I use the kitchari recipe from Food as Medicine by Dharma Singh Khalsa.  He’s got a basic bean/rice one and a slightly more complicated one with veg and healing spices.  I’ve only made the savory vegetable one, which is what M wants.  I sprout my beans before I cook them, to make them more digestible and to make the nutrients more bio-available.  If you go that route, don’t sprout the beans into full on stir-fry style bean sprouts.  Once the tails start to poke out, they’re done.

Mung Beans & Rice (from Food as Medicine)

• 1 cup mung beans (or 1 cup of mung beans after sprouting)
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 inch piece of kombu seaweed (optional, adds minerals and makes beans more digestible)
• 9 cups of water
• 4-6 cups of assorted vegetables (carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• .5 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup ginger root, minced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 heaping teaspoon turmeric
• 1 heaping teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon crushed red chilies (more or less to taste)
• t tablespoon sweet basil
• seeds of 5 cardamom pods
• sea salt or Braggs Liquid Aminos to taste.

Soak beans overnight.  Wash beans and rinse rice at least 3 times. Bring water to boil.  Add bay leaves and kombu seaweed let boil over medium-high heat.  When the beans have boiled and are soft, about 40-50 minutes, add rice, lower heat to simmer, and let cook for another 20 minutes.

Clean and cut vegetables.  Add vegetables to simmering rice and beans and continue to cook for approximately 15 more minutes.  In the meantime, heat oil in large frying pan.  Add onions, ginger, and garlic.  Saute over medium high heat until brown.  Add turmeric, pepper, garam masala, and red chilies. Add this mixture to the pot with the beans and rice.  You will need to stir often now to prevent scorching.  Add sweet basil, cardamom seeds, and sea salt.  Continue to simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often.  You may have to add extra boiling water until the rice and vegetables are completely cooked.  The consistency should be rich, thick, and soup-like — with ingredients barely discernible.

Simpler Mung Beans & Rice (from Food as Medicine)

• .5 cup mung beans
• .5 cup white basmati rice
• 1 inch piece of kombu seaweed (optional)
• 9 cups water
• Sea salt or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos to taste

Soak beans overnight. Wash beans and rice. Bring water to a boil, add beans and kombu seaweed, and let boil over medium high heat for 40-50 minutes until soft.  Add rice and let simmer for another 20-25 minutes until done. Add sea salt to taste.  You can also add 1 tsp of ghee or olive oil per person before serving.

Caveat: I haven’t tried this recipe as written.  I’m a bit suspicious about the bean/rice to water ratio.  It looks to me like it will end up too watery.  Leave me a comment if you try it and let me know how it goes.

Zucchini & Asparagus Kitchari (VegNews, Mar/Apr 2009)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 cups yellow split mung beans
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 8 cups water divided
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 cups zucchini, diced
• 1 cup asparagus, sliced into 1 inch pieces

In a large pot, heat oil and saute cumin, coriander, fennel, and turmeric for 1 minute.  Add mung beans and salt, saute for another 2 minutes.  Add 7 cups of water and bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes.

Add rice, zucchini, and asparagus.  Add remaining 1 cup of water, stir, bring back to a boil, and then simmer for another 20 minutes or until rice is fully cooked.

Caveat: I haven’t made this one either but I’ve been meaning to try it. I’ve have the torn magazine page as a bookmark in Food as Medicine for over two years now.

Scrambled tofu. Image copyright 2008 blog.fatfreevegan.com

I’m still eating ETL style.  I’m still slipping a LOT. Not big slips.  Just lots of little slips.  For example, I like sugar in my tea.  Ah, sweet sweet poison – I will kick you out of my life yet.  One step at a time.  First I will establish the Eat to Live habit more firmly.  I’m sure the little slippages are slowing down any weight loss.  I’m not about the weight loss though. That’s what I keep telling myself.  I will believe it soon.  I hope.  Really, the most important thing is my health.  And I’m feeling fabulous.  Energy high. Mood good.  Mood staying good without much variation.  This is huge my friends.   I’m a moody moody gal generally. Another one of my slippages is snacking.

No snacking is a major tenet of ETL.  Dr. Joel Fuhrman has a theory of “toxic” vs. real hunger.  According to Fuhrman, toxic hunger is the usual sensations most of us call hunger. Grumbly belly with a bit of an ache.  Headache. Energy crash. Crankiness (in my case, extreme).   True hunger is a mouth sensation, says Fuhrman.   With true hunger, any type of food is going to be appealing.  You will eat raw leafy greens standing at the fridge door, and love it missy!,  if your hunger is true.  Toxic hunger wants those high stimulation foods like starchy carbs, cheese, sweets.  A person can get in touch with their real hunger by only eating 3 squares each day and avoiding snacking.

It takes awhile to “detox” and learn to experience true hunger.  I’ve never been all that successful.  I’ve tried many times in my life to stop snacking.  I’ve always succumbed to the oh-my-god-I’m-so-gosh-darned- cranky-and-uncomfortable-you’d-better-get-out-of-my-way-because-I-need-to-eat-NOW!!!!! sensations.   I’m currently doing the no-snacking thing one more time.  I’m still snacking, I must admit.  I find myself grabbing fruit as I leave the office.   I don’t want my dear ones at home to suffer the wrath of my hunger.  I do succeed in not snacking on some days. If I don’t snack, I will usually eat the first thing I can get my hands on at home.  Not this time. I haven’t been doing that lately.   One of the biggest keys to successfully establishing my ETL habit has been finding recipes that I can make QUICK!!!!! when I get home each evening  from my busy day gig.   Finding food to fix fast is critical if I’m to eat well and stick to my planned veg-heavy vegan dietary choices.

Enter fatfreevegan.com . This amazingly helpful web site is run by SusanV.   SusanV is the creator of the Yahoo Eat-to-Live discussion group (bar none, the most helpful and supportive food related discussion group I’ve participated in).  The web site is a very well organized archive of fat free vegan recipes, many of which can be used for the ETL lifestyle.  Or “nutritarian” as Fuhrman calls it.  It’s categorized for excellent browsing.  And it’s search facility is top-notch.  And there is excellent formatting for printing the recipes out.  Well done SusanV.!!!  ***applause***

SusanV. writes the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blog where she frequently posts new recipes.  She’s currently doing the 6 week “Phase 1″ portion of the ETL program.   It’s been so helpful to me that I had to share.

Today I ate leftover  “Scrambled Tofu with Porcini Mushrooms” from last night’s dinner.  OMG!! Nomnomnom.   Very tasty.  My wife loved it too.  It’s got to be good for her to call a recipe “a keeper.” I modified the recipe a bit and used fresh sliced button mushrooms since I didn’t have dried porcinis in my pantry.  I also left out the bell  pepper for the same reason.  Didn’t matter.  It was piping hot yummy goodness which I got onto my plate within 20 minutes of arriving home from work.   That’s what I call a win!

I confess, I didn’t take the picture myself.  It’s a copy from Susan’s blog.  Please accept my apologies for “borrowing” Ms. Susan.  I hope the link love I’m sending makes up for it.   Go now and explore the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blog.   I’ll wait.  Bring me back another awesome McAwesome recipe for tonight, will you please?

My wife’n'kid were having bean’n'cheese burritos.  The smell when I came in the house after work was inspiring!  So I got creative.  I made a batch of Cherie Soria’s Fresh Corn Tortillas back in July.  Since I had a dozen, I froze a bunch of them.  Five months later they’re still good.  I warmed them up in the dehydrator while I got busy making the Stuffing Fantasy I was supposed to make on Saturday (I do want my Thanksgiving eats this week at some point).   I also had some portobello mushrooms and some cherry tomatoes so I warmed massaged those in a little olive oil and salt and put those into the dehydrator to soften up. Finally, I threw some of the salsa the wife’n'kid were having into the dehydrator too.  It’s chilly!  I like my raw food warmed up!

Forty-five minutes later, after I’d finished the stuffing, I had a beautiful set of ingredients with which to make tostadas.

Fresh corn tortilla with portobello mushroom cherry tomato ragout

Fresh Corn Tortillas

• 4 cups chopped yellow bell peppers
• 3 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1 cup peeled chopped zucchini
• 1.5 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• .5 teaspoon salt
• 1 ripe avocado, coarsely cut into chunks
• 3 tablespoons psyllium powder or ground flax seeds

1. Combine the bell peppers, corn, zucchini, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt in a blender and process until smooth.  Add the avocado and process until well combined.  With the blender running, add psyllium powder and process for a few seconds longer until well blended.

2. Using 1/2 cup of the mixture for each tortilla, use a small metal spatula of flat rubber spatula to quickly form 4 flat disks on a dehydrator tray lined with a nonstick sheet.  Each disk should be about 7 inches in diameter, with a little space between each one.  Work quickly or the mixture will thicken and become difficult to spread.  Continue to work in this fashion until all of the mixture is used.

3. Dehydrate at 105 F for 4 hours, or until the tortillas can be easily remoed from the nonstick sheets.

4. Turn the tortillas over onto mesh dehydrator trays.  Place an additional mesh screen on top of each tray; this will make the tortillas flatter and easier to store. Dehydrate for 3-4 hours longer until the tortillas are dry but still flexible.

5. Stored in an airtight container, will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Portabello mushroom and cherry tomato ragout

• Portobello mushrooms, chopped
• Cherry tomatoes, chopped
• Olive oil, to taste
• Sea salt, to taste

Mix mushrooms and tomatoes with olive oil and salt, using your hands to massage oil into the vegetables.  Put veggies in the dehydrator until they become soft and reduce in size a bit.

Tostadas

• 2 fresh corn tortillas
• portobello mushroom and cherry tomato ragout
• shredded carrots
• pico de gallo salsa
• mixed greens

Spread salsa on the tortillas.  Layer the greens, mushroom ragout, salsa, and shredded carrots on top.  Serve with love!

I ate like royalty today, day 2 of my 30 day raw food challenge.  I had

Breakfast

• 1 shot of E3 Live
• Tropical fruit salad (no coconut today): pineapple, mandarin orange, and banana

Lunch

• marinated collard greens mixed with
• leftover monster salad from yesterday
• apple

Snack

• banana

Dinner

• my awesome tostadas
• some raw tortilla chips with salsa
• and some awesome vanilla fudge raw agave gelato from Organic Nectars with a little bit of “You-Must-be-Kidding Chocolate Sauce” from Natalia Rose’s Raw Food Detox Diet

Sometimes it’s really really really easy to be raw.   It’s all in the pre-prep baby.  I had several things available to me today which made my life easy’n'tasty.  I had tortillas, tortilla chips, store-bought salsa, store-bought gelato, and chocolate sauce.   I also had leftover collards from this weekend’s prep session.   I only spent 30 minutes doing food prep today.   It took me longer to do the dishes after the family ate!

I didn’t exercise, unfortunately.  All that eating and dish doing has left me a bit done in.  Only half-hour until bedtime.  I’m going to read a novel in bed cuddling with my doggies.

Veggie sushi

raw nori sheets
pickled ginger
wasabi paste
pate of your choice (I like to use mock salmon)
julienned  and/or shredded veggies

Today I used seeded cucumber, shredded carrots, crumbled cauliflower (looks like rice!), scallions, and alfalfa sprouts.

Lay out your ingredients where you’ve got room to work.

Place the nori on a sushi rolling mat. Spread a couple of tablespoons of pate along one edge.  Sprinkle veggies cross-wise over the pate.

Make sure the edge with the ingredients on it is closest to you.

Moisten the edge furthest from you with a finger you’ve dipped in water.  This will help the roll stick together after you’ve made it.

Pick up the sushi roll at edge closest to you and roll the sushi away from you.

Cup your hands over the top to keep the roll tight.  When it’s completely rolled up, moisten your finger again and run it along the edge to secure the stick.

Let the rolls sit for a few minutes to allow the nori sheet to adhere to the veggies.

Use a serrated knife and slice the roll into sushi pieces.

Lay the pieces out on a plate with tamari, pickled ginger, and wasabi paste or whatever condiments and dipping sauce you enjoy.

Serve with love.

This makes a huge amount of pate.   It lasts about a week in the fridge.  It’s a great make-ahead to have on hand for quick snacks and meals.  I use it on it’s own on top of salads, in lunch time sammiches, wraps, rolls etc.  It’s especially wonderful in raw sushi-maki.

Of course, I had to have some for my lunch today.

Allisa Cohen’s Mock Salmon Pate
Yield: 3 cups Servings: 12

2 cups walnuts
1 red pepper
1 scallion
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
1 tsp salt (I use 1/2 tsp)

Mix it up in a food processor to combine until smooth (optional, I like mine a little chunky since I’m a texture fiend).

Serve with love.

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

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!

raw spaghetti marinara

2 1/2 cups tomatoes
12 sun dried tomatoes, soaked
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
3 dates, pitted
2 tablespoons parsley
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Place on a bed of spiralized vegetable “noodles.” Serve with love.

Veggie pasta with sauce is a standard recipe in the raw foodie’s repertoire. Every recipe book has a version. This is my favorite from Alissa Cohen’s Living on Live Foods, p.367.

It’s super fast to whip up, especially if you’ve got the sauce on hand. I use less oil and I often use use both olive and flax seed oil to get those beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. I also use about 1/2 the salt, since I’ve got to watch my blood pressure.

Marinara is a good weekly stand-by since it can be used in a variety of dishes.