Applesauce and Granola

Applesauce has been coming out of our ears lately with the rich abundance of apples.

A new-found, favorite way to eat applesauce is to load it with granola, and a generous portion of coconut milk/ cream.
A great way to start the day - not too heavy, but not too light - or as a snack for anytime.

Granola

Something that I've quite enjoyed with stuff like fruit salad and yogurt is granola. Since soaking everything I've often wondered how in the world I would make granola, the real way, with oats.

Then I read a post on Just Making Noise that she made some soaked oats. (She heard about it from Cheesesalve who also has a great blog on Real Food.)

So I set to soaking some oats, very excited about having granola again. It's nice to have that bit of crunch with some fruit.

I crushed my dehydrated oats into little bits, just the right size for granola. Since they are soaked, they all stick together so crushing them gets them back to regular "granola size".

I chopped up come soaked and dehydrated almonds. Sprinkled on dried coconut. Drizzled melted butter, olive oil, and maple syrup with about a tablespoon on vanilla added to the liquid (to mix in better). Sprinkled just a bit of salt on top and in the oven it goes.

I gently roasted it (I was making it for breakfast the same day). You can also just dehydrate it slowly for a raw version.

The house smelled so good!

When it was dried to my satisfaction I loaded it onto a waiting bowl of fresh fruit salad, and toped it with a bit of coconut milk!

Sprouted Spelt and Flax Muffins

This recipe has quickly become a favorite. It is based on this recipe. I've lowed the oil (and used a healthier oil) and adapted molasses as the sweetener. I also use sprouted spelt flour.

Wet Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup molasses
2 tsp vanilla

4 bananas, mashed
1 cup whole flax

Dry Ingredients:
3 cups sprouted spelt flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
1 tsp ginger


(2 cups) shredded coconut (I didn't measure this, just added until I got the desired consistency)

Beat eggs, mix in the rest of the wet ingredients. Add fruit and flax. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients. Add to wet. Stir in shredded coconut.The final consistency should be stiff enough to spoon into the muffin cups without dripping all over, but not stiff enough to form peaks. Sprinkle with shredded coconut.

Bake at 350 F for about 30 min. I use a toothpick to see if done.

What's for Breakfast?

If your like me, one of the first things I look for in a blog is what dessert recipes are posted.

However, we cannot live on dessert alone - although it is a lot easier if you know that all your desserts are actually good for you. However, the key to eating right is still moderation.

So, here is one of my breakfast favorites. Buckwheat and millet porridge. Millet and Buckwheat are both gluten free.

Soak the millet and buckwheat in enough water to cover it. (Sorry, this is another one of my "some" measurement recipes.) Add a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar or kombucha. You will want to soak this for 12 - 24 hours.

When you are ready to cook the porridge, strain out the soaking liquid. In a pot, add the millet and buckwheat and add approx. twice or three times as much water. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat off. At this point I just leave it while I do other morning things and when I'm done that breakfast is ready. Basically you're letting it soak up all the liquid (approx 30 min.).

Now this is when it gets fun. Some people just like adding salt to it. (The first time we made millet, we had it plain - Joey let me know his thoughts on that, and he's not a picky eater.) This meal can get very elaborate very quickly. I like to add coconut milk (cream if your in Australia, equivalent to "milk" in Canada), sliced fruit or applesauce, shredded coconut and topped with almonds (soaked and dehydrated). Some other suggestions if you can get your hand on them are; hemp, chia seeds, maple syrup in place of or even with the coconut milk, any other kind of nut, nut butters. This is really a great meal if you like to get creative. Another great suggestion is to sprout your millet and buckwheat for a couple days, the cooking time will be reduced and you will get even more nutrients.

Spinach Crepes

These take a bit more work (time) but are very rewarding.

The basic crepe recipe can be used for desserts, stuffed with creativity (chicken, other greens, etc), or with simple jam and syrup.

Basic Crepe Recipe

1 cup brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups nut milk (or water)

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 large eggs

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tablespoons vanilla

1 tbsp pure vegetable glycerine (or other natural sweetener of choice)

The night before you want to make these mix the flour, water/milk, and vinegar together in a bowl and let sit overnight. This helps to break down the phylates found in the grain. Why do you want to do this? Phylates bind to iron and calcium and doesn't let your body absorb them. It's also difficult to digest.

When you are ready to make the crepes, beat the egg and add it to the flour/water. Add salt and vanilla and glycerine. The vanilla and glycerine are only really neccessary if you want a sweeter crepe, not necessary for spinach crepes. Beat well.

In a non-stick skillet melt; coconut oil, tallow, whatever your choice of healthy cooking oil. Drop large spoonfuls of batter in pan, spreading evenly. Turn when lightly brown. I find I need to stir the batter each time I want to take a spoonful, as the batter separated quite rapidly.

Now that you have a nice pile of crepes your ready for the filling.

Spinach Crepes

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or go out to the garden and pick as much as you want, the amount of spinach and stuff really is dependent on taste)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large garlic cloves

1 large onion, chopped

nutmeg to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F. Squeeze all liquide from spinach. Heat oil in large skillet. Saute onion until almost tender, add garlic. (If you add the garlic closer to the end it doesn't burn as much). Add spinach, and nutmeg. Stir till well coated, or if using fresh spinach, that the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat. Place spinach mixure in a line on the end of each crepe. Roll, place on a large casserole dish. Bake 20-30 min.

Serve with wholesome plain yogurt.