Stocking dry storage for survival and living in a healthy home

You should feel good when you walk into your kitchen and especially upon opening your cabinets. this is the place that you nourish your body! If you are eating and living consciously then hopefully you are avoiding packaged foods and are purchasing bulk foods or growing your own. Bulk foods are stored in glass jars for the best quality. I have collected jars over time to get me to this point, I am thankful to have almost all our dry foods stored in glass jars. This dry storage cabinet could sustain us for months in case of food emergency. In fact I keep very few canned goods in the house because we do not prefer canned goods. Many of these seeds, nuts and grains can be soaked and sprouted for optimal nutrition.

On the bottom shelf I have stored the dry foods we eat most often such as; nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Currently on this shelf are sesame seeds, black caraway seeds, chia seeds, pecans, walnuts, dried fruit, oats (steel cut and rolled), linen bags used for food storage, sprouting, and making nut milks, tahini, almond butter, pine nuts, several varieties of beans, almond slivers, lentils, wheat berries, alfalfa seeds, broccoli seeds, and more!

Baking and more dry storage occupy the second shelf. Although we try to avoid baked goods and sweets, there are times that we will make a healthier version of some popular sweet treats. So any of those ingredients are kept on the top shelf where they are out if reach. Currently on this shelf are: Teff flour, almond meal, flax seed, flax meal, peanut butter, organic spectrum vegetable shortening, dehydrated vegan soups (just add hot water), raw cacao powder, cacao butter, dry coconut, and more!

Urban Gardening

TWO WORDS... Urban Gardening......Okay you know I can't stop there. Sprouts are instant gratification of Gods Goodness  Sprouts grow in jars in just a few days and there are many different ones to suit your taste preference and power your house with essentials.

I have alfalfa  and red clover sprouts pictured here:)  

As REAL as it gets!

As Real as It GETS! That’s the food I eat! The eye can see the life flowing through the sprouts, leaves, seeds, fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, etc….. Some people do not realize that eating ital is not a diet, it is not for vainity, it is only praise for the Most High, The Creator of the Earth. Eating living and raw foods is a lifestyle; it is a new level of spirituality when you feel the life from eating foods of the Earth. My body is not a grave for dead animal flesh. My body is a Temple in praise of HIM. I do not “eat healthy” to look good. I live this way in thanks and praise and to have a clean temple; where loving kindness can dwell peacefully. This creates a space where the divinity within me realizes the divinity within all of you. I see the life, I feel the prescence, I am graced with HIM guiding the way every day; and now I just have to figure out how to sow the seed. I will continue to seek and he will show me.

Sunburgers

I do not have a great photo of Sunburgers at this time; however I will find one and post it in the near future.  I would like to dedicate this post and photograph to an amazingly positive lady, Jaie Benson!  Jaie shares LOVE and KNOWLEDGE everyday!  I am truly thankful that I get to experience her positive light!  GIVE THANKS FOR JAIE!
Sunburger Recipe....
2-3 Cups of Raw Sunflower Seeds - Soaked overnight (in good water)
1 Cup Sundried Tomatoes- Soaked overnight
2 Carrots (chopped a bit before blending in food processor)
Onion- your preference- I use either 1/2 a sweet onion or a few green onions
Peppers- again your preference depending on how much spice you like- I use half of a bell pepper and one jalapeno (sans the seeds)
Fresh herbs- Use what you have/like- Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Chives, Rosemary
Dried Herbs- I really like Curry!
Braggs Liquid Aminos- about 1 Tablespoon

Other options- you can add some soaked almonds or pecans, also fresh tomatoes if you like

Puree all of the ingredients together in a food processor - because mine is pretty small I have to do this in several batches.

Form the mixture into patties.  Dehydrate in the dehydrator until you have reached the desired texture- I keep mine in for 8 or more hours- sometimes I leave them in so long they get a little crunchy but I do not mind. 
Sunburgers are great to snack on or top with avocado, sprouts, and tahini dressing.  Bashi breaks them up and calls them croutons on his salad. 
Recently I made a big batch for Bashi to take on his road trip to Colorado- when he came back they were all gone and he and Raffi passed on some great reviews from the friends they have out there.  I will be making a batch to take down to ATL this weekend so I will post a photo this week.  In the meantime- GIVE THANKS FOR THE RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE:)

If you're ever in Tampa....

I was blessed to spend the weekend in Tampa with my family for my Uncle Joe's wedding to my new Auntie Erica! All the fun and excitement called for some healthy eating so I could keep up with everything going on! I researched online prior to leaving my home kitchen to see what options were available in Tampa- Grass Root Organic Restaurant was a winner! I highly recommend this casual healthy restaurant with a wide variety of vegan, raw and living foods on the menu! Check out the website I put as the link to find out more:) http://www.thegrassrootlife.com/ I have to get back to working on lesson plans so I will love to add more details later!

Dessert

Dessert was Raw Pecan Pie:)

Wow! The Raw Onion Bread Made this- oh, and of course the avocado:)

Mm..m..m! This is my meal at Grass Roots Organic Cafe in Tampa this weekend. The wrap is raw onion bread- sooo incredible, hummus, avocado, and lots of romaine! The bread was chewy and so the amount of lettuce was perfect to balance the textures together! I also had a shot of wheat grass and alkaline water- dessert picture to come next. This meal had me going all day into late night. I was down in Tampa this weekend for my Uncle Joe's wedding! More pics to come!

We don't just grow sprouts and herbs; all of this is grown on a rooftop garden in the CITY.

Home Garden

A few of the things we grow at home are sprouts- pictured here you will see sweet pea, and a variety of peppers, here I have both sweet (Bell) and cayenne. These cayenne are drying- they are great for using dried or fresh. You may notice that my green pepper looks small compared to some you may see in the grocery store- these are grown without any chemicals- yes they are smaller but believe me we have PLENTY of peppers- super easy to grow and essential for optimum health.

TRUTH

I met my brand new god daughter, Elaina Ruth, This Thursday and Friday! I was also blessed to have spent quality time with my family:) and will be continuing to do so tomorrow at the reunion/downtown fireworks party. This coming week is teaching, the NFL grant tryout/celebration we will be doing at school, and the Walnut Hills Festival I will be participating in.

So you may be wondering where all this is going and how it relates to this blog- well it is to say that I AM BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are all busy and sometimes even allow this to be an excuse for not living LIFE to the fullest. It takes true CONSCIOUSNESS to live life to the fullest. So much death and corruption is out there in our faces day in and day out. We are oppressed by this money driven American Dream. Have you ever contemplated that? There are moments when I am so OVER it all. I strive to be good at what I am passionate about, I love my career, but I can barely get by with all the bills and taxes and insurance and gas and high price of foods and fees and deadlines- you know what I'm talking about. I soon remind myself that there is ONE thing I can have control over in this world and that is this TEMPLE, this MIND, this BODY, and loving this SPIRIT. When I have those stressful moments HE keeps me strong in faith and thankful for being full of LIFE. He created the fruits and the herbs and the leaves and the trees and the oxygen and so much more and he LIVES in each and every one of us. HE keeps us alive. So why would I want to put death in my body or drink to oblivion. You know at times I wish that it had not taken me so long to appreciLOVE LIFE. (APPRECILOVE not appreciate, LOVE not HATE)

I am very concerned about those that I LOVE and wish to say to them PLEASE make the DECISION to live LIFE Consciously! Take good care of your TEMPLE. And if you have a bad day or a weak moment- do not give up just keep on keepin on and GIVE THANKS for the relationship with NATURE. KNOW have an OVERSTANDING (not understanding, there is a difference)of where your foods come from. Plant a seed- grow some sprouts to start- its easy and ready to eat in 3 days.

SEEK KNOWLEDGE!!! Stretch your mind- OPEN YOUR HEART to let the truth in. Think outside of the box they try to place you in with all their questionnaires are you married? whats your race? how much do you make? Sometimes when I get to some of these questions and demands from people that don't even know me I feel like saying- It's none of your business! I remind myself that I am a child of God/Jah/Yahweh - THESE all mean the same but so many are frightened by the terms because our history has been hidden from them for so long.

Colleges, Universities and Schools are usually positive atmospheres, learning should be encouraged there and I hope it is and I hope the teaching is the TRUTH, THE FACTS. But sometimes it is not positive, it is not the TRUTH- what can we do- we can LEARN that we cannot always depend on another man to teach us the way- we need to SEEK THE TRUTH AND LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY to really know the truth. CONSCIOUS!

Take a good look at the TRUTH, please do not be fooled by someone with a piece of paper, a badge, a microphone, a video camera; have a true knowledge of self and JAH and take yourself out of the equation and take an OVERSTANDING look at the big picture of this LIFE. Seek lovingkindness and HEALTH. PRAYER WILL GET YOU THERE.

So I have gone along with all their rules and gotten my pieces of paper and plastic and keep up with all their requirements- but I WILL ALWAYS KNOW IN MY HEART THAT ONLY HE DESERVES to be PRAISED. MONEY/WEALTH, FAME, ACCEPTANCE FROM SOCIETY will NEVER come BEFORE HIM. GIVE THANKS AND PRAISE!

Raw Rice

So we are making our first attempt with raw rice! We got "extra wild" black rice and have it soaking. We will make a salad with sundried tomatoes, chick peas, onion, lemon juice, nama shoyu, and garlic. The chick peas will be sprouted and the rice soaked- not cooked! The foods will be at thier most nutritional state for this much anticipated salad suitable for the upcoming camping adventure. Everything is soaking now so I will repost when the salad is completed. I am really looking forward to the supposed chewy texture of the rice. Btw I also have lentils soaking again for sprouting and creating a curry lentil dish- ALL RAW and LIVING! living foods give life!