Each "life-changing" item, example: Cranberries, contains an Introduction explaining why the food is included, Conditions (such as allergies, staph infections, etc.) that eating the food can help with, a section on Symptoms (that could point to conditions that can be healed), Emotional Support and a Spiritual Lesson (for those who follow Louise Hay and other New Age gurus).
There is also a section on Tips and a RECIPE that uses the various life-changing foods, and highlighting the one that you have chosen to look up.
Soooo... we have tried a few delicious recipes and talked about some of the tips. But the recipe-meal that has really excited us is this braised red cabbage over sweet potato. Sweet Potato and Red Cabbage and a sauce that contains turmeric, ginger, olive oil and raw honey not only tastes exquisite, but it is power-packed with nutrition, and soooooooo beautiful to look at (remember, the deepest, brightest colours are the ones to go for with vegetables). I have slightly modified the recipe, as happens with recipes-- you may do that also!
Here's one of the TIPS from the book's section on Sweet Potatoes: 'After you've cooked a batch of sweet potatoes (steaming and baking are the healthiest preparations), set some aside to save for later in the fridge.....a few bites of sweet potato when you are having trouble sleeping in the middle of the night will help get you some rest." p. 177
I would suggest that this recipe is well suited to anyone who has been vegan for quite a while, because chances are you will have most the ingredients on hand already-- and it also is a great choice for those transitioning to vegan who are looking for recipes that are simple to make, nutritious, and delicious. Everything you see on the plate you can get at a nearby grocery store (with the exception of raw honey), or maybe from your back garden?
RAW HONEY?? Yes, this is the nutrient-packed sweetener that Anthony William recommends, and no, it will not work for many vegans. For those who see honey as being flower parts merely passed through a bee's body, it is an acceptable choice. Our son (long-time vegan) calls himself "Beegan" when making the decision to eat a little raw honey.
So, here are the INGREDIENTS required for this recipe:
Makes 2-4 servings:
4 Sweet Potatoes
4 cloves of Garlic, minced ( I put the Garlic in the Sauce instead-- see below)
1 Onion, diced (I used a red onion to match the red cabbage haha)
1 T. Coconut Oil (Optional-- we left it out and used water for the sauté)
1 small Red Cabbage (goes a long way)-- shredded or finely chopped
FOR THE SAUCE:
1 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 T. Raw Honey
1 T. Lemon Juice (I used a cube of Lemon-Garlic. See HERE).
1 T. Grated Fresh Ginger
GARNISH: 4 T. Minced Parsley
(If you are feeding 4 people, double the quantity of ingredients for the sauce)
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C
Bake the potatoes on a bake sheet for 45-60 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
In a large pan sauté diced onion (and garlic, if you going to do that) over medium heat 5 to 10 minutes, stirring until the onions are translucent and soft. (Or follow directions for Instant Pot)
Add in the cabbage and sea salt, along with 1/2 cup of water.
Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Stir occasionally and add a splash of moisture as needed.
Split open the sweet potatoes and mash slightly on the sides. Stuff generously.
Make the sauce just before serving the potatoes. Add the sauce ingredients (except for raw honey) and stir until bubbly (1-2 minutes). Remove small pan from the heat and stir in the raw honey.
I am always on the look-out for great videos** that can illustrate a concept or recipe that I am including on my blog. "Making Basic Whole Wheat Bread" is a current interest of mine. I have the books. I have bookmarked the links. I went out and bought a Kitchen Aid stand mixer after having drooled and dreamed about one for a very long time. I thought that I would start turning out perfect bread loaves (something I have never in my life done) but it was not to be.
This looks like a high maintenance bread recipe, eh? Stand mixer and dehydrator for raising the dough? I can see my grandmother chuckle. She was always able to make more loaves from scratch than I could from with whatever "no fail" recipe I had at hand. But somehow I know there are others out there who have the fancy equipment and are dreamers like I am. This bread is for you!
Please watch the video (above) to get all the fine points you will find transcribed below in the recipe. A video is really worth about 10,000 printed words, right? After you watch the video you might want to copy and paste and print the following recipe:
RECIPE FOR MAKING BASIC WHOLE WHEAT BREAD USING A STAND MIXER
Set up the Mixer.
INGREDIENTS:
Measure out :
10 C. Fresh-Ground Whole Wheat Flour OR 6 C. Whole Wheat/ 4 C. White Flour (60% Whole Wheat)
1 T. Sea Salt
2 T. Instant Dry Yeast
6 T. White Sugar
5 C. Water at 110 degrees F. (you can barely keep your finger in it for 10 seconds) From the "The Back to Eden Cookbook" there is a suggestion that you use nut milk instead of water to get a tastier bread.
METHOD:
1. Set up the Mixer with the Cookie Mixer (General Mixer)
2. Add 5 C. W/W Flour to bowl
3. Add 1 T. Sea Salt to bowl
4. Add 2 T. Instant Dry Yeast to bowl
5. Add 6 T. White Sugar to the bowl
6. Put on your General Mixer / Cookie Mixer
7. Raise your bowl (Kitchen Aid) or Lower your Mixer (Viking)
8. Mix on LOWEST setting for a minute to get all mixed together
9. Slowly add the 5 C. of 110 degree F. water while the mixer runs on lowest setting
10. After water has all been poured in, let it continue to run for about another minute until mixture is fully incorporated.
11. Begin to add other 5 C. of flour little by little. You can turn up the speed on the mixer when the flour will not be flying all over. You may NOT need all 5 C. of flour.
12. Bread should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl. When you see that the dough is pulling away, stop the mixer and Lower the bowl (Kitchen Aid), Raise the mixer (Viking)
13. Remove the cookie dough mixer.
14. Put in the bread hook and Raise the bowl (Kitchen Aid), Lower the mixer (Viking)
15. The dough hook should pull the dough from sides of the bowl more. You may increase the speed again. .
16. Wait for flour to work itself in before adding any more (and keep your eye on the sides of the bowl)
17. Add small amounts of flour until the pulling away is pretty much complete
18. The magic in the bread happens when it pulls everything off the sides and it sticks unto itself and not to the mixer.
19. When you judge that all the flour is off the sides, stop the machine and flip the bread dough over carefully to see if there is any flour on the bottom of the pot.
20. Run the mixer for another minute or so, adding another tablespoon of flour if you think it is warranted. Whole wheat dough is better a little on the wet side than it is if it is too dry (=bricks or paperweights). Stop the mixer and lower the bowl (Kitchen Aid) or raise the mixer (Viking)
21. Remove dough hook.
22. Pat dough lightly to even out a bit in bowl.
23. Let it rest for about 20 minutes (make yourself some tea?)
RAISING THE DOUGH IN THE DEHYDRATOR
My old Excalibur-- bought on eBay, back when people did that-- makes a good dough raiser. 95 degrees Fahrenheit
You do not need to use the dehydrator-- it is standing in for something people have used for generations called a "proof box". If you live in a house where lots of bread yeast is in the air, you can just do it old-school, sitting on top of the fridge with a warm damp cloth on top. Or in a very cool oven (100 degrees F.) I have this idle dehydrator that I am experimenting with.
24. Get the Excalabar Dehydrator ready for the raising.
25. Take out all shelves except for one.
26. Put a flat tray of warm water on the bottom of the dehydrator
27. Fit the dehydrator shelf just above the flat tray of water
28. Place the bowl of dough with a clean damp tea towel (linen works great) over the dough bowl and engage the setting for the raising.
29. Raise for one half hour (30 minutes) to 1 hour.
30. Preheat baking oven to 410 degrees F.
The dough rose enormously after 30 minutes in the dehydrator!
31. DO NOT PUNCH THE DOUGH DOWN. There will be big air bubbles in the dough and the bread will have holes in it. Put the bowl back on the mixer and using the dough hook, mix down for about a minute and a half. (Really, watch the video a couple of times)
32. If you want a fluffier loaf of bread, you can let it do a rise in the bowl for another 30 minutes in the dehydrator, or you can divide it into loaves/buns at this point and let it rise for about 20 more minutes on the kitchen counter before putting into the oven to bake. If you choose to do the second rising, then preheat your oven to 410 degrees before putting the bread in the dehydrator (and kneading afterwards with dough hook again).
33. Bake bread for about 30 minutes for a small loaf. About 20 minutes for buns. (This recipe made me 3 medium sized loaves)
34. Cool completely on racks before slicing. If you want a tender crust, pat the crust when you put it on the racks with a sponge dipped in olive oil (this is from the "The Back to Eden Cookbook"). I haven't tried that... yet.
**I am very thankful to the woman who made the video for this recipe. She appears to have had a blog with the recipe on it, but it no longer exists, so I took the recipe from the video and transcribed it to fit with adjustments as to what I was planning to do.
If you follow the recipes on Organic Granny (you can do that on this site itself, or by joining the group on Facebook called Organic Granny Veggie Recipes) you will know that I have a longstanding relationship with chia seeds. These high protein, high omega3 tiny seeds just happen to be the base for many of my dessert recipes-- either as a primary content or as a binder-- and some other recipes as well. I sometimes make up something called Chia Gel-- basically, chia seeds gelled in water-- and keep it on hand in a mason jar in the fridge. I often use the gel as a base for the puddings. You can find out more about the chia gel and how to use it HERE. Find more recipes at the base of this recipe post.
RASPBERRY CHIA PUDDING INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups Organic Chia Gel (make ahead of time, up to 24 hours)
1/4 Cup Organic Raspberry Jam or Jelly (vegan is preferred - or blend and sweeten ripe fresh or frozen berries)
1 Cup Non-dairy Milk (such as Almond, Coconut, Hemp, etc.)
2 T. Maple Syrup or other preferred sweetener (optional)
BLUEBERRY NICE CREAM INGREDIENTS:
3-4 Very Ripe Organic Bananas, peeled, chunked and frozen in a baggie for 24 hours
3/4 Cup Frozen Organic Blueberries
PUT THE PUDDING TOGETHER:
Stir together the Chia Gel, the Non-dairy Milk, the Sweetener, and the Jam or blended raspberries.
Spoon into 1/2 pint mason jars (or old-fashioned glasses)
Put into fridge again to set for a couple of hours, or during the time you make the Nice Cream
PUTTING THE NICE CREAM & CHIA PUDD TOGETHER:
AT SERVING TIME: Put frozen banana chunks and blueberries together into a high-speed blender like Vitamix, and process until smooth.
Scoop a 1/4 of the Nice Cream over each of the 4 chia puddings
Sprinkle a few hemp seeds on each NiceCream as a garnish (optional, but yummy)
Serve immediately!
This is a lovely dessert that can be eaten by itself anytime and as breakfast!
A dear long-time friend has passed along this recipe for Chickpea Tofu for anyone who is sensitive or allergic to Tofu (soy).
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup "Raw" Chickpea Flour
1 1/2 cup Water
Pinch of Turmeric
METHOD:
Dissolve 1/2 cup of Chickpea flour in 1/2 cup of the water. Add a pinch of Turmeric powder for colour.
Heat remaining cup of water over medium heat.
Add in the Chickpea paste and whisk/stir, scraping sides down.
When the mixture is boiling and thickened, pour into a pan and let it cool.
Cut into desired shapes after completely cool.
Ally also states that she often eats it with a Burmese Salad: Fried Onions and Garlic along with Green Spring Onions, Tamarind Juice, chopped Cilantro and optional Chili pepper and Fish Sauce.
and although I am a skeptic around the "medical medium" tag, I was excited by the book's layout. He introduces what he calls the Holy Four: Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs & Spices, and Wild Foods (Raw Honey being the only departure from the vegan whole foods listed as life-changing).
" there is a suggestion that you use nut milk instead of water to get a tastier bread.
