Four Seed Granola: Food Cooking Demo!

Today at Bauman College it was my day to perform the cooking demo and boy did I enjoy myself! I made a home-made granola with four seeds, in honor of the founder of our school Ed Bauman who said that seeds are one of the healthiest foods on the planet because all life stems from a seed. I just love that!

As I was telling Bianca and our friend Marissa (who is Annalisa's sister for my Santa Barbara followers) all about after wards I realized it's basically like a cooking show! Which is just so cool, oh I love this school. Unfortunately, since I will be switching over to Distance Learning I won't get to do another cooking demo, but I certainly can cook for my friends down in Santa Barbara!

Recipe
5 cups oats
1¼ cups oat bran
¾ cup ground flaxseeds
¾ cup raw sunflower seeds
¾ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup raw sesame seeds
½ cup juice-sweetened dried cranberries
1/3 cup apple juice, about 1 small apple freshly juiced
1/3 cup raw, unfiltered honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well using a wooden spoon or plastic baking spatula. In a small bowl mix apple juice and vanilla extract together. Slowly pour in honey while using a whisk to make sure it mixes in with the other liquids. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well to evenly coat the granola. Gently lay granola in a 9x13 glass baking dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. When cooled add in ½ cup juice-sweetened dried cranberries. Enjoy with any dairy free milk; almond, rice, oat, hemp, etc.

We had to present the nutrition information for the ingredients in our cooking demo so I figured I might as well pass them onto you guys. This is some healthy granola guys!

Oats: Old-fashioned oats are oats that have been steamed, then rolled and come out flatter than other varieties. They are a great source of soluble dietary fiber which helps lower cholesterol. Also, they are a very good sources of minerals manganese, selenium and phosphorus.

Oat Bran: The outer layer of the oat that resides underneath the hull. Oat bran is praised for it’s high quality of dietary fiber, specifically hemicelluloses, which can improve digestion.

Flaxseeds: They are an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium and manganese. Flaxseeds should be bought whole, raw and in bulk, stored in the refrigerator and ground fresh daily for use to prevent rancidity.

Sunflower Seeds: They are a wonderful source of protein, vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, vitamins B1, B5 and B6, phosphorus, copper, iron, folic acid and fiber.

Pumpkin Seeds: Also known as pepitas, pumpkin seeds supply minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc and copper. They are also great sources of vitamin A, vitamin B1, B3 and B3, protein, monounsaturated fats and phytosterols.

Sesame Seeds: They are a great source of protein, lignans, fiber, monounsaturated fats, vitamins B1 and B2, copper, magnesium, iron, zinc, calcium and phytic acid.

Cranberries: Great source of antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, manganese and copper. Dried cranberries are hard to find with out added sugar but special markets will carry juice-sweetened versions.

Enjoy,
<3 Dani

References: Michael Murray, Encyclopedia of healing Foods

Green Smoothie and Yoga

I went over to my dear friend Rita's this morning for some wonderful time with the Lord doing yoga. She has been learning about yoga for some time and is quite excelled by my standards, we so enjoyed each others company as we let our bodies extend and rest in such wonderful poses.

I was feeling extra enthused about my early morning, though I must admit it was not exactly early by most people's standards it was for me! I wanted to kick start my morning with something light but energy inducing so I made a GREEN SMOOTHIE! I've been wanting to make one of these for a long time, I actually tried on Wednesday a well but the blueberries overpowered the green powder and it was purple! I had success this morning though. My mom said what does it matter that it's green. I thought for a moment and all I came up with is that it really makes me feel like I'm being suuuper healthy, and who doesn't like that?

So here's my first GREEN SMOOTHIE recipe, enjoy! Oh and trust me, you won't taste anything yuckie, the fruits are so sweet it tastes like any other fruit smoothie.

In a blender add:
1 sliced banana, fresh or frozen
1-2 T freshly ground flaxseeds
1/2 blueberries, buy them frozen the defrost, you'll need all the liquid from the juices to blend the smoothie
Blend well, you may need more liquid, I just added a little water. Then add the green superfood to the blender.....
1 t spirulina
And blend again thoroughly mixing in the spirulina. Not green, add more!

Spirulina a microscopic blue-green algae in the shape of a spiral coil, living both in sea and fresh water. You can buy it in tablet, flake and powder form. I bought the powder in bulk at a health foods store. Spirulina contains and unusually high amount of protein, and it contains all nine of the essential amino acids making it a complete protein! Great for us who eat a diet without dairy or meat! It is also a great source of minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids. Get in on this stuff guys, I can not believe I have been missing out on this.

Why spirulina over all the other micro-greens? I hate all the additives that come with packaged barley grass or wheat grass. I want the plain, whole deal and it's hard to find in the grocery store. I normally prefer Hallelujah Acres BarleyMax which is pure raw barley grass juice extract but you can only buy it online and I ran out. Spirulina certainly has my attention now though!

Blessings,
<3 Dani

Tempeh

There is a featured food, aka food of the day at every class at Bauman college. The class I sat in on last week before I began the program myself featured tempeh. Tempeh is a product that I have actually been very interested in learning more about. As the class began discussing the benefits and possible downsides to tempeh, I wondered if tempeh bypasses all the controversy of soy products because of the fermentation process it goes through. And yes, it does! Which is wonderful news. There really is so much controversy over soy products and personally I don't care for tofu or soymilk so I stay away. Tempeh is great though because of it's high protein and fiber content, plus certain brands contain whole grains or seeds like flax. Tempeh is excellent for vegans because it contains Vitamin B12, a vitamin that is readily found in animal products but lacking in the plant kingdom. If you are eating a vegan diet be sure that you are getting some B12 in your diet. Other sources besides tempeh include, Kombucha, nutritional yeast, miso and bee pollen. You could also take a vitamin B12 supplement, which I do from time to time.

Now, the only downside to tempeh is the blandness and sometimes odd texture that people can't handle. But with the right seasonings or a great recipe it's actually great! As I browsed old recipes I realized I've acutally cooked quite a bit with tempeh and really loved every recipe. So please check these out: Lasagna with Tempeh and Celeriac, Tempeh Tacos, Sweet Corn and Tempeh Soup.

Anyways, I was inspired by our discussion in class and went out straight away and bought some tempeh. When I went to make my typical salad for lunch I remembered I had bought the tempeh and decided to saute some and throw it on top. Unfortunately, this is where the story ends for you guys because I don't have my camera cord right now to upload the pictures. BUT, I would never leave you hanging like that so I have an old recipe to share with you and I promise to post about the salad as soon as I am back in Santa Barbara.
Lemon Pepper Tempeh

1 block of tempeh, cubed
1 large lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp (a drizzle to grease the pan) olive oil
5 Tbsp veggie broth
1 tsp agave syrup
1 tsp sea salt, optional-veggie broth adds salt
Mixture of fine black pepper and fresh ground black pepper, add A LOT of it!

Directions:
In a pan heat olive oil on high, add lemon juice and veggie broth to pan. When pan is sizzling, add in the cubed tempeh. Saute for a few minutes, uncovered. Add agave and a few dashes of fine black pepper. Continue sauteing and hen cover for a few minutes and toss the tempeh around in the steam. Apparantly it 'fluffs up' the tempeh. Add salt and a lot more pepper. The tempeh only needs to be heated so once it's browning and the liquids are pretty absorbed you're ready to go!

Quick Sweet Potato Mash

1 medium organic garnet yam
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 dash cayenne

Directions:
Cook sweet potato in the oven. Do it early, they take around 45 min. at 400 degrees. Mash all ingredients together by hand using fork. For thinner potatoes add a bit of olive oil and/or veggie broth.

Bianca and I actually made this dinner together way back when we lived at the Jesus Burger House our junior year at UCSB. It's not exactly WAY back but we have come a long way since then. We served the tempeh over steamed kale and she made those delicious mashed sweet potatoes to go with, it was the perfect combination. Recipe courtesy of Happy Healthy Life, a food blog with extensive recipes into the latest on vegan trends. I love this blog!

Writing up this post is making me want to make this again it was so delicious!

Hope you enjoy,
<3 Dani

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Hello everyone!

I have been very absent from the blog lately, and I am so sorry about that. I am back in Santa Cruz working and getting involved at Vintage Faith. I just joined the worship team playing violin and I am in an awesome Bible Study as well. God has been so good and it is amazing to have Dani with me right now :-) Last night, I made a great tortilla soup recipe that I would like to share with you all. And the best part...it is SUPER easy to make!

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 red/yellow bell peppers (chopped)
1 yellow onion (chopped)
64 oz. vegetable broth
1 can black beans
1 can corn or hominy (I love hominy in tortilla soup)
1 cup fresh salsa (you can buy great fresh salsas at your local grocery store)
2 avocados (cubed)
2 limes (sliced)
blue or yellow corn tortilla chips (crumbled)
sour cream (optional)
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Saute the bell peppers and onion in vegetable oil until lightly browned.
2. Pour vegetable broth into a large pot and add sauteed vegetables, black beans, corn/hominy and salsa. Cover and simmer on medium heat for one hour.
3. Ladle soup over avocado, tortilla chips, sour cream and cheese. Squeeze some lime to top it off and ENJOY! (serves 6)

Philly Cheesestake

You're probably thinking, 'what? Philly Cheesetake' has Danielle gone off her rocker? And I use my full name because it could be that serious. This is obviously one of those clever reinventions of our nasty American favorites. James and I actually made this meal for his parents way back when I first began my venture into holistic nutrition. You can tell it's summer by our tans, especially James'! This was such a fun evening sitting outside on the patio of their beautiful backyard. His parents were so blessed and I was just so happy to be able to cook like this for anyone! I still remember James taking his first bite and seeing his face just made laugh. He got a bite with a really strongly marinated mushroom. We all agreed the mushrooms were a little too strong so I would go lighter on the Bragg's, start out with only half of what the recipe says. For the 'cheese' you could halve the recipe because there was a lot left over, unless you think you'll end up using it, I'm just horrible with leftovers, I am getting better though :)
Recipe

Steak
In a bowl, add:
2 Portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 C Bragg's, this is where you should start with only 1/4 C
2 t cumin
2 t coriander
Set aside and let marinade, only needs an hour at the most.

Vegetables
In a separate bowl, add:
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 C broccoli, chopped
1/2 C white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t sea salt
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
Set aside and let marinade.

Cheese
In a blender, add:
1 C pine nuts
1/2 C sunflower seeds
2-3 T raw apple cider vinegar
1/4 C onion
1 t sea salt
1/2 C water
Blend until creamy. You can also use a food processor.

To make the Philly Cheesesteak, start with a whole Swiss chard leaf. First spread a layer of the cheese, then the steak and top with the vegetables! Roll and eat!
Try this, try this, it was fun to make and really yummy!

Blessings,
<3 Dani

First Day of School!

Today was my first official day of school as a Nutrition Consultant student at Bauman College. And I had a great time! We got our books in this great canvas bag with all these handouts and PH strips, I felt like a little girl on her first day of kindergarten. Really? Lord, I get to go to this school? It still blows my mind how He pulled all this together in one week.

During every class we break half way for snack time and someone will perform a cooking demo. Since today was the first day our teacher presented the demo and provided the class with a great raw, vegan, and gluten-free kale salad. I was so excited when I saw the kale in a large bowl, and the best part: I got be her assistant and I massaged the kale! I learned a new trick to easily de-stem the kale. I will try to explain it to you in the best way I can with out showing you. Grab the stem with one hand, clasp around the stem with your pointer and thumb from your other hand and pull the leaves all the way down the stem.

Sweet and Tart Kale Salad

Salad
kale, with stems removed
apples, diced
cranberries
walnuts, crushed
red onions, diced
Chop kale and massage for awhile with a bit of sea salt. Throw in a large bowl with all other ingredients.

Dressing
1/4 C olive oil
1/8 C pomegranate vinegar
juice from half an orange
juice from half a lemon
1/4 t sweetener (date sugar, agave, rice syrup-if desired)
Whisk all ingredients together except the oil. Gradually add oil while whisking to fully emulsify. Pour over mixed salad.

Emulsifying is a process where you mix two ingredients together that normally won't combine on their own. Oils do not combine with other liquids so when you whisk slowly the dressing combines easier. You can also use a blender or a food processor to make dressings with oils. I learned about emulsifying today at school. Growing up and even throughout college my Papa would ask me every single time we talked, "what did you learn at school today?" And so I always think about him after school and recall the things I learned. I remembered him especially today and like to think that if he were still here he would be so proud of me for chasing after this dream of mine.

Now, normally the cooking-demo's are done by us students and since I will be coming back to Santa Barbara after the first module at Bauman and switching over to Distance Learning I made sure to sign up right away. So next Wednesday I will be bringing one of my recipes and sharing a snack with the class. I am so excited and will be mulling over ideas all week! Any suggestions?

Blessings,
<3 Dani

*Recipe courtesy of Susan Arther, NC of Bauman College, thanks!

Sweet Potato Quinoa Stuffed Bell Pepper

I was so proud of how this turned out! My dad was in the kitchen as I was preparing it and taking multiple pictures, he is so amused by me. It is an odd thing to watch someone take pictures of there food, I get looks of confusion all the time. But I love cooking and this blog means so much to me. I really believe God is going to use it, I mean He already is but in a bigger way in the future. It was with His leading that I started the blog and with His timing it will be something.

This stuffed bell pepper turned out so pretty and it was delicious as well, double whammy! The sweet potato quinoa was actually previously made, I was getting crafty with leftovers, so feel free to make beforehand and refrigerate.

Recipe
Sweet Potato Quinoa
1 C quinoa
1 sweet potato
1 T grapeseed oil
1/2 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed
2 t paprika
Bake the sweet potato in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until soft all the way through. Cook the quinoa as usual, 1 C quinoa to 2 C water in a pot, bring to a boil then simmer on low for about 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Dice onion, mince garlic and saute in oil, add lemon juice and paprika. Once onions are browning they are finished. Combine sauteed onions in a large bowl with quinoa. Remove the sweet potato from the oven once it's fully cooked, the skin should peel off nicely and then you can slice up the flesh. Add to the quinoa and onions and mix well, mashing in the sweet potato.

To assemble into the bell peppers:
Cut around the stem of the bell pepper as shown in the picture below. Pop off top and scoop out all the seeds inside and on the stem.
Gently scoop the sweet potato quinoa into the bell pepper. Place the top back on and press down to make sure it settles. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for a half hour. Check the peppers at this point to see if the quinoa in the middle of the bell pepper is warm, if so and the bell peppers are starting to darken they're almost done. I turned my oven all the way up and broiled the peppers for 5 more minutes so they got crispy on the top!

Enjoy,
<3 Dani