Rainbows are a Girl's Best Friend!

I was thinking of Rainbows this morning.......so long since we have had a really good rain storm with the gutters bubbling over, but there are Rainbows about..Yes I drove through a really big one only a few days ago, & I felt like that little girl experiencing fairy land for the first time & creating a wish or wondering where the pot of gold was hidden!
Now talking about Rainbows.......Nature abounds in them & this brings me to our food selection.
Greens, greens, "eat your greens" rings in my ears from childhood, although after being boiled to within an inch of their life, the greens became browns! It certainly didn't encourage me to devour my greens........ and what about all the oranges, yellows,reds,purples & blues?

Eating a Rainbow of colour does not apply to adding a handful of M&M'S to the plate! I am talking about living plants,..... veggies & fruit. Does our diet fall into the beige category with porridge or cereal for breakfast with croissants, a sandwich or soup for lunch & pasta for dinner? Pretty bland, eh? It's the tiny compounds that create the colour in fruit & veggies that is so awesome, this is where the magic happens & what contributes to a healthy diet. Plants use colours as their protective mechanisms, their security blanket for the sun & pests, but also to attract birds & insects for pollination & seed dispersal. Those colours are the sources of powerful phytonutrients or photochemicals which amongst other things, when consumed, stimulate enzymes that help the body eliminate toxins & boost the immune system. These protective mechanisms of plants, are powerful defenders of our health so you can see why, even with this very simple explanation, that a bland, beige diet is far from ideal.
There is such a variety of colour to choose from, green, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue & white, all representing different families of natural healing chemicals. In Nature plant foods come in a painter's palette of colour. May I gently suggest that next time you go shopping, that you think "Rainbow" into your shopping basket & see just what an array of colour you can find for your weekly meals. It can be fun to try new veggies or fruits & if you don't know what to do with them, Google .......& up comes numerous ideas, even recipes. Eating the Rainbow is simple & is an important step in increasing Raw life giving foods into your diet. Just including one fruit & 3-4 veggies in each of your meals will make a massive difference as to how quickly you bounce out of bed each day!
Shop & cook with colour, pack colour into your refrigorator & onto your plate & watch the magic happen!

Protein for Vegans

Nuts, seeds, grains, and beans are nutritional powerhouses. However, the natural agents that protect them from early germination can wreak havoc in our digestive system. Soaking and sprouting replicates germination, which activates and multiplies nutrients (particularly Vitamins A, B, and C),



It's truly amazing how the old question of " what about my protein" comes up every time someone hears about me eating vegetarian & vegan food. We all seem to have been brought up to believe that Meat & Dairy are the superior forms of protein & we can't live without consuming these products!
It is medically considered for ideal health that a female requires between 45 & 50 grams per day & a male 45 to 65 grams, perhaps a little more if the female is breast feeding.
Protein comes in so many forms, particularly leafy greens, & sprouted nuts, seeds, grains & beans.
Sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flax & hemp seeds just to name a few, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, cashews, peanuts along with chorella & spirulina, sprouted quinoa, mung beans, alfalfa & broccoli sprouts, lentils, chickpeas, avocado.....the list goes on & on......so plenty of choice.
What many of us don't realise is that our bodies recycle approximately 80% of our protein, & cooked protein is denatured & largely unusable by our bodies; this would suggest that we actually need far less protein than is taught by conventional dietetics. 35 grams of bee pollen actually satisfies a man's protein requirements for a whole day & it contains more protein per gram than meat or fish....pretty interesting, eh?

Just as an example here are a few foods to consider, so you can see that over a day you have more than sufficient protein without even trying!! Oats, smoothies, salads with nut dressings, soups, wraps & lots of greens in stir fries with sprouted grains, lightly steamed veggie dishes with a protein yummy sauce with a salad etc all make for a very balanced protein enriched diet.

Avocado  4 grams
Greens 2-4 grams per cup
1 cup of sprouted lentils 49 grams
1 cup broad beans  39 grams
1 cup chick peas 38 grams
1 cup pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds etc about 30 grams on average
1 cup oats  26 grams

What Is Sprouting?

Seeds sprout after a few days in a warm, moist setting. It usually takes 3 to 7 days, depending upon the conditions and kind of seeds being used.

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You've probably heard of bean sprouts. But many foods can be sprouted, including:

• Grains, such as barley, wheat, and spelt
• Legumes, such as lentils, peas, and pinto, kidney, and lima beans
• Radish and broccoli seeds

Some people also sprout nuts, including almonds, cashews, walnuts, and peanuts. Just soaking nuts for several hours or overnight makes for a very healthy choice.

Sprouting Chemistry

The sprouting process may make it easier for a body to absorb nutrients including iron, zinc, and vitamin C.

Digestion Benefit

Sprouting breaks down a seed. That means less work for your digestive system.

Sprouted foods are particularly beneficial for someone with a sensitive tummy,"  "For people with problems digesting certain foods, sprouted nuts & grains are usually better for them, and they are less allergic for people with grain protein sensitivities."