As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been obsessed with sprouting lately, sprouting anything I can. And why not? It’s simple, just remember to rinse a screen-topped jar 2-3 times a day and within 3-5 days, sprouts are ready for consuming. There are many reasons to sprout health-wise such as more protein and nutrients, concentrated amounts of phytochemicals that may help protect us from disease, sprouting can increase the nutrients up to double, it can also decrease carbs and increases protein, and sprouts are alkalising. Wow, after that little research fest, I think I need another sprouting jar because clearly no salad is complete without some sort of sprouts! And it’s so much cheaper sprouting at home than buying pre-grown sprouts. I’ve also noticed home-grown taste better because they’re fresher and they have longer shelf life in the fridge.
Last night I tried sprouted buckwheat groats. I got the buckwheat from Whole Foods bulk foods section months ago and they’ve been sitting in my pantry since. But they still had no problems sprouting, I just placed a few tablespoons into a big jar filled with water to soak for a few hours and rinsed and drained 2-3 times a day and within 3 days they looked like this.
So I added them to last night’s dinner salad of kale, carrots, cultured veggies and chopped sweet peppers.
For the dressing, I just had to follow a new blog trend of creating hummus dressing and it’s the simplest thing. Just gob some hummus into a bowl.
Add water and nutritional yeast.
Stir to a creamy texture.
And coat your salad with it.
I topped it with dulse flakes for a very nutrient-dense salad.
The sprouted buckwheat was very tasty with a slightly crunchy texture complimenting the rest of the salad texture nicely and packing a nutty flavor. So far it’s my favorite way to enjoy buckwheat groats and easier than soaking them for hours, then dehydrating for hours as some raw recipes require.
Tonight I was craving cooked foods after a long work day and the rain creeping in again. I had soaked chickpeas in the fridge, a butternut squash to use up and a huge bag of free organic oranges I scored from work to use too. So I decided to wing a dish very similar to my orange butternut stew. I threw a peeled orange, chopped carrot, fennel seed, and tahini into the Vita-Mix to create a skillet sauce.
And snipped some fresh broccoli greens and kale from our garden to add to the skillet.
Then I found a half-used bag of Daiya Mozzarella shreds in the fridge and added to the skillet.
The end result was a deliciously creamy and gooey dinner with rich and warm orange/butternut flavor. I need to remember that trick of adding Daiya to skillets, yum!
Do you ever just wing meals not following a recipe? What was your best creation?
Also, don’t forget to enter my raw treats giveaway!
Yep, I do this all the time! My best creations tend to be stews or pasta sauces that have a cashew cream base.
I love the idea of using hummus as a salad dressing!
I love the coated salad and the hummus/nooch blogger trend..nothing like jumping on board that train :)
your “very nutrient-dense salad”—you’ve been reading gena’s blog..that is such a gena-ism. haha!
the sprouted buckwheat. love it! I totally want to sprout. One of those things i am a little bit scared of messing up so havent tried it…yet :)
If you mastered kombucha, sprouting will be a snap for you. :-) I want to try mung beans next.
I was not aware of this humus dressing trend! I might make that with my raw humus today for lunch!
Your buckwheat sprouted perfectly! I’ve got green lentils and chickpeas sprouting this week. And I’m waiting for my Sprout People kit to arrive this week — going to try sprouting in a hemp bag.
Awesome, can’t wait to read about the hemp bag sprouting!
I rarely follow a recipe…and I don’t measure things, so it’s hit or miss whether I can recreate anything good!
I am a sprouting maniac too—but for some reason I haven’t done buckwheat. Thanks for the idea! I have an unlimited supply of buckwheat from a friend who works at the buckwheat mill. I need to take advantage of that more!
This totally made me crave daiya too—I had it too many days in a row last month, and kind of got sick of it, but your food makes it look yummy again :)
Wow, serious food lust here! That salad and stew look delicious! The flavors in there seem so delish.
Quick question– a problem I have with sprouts (when I buy them…I’ve never tried to make them) is a kind of starchy mouthfeel. Is this just a characteristic of sprouts?
It can be on sprouts, I notice that more with alfalfa sprouts, but haven’t with sprouted buckwheat, lentils, chickpeas or quinoa. For store bought sprouts, try pea shoots or sunflower sprouts, they have a different texture compared to alfalfa.
Daiya is the BEST! I love adding it to my egg scrambles!
My vitamix just came today! I did not rip it open yet!! i just got home from a long day of shopping, lol!!!
I need to try sprouting!!!! Have a great night love! xoxo <3
So cool about your Vita-Mix, can’t wait to see your creations with it!
I’m obsessed with hummus and falafel right now – basically anything mediterranean! I can’t wait to try sprouting – there is so many delicious-sounding recipes that I could try!
There are so many great sprouted recipes which I still need to try, like sprouted chickpea hummus and sprouted lentil burgers.
So delicious and nutritious! I love sprouting things! haven’t in a while but need to! So much better for you.
I’m in need of that salad right now… nutrient dense with nutritional yeast! YUM.
AHHHHH SO DELISH! I still am not sure how to make a lid for my chickpea sprouting but I need to have sprouted yummies in my life stat! I know you told me how, but i’m slow. I need to be told over and over that its easy and simple and THEN i’ll do it! haha
It took me awhile to get into sprouting and find a system that worked, I tried a multi-tray sprouting system that turned out to be too hard to clean and maintain, so I love the simple jar like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Quart-Glass-Sprouter-Sprouting-Strainer/dp/B000N8FGLC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1299726040&sr=8-3