Yum – Raw Granola

A few days ago my wife and I attended an all day meditation class. We were asked to bring something to share during the lunch break. I knew that I wouldn’t have the time just before class to prepare anything, so I kind of put the idea of bringing something out of my mind and tried to neglect it. My wife didn’t. She suggested that we bring some granola that I’d make a couple days earlier. Her thinking was that it was done, raw, I could make more AND it tasted great. I agreed and didn’t think much more about it.

During the lunch, I was glad to see that multiple people picked it up and gave it a try. Turns out that the bowl was emptied quite quickly. A number of people sought out the chief (me) in order to figure out what was in it and they politely share their application. It’s not often that I go somewhere with my wife and not see everyone praising her over one of her fabulous concoctions!

Originally, I mentioned for the folks to just connect to this blog and search for granola. The search in the upper right hand side works really well at finding keywords and the article would simple come up. If you go and do that, you’ll find that the old granola article that I posted referenced a recipe that is no longer on the web! Dang. The old site that has been down for a while now and the folks that ran it seemed to have disappeared somewhere east of the rockies. Looks like the original recipe is gone for good.

So, from memory, here it is. Note that I make it different each time so the ratios really depend on what you have available to you when you start mixing. The one key ingredient, ground cinnamon powder, you’ve got to have that.

IMG_9456_ingredients

  • 1-2 cups raw hulled sunflower seeds soaked overnight
  • 1 (or more) cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds soaked overnight
  • 1 cup raisins soaked overnight
  • ½ cup dried apricots soaked overnight
  • 1 cup almonds soaked overnight
  • 1 cup pecans soaked overnight
  • 2 apples
  • 1 heaping spoon full ground cinnamon powder
  • ½ ripe pineapple (optional)
  • ¼ to ½ cup maple syrup

You’ll also need a food processor and dehydrator.

Step 1, soak the nuts and seeds! Give them time to rehydrate and start growing. With the nuts, soak for 6-8 hours and then rinse them off good. With the seeds, do the same but also let them grow for a while. Say, overnight. Make sure to rinse them good before using them for the granola. Also, soak the raisins and apricots. Yet, with the raisins and apricots, rinse them a few times before soaking them. You want to get any residue off the fruit before letting it hydrate. When we use this fruit, we’re also going to use the water that it’s soaking in. When you soak fruit, the water picks up a lot of the sugar. Since we’ll be removing the water in the dehydrator, there is no need to drain out that extra sugar!

IMG_9460_bowl

As you can see in the above picture, I’ve run each main ingredient through the food processor. I pulsed each one and then poured it into the bowl. Each time, I made sure that there was some texture left with the particular ingredient. I don’t really like large chunks, so if you were to look at the almonds and pecans, you’d see that the biggest pieces are about ¼ to ½ the nut.

When it came to the apples, I cored them and ran them through the grader option. With the raisins and apricots, I mixed it until it was paste. The fruit is the glue that holds everything together.

When I added the pineapple this time, I wanted that chewy fruity feel so I cut it down to pie shaped pieces knowing that the dehydrator will take it down the rest of the way.

Step 2, mix it all together. Get everything evenly distributed and then add a large heaping spoon full of ground cinnamon powder and the maple syrup. Mix it more until the herb is spread evenly.

IMG_9462_sheets

I like sheets of granola, thus I spread this large bowl out on four dehydrator sheets. Notice that I pressed it down to the width of the pineapple chunks.

Step 3, dehydrate overnight or maybe a bit longer.

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You can peel it off and eat at any point, I like it when it’s still bendable but breaks apart if bent too far. This is usually 24 hours at 115 degrees.

When it’s done, you can’t tell there was ever any apple added. You’ll see the dark raisin and nut pieces, but everything else just kind of blends in like cereal.

Oh, most people think of this as candy! With all the fruit, it’s really sweet. I treat it like candy too. In a way, it’s like peanut brittle. The last picture doesn’t really show it, but in order to store it in an airtight zip lock bag, I fold the sheets over and over again until the pieces are 2-3 inches in size. Thus, each time I go for a snack, I get a cookie size piece to enjoy!

Note that the real trick here is the ground cinnamon powder. It’s just not the same without it!

 

Strawberry Pineapple Banana Lettuce Smoothie

Pineapple and lettuce is such a great combination. For some reason, they complement each other very well. Then, when you add some additional flavor – like fresh strawberries, you get a meal and a happy plate both at the same time.

I love it when I can find really good ways to eat lots of lettuce. Consuming it in a salad takes way too much time. There are so many things to do and so little time outside of work to get it done. Thus this smoothie!

Recipe:

  • 1 inch pineapple peeled and cored.
  • 3 medjool dates
  • 1 banana
  • 1 bowl strawberries (probably 3+ cups)
  • 1 cup rejuvelac
  • ½ cup juice (orange pineapple mango is this one)
  • 1 large bowl lettuce

Start out by blending all the fruit to liquefy.

Then add the lettuce.

When you pack in all that lettuce, you’ll be amazed that it all fits. Even though it’s a huge bowl, it doesn’t really take up much space. It might have taken 1 cup (wet measure) when I added it. Once it’s in, blend for an additional 60+ seconds until everything it broken down well.

As you can see, it makes about 8 cups. You’ll want to find someone to share this one with or stretch it into a breakfast and lunch.

One of the nice things about using rejuvelac is that the living culture will come alive as it sits for a little while. If you want to grow some B vitamins, let the second half (lunch) rest a room temperature until it’s time to consume it. I haven’t let it sit any longer than that, but I would expect that it would get tangy if left much longer. Maybe one day I’ll try it and see! 

Life is an adventure, even if you do the same things every day, the subtleties of each moment can be enjoyed with new enthusiasm!

Pineapple Orange Banana Lettuce Smoothie

There is something about this combination that I love. I’m not sure if it’s the simple fact that the lettuce is straight from the garden and harvested only minutes before hand, or if it’s something else. It could be the juices that I’ve added, of the fact that the banana is fully ripe and already partly creamy.

In any case, there is nothing bitter about this and you’ll find that it’s amazingly easy to drink!

I also find this combination a bit cooling, so if the day is warmer than normal, this combination might be what you’re looking for.

Recipe:

  • 1 inch ripe pineapple
  • 1 large orange (remove the seeds)
  • 1 ripe banana
  • ¾ cup your favorite probiotic juice
  • ¾ cup Orange Peach Mango juice
  • 2 pitted dates
  • 1 large bowl fresh picked garden lettuce

Peal the orange, banana and pineapple before placing in high speed blender. Add the juice and dates. Blend to break everything down.

Next, cram in the lettuce. You’ll be surprised how much will actually fit! Blend until smooth. It might take a minute or so on high speed.

Breakfast and lunch! All at one time I’ve put together what should keep me going for the better part of the day.

I’m not sure how I could change this one to make it better, but who knows, tomorrow I will probably find myself combining similar ingredients but with slight variations. Hopefully, I’ll find the next one as enjoyable as this one!

Best Mint Smoothie Yet!

It feels like harvest time already! The garden mint is nearly a foot tall and it’s finding its way into the kitchen every morning now. There’s nothing like fresh young mint in the early spring. Ok, well, it’s nearly summer, but everything is nearly 45 days late this year so I’m still thinking of it as early spring. I just hope we get a summer before fall comes around.

But, don’t let me get off track with this smoothie. I absolutely love the fact that I’ve got a lot of different things to mix up this year. As it turns out, this combination is a real keeper. I’ve been looking for something where when you drink it your taste budds say “wow, … savory, … sweet, … rich, but what is it?” That’s what this one is! You can taste the mint, but it’s not too strong. The orange, and it’s subtle too. The sweetness shines through, but it’s just enough. And finally, it’s creamy.

Unfortunately, I’m out of oranges. I guess I’m going to have to go shopping again. This time, I’ll pick up twice as many for the mint is coming on strong.

I highly recommend this smoothie. When you pick your mint, get more than you’ll ever think will work! I picked a big handful. And, make sure that its spearmint. When I asked Lori what she thought she said, “Did you put mint in it? I wasn’t too powerful. I think you put in just the right amount this time.” When I told her it as a huge handful, she was a bit shocked.

Let’s get on with it.

Recipe:

  • 2 Medjool dates (remove the seeds)
  • 3 oranges
  • 1 larger mango
  • 1 inch slice of pinapple
  • 1+ cup water
  • 1 large handful spearmint
  • ½ lb fresh young baby Spinach.

This is a recipe that needs some pealing. Peal orange, mango and pineapple the best you can and make sure no seeds make it into the smoothie. Remove the spearmint leave from the stocks adding only the leaves. Turn the fruit and then pack in the spinach. After a go 60 seconds on high it should be ready to go.

As you can see, it made more than a quart and I’ve got more pineapple left for next time.

I really like this combination. Notice that there is no cacao in it! As much as I wanted to add it, I refrained in order to see what it was like without. Well, it’s best without!

I’m sure you’ll love this one too. Let me know.

Good day!

Pineapple with Grape and Lettuce

Here is another grape combo that I loved for a couple days. Grapes are so easy! Only blend up the good ones through. Notice I used a healthy slice of pineapple.

Recipe:

  • 1 thick slice of ripe pineapple peeled and cored
  • 1 branch seedless grapes (about 1 ½ cups washed and stemmed)
  • Copule dates (I wanted this one really sweet)
  • 1+ cup coconut milk
  • 1 bowl lettuce
  • 1 probiotic – Optional

Stack in blender:

And give it a 60-second whirl.

Notice the grape skins don’t break down all the way. It gives the smoothie a peppery look, but make no mistake about it, this one is a sweet dream!

One thing that I’ve noticed when drinking green smoothies is that you want to drink the entire quart in 15 to 20 minutes and you want to make sure you mix lots of saliva with it. The more you chew it, the more your saliva glands respond by releasing digestive enzymes. The more effort you put into mixing the enzymes with the green smoothie in your mouth, the better it digests. Same holds true with eating fruit plan. Don’t just bite off a mouthful and swallow.