Raw Blissful Breakfast: Fruit with Chocolate Pudding

Sugar from the fruit and the fat from the poppy seeds, avocado and chocolate combine to provide steady energy throughout the day.

1/2 avocado
1-2 tbsp of raw chocolate powder
1/2 tsp of honey to sweeten if wanted, but really, the fruit is so sweet, it balances out
Fruit
poppy seeds or ground flax seeds

Chocolate pudding: combine avocado with chocolate. Add honey.

Dip fruit into pudding, and dip into poppy seeds. Salivate. Munch. Enjoy.

Chocolate pudding came out grainy on the first try, but it was still very good.

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Help! I Can't Have any Butter or Cheese. What Do I Eat With My Sandwich?

My mother, a woman who glorifies nutrition and gives unwanted health lectures to my cat and random strangers, has yet to let go of her habitual coffee with a cheese sandwich in the morning. I suspect she has paid for her wanton ways with unstable blood pressure, general crankiness, nervousness and insane arthritis.*

While it's hard to change our habits, especially if we have been doing the same thing for decades, it's easier to ease into it slowly, substituting one thing, and slowly training our tongue to new and exciting flavors.

This is the first post of my most loved, tasty and easy "butter"/"cheese" substitutions, with my mother's reactions as she tries all of them.

Spreading on a sandwich:

1) Avocado
It is smooth and creamy and fatty, just the right consistency as butter. And yes, avocado does pack about 300 calories per fruit, most of which is fat. We do need healthy fats, though, so slather on.

Mom loved it. In fact, she said it was better than cheese. Creamier and had more flavor.

2) Roasted garlic.
Cut the top of the garlic bulb and roast for 15 minutes on 365 deg F. Spread the roasted garlic on bread and add arugula. Enjoy.

"Very tasty but a bit too dry. The consensus was to combine the avocado with roasted garlic, making a sandwich spread."

3) Pesto or Pistou. Pesto is very easy to make. Combine 1 cup of parsley, basil or any other dark green herb with olive oil, garlic and a little bit of pine nuts in the food processor until it is of spreadable consistency. Spread on whole grain bread. Enjoy. Mom did. Not as much as avocado though.

4) Hummus. Look on any shelf in the supermarket. So many varieties! There's no sense in me writing a recipe, when so many good ones exist elsewhere:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Appetizers-and-Snacks/Dips-and-Spreads/Hummus/ViewAll.aspx

5) Crushed beets with garlic
Fiery and almost purple, it's a very bright, healthy spread.

... more to come. I got sick today, so going to go rest now and dream of some more substitutes...

*Read more about how dairy foods affect arthritis here: USA Weekend.com

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Asparagus with Burdock Root

Burdock root is known as a blood purifier and garlic, Nama Shoyu and asparagus support the immune system. Asparagus also has a diuretic effect, which is good for treating water retention. But more importantly -- it tastes absolutely amazing!

Recipe
1 cup Asparagus Stalks 40 cal more nutrition data
1/2 cup of Burdock Root 55 cal more nutrition data
2 tsp of Nama Shoyu
1 clove of garlic

Scrub burdock to get the skin off. Cut it into matchsticks. Throw burdock, asparagus (with spices or finely chopped garlic, if you wish) in a pan to lightly sautée or pan-boil in minimum amount of water on high heat. When the asparagus turn bright green, turn off heat. Eat, enjoy and laugh at how easy this was.

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 4-5 minutes

You might want to eat this in combination with brown rice or some other whole grain, since it is very low in calories.

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Waffle with Banana Goji Berry Cacao Bean Cashew Stuffing

Mushy, sweet and chewy, this breakfast floods your body with energy and anti-oxidants for a feel-good day.

Ingredients
2 natural waffles (I used Van's Organic)
1 banana
goji berries, cacao bean cashew trail mix to taste

Combine in whatever form you see fit. Eat and enjoy.

Tested and Approved
This was tested by my local junk food addict who reported that it was too mushy for his taste, and the waffle needed to be drenched in syrup, but overall this was a big thumbs up.

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Açai Fruit Smoothie

I do love a frozen treat for breakfast. And when that frozen treat tastes like chocolate and berries, packs a "superfood" punch and wakes you up, all the better.

Deep in the Amazon rain forest grows a berry that is assumed to be one of the most nutrient rich foods in the entire world - the Açaí (ah-sigh-ee). It is crammed with more anti-oxidants than blueberries or pomegranates, and has healthy omega-3 oils, protein and dietary fiber. Good for your skin, heart, body and brain. And now, through the wonder of modern food distribution, I found it in the freezer section of the NYC Union Square Whole Foods.

I would love to find an original recipe that Amazon tribes have eaten for centuries, but for now, I will have to console myself with a simple frozen slushy experiment:

Ingredients
frozen açai
organic peach
pineapple

Blend together in a blender or food processor. Salivate, serve, eat and enjoy. :)

My Other Frozen Concoctions
Watermelon Slushy
Mystère de Chocolat

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Days# 7-11 Earth Laughs in Flowers

These are days 7 through 11 of my Eating Green Experiment. You can read about why I began it here.

So there we were - my boyfriend and I, looking out onto the Delaware River-Turnpike Toll Bridge. We were 66 miles from home and his car just made a funny noise and died in the toll lane. The E-Z pass green light was demanding GO and the car was disobeying like a pigheaded metal gas-guzzling toddler.

We waited for the rescue tow truck, as the slight whiff of panic in the air (from me,) was slowly mixing with the music, the scenery, and the scent of gasoline. Adventure, adventure, adventure!

So what has this story to do with breakfast, anyway? Well, I was sort of hungry. And there we were, on the side of the road by the flower bed, battling customer service, insurance companies and parents via phone. Very exhausting. A thought appeared. Grew. Budded, if you will... What about eating... a flower breakfast?

Edible Flower Experiment

Thankfully, my revolt for car exhaust and general caution prevented me from trying the poisonous daffodils, but I present to you my new harmless breakfast:

Broccoli or Cauliflower Floret-Bouquet
Hey, it deliciously rhymes. Boil or steam for 5 minutes, dip in a healthy sauce and put on a stick. Many sticks in a glass - and you have a breakfast bouquet.

And then you can go crazy and add other edible flowers

As soon as I get my hands on some of these, there will be some flowery concoctions presented on this blog.

Photo by Gaetan Lee used under the Creative Commons License

PS. I stole the title of this post from Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Day#6 Collard Green Wrap

This is Day 6 of my Eating Green Experiment. You can read about why I began it here.

The Wrap. The epitome of portability. The melding of flavors, one rolling upon the other. Just the right size to grab with your hand and go. It's becoming my favorite food in the world, but the whole wheat wraps that I've seen in the supermarket have ingredients that I can't pronounce, and they make me extremely sleepy, so I've found a substitute! Big leaves!

Collard Green Wrap
1/2 avocado
red cabbage
baby leaf greens
1 cucumber
1 radish

Cut away the tough stem of the Collard green so that it can bend. Stuff with with your favorite veggies and it's good to go.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

And collard greens are a nutritional cancer bomb:
"A study of Chinese women in Singapore, a city in which air pollution levels are often high putting stress on the detoxification capacity of residents' lungs, found that in non-smokers, eating cruciferous vegetables lowered risk of lung cancer by 30%. In smokers, regular cruciferous vegetable consumption reduced lung cancer risk an amazing 69%!"

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Days 2 through 5. I'm Eating Green Experiment Continues.

These are days 2 through 5 of my Eating Green Experiment. You can read about why I began it here.

I went shopping finally. Only organic markets have customers who don't get weirded out from my happy tiny squeals of "Arugula! Oh dearest, I will EAT YOU UP!" Or maybe they do, but I did not notice.

Anyway... so how am I doing? Doing well, thank you. I've been trying everything including the quite unoriginal (but tasty) old standby:


Take a bunch of green veggies, cut/tear them, then steam/boil until they're bright green and eat. Add olive oil if you wish. Very good in the morning, for it's warm and less abrasive on the stomach. 5 minutes preparation, 3 minutes to cook. Yes! It really is that quick. The wormy looking white things are sprouts and brown rice which I added in a moment of inspiration.

Price: (estimated) $2.00

The Effects

Day#2 I did not sleep the whole night, tossing and turning. While detoxification symptoms on the internet include insomnia and I am not an insomniac, I figure my money worries were the real reason. Sigh.

Day#3 Worn out, but surprisingly focused and awake, I munched on a salad and ran off into the urban wild.

Day#4 Fully worn, I tried to keep awake long enough in the morning to make myself a sandwich out of some whole grain bread, avocado and greens. It worked. My brain worked, the job interview went very well and I was unusually happy the rest of the day, though can't say how much of that happiness was food related.

Day#5 I need to get some sleep so that I have strength to write further!

Till tomorrow...

Your Crazy Breakfast Madam.

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Green Day # 1 - Saladicious

This is Day 1 of my Eating Green Experiment. You can read about why I began it here.

Late Saturday morning - the fridge looks like a bunch of hungry gnomes have been sleeping there overnight. All that is left from the week are some carrots, a tiny limp bok choy, a nearly empty jar of miso and the whistling wind, (or is it the hum of the refrigerator?) Definitely need to go shopping.

I grab a lonely carrot, some leftover romaine and dill, and start creating magic.

Recipe
carrot
romaine
dill
scallions
bok choy

Dressing
1 tsp of white miso
1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp of omega 3 oil
1/4 of tsp raw honey

It's a salad - so obviously you chop it up or tear it up and it's ready to eat.
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients until it tastes amazing. Munch gratefully and loudly.

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Tahini Apple Sandwich

Sometimes I just want to make a pretty pyramid and then eat it. And this pyramid is the healthy kind - healthy satisfying fat from the sesame seeds drenched over the sour sweetness of the granny smith apples intermixed with thin slices of toasted whole grain bread. Taste it, I dare ya.

Ingredients
granny smith apple slices
whole grain bread
sesame butter

Toast the bread. Smooth sesame butter and place apple slices on top. Eat. Enjoy.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Apples contain pectin, which removes cholesterol, toxic metals such as lead and mercury, and the residues of radiation. Though I don't know whether this breakfast will protect you from turning into Spiderman.

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Five Barbaric Ways to Eat a Watermelon (For Breakfast)

Derived from my mom's 'what-do-you-think-you're-doing?-lectures'

1) Cut a watermelon in half. Give 1 half to your loved one. If you don't love anyone else, save the other half for tomorrow.

Spoon out the center, taking care to destroy the sweet sweet evidence. Once you have a big enough hole and enough juices to fill it, make sure to drop as many seeds into it as possible - now you have a rocky bottom. Float something to represent boats - prepare to do a naval battle.

2) Cut watermelon in weird shapes. Eat it and put the crust back together, preferably gluing it. Now you have a fake watermelon. Impress all your friends by lifting that sucker with your finger.

3) Cut a watermelon in a serrated way, eat all of it out, color it white and tell everyone you found a dinosaur egg

4) Drop watermelon on the floor. If floor is clean, pick up the pieces and eat them. If the floor is dirty, utilize the 5 second rule.

5) Build a watermelon pyramid to defy the Egyptians or something even more crazy


...and then run to your bathroom/outhouse/tree stump.

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Drinking for Breakfast?

The effects of soda/pop/coke on the human body vs. water. A picture says 100100245560000 words.

My minions at Amazon have finally delivered a book called You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty! by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.

That title sounds perfectly evil. But to my surprise, the book was not sponsored by HMOs, but by a doctor. Don't know what kind of doctor researcher he is, but it's a simple thing - no one should forget about water in the morning.

In any case, here's some helpful stuff from the book that I learnt:

Short tempered boss/husband/child? He might be dehydrated. Force him to drink a couple of glasses of water, and see him get all calm. Apparently irritability is a "copout process so as not to engage in a brain-energy -consuming involvement beyond that particular moment."

Anyone up to doing an experiment on effects of seltzer vs water on bosses?

She's acting all dejected and needy? No, your girlfriend does not have low self-esteem. It's just water. Here's the explanation: Dehydration depletes amino acids that are essential in many different body functions, including neurotransmission. "Their shortage in the body means loss of assets that the brain assesses as insufficient and inaequate for its undertakings."

Disturbed sleep, particularly in the elderly. "The body will not have a restful night's sleep if it is short on water. A full 8 hours' sleep will further dehydrate the body because much water is lost in respiration and possible perspiration under the heavy covers. If the body receives water and a little salt, sleep rhythm will be reestablished immediately."

Good for keeping grandma asleep when you need to sneak some cookies from the kitchen. Don't look at me that way. Healthy whole-wheat cookies, I tell you...

...more to come. Definitely more to come.

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Aprikose Fruchtsalat

Apricot Fruit Salad

Apricots
Sesame seeds
Poppy seeds
a little sesame toasted oil
lemon or lime

Cut apricots up, add a bit of oil, and sprinkle seeds to your liking. Splash with lemon or lime. Devour.

From Healing with Whole Foods:
Apricots "used for dry throat, thirst, asthma, and other lung conditions when there is fluid deficiency. Because of its high copper and cobalt content, it is commonly used to treat anemia. They must be used cautiously during pregnancy and avoided in cases of diarrhea." yeah, they can totally clean you out... but these won't:

Almond Butter Plum Sandwiches

Almond butter
Plums
Whole Grain Bread

Spread some almond butter on the bread. Cover with plums. Enjoy.

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Mystère de Chocolat

What made me so giddy and chipper today? My new favorite breakfast.

What you need:

1) Frozen berries (blueberries are perfect)
2) Raw cocoa powder - don't substitute with hershey's or supermarket chocolate. That stuff will kill you.
3) Almond butter

Throw frozen berries in a blender, add a spoon or so of raw cocoa powder and some almond butter – top with walnuts or whatever strikes your fancy, and you have a pleasure-chemical-inducing ice-cream-like frozen breakfast for those unbearable hot mornings.

And look how healthy:

Chocolate and blueberries are richer in antioxidants than wine or brussel sprouts. Antioxidants are believed to play a role in preventing cellular damage and the development of such chronic diseases as cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts.

Chocolate and almonds are a few of the best sources of magnesium. And a lot of us are deficient in magnesium. Signs of deficiency include:

* Muscle cramps in legs or feet
* Muscle twitches
* Aching muscles
* Migraine headaches
* Dental pain
* Brain ‘fogging’
* Anxiety or irritability
* Restless legs

Read more about the health benefits of blueberries, chocolate and almonds.

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Céréale Aromatisée par Nectarine

Quite easy and cheap

Buckwheat
Soy milk
nectarine

Cook buckwheat. Add chilled soy milk. Mix in fresh nectarine pieces.

Buckwheat is incredibly tricky to make right, but here's an easy way: Wash buckwheat, pour boiling water on top. Cover and let the pot sit wrapped in a towel overnight or until fluffy and soft.

or the way my mom makes it (which is, in my view, tastier) - toast buckwheat in a dry pan, add water and let sit on very very low heat on stove until soft but not mushy.

Soooo tasty. So filling. Soo good for you.

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Watermelon Slushy

Another glorious breakfast for those days when you wake up feeling "beh". My body smells like vanilla now. I'm not kidding.


Freeze chunks of watermelon overnight (I had a yellow fleshed watermelon)

In the morning:
Combine in the food processor with

vanilla
cinnamon
and fresh squeezed lemon juice of 1 or 2 lemons.

Sooo light. Sooo refreshing. Needed some mint, though.
And perfect to rehydrate after a night of sleep. Plus, watermelon is full
of vitamin C and beta-carotine, which "...have been shown in a number
of scientific studies to reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce the
airway spasm that occurs in asthma, reduce the risk of colon cancer,
and alleviate some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid
arthritis."

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