I know I am! It’s that time of year when you look around and fresh foods seem less abundant. But that just means it’s time to get creative!
In the summer time we eat out of the garden and the farmers market (thanks to trades!) so we hardly go to the grocery store at all. We get so accustomed to eating raw foods (and we feel so great when we do) that we really miss them when the garden is finished and the farmers market closes for the year. So each winter we find different ways to keep raw foods constantly in our bowls. Here are some you can make at home (since we still don’t get to the grocery store that often) that will help keep your tummy happy until farmers market returns!
Favorite winter-time Raw Foods
Sprouts
Just recently, during a burst of raw craving, Jeff decided it was time to start making sprouts in our kitchen again. So we have glass jars full of different kinds of seeds that we both water every time we are at the sink. Sprouts take a little patience, but they are so worth it. They are just absolutely bursting with life force! And I know we can all use a little extra life force this time of year. Also, they are rich in Vitamin C (which is heat-sensitive, so eating raw foods for Vitamin C is essential.) Did you know that B Vitamins and Carotene are increased during sprouting?
Sauerkraut
We eat sauerkraut a lot! I really can’t imagine life without it. I just remembered a blog post I wrote about making sauerkraut and about it’s health benefits.
You can see it here: Sauerkraut, how I love thee!
Jeff makes giant batches of sauerkraut in ceramic crocks. He shreds his cabbage, adds himalayan crystal salt (or sea salt), and a culture for fermenting vegetables from Cultures for Health
(It works great with just cabbage and salt, but the added culture creates an incredible flavor.) Then he takes a wooden pounder and pounds it for a long time (makes a fun beat to dance to) until it’s completely covered in it’s own juices. He lets it age until he feels it’s ready. Then puts it in gallon glass jars in the fridge. (Have you noticed this recipe is pretty lax? That’s the beauty of Jeff’s recipes- he follows his intuition and the recipe changes every time. So don’t feel like you have to follow the “rules”, life is about experimenting, after all.)
Jeff also makes
Pickles
with the same vegetable culture listed above.
Wheatgrass
In past winters we have planted wheatgrass by the woodstove in flats, harvested the vibrant green shoots, and with a hand crank wheatgrass juicer- made juice with it. Then we added a tiny bit of apple juice to the green juice and it was delicious. We want to start doing this again so I am writing about it, which will help us get inspired!
Salad
Do you love eating fresh salads or what? I know one thing that is sure to bring a smile to Jeff’s face- handing him a bowl of fresh salad greens, topped with vegetables and drizzled with homemade dressing. Boy, does he love that. And so do I! During garden season, we’ve been known to eat fresh salads daily. We want to plant winter crops of salad in our green house. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to grow your own salad greens in the middle of winter?
And of course there are so many raw foods- fruits and vegetables- at the grocery store to enjoy. I especially love snacking on raw carrots.
What are some of your favorite raw foods to eat in the middle of winter?
Our bodies crave fresh foods for a reason. Why are raw foods so essential for good health? The life force! The enzymes! The energy! The Vitamin C! And so many other reasons…
When you take a raw food and ferment it, it increases the life force, enzymes, and nutrition even more! If you feel like having some playful fermentation experimenting this winter, I highly recommend two books- ‘Nourishing Traditions’ by Sally Fallon and ‘Wild Fermentation’ by Sandor Ellix Katz. Give your playful inner-chef and your body a well deserved and tasty treat!
and
Keep your winter time experience FRESH!
Kristin- sounds yummy!
Thanks for popping by. 🙂
dc- thanks for the tip about planting peas! I want to try that out!
Keisha- Yay! Good for you! Enjoy!
I am starting my first batch of sprouts this week. Yeah! I love them but they are expensive at the store.
peace,
k
Have you ever tried planting a flat of pea seeds? The leaves and stems taste just like peas. You can cut them back a couple of times and they’ll regrow. They grow in a cool room of our house under a south facing window. A nice homegrown winter treat!
At the gardens where I volunteer and do youth programs we’ve also grown flats of lettuce and they also grew quite well but that was in a greenhouse.
Thanks so much Kelly!! I really appreciate that! 🙂
I can relate to the apples too!
It’s so funny that I’m reading this at this moment. I clicked over from @KellyNaturally’s tweet but I didn’t get around to reading it until I sat down with my massaged kale and raw beet salad. It’s become my favourite winter salad.
Delicious!!! I tweeted a link to your article, Taryn – it made me hungry to read it. 🙂
I think we’ll start sprouts too. I keep looking out the back window at the empty snow-covered garden, and wishing we had something FRESH to eat!
For now, it’s lots of apples and veggies from the grocery store.