New Year, New Eats and Cultured Vegetables

I'm back! It was amazing to take a few weeks off from work, training, cooking and, well life in general. However, now my body is in dire need of cleansing and my normal routine! Then there is the inevitable New Year's resolutions. Not me. This will mark the first year that I WON'T make a New Year's resolution. Not that I don't appreciate the whole "fresh start" mentality, I just don't think it should be limited to one day out of the year. A "fresh start" can happen any day of the year.

My fresh start comes in the form of cleansing, eliminating sugar and digestive enzymes! After all the sweets, heavy food, alcohol and several days of no exercise, my body just gets mad at me, forcing me to return to my healthy ways. I thought I would share some of the healthy habits that I have picked up over the last year, mostly in search of a better lifestyle to deal with Crohn's.

First and foremost - cultured vegetables. This has been the single-most important food I have incorporated into my diet since I was diagnosed several years ago. They are simple to make and a batch lasts about a month. The recipe I am sharing today was created by Rose, my mother (who we all know is a big part of why I am healthy today). She read a book called Body Ecology, that changed her life (and system)!

Before I get to the recipe, here are a few other healthy habits worth trying this New Year.

Raw Brownies

One of the benefits of cultured vegetables is the natural ability to control sweet cravings. Sugar is one of the biggest culprits of my flareups, and also one of my biggest weaknesses, or at least it used to be. After a year of cultured vegetables in my diet, I can honestly say, I do not really crave sweets anymore. However, when I need a little sweet treat, I turn to these Raw Chocolate Brownies (which contain no sugar). The sweetness comes from Medjool dates. I always have a little bag of these brownies in the freezer for a quick and easy sweet satisfaction.

Habit #2 (Lemon-Cayenne cleanse)

I picked up this habit from the Food Babe, a healthy food blogger that is located in NC as well. She starts every morning with hot water, lemon and cayenne. This is a natural liver cleanse that eliminates toxins from the digestive tract. Considering my condition, I jumped on this habit right away and have been pleased with the outcome ever since. Thank you Food Babe!!

If you can't quite stomach cayenne-lemon water, at least try Dandelion Tea (add a few drops of stevia for sweetness). I drink tea with lunch every day instead of water to help break down the food. I only drink water before and after meals, never during. This helps keeps bloating down and eases digestion.

Ways to Eat Cultured Vegetables

Back to cultured vegetables, which is a form of fermented food. Many people ask me why I eat fermented foods and I usually respond with "why not eat the most healing of foods?!?!"

For starters, fermented foods have been around for centuries and now come in several forms: yogurt (plain), kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi and soaked grains. For this post, I am focusing on cultured vegetables (sauerkraut or kimchi), which are defined as "cut or shredded vegetables that are left in an airtight sanitary environment for several days or longer at room temperature" according to Body Ecology. This allows the enzymes on the vegetables to proliferate creating a mineral-rich food that aids digestion and eliminates toxins. They help fight yeast and other unhealthy pathogens in your intestines, which is great for controlling sugar cravings (see above). Finally, and most importantly, they are alkaline and very cleansing for the body.

First of all, NEVER heat cultured vegetables. It won't kill you or anything, it will just kill all of the digestive enzymes and good bacteria that you want. Other than just adding them to the side of any meal, here are a few other ways I like to eat them:

• with blue corn chips or other tortilla chips (the veggies act like a salsa)
• similarly, mix with avocado for a guaco-cultured-mole!
• over scrambled or fried eggs
• with cheese and crackers
• use some of the brine as a salad dressing. TONS of great nutrients in the dressing!
• spread on sandwiches in place of a condiment

Raw Chocolate Brownies

I am so excited to share this post with you. Don't get me wrong, I love sharing all my posts with you, but this one in particular makes me very happy! I have discovered the most amazing recipe for brownies, raw brownies to be specific. I know, I know, the raw diet is such a fad and totally gross - who wants to eat cold food all the time! Well, I am here to tell you that it isn't all bad. Close your eyes and imagine a delicious brownie, now think about that brownie not being baked or having any sugar, gluten or eggs. What??? No way, Jessica!

I am totally serious though, My New Roots hit the jackpot with this recipe. I have been making them nonstop so I have a constant stash in my freezer for a quick sweet treat. They are perfect and absolutely delicious! 

The secret to these are Medjool dates - not a common food in American cuisine, but should be! They are very common in Middle Eastern cuisine, which is where most are cultivated. Dates can replace sugar or honey in recipes and are rich in fiber and other vitamins. They kind of taste like caramel!! Dates have a very sticky consistency, but provide layered flavors and texture, which make them great for baking. So naturally, dates are perfect to replace sugar in this recipe.

The other secret to these brownies are using raw cacao (not to be confused with cocoa). Cacao (pronounced ka-kow) refers to the actual tree, pod and bean that chocolate comes from. Cocoa refers to the by-products of the raw cacao bean (powder and butter). Many think that the two powder forms are interchangeable, but after some research I discovered that cacao powder refers to raw, unsweetened powder, where as cocoa powder might still have small amounts of cocoa butter in it to enhance the flavor.

I had cacao nibs in my pantry, so I ground them first into a powder.

Therefor, Mixing the cacao with the dates basically makes a form of chocolate but without the sugar additive. Not to mention that cacao is one of the best sources of magnesium found in nature!

The best part about these brownies, they are super healthy! Dates, almonds, raw cacao, walnuts are all super foods. With their powers combined, they are Captain Planet! No, just kidding, but they are super healthy and taste delicious. A cooking phenomenon!!

Feel free to get created with the recipe with the add-ins. I like to use a bit of sea salt and chopped raw almonds. My friend Meg makes these a lot as well and adds in coconut. Dried fruit or macadamia nuts would be a great add-in as well.

I tweaked the recipe from My New Roots to reduce the amount of dates in the brownies, which helps create a stronger chocolate flavor. It also helps the brownies hold together better and not have as much oils and liquids come out from the dates because of the hot humid weather in NC. 

Raw Brownies

Adapted from My New Roots

Yields: 8x8 pan of brownies

Prep time: 20 minutes

2 cups whole walnuts

1 cup raw cacao powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)

8 ounces fresh organic Medjool dates, pitted

1 cup raw unsalted almonds, chopped

Place the walnuts into a food processor and blend until finely ground. Add in the cacao powder and sea salt and pulse just until combined. Add in the dates, one at a time through the feed tube of the food processor while it is running. The mixture will start to come together when pressed. 

Pour the mixture into a large bowl and add in the chopped almonds. Stir until the almonds are well incorporated, I like to use my hands for this! 

Press the mixture into an 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper. The consistency will be like fudge in a way, it is dense and thick. 

Place the pan in the freezer for at least an hour, remove from the pan using the parchment paper and cut into small squares. I cut them into 1 inch