Discussion Board

Yum, I have rediscovered the joy of hot cocoa on a cool day.

For years I was allergic to milk. When the negative reactions started to wane, I would make a very weak cocoa with powdered skim milk, cocoa powder, sweetner, and lots of water. I liked it very much. But I had been so counter conditioned to drinking milk I felt a bit uneasy, so I stopped.

Enter Almond milk. ...And I'm back to making cocoa and totally enjoying it. Since I had gotten used to a dilute drink, I make this one that way too. It's the chocolate.

~Recipe:
1T unsweetened cocoa powder in the bottom of a large mug.
sweetner of your choice (I use Splenda )
dash of salt
~Mix the dry ingredients.
~add a tiny amount of water and mix to a paste - it can take a bit of effort to get the 'dust' to get wet.
~slowly add more water or 'milk' and stir.
~Add a combo of almond milk and water to the top of the cup. I prefer about half h2O and half 'milk'.
~Heat slowly in the microwave, stirring occasionally to prevent messy spill-over.
~drink and enjoy.

Another day, another bunch of broccoli.

This is food prep day. Time to make another large batch of yummy, chunky soup - the makings bought Saturday, the beans (pinto this time) were cooked yesterday.

And time to chop and steam a large batch of breakfast veggies for the next few days. Love them over mixed grains with a touch of something salty. This morning I'm going to try a bit of chinese 5 spice with a dash of soy sauce.

Also time to chop and wash greens for salads. If time permits, maybe make some avocado salad dressing too.

This way of eating needs far more advance prep than the old way.

That sounds good, Dendra. Might be nice once in a while for the winter months, still staying on plan. I have not used artificial sweetener in quite a while but I use the pink ones. I dont like Splenda. Never tasted quite right to me.

Thanks for the recipe.

You're welcome. I've tried stevia and a number of others, and Splenda is the only one that doesnt taste odd to me, and it can withstand heat. I know a lot of people choose to not use artificial sweetners, but I've read as much as I could find, including Dr McD's piece. I don't see any real evidence that Splenda is harmful, other than the tenuous fact that it's 'not natural'. But 'natural' is an adjective, not a scientific truth. Rattlesnake venom is natural too.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the cocoa. It is very soothing and filling to me. I limit myself to 2 mugs/day - one after breakfast, and another after dinner.

Today I spent a bit of time reading about soaking and presprouting grains and found some interesting things. Primarily, when you soak grains/seeds, you initiate the process of germination and growth which begins cellular processes making various phytonutrients available for the emerging seedling. So, some people conclude that eating grains and seeds that have been soaked overnight or for 24 hours are actually more nutritious.

Another thing of great interest has to do with the McD eating plan being starch based because most large populations over time ate a starch based diet.... Yet, in former times, our ancestors soaked their grains before cooking. Soaked grains are not only more nutritious, but they take less time to cook - which makes great sense for people cooking over wood fires. Yet we who follow this plan don't soak our grains. Perhaps we should. I'm going to from now on.

Yesterday I measured my usual mix of uncooked grains and soaked them overnight and through the morning, and cooked them this evening. It took about half the time, and with less water. I can't tell much difference other than the texture is a bit different.

I also set up a number of seeds for sprouting. I used to do that years ago and still have a variety. I soaked mung beans, red clover, quinoa, and brown rice. Hopefully they'll all still be viable.

Ha ha, I've never seen that smiley on this board. Dendra you said something sensible over in the hunger thread and I had to come look you up. I like your attitude! Looking forward to following your journal.

Oooh, thanks for mentioning sprouting. I bought alfalfa and broccoli seeds for sprouting a couple weeks ago. Gonna get that set up here.

Yes, I do, too. Am enjoying what you are writing over there. Here, too!!

Yes, they are fun, and good. For me the broccoli sprouts are a bit too bitter, but then for me many things are.

One of the more productive ones are mung bean, as in they produce enough bulk to be able to cook. You can get the seed at oriental markets. They used to sell the sprouts in super markets but they were so fragile, I haven't seen any in a while. Or maybe I haven't looked closely enough. Or something.

Thank you both. I come to this way of eating from a perspective and experience that might be a bit different. But to be honest at the moment I'm not feeling like posting very much over on the main board. Hope I'll snap out of it because I like to contribute.

I think you have very good contributions Dendra. Thanks for being here.

Thanks afreesspirit. Very kind of you.

Today is Friday, and I lost another 1.5 pounds this week. Not bad at all since I am not a strict adherent to the plan as many others are. Though after reading about the great losses of others, that is tempting.

Over time, I've eaten a lot of oatmeal for breakfast, but not lately, so I'm preparing some today. Because of a dairy allergy (now mostly gone), I've never cooked it with milk, but water. For years I hated having that allergy because it restricted my food choices so much, but in retrospect, it was a good thing since I have never eaten much of anything made from milk - yogurt, cottage cheese, fluid milk, ice cream, cheese, butter, etc. Though now that I seem to have outgrown the allergy, I do miss cheese.

Anyway, I'm having oatmeal for breakfast, with lots of dried blueberries (from my own plants), cinnamon, and a dash of molasses for flavor, and sweetner. In the past I used to toss in a mega handful of chopped almonds, but sniff, no more.

It's a pretty day here. I have planned another day of cooking to make sure 'good' things are easily available. Yesterday I cooked up a batch of rice, but today it's washing and chopping veggies, and salad makings, and making more apple/cranberry/lemon cooked fruit mix. There must be a better name for that.

Oatmeal is done. Time to eat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

edit: And it was very good. 1st time I've put a bit of molasses into it, and it really made it even better. Only about a half measuring teaspoon or so, though I didn't measure. It adds that brown sugar flavor, which makes sense since it is molasses that is added to make b.sugar.

Cran-apple compote?

Thanks, AA. That's exactly it!

I just finished cooking the current batch of Cran-apple compote (with fresh cranberries) and this time added a bit of my new favorite sweet flavoring, molasses. And, boy, is it yummy!

Over the years I've devoloped favorite foods that I prepare over and over again. The defaults. Alas most of those are not what I want to eat any more, and many are uncovertable. I tend to be a 'serial' eater and don't mind eating the same dish over and over. If it's good, why not?

But when a big pot of someting is gone, it's time to fix another big pot of something else. But I no longer have my fall-backs. I do keep cooked rice on hand, and a big pot of veggie/legume soup, but woman does not live by soup alone. So I need a new list to have some variety.

As I was eating lunch today, I was reminded of steamed veggies over rice that I had eaten a few weeks ago, enjoyed, but had already forgotten about. So from today, I'm going to keep a magnatized list on the fridge of foods I have made and quite like, so I don't forget about making them again.

One of the things I want to make, to see if it makes the cut, is a vegetable lasagna. Possibilities to include are onions, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, a tomato sauce, layers of grains, and a wee bit of a strong-flavored cheese like romano for flavor.