Acorn Squash Croquettes - Vegan and Gluten Free

Every Thanksgiving, we have a get-together with friends and family, every one of whom has their specific likes and dietary preferences. This year, I decided to create a new recipe that could take the place of stuffing, which usually contains bread, that could be enjoyed by people who are avoiding gluten. And, as an added bonus, it's also a vegan recipe that uses nutritional yeast! 

What?

Nutritional yeast is the best-kept secret superhero of the vegan world. My next blog post will be about all the wonderful reasons you'll want to add nutritional yeast to your diet. But, until then, let's just agree that it is a great source of vitamins and has a wonderfully cheesy taste.

These croquettes make a delicious side dish. The measurements below are approximate, so add more or less according to your preference. You should eat the croquettes immediately after cooking, as they don't keep well. 

Acorn Squash Croquettes

serves 2-3 people

1 acorn squash

1 tablespoon avocado oil (or grapeseed oil)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cut the acorn squash in half. Using a large spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard.

Acorn Squash Ready for the Oven

Brush the inside of each half with the avocado oil and sprinkle with the pepper, sea salt and turmeric. Bake until cooked, about 45 minutes. You will know that the acorn is done when you can easily insert a fork into it.

While the squash is baking, mix the following ingredients together:

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

fresh juice of 1/2 small lemon

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

1 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper

Let the squash cool just enough to be comfortably handled.

Croquettes Rolled in Yeast and Ready to Be Fried

Use a spoon to remove all the meat from the squash and mix it well with the prepared seasonings above. 

Over low heat, melt enough coconut oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan (I use an iron one). While the oil is heating, lightly rub some coconut oil on your hands and roll the acorn squash mixture into small balls. Cover a large plate with nutritional yeast and roll each squash ball in the yeast to coat it completely. Fry the balls in the pan until lightly browned on one side, then roll over to brown the other side. Serve warm.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

-Tamera

Roasted Acorn Squash with Quinoa And Veggies - Vegan!

Happy Autumn everyone! Whether or not the temperatures have begun to dip where you live, there's still a certain feeling in the air. For me, it's the back-to-school rituals and the realization that Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the horizon, that have me in the kitchen, cooking up some cozy, homey type meals.

And what says Autumn more than all the gorgeous gourds starting to fill the displays at the market? That's right, nothing!

I picked up some acorn squash and got busy in the kitchen with the little ones. These stuffed squash make a great appetizer, afternoon snack or light dinner. Basically, eat them however and whenever you like!

A quick nutrition breakdown:

Acorn Squash: One of the richest sources of the anti-inflammatory nutrients Omega-3s and beta carotene - excellent for building up a strong immune system.

Quinoa: A vegetarian source of  complete protein, quinoa contains all the essential amino acids needed for growing and repairing body tissues, as well as anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Spinach: A well-known superfood, spinach has more than a dozen different flavonoid compounds that function as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer warriors.

Walnuts: The phytonutrients in walnuts help protect against metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular problems and type 2 diabetes.

Onions: Eat onions every day for cardiovascular health, to increase bone density (especially important for postmenopausal women), cancer protection and to bring down inflammation in the body.

Turmeric: Curcumin, the active ingredient of turmeric, is being looked at as a potential treatment for an array of diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diatebetes, allergies, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and other chronic diseases.

Cranberries: For a healthy cardiovascular system and liver, and to help prevent urinary tract infections, eat these little gems!

Grain-Free Banana Bread

This banana bread is so rich and satisfying, you won't even miss the wheat flour! I use almond flour, which you can find just about anywhere these days. If you'd like to make your own, it's very easy. Using a Vitamix or food processor, process about a cup of slivered almonds 20-30 seconds, being careful not to overdo it, as you don't want to end up with almond butter. 

Grain-Free Banana Bread

Summer Cucumber Soup (Vegan and non-Vegan options)

Summer hasn't officially started, but, boy, the heat sure has! In weather like this, we like to eat a lot of salads and raw foods. Not only because they help cool down our bodies, but also because they save me from having to stand in front of a hot stove.

To add variety to our summer meals, I like to make cold, no-cook soups. Here's one that serves as a great appetizer, as well as a wonderful main dish for hot summer evenings. I use fresh mint that I grow in my garden. If you don't grow your own mint, I'm telling you, you should. It's just about the easiest herb to grow, and you can use it fresh or dry it. If you don't have room for a garden, you can grow mint on your balcony or even on a sunny window ledge. Just get a starter plant, either from a nursery or pull out a rooted stem from a friend's garden, put it in a pot with some soil, give it water on a regular basis, and watch it grow. Seriously, it's that easy.

You can make this soup vegan by using almond milk yogurt, or, if you like cow's milk yogurt, use the good Greek kind, with active bacteria (don't worry, it's the beneficial kind of bacteria that keeps your digestive system healthy).

Summer Cucumber Soup

(serves 4 as an appetizer)

World's Best Raw Burritos

Do you ever walk around the produce section of your local grocery store or farmer's market and think to yourself that all the green leafy stuff just kind of looks the same, even though they have different names? I had a little chat with a woman the other day who saw me picking and bagging up a few different leafy greens. She asked me what I did with it all and wouldn't a pre-made salad mix be just as good? Umm. No. 

While the green leafy veggies may look similar and be grouped together when talking about healthy eating ("Eat lots of green, leafy vegetables!"), the truth is that each of them provides its own unique phytonutrients that help our bodies to function at optimal levels. So, while spinach and kale, for example, are two nutritional powerhouses of the greens family, they can't cover all the bases just on their own. That's why it's a great idea to mix up your use of greens and eat a wide variety of them.

Let's talk about swiss chard. 

As of this writing, research has revealed that chard leaves have at least 13 different polyphenol antioxidants. One of these, syringic acid, is able to regulate blood sugar by limiting the amount of carbohydrates that get broken down into simple sugars. Betalains are also among the phytonutrients in chard, providing antioxidant, ant-inflammatory and detoxification support. 

So, do you need swiss chard as a regular part of your diet?

Yes, without question.

Here's a recipe that has been very popular with my family and friends, and I love it because it's easy to make, versatile, surprisingly filling and absolutely delicious. For the filling, I use whatever veggies I have in the house or in my garden. Today, I filled the raw burrito with carrots, purple cabbage, sunflower seed sprouts, cucumbers and raw pine nuts. Use your imagination - you can even set up a "raw burrito bar" with different chopped fillings that your family or guests can use to make their own burritos to their liking.

World's Best Raw Burrito

World's Best Flourless Pancakes

I think that one of the hardest parts of adopting a healthier way of eating is cutting out favorite foods that have very little nutritional value. Take pancakes, for example. A staple of the standard American breakfast, they are high in simple carbohydrates and empty calories. Also, the traditional pancake recipe that calls for lots of flour and milk just doesn't work for people who don't eat gluten or dairy. 

So, I'm happy to say that I have a great recipe that is flourless, sugarless and high in protein and it tastes fantastic! These pancakes are so good that even people with no dietary restrictions should try them - most likely, you'll never go back to the old, doughy ones. And, as a special bonus, they contain only a handful of easily obtained ingredients.

Power-Up Cubes

When I was growing up, I had a friend who was really into video games. I think he was the best Pac-Man player in our town. I, myself, didn't really see the point in getting all worked up about controlling the movements of blinking lights on a screen, but, to each his own, right? I did pick up a few nuggets of information about video games just from being around him. One of them was the concept of "power-ups", which were objects in the game that gave instant power or heightened abilities to the character that obtained them. Years later, I still remember this, which just goes to show how deep-seated and influential our early life experiences can be. 

Live-Long Sauerkraut

I'm a big fan of fermented foods. I've written before about the benefits of the good bacteria that fermented foods add to our diet. Check out my kim-chee recipe for the details!

I love to make homemade sauerkraut, and with this easy recipe, you, too, can have your own homemade sauerkraut in just a few days. I call it my Live-Long Sauerkraut because, well, it's one of the deceptively humble superfoods that people have been eating for centuries to strengthen their immunity against disease.

This recipe uses powdered probiotics to get the fermentation started and to add an extra dose of probiotics to the sauerkraut. If you are unfamiliar with powdered probiotics, please take a look at my E3Live Probiotics page for information about what they are and how they are used. This is my own proprietary blend and I proudly recommend adding it to your daily diet.

Make a batch of this delicious sauerkraut and have some every day as a side dish, a salad topping, a snack - use your imagination! And, now, without further ado...

Turmeric Quinoa Pilaf

I'm not normally a New Year's resolution maker, but this year, I decided to go ahead and make one. And, since there's no time like the present, I'm jumping right in, even if the calendar still says it's December.

My resolution is to use turmeric in my cooking every day of the week. Sound extreme? I think not. Here's why.

There is a lot of research being done on the components of turmeric, and the results are pretty darned impressive. Curcumin, the active ingredient of turmeric is being looked at as a potential treatment for an array of diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, allergies, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and other chronic diseases. Pretty impressive, right?

Cold Weather Veggie Roast

I've always loved spending time in my kitchen, putting together different combinations of tastes and textures. I'm just as happy following someone else's recipe as I am creating my own dishes. I've been cooking for quite a few years, and the thing I've noticed is, sometimes the best recipes are the most simple ones. 

Cold Weather Veggie Roast is one of my very favorites. It's foolproof, you can use any combination of vegetables you have on hand and it is absolutely delicious. Here's a version I made recently with some organic veggies I picked up at the market. Cold Weather Veggie Roast can be eaten warm or chilled, as a main dish, a side, added to soups and salads, stuffed into tortillas - really, its uses are limited only by your imagination! Use organic vegetables when available.

Cold Weather Veggie Roast

Preheat oven to 400 F.

1/4 lb  broccoli

2 sweet potatoes

2 carrots

1 stalk leeks

1/4 lb okra

1 Italian eggplant

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

Fresh rosemary

Ground black pepper to taste

Sea salt to taste

1/4 cup olive oil (optional)

Wash all the vegetables, chop them into large chunks and put into a large bowl.  Mash the garlic. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, rosemary, grapeseed oil, sea salt and pepper.  Pour this mixture on top of the chopped vegetables, and mix well to coat the vegetables evenly.

Spread in a single layer on to a large cookie sheet and put into the oven for 30-45 minutes. After removing the roasted veggies from the oven, you can toss them with olive oil for a mediterranean flavor. Use combinations of different herbs and vegetables for variety!

Where Have You Bean All My Life?

If you're like me, when you think of greens, beans aren't the first things that pop into your mind. But I'm about to change that!

While all other beans are allowed to mature before being dried, green beans, also called string beans, are picked while still young and tender, when the inner beans have just begun to form. That's what makes them edible raw or slightly cooked, pods and all.  Green beans have recently been shown to have very strong anti-oxidant capacity. We can see the presence of highly concentrated chlorophyll in the beautiful, bright green color of string beans, but what we can't see is the other good stuff  - lutein, beta-carotene, vilaxanthin and neoxanthin. These are nutrients we normally associate with red and orange produce like carrots and tomatoes. Like I always say, don't judge a book by its cover.

Sadly, we are used to seeing this gorgeously green plant overcooked to a dull khaki color, with a limp and unappetizing mouth feel. If used at all, green beans are a way to fill space on a plate, and rarely take the spotlight as the stars that they really are! Here's a recipe that I make at least once a week, by popular request. It can be eaten warm, but I think it's best served chilled. I make a big batch and put it in the refrigerator for a quick snack or a scrumptious side dish. It sure beats the heck out of potato chips, both for flavor and nutrition. 

Out of This World Green Beans
(with raw option)

1/2 lb fresh green beans, washed
3 cloves fresh garlic
3 Tablespoons raw sesame seeds
chili paste to taste
3 Tablespoons sesame oil
Sea salt to taste

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the green beans and blanche until bright green. This should take no more than 3-5 minutes. We want to bring out the color and the crunch in the beans, so be careful not to overcook. Drain and set aside.

If you choose to make a raw recipe, skip the above step and, instead, carefully wash the green beans. Set aside.

Grind the sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle. You can find these anywhere, ranging in price from under $10 to over $100. No need to get fancy, just get one that you like and that fits your budget. You don't need to crush all the seeds, just a lot of them. So it will resemble a coarse powder with some seeds still intact. Empty this into a big bowl. Add garlic to the mortar and top with some sea salt. The salt helps break down the consistency of the garlic, as well as adding flavor to the dish. Grind the garlic with the pestle until it becomes a paste. Add the garlic to the sesame in the bowl. Top it off with your choice of chili paste and the sesame oil and mix well. Transfer the drained green beans to the bowl and carefully work it around with a large wooden spoon to coat the beans with the sesame mixture.

And you're done! The next time you're craving a savory snack, this delicious and nutritious snack will be as close as your refrigerator.

For more variety, try this recipe with asparagus or broccoli!

Product Review - Against All Grain

People often say to me, "Tamera, you must have the healthiest diet of anyone I know. How do you get your kids to eat so clean?"

Well, a few answers come to mind. I'm not perfect and I certainly don't have it all figured out. While I do have a lot of knowledge about health and nutrition, the simple fact is that each individual body has its own needs, and there is no cure-all diet for everyone. The truth is that I am always learning and modifying based on new research that comes out, plus my own personal observations about how the foods we eat affect my family and me. More about that in a minute. 

World's Best Sugar-Free Dessert Recipe!

Want to satisfy your sweet tooth and get a giant helping of calcium, folate, potassium, beta carotene and Vitamin C? Have I got the dessert for you! And so easy to make, anyone can do it. Even your kids!

I use the sweet potatoes with the orange flesh in many different recipes. I just love their mildly spicy/sweet flavor and smooth texture. And they are so versatile! They can be used beautifully in both sweet and savory dishes.

For those who are watching their blood sugar levels (and really, we all should be), sweet potatoes have a low glycemic index. And their high content of potassium makes them the perfect food for avoiding muscle cramps, especially in very active people.

Before I get to the recipe, here's a short video about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. (Hint: what the stores label as yams are more than likely sweet potatoes.)




World's Best Sugar-Free Dessert
             
2 medium sized sweet potatoes (with the red skin)
1 lemon

Makes two servings.

Preheat oven to 375. Thoroughly wash and dry sweet potatoes, then place in a baking dish. Be sure that the dish is big enough that the potatoes aren't touching one another or the sides of the dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until soft to the touch. Remove from oven, cut open the skin and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Alternately, you can cut open the skin and leave the flesh in. Either way, take a fork and mash the sweet potato until smooth and creamy, then squeeze some lemon juice on top. I really love the taste of lemon, so I go pretty heavy handed with it, but you can add as much or as little as you like. And that's it! You can serve this dish hot, warm, or cold, it is delicious in any form. I like it cold during the warmer months and warm in the colder months.

My kids have a great time making the Best Sugar-Free Dessert. They mash the potato and form it into fun shapes on their plates and garnish with raisins, nuts, cinnamon, or their very favorite, dried currants.

Guest Post - Heirloom Gazpacho with Grapefruit and Basil

If you've never visited Elana Horwich's Meal and a Spiel, you are definitely missing out! She's funny and smart and boy, does she have the best recipes around!

I asked Elana if she had any yummy no-cook recipes for hot summer days and she came through with flying colors! This nutritious and insanely good soup takes a little bit of time, but the results are definitely worth it. 

Here is the recipe, and if you want to know the story behind it, click here. Thank you, Elana!

Heirloom Gazpacho with Grapefruit and Basil

makes 4 cups gazpacho

4 servings or 15-18 large shot-glass appetizer portions

• 1 pound red or reddish-brown ripe heirloom tomatoes or 4 or 5 large vine ripened tomatoes
• 1 large yellow ripe heirloom tomato, chopped finely
• 1 English cucumber, cut into 1 inch rounds
• 1 red onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• one grapefruit
• a handful of fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

1. Cut red tomatoes in half and use a spoon to scoop out seeds. (With heirlooms, you might need to be a little creative to get seeds out. Just do it and don’t stress it. It’s all good. You are on the way to making a delicious gazpacho.)
2. Put red tomatoes, half of the cucumbers, one quarter of the onion, the sherry vinegar and one teaspoon of salt in your food processor until fully puréed.
3. Pour into a large bowl.
4. Add the rest of the cucumbers and 2 quarters of the onion (you will have one quarter remaining) and pulse into finely chopped. Do NOT over process or you will lose the crunch in your soup. Push the PULSE button in this rhythm: pulse-pulse-pulse-pulse. Until finely chopped.
5. Add chopped onion and cucumbers to bowl of purée.
6. Add most of the chopped yellow tomatoes to purée and the last ½ teaspoon of salt. Leave a small handful of the yellow tomato pieces for garnish.
7. Cover and chill in fridge for an hour to allow flavors to meld.
8. Cut off all the peel of the grapefruit including all of the pith, the bitter white inner skin. Chop the grapefruit into ¼- ½ inch pieces, avoiding the seeds.
9. To serve, place in small bowls or shot glasses and top with a few pieces of grapefruit, a few pieces of yellow tomato and a pinch of basil strips.

Guest Post - Montino Bourbon

I fell in love, I was betrayed, and now...

I still remember my first taste of catchup; I must have been about 6 years old, in Austria, visiting my brother-in-law's relatives. There was a mysterious red sauce in a bottle, and I was allowed to taste it. It was doled out like liquid gold, and as far as I'm concerned, it was.

When I arrived in the United States at age 8, in 1950, I soon became acquainted with Heinz tomato ketchup, and it quickly became my favorite condiment. Adults used to say that I put catchup on everything. “I'll bet that he even puts ketchup on ice cream” they used to say of my fondness for what I consider to be the ultimate sauce. 

Years later, I actually tried out catchup on ice cream.  

It was an experience I need not repeat. 

But at least I gave the lie to those who said that I “even put catch up on ice cream”. I sometimes wear a T shirt that says “I put catchup on my catchup”. I have been known to compose poems to catchup, such as:

       One sauce to rule them all, one sauce to find them

       One sauce to put on the scrambled eggs and thereby bind them

Recently, I found out that Heinz had sold out to Monsanto, the ultimate betrayal. I resolved that I was going to make acceptable catchup at home, and so I researched recipes. It turns out that in the old days, catchup was fermented. I found a recipe and made up this batch, fermented it for 5 days as directed, and now have decanted it. The next time I have scrambled eggs, I will put it to the ultimate test.

I have taken a solemn vow; no more Heinz. It breaks my heart, but it'll be better for both of us. I cannot countenance this betrayal and remain in this sick relationship. I'll remember you fondly, from back when you were just a simple American company, but I do not intend to let any of your products pass my lips ever again. 

I am resolved to make the best catchup ever.

Cry bitter tears, Heinz; you have lost your most faithful customer.

Here is a very simple recipe for non-fermented catchup.

one 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Very finely chopped onion and garlic, to taste

Mix all ingredients together, simmer for about half an hour, then refrigerate. 

The next time I write, I will tell you all about fermented ketchup, which is the way that ketchup used to be made in the “old days”. And yes, there are a variety of spellings; from the original “ketjap", we now have ketchup, catchup, catsup, and a few others.

Montino Bourbon

Think Twice! Carrageenan

This is the first blog post in a new series I’m calling Think Twice, in which I’ll be writing about food ingredients that may be doing us more harm than good. I hope that this will give you the tools to help make better-informed choices. Let me know if there are any ingredients you’d like me to write about!

I’ve always been a do-it-yourself type of girl. Once, I showed up to a dance class only to find it cancelled due to the absence of a teacher. In my small town of Klamath Falls, there weren’t many places to take dance classes. So I decided to start my own dance school. And I was pretty successful at it, too. Twenty-five years later, my dance school is still a vital force in the community (though I did eventually sell it to my partner to focus on my other pursuits).

This hands-on attitude permeates every area of my life  -  I grow much of the produce my family eats, my sewing machine is always at the ready to make or repair clothes for my children, and hey, I even have my own company to harvest and bottle the fresh blue-green algae that we enjoy every day. Until recently, I also used to make my own nut milk. But, between running my company, relocating to a new state and keeping up with the ever more hectic schedules of three growing children, I decided that, once in a while, when travelling, or running very short on time, I could just go ahead and buy it pre-made from the store.

And now, I’m realizing that that may have been a bad choice. You see, I’ve started reading about carrageenan, which is added to many processed foods. I took a quick look at the ingredient list on my favorite brand of almond milk, and wouldn’t you know it? There it is.

What’s so bad about carrageenan? As it turns out, a lot.

Fountainof Youth Juice

What do you get when you combine ginger, carrots, tangelos, mint and E3Live? Pure yumminess!

But that’s not all. By drinking this juice, you’re doing favors for your body that will have lasting benefits. Let’s take a quick look at the ingredients:

Ginger’s healing properties have been known for centuries. The natural chemicals it contains reduce nausea and inflammation, so it’s no surprise that ginger has been used to treat issues like motion and morning sickness, colic, gas, nausea and diarrhea as well as pain from arthritis and muscle soreness.

Carrots are the crunchy superfood that I eat nearly every day. Why? Well, as a great source of vitamin A and beta-carotine, they contribute to beautiful skin, good eyesight, anti-aging, prevention of cancer, stroke and heart disease, and are helpful in cleansing the body.

Tangelos are a citrus hybrid of tangerines and pomelos (or grapefruit). I love how their tangy flavor sets off the sweetness of the carrots.  Like other citrus fruits, tangelos are an excellent source of vitamin C and flavinoids. Vitamin C is well known for the treatment and prevention of colds and throat infections, as well as urinary tract infections. And for anti-aging, vitamin C can’t be beat for preventing the damage done by free radicals.

Mint is the hardy herb that anyone can grow.  Whether in a pot or in the ground, mint easily takes hold and grows with very little attention. Just give it a home and regular water, and you can have a fresh sprig of mint anytime you want! Aside from its delicious scent, mint is wonderful for treating digestive tract issues as well as for cleansing the blood.

E3Live is the world’s first and only fresh-frozen algae. It contains more than 65 vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids that are more readily absorbed by your body. To learn more about this nutritious powerhouse, click here. Be sure to check out my video on that page and let me know what you think!

And now, for the recipe!

Scrumptious Salad with Quinoa, Beets and Walnuts

We love quinoa at our house! And, we’re not alone. The United Nations has declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa, bringing the spotlight to a food that has recently become very popular.

For thousands of years, quinoa has been an important staple in Andean cultures, and now the rest of the world is getting on board with this little wonder food. Though it can be used in place of grains, quinoa itself is technically not a grain. It has a very high complete protein content, as well as being a good source of calcium, making it a perfect food for vegetarians and vegans. Quinoa is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus, as well as being high in magnesium and iron. And on top of all this goodness, it is gluten-free and easy to digest. What’s not to love?

Well, there is one thing – saponins. In its natural state, quinoa has a coating of bitter-tasting saponins that protect it from predators. Good news for quinoa, bad news for people who don’t like bitter tasting food. Not to worry, though. Most commercially sold quinoa has been washed to remove this coating, so the only thing to do before cooking it is to rinse it briefly with fresh water.

I make Scrumptious Salad (we named it that because, well, it’s scrumptious) about once a week. It’s a quick, filling meal that keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of days. This is a vegan dish, but if you eat dairy, you can toss in some crumbled blue cheese for an added tangy flavor.

Raw Vegan Sushi Recipe from Hippocrates Health Institute

Love sushi but want to eat vegan? You're in luck! Here's an easy and delicious recipe from the fabulous people at Hippocrates Health Institute!

Raw Vegan Sushi Courtesy of Hippocrates Executive Chef Ken Blue and New Times Broward-Palm Beach What You Will Need: A sharp knife for cutting vegetables A bamboo sushi mat A small cup for water Ingredients: 4 to 6 sheets of dried nori seaweed (un-toasted) 1/2 to 1 cup julienned cucumber slivers 1/2 to 1 cup julienned carrots slivers 1/2 to 3/4 cup thin-slices avocado 2 to 3 cups sprouts (alfalfa, broccoli, clover, etc.) Soy sauce, sushi vinegar or miso to taste (or any vegan dressing) 1 cup of water

World’s Easiest Snack Recipe

I’m not joking with that blog title. This really is as easy as it gets, folks. Plus, this particular snack has been proven to have exceptional anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits. 

So, it’s easy to make, delicious and good for you, too? What’s the catch? Well, there is a small one. The nutritional benefits seem to degrade after about 5-7 days of refrigeration, so you have to eat these babies pretty darned fast. Which, really, if you think about it, isn’t hard at all. If anything, you’ll have a hard time NOT eating them. 

You might be saying to yourself, hey, that's just celery! And, you're right. But, storing it in water brings out the flavors  and adds a crunch that can't be beat. Seriously, you've got to try it to believe it. Ok, so here’s the recipe.

        World’s Easiest Snack Recipe

         Fresh organic celery

         Filtered (or spring) water

         Container

Wash and cut the celery, put the pieces into the container and cover with water. Store in the refrigerator and munch on them whenever you want a crunchy snack, or toss them in salads, stuff them with nut butters, let your imagination run wild. Change the water every other day. And that’s it! Didn’t I tell you it was easy?

Tamera