Simple Nut and Seed Milks
Servings: 4 cups
Nut and seed milks make a great alternative to dairy milk and can be used as a beverage, over the hot-cereal recipes in this book, in smoothies, in desserts, or to thicken soups. We don’t include nut milks in many recipes, but we do include almond milk as an ingredient in the Sweet Blueberry Banana Green Protein Smoothie, so we wanted to give you a budget-friendly, healthy alternative to store-bought nut and seed milks.
With all of the questionable fillers–like carrageenan, gums, and unidentified “natural flavors”—buying premade nut milks can be challenging. The good news is that they are very easy to make! It’s almost as simple as soaking nuts. (If you want to make your own coconut milk, check the instructions in the Vanilla Spice Ice Cream recipe later in the chapter.)
Note that you may want to start soaking the nuts or seeds the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). The recipe itself takes about 5 minutes to prepare once the nuts or seeds are soaked.
3–4 cups filtered water (you could start with 3 cups and add more if you want to dilute the milk a bit)
1 cup soaked nuts or seeds–choose your favorite, such as hemp seeds, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, or hazelnuts
Optional: sweeten with 1 tsp. honey, 1–2 dates, or a little stevia, if you want it sweet
Optional: add 1 tsp. vanilla extract if you want a vanilla nut or seed milk
INSTRUCTIONS:
Add the soaked and drained nuts or seeds to 3 cups water in a high-speed blender and blend completely. Taste and decide if you want to dilute it with more water or add any sweetener or vanilla.
Get a stainless-steel or glass bowl or container to capture the milk, and pour the blender contents through a fine mesh strainer into the container.
Press the nut or seed pulp down into the strainer to squeeze all remaining liquid into the container. You can save the pulp for cracker recipes (see recipes in this section) or cookie recipes. Or you can add some herbs, spices, and sea salt to the pulp and dehydrate or bake it into a crunchy snack.
Store the milk for up to 4 days in your refrigerator in an airtight container. Freeze it if you don’t think you’ll use it all in that time.
Savory Sweet Walnuts and Dates
Servings: 6–8
Heather came up with this snack on a whim while she was particularly busy and wanted to stay grounded, yet open to her creativity. Food is a form of how she takes good care of herself so that she can stay calm during stressful times. And, of course, when things get busy, what’s better than a fast, easy recipe that is also deeply grounding and satisfying? This recipe did the trick!
This snack is full of healing spices with some hints of India and Morocco. The spices in this recipe complement each other well, and all are anti-inflammatory. If you’re experiencing PMS, joint pain, or other inflammatory condition, this could be the perfect snack for you!
Turmeric is wonderful as an anti-inflammatory if you’re experiencing arthritis, swelling, or inflammation around your menstrual period or any other autoimmune-type symptoms. Incidentally, it’s wonderful for your skin and a natural anti-wrinkle remedy. It can also protect against radiation from the sun or x-rays.1
Fennel is another spice that can help with arthritis. It can also help calm cramps (yes, including menstrual cramps) and colic, and is a powerful digestive aid and anti-inflammatory.2
Ginger is yet another anti-inflammatory spice that can help with arthritis, nausea, morning sickness, and migraines. It is also amazing for your digestion.3
Black pepper was considered the “king of spices” in the Middle Ages for good reason. Indian black pepper in particular is rich in nutrients that aid your digestion. If you have slow motility, pepper can help speed it up. It is also an anti-inflammatory, like the rest of its spice sisters in this recipe. And it just so happens that the hormonal shift women experience days before their periods can set the stage for inflammation–this is often behind PMS, menstrual cramps, swelling, and other menstrual symptoms.4
The sweetness of the dates in this recipe is mild and well balanced by the savory spices. So it’s just enough of a treat to quell your sweet tooth, while keeping a grounding feeling in your body from the balanced taste of the spices.
Note that you may want to start soaking the walnuts the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). The recipe itself takes about 5 minutes to prepare once the nuts are soaked, and can be made with or without a food processor.
2 cups soaked walnuts
4 Medjool dates. (Add this only if you like a sweet and savory taste. Some people will just love the nuts with spices and not enjoy the added sweetness of the dates. This recipe is flexible–you can leave the dates out for a terrific savory snack or add them for a touch of sweetness. You can decide by making this without dates, then tasting the spiced nuts with a small piece of date to see what you think.)
½ tsp. Celtic gray sea salt
¼ tsp. turmeric
¼ tsp. ground fennel
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
Add the spices to the soaked and drained nuts. You can now decide whether you want to chop your nuts or eat them whole. If you don’t chop them, go ahead and slice up the dates into small pieces with a knife, spice grinder, or food processor (by pulsing the grinder or food processor until the date pieces are chopped a bit–it doesn’t have to be perfect, just smaller chunks).
If you use a food processor with the S-blade, you can put all ingredients in it and pulse until you get the consistency you want. We sometimes like to pulse it until it’s just short of a paste, so it’s easy to digest. Do what you feel your own mouth and taste buds want at the time.
Now it’s ready to eat!
Serving suggestions: Enjoy on its own or put a scoop in a small bowl and have it as a delicious snack to balance your blood-sugar levels, your taste buds, and your soul.
Servings: 15–24 crackers, depending upon size
This is a delicious cracker that will satisfy even your non-health-food friends. For people who are into making raw foods and have a dehydrator, you can make this recipe raw. For those who don’t have a food dehydrator, you can make this in your oven, too.
If you’ve never heard of tahini, it’s a sesame-seed butter that many people love as an alternative to peanut butter. You can get it in many stores in the ethnic-foods aisle, or in your health-food store in the aisle with nut butters. You can also purchase raw, organic tahini online at places like Amazon.com or iHerb.com.
Note that you may want to start soaking the nuts the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). The recipe itself takes about 5–10 minutes to prepare once the nuts are soaked.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup raw soaked nuts–some great options are almonds, walnuts, or macadamia nuts
¼ cup unrefined coconut oil
¼ cup raw tahini
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. sea salt
Herbamare or added sea salt to taste
Take the soaked and drained nuts and put into your food dehydrator on 115° F for about 2–4 hours or until the nuts are dry. Alternatively, place them on a cookie sheet and dry them on the lowest temperature setting in your oven. It will go much faster in the oven, so check at 10 minutes and again at 15–20 minutes, and take them out of the oven when they’re dry.
In a food processor with an S-blade, blend all ingredients except Herbamare. Taste them and see if you want to add more sea salt based on your taste.
Drop 1-Tbsp. scoops of the mixture onto silicone baking sheets, (like cookies). Add a dash of Herbamare or sea salt over the crackers.
Put in your food dehydrator at 115° F for 24–48 hours, or until they’re as crisp as you want them. If you don’t have a food dehydrator or want them ready faster, put them in the oven at 200° F (or your lowest temperature setting) until they’re crispy like crackers, or take them out earlier and enjoy them soft. If you do make them soft, chill them in the refrigerator to stay cool and keep their shape.
Store for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, and up to 2 months in the freezer.
Servings: makes about 24–30 crackers
This cracker recipe has more vegetables than nuts, making it a lighter and more balanced snack than your average raw-food cracker.
Note that you may want to start soaking the nuts and flaxseeds the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). You can combine the nuts in the same soaking bowl, but separate out the flaxseeds. When you soak flaxseeds, it creates a thick, pasty gel, which helps the crackers stick together. Once everything is soaked, this recipe takes 30 minutes to prepare, and either 20 minutes in the oven or 24–48 hours in the food dehydrator if you want raw crackers.
INGREDIENTS:
1 large bunch of celery (about 4–6 cups, chopped)
2 cups fresh basil
1 cup fresh chives or green onion
1 yellow summer squash
1 cup of any of these options: walnuts, sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, or Brazil nuts (soaked)
1 cup soaked almonds
1 cup soaked flaxseeds
3 Tbsp. fresh ginger
2 tsp. Herbamare
½ cup water
INSTRUCTIONS:
Blend all ingredients up in a food processor, using the S blade or a high-speed blender.
Grease silicone baking sheets with ghee or coconut oil; spread mixture generously on the baking sheets (about ½" thick)
Set your dehydrator to 112–115° F and dehydrate for 24–48 hours or until the crackers are completely dried. If you want the crackers faster or don’t have a food dehydrator, set your oven to the lowest temperature and cook until the crackers are dry and as firm as you like. This may only take 10–20 minutes, so watch the oven or set your timer.
To speed up dehydrating, you may want to flip the crackers over and remove the silicone baking sheets. If you do this, wait until the crackers are mostly dry and peel away from the silicone really easily. If they’re too moist, they will stick to the baking sheet.
Pickled Pink Cultured Vegetables
| Preparation time: 30 minutes | Servings: 3 quarts |
Making your own cultured vegetables is easy and economical! Here’s a great way to make a raw food that helps improve your digestion and boost your immunity. This is a slightly sweet (and sour) cultured vegetable recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
4 sweet potatoes
1 head red cabbage
1 cup fresh dill
½ cup kelp
½ cup fresh basil
½ cup red onion
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger
1 tsp. sea salt
Optional: While adding probiotics is not necessary, it can boost the health benefits of your cultured vegetables. There are many options to add probiotics:
INSTRUCTIONS:
Shred all vegetables (except dill and basil) in a food processor (usually you’d use the blade with tiny holes that makes julienned vegetables). Transfer to a large stainless-steel mixing bowl.
Make your brine: Take about 1 cup of the shredded vegetables, the sea salt, and the dill and basil and place in your food processor with the S-blade. Add filtered water (just keep adding filtered water so they blend completely) and blend until it’s the consistency of guacamole.
Optional: Add in the probiotic starter of your choice. You don’t need to add probiotics to cultured veggies, but it’s highly recommended so that you get more consistent results.
Add the brine into the shredded vegetables and mix well. With a wide-mouth funnel, add your vegetable-and-brine mixture into quart-sized wide-mouth Ball jars (you can usually get these in the grocery store very inexpensively). Pack the vegetables down tightly.
Add some water to cover the vegetables (make sure they’re not exposed to air). You can also put a rolled-up cabbage leaf at the top, to keep the vegetables well packed or to take up additional space between the vegetables and the top (if needed).
Screw on the top tightly and set aside for 3 days to one week at room temperature (72–75° F, but you can make these in warmer climates, too). You can take the top off and sample after 3 days. If you want them to have a more sour taste, let them ferment longer.
Notes:
If this is your first time making cultured vegetables, here are some things to know:
— Most people are nervous about making cultured vegetables at first. We’re so used to refrigeration that it can feel weird to eat what may seem like “spoiled” vegetables. They are not spoiled, though! Fermentation is a way of preserving foods with good bacteria. The key is to “just do it” and see what happens. It’s a great way to reconnect with a food-preservation technique our ancestors used.
— They do smell … sometimes you can even smell them while they’re fermenting on your countertop. That’s normal! They’ll smell when you open them as well, but they’re not as smelly once they are exposed to air and on your plate.
— Sometimes liquid does seep out of the jars during fermentation, so we like to put them in a shallow baking dish just in case.
— If your veggies look moldy at the top, they were likely exposed to some air during fermentation. It’s okay to scrape the moldy part off the top, and if the vegetables underneath look good, you can still eat them. You can avoid mold by making sure your veggies are entirely covered with water, or use a rolled-up cabbage leaf to pack them down. You may need to discard the cabbage leaf if it gets moldy, but rest assured that your veggies will likely be fine underneath.
— The end result should be crisp and colorful. If your veggies taste swampy or look dull and colorless, they did not ferment well. Using Pro-Belly-Otic liquid (available at: RealFoodRealLife.tv) as a starter will aid the fermentation process by making sure you have a hardy source of probiotics to ferment the vegetables. Once you’re more experienced at making cultured vegetables, you might try it without a starter. We like to use a starter to ensure that we get the most medicinal cultured vegetables.
— Money-saving tip: You can reserve 6 Tbsp. of your batch of cultured vegetables or liquid to create a new brine for your next batch.
— Expert cultured-vegetable makers have noticed that if they make their veggies while in a bad mood, the end result tastes bad, too. Play some music, make your vegetables with friends, or put a smile on your face and in your heart while making them. You’d be surprised at how great food can taste with this one little tip!
— Keep in mind that no experience or talent is needed to make cultured vegetables. Follow the instructions, and nature will do the rest! Experience and talent will certainly add flair to your end result, so keep practicing, and your taste buds will reap the rewards.
| Preparation time: 15 minutes to prep and 20–25 minutes to cook | Servings: 6–8 |
This is a versatile recipe that you can use either as a side dish for a meal or turn into chips for a great on-the-go snack. These beets are a little sweet and a little savory–and best of all, they’re ready in a jiffy!
INGREDIENTS:
6 medium-sized beets (you can clean them with a vegetable brush, but leave the skins on)
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Optional: 1 tsp. garlic powder, or 2 minced fresh garlic cloves
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SLICED BEETS:
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
If you want a nice, warm side dish to a meal with a firm, yet soft texture, you can make these beets in your food processor with the slice attachment (the round attachment with one long blade to do slices). This will make a thick sliced beet.
Slice your beets, put them in a glass pan, and mix up all of the ingredients well.
Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until beets are soft.
Instructions for beet chips:
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
If you want to make beet chips for a crunchy snack, use a mandoline at 1/16" or as thin as you want the chips.
Slice the beets, put them in a bowl, and mix all of the ingredients well.
Using a glass pan or pizza stone, put the beets onto the pan in a single layer and bake until crispy, about 20–25 minutes.
Serving suggestion: These beets would be delicious as a side dish or chips with a grass-fed lamb burger (or beef burger!), chicken, or quinoa dish. They will store in your refrigerator for 4–5 days (softer beet slices) or up to 1 week for the chips. Freeze the chips if you want to make these in bulk and take them out for school lunches or a snack attack.
| Preparation time: 15 minutes | Servings: 4 |
Forget those jars of salsa that always seem to have sugar or agave! This is a delicious, naturally sweet and savory raw salsa that will be sure to please even those who don’t like “healthy” food!
INGREDIENTS:
1 pint cherry tomatoes (remember, tomatoes are a nightshade vegetable and, therefore, may not work for everyone)
¼ cup red onion
¼ cup fresh dill
¼ cup fresh cilantro
⅛ tsp. cayenne powder
½ tsp. sea salt (it’s even better to use “Herby” by Frontier Spices)
Optional: ½ avocado
To make a medium or hot salsa: add more cayenne powder or use chili powder or fresh jalapeño peppers
INSTRUCTIONS:
Puree all ingredients in a food processor with S-blade, a blender, or in a deep mixing bowl with your immersion blender.
After all ingredients are fully blended, serve in bowls at room temperature with raw crackers or vegetables. Add sea salt or an herb sea salt (like “Herby,” Herbamare, or Trocomare) to taste.