Game Changer for breakfast: Soaked Oatmeal

For all of us who think we eat a "healthy" breakfast of oatmeal.. I never knew that if not prepared properly, it's not really digestible and therefore we are not getting all the nutrition available (problems really occur when we don't digest things properly).  I usually am hungry an hour after oatmeal for breakfast.  Reminds of chinese food, I am always hungry an hour or two after being stuffed on it.  Aren't you?

Well, I am in love with this site,  the healthy home economist, that I found through the Weston A. Price foundation website (which I also highly recommend).  But I am learning so much through this woman Sarah Pope's site.  She has so much informative information on nutrition and traditional methods of getting all the nutrition we can out of our food.  Soaked Oatmeal is one of the things I have learned from her and I love it.  Today, I am full til lunch with a breakfast of soaked oatmeal.    

And the bonus?  Traditional method of soaking oats overnight is super easy!   We tried it this morning with whole oats and loved it. We also shredded in an apple (using a box grater), honey & cream. Seriously, delish. (Traditional oatmeal is best served with liberal amounts of butter and/or cream for optimal assimilation of minerals.)  Another good thing to know. Btw- we buy our organic whole oats at Fred Myers in the bulk section.. I have found it is the least expensive. Follow the link for the recipe or watch the video. I'm copying it here... Soaked Oatmeal (recipe makes a lot I made 1/2 but you could easily store the rest for a quick warm up during the week)

After making it this way, we will not go back to the other way.  I truly felt way better after eating it this morning.

Soaked Oatmeal

2 cups rolled organic oats
2 cups filtered water
2 TBL lemon juice  (or you can use apple cider vinegar or yogurt)
1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions:
Mix the oats, water, and lemon juice in a pot. Cover and leave on the counter (NOT in the refrigerator) for at least 7 hours or overnight. If you have trouble digesting grains, feel free to soak for as much as 24 hours.

When soaking is complete, bring 1 additional cup of filtered water to boil with the salt and add the soaked oats mixture. Cook for 5 minutes.

Traditional oatmeal is best served with liberal amounts of butter and/or cream for optimal assimilation of minerals. A natural sweetener, nuts, raisins or other fruit may be added as desired.

Turn it around! Truth in labels and big food boycotting!

Making Scarlett a tomato sandwich, I was out of Veganaise so I reached for what I thought was at least a "lesser evil" mayonaise that we had in the house from a "big food" company.  Made with Olive Oil, right?
  

Well, turning to the ingredients on back.. 1st ingredient Water.. 2nd Soybean Oil.. before the 3rd ingredient (and who knows exactly how much) Olive Oil.  GMO's are everywhere. If a product has un-organic soybean anything in it.. you are consuming them.  I think probably the scariest GMO'ed food of all.  Pretty much all processed foods contain some form of soy, if not the majority.
Lesson here (and nothing new) but I obviously needed a refresher.  You can't trust any front label.  Turn it around and maybe we can start turning our health back around. 

Speaking of turning things around.. here is something that might help make life a little easier when shopping.  

New App BUYCOTT Lets You Boycott Koch Brothers, Monsanto And More By Scanning Your Shopping Cart

Genius app.  Idea from a former Microsoft programmer.  I'll try not to hold that against her.  Buycott is a new app that will help us put our money where our mouth is.. and isn't that really what matters to Monsanto and these big food companies?  No one is hearing us while their products are flying off the shelves. 

The following is from Buycott's site: 

Have you ever wondered whether the money you spend ends up funding causes you oppose?

A buycott is the opposite of a boycott. Buycott helps you to organize your everyday consumer spending so that it reflects your principles.

Example: During the SOPA/PIPA debate in 2012, a number of companies pushed to pass legislation that reduced online freedom of expression, while other companies fought hard to oppose the legislation. With Buycott, a campaign can be quickly created around a cause, with the goal of targeting companies with a boycott unless they change their position, or buycotting a company to show your support.

When you use Buycott to scan a product, it will look up the product, determine what brand it belongs to, and figure out what company owns that brand (and who owns that company, ad infinitum). It will then cross-check the product owners against the companies and brands included in the campaigns you've joined, in order to tell you if the scanned product conflicts with one of your campaign commitments.

Sardines, a super food

Craving sardines tonight. Random, yes. Weird.. well, for most Americans under 50.  But not so weird, if you ever try them.  If you like tuna fish, this is an amazing alternative.  A powerhouse food, sardines are one of the most concentrated sources of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, excellent source of vitamin B12 and rich source of vitamin D, phosphorus and protein.  Bone building and cancer fighting.. what's not to love or at least learn to. 

But like I said, I love them.   This salad gets to the table in under 10 minutes, start to finish.  And that is if you are slow. Pantry staple, easy on the budget.. a sustainable fish.  C'mon.. give it a try.  With a nutrition profile like this, aiming for 3 times a week is a good thing.  Soon, you'll be smearing them on crackers or flatbread or any bread you have on hand.. a touch of mustard makes this heaven for me.  Linguini tossed with sardines, olive oil, garlic and olives.. you can't go wrong.  This salad is a good beginner way to enjoy them.  And all the other ingredients are excellent health boosting. You have to feel good eating a salad like this. 

Sardine & Ceci (Garbanzo) Bean Salad

1 can of Ceci Beans (garbanzo) rinsed and drained
1/4 cup red onion, diced 
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1-3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
S+ fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 tin of sardines in olive oil


In a bowl combine everything except the sardines.  Mix all together well and then add sardines, folding in gently. (I do them last, as I like to have some bigger chunks.. if you'd rather camouflage the sardines, mix them with everything else.  They kinda disintegrate in.)

I start with just 1 tablespoon of vinegar and add more if needed at the end. You don't want it to overpower but have a nice acid balance to the oily fish.  

Try these optional additions...

1 small clove of garlic, minced 
tomatoes, chopped
cucumber, chopped 
feta 
baby spinach (makes a great bed for this salad.. however, I usually need to add a drizzle more of balsamic vinegar.)
Sliced Avocado, dusted with sea salt 
olives
a squirt of yellow mustard 

The garlic is a health boost and you're already fishy already.. so why not?  The tomato.. a no-brainer and the cucumber adds some crunch.  The feta is a salty option that is amazing.  I know as a good Italian, I am never to add to cheese to pesce but here.. I think it's mediterranean Greek custom and it's good for me!  Briny olives just pair perfectly here.  And lastly, don't judge but I love mustard and sardines... so I always end up adding just a squirt on my plate to dip my fork in.  Ok, that's weird.   

ingredient round-up

at this point, it's ready to eat.

Anything more is extra.. and according to mood.