I’m in a juicing phase.

I go through phases … for several days, even weeks in a row, I’ll make green smoothies in my VitaMix. Then I start to get bored with the smoothies, so I’ll pull out my juicer and go through a juicing phase until I get tired of the little bit of extra work involved in juicing, and then I’ll back to making smoothies.

Sometimes I live a really wild life and have a smoothie for breakfast and juice for dinner … but I digress…

Right now that little bit of extra work is so worth it when I sip on my juice creations. I say ‘sip’ which is what I try to do … savour and enjoy every drop. But sometimes the flavour and enthusiasm of the liquid yum gets the better of me and I find myself gulping it back like I hadn’t had anything to drink for days.

That’s what happened with today’s juice. I fully intended to take a picture of the ingredients and the finished product to show you … but somehow I got lost in the creation and enjoyment of it all and before I knew it … all that was left of my experience was this empty glass and my body saying ‘thank you for the liquid yum.’

Liquid Yum is:
- Alkaline
- Diary Free
- Gluten Free
- Raw
- Vegan

Ingredients (for each person)
1 apple
3 stalks celery
¼ – ½ stalk broccoli
¼ – ½ bell pepper (red, yellow or orange)
¼ head romaine lettuce or 1 cup of leafy greens
2 ice cubes (if you like your juice chilled)

Directions
1. Wash all ingredients
2. Chop into appropriate sizes for your juicer
3. Put the ingredients through the juicer
4. Place the ice cubes in the juice while you clean the pulp out of the juicer (It’s much easier to clean a juicer immediately after using it, before the fibre bits have dried.)
5. Stir the juice and remove the ice
6. Pour into a glass and enjoy … sipping and gulping allowed

This fresh tasting dish is quick and easy to put together. The tomato and cucumbers have edible covers, so there is little waste … and it looks pretty too!

Tomato, Cucumber, Pine Nut Salad is:
- dairy free
- diabetic friendly
- raw
- vegan
- wheat free

Ingredients (per person)
1 ripe Tomato
¼ – ½ Long English Cucumber
¼ cup Pine Nuts
Olive Oil
Rice Wine Vinegar
Tarragon (or your favourite savoury herb)

Directions
1. Chop Tomato and Cucumber into bite size pieces
2. Place in bowl and sprinkle with equal amounts of Olive Oil and Rice Wine Vinegar
3. Add Pine Nuts and chopped fresh Tarragon
4. Toss together
5. Enjoy!

Quinoa (pronounced “keen wah”) is a super-nutrient grain-like product that comes to us from high in the Andes Mountains of South American.

Botanically speaking, Quinoa is a member of the Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae). Other distinguished super-nutrient members of the Goosefoot clan are Beets, Swiss Chard, Spinach, and Amaranth.

That’s quite a line-up of stars from one family!

Quinoa seeds cook up quickly and are as versatile as any food I know.

I like to keep a cooked pot of either Quinoa or Brown Rice on hand in the fridge to use as the base for breakfast cereal, super salad, or as a quick snack on its own splashed with a little Tamari sauce.

Quinoa supplies nutrition and bulk to soups and stews.

The uncooked seeds can be ground up and used as gluten free flour.

If you are into the raw lifestyle, Quinoa can be soaked and/or sprouted and incorporated into raw recipes.

Quinoa is an excellent source of protein, calcium, iron and B-vitamins

Cooked Quinoa is:
- low alkaline forming
- dairy free
- diabetic friendly
- gluten free
- vegan

Ingredients
1 cup Quinoa seeds
2 cups filtered water

Directions
1. Put Quinoa seeds into a fine mesh sieve and rinse with cold water
2. Add rinsed Quinoa seeds to water in medium sized pot
3. Turn heat to high just until the water starts to boil, then turn heat to simmer and place lid on pot.
4. Let simmer with lid on for 20 minutes.
5. When 20 minutes has passed, gently lift the lid and tilt the pan slightly to the side. If the Quinoa holds in place, it is ready. If the Quinoa starts to slide, there is still too much moisture in the pot, so put the lid back on and return it to the heat for a few more minutes. But watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn.

See Brown Rice for Breakfast for ideas on how to use cooked Quinoa as a breakfast cereal and simply substitute Quinoa for rice.

For lunch, dinner or untraditional breakfast, use cooked Quinoa in a super salad … tomorrow’s entry.

As a quick and nutritious snack, toss cold cooked Quinoa with Tamari soy sauce, or your favourite spices, and enjoy. 

Cooked Quinoa will store in the fridge for up to a week.