Forks Over Knives 2011 - Movie

I personally just got around to watching the movie and felt as though I needed to share this information with a few people in my family that also suffer from dis-ease. I highly recommend watching/buying/sharing the movie and hopefully make some wonderful changes to your diet so that you are around the people that love you the most a lot longer.  xoxo love Tania  

The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Throughout the film, cameras follow “reality patients” who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole-foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments—while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.

FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.

http://www.forksoverknives.com

Growing Within - Winter Months and DIY Hydrofarm

diy hydrofarm

set up in the dining area in front of the window. 

the shelves are holding the hydroponic DIY container, the blooming tomato and pepper plants,  some house plants, and the budding lemon tree :) 

This will be home until spring. 

UPDATE PHOTO January 14th 2013. 

See how fast we are growing! 

The peppers and tomato plants are growing so fast. See the difference between the two smaller plants in the front of the photo not in the hydroponic system and the ones that are in the system. I started them from seeds all the same day. Things grow much faster in the system. Very excited. 

UPDATE PHOTO January 26th 2013. 

Now, two are 19" tall ready to switch into individual grow buckets on Monday.

(I'll have a post on that next week.)  

My Vegetarian Lentil Soup

My Vegetarian Lentil Soup

by Tania Calderón

click on photos to enlarge

Happy New Year!!!! This 2013 will be a very exciting year in the world of food and growing within. Some of you may know I started sprouting a few months back and We've also started a small hydroponic system which will hopefully grow our tomatoes and peppers indoors.

I'm very excited about the new year and all of the new magic it will bring into our lives, and belly. So, today I'm starting off this blog with a simple Lentil Soup recipe.
There are several types of Lentil Soups, they are a great source of fiber, protein, and iron. During the winter I really enjoy hot soup like many others and especially love the smell of my home when food is simmering on the oven for a few hours slow cooking that nights dinner.
This is one I threw together late this morning to cook in my new crock pot.
Since I've only used the crock pot once it's an experiment because I'm using dry beans that I didn't soak the night before hand.

(uncooked) 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium celery stalk, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and small dice
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, small dice
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• Kosher salt (to taste) 
• Freshly ground black pepper (to taste) 
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 14-ounce caned San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes in SM puree 
• 1 1/4 cups dry beans (I used 3/4 cup brown lentils, 1/4 cup chick peas, split peas) 
• 1 bay leaf
•  chopped fresh thyme leaves and stems (to taste) 
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar 
• 5 medium large brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in two. 

So let's get started...  

I have an assortment of dry beans that I used although I call this lentil soup because I used more of them than the others. 

I boiled the dry beans about 5 minutes on the stove before adding them to the crock pot.

Then I added my other ingredients in the order listed above. 

(uncooked) 

I'll let that simmer for a few hours and by the time I'm ready for dinner my delicious vegetarian lentil soup will be done. No fuss, and what I like about this recipe is all of the ingredients are simple and in their natural form (unprocessed). 

Here we are 5 - 6 hrs later. 

Bon Appetít! 

(btw Basic Lentil Soup Recipe here By Aida Mollenkamp) 

Easy traditional Hungarian Goulash (Gulyasleves / Gúlyas)

This is how I make Goulash. I have used her recipe over and over always with the same satisfaction. Try it!

Juicing OJ & Sprouts

JUICING ORANGES

After watching a video on youtube about the flavor packs put into 100% natural OJ I decided to try and make our own as often as possible. Since we both have family in the sunshine state how blessed are we. 

Here's a typical amount needed to fill a full carafe. We have blood oranges and tangerines. I prefer mine at room temp because you can taste more of the flavor than when it's been in the fridge for some time. I love the colors in this photo I took in the kitchen. Window lighting is my best friend and I suggest all new photographers experiment using it to meet their goals. 

SPROUTS

Easiest way to have healthy greens all year long. 

I'm a big fan and have been sprouting non-stop for the past two months with all kinds a seeds.

I use the jarring method and usually have 1 - 3 sitting on the counter top at a time. 

We put them on salads and sandwiches. Healthy... yummy... Grow your Food!!!  

  

Two tablespoons of a mixed salad blend and they are bulging out ready for eating at any stage you prefer. On this day I made salads for lunch so here they are hulls and all, and I just pinched a bit off the top, and used the salad spinner. Fast no hassle, you could actually eat the hulls with no problem. 

adding and .....

Voilà,  Bon Appetít!

Oh... here's some lentils too. 

different day... different meal still fantastic. 

Sprouts Baby

I have been harvesting all sorts of sprouts grown in my kitchen in a few mason jars on the counter. Have a look at these mung beans harvested today.

After 5-6 days look how long they've grown

washing / de-hulling

into the compost the hulls go

Drying- Salad Spinner on the way. 

Here are the dry beans with the freshly washed mung beans as they dry.

In the salad for lunch along with a generous dollop of homemade red pepper hummus 

You would be surprised if you didn't know anything about sprouting how easy it is to get the micronutrient rich energy from sprouting in your own kitchen. 

Most of the info I've learned I read on sproutpeople.org They are wonderful and offer plenty of useful info and videos to get you started. 

I've eaten sprouts but I never thought about growing my own until a few weeks ago. 

It's an easy way to have fresh greens all year and since our raised bed wasn't successful this seemed like the next BEST thing. 

This is something I'll commit to for life so if the mason jar method one day wears on me I'd like to buy this. EasyGreen Sprouter 

Happy Sprouting!

hugelkultur - the ultimate garden bed

Hugelkultur is raised garden beds that reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation and fertilizer.