Conscious Eating Part 54

FOURTEEN-DAY MENU.

The following fourteen-day menu served at the Tree of Life Cafe, co-created with the chefs at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center, represents not only an exciting live-food cuisine offering, but also a sophisticated approach to personalizing your diet. With each meal, we create a potential balance of kapha, pitta, and vata energies and also a balance from slow to fast oxidizer or sympathetic to parasympathetic foods. Fast oxidizer and parasympathetic foods are those which are high in nuts and seeds, such as seed sauces for breakfast and veggie pate for lunch and dinner. Slow oxidizer and sympathetic foods are the complex carbohydrate foods, such as grains, and more simple carbohydrate foods, such as fruits and vegetables. In addition to the Ayurvedic approach and fast and slow oxidizer, metabolic and autonomic nervous system considerations, we have also included a variety of fermented foods which are both easy to digest and add beneficial bowel flora to your digestive system. These foods include kefirs, seed cheeses, a variety of sauerkrauts, and pickled foods. In this way, we provide in a healthy, fun, and balanced format, a full spectrum of international tastes, including: American, Mexican, Italian, Middle Eastern, Greek, Nepalese, Turkish, French, j.a.panese, Chinese, and Italian. We hope you have as much fun preparing these meals as we have presenting them to you. The Tree of Life Cafe is open to the public by reservation only (520-394-2520).

SOAKING AND SPROUTING.

Soaking and sprouting are wonderful ways to optimize the life force and nutrient content of nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. Most seeds can be sprouted, as well as a few nuts. Some grains such as rye, wheat, buckwheat, wild rice, and quinoa will easily sprout, while others such as oats and millet become enzymatically active in the soaking process but have difficulty sprouting. It is possible to acquire certain types of oats, millet, and rice that do sprout. The only legume I recommend sprouting is the garbanzo bean, since many sprouted legumes tend to cause gas and interfere with digestion due to enzyme inhibitors that are only partially broken down.

In the Conscious Eating Kitchen all of the nuts, seeds, and grains we use are sprouted and/or soaked. Soaking and sprouting serve several important functions. First, nutrients begin to be broken down into their simplified form. For example, proteins begin the process of breaking down into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, fats into fatty acids, while minerals chelate or combine with proteins. This significantly improves digestion and a.s.similation, and it is why soaked or sprouted foods are considered predigested.

Second, the actual content of nutrients dramatically increases during the soaking and sprouting process. Proteins, vitamins, enzymes, and minerals increase 300 to 1200%. For example, the zinc present in alfalfa sprouts increases from approximately 6.8 mg per 100 grams of seed to 18 mg per 100 grams dried weight in the sprout. One cup of alfalfa sprouts provides twice the USRDA for zinc.

Enzyme inhibitors, phytic and oxalic acids, and mineral chelates are washed away during the soaking and sprouting process. These chemicals function as natural defenses against bacterial, fungal, insect and animal predators in the growing process of the plant, but may interfere with digestion and a.s.similation when consumed. Finally, chlorophyll develops in the sprouts as they turn green.

When preparing any of the Conscious Eating recipes, it is important to note the difference between "sprouts" and "sprouted." When growing "sprouts," the seed or grain is soaked approximately 6-12 hours (see Soaking Chart). They are then germinated over a period of several days up to one week. These become greens, measuring anywhere from 2 to 6" in height. In the Conscious Eating recipes, these sprouts include alfalfa, red clover, radish, fenugreek, chia, buckwheat, and sunflower.

"Sprouted" nuts, seeds, grains and legumes are also soaked approximately 6-12 hours, but are germinated for a shorter period of time. They are sprouted for one to three days, or long enough for them to grow - to -inch tails. These include buckwheat, sunflower seeds, almonds, rye, quinoa, wild rice, barley, wheat, peas, and garbanzo beans.

The Conscious Eating recipes also call for all dried fruits and dried sea vegetables to be soaked. It is important that soaked sea vegetables are also rinsed. Soaking rehydrates the fruit or vegetable, which makes it more balancing for vata and reduces the high sugar content in many dried fruits. The soak water from dried fruits is used as a sweetener in many of the recipes.

Instructions for Soaking

Fill a gla.s.s or ceramic container (not plastic because it may leach into the soak water) half full with nuts, seeds, or grains.

Fill the container with water. The nuts, seeds, or grains will absorb most of this water and expand.

Soaking times vary depending upon the intended use. If the nut, seed, or grain is going to be sprouted, it has a shorter soaking time than if it is going to be consumed immediately after being soaked (see Soaking Chart).

After the specified soaking time has expired, empty the soak water (house plants love this water) and rinse the nut, seed, or grain with fresh water several times. If they are intended for consumption with out sprouting, they can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days. (Remember to blanch almonds before consumption. See Soaking Chart footnote.) If the nuts, seeds, or grains are going to be sprouted, begin the sprouting process outlined below.

Instructions for Sprouting

There are several methods for sprouting, including using a gla.s.s jar, a sprouting tube, sprouting basket, sprouting bag, or organic soil. Generally, I recommend the gla.s.s jar method or organic soil, depending on the type of sprout. The gla.s.s jar method works well with all of the sprouts in the Conscious Eating recipes, except for buckwheat and sunflower sprouts (greens). These, as well as wheatgra.s.s, are best grown in an organic soil base. People often enjoy growing a variety of sprouts in the same jar. Alfalfa and clover is one combination; fenugreek and radish is another.

Gla.s.s Jar Sprouting Technique

Soak nut, seed, or grain according to the Instructions for Soaking given above.

Drain and place in a gla.s.s jar with a fine-mesh screen secured over the top with a rubber band. This keeps out insects and allows for aeration.

Place the seeds in a dark area for 24 hours and then expose to indirect sunlight.

Sprouts should be rinsed 2-4 times a day, by simply filling the jar with water, lightly swishing, and draining with the screen in place. Repeat this twice. For proper drainage the jar should be stored upside down at an angle of 50-70 degrees (an angled dish rack works well).

When the sprouts reach their specified length, store them in the refrigerator to slow their growth and preserve their freshness.

Organic Soil Sprouting Technique

Soak seeds or grains according to the guidelines given in Instructions for Soaking, above.

Place organic, compost-rich soil in a shallow tray that is 2-3 inches high. Gardening "flats" work well. The soil should be loose and 1-2 inches deep.

Place the soaked, unhulled sunflower seeds, soaked unhulled buckwheat groats, or soaked wheat berries on the soil in a thin even layer (1 cup of grain or seed per 10 x 14-inch tray). Cover lightly with extra soil.

Water gently and thoroughly. Depending on the quality of the soil, you may want to add some "kelp fertilizer" to the irrigation water.

Cover with plastic and place in a dark area, at room temperature, for 4 days. Water daily.

After approximately 4 days, the sprouts need sunlight and oxygen to fully develop. Remove the plastic and place in indirect sunlight for several more days, continuing to water daily, until the sprouts are $h to 6 inches long. (See Sprouting Chart for detailed information.) To harvest, cut with scissors as close to the soil as possible because the nutrients are most concentrated in the stem near the soil.

Sprouting Tip: Sometimes in humid, hot weather, mold may grow on the sprouts. The best prevention is to rinse frequently and to spray regularly with a 3% food-grade hydrogen peroxide mist.

The following charts give some brief information about the soaking and sprouting processes for the specific sprouts used in the Conscious Eating recipes.

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