Further to my article posted a few days ago, here is the video guide to sprouting beans, seeds and grains... and then, below video #1, how to take that one stage further and grow wheatgrass and indoor greens.
Here's to perfect sprouts every time!
From Successfully Raw Issue 92:
One of the most popular modules on my Raw Food For Beginners classes is undoubtedly the sprouting teach-in.
Whether I am lucky, have unrecognised green fingers or what, I do not know, but it seems that many people have struggled and continue to struggle with sprouting seeds, beans, pulses and grains successfully, and after a couple of failed attempts tend to throw in the towel and write the whole idea off.
Nooooo!
Don't do it!
Sprouting absolutely has to be one of the very most important raw food "tools" you need to have in your toolbox if you want to be as lithe, gorgeous and energy-filled as you can possibly be (my already abundant energy probably doubles when I bring sprouts into my daily diet). There's a LOT to be said for these apparently "insignificant" little creatures, and to ignore or exclude them from your diet is, in my humble opinion, one of the biggest mistakes you can possibly make.
So in my bid to have you sprouting successfully all over your kitchen, here follows my fool-proof guide to sprouting using my own personal favourite method, the jar.
What is sprouting?
Sprouting is an alternative term for germinating, although the sprouting process goes a little beyond basic germination and results in a partially grown or young plant. In a raw food kitchen we’re looking specifically at the sprouting of a nut, seed, bean or grain in order to render it edible or more easily digestible. Nuts do not need to be sprouted to make them edible, nor do some seeds but both benefit from soaking and sprouting as they become more easily digestible and juicier as a result. Other seeds, i.e. those that are supposed to be sprouted, plus all beans, pulses and legumes (with the exception of peanuts) need to be sprouted if they are to be eaten raw. Kidney beans should never be eaten raw and should be avoided. Grains should also be soaked and sprouted, although dry oats are an exception and can be milled down and used to make cookies successfully without being sprouted first. The sprouting process begins in water in your very own kitchen.
Why sprout?
When a seed, bean, nut or grain is soaked in water for a period of time, the plant’s enzyme inhibitors are removed. These enzyme inhibitors prevent a plant from germinating unless the right conditions for growth are met, and so once the seed comes into contact with water and the enzyme inhibitors are washed away the germination process begins. This process sets into action a whole chain of reactions enabling the plant to grow at a rapid rate. As it does so the vitamin content increases dramatically, to the point where the sprouted seed can contain hundreds or thousands times more vitamins than it did previously, and the protein, carbohydrates and fats begin to break down into a pre-digested form making for easier and better digestion and assimilation overall. The enzyme content of each seed, been, nut or grain also sky rockets making sprouts one of the most enzyme-rich (i.e. live) foods on the planet.
What do I need to sprout?
You don’t need any fancy equipment to get sprouting, although there are many pieces of equipment available to help you such as jars, trays, bags and even automatic sprouting kits. To get started you’ll need some seeds or beans for sprouting, a container to sprout them in such as a jam jar, and something to drain the water through, like a sieve or some netting or muslin secured around the top of the jar.
Best ways to get sprouting
Sprouting is actually very easy, but some seeds and beans tend to sprout more easily than others. The easiest ones tend to be mung, lentil, fenugreek, chickpea (garbanzo) and quinoa. These are all quick to grow (quinoa takes just 24 hours, the others take 2- 3 days on average) and mastering the sprouting of these will help you get more confident about sprouting other seeds and beans that take longer to grow or are slightly more tricky.
Continue reading "Sprouting: The Why, What and How To Do It Successfully!" »
After sending out a recent issue of Successfully Raw I received the following email:
"Dear Karen, I really look forward to you newsletter each week; you talk so much sense and keep us motivated.
"I do have one niggle however, which applies also to other proselytising raw food angels. Your recipes include lots of tasty fruits like mango, peach and nectarine. I have also seen lots of mention on raw food sites of green coconut, pineapple, banana and other tropical fruits. All of them yummy, if you can find one that has not been artificially ripened. All of them transported sometimes thousands of miles around the world.
Well, there's no doubt about it. Here in the UK it feels as if summer has now bid its final farewell and there has been a very real nip in the air for a week now that is decidedly wintry. With this in mind, it's time to turn our attention to the more warming ingredients, recipes and meal ideas that can be incorporated successfully into a raw diet.
Today we're looking at 5 ways to make your food taste hot - all very different. There's bound to be at least one or two that will work for you. And over the weeks that follow I'll be sharing more recipes, tips and ideas to help you stay raw (or as raw as you want to be) during the colder months.
1: Hot spices
There are many ingredients that can add warmth to your meal, despite the fact that they are consumed in their raw state. When your body is fed foods that are cooked or that are too cold (from the fridge or freezer), it uses up energy to balance the temperature. Save your energy for something more exciting and add these raw spices to your meals (and thus your body):
In tomorrow's eZine I'm sharing my article How to Make Fresh Nut Milks in Your Blender and thought I would post some delicious nut milk recipes here for everyone to make use of, as well as for my eZine readers.
If you're still not signed up to Successfully Raw, you can do so right now. Providing you have done so before noon tomorrow (Friday 18th Aug) you'll get this week's eZine which is yet another bumper issue. To find out more, until my web site is launched in 2 weeks we've posted full details of SR on The Fresh Network web site here.
But for now, on with the recipes!
Recently I met Emily (left). Now, Emily is rather exceptional, not only as a person but also in her ability to find a way of melding passion with profit - which can only be a good thing. Amongst many other things, Emily has created the brilliant web site Cafe des Enfants which is all about feeding kids healthy food in the UK.
"Café des Enfants is for parents and children and its focus is on Kids Food: on eating in, eating out, staying out and going out with kids. Featuring articles, interviews, recipes and reviews, Café des Enfants seeks to change the way we think about Kids Food."
What follows is a copy of her most recent newsletter to her mailing list, which, as you will see brings raw food (for the very first time) to her audience. This features quick top tips for feeding kids raw, as well as my two Saladacco-utilising recipes. I thought this would be one you'd want to know about!
Continue reading "The Saladacco - Great for Spaghetti, Great for Kids" »
So, the big question:
"I've got my dehydrator, now what do I do with it?!"
As with all new pieces of equipment, I encourage you to start small with something really basic - first simply to get on and get started and to do something and second to get your courage up so that you can go on to make even bigger and better things.
In the case of the dehydrator, here's a list of things to play with ordered from the easiest to the more complicated:
Slices of fresh fruits and vegetables: Start with some simple classics such as slices of apple, banana, cherries, strawberries, mango, tomatoes, courgette (zucchini), carrot, red bell pepper and so on.
Biscuits, snack bars and cookies: A great next step (and a rewarding one at that!) is to move on to the crunchy snacks and treats such as flapjacks and cookies, made from simple, easy to find ingredients (usually nuts, dried fruits, maybe some oats or sprouted grains) that you just need to grind together in a food processor. To get started simply pick an appealing recipe from a raw recipe book or wait for me to post one (but you may be waiting a wee while as I have hundreds of posts I want to put up before then!).
Ah, the dehydrator. Perhaps a little strange looking at first glance, but once you've seen (and tried!) what it can do, you may well find that it becomes your new best friend or even your dietary life saver.
So before we get to the promised How to Get Started post (which comes next), let's take a moment to look at the whats, hows, whens and whos of it all. NB: This is a very abridged version.
What is a dehydrator?
A dehydrator is typically an over-shaped piece of equipment (you can get round ones), usually powered by electricity, that gently dries food out - as opposed to cooking it - resulting in a crunchier and crispier version of the food than what went in. i.e. It keeps the food 'live' but the food tastes cooked.
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