Apple Cinnamon Granola – Cherie Soria

September 2, 2009

A variation of Cheri Soria’s Buckwheat Granola.  I love this for breakfast with fruit and almond milk.  It’s especially decadent with coconut yogurt.  I don’t eat this often because I find it  a bit difficult to digest. Letting it soak in the milk or yogurt to soften a bit before eating helps.   So does making sure to really chew chew chew.  It’s extremely filling and great for those times when you want to get that full belly feeling.

It’s also useful for quick desserts.  You can break it up and use it as a crumble toppings for fruit crisps or pies.

Buckwheat GranolaApple Cinnamon Granola

3/4-1 lb pitted dates (1-1 1/2 cups packed)
1/2 cup purified water (approximately)
1 lb (2 1/2 cups) raw buckwheat groats, soaked and sprouted
1/8 lb (3/4 cup) currants or raisins
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded or shaved coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked 4-6 hours, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked 4-6 hours, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup sesame seeds, soaked 4-6 hours, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup flax seeds, soaked 8-12 hours in 1/2 cup purified water (do not rinse or drain)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

  1. Loosely separate the dates and put them in a high speed blender.  Add the water and blend to form a smooth paste, adding more water if necessary.
  2. Combine the buckwheat groats, currants or raisins, shredded coconut, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and stir well or mix with your hands.
  3. Spread 1/4 inch of bater (4-6 cups) evenly on a dehydrator tray lined with a nonstick sheet.  Repeat until all of hte batter is used.
  4. Dehydrate for 8 hours at 105 degrees, flip the granola onto a mesh dehydrator screen, and continue dehydrating another 24 hours until completely dry.
  5. Break the granola aparat or crumble it into chunks.
  6. Store in a sealed glass jars in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Note: use the larger amount of dates for a sweeter granola.

Note: toasted buckwheat groats, known as kasha, is a very popular Middle Eastern grain and can easily be confused with raw groats.  Make sure to buy raw, hulled, buckwheat groats.

Note: for a pretty presentation, you can score the batter into 1″ squares after you put them onto the nonstick dehydrator sheets.

Note: to sprout groats, first soak them in water to cover for 8 hours or overnight.  Drain and rinse them, and put them in a colander over a plate, to catch any water.  Allow them to sprout for 12-24 hours, rinsing them every 12 hours.

Variations

Apple cinnamon granola – add 4 cored and shredded apples.

Berry granola – eliminate the cinnamon and add 1 lb of fresh or frozen berries.  Be sure to fold those in last.

Granola bars – spread the granola batter 1/2 inch thick on nonstick dehydrator sheets, then score into squares before dehydrating.

Serve with love

She said habit

September 1, 2009

Natasha posted a vid on habits.  I had to link, ‘natch, ’cause I’m all about the raw and the habits.  Go Natasha!

Monthly goals

September 1, 2009

I wrote about my monthly goals on Sunday, but thought I’d summarize them in a single easy to reference post.  For September 2009 my goals are:

  1. Complete a 30 day 100% raw vegan challenge 09/01-09/30
  2. Exercise for 30 minutes 5 days per week
  3. Take at least 1 Iyengar yoga class this month
  4. Cycle to work 3 times, if possible, once the air quality improves.  I’m very close to the Station fire and it’s currently raining very chunky ash

That’s enough I think.  Don’t want to overwhelm myself.  Got to keep things Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-framed.   It helps that I’m already raw for two meals per day.  I made my fitday account publicly viewable, so folks can see what I’m eating.  I did pretty good staying raw yesterday.  I had some toast with cheese in the evening.  I simply forgot I was going to stay 100% raw.  I’m used to having cooked ovo-lacto veg food in the evenings.  Good thing it was still August.  I technically hadn’t started my Sept. 100% raw challenge.  Today has been 100% raw so far.   I think if I make it 3 days, I’ll be ok.  It’s like juice fasting.  Once I get through the initial hump it gets easier.  I need to watch out for the things which can interfere with my goals.  For tomorrow, I’ll figure out what the obstacles are and come up with work-arounds.

Courtney on habits gets me into goals

August 30, 2009

“small, consistent habits are what bring results” says Courtney over at Radical Radiance.  I couldn’t agree more.  Somebody, sorry, I forget who, once asked me, “what’s the one smallest thing you can do today to get yourself closer to achieving your goal?”   When I replied, that person came back at me with, “well then do it.”

It’s so Nike (just do it).  Or Nancy Reagan (just say no).  But simple is not easy as I always say.  The thing which holds us back is all or nothing thinking.  If I can’t do it all at once, I can give in and let myself slide.  If I can’t juice feast 100% for 90 days, then I’ll go straight back into SAD style eating.  It’s b*lsh*t.  It’s truly addictive thinking.  The addict inside makes any excuse to justify continuing in the comfortable familiar ruts.

So what’s the one smallest thing I can do each day to get closer to my goal? Um. I first need to articulate a goal.  A few days ago I said I was going to do that soon.  And I was going to make those goals SMART.  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-framed.

Well ok then.  We’re at the start of a new month.  It’s my birthday month (going to be 38), no better time to take on a challenge.   My goal for this month is to be 100% raw.  There.  I said it.  I’ve put it down in text. The proof is right there in front of me.  My other goal this month is to return to my old habit of cycling to work.  Unfortunately, I can’t begin cycling just yet.  I live in L.A. very close to the Station Fire and the air quality is dangerous.  So, I’ll return to exercising at lunch inside the gym.  I took my gym bag to work last week, so I”m ready to go with that.   I need to focus on the 100% raw.

What’s the one smallest thing I can do each day to help?  I can actually think of lots of small things I can do.

  1. Plan what I’m going to eat
  2. Prepare food each night for the following day.
  3. Set out my supplements so I take them every morning with my meds
  4. Have juice or green smoothie for breakfast (hey! I already do this! I’m making good progress already)
  5. Sip on water at work instead of coffee or tea.
  6. Tell my family what I’m going and ask for support I did this today.  Guess I’m on my way.
  7. Have a plan B in case I don’t prepare food ahead.

Steps 1-3 are practically the same, so I’ll amalgamate.  Step 4 is a non-starter, since I already to it. Plan B will be to eat at the salad bar at the campus cafeteria if I don’t bring my own food for some reason.

There.  I’ve figured out what  small things I can do.  Now to do it.  My eating plan for tomorrow:

Breakfast: Green juice – celery, apple, parsley, lemon.

Lunch: sprouted quinoa and hemp seed tabbouleh

Snack: Green smoothie: pineapple, banana, coconut water kefir, kale.

Dinner: Wrap’n'roll with mock salmon pate (if I’m hungry – I may not be after the hearty smoothies).

I need to make the juice tonight.  I’m procrastinating.  It’s well over 100 degrees F.  I will do it before bed.  update: I did do it before bed.  Can’t find the camera to take pix of the granola so that is going to have to wait.

Sprouted Quinoa & Hemp Seed Tabbouleh

August 28, 2009

Our boyfriend N. is visiting from Berkeley, so I didn’t juice the past few days as planned.  I had a  bunch of green stuff in the fridge which needed to be used up so I decided to make tabbouleh.  This recipe is a variation of the old standard.  I prefer not to use measurements when making recipes as I like to adjust ingredients to taste as I go.  It feels more creative that way.   N. adores it and he’s not a raw foodie. I’m hoping there will be some salad left for dinner tonight.  He loves it that much.

Sprouted Quinoa & Hemp Seed Tabbouleh
Yield 8 cups. Serves 8 regular portions or 4 entree sized portions.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Salad
3 cups quinoa
3 bunches parsley, finely chopped
1 bunch mint, finely chopped
1/2 cup hemp seeds
3 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced
3 bunches scallions, minced
2 cups grape tomatoes

Dressing
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp hemp seed oil

Soak quinoa 8 hours.  Sprout quinoa until it’s as soft as you would like, minimum 8 hours.  Be sure to rinse every 8 hours of sprouting.  I usually soak the quinoa overnight, rinse in the a.m., and then make the salad in the evening after another rinse.

Put all salad ingredients into a large bowl.  Mix dressing ingredients. Add dressing to salad.  Toss gently.  Chill for several hours to allow flavors to blend and develop.   I like to bring the salad back to room temperature before eating.

Serve with love!

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