Overnight rice pudding

I love waking up to breakfast!

2 cups rice
6 C water
1/2 C honey
1 /2 C coconut
1/2 tsp molasses
1tsp cinnamon
Dash ginger
Dash nutmeg

Bake in a crockpot on low for 8 hrs. Serve with lots of milk and golden raisins.

What does sugar to do mice?

What does a healthy diet plus a moderate amount of sugar do to your health? Moderate meaning three sodas.  Well, mice who were given an equivalent percentage died earlier and had fewer babies--about the same decline in health as you see with inbreeding.  Interesting! Here is the article on the experiment conducted by the University of Utah: Sugar at 'safe' levels may be toxic to health.

DIY Probiotics

We are only nourished by what our body can actually take in!  A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that we can improve our ability to digest wheat and the gluten in it.  There are a lot of great products out there, I'm sure, but today I wanted to tell you about the wonderful world of naturally occurring probiotics: lacto fermentation!  If you are unfamiliar with this term, please know that lacto is not referring to milk, and fermenting is different than rotting.  This is the process that our ancestors used that captured the healthful bacteria, or lactobacilli (we now call this probiotics...see Mariam Webster's definition) that not only made foods more digestible, it also preserved them.  The term lacto makes us think of the "milk sugar" lactose, but instead it is referring to lactic acid.  So maybe the term lactic acid fermentation would portray this with more accuracy, but if you are looking for recipes, lacto is the term to use.  The probiotics naturally in raw vegetables and dairy, and the idea is to keep the vegetable from spoiling long enough for the probiotics to take over.  Salt will keep it from spoiling, whey (as in curds and whey or the watery stuff in your yogurt) will add a whole bunch of the probiotics to speed up the process, and most recipes use a combination of both.

I started simple, with the Southern delicacy pickled watermelon rind--since I would have just tossed it out anyway, there was no harm done if I didn't like it, right?  It was so fun and exciting I quickly moved on to salsa, beets, and ketsup!  Recipes to follow.  But, I just LOVED that I could can something (though it does need cold storage) without having to cook or seal it, without the expense (and no added nutrition if cooked) of vinegar, and after two days end up with something that will fill my body with the good probiotics I need--and it will keep for months!  This is especially convenient, because I can double the salsa recipe for my taco salad, throw the doubled amount in a jar, and the next time I eat it it has more than doubled in nutrition!  Doctrine and Covenants refers to using our food with prudence, which means taking thought and care for the future.  I have food for today, and I have food for tomorrow!  This feels so right to me.  I'm hooked!

Broccoli Salad, sugarfree and vegan style

Broccoli Salad, with a vegan sugarfree twist

All the yumminess, double the flavor, all ingredients that will make you can feel fabulous! I chop the stem of the broccoli finely.  You can soak you almonds ahead of time and if you don't get around to using them right away you will change the water and they'll still be good for a few days.  Or, you can freeze them until you are ready to make the dressing.  I thaw the soaked, frozen almonds in a bowl of warm water while I am cutting the broccoli.  I use a Hamilton Beech blender that I love, but if you have a Vitamix, you are set, and will be able to get a nice smooth dressing.  My dressing usually has small pieces of nuts, but that is certainly no flaw, as I add sunflowers seeds for their crunch anyway.

Broccoli Salad, sugarfree and vegan style

Dressing:

1/2 cup almonds, soaked for 6 hours

1/2 cup apple juice

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup honey

3/4 cup bertolli's light tasting olive oil (OPTIONAL)

dash salt

dash smoked paprika

Salad:

2 heads broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup golden and /or regular raisins

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (raw or roasted--you may want to add a little salt to the dressing if you choose raw)

1/2 cup chopped red or 1/4 cup sliced green onions

Add almonds, water, vinegar, and honey to blender.  Blend until fairly smooth, adding oil (or more water) if needed to blend.  With the blender still on, slowly pour in the oil.  Blend at least until all almond pieces are crumb sized.

Pour dressing onto broccoli and stir till all the broccoli is covered.  Add raisins, sunflowers seeds, and onions and mix lightly, so all the goodness doesn't end up at the bottom of the bowl.

Enjoy your summer!