens often – don’t keep drinking the same thing every day. Variety = Vitality.

Simple Soothies:

Remember to use 60% fruit, 40% greens when you start drinking smoothies so they taste great! Add pure water to get the consistency you want. Play around with the combinations and drink them SLOWLY.

• Strawberry, banana, spinach
• Pineapple, mango, kale
• Blueberries, banana, swiss chard
• Pineapple, strawberry, banana, chard, arugula
• Papaya, cilantro
• Mixed berries, banana, kale
• Peaches, butter lettuce

Have your own favorite smoothies?

Comment below with the recipes and inspire new blender creations!

However, in the last few months I’ve found myself craving more raw food, and the more I eat raw the more I want to eat raw.

I’ve been eating maybe 50 – 70% raw for the last month. The biggest difference I notice is that I am more consistently happy now than ever. I feel good. I have more energy. My relationship with my body has increased in awareness. I naturally want to work out and be more active.

It all started with green smoothies. 60% fruit, 40% green leafy veggies like kale, chard, spinach and the like. The fruit makes it taste amazing, and the greens give you such an amazingly potent dose of nutrients. Because it’s all blended up the vitamins and minerals of the fruit and greens are more easily absorbed by the body. A truly awesome concoction.

Are you drinking them yet? It’s funny how many people I meet are into green smoothies. My parents are even drinking them, it’s great! When you start your day off with that much goodness in a glass, your body notices. It LIKES it! It feels good.

So the longer I drink green smoothies, the more often I make eating choices that are raw. I crave salad. Often. I don’t choose it because I think it’s the healthy thing to do either – I’d actually just rather eat salad. Weird, ‘eh?

Now, at this point I’m not 100% raw, and I still don’t plan to eat all raw food all the time. I’ll maybe do a month here and there raw, just for the cleansing benefits, but I also think there are times where eating cooked food is more appropriate, even just for the sheer enjoyment of it. Loving your food has great value. I believe in having a ‘cheat meal’ once a week. The thing is, when you eat super clean most of the time you can get away with indulging every so often.

Staying with my buddy Brian has been a sweet way to enjoy this transition. Brian’s into raw food, knows a lot about a lot of things, makes me laugh constantly, and is a fantastic chef.

Brian also turned his backyard into a big organic garden. It’s gorgeous. You should taste these tomatoes! So good. Growing your own food is one of the best things you can do for yourself, even if it’s just on a small scale like a few planters of herbs.

When you eat fruits and veggies that are really fresh you receive so much more vitality. Walking out to the garden for kale to put in your green smoothie is quite pleasant in the morning – a wonderful way to start the day. The nutritional value of growing your own food and eating fresh is enormous. And then you’re also saving a hefty amount of fuel and packaging that would have otherwise been involved in getting that food to your kitchen.

Brian makes salad dressings that are so very tasty that the salad takes on a whole new category of delicious. And they’re not all that hard to make.

There are a lot of ways to approach eating more raw, ‘cause it’s not just salad. For me, I think variety and creativity are the two things you want to concentrate on to easily and happily eat more raw food.

Variety: Use a wide spectrum of whole, raw and living foods. Explore the fruits and veggies that are available to you; for example, purple cabbage, beets and carrots are nice grated into a salad. Farmer’s Markets are great for fresh, local, vibrant food. Try different nuts and seeds. Learn how easy it is to make sprouts. Discover how good flax oil, balsamic or apple cider vinager, sea salt, pepper and nutritional yeast can actually taste on a mix of fresh salad.

Creativity: Entering the world of raw food preparation is its own adventure. First thing you should know is that you can happily eat raw very simply. You can also make the most decadent raw fudge and satisfying energy bars I’ve ever tried. The amount of raw recipes out there is vast, so don’t be afraid to play around and try something new. Also, many communities have raw potlucks where you can get ideas and try different recipes. Ask around to see if there’s one near you.

I think the most important thing to remember when starting a raw food diet is to keep it fun and not stress about it. Also, as you develop a more mindful relationship with food you will notice you don’t need as much of it. Where you once may have gone for half a bag of potato chips, one handful of nuts does the trick. Instead of a processed snack with sugar in it you develop a taste for fresh (or sometimes dried) fruit.

Eating in this wholesome way makes you feel more alive. The food is more satisfying because it’s natural. It’s such a simple concept that we, as a society, somehow steered away from for some time. But this is changing rapidly. Huge numbers of people are eating more organic, vegetarian, vegan, and raw foods. They do so for their health, for the taste, for the fact that it does far less damage to the earth than conventional foods and meat, and because they know it’s better for their families.

You don’t have to eat entirely raw to benefit from it. In fact, just starting out each day with a green smoothie would make a huge difference, even if you did nothing else. Add more raw elements as you want, as it feels right, and according to the season. For instance, when it’s colder it may be more appropriate to have soups, roasted veggies, and maybe whole grains and healthy breads. But when it’s warmer and so much fresh food is available locally, eating raw makes since and feels great.

Have fun with it! Be curious and amused with your own process. Notice any changes in your body and attitude. And laugh when you find yourself thinking things like: “You know you’ve really changed when you pack four plums and a piece of kale for a snack.”

Fresh fruits, salads, and cut up veggies for snacks are the most common raw foods for the majority of people. This is a great start, especially if you include them in your diet regularly.

However, there is a whole world of culinary delights most of us have never even considered.

The raw food movement has been growing at an exponential rate. Some of the reasons people choose to eat raw food include:

So what is raw food anyway?

Basically, a raw food diet consists of whole fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and seaweeds that are organic, unprocessed, and not cooked or heated above 120 degrees so the amino-acids, enzymes and nutrients in the food are fully available.

“Do you have to eat 100% raw to get all the benefits?”

No, you don’t have to switch to a completely raw diet. The most important thing for a healthy diet is to eat whole foods, eliminating processed foods as much as possible or altogether. Sometimes that isn’t realistic, so you just do your best and eat appropriately.

However, including more raw foods in your diet, especially green leafy vegetables, is enormously beneficial for your health. Why? Because you get the building blocks of life straight from the source, unaltered and readily available for all that your body needs.

The great thing is that there are now countless resources where you can get ideas on tasty, easy ways to include raw foods in your diet.

How do I start?

Perhaps one of the best ways to start eating more raw food is with green smoothies. Even if I don’t eat any other raw meals for the rest of the day, I start off every morning with a green smoothie.

Combining fresh fruit and green leafy veggies makes a surprisingly delicious concoction full of vitality. You can feel the energy instantly.

Here’s a great video explaining how to make a simple, delicious green smoothie.

Some days I end up having two smoothies, and just ride that energy through the entire morning.

The interesting thing about introducing more pure, raw foods into your diet, is that you notice a difference between how you feel after your green smoothie, and how you feel after having, say, eggs and toast. Suddenly, as good as they may taste, eggs and toast aren’t as appealing because you notice that they simply don’t fuel your body as effectively or play as nicely with your digestive system.

Just like anything else, experimenting with raw food is a journey to know yourself. It is another chance to find out what works best for you, what makes you feel healthy, and what makes you happy. You won’t know until you try.

What about raw meals?

It’s surprising how many creative and tasty raw recipes are out there.

Watching this video will quickly give you an idea of how varied a raw diet can really be.

Often you can find a raw food culinary workshop in your area, and learn hands-on how to work with food in a totally new way. Warning: this can get addictive, spark creativity, and inspire such excitement about eating healthy that you’ll want to share it with friends!

Do you have a good raw food recipe?

Post it on the raw recipe page for others to enjoy!

There are lots of great raw food resources out there. Search online or in your local book store to see what grabs your attention. Then head to the farmer’s market or produce section of the grocery store armed with your own reusable bags and venture into the realm of eating pure without the packaging.

Do you have experience with raw food that you’d like to share with others? Post a comment below!