So we know eating whole grains and legumes is so good for you. But do you know how you prepare them properly?

I hear some people complaining about flatulence after a bowl of beans. if that happens to you ask these questions...

do you soak them before cooking?

do you chew them thoroughly?

do you choose the right beans for your body?

do you discard the foam while boiling the beans?

do you cook them with a piece of kombu, fennel or cumin?

the gas from legumes is generated by trisaccharides they contain. The healthy intestines have enzymes to properly break it down. If you are not used to eating beans try starting small. small amounts and smaller beans. It will encourage your body to form the right enzymes. sprouting them will make them even more digestible and nutritious.

don't give up! they are rich sources of potassium, calcium, iron, several B-vitamins. The protein from the legumes can help regulate sugar, water and metabolic balance.

Nothing better than warm rich bean stew in a cold winter night... or a a bowl of sweet adzuki bean zenzai....

change of the season

The weather has been so beautiful lately. still quite warm during the day but definitely colder in the early mornings. Autumn is my favourite season. seeing the leaves changing their colour is one of the most beautiful things in nature. above all it is the chestnut season! My daughter and I adore them....
change of the season means your body is requiring something different form what it did in the summer. The intensity lessens and the energy begins to settle in. The cooking style should help energy move deeper into the body now. longer, slower cooking using round and sweet vegetables, grains such as short-grain brown rice (though impossible to get them in Australia at the moment...) and millet are great for this time of the year.

whole organic brown rice fermented for sourdough starter! to tell you the truth this was meant to become brown rice yoghurt. it didn't work. was even too stinky for me.

left it overnight and I heard the loud bang in the middle of the night.

It was everywhere in the kitchen!!!

this is the power of fermentation....

another beautiful macro dessert! strawberry cream pie has landed! of course no dairy, eggs or refined sugar added in this. The creamy filling goes so well with this a bit tangy home made strawberry jam thickend with kudzu and agar agar.

topped with the tofu cream.

order one now before the strawberry disappears!

biscotti

sometimes it is enough to just say 'thank you'

sometimes it is nice to give something to show your appreciation.

certainly the gift does not have to be anything expensive or anything you buy from a shop.

I made these biscotti for people who made an extra effort to help me out with something yesterday. Ones with roasted almonds and others with black sesame and pumpkin seeds.

yum!

fresh baby carrot from the garden!

so sweet and crunchy. i know the nutrients in carrots are best absorbed when cooked with oil etc but when they are so fresh I cant help but eat them raw. ( if my daugther doesn't get them first)

of course the carrot leaves are used for my breakfast soup.

how yummy this ice cream was!

it was a hot day so my daughter and I decided to make a cold treat for ourselves.

Though it was sweetened only with dried fruits and a dash of agave nectar, this soft set icecream gives you the creamiest, and the most heavenly ice cream!

not only that it has a good amount of omega3 in it as well.

I can't wait for another hot day...... (so I have an excuse to make more of this)