Stuffing It

Happy stinking Monday Tuesday, I hope this week is treating you well so far. It’s already shaping up to be a long week for me, but not as bad as last week since the sinus pain is gone for now. I’m still taking a break from running as my ankle settles down and focusing on alternative cardio either skating or using an elliptical and strength training. I plan to pick it up again next week which is pulling it tight for the half-marathon in October. Not thrilled about the lack of time to train, but I can’t risk a serious ankle injury.

Anyway, this is a very positive article for a raw diet.

I woke up not long ago thinking, “This is the craziest thing: I’m well past 50 and I feel sensational.” I knew it was what the eccentric health advocate, Arnold Ehret, 100 years ago called “Paradise Health.” I had it: physically and emotionally.

I think many women, myself including, can relate to:

I spent the first 30 years of my life bingeing and dieting — always gaining or losing weight, and conversely losing and gaining my flimsy self-esteem

I like how she stresses not being 100% raw, but rather doing what feels right. I tried to go very close to 100% last winter ignoring my cravings for hot food and it wasn’t easy. I’ve gained a better sense of balance since then and will be including plenty of slow-cooker bean soups this winter.

One item I’ve never been a huge fan of is stuffed bell peppers, the few recipes I’ve tried have been a huge ordeal to cook, messy to eat and just okay in the flavor department. Last night I decided to experiment with this Raw Pimento-Stuffed Pepper recipe because I actually had all the ingredients, it seemed quick to prepare and gave me a great opportunity to use more of the fennel growing wildly out-of-control in our garden.

And use an exotic ingredient I picked up at the Raw Health Expo that’s been sitting untouched in my pantry since.

This is my first time actually using dulse in a recipe and it was an interesting experience.

Not sure how filling this would be, I paired it with a steamed artichoke for an interesting combo.

The first thing I noticed was my mixture hardly looked anything like the picture with a reddish color, I’m guessing the one in the picture used the salt option instead of dulse. I can see why, dulse isn’t exactly cheap, that small bag was $5 as I recall and this recipe used half of it. It’s dried red seaweed or red algae usually in either flake or powdered form and it has a strong, distinct flavor that probably won’t work for everyone. If you’re not a fan of seaweed or nori wraps, you can add dulse to that list as well. If you’ve never tried it, it’s worth a try for the health benefits alone.

The recipe was simple and fast enough to throw together, since our temps topped 100 degrees yesterday, I skipped the option to warm it in the dehydrator. The texture and flavor was very similar to a ground meat product, the buttury ground sunflower seeds blended well with the saltiness of the dulse while the nutritional yeast added a creamy flavor. Also this dish is a good source of protien and B12. And it wasn’t nearly as messy to eat as past stuffed pepper recipes I’ve tried, the mixture held together nicely. If you have some dulce hanging out, give this recipe a try or try the salt option if you’e not into dulce, it’s a recipe I would do again.