Raw Buckwheaties

This simple breakfast cereal is a staple in my kitchen! You can dress it up by adding nuts, seeds, chopped dates, your favourite berries, or fresh fruit. But, when I serve Buckwheaties in a cereal bowl with bananas and my favourite nut milk, it brings back childhood memories of listening for the crunch in every spoonful of my crispy rice cereal.

Every couple of weeks, I like to prepare a large batch of Buckwheaties. This way I always have some on hand for: cereal; sprinkling on salads; in wraps for extra crunch; adding to cakes; or grinding into flour.

• Soak Buckwheat Groats in three times as much water for at least 4 hours
• After soaking, drain and rinse them really, really well
• If you don't want to sprout them, simply spread on mesh dehydrator trays as below
• If you do want to sprout them, leave Groats sitting in a colander on top of a bowl
• Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave on the counter for 1-2 days until the sprouted tails are visible
• While Groats are sprouting on the counter, keep rinsing and draining them 2-3 times a day
• After a final rinse, the Groats are spread on mesh dehydrator trays
• Dehydrate at 105 degrees for approximately 5-8 hours, or until Groats are dry and crispy to the touch

• Stored in the fridge in large covered glass jars, Buckwheaties will last for a few months

How to Make . . . Dehydrated Cherries

Cherries are in season for such a short time - but we can make the best of this ripe, delicious harvest by setting aside a portion to freeze or dehydrate - that is if you don't eat them all as soon as you get home! 

During the first batch, when I pitted fresh cherries some precious cherry juice was wasted. The second batch worked much better with frozen cherries, which aside from giving me red thumbs, is really very simple! So you can start with fresh or frozen cherries, the choice is yours.

To remove the pits from the cherries without losing most of the juice, I freeze cherries in small batches and let them thaw a tiny bit before I remove the pits by hand (I must get a cherry pitter).

Next I drain the pitted defrosting cherries, in a colander over a bowl, which allows the cherries to release their lovely juice as they defrost. By storing the cherry juice in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator, I now have fresh cherry juice ready to be used in recipes, or poured over a fruit salad! 

Simply spread the cherries (now separated from pits and juice) onto a paraflexx sheet on a dehydrator tray - with the skin side down to preserve remaining juice. Dehydrate at 105 degrees F for 12 hours and remove paraflexx sheet, leaving cherries to finish drying on the mesh tray liner. Dehydrate another 12 hours until dry. They should not be crispy, and look like raisins with a bit of moisture remaining.

The dehydrated cherries can now be stored in a glass jar with a lid. I keep mine in the refrigerator - ready when I need them! Imagine how the flavours in your recipes will pop by adding dehydrated cherries! Yummy!

Local Organic Berries

Certified Organic Associations of BC (COABC)  http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/  is the main website where you can look up Organic and Bio-Dynamic farmers in your area. Here are just a few farms from their list for Abbotsford and Chilliwack.

Since we can finally start picking, now is the time to consider the health benefits of choosing Organic over commercially grown produce. If the farm sign has a large green checkmark and says Certified, you know the produce has been grown without artificial chemicals, hormones, or genetically modified or engineered organisms (GMOs). All of these pesticides and fertilizers can create an unhealthy toxic build up in your body that may be detrimental to your health. The choice is up to you!

Fresh picked from Warkentin Organic Farm

ABBOTSFORD
Bateman Berry Farm 604-850-0377 - blueberries
Biota Farm 604-859-5959 - fruit, hens, eggs, vegetables (Bio-Dynamic)
Blue Heaven 604-850-2278 - blueberries
Casa Blanca Farm 604-607-0043 - apples, pears, peaches, raspberries
Collin Regehr Farms 604-302-5489 - raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
Glen Valley Organic 604-857-0017 - mixed veggies, greens, fruit, berries
Warkentin Organic Farm 604-826-7230 - blueberries, strawberries, blackberries

CHILLIWACK
Forstbauer Family Farm 604-794-3999 - blueberries, veggies, herbs, fruit, eggs, beef (Bio-Dynamic)
Lenz Farm 604-823-6577 - hazelnuts
Ohm Organic Farm 604-703-3200

LANGLEY
Casa Blanca Farm 604-607-0043 - apples, pears, peaches, raspberries, hazelnuts

Organic Fruits, Greens, and Veggies

When in the grocery store produce aisle the other day, a woman asked me a question about the organic bananas I was choosing. "Are these the supposedly organic bananas" she asked in a mocking tone? Her mistrust of the organic labelling process was obvious, so I simply replied that yes these bananas were organic and directed her to the conventional bananas.

As an advocate of organic and biodynamic foods normally I would happily take the time to offer information on the health benefits of organic produce, but in this case an obviously hostile confrontation was not the answer. There are always two sides - some people are ready to discuss openly and some people are not!

I'm grateful to this woman for reminding me that not everyone is aware of the levels of pesticides on conventional foods. Personally I buy as much organic produce as is available, and purchase produce from the dirty dozen Only If Organic (this includes many red bell peppers - but never green bell peppers as they are unripened fruit). So here is some information that I'l like to share with readers of this blog.

THE DIRTY DOZEN

Apples                            Peaches

Bell peppers                         Pears

Celery                            Potatoes

Cherries                     Red raspberries

Grapes                           Spinach

Nectarines                      Strawberries

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s own lab testing reveals that even after washing, some fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher levels of pesticide residue than others. Based on an analysis of more than 100,000 U.S. government pesticide test results, researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., have developed the “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables above, that they say you should always buy organic if possible - because their conventionally grown counterparts tend to be laden with pesticides.

Among fruits, nectarines had the highest percentage testing positive for pesticide residue. Peaches and red raspberries had the most pesticides (nine) on a single sample.

Among vegetables, celery and spinach most often carried pesticides, with spinach having the highest number (10) on a single sample. (For more information on pesticide levels for other types of produce, go to http://www.foodnews.org/ )

Raw Rainbow Stir Fry

Yesterday I felt like preparing something sweet and simple for today's lunch, so here is what I came up with.

This dish doesn't take long to put together and is easily dehydrated overnight.

At the bottom I have given you three suggestions for plating - feel free to play with the dressing till it suits your tastebuds - and serve it your way!

Raw Rainbow Stir Fry
1 cup broccoli, chopped into florets
1 cup fresh pineapple, in 1" chunks
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into noodles
1/2 cup snow peas

Dressing:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Agave
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp gluten-free Tamari

• Prepare the fruit and vegetables as above and place in a flat bottom glass casserole (an 8 x 11-1/2" casserole gives two good size servings)
• In a bowl whisk together the olive oil, Agave, lemon juice, and Tamari
• Pour the mixture over the fruit and vegetables and stir to coat
• Remove bottom 2 trays from your dehydrator and place casserole on bottom of dehydrator
• Dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 6-8 hours, or until softened and warmed through
• Option 1 - I used a vegetable peeler to make zucchini noodles, placed the noodles on a plate, and covered them with the stir fry
• Option 2 - You could sprinkle the stir fry with Sesame seeds and Enjoy As Is
• Option 3 - Increase the amount of dressing and make a veggie rice. Place veggie rice on a plate and pour the stir fry and dressing over top of the rice.

Gluten-Free Life

Since this blog is about sharing possibilities for healthy living, why not revisit the subject of gluten intolerance (from a previous post)? Being a raw foodie I have already had my own experience of the benefits of eating a simpler way without processed foods. But you may want to ask yourself how many products containing wheat, oats, etc are already in your diet - and then consider the possibility that these products may be the cause of lingering problems in your body? An easy way to do your own test is to eliminate breads and gluten products for a couple of weeks and see how you feel. If you do feel considerably better - then maybe you would benefit from a gluten-free diet!

You can see more in my September 10, 2010 post, but here are a few of the symptoms that may arise from gluten intolerance:  fatigue, joint pain, gastrointestinal distress, headaches, weight loss, depression, dermatitis, lactose intolerance, and anemia, just to mention a few.

When I chose to stop eating bread, bagels, and wheat products, my sinus symptoms went away, no aches or pains, and I did not have that bloated feeling. So after some research, I decided that in my raw food classes I would provide the option of being wheat-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free. And from there it was a natural progression for me to adopt this way of eating into my lifestyle - this has been a good choice that feels right for me!

For more information - view my post in the Blog Archives on September 10, 2010 - which includes links to follow!

Raw Zesty Orange Chia Pudding

My bag of juicy organic oranges and Chia seeds wanted to get together somehow, so today this quick and healthy dessert came into being!

The oil from Chia seeds contains a very high concentration of omega-3 fatty acid - approximately 64%. Chia seeds contain no gluten and trace levels of sodium, and when mixed with water, Chia seeds create a mucilaginous gel that helps heal the stomach lining. There are no known toxic components of Chia.

Raw Zesty Orange Chia Pudding
2 oranges, peeled and seeded
1/4 tsp (or less) orange zest, grated
2 tsp Agave
1-1/2 tsp raw carob powder (optional)
1 tsp raw cacao powder (optional)
1/4 cup Chia seeds, dry

• You can make this an orange pudding by simply omitting the carob and cacao powders
• Grate the orange peel (before peeling orange) and set aside this zest
• Place oranges in a blender and blend until you have a smooth liquid (about 1-1/2 cups)
• In a bowl mix together orange liquid, orange zest, Agave, carob and cacao powders
• Add 1/4 cup Chia seeds to bowl and blend through
• Allow to sit for 10 minutes to thicken
• Serve in dessert dishes topped with an orange slice!