so our church is on a 21 day daniel fast. that's fruits & juices, veggies, whole grains, nuts & seeds & legumes (beans). i have kept a tad bit of dairy... greek yogurt and feta/parm/romano cheeses. no meat, processed foods or sweets.
it'a bit of a challenge for me because i had gotten my grain and legume eating down to a smidge. i have some health issues that i have been trying to address with my diet and had really been doing well on an everyday basis with lean (for the most part) meats, lots of veggies and salads and mostly berries and apples on the fruit end. i don't do a lot of dairy...i find it aggravates the acid reflux. so dairy for me consists of greek yogurt, feta/parm/romano cheese, a smidge of rich melting cheese here and there, and ice cream/frozen yogurt on special occasions or whenever i get a craving for it. i found that the grains and legumes were bloating and gassy for me, so i was going light on that and also staying away from a lot of wheat products, including pasta and bread. 'course i like my chips sometimes and lots of other snackies. i like to eat what i want....only thing is sometimes my body doesn't agree with what my brain wants to consume! so the fast is a challenge for me in more ways than one.
but not to worry. i have come to take the challenge of a partial food fast as a blessing over the last few years. it gives me the opportunity to explore new ways of eating and it's actually kind of fun. it's like me and God go on this food education journey. this time i have become interested in sprouting beans and grains. sprouting them is supposed to make them easier to digest....def a plus for me. i gots digestion issues:( also if they are sprouted you can eat some of them raw, or cook them i guess. i'm still learning. so i am on a sprouting journey as well as a God seeking one this time out :)
this week i sprouted some chickpeas and made some raw chickpea hummus. it's really very good and nutty. i think i like it :) so after i made the hummus i have lots of sprouted chickpeas left over...what to do? i'll be researching that as i go and hopefully be able to consume them before they start to break down in the fridge. tonight i threw a couple handfuls into a new recipe that i invented on the spot. i don't rightly know what to call it but here it is :
2 T. olive oil (or coconut oil or red palm oil - something i was reading about & picked up at whole foods)
1 sliced onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
Saute the onion and garlic in the oil a little bit on high til it wilts. Turn the heat down to medium.
stir in:
1/8 - 1/4 t. turmeric
1/8 - 1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 of a 15 oz. can of stewed or diced tomatoes (i used a half pint jar of the ones i canned the other day from the garden)
top this mixture with:
3 sliced up zucchini
1/2 cubed eggplant (or 1 whole small one, cubed)
couple handfuls sprouted chickpeas (optional)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste
cover and cook on medium for about 5-10 minutes, then give it all a stir, cover and repeat until the zucchini are done to your liking. add more veg broth as needed to keep from sticking.
i scooped some into a bowl and stirred in some fat free feta cheese crumbles.
man it was awesome. tasty. love the flavor that turmeric and cinnamon gives. a little (middle eastern i guess?) trick i picked up from ms. fatemah malekian :)
last night i experimented with farro. farro is an ancient strain of wheat. google it, it's interesting, especially if you are wheat sensitive. which i find that i am, but had no problem at all. it went down smooth and stayed put. a really good alternative to rice. i had a bowl of that with some canned field peas and onions. i downloaded a recipe from cheesecake factory today for a salad they make called santorini salad that i am looking forward to making with it.
so there you go. i've been thru lots of phases in my life in the food department, including the gourmet one with the velvety smoothness of the butter and rich cream sauces. so yummy. while i still like to keep the butter and the cream in it's rightful place (margarine really does = the devil) what i'm interested in at this time of my life is staying fit, healthy and strong the best that i can...on the inside as well as the outside. oh yeah baby, i'm all about the antioxidants these days! it's a lot of fun researching food and trying new stuff. hey, ain't that what livings all about?
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