Food . . . Finally (or breakfast, anyway)

I've been eating healthier for a couple of months now but my diet has continued to evolve, so it's been hard to do a post on it that wouldn't be obsolete in two days. I started out with the very general idea of eating whole, chemical-free foods as close to the way God created them as possible. Never mind that it's hard to find foods that haven't been tampered with in some way. And never mind that our kind and caring government has managed to erect a very effective screen which keeps most people from finding out about *real* nutrition. (No, I'm not getting into politics. Just a comment on how difficult it is to find information that hasn't been tampered with as well.)

In the process, I've learned that food -- real, nutritious food -- takes a lot of effort and time. But somehow, that makes it taste better. Really, really yummy, actually. You just have to plan ahead. Waaay ahead. Those of you who know me know I'm not great at that, but hey, it's part of the new leaf I just turned over.

So here's what was for breakfast this morning:

Should've zoomed in a little more. Pretty sure there's some oatmeal under all those berries and nuts. Here's how you make it:

1. Buy organic whole oats, pumpkin seeds, pecans, walnuts, almonds and fruit from your friendly neighborhood food co-op (or Azure, if you prefer). Costco has a fair amount of organic produce now, too.
2. Put a couple cups of oats in a bowl; cover with water; add a squirt of vinegar; and let soak 'til tomorrow morning. (Or until you remember to get up in time to cook it. Mine soaked for four days.)
3. Set the pumpkin seeds and nuts to soak in separate bowls for 8-24 hours.
4. Drain off the water which now has enzyme inhibitors in it, and rinse the oats/seeds/nuts well (or is it "good"? I can never remember). You now have living food because it's only a day or two away from sprouting. All those good enzymes that were "inhibited" are now available for your body to use.
5. Dry the seeds and nuts in a dehydrator at low temperature (not to exceed 100 degrees) in order to protect the enzymes. Or, if you don't have a dehydrator yet, spread them on the counter to air dry. (Yes, Roberta puts up with a lot these days.)
6. Put the oats in a pan and barely cover with water; add just a tinge of sea salt; cook gently for 15 minutes.
7. Scoop some into a cereal bowl and top with frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, pumpkin seeds, pecans, and a splash of almond milk. A couple bites of this and you won't mind the effort it took to make it. Yum!

The frozen berries cool off the oatmeal nicely (maybe a little too much for some people, but I've gotten to liking my food just warm; not sure why).

Then, of course, comes dessert:

And since dessert is *always* best served with tea (or coffee, but that's not in my world anymore), slice up some fresh ginger nice and thin, put it in the bottom of your favorite mug, add a slice of lemon, and pour boiling water over it. Let it steep for a few minutes, but don't bother removing the ginger and lemon because you'll want to add more boiling water throughout the day. A teensy pinch of stevia is nice but not necessary.

One of these days I'll do a post on my supplement schedule, but I have to figure it out first.

So . . . who wants to come for breakfast? :-)