Posted on

Homemade Energy Bars

IMG_0580Months before our epic John Muir Trail hike last summer, I experimented with making homemade energy bars; the goal being to bring along tasty nutrient rich snacks that could fuel us on our calorie burning days. I scoured all the energy bar recipes on the web and closely inspected the ingredients lists on the huge array of protein/power/nutrition/ raw bars sold at my local food coop. I was most interested in what manufacturers were using as binders to hold bars together.  After my research and experiments, I found what worked best for me was using a combination of dried dates or apricots, chia seeds, honey, nut butters, apple sauce and coconut oil.  Because I favor raw foods, I used a dehydrator instead of an oven to retain the most nutrition, and preserve the energy bars.  Be assured that the chewy texture was not compromised from being dehydrated.

As we prepared for our hike, I brought along samples of my energy bars for my hiking partners to try out on our training hikes which helped me refine my recipes. Although I wasn’t scientific about calculating their carbohydrate, protein and fat ratios, they were definitely satisfying.  I can attest that once we were on the John Muir Trail, these energy bars did fuel me up all the mountain passes and kept me going on long mileage days. They traveled well in high heat, held their shape and performed admirably on a caloric level, so much so that we ate far fewer of them than anticipated.  Whether you are hiking or not, it’s handy to have these bars around as snacks or additions to lunches.

The following recipes, although all yummy, are listed in order of popularity. Use my recipes as a guideline for proportions but make substitutions for different protein powders, nuts, seeds or dried fruit if you have a different preference.  Store them in glass sealed containers or, if traveling, you can vaccuum pack or keep them in Ziploc plastic bags.

Sprouted Buckwheat & Carob Energy Bar

The sprouted buckwheat offers a nice crunchy texture and Carob satisfies chocolate lovers.

1 cup dried dates (soaked)

1 cup almond meal

1 cup whey protein powder

1 cup walnuts

2 cups sprouted buckwheat groats

½ cup Chia seeds  (soak ½ cup chia seeds in 1 cup water)

¼ cup carob powder

½ cup cacao nibs

¼-1/2 cup honey

pinch salt

Instructions

Sprout  your buckwheat groats.  I place my grouts in a colander to sprout so it is easy to rinse.

Soak ½ cup chia seeds in 1 cup water.  Wait ½ hr.

In Cuisine art, pulse walnuts into small chunks.  Put aside

In Cuisine art, pulse soaked dates into a paste.

In mixing bowl, mix together all of the above ingredients until they all stick together. Transfer and flatten mixture to ½”-5/8” on dehydrator trays covered with either parchment or non-stick dehydrator sheets on them.  Use a pizza cutter to cut energy bars into a grid of whatever dimensions you prefer, but don’t cut all the way through so you can easily flip it later.  Set temperature on dehydrator to 115 degrees and dry for 12 hours.  After 12 hours, flip the whole mass onto the trays and peel away the non-stick dehydrator sheets so bars will dehydrate completely.  Dry for another 12 hours or longer until energy bars have no more moisture.  Use a knife to slice energy bars into separate pieces. Store.

 

Sesame & Cashew Chew Energy Bar

I cup Cashews

1 cup Sesame seeds

I cup dates (soaked)

½ cup coconut flakes

¼ cup honey

1 inch grated ginger

pinch of salt.

In Cuisine art, blend cashews into a meal (put aside)

In Cuisine art, pulse soaked dates into paste

After making date paste, add cashew meal and then all the rest of the ingredients in Cuisine art.  Blend into a sticky mixture.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees. Follow same instructions on dehydrating in above recipe.

 

Apricot Oat Energy Bar

1 cup dried apricots (soaked)

½ cup applesauce

1 cup quick oats

1 cup almond butter

½ cup honey

½ cup coconut flakes

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt.

In Cuisine art, pulse soaked apricots into paste.  Add all the rest of the ingredients in Cuisine art and blend into sticky mixture.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees. Follow same instructions on dehydrating in above recipe.

 

 

 

Posted on

Fermented Kohlrabi

IMG_0803Chop. Chop.  Time to harvest and preserve the kohlrabi.  I had a hunch kohlrabi would make a good ferment because as a brassica it is sweet, similar in color, and crunchy like cabbage, but this outer-worldly looking vegetable is even more versatile.  In this ferment, I added Hungarian hot wax peppers to give subtle spice, and indeed, the combo created a delicate balance of flavors.

IMG_0814Below is my recipe, such as it is.  The fermentation process lends itself to experimentation and variation.  I change it up based on what is available from my garden or on sale in the grocery store, usually making just quart size containers at a time.  Having a few different ferments bubbling away on the kitchen counter or in the refrigerator allows me to serve several small side dishes (Korean-style) alongside main dishes at dinner.  The variation at the table not only stimulates interest but the digestion as well.

IMG_0808In Vegetable Fermentation Further Simplified, Sandor Katz gives the lowdown on how to ferment any vegetable.  If you are looking to get into fermentation, follow his guidelines and you’ll be making very original side dishes and manufacturing your own tasty probiotics in your kitchen in no time.  I’d love to hear about what you are fermenting.

 

Fermented Kohlrabi

3 – 4  kohlrabi

2 Hungarian hot wax peppers

2 teaspoons salt

 

Peel skin off kohlrabi and shred in cuisine art or mandolin.

Place shredded kohlrabi in bowl and sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt over kohlrabi.

Wash hands and massage kohlrabi until you’ve squeezed out as much liquid as possible.

Mix in diced hot wax peppers

Pack vegetables into a canning jar.

Pour liquid over the top of vegetables.

Fill plastic baggie with enough water to weigh down kohlrabi so it is submerged under liquid (usually just 1/2 cup of water).

Place on kitchen counter in a bowl.  As it ferments it will bubble up and excess will spill into bowl.

Wait 3 – 7 days, or more.  Taste often until flavor appeals to you.

Cover with a lid and place in refrigerator.

 

 

 

Posted on

Mountain Medicine

IMG_0069_2Strong as a boulder, small as a pebble, that’s how I feel after returning from a twenty-day backpacking expedition on the John Muir Trail (JMT) in California.  My three trail companions and I hiked over 200 miles from Tuolumne meadows to Mt. Whitney, crossed seven mountain passes over 11,000 feet, and earned a total elevation gain of 46,000 feet during the course of this magnificent, everything-worked-according-to-our-plan trip.

Even though there are enormous health benefits to daily load-bearing exercise, drinking 2-3 liters of water and massive bowel elimination, it was being in the mountains that felt most therapeutic. Most of our days were spent in dry sunny high alpine zones where we walked by pristine lakes and rivers, through boulder fields, talus slopes and scattered granite outcroppings while mountains, dramatic rock cathedrals, either surrounded or beckoned us forward on our southward route.

IMG_0059_2Of course, it was physically rigorous, and consumed all my attention, to climb and then descend the switchbacks on every mountain pass.  Each step up the mountain, the rarified air, brought me closer to the dizzying cerulean blue sky and dazzling panoramic views.  It’s the kind of high one can’t get from smoking or imbibing; elevation elation comes from hard-core effort.  However, the subjective significance of all my efforts shrunk to pebble size compared to the import of the geologic forces that both built and eroded the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  It was obvious: me, my time on earth is puny; I too will erode. My insignificance in the scheme of things wasn’t a negation of my existence, just a perfectly calibrated dose of reality, and that is exactly the kind of medicine the mountains delivers.

IMG_0116_2Being in this vast sparse rocky land, I found the spaciousness and silence in myself to safely make my way without much self-commentary given how the wilderness wholly absorbed me. I spent entire days observing the shifts in light, the pecular and wonderful rock formations, the coursing of water through streams, the emerald and turquoise lakes populated by trout, and the ever changing vantage points which convinced me that I was beholding the most beautiful sight in my entire life, only to cancel that thought ten switchbacks later when I would again be forced by sheer awe to make that proclamation all over again.

Now as I re-enter my life in Seattle, I am not just noticing natural beauty in my surroundings, I am stopping more regularly, and opening up space and time in myself to really experience it. This morning as I stood in my kitchen washing dishes, I looked out to the backyard and observed water evaporating and swirling into an ethereal mist off our canvas chairs from the previous night’s rain; pausing, I engaged in this very quiet transitory moment. Allowing myself more time to concentrate on each moment as it arises requires an internal stillness. My mentors, the mountains, modeled how to hold steady and poised while in the flow of changing life conditions.

Having had the good fortune to traverse the John Muir Trail, I feel inspired to stay on the trail, continuing to take one step after the next.

Posted on

Raw Italian Giardiniera Recipe

IMG_0637Many years ago, we were introduced to Italian Giardiniera when our roommate at the time, Tommy G., would “mule” gallon jars of giardiniera from the Italian section of his hometown Chicago.  Even though this particular giardiniera was cooked and pasteurized, and used cottonseed oil as the main oil, we still loved it every time Tommy G. returned home with it.

When I found this raw recipe for hot Italian giardiniera, my attraction for this pickled food swelled into adoration.  Why?  Because it makes a gorgeous not to mention tasty antipasto, side dish, or sandwich/cracker condiment.  And because it’s raw  it also offers all the benefits of eating nutrient rich and detoxifying food.  If you don’t include jalapeno peppers, it can also be a cooling food in the heat of summer.

I like this recipe because it always comes out well even if I adjust the ratios of vegetables based on what I have in my refrigerator. Be creative and make substitutions for the vegetables listed below – for example, use any and all colors of peppers; tender green beans and broccoli are great additions too. My own preferences are for a moderate level of spicy hot so I use only 4 jalapeno peppers and leave out the carrot.  I use my cuisinart to slice up all the vegetables and usually double the batch because it is really beautiful summer food and we like to have it around.  Enjoy!

 Hot Italian Giardiniera Recipe

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com

2 green bell peppers, diced

2 red bell peppers, diced

8 fresh jalapeno peppers, sliced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup fresh cauliflower florets

1/2 cup salt

water to cover

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 (5 ounce) jar pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup olive oil

Directions

Place into a bowl the green and red peppers, jalapenos, celery, carrots, onion, andcauliflower. Stir in salt, and fill with enough cold water to cover. Place plastic wrap or aluminum foil over the bowl, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, drain salty water, and rinse vegetables. In a bowl, mix together garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and olives. Pour in vinegar and olive oil, and mix well. Combine with vegetable mixture, cover, and refrigerate for 2 days before using.

Posted on

Shio-Koji

IMG_0618If you are looking to add more fermented foods into your diet this summer, try making shio-koji(salt koji).  It’s uber-easy and extra tasty. Koji, rice inoculated with the Aspergillus oryzae spores, is commonly used in making traditional Japanese fermented foods like miso, sake and soy sauce, but it is also used to make this salt seasoning which is made from just three ingredients: koji, salt and water. Left on the kitchen counter for one to two weeks, and stirred once a day, it will ferment into sweet/salty creaminess.

IMG_0465

Although it can be used  simply as a salt substitute on all foods, one of my favorite ways to use shio-koji is for an overnight ferment on garden vegetables like root vegetables (especially radishes and turnips), or sugar snap peas, peppers and cucumbers.  Immerse vegetables (whole or sliced) into the mixture; the next day serve them as side dishes to meals or add them in salads.

IMG_0620

On raw salads, I enjoy using shio-koji is as a stand alone addition or in a dressing of olive oil and rice wine vinegar.  One tablespoon will give that mystifying savory sweet & salty umami taste which will keep your dinner guests guessing and wanting more.

A common and delicious way to use shio-koji is as a marinade for tofu, beef, pork, chicken or fish.  It tenderizes and brings out natural umami. Just coat your tofu, meat or fish with the shio-koji and put it in the refrigerator overnight, then bake or grill.

I know I sound all ga-ga about shio-koji, just like the nukazuke pickles, but it’s the kind of stuff I love having around my kitchen because it lends itself to experimentation and fermentation is my preferred method to get probiotics into my body.  With lots of fresh garden veggies and summer grilling, shio-koji brings sparkly savory sweet/salty flavors to the table.  If you make shio-koji, let me know all the ways you use it.

You can buy koji at most Asian Markets in the refrigerated section. Cold Mountain sells Koji in a 16 ounze container. I like to double or triple this recipe for a larger batch. This is a 6 ferment which lasts longer than a 3 percent ferment and has a sharp clean flavor.

Shio-koji Recipe

from Miso, Tempeh, Natto and other tasty ferments by Kristen and Christopher Shockey

3 tablespoons salt

1.5 cups dried koji

2-3 cups water, boiled and cooled, to fill quart jar.

Mix salt and koji in a bowl and mix well. Place mixture in quart jar and add water.  Cover with cheesecloth and secure with rubber band.  Ferment for 1-2 weeks.  Outside temperatures will influence how long it takes to ferment.  Stir every day.  It’s ready when the sharply salty taste balances with a sweet taste. Keep in refrigerator in glass container with lid.

Posted on

Ritual Grief Shopping

IMG_0581

May 30th was the 49th day after my mother’s death.   I, who still had the urge to do for my mother, followed the Buddhist grief ritual of reciting the Heart Sutra for 49 days after her death. It is believed that by reciting the Heart Sutra, one can help the mind/spirit of the departed by encouraging them to let go of their earthly attachments and move toward their own enlightenment.  Basically, the sutra speaks to the fundamental emptiness of all phenomena.  Because in my grief my days have felt empty and vague, almost vaporous, I could relate to the contemplation.

But when day 49 came along, I wanted to not just recite the Heart Sutra, I wanted to give my mother one more taste of earthly life before sending her off to the next rebirth or whatever.   So, to lighten things up a bit, I invited my mother’s spirit to join me on a four store food-shopping extravaganza.  She, or my mental hologram of her anyways, came along as I bought specialty foods for our upcoming month long hiking expedition on the John Muir Trail.

When she was alive, she had a true hunter-gatherer’s love and fortitude for shopping so I had no doubt she would be up for this adventure.  In my mind’s eye, I could still clearly see her in each store browsing the aisles, studying the deli selections and searching for bargains.  We ended the day at Costco. It was probably not the best choice to end there because my mother might have been tempted to haunt the food sample carts for the rest of her spiritual life.   How can one really let go when there is so much free food being handed to you?

When our domestic duty was completed, and the contents of the grocery bags were put away in the refrigerator or cabinets, I sat down on the couch, and wept while reciting the Heart Sutra.  Letting her go one more time tore open the temporary sutures that were holding together my own broken heart. I realized there was nothing more I could do for my mother.  The doing was over, but just being with her as a spiritual mother was just beginning. How we move through space and time will never be the same; now we move together as free spirits, whirling through each other’s empty heart space, unencumbered.

I can hear her saying, “Enlightenment…..the Buddhist enlightenment is very nice, but you really should try the Jewish version.”

Video by Claudia Groom, Costco parking lot, Tukwila, WA.

 

Posted on

A Hole in the Fabric

IMG_0507With my mother’s recent passing in April, I am aware of an empty feeling, a hole in the fabric of my being.  Yet, that hollow spot doesn’t feel empty as in lonely or depressing, it feels hallowed.  When I return to the moment during and after my mother left her body, a profound sense of peace fills me.  Witnessing her let go was a blessing and a necessary learning. In that moment, my mother showed me how to let go of suffering, of struggle, of life itself. Like a reverse birth, instead of a womb becoming vacated to give birth to life, her physical body became vacated to give birth to spirit.  The space in my consciousness, which she previously occupied, I now experience as a deep calm. Not too many thoughts or feelings, not many remembrances – just vast space.

After a death, life insists on moving on and yet I find myself not too eager to stitch up that hole because in its emptiness, I am in touch with the undeniable fact of impermanence.  Before, this sense of transience seemed threatening, but now it just feels real. Buddha really had a handle on this, and I can see the worth in dwelling on the matter for a spell.

As I slowly move back into the current of my life, I am more drawn to emptying than filling it.  Weeding, clearing, sweeping and cleaning are the activities that sooth me because they burnish that quiet, loving, internal space that is lit up in remembrance of my mother, Evelyn Greenberg.  This high gloss, continuously polished, kind of grief is a way for me to stay in reflection, and also a way for my mother’s light to continue shining through me.

 

Posted on

Narrative Medicine

IMG_0462I went to my GP, Dr. William Shaul, at Group Health today.  As we sat together discussing my current concerns in the exam room, he, sitting on the black stool in a pink-stripped shirt, was, as I have come to expect, very attentive.  Even though he was trying to get a read on my issues, I couldn’t resist diagnosing him.  You see, he is a heart type in Chinese Medicine, with the classic physical characteristic of a round, bald head and red tinged skin; however, the warmth in his eyes and genuineness in his laughter is what really gives his elemental type away.  Just as I get his type, he gets mine.  I’m the kind of patient who is primarily interested in practicing self-trust when it comes to dealing with my health issues. Respectfully and tactfully, he offers suggestions, tests, and diagnostic scans but doesn’t judge me for not choosing them.  Or when I do, he promptly facilitates their procurement. After he thoroughly and expeditiously handles all the medical business, he usually asks me for the real tell, “So, what books are you reading these days?”  And, that’s when we get down to the business of talking about our real fix: literature.  My husband, Craig, on his medical appointments, also shares his own love of books with Dr. Shaul; they, both voracious readers of the same genre of guy-lit, have a lot to discuss on his infrequent visits too.

When I was my mother’s caregiver, I went to see Dr. Shaul for a routine check up when the weariness and stress was at its highest, most crushing level.  After hearing my story and asking questions, he wrote orders for metabolic and blood panels, but it was his next set of recommendations that set this doctor apart from every other.  He handed me a list of five books on caregiving, most written by caregivers themselves. After reading over the list, I asked, “Is this my prescription?”  He laughed and said compassionately, “Yes.  It might help.”

That prescription of books was narrative medicine at its finest.  I read all the books Dr. Shaul recommended only to find that not one writer really exposed the rigor and risks I experienced as a caregiver.  Understandably, most caregivers either are dead, too exhausted or shut down to their own experience to ever give voice to it. This prompted me to start working on my own manuscript with the goal of shedding light on the interior life of a caregiver.

Dr. Shaul could not have known at the time when he prescribed his book medicine that it would be a springboard into intensive reckoning and reflection, not only about taking responsibility for my mother’s life, but ultimately, my own too.

He belongs in the tradition of healers who treat their patients with a good story.  Now, that’s a remedy I will gladly take.

Posted on

Nettle Chip Recipe

IMG_0451In my last post, I shared the benefits of using nettles for morning blended drinks and infusions.  I can attest that these drinks have successfully replaced for my morning coffee.  Because I collected more nettles than I could use in a week, I tried think of more ways to use them besides in soup, and then my brain was stung with a stunning idea: nettle chips.  It took me about 2 seconds from having the idea to getting my bag of nettles, gloving up and removing the stems from the leaves. I washed the leaves with cold water which softened the nettle’s stingers, spun dried them in the salad spinner and then set them out on a towel to air dry.  Afterwards, I made the nettle chips exactly like I make kale chips.  The nettle chips are lighter, almost flaky, a little fuzzy and more delicate than kale chips, but just as tasty and satisfying.  They’re sorta an elevated kale chip.  It definitely elevates my mood to think about how much they would cost if I bought them at Whole Foods.

Nettle Chip Recipe

(amounts vary on quantities used so just use your judgment)

Drizzle and toss enough olive oil to coat leaves. (Use a glove or metal tongs)

Add sea salt and nutritional yeast to taste

If you like spicey chips, add garlic powder and chipotle for seasoning.

Dehydrate at 145 degrees for an hour

Or, put in oven at 200 degrees on parchment paper.  Turn leaves after 20-30 minutes.

While nettle season is in full swing, my dehydrator will be continuously humming with nettles inside.  They will be an excellent snack food and addition to our summer’s backpacking food, given its high amount of protein and minerals.  I learned from www.skipthepie.org that 1 cup of cooked nettles provides 43% of the recommend daily intake (RDI) of calcium, 8% of Iron, 5 % of protein, 35 % of manganese, 36 % of Vitamin A and 555% of Vitamin K.

It takes some mettle to work with nettles but they give high rewards — even more vigor.

 

 

Posted on

A Shot of Nettles

In Eastern medicine, spring is the season of the wood element, the liver meridian and liver organ.  The liver meridian is linked to eye health and the smooth flow of energy through our body. Anger, depression and irritability are the emotions associated with the wood element when it is out of balance.

Many of us start spring cleaning in our homes, gardens and craving more lightness and energy in our physical and emotional bodies.

There are many ways to activate Liver Qi like getting acupuncture, increasing exercise, eating more sour and vinegary foods, and eating lots of greens. During early spring when the garden isn’t yet producing greens there are a few common plants like dandelions and stinging nettles that pop out of the soil just in the nick of time to assist us with a Liver activating spring regimen.

Most people are aware of nettle’s intense sting but few appreciate nettle’s nutrient values, making it a fierce physiologic ally.  In fertile soils, the purple hue on the top surface of its green leaves looks almost iridescent, shimmering with potency.  That’s why I consider stinging nettles to be one of the best shots in the arm, a rich injection of vitamins and minerals.

In Chinese medicine, nettles are categorized as a blood builder, cleanser and kidney tonic. Stinging nettles are known to be high in calcium, magnesium,manganese, iron, chlorophyll, vitamin C, and contain more protein (10%)than another other vegetable. As a blood builder, greater vitality, lustrous hair and stronger nails will result. As an antidote to seasonal allergies, it is thought to reduce the amount of histamines the body produces in response to free floating allergens if one drinks an infusion three weeks before pollens are released into the air. As a kidney tonic, it purifies the blood by eliminating toxins and metabolic wastes through its diuretic properties.

In late February and early March when I still feel some sluggishness from wintering and trees are releasing pollens, I start making nettle infusions to build my energy and clear out the accumulations from heavier winter foods. It’s too early to forage for wild nettles so I rely on dried nettles to make the infusions. You can buy organic nettles at your local natural foods market or online at Amazon, Mountain Rose Herbs. I buy a pound at a time. It seems like a lot but if you are consistent in early spring with making and drinking a quart of infusion a day,  you will use it up.

Nettle Infusion

In quart mason  jar or French Press  add nettles and then pour boiling water over it. Stir.

I cup raw leaves or one ounce dried nettles (an ounce is about a cup of dried nettles)

1 quart  boiling water

Let mason jar sit on kitchen counter for at least 4 hours or overnight for maximum infusion.  Strain and drink infusion throughout the day.