Raw "Oatmeal"

I'm a big fan of eating in season. Living in Southern California the summers are so warm that my body is always craving raw foods.

You all know I'm a huge fan of raw foods like juice, smoothies, cheesecake and pasta for their living, nutrient dense properties; lately i've been wanting to expand. I used to have oatmeal almost everyday but in the warm weather my body just didn't want it - and sometimes I was being left very tired and over full. Then I discovered raw and grain free oatmeal from one of my favorite nutritionists.

Hopefully you have seen my cinnamon buckwheat pancake blog (because you are really missing out if not) to learn the incredible benefits of raw groats. So here is a raw way to incorporate groats in your diet. 

Fast, easy, delicious, and nutrient dense - the perfect breakfast! I felt full and energetic for hours after this. 

What you need

• 1/2 avocado
• 1 cup soaked oat groats or buckwheat groats
• 1/4 tsp pink himalayan salt
• 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
• Water as needed

Possible supper food additions

• Cinnamon to taste
• Vanilla
• Clove
• Nutmeg
• Chia Seeds
• Cayenne Pepper
• Cacao Nibs
• Cacao Powder 

Directions

• Soak groats overnight then rinse well. 
• Place groats and avocado in a food processor. and processes well.
• Add salt and maple syrup pulse until well mixed.
• If you want a smoother consistency add water and mix. 
• Top with super food additions and enjoy! 

To really make yourself a priority have some celery, carrot sticks or a handful of greens before hand to alkaline your body and prepare your GI tract. 

Thanksgiving Mustgos - Stuffing Burgers

Yesterday I really needed a hug. I got some unhappy news, I couldn’t get my partents on the phone (they are such a wonderful support system but were traveling) and I am having a really hard time shaking it. Nothing earth shattering but most certainly messing with my mood.

Sometimes when I feel like that I just want to crawl in bed and stay there; perhaps eat too many sweets. But I decided not to do that today. I decided to make myself a priority and do things that make me feel better. I headed over to Train Gym, saw some familiar smiling faces, and with Returners as my soundtrack proceeded to do about an hour of leg work outs. Sometimes I forget how much moving my body can help with stress but it does!

Regular exercise helps regulate hormones, increases oxygen flow, and is a great way to detox (sweating). Don’t worry I plan to do a lot of blogs on hormones and stress!

After that kick ass work out I was famished but I want to stay with the theme of mustgos so I did some poking round in the kitchen and came up with a great idea. Stuffing Burgers!!!!

I had leftover

• Stuffing (mine was GF made from rice, I used about ¼ cup to make 2 patties)
• Mushrooms
• Onion
• Vegetable broth
• Carrots

 I found

• Liquid smoke (1tsp)
• Dijon mustard (1/2 tablespoon)
• Ground flax seed (about ¾ cup)
• Tamari (omit if you want to be soy free) (1 tsp)

So this is what I did.

• Chop mushrooms and onions, put in a pan with vegetable broth (not quite covering them).
• Cook on low heat until all liquid is absorbed (this adds flavor and eliminates using oil!)
• Place everything except for the flax seed in a food processor and pulse until well combined.
• Stir in the ground flax seed a little at a time until it reaches a consistency that can be shaped into patties but not too flaxy.
• In a pan heat a little bit of oil (about 1 tsp per patty) on low heat, evenly cook the patty until it is the temperature you like. Mine were a little crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside.

Now you can stop there and eat the crap out of this delicious, savory, burger or add some more! I had a little cranberry sauce left over so I smothered that on top, grilled onion and avocado on top of raw bread (a story for another blog).

Seriously people this was outstanding! So many flavors; savory sage, thyme, rosemary goodness from the stuffing and tangy sweetness of the cranberry sauce.

If you’re feeling not so great, got bad news or just need a pick me up, do yourself a favor, move around a bit then make yourself a delicious, healthy, money saving meal!

Healthy on the Cheap: Sundried Tomato Raw Sausage Patties - Mustgos Part 2

So I’m broke – for now. Not in a pity party kind of way just in a minor set back – building a business kind of way. I’ll make rent but I need to be very aware of where my money goes.

I figured this would be a good time to talk about staying healthy on a budget. It is completely doable.

Let’s break it down. What you put in your body (including on your skin) is probably the most important thing you can do all day to take care of yourself. If you are putting in crap you are going to look and feel like crap. If not immediately then eventually.

Even when funds are tight you must make yourself a priority and choose healthy foods. It is entirely more expensive to heal illnesses and deal with ailments than it is to start and stay healthy. I promise you fighting cancer and buying insulin cost more than buying greens each week.

Things to think about

• Getting sick
• After adopting a healthy plant based diet I RARELY get sick. And if I do it is for a day or two and I can kick its butt because my immune system is strong.
• Medicine is expensive. If you are getting sick (and probably often) from eating garbage then you are going to spend a ton of money on medications.
• Being sick probably means missing work; which probably means getting behind or even a cut in pay. That won’t help your money situation.
• Side note – employers don’t like it when you miss work. Being sick all the time isn’t going to put you in a position for that promotion.
• Down the line
• Eating like crap regularly will cause you problems later in life if it isn’t already. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, obesity etc. Not concerned with this yet? Start to be, look around you, and chat with the older folks in your life. Shit gets real. Quickly.
• Aging doesn’t have to be a horrible process. Do it beautifully by feeding your body plant goodness now.

Ok enough lecturing. And what is my point? I’m on a budget for an undetermined amount of time so I decided yesterday that I’m going to avoid buying food for as long as possible. I wrote another blog about mustgos previously and came up with Pumpkin and Black Bean Burgers.

Today I went into my kitchen to see what I could create and here it is:

• I took the recipe from my raw sausage and added sundried tomatoes to the mix.
• With said mix I made
• “Sausage” nori rolls. Literally just rolled the mixture in nori (ya know the green stuff wrapped around sushi).
• Lettuce wraps. You guessed it, made a patty and rolled it up in lettuce with grilled onion and avocado. I left it open for the picture so you could see the good stuff.

And that’s it people. Healthy protein and omega packed dinner with ingredients I found laying around.

Get creative. Eat healthy. Make yourself a priority.