Still on the subject of breakfast, I am a big fan of making a pot of rice every few days and storing it in the fridge (still in the pot … why not? …saves on washing dishes and cuts down on my use of plastic containers that may leach nasty stuff into my low crap food.) I eat that rice cold, like a breakfast cereal.

Rice is easy to cook. The trick is to have a pot with a fairly heavy bottom. You also need to know how hot the ‘simmer’ setting is on your stove. I always use the same pot and burner, so I know I can go away and leave it to cook by itself. If you have never cooked brown rice before, you’ll want to stick within sniffing distance of the stove during the last 10 minutes of cooking to make sure that first batch doesn’t burn.

Rice is made by combining 2 parts water with 1 part rice. I’m in the habit of washing the rice before I cook it, but that is not necessary.

1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water will make about 3 cups cooked rice.

My latest purchase of organic brown Basmati rice cost $1.35 for one cup of dry rice. That works out to about 45 cents per serving. Basmati rice is always more expensive than regular long grain brown rice, which makes this low crap food very economical.

Brown rice by itself is:
- Low acid forming
- Diabetic Friendly
- Gluten Free
- High Fiber

Ingredients
1 cup brown organic rice
2 cups water (you can substitute apple juice, broth, or other liquid)

Milk or Milk substitute: almond, rice, hemp seed milk, etc.

Optional Ingredients. Remember you don’t need to use all the optional ingredients. Just pick and choose what you like and what you have on hand.
- Chopped raw nuts: almonds, walnuts, filberts, pine nuts, etc
- Seeds (whole or ground): sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax, salba, hemp, etc
- Chopped dried fruit: raisons, currents, apricots, dates, coconut, etc
- Sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, etc
- Fresh or frozen fruit: berries, apples, peaches, bananas, etc
- Dash of flavouring: cinnamon, ginger (fresh grated or dry powdered), dark chocolate (grated), allspice, vanilla extract, carob powder, lemon or lime zest

Directions
1. Put the rice and water together in a pot and turn the heat to medium-high.
2. When the water starts to boil, turn the heat to ‘simmer’ and put a lid on the pot.
3. Set your timer for 50 minutes.
4. Water may seep out of the pot through the lid. This is ok. It the pot starts to boil over, then you need to turn down the heat.
5. Don’t lift the lid during cooking as you will let out too much moisture and the rice may burn before its properly cooked.
6. When 50 minutes has passed, gently lift the lid and tilt the pan slightly to the side. If the rice holds in place, it is ready. If the rice 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.
7. To make the rice into breakfast cereal, simply spoon about one cup of either hot or cold cooked rice into a cereal bowl, add any optional ingredients you like and top it off with milk or milk substitute.

Cooked rice can be stored for a week in the fridge … if it lasts that long. Once you get in the habit of always having cooked rice on hand, you will be adding it to salads, soups, snacks and of course breakfast.

Contrary to popular believe porridge cooks up quickly, in about the time it takes you to dry your hair or put on makeup.

You don’t have to buy those sugared up individual little packets to have porridge in a hurry. Purchase organic ‘quick’ rolled oats in bulk (using your own reusable bag) or buy the paper bagged version.

“Quick” oats are simply rolled oats that have been ground up a little so they cook more quickly. You can make your own by whirling steel cut oats dry in the blender for a few seconds.

Rolled Oats Cooked are:
- Low to Neutral Alkaline forming
- Diabetic Friendly (use caution with sweeteners and fruit)
- Gluten Free
- High Fiber

Ingredients
½ cup ‘quick’ oats per serving
¾ – 1½  cups water per serving (depending on how thick you like it)

Optional Ingredients. Remember you don’t need to use all the optional ingredients. Just pick and choose what you like and what you have on hand.
- Chopped nuts (raw or roasted): almonds, walnuts, cashews, pine nuts, etc
- Seeds (whole or ground): sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax, salba, hemp, etc
- Chopped dried fruit: raisons, currents, apricots, dates, coconut, etc
- Sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, etc
- Fresh or frozen fruit: berries, apples, peaches, bananas, etc
- Dash of flavouring: cinnamon, ginger (fresh grated or dry powdered), dark chocolate (grated), allspice, vanilla extract, carob powder, lemon or lime zest
- Milk or Milk substitute: almond, rice, hemp seed milk, etc. If you make the porridge ‘sloppy’, i.e. you add a little extra water during cooking so it doesn’t thicken up as much, you won’t need to add milk. This is a great way to serve porridge to lactose intolerant individuals without incurring the expense of milk substitutes.

Directions
1. Stir oats and water together in a pan and bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 3 – 7 minutes, stirring often
3. When enough water has evaporated so the porridge is the desired thickness, remove from heat
4. Add optional ingredients if using
5. Serve and enjoy

Hint: Remember to put the pot to soak right away to make clean up a breeze.

Adopting a low crap diet is one of the nicest things you could ever do for yourself and our planet.

These days we are all pitching in. We’re walking more and driving less. We carry around our own coffee mug and cloth bags. We limit our purchases of bottled water. We recycle, reduce and reuse.

And those are all great things … but they are not enough.

We have to take this ‘save the earth’ thing to the next level, and I believe the next level is to become responsible with how we eat, what we eat and why we eat.

One way to take your earth saving and health saving eating habits to the next level is to consider that every time you eat, you are feeding two … and I’m not talking about those few extra pounds you put on over the winter …

Here are a couple of scenarios to get you thinking.

When I eat an orange, the earth receives the peel and eventually the original fibre and water make their way back to the earth via the toilet (ahem). And I receive a moment of freshness, rehydration from pure tropical juice, unadulterated vitamins, minerals and fibre, sticky fingers and the joy of nutritional satisfaction.

When I eat a double packaged, brightly coloured bowl of fruity sugar rings, the earth receives a cardboard box, a plastic bag AND all the denatured sustenance that my body is not able to use (food colouring, preservatives, artificial flavours and manufactured sugar). What do I get out of the deal? A feeling of fullness, a moment of sugar buzz, fuzzy teeth and a depletion of vitality as my body tries to make the most of what it has been given to use as fuel.

Kind of makes you think doesn’t it.

Here’s a sweet treat no-crap recipe that you will enjoy hot from the oven or as cold left overs. You can make them for after school, late night nibbles, or as a take along snack for tomorrow. Don’t even think about peeling the fiber rich skin off.

Sweet Potatoes are high alkaline forming, gluten free and safe for diabetics.

Ingredients
One fist size organic sweet potato per person
Olive Oil
Sea Salt or powdered Kelp
Optional Dry Herbs (such as Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, etc)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400F
2. Wash well and cut into approximate 1/2 inch thick sticks. (Don’t cut too thin or they will burn.)
3. Put into a large bowl and lightly toss with olive oil.
4. If using dry herbs, use a half tablespoon of dry herb for each sweet potato. Rub the dry herb between the palms of your hands to energize. Let the energized herbs fall into the bowl.
5. Use your hands to mix everything together.
6. Place on cookie sheet.
7. Lightly sprinkle with a little sea salt or powdered kelp.
8. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes, turning once about half way through the cooking time.
9. The Bakes are done when you can pierce them with a fork.

Enjoy hot from the oven or as a cold snack. Will keep in the fridge for several days.

The Sweet Potato is a no-crap food that is sweet fiber for your bowel. When you eat sweet potatoes, peel and all, a perfect breeding ground for good bacteria is created. Good bacteria in the bowel means increased absorption of nutrients as well as timely elimination of the unnecessary bits.

A quick Google search for sweet potato recipes returns several thousand hits and the majority of those recipes contain added sugar. I say why break a low-crap diet by adding sugar to a food that is already naturally sweet?

Baked, boiled or mashed sweet potatoes stand beautifully on their own as good solid no-crap high-fiber food. Added to soups and stews, they provide comfort, energy and empowering nutrition.

One afternoon a couple of years ago I discovered “Sweet Potato Fries” at a local pub. I enjoyed that dish so much that I set out to create a healthier home made version that doesn’t require deep fat frying. What I came up with is less crispy then the pub grub, but no one seems to mind.

Sweet Potatoes can be cut up and baked in less then an hour and they make a nutritious snack for the after school crowd … a low crap alternative to denatured frozen French fries.

I often take this dish as my contribution to potluck gatherings and its always a hit. I find it is just as tasty cold the next day as it is hot, fresh from the oven.  I have posted my recipe for Sweet Potato Bakes in a separate post.

Sweet Potatoes are high alkaline forming, gluten free and safe for diabetics.