spring food

photo by Zsofia Szalay @ Unsplash. But yeah, 

this is what my breakfast actually looks like 

spring, for me, has it's own food "needs"

I admit it: I heartily dislike cold food during cold weather. It truly just makes me miserable. But for sure it's really good to eat raw food. I know that it is, all of those vitamins and minerals doing their good work inside of one's body. So sooner or later, I finally bite the bullet, so to speak, and just do it. Somehow. Like adding some baby spinach and kale to my plate. Grating some carrot on the side. Adding avocado. Mistress of haute cuisine - me? Absolutely not. 

Spring has (supposedly) been happening for a while, but has only had the odd warm day here and there. I have been dipping my toe into the water with this sort of lighter raw food on those days. 

I also go for less heavy breakfasts. In particular, my new muesli mix, which I love:

• 1 cup of oats. I use organic ones from the supermarket
• 1/2 cup each of dessicated coconut, and wheat germ which bumps up the protein 
• 1 cup of nuts (pecan and cashew make a really nice combo) - crunch and protein
• 1 cup of seeds. I'm using 1/2 sunflower for  more crunch, and 1/2 hemp for oils and protein
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, food grade
• 1 tablespoon of real maple syrup 
• 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon of real vanilla essence

Melt oil and syrup, add vanilla, the stir and fold into the rest of the ingredients. Cook at 150 degrees Celsius, ten to twenty minutes, stirring often. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dried fruit after (optional), The aroma is incredible. These sort of mixes can burn in the wink of an eye, so keep a watch whilst it's cooking. 

and nutrious porridge mix:

I wanted this to be a bit higher in protein than just porridge:

• 2 cups of oats
• 1 cup of wheatgerm
• 1 cup of sunflower seeds
• 1 cup of hemp seeds, which are high in protein
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup dried fruit 

So you can cook this in water, some form of milk, or soak overnight. Throw in some cinnamon, vanilla, or my fave - cardamon, whilst it's cooking. I'm thinking of substituting chia seeds and more wheat germ for some of the oats for extra fibre and nutrition.  I personally am not so into pumpkin seeds, but you might be.

yoghurt in spring makes me feel virtuous

But I have no idea why. It just does. 

Sometimes, I soak one tablespoon of chia seeds with some frozen berries, and then add one tablespoon each of hemp and sunflower seeds, a bit more fruit so that I have to chew well, and greek yoghurt. Filling as, has a nice hit of protein, and keeps me going for hours. 

At the moment, breakfast seems to be the meal that matters most to me. If I have a good start to the day, it really makes a difference.

I make a coleslaw  too, for instant food. I really like:

• finely shredded green cabbage. The purple variety - I just don't enjoy it. And big chunks of cabbage? ewh
• grated carrot, zucchini, and cheese 
• somehow raw onion is odious to me, so I would never use it

The thing is, if we have a nice mix like this in the fridge, made up of food that we enjoy, we have instant food. Add some mayo for cold food, or throw it in with some protein for a very quick stirfry. Whether it's hot or cold, pumpkin, and/or sunflower seeds are also a nice addition. I personally don't eat too many nuts as they don't agree with me, but yeah, toss in some slivered almonds or whatever. 

I am all for making food easy. I have Done My Time cooking for the masses. I used to take vegan dishes to workshops where we had shared food. No-one ever ate it. People actually pretended it wasn't on the table. Now, though, I know to take gluten-free and vegan, to cover most of the bases with my friends. 

Times have so changed. 

I have the odd egg, now and then. If it's only once in a while, I can handle them. I particularly like egg hidden in my pikelet mix (hehe). The odd tin of tuna. I love red lentil dhal, without tomato but with coconut cream - yes, I know. Delish. 

What I really do believe food-wise, is that it's important to eat food that we enjoy, as this starts the saliva process which in turn aids in digestion. A holy man (a proper one), Vasudeva, said that the aroma of spices cooking, also started the digestion process. 

Honestly, when I walk into an Indian food shop - the smell of all of those spices is just exquisite. I am transfixed by their divine smells. 

My newest grandchild has spice - egg with tumeric, and red lentils also cooked with tumeric. She loves both. 

It's nice to have quick, nutritious food. Does anyone have some nice easy food ideas? I am always interested. I'm not a vegan nor vegetarian anymore, yet I still mostly tend to eat that way.

** you might also enjoy this post about moving into spring

** and food for the colder weather: here

** and not forgetting my yoga blog which actually has a new post