Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts

(scroll down for CHOCOLATE GOODNESS!)

As hemp hearts continue to become more mainstream, entering grocery stores and kitchens with increasing frequency, many people are realizing their numerous health benefits.  Hemp hearts from Manitoba Harvest are the only ones I use.  Over the last few years, I've occasionally received emails asking how  hemp hearts can be used for more than just sprinkling on salads or adding to smoothies. 

As many of you know, I've come to a point in my own life when I'm now choosing vegetarianism and generally incorporate a larger portion of raw food than cooked food in my daily diet.  I am also mindful of glycemic load, gluten, and the relationship between alkaline/acid and disease.  I still often refer to http://www.nutritiondata.com for information regarding a more comprehensive list of food items.

Hemp hearts fit perfectly into all of those decisions, and they're so easy to work with in the kitchen.

I often have "first breakfast" when I wake up, then "second breakfast" later in the morning.  Here is today's second breakfast:  a few sips of organic lemon juice (followed by water to rinse the lemon from my teeth); cottage cheese mixed with chia seeds, hemp hearts, freshly-ground flax seeds, and a hint of powdered cayenne pepper;  half of a cucumber; dandelion tea with turmeric and cinnamon.  I often drink lemon juice shortly after waking in the morning, and then usually 2 or 3 more times throughout the day, always followed by water.  I also aim to have at least 30g of protein before noon each day - an easy task when hemp hearts provide approximately 10g of protein in just 3Tablespoons.

 

I'm often trying to think of simple ways to eat more hemp hearts because they're such a nutritional powerhouse.  My body doesn't want sweets the way it used to, but occasionally it's nice to have a few little treats around for a quick nutritional boost throughout the day.  And they're so easy to make!  You can experiment with the amounts of each ingredient. 

Here are two simple combinations I made today:

Ingredients:  dates, hemp hearts, chia seeds

Briefly "Pulse" then "Mix" 

I knew when it's finished because the mixture clumped together.

Separate into thirds, roll each into a ball.

And here they are!

QUICK AND EASY CHOCOLATE GOODNESS

The next "recipe" is for chocolate bites.  I used to make chocolates by melting fair-trade, unsweetened bakers' chocolate with honey and letting it cool then rolling it into balls.  However, with my ongoing desire to eat raw items when possible, I experimented with coconut oil, cocoa powder, and honey.  If you find the coconut oil taste to be too strong, you can add more cocoa powder. 

All Measurements are Approximate and You Can Experiment!

1Tablespoon of Coconut Oil, 1Tablespoon of Honey, 1.5-2Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder, 2Tablespoons of Hemp Hearts, 1 Tablespoon of Chia Seeds,

2teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice (Or Try Cinnamon),

Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

Into the Food Processor!

Briefly "Pulse" then "Mix" until a Ball Forms

Separate into Thirds and Roll into Balls

And Here They Are!

Chocolatey, Simple, Healthy Goodness!

 Here are some of the products I used today:

Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

NOW Chia Seeds

Splendor Garden Organic Spices from Watson, SK

Simply Organic Cayenne Pepper

 Enjoy!

 

 P.S.  See that painting in the background?  Raye Anderson is the artist.  She is one of my all-time favourites, not only because storytelling takes you wherever she leads but also because her watercolours remind me of my childhood storybooks.

 acbrandtproductions

Holiday Treats

Gluten-free, Casein-free

I was reminded this morning that there are folks looking for quick and easy gfcf holiday recipes. At our house, quick and easy is a favourite when it comes to treats. I've done quite a bit of experimenting with food to find what works for my son's needs as well as our finances. Here are some of our favourite sweets....

Chocolates

 

 

 

Melt bakers chocolate with a bit of natural honey to taste (I usually do 2 squares of chocolate and a dollop of honey that just covers the tip of a regular wooden spoon then add as needed. Don't overdo the honey though or you'll just end up with chocolate-honey soup. Add enough honey to "just" sweeten the chocolate)

 Drop by spoonful onto waxed or parchment paper and enjoy! These can be eaten as is OR wait til they're cool enough to roll into balls then dip them in chocolate and roll in hemp seed, coconut, crushed gfcf cereal, crushed nuts, cinnamon, or whatever else your heart desires.

Chocolate Cereal Drops

Melt whatever you usually use for melting chocolate. Because we're very careful with our shekels and have become used to eating few sweets, we can afford to purchase a nice bar of fair trade, high cocao, cane sugar chocolate for these. For the cereal, we use gfcf puffed millet or gfcf puffed rice (both of which we've been able to find on sale for 99cents a bag so stocked up). Gently stir cereal into melted chocolate and drop by spoonful. Try not to eat them all before they've set.

Potato Candy

Potato candy is very simple to make - and if you've never made it before, it's also an interesting process to observe. This has been a tradition in our family for generations.

Ingredients: Mashed potato, icing sugar, optional peanut butter, optional peppermint extract

Although the bulk of the food preparation in our home is gfcf, I do not purchase gfcf store products. I view them as being in the same category as any other boxed/ prepared/processed food. We have, however, occasionally received gfcf icing sugar from our food bank. I've also recently learned that icing sugar is just sugar and cornstarch blended together, so will be experimenting in the new year with cane sugar and gfcf cornstarch. All in all, we generally don't use sugar or icing sugar. Potato candy, however, requires the latter.

I use about 2 heaping tablespoons of mashed potato, then slowly continue sprinkling in icing sugar til I have a firm dough. This sounds simple enough, and it is, but if you're new to the world of potato candy, you'll likely be surprised or possibly even concerned when you first start adding the icing sugar and realize you have what looks to be a liquid mess in your bowl. What's happening is that the sugar is breaking down the starch in the potato. Bravely carry on.

Once the dough is ready, sprinkle some icing sugar onto waxed or parchment paper and place the dough onto the paper. Knead, adding more icing sugar as necessary. Once you think the dough is firm enough, roll it out into a rectangle, spread with peanut butter (or other nut butter), roll it up as you would for a jellyroll. Some folks then wrap the roll in waxed or parchment paper and refrigerate then slice. I just let mine sit for a bit on the table before cutting it into deliciously lovely little slices.

**Alternative 1: I usually put a couple of drops of peppermint extract into the palm of my hand then gently rub my hands together then knead the dough. If I forget, then I just gently rub my peppermint hands over the finished roll before slicing. The roll is good without the peppermint as well.

**Alternative 2: Instead of rolling dough out into a rectangle, just form small balls. These can be eaten as is or dipped in chocolate.

Enjoy!

Deck Gardening, Chocolate, The Apple Tree, Time/Space, Autumn in Virginia

SMALL-SPACE GARDENS

I live in what some might consider a small space. Everything's relative, especially when thinking globally.  We also have a deck, and it's a living space for which I'm truly thankful. 

In wanting fresh, local, organic produce, one of the (too many) things my brain is often trying to figure out is how to grow more food in a small space.

Thankfully, there are some very inspirational sites on the web:

 WOODEN PALLET VERTICAL GARDEN

 UPSIDE-DOWN PLANTERS

 LIFE ON THE BALCONY

 VERTICAL FARMING

 ANOTHER WOODEN PALLET IDEA (though I'm not big on the newspaper/plastic bottles)

A SMALL-SPACE POTATO IDEA (not for decks though!)

Along these lines, we had some great news today! Some land has been donated to the local food bank for their clients to use as a community garden this coming season - and seeds are being donated by a local greenhouse. Excellent news! We will definitely be signing up for a row!

Outside our Front Window
"So what's been happening with the squirrel?" you might be wondering. Well, a few weeks back, my little granddaughter and I decided to see if our resident squirrel would enjoy an apple - and for the price of an apple, we had an entire afternoon of squirrel-watching moments while he made numerous attempts at getting the apple up into the tree. And he succeeded! Now, apparently it takes a bit of time for such a little squirrel to eat an apple that size  -  evidenced by the view from my second-storey bedroom window the next morning  -  for there, in all its glory, sat the apple on the third or fourth bough about a third of the way up the evergreen tree. There is just something about seeing an apple sitting up in an evergreen, minding its own business, that still brings a smile to my face. Stay tuned for the grapefruit story...

TODAY'S BIT OF ART

"Time and Space"

Acrylics on 24"x 36" gallery-wrapped canvas

  

"Autumn in Virginia"

Acrylics on 36" x 12" gallery-wrapped canvas 

 IN OUR KITCHEN:  Healthy Hot Cocoa!

Yes, you can have your chocolate and drink it too. Less expensive than coffee, many body-benefits (yes, real chocolate is healthy!), less calories than those hot "chocolate" garbage mixes  -  dark, powdered cocoa (or organic cacao if you can find it locally) is one of my pleasures in life, and is easy-peasy to blend up as a mug of either bitter or sweet goodness

Ingredients: dark cocoa powder, boiling water, maple syrup or honey (optional), cinnamon or a chilli(or chilli powder) or other spices (optional)

Mmmmmakin' it: Drop a tablespoon (or more/less to taste) of cocoa powder into the bottom of your mug, add a spit of water to mix the powder so you don't end up with floating bits on the top, then add more boiling water to desired level. Enjoy as is or add cinnamon and/or a chilli (or chilli powder) or organic maple syrup or honey to taste (or enjoy it like the Mayans!)

***CINNAMON WITH HONEY IS ALSO A WONDERFUL HOT DRINK