Thursday, April 26, 2012

Temple Cleaning

Spring is springing here in my part of the world! I am preparing the garden, just planted tomatoes, and am looking forward to months & months of summer fruit & vegetables. Other than the heat, I always feel more fabulous starting around the middle of May. It must be my diet?

 Here are two of my favorites, just to get your appetite wet:

 Kombucha!!! Now, you can go buy the little bottles of this fizzy wonder drink, but if you are like me, that will just not be enough and you will drink yourself into bancruptcy. What does a resourceful girl do? Make her own! I resisted this for quite some time, for some reason I had the notion that I could not make Kombucha the "right" way, and that I might poison myself :). Silly Girl......

Making your own Kombucha is so simple, and I love playing with the flavors. I make it with black tea, oolong tea, and green tea....each one giving me a different base. You can add different herbs & flavors after the initial steep (don't add it with your mother!), and give the Kombucha additional healing propoerties. My newest favorite: Black Tea Kombucha, steeped with Hibiscus flowers....Just yummy.

There are hundreds of Kombucha tutorials online, so I am not even going to confuse you with my way. If you want my simple way, you can message me, but I suggest you begin with the tested way. I like this site, Kombuchakamp. You can get supplies there...I use a big pickle jar, and received my first scoby from a friend. If you are local, you can get a scoby from MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :).

 My second favorite: Lentil Salad

I just LOVE lentils, but sadly, I may have to cut this from my diet. I have been looking at the "0+" diet, and lentils are on my AVOID list. I grew up with lentils, and resisted this recommendation. Well, actually, I resisted the lentils, and then decided to screw it and eat mounds of my tasty lentil salad. Big mistake. It does effect me, and not in a good way. I will share with you though, as this makes an excellent salad to take on trips, picnics...or as make ahead food. You can eat it plain, or get creative by putting it on rice, pasta, bread..It gets better after a day in the fridge.

 Soak lentils overnight with a tsp of baking soda. Drain, and cook until softish, about 20-30 minutes (you don't want them mushy) Drain. Season with salt, pepper, vinegar (apple is good, or balsamic...your taste),and olive oil. Add chopped tomoatoes, and LOTS of parsley. Really, overdo the parsley. It is good for you, and just tastes fantastic in this salad. Let stand a few hours or overnight in fridge. Voila! You may have to season again. Also, you can add red onions, and feta cheese, that tastes divine.

Enjoy! Much love, Heike

2 comments:

  1. Hi Heike~ Love the idea of using hibiscus flowers in kombucha! I also get my supplies from Kombuchakamp. Very interesting about the blood type. I am O- and just yesterday started researching the blood type diet. Lentils are a no for me as well. The hitch is on all that is that I'm a vegan and us Os are supposed to eat lots of meat on that diet. Hmmmm.... I have found that black-eyed peas work well for me though. Anyway, hadn't thought to soak the lentils with baking soda. Very interesting!

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    1. ah...another thing we have in common :). The blood type diet is interesting, the book offers some history. I can actually relate to some of the things it says, and some of the avoidances. My AVOID list reads like my childhood diet list. Almost EVERYTHING I ate & love is on there. That may be why I am listening to the "The blood diet is quackery" comments :)..in hopes that I can go back and eat what I want. With that said, yes, it will be interesting how YOU convert that information. I always joke that I am supposed to go hunt, kill, eat....all in the matter of minutes. I do find that I do NOT feel good when I am on a vegetarian diet, no matter how much I concentrate on proteins. I try to be very conscientious of my meat. How the animal is raised/treated, butchered, etc. I know that must sound crazy to a vegan :)...but it is my reality. I know my cow..where it is raised..I can go pet it if I feel the need. I was also raised on partly on a ranch, and know humane animal raising/farming is possible. With all that said, keep me posted if you indulge in the Blood Type diet, I would love to know how it affects you. BTW....every time I say "The hell with it!" and eat some of my AVOID foods, I do feel it. It may be psychological :)...the verdict still remains open :).

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