RECIPE ~ Sprouted Beans

My friend Joanne is an avid sprouter and raw foodist who has always encouraged me to sprout my own grains. Alas, after a few failed attempts I admit I was a bit discouraged from trying again -- but I did and it worked! Sprouting seeds, grains, beans and lentils has fantastic health benefits and helps add live food to our diet, especially during the winter when the only fresh food available is imported from hundreds of miles away. Once sprouted, however, you can eat them raw or cooked. See below for ideas of how to use sprouts!

1/4 cup whole mung beans
1/4 cup whole lentils
a jar
thin, porous fabric (like cheesecloth)
rubber band

Pick over the beans and lentils removing blackened or split ones. Wash thoroughly, then soak in a jar filled with water. Soak 8 hours (away from of direct light) or overnight, then wash again, strain, and place back in the jar. Cover the opening with the cloth, held in place with the rubber band, and rest on its side but with the bottom slightly tilted to help drain the excess water. Repeat the cycle of rinsing, draining and resting on a tilt 3 times in the day and overnight again (this keeps the beans moist). The next morning you should have a jar of sprouts! If not, repeat the rinse cycle until sprouted (maybe 1 more day). The sprouts are ready when the tails are about the length of the beans themselves. Rinse and drain once more before storing refrigerated; consume within a few days.

HOW TO USE THE SPROUTS
~ Toss in salads
~ Use in place of cooked legumes in lentil/bean salad recipes
~ Add into sandwiches or wraps
~ Puree with tahini, lemon juice, etc, to make a raw hummus
(my favourite way to eat sprouts!)
~ Stir-fry with diced vegetables, garlic and cumin to eat with rice
~ Use in baked goods recipes as you would nuts and seeds
~ Top on soups and stews

Get lots more information just Googling "how to sprout grains" or check out this Living Foods website. Ayurveda considers sprouted grains, beans and seeds sattvic, the healthiest kind of food. Pictured here in a highly digestible quick saute in ghee with diced carrots, fresh garlic and ginger, and powdered turmeric, coriander and cumin with a pinch of sea salt and dusting of minced parsley.

SPROUTS FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
VATAS choose aduki or mung beans, black lentils, and any nuts and seeds; consume with digestive spices like ginger, black pepper, cumin ~NOTE: Vatas benefit most from homogenously prepared foods, as in one-bowl soups or stews or salad meals with plenty of healthy oils, where ingredients are all raw or, better still, all cooked together
PITTAS choose any legumes except black lentils; sprout any raw nuts/seeds except almonds, pumpkin and sunflowers
KAPHAS sprouting is particularly beneficial for Kaphas; choose any legumes except mung beans, lentils, soybeans and kidney beans (ie. choose almonds, chickpeas, beans like aduki, black, white, navy, pinto, etc); consume with digestive spices like ginger, black pepper, cumin

RECIPE ~ Carob Nut Balls

They're not truffles but kinda, and they're not cookies but kinda. What they are is cute, healthy and delicious treats! See my article on why I love carob.

3/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup carob powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup raw honey, brown rice syrup or agave nectar (up to 1/2 cup if you like them sweeter)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup puffed cereal*
1/2 cup chopped nuts*

COATING OPTIONS
unsweetened coconut
carob ganache (see bottom of recipe for directions)
cocoa or carob powder combined with a dash of cinnamon

Thoroughly combine the almond butter, carob powder, cinnamon, honey and vanilla. The dough will be quite stiff. Knead in the nuts and cereal. With wet hands, form into walnut-sized balls. Make sure the surface is glisteningly damp. Choose which coating you'd like to use and roll balls in either coconut, carob ganache, or cocoa/carob powder. Personally, I tried them all, just to see how pretty each variation can be. I found the coconut coating to be the nicest, and easy to coat by shaking the balls in a ziploc bag with the coconut.

Refrigerate til firm, or freeze in an air-tight container to store for a week or more.

*If you have the option, choose a tiny puffed grain like quinoa or millet. Otherwise, crisp rice will work great, or a flake cereal crushed into smaller bits. If using sweetened cereal, use smaller amount of honey.
*Use any seeds or chopped nuts you like, or according to your dosha. I used lightly toasted pecan pieces.

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
VATAS a great Vata treat, though due to the nuts and puffed cereal, consume in moderation
PITTAS a great Pitta treat; substitute honey with brown rice syrup
KAPHAS substitute almond butter with pumpkin seed or sunflower seed butter, and use these seeds instead of the chopped nuts (toast lightly for added flavour); choose non-coconut coating options; these are heavy so consume in moderation

MAKING CAROB GANACHE
This was quite an arduous job, but worth the effort! Here are two ways (I used the first option):
1) Heat an inch of water to boiling in a small pot then reduce to a low simmer. Place 1/2 cup carob chips in another small pot, put this pot on top of the steaming pot, and let melt, uncovered; do not stir until melted. Stir in 2 tsp unsalted margarine or coconut oil plus 2 Tbsp almond or coconut milk, or enough to get the consistency you like.
2) Blend together 3 Tbsp carob powder and 1/4 cup sugar. In a small pot, melt 2 Tbsp unsalted margarine, remove from heat and gradually whisk in carob powder mixture. If it gets too thick, add a small amount of warm 'milk slowly to thin. Adjust with more carob powder if too thin.

RECIPE ~ Greens Pesto

If basil is out of season and you're looking to get more fresh greens in your diet, make this pesto!

1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp miso
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 cup fresh chopped bitter greens (rapini, dandelion, arugula...)
1 cup fresh chopped spinach
generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/4 lemon wedge

Place all ingredients in a food processor and grind until a chunky paste forms. Use immediately or refrigerate in a jar for a few days. Makes about 1 cup.

WAYS TO USE YOUR PESTO
~ toss in cooked rice for a hot side dish or a cold rice salad with chopped cucumbers and cherry tomatoes
~ toss in pasta for a hot side dish or cold pesto pasta salad with artichoke hearts, olives and sundried tomatoes
~ stir into hummus for an exciting variation on the chickpea dip
~ mix with mayonnaise (vegan or regular) for a delicious dip for fries like oven-baked sweet potato fries

Heavily inspired by the deliciousness of the recipes found on Vegan YumYum!

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
VATAS spinach and leafy greens are too pungent for Vatas so consume in moderation
PITTAS choose dandelion and other leafy greens but avoid arugula and spinach; replace pistachios with soaked almonds
KAPHAS excellent for Kaphas! reduce oil to a minimum (1 Tbsp), adding water or more lemon juice if needed for the right consistency; replace pistachios with soaked almonds

RECIPE ~ Healthy Puffed Rice Squares

Homemade is the way to go! This easy recipe comes from a wonderful beginner's book on macrobiotics called The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics by Jessica Porter. You can use regular Rice Crispies cereal but for a much healthier treat (which will be soft and chewy), used puffed whole grains from the health food store. Pictured here using puffed brown rice, almond butter, slivered almonds and carob chips.

1 cup brown rice syrup
2/3 cup nut butter
healthy dash umeboshi vinegar (optional)
healthy dash vanilla (optional)
3 1/2 cups puffed brown rice cereal
optional spices: cinnamon, nutmeg
optional dried fruits & nuts (up to 1 cup): raisins, roasted almonds, carob chips or dried cranberries

Over medium heat, liquify syrup, nut butter, and optional vinegar, vanilla, spices. Stir constantly until the mixture is smooth, homogenous and bubbling a little.

Pour cereal into mixing bowl. Add rice syrup mixture to it and blend well with a stiff spatula, stirring in any dried fruits and/or nuts if using. Pour into an 9x10" oiled pan and flatten with a wet spatula (wet hands and press down into corners and to flatten nicely). Let cool, slice and serve!

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
VATAS generally Vatas should avoid puffed, dry cereal, and dried fruit, but the nut butter has enough balancing that this treat can be enjoyed in moderation, preferably with a cup of hot chai
PITTAS a good Pitta treat! Use almond butter
KAPHAS choose puffed kamut or corn flakes type cereal; use sunflower or pumpkin seed butter, no nuts, but any dried fruit; replace rice syrup with honey (heat only slightly, do not cook)

RECIPE ~ Sugar-free Fruit Spreads

I've been on a sugar-free regime for some years now but sometimes I just NEED some jam on my whole grain yeast-free toast! I've discovered that by taking dried fruit and soaking them in juice, just a quick puree will produce a naturally sweet, sugar-free jam that's even suitable for raw diets.

1 cup chopped dried fruit of your choice
(such as prunes, apricots, raisins, apples, papaya...)
1/2 cup or more juice
(such as apple juice or apple cider, orange juice, fruit nectars...)

Soak the dried fruit in the juice overnight, making sure there's just enough liquid to completely cover the fruit. Using a small food processor or wand-style hand blender, puree the mixture until smooth. That's it! Store in a jar, refrigerated. Why not try it on scones or pancakes with walnut butter!

Makes about 1 cup. Pictured above made with equal parts dried apricots and prunes, soaked in orange juice.

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
Great for all the doshas!
VATAS generally should avoid dried fruit, but all soaked dried fruit is fine, especially prunes and raisins
PITTAS avoid pineapple, strawberries and cranberries
KAPHAS avoid mangoes, papaya and pineapple