Broccoli sprouts

This is my favourite topping; Sprouts!

Perfect on top of anything. Broccoli sprouts adds a little nutty and fresh taste to your dish.

On top of your salad, sandwich or in you smoothie.

I used a plastic tray for flower pots and covered the bottom with 1 cm of pot soil. The soil is soaked and then  broccoli seeds are sprinkled in an even layer on top. A thin layer of soil to cover the seeds. Make sure the soil is always a little moist. Put the tray in a window to get nice green sprouts. After ca 4-5 days it's time for harvest.

I bought special bags for sprouting at Runåbergs fröer (swedish seed company). They sell a small variety of sprouting seeds.

Sauerkraut

Oh, Im so happy and pleased!

After my second trial I have succeded to make my own sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is a great way to eat probiotics and you don't have to deal with bloating problems like some can get when eating raw or cooked cabbage.

Don't be afraid that the taste will be grouse, it's not. It tastes like the salad that is served at Swedish pizza places. Just grind som pepper over it and there you have it. 

After Christmas the supermarkets sold the red cabbage for only 20 cents per kilo. A big cbbage head for only 50 cents was bought.

Shred the cabbage (exept the outer leaves to use later) and mix it in a bowl with a half handfull of Himalayan salt. Mash the blend with a coffe mug to get the juice out of the cabbage.

Tuck the cabbage in a big glass jar with airtight cap. Make sure you press out as much air from the cabbage as possible.  Fold the outer leaves and put on top of the shredded cabbage to get a seal. Pour water over the leaves (boil the water then let it cool first) to get a air tight cover over the leaves. If the leaves have a tendency to rise you can do as I did, put a coffemug on top before sealing (see picture below).

Let the cabbage stay at the kitchen bench for two days approximately. You should see some bubbles along the waterline. Then store the jar in a colder place ca 12-15 degrees celsius (the cellar, cupboard or something like that) for 5-7 days. Hopefully you will have a delicious cabbage sallad after this time.

First time i tried to make it I used my home grown green cabbage. I didn't use any extra water at all and I stored the jars in the cellar. It smelled like poo during the 5 day storage. When I was supposed to open a jar and taste, an awful smell struck my face and I could see mold on the surface. So be careful when you make it. Be sure you use clean jars, boiled water and make sure you have the leaves under the water.

I serve the salad every day with green salad to get a healthy stomach.

Raw crisp bread

I have made my first try to make a raw crisp bread. As inspiration I googled about how to make them and then made my own recipe. They taste so nice with mashed avocado on top. You can also brake them to smaller pieces and get crackers.

Raw crisp bread "Knäckebröd"

1 dl Sundried tomatoes

1 dl Sunflower seeds

1 dl Pumpkin seeds

1 dl Sesame seeds

1 dl Oat groats (not the flakes)

1 dl Psyllium seeds

2 dl Flax seeds

1 Tbs Nutritional yeast

1 Tbs vegetable broth

Soak the sundried tomatoes in a cup of water. Mix all the other dry ingredients in a bowl and soak in water. The amount of fresh water is not more than to cover the seeds. Let it soak for 3-4 hours. Chop the tomatoes and blend in the seed mixture.

After soaking, pour the mix on a baking sheet and flatten it out with a spoon. It will be flat enough to be homogenic without any holes. Put your owen on lowest temperature maximum 50 degrees C. Dry the bread in the owen by opening a gap even now and then. When the upside feels dry it's proper to turn the bread upside down. Be careful so you don't brake or drop it. 

When the bread is completely dried, store it in an airtight holder.

Warm cocoa

Sometimes I have strong cravings for chocolate. This hot cocoa is a tasty replacement for the one with milk and lots of sugar.

Pour one cup of almond milk in a saucer and add 2 tsp of raw cocoa, ½ tsp of honey, a pinch of salt and eventually a tiny amount of raw coconut oil and whisk while warming carefully. The temperature should only be as high as it is pleasant to drink, not hot. The pinch of salt gives the cocoa a richer taste and the coconut oil gives it some body. 

Perfect after a cold day outdoors.

Gluten free bread

As I need to cut down on gluten I searched the internet for a nice bread to bake. I used this recipe as an inspiration but changed it a bit. I removed the sweet stuff and dairy products.

300 ml oat groats

300 ml gluten free flour ( I used Lailas gluten free flour)
150 ml of mashed almonds remnants from the almond milk 

100 ml pumpkin seeds

1,5 tsp baking powder

0,5 tsp himalayan salt

a pinch of cinnamon

350 ml almond milk (see last post)

Preheat the owen to 175 degrees C. Blend all the dry ingredients and pour the almond milk in the dry blend. Take a rectangular bread form and line it with raw coconut oil and sprinkle some gluten free flour over. Pour the dough in the bread form and bake the bread for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Store the bread in the fridge in a box or bag.

I think this bread would taste a bit better if you add some sweets like a Tbs of honey or molass. It works fine to slice, toast and serve with sliced avocado and a pinch of fleur de sel.

The green dots comes from the pumpkin seeds. I think pumpkin seeds could be a good alternative for pistachio, for those who are allergic.

Snack time

In the beginning of the week, the weather was very warm and sunny. The snow was melting from the roofs and ground. It was so warm that it was possible to sit on the porchstair to enjoy the last sunbeams for the day.

As a snack I drank my favourite tea, white tea with spirulina and almond milk. A small bowl of roasted organic coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds to eat.

Almond milk is very easy to do by yourself. Take two hand fulls of almonds and put in a bowl of water. Let it stand for at least 5 hours to sprout. You can see that the almonds have swelling after that time. Mix the almonds with some water until it's a smooth mixture and add some more up to 700ml. Strain the almonds in a cheese cloth and fill clean bottles. The almond milk lasts a few days and it is visible when it's to old because you can clearly see how it is separated. Then it's time to pour it away. 

The mushed almonds can be stored in the freezer and be used for homemade crunch, breads, piecrusts etc.

The almond milk has a very mild and nice taste. I frankly prefer almond milk in my tea before milk from now on. 

Introduction

This blog is intended to follow me along the way to a healthier and more consious self. I didn't consider myself very healthy or sporty until my life was turned upside down and because of that I got depressed and gained 40 pounds. Looking back to the person I was only few years ago, I realize that I was healthy, I'm going to take back that person again.

I will post delicious healthy recipes that fills your body with nutrients, lots of vegetables and rawfood. 

There will also be lots of tips how to grow your own organic vegetables in a cold climate.

Hopefully this will be a place were we can share the joy of the healthy food mother nature provides us with and a place for exchanging ideas and inspiration.

Lots of love and energy 
Therese