Raw Foods

What comes to mind when someone says "I eat raw foods"?  Insanity was my first thought--I pictured a commune of food fadists gnawing on raw beef bones, carrots sticks and sushi.  I admit--I was very skeptical and thought that my poor gut would really be ticked off when I included more raw foods in my diet (keep in mind that I had no intention of adding raw MEATS except for the occasional sushi.) However, I was pleasantly surprised with the results of my experimental diet--not only did my digestion improve but I felt that I needed less food to satisfy me and my cravings for processed foods diminished.  One of my favorite dishes was raw zucchini and summer squash "noodles"  with a raw marinara sauce made from fresh and sundried tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil and so on.  Suprisingly, my initially skeptical 7 year old who managed to choke down one bite of my creation requested it for lunch the next day.  I will be posting more on this topic as my experiments continue. 

Marta's Gluten-Free Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

I'd like to share one of my favorite recipes:  Gluten Free Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes.  I developed this recipe from my own pancake recipe and it is not only gluten and wheat-free but egg- and dairy-free as well.  Amazingly, these taste better than any pancakes I've ever had even without the traditional ingredients and the flax seed adds fiber and other important nutrients.  I hope you enjoy them!!  Note:  for those of you who don't need to eliminate allergens, substitute regular flour for the rice flour, eggs for the flax seed and buttermilk for the soured milk--see my notes)

Marta's Gluten-Free Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

1 cup organic brown rice flour
1 cup organic buckwheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. organic sugar (optional)

1/2 cup flax seed egg substitute (mix 1 T. of whole flax seed with 3 T. water in a blender for each egg.  I usually make a large batch--1/2 cup flax + 1 1/2 water-- and then scoop out 1/4 cup of this mixture for each egg in the recipe.  Store the leftovers in the fridge and use in other baked goods)

2 cups non-dairy milk (coconut, soy, rice or almond) soured with 2 T. apple cider vinegar--mix together and allow to stand for several minutes before using--then stir before adding to other ingredients (this is a substitute for buttermilk)

1 cup wild organic blueberries (you can use more or less to taste)

In medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients.  Mix in blueberries, then all wet ingredients all at once.  Stir gently until dry ingredients are moistened.  Heat griddle to medium heat.  Drop batter 1/4 cup at a time onto griddle, spreading out with the back of a spoon.  Cook until top of pancake looks dry and underside is lightly browned.  Flip over and cook a few more minutes until browned.  Serve with your favorite fruit or syrup.

Makes about 16 pancakes.