Food Basics Part VI - Essential Whole Foods

Here are the links to all of the preceding blogs in this "Food Basics" series:

Food Basics Part I  where I discuss my initial experiences with the principles of "Proper Food Combining" and "Raw Food Vegetarianism" as well as the pitfalls of "Lunch Righteousness."

Food Basics Part II where I give a progressive overview of my "Fruit First" breakfasts ending with my very simple recipe and long-term storage ideas for "Green Smoothies".

Food Basics Part III where I describe how to create my "Finger Salads".

Food Basics Part IV where I describe a simple way to sprout lentils, mung beans, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

And finally,

Food Basics Part V where I discuss how to prepare my "Special Egg Fried Rice".

In this blog I am going to explain in more detail why I have focused on consuming these foods in particular:

1. Dulse
2. Almonds
3. Sunflower Seed and Pumpkin Seed sprouts
4. Brazil nuts and Cashews
5. Mung Bean Sprouts and Lentil Sprouts
6. Carrots
7. Brown Rice and Wild Rice
8. Cucumbers
9. Tomatoes
10. Romaine Lettuce
11. Celery
12. Greens - Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard
13. Fruit



About one year into my early exploration of "Natural Hygiene" which I discuss at length in my "Food Basics Part I" post, I decided to go give blood. However, when they measured my hemoglobin it was registering as "low" and the nurse suggested that I look into taking iron supplements. Of course, knowing what I knew then about "supplements", I knew I could do better, I could find some other whole food alternative, I just needed to do a little more research.

That research led me to purchase a copy of the following manual: Composition and Facts About Foods... by Ford Heritage. It has been a critical reference for me ever since.

What I found to be particularly useful about this little manual was that, not only did it offer a very thorough nutritional analysis of whole foods (as illustrated here)...

...it had another section where each major nutrient was listed and then foods containing that nutrient were listed in descending order according to the relative amount of that nutrient they contained compared to all of the other foods analyzed.



As I was concerned about finding foods high in iron, I simply turned to the "Iron" page and sitting there at the very top of the list was something called "Dulse".

I had no idea at the time what "dulse" was, but it did not take me too long to find out that it was a type of seaweed. I found some of the dried, full leaf version at the local health food store and along with my fresh oranges in the morning, I would roll some dulse leaves in romaine lettuce and eat it like a juicy, salty snack. As I explain in my "Food Basics II post", that procedure evolved over time so that now I simply add the flaked version of this washed and sun-dried seaweed to everything: green smoothies, egg-fried rice, the occasional soup or sandwich, pizza, or even the (rare) salads and entrees bought at restaurants (as I often carry a small container of dulse with me). You can usually find it in 4 oz packages in a lot of the health food stores. You can also buy it directly from one of my favorite companies: Main Coast Sea Vegetables.

Within a relatively short period of consuming dulse regularly, I could literally feel the difference in my energy levels, in terms of feeling "oxygenated" and clear-headed. However, I also learned, that if my life-routine got so disrupted that I was not able to get my daily intake of dulse, within two or three days I would once again be feeling tired as in anemic. Furthermore, with the iron in my blood that I needed, my cravings for sweet foods (i.e. for sugar high "energy") started to level off.

Granted, I have not gone to give blood lately, but I had plenty of blood tests while I was in the Navy, and the fact that I continue to have the energy I need to Ride My Bicycle Across the Country at the getting "more mature" age of 48 (as of this writing), then, after 20 years, the Dulse is one thing I make sure I do not run out of. Furthermore, it kind of boggles my mind that more people, especially those who are vegan or vegetarian, do not know about this excellent source of not only organic (as in Plant Based) iron, but also many other organic trace minerals.

However, I did not stop my research on the "iron" page of my Composition and Facts About Foods manual. Over the years, I have focused my food choices primarily on those foods which: a) I enjoy eating, b) are readily available, and c) rank high on one or more of those pages. Should you purchase this manual yourself you will discover that, for instance, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds show up very highly on many of these lists. (It is no wonder the birds go after sunflower seeds as much as they do as they really are loaded in nutrients.) Pumpkin seeds may be a little expensive, even in bulk, but, again they are Nutrient Dense and when you sprout them, it makes those nutrients even more available for assimilation.

Although it may be strange to eat "Finger Salad" with No Dressing or Dip, I really enjoy eating these whole foods. Because I am Not regularly overwhelming my tastebuds with high concentrations of sugar, salt, and other chemical flavorings that show up in so many processed foods, I can taste what cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, and lettuce are supposed to taste like. And because I have seen where these foods show up on each one of these lists, I know where I'm getting my Calcium from, and I know where I'm getting my B-vitamins, and I know where I am getting things like Silicon and Bromine. I know that celery is one of the best foods I can put in my body because it helps regulate my pH balance as it is one of the most alkaline foods available and, if I ever need it (which is not very often), it makes a great, natural antacid. What I have discovered is that if I want to keep things simple, and yet cover all of my essential nutrients, I can do that with the foods I have discussed in this series.

For my own personal metabolism, I have found that I also enjoy: Organic Sharp Cheddar cheese and stone-ground whole wheat crackers, tuna salad that I make from - guess what - celery, mung bean sprouts, lentil sprouts, sunflower seed sprouts, pumpkin seed sprouts, dulse, and some light mayo of some kind. And I also like to occasionally eat sardines that I lay on romain lettuce leaves, spread with mayo and sprinkled with - dulse - which I then roll up and eat by hand. I eat sprouted whole grain bread which frequently gets made into organic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I also like to eat "Luna" bars every once in a while. Those are my "desserts".

What I know though is that the majority of my actual nutritional needs are met by the foods I listed at the beginning of this post. Everything else is kind of "extra", although I suspect there are some Omega 3 oils or something like that in the fish that have value, as well. And I do include eggs in my "Egg-Fried Rice", and I like to make fried egg sandwiches once in a while (with romaine lettuce and Dulse - instead of bacon).

Furthermore, all of these foods can be routinely packed in a Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner bag as necessary. This is the typical bag I would pack every day when I worked in a lab at the National Institutes of Health:

Breakfast - Green Smoothie with Dulse, soaked almonds, or Brazil nuts and cashews.
Late Morning Snack - Six stone-ground wheat crackers and six slices of sharp cheddar cheese (about an ounce).
Lunch - Finger Salad
Late Afternoon Snack - Luna Bar or Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Dinner - Egg Fried Rice with Dulse (Coming straight from the refrigerator, by the end of the day it was up to room temperature and I would just eat it that way rather than heating it.)

On weekends, when I prepped my vegetables for my "Finger Salads", often with left-overs, that's when I would make either tuna salad, or sardine salad, or maybe have an organic frozen pizza to which I would add my sprouts and seaweed just after it came out of the oven.

The only changes that I made to this basic routine for my bike trip was the addition of a mixture of "Cliff Shot" electrolyte powder, organic sugar, and filtered water, for drinking while I am riding, a few more Luna Bars to cover the additional calories I am burning, and instead of PB&J's, I did the "dried" version (with chocolate); i.e. peanuts, raisins, and M&M's (the "classic" trail mix). Also, I found that my hosts tended to want to feed me once I reached their homes and so I welcomed their hospitality and ... added dulse, and sometimes my sprout mix when I had it. Otherwise, if I stayed long enough, I would cook my egg-fried rice recipe to share with them.

I hope you can appreciate that: 1) This diet regimen did not come about for me overnight. I've been working on it for many years now, and 2) It really is not that difficult once you know a few things, especially about those foods that are particularly Nutrient Dense. Give yourself some time to adjust to the "blandness" if you are used to eating more highly processed and seasoned foods. And, just so you know, a lot of garlic can compromise your taste for things like this as well. That is one of the reasons I avoid eating garlic almost completely and onions most of the time.

As I said way back at the beginning of this series: It is important that everyone find what works best for them. But knowing some simple Food Basics can help build a foundation, especially for people who are working and commuting long hours, but still want to be able to prepare their own food on a regular basis.

I hope you have found this post and the whole series helpful. If you have any questions or comments, your feedback is always welcome.

Food Basics Part IV - Sprouting Beans and Seeds

This blog is Part IV in a series. If you are new to this blog and have not had a chance to read the previous related blogs here are the links:

Food Basics Part I, Food Basics Part II, and Food Basics Part III.

So, after Green Smoothies and Finger Salads what's the "main course" that goes into my lunch bag?

It's is a combination of several things including:

1. Carrots
2. Peas
3. Eggs or tofu
4. Mung Bean Sprouts
5. Lentil Sprouts
6. Soaked (i.e. semi sprouted) sunflower seeds
7. Soaked pumpkin seeds
8. A combination of brown Basmati or long grain rice and wild rice
9. Dulse (added when eating).

Of this list of ingredients, I am first going to describe my basic method for sprouting Mung Beans and Lentils. Since the Lentils usually take a little longer to sprout, I start them first.

For a single person like myself, I have found that small pint jars (specifically Green Mountain Salsa jars, with ring and seal lids), work best.





Start by adding approximately 3 oz of beans. Notice how the beans come up to roughly the "1/4" mark on the jar.












The next step is to close the jar with a ring and plastic mesh cut to fit. I have used both standard needlepoint canvas and small circles of canvas that had to be cut down slightly for this purpose.





Once the jar is closed, I rinse with water two or three times. If I see any obvious "floaters", i.e. discolored or deformed beans that float to the top, then I will remove those.


After rinsing, I fill the jar with filtered or purified water to about twice the volume of the lentils.

In order to sprout properly, most beans and seeds need a little warmth and darkness. I have found two places that work well for this purpose: on top of the water heater or inside the dishwasher.




Granted, you do not want to run the dishwasher while you have beans soaking in there, but since I prefer to wash my dishes by hand and use the dishwasher racks for air-drying only, then this works well for me. In either case, hot water heaters usually end up in dark closets, and once the door is closed, the inside of the dishwasher is dark as well. The hot water heater has the added benefit of usually being a little warm on top, but not too warm. I have found this to be an optimum circumstance for encouraging germination of beans or seeds.

(Note: The seeds really do need a little warmth to germinate properly. If your hot water heater is not convenient, and/or if your ambient room temp is low [60's?] you can heat up the filtered water to hot but not boiling, and pour that into the jar so all of the seeds will soak and warm up at the same time. The temperature does not have to Stay Warm the whole time, but it has to be warm enough at some point, to cause the seeds to germinate.)

Here is what the lentils look like after soaking overnight.





Keep in mind, I'm starting my lentils 12-24 hours before the mung beans. If I soak the lentils overnight, then I will rinse them in the morning and prepare the mung beans to soak at the same time. The process for starting the mung beans is the same.





Rinse the beans several times and fill the jar with approximately twice as much water as beans. Store the beans in your preferred dark and/or warm and dark place.


As you can see in this image, the mung beans have started sprouting at the top of the heap of soaked beans, while at the same time, we are seeing more significant growth in the lentil jar as well. Ideally, you want the beans to soak up all of the original soak water, because, as they soak, some of the nutrients leach into the water. If all of the water gets soaked up, then the nutrients go back into the beans rather than down your drain. Otherwise, at this stage, you simply continue to rinse and drain the beans in both jars once or twice a day, for the next day or so. I usually store my sprouts when they are between 1/4" and 1/2" long..





I always put the metal lids on Only After the sprouts have had 8-12 hours to dry out (i.e. I do not rinse them one last time before putting the lids on). Too much moisture in this final stage can actually encourage mold growth, especially with the lentils. The mung beans tend to be a little more resistant.

Here's a note on lid storage: I often leave the plastic mesh lids on the jars when I store them in the refrigerator. That way, I don't lose track of them, and they will get washed along with the jar and the metal lid and ring after I empty the jars. Otherwise, if I have multiple lids, mesh covers, and rings going, I like to hang them in a plastic mesh bag so they always dry out completely.


You are still going to get some rusting, but at least this will keep any mold or bacteria from accumulating on the lid seals, or on the plastic mesh (although, as you can see, they do tend to get discolored over time).

Finally, on the last day that the beans are sprouting, I will start my sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds soaking.


It is basically the same idea as with mung beans and lentils, I just put them in a smaller plastic container, and I soak the seeds together. Also, I only soak them overnight, and then rinse and store them in the refrigerator the next morning. Since these hulled seeds have had more exposure to the air, etc. they will start to oxidize much more rapidly once they have been soaked. So that is why I wait to soak them last, and then use them up within two or three days if possible.

To sum up: These soaked/sprouted beans and seeds have been a staple in my diet for many years. Although I am now in the routine of cooking them (slightly) with my "Special Egg-Fried Rice" recipe (which I will elaborate on more fully in my next blog in this series), I have been adding the raw versions into pretty much every other "main course" meal I would make: lasagna, chicken pot pies, soups, other stir fries, etc. In effect, I see these sprouted, nutrient and enzyme dense foods as the Most Important part of the meal while my more conventional entrees are just "flavoring"! : )

Furthermore, what I have outlined here is roughly a three day process, especially if the temps are right for rapid germination of the beans. So, it really is not that difficult and these quantities, for me anyway, will last about a week, if I am using them regularly. I may have to make a fresh batch of sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, but otherwise, I have no trouble keeping the lentils and mung beans that long. When I'm down to what I recognize as about three days worth, all I do is start the whole process all over again.

(As I have said in my previous blogs, I will bring all of this together with respect to the specific Nutritional Value of these foods at the end of this series.)

Please feel free to comment or ask questions about anything I have shared here thus far.