Apple Salsa

2 apples (I used one granny, one braeburn)
1 onion
1 anaheim pepper or jalapeno pepper
Juice of ½ lime
2 tbsp cilantro

Slice everything into small pieces and blend together in the food processor. Eat with tortilla chips. Delicious!!

The original recipe said to use 1/2 an onion and both of the peppers. I preferred more onion; both peppers just made it too spicy for some people. I will be experimenting with bell peppers for added color and flavor!

coconut chicken and veggies over quinoa

Today I attempted something new. I will need to experiment a lot more before I come up with something I really like and I'm totally open to suggestions. Here's what I did today:

• Pan-fried frozed chicken in olive oil, coconut kefir, and spices (cayenne pepper, cumin, ginger, salt)


• Added chopped onions and covered


• Added garlic


• When chicken was thawed, I took out and cubed, then added back into the pan


• Turned heat way down and added more coconut kefir and spices


• When chicken was cooked, added chopped mushrooms


• When mushrooms were soft, added parsley


• Let sit for a minute


• Served over quinoa topped with raisins

Soaking Grains and Other Things I Learned

Right now I have kefir fermenting on my bookshelf, rice soaking in water and lemon juice, and I am making plans to start purchasing raw milk. Why?

I have heard from a few different sources that grains should be soaked before cooking. For a long time I have felt as though planning meals far enough in advance that I remember to soak anything was too much of a pain but I recently began trying to do so, even if only for a couple hours. I had a niggling feeling, however, that there is more to soaking grains than just putting them in water and letting them sit.

On Sat I had a conversation with one of YDAO’s volunteer staff – Eric – about food. He explained to me that the reason for soaking grains is to begin the digestion process. It takes us 24-36 hours to pass food through our systems but in that amount of time grains have barely begun to break down. Also, whole grains contain something called phytic acid, which blocks us from absorbing the nutrients in the grains. If we soak grains in order to begin that digestion process, the phytic acid breaks down and we absorb the nutrients.

As I guessed, there’s more to soaking grains than just putting them in water overnight. In order to start this pre-digestion process, the grains must be soaked in something acidic. Eric told me what acids are good for this but I had to look it up in order to remember: kombucha, kefir, raw apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt, to name a few. According to this site you mix 1 tbsp of the acid per cup of water and soak overnight. Another site says to soak 12-24 hours. I’m excited to have a new way to use my kefir; it doesn’t taste very good by itself. I was imagining how tasty rice soaked in coconut kefir will be. Mm-mm.

If you are drinking milk right now or eating yogurt or anything dairy I suggest you either put it aside or wait until you’re done eating as you read this next part. Purchasing raw milk has become very important to me as per my conversation with Eric. I had already heard that pasteurized milk kills all the healthy bacteria which helps build our immune systems as well as the vitamins and enzymes that make milk healthy. Here’s something I didn’t know:

Cows were never supposed to produce as much milk as the cows hooked up to machines and sucked dry. These cows develop mastitis – an infection in the udder – and up to 50-70% of the milk is pus.

Here, have another glass of pus – I mean, milk.

Gross.

I have just ordered the book “Nourishing Traditions” from the library. I’m excited to continue learning about healthy eating. Hopefully my food budget can keep up! ;)

Kale Chips!!!

I heard about these from a friend and KNEW I had to try it for myself.

Need:
1 bunch kale
salt
olive oil
baking sheet

Pre-heat the oven on 350 degrees
rinse kale
dribble olive oil across the bottom of the baking sheet
arrange kale leaves on baking sheet
lightly drizzle olive oil across kale
sprinkle salt across kale

bake for - I don't know - 5 to 7 min or until leaves are crispy.

These things are tasty right off the baking sheet! And they're super healthy. You can dip them in hummus but they are kind of fragile. I would also like to try them in a food dryer (Shelli's suggestion) and at lower temps.

Spinach Dip

Ok, yummy, I "discovered" this dip while watching Rachel Ray at the gym. It looked so delicious (and I was looking for a way to incorporate more leafy greens into my diet) that I thought I'd go ahead and give it a try.

Ingredients:

1 can white kidney beans (although obviously it's healthier if you buy dried ones and cook them yourself)
1 large bag of spinach
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon worth of juice
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

• Drain and rinse the beans and put into a food processor
• Sauté chopped garlic in olive oil
• Add spinach in the pan with the garlic and wilt
• Put garlic and spinach into the food processor with the beans
• Add lemon juice
• Add enough olive oil so it blends easily together
• Add salt and pepper to taste
  
  As you’re sautéing the garlic and wilting the spinach, remember that higher heats cook out the nutrients in vegetables. I barely wilt the spinach and never cook my veggies over a “3” on the burner.
  In true Raychel style I have begun experimenting; today I made this recipe but added feta cheese (thanks for moving the feta to a location where I could find it, Krysti. Or was it there the whole time? Haha!). Super yummy with tortilla chips although Rachel Ray suggested - endive leaves? I think that’s what it was. Shelli and I were discussing trying it with kale chips.
  

Butternut Squash Soup

Hello all! I've tried my hand at one recipe for butternut squash soup and didn't like it much so decided to make up my own, with the help of a recipe a friend of mine used. It was much better. Here's what I did and some of the variations you can try.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash (I used 1 small butternut and 1 small acorn) peel and cube
1 med yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped or crushed
1 carrot, sliced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
2 tbsp butter
Water
Sea salt
Pepper
Cayenne

You can add chicken stock or bouillon to the broth. I would imagine that if you use chicken stock you probably don’t need to add water but you’ll want to add the bouillon to the water

Sauté the onions and garlic in the butter. When the onions are tender, add cubed squash, potato, and carrot then add water to cover the veggies
Let veggies simmer until tender
Blend everything in a blender
Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. If you use bouillon or chicken broth, you’ll probably need less or possibly no salt. I used only water so needed quite a bit of salt.
Eat and enjoy!

Anybody have any other good/interesting ideas for butternut squash soup? This was only my second attempt and it turned out delicious but I'll bet it could be better!

Squash season!!!

About two years ago I discovered that fruit and vegetables contain very few calories while packing in the vitamins and minerals. I was able to lose weight simply by incorporating more vegetables into my diet; they filled me up but reduced the amount of calories I consumed in a meal; the fat nearly melted off my body.

Today I am still experimenting with different fruits and vegetables in my meals. This fall I decided to search out the secrets of squash. They are in season right now and one of the many fruits I am not very familiar with. I've discovered so many types! Acorn, golden acorn, swan white acorn, butternut, crooked neck, spaghetti, etc.

The other day I made a butternut squash soup that was great but not what I expected; I wanted something savory and this came out very sweet. I've baked a couple squash with butter, brown sugar, and nutmeg; once I stuffed the squash with pears coated in brown sugar. Krysti made pumpkin bread that was to die for. Delicious! Oh, and I discovered baking the seeds (like you would do pumpkin seeds) to make a wonderful snack.

My favorite discovery so far is adding squash to pasta. No, I don't mean eating spaghetti squash, although that sounds like a great idea too. What I've done (twice now, and LOVED) is saute squash, garlic, and shallots in olive oil or butter. Once the squash is tender, I add cooked pasta, toss them together, and serve. My mom can't have pasta so, as I was telling her of my experiments, I suggested she try it over rice or quinoa.

I'm not limited to just the squash, garlic, and shallots, though. I love to add bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, parsley, and chicken in the mix. What a delicious dinner! Yum, I can't wait for lunch!!