Sprouting Grains Day 1

"Why bother?" You may be asking. I understand, for the longest time it seemed like too much trouble for me, too. However then I started loving my food, gaining health and losing weight on Trim Healthy Mama. I was on a roll, and I wanted...a roll. A really good roll. A nice big yeasted one. And pancakes, with a texture I love, but great kindness to my steadily shrinking waistline. A muffin that didn't contribute to my muffin top. 

Since I'm allergen free as well as gluten free, this posed a real challenge. I like to read cookbooks for fun (really!) and in my searches, I found it challenging to find gluten free recipes that didn't also feature a whole bunch of cornstarch, tapioca starch or arrowroot powder (none of which are weightloss friendly). In fact I didn't find any.

Back at the ranch, I experimented. If you've baked gluten-free before, you know that gluten-free flours can be finicky. But here is the exciting news. Sprouted gluten free flours are very friendly to bake with. They are forgiving, cooperative, tractable. I can improvise with them, in different proportions, and some are more amazing  than others but I haven't had to throw any away. They have all tasted good. This is amazing!!!

Sprouted grain flours have lots of nutritional benefits, too. Apparently, I'm in it for the taste and portion size and weightloss, though. I have known about the nutritional benefits for many years thanks to the Weston A. Price Foundation, and have always soaked my hot cereal overnight as an adult, but haven't acted on sprouting until now.

In the last few weeks, I've developed a pancake recipe that will knock your socks off. You will not believe how many pancakes you get to eat for breakfast, or how delicious they are, or that they contain enough protein to help you sail through your morning with aplomb. The portions are so generous, I was SURE it was two servings, at least one and a half, until I ran the numbers tonight. In short, you will love it, and its' cousins, THM E gluten free yeast bread that can be made in an afternoon and THM E berry muffin. I am salivating just thinking about them. 

But I digress. The point is, to make this quality and generous portion size of THM E gluten free baked goods, you'll need sprouted grain flour. There is a high-quality source for it here: http://www.organicsproutedflour.net/sproutedflour.html

The grains and flours are about $5 for a one pound bag, some more and some less. Plus shipping. A wee bit out of my budget for the time being. To make the recipes I mentioned above, you'll need sprouted millet and sprouted buckwheat flours. So, place your order at Organic Sprouted Flours, or let's get sprouting! I would be sad it you had to wait and wait for your flour to be done once I posted that pancake recipe. 

My method for sprouting is the same for every grain. These pictures are of millet. Once sprouted and dried, grains can be easily ground to flour using a normal blender (no vitamix required). What follows is day one. Not sure if you'll have the necessary tools? You will need: the grain itself, water, a big bowl or pot (preferably glass, second choice stainless steel), a mesh strainer, a dehydrator or a cookie sheet and oven.

Start with a nice big bag of the grain you want to sprout. 

Put it in a bigger bowl than you think you'll need (it will swell a lot) and fill to the top with filtered water if you have access to it. 

Stir a bit to make sure none of the grains are left floating (floatijg grains won't absorb water enough to sprout). 

Place bowl in an undisturbed part of the kitchen and place a cooling rack on top.

Tuck into bed by covering with a kitchen towel to keep out dust. 

If you like, say a little blessing and think loving thoughts. It is the love that helps it grow and later nourish your family. 

There, was that easy enough? See you tomorrow for next steps, dear reader! 

Bone Broth, AKA Fruits of the Spirit Juice

Can a food really make you more patient, more loving and more kind? This one can. How many recipes can do that? :)

I experience much greater health and happiness if I eat 2c of broth every day. It is the ultimate in fast food, too. It's great in a mug with a little sea salt, or heat it up with some meat and vegetables added and you have a gourmet meal in a matter of minutes. Broth, how do I love thee...let me count the ways! 

Basic Broth Recipe

Carcass from roasted chicken or turkey, picked clean (yum!), or beef / goat / pork bones, roasted at 350 until they smell delicious

Carrot

2 ribs celery

2 mushrooms

2 cloves garlic

1 onion or leek

4-6 peppercorns

Combine ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil and simmer 24 hours.  Fill sink with cold water. Meanwhile, strain liquid into a different pot (if you have one). Place pot of strained broth in sink until no longer hot, but still plenty warm. Pour into quart-sized canning jars and cover with bands and lids. Return jars to sinkful of water to finish cooling. Some jars will seal. Put these at the back of the fridge; they will keep longer than the others. Use broth within 10 days. This recipe is very light, for THM you can use it as S or skim off most fat for E or FP.

Fresh Blueberry Mini-Pies (FP)

This is an historic recipe... one of the first THM recipes I created; I just tracked it down for a gal on Facebook. As you know I don't use Truvia anymore, but blueberries and hibiscus tea are both naturally sweet so it I made it again, I'd simply leave it out and perhaps reduce the amount of lemon juice. I labelled it "E" last year but it is "FP" in moderation. Enjoy!

What to do with fresh blueberries (E)! Yum yum yum! This totally takes me back to my mom's pie but has under 10 carbs as far as I can tell, and is in cute little individual servings. Boil 2 T dried hibiscus flowers (I got mine at our neighborhood Mexican market for $8 a pound) in 1 quart of water, then let sit with the lid on so it gets nice and strong. Meanwhile, wash and sort 1 1/2 to 2 c fresh blueberries, and divide among 12 cups of a muffin tin. Strain off the flowers from the still-hot tea, and add 2 T each of gelatin, lemon juice and truvia (I used homemade recipe from healthyindulgences.net), plus 1 t of salt. Pour over berries to fill each cup. Put leftover jello mixture in a loaf pan-- this can be a FP treat! Let it all firm up overnight in the fridge (sorry, a couple of hours doesn't cut it). To remove from muffin tin, invert tin over a cutting board and run warm water over it. Bon appetit!!

Healing Kitty

The last two weeks our cat has been healing from a serious illness. She had lost interest in food and spent 4 days hiding under the sofa. It's been a week since she first ventured out, and every day she spends less time hiding and more time being her happy, social self.

As soon as we realized Ruthie was sick, we went into Food Is Medicine mode with her. Since she had been turning up her nose at her wet food, we bought fresh organic chicken liver, which we chopped fine and served in water to prevent dehydration. We sprinkled in a little bit of vitamin C, D and enzymedica probiotic. We tried adding homemade chicken broth instead of water, but she didn't go for that so much.

After a day of hand feeding (we were relieved she was at least eating!), we assessed that we needed more help; Ruthie still was not coming out from under the couch. Thankfully, our DVM does house calls and relies primarily on homeopathy (which our cat responds well to) and herbal medicine when needed. She visited a couple days into Ruthie's illness and determined that she had no blockages, she was not dehydrated and her health was generally good. She diagnosed some mouth sores and prescribed a one-time homeopathic remedy, as well as Diglyccerized Licorice, Slippery Elm and Aloe juice for her mouth. We've been mixing these in with Ruthie's food. 

A day after the vet came, I also got the feeling we should give Ruthie some Cod Liver Oil on a daily basis. I went to our coop and looked for CLO that did not contain any added essential oils or flavorings (cats cannot handle essential oils). I looked and looked and eventually found two types (same brand, Nordic Naturals) in the pet section. The one that I bought says "For Medium to Large Dogs" on it, but it was a better value and product than the one marketed for cats. We give her 1/4 teaspoon by dropper each night before feeding her. She seems a bit less offended each time. And she is doing great!

To maintain her wellness, we are feeding her "liver soup" (described in second paragraph) every other meal, and CLO every day. I have premade and frozen single servings of "liver soup" in ice cubes. Hope this helps you find wellness for your kitties!