Maria Rippo's Sprouted Buckwheat Brownies!!

If you know me, you probably know that I love to play in the kitchen making up recipes. In fact, actually following a recipe to a t is almost impossible for me:) I always change something. My kitchen is like a laboratory. This is one reason that I really enjoy making raw food recipes. You can't really mess them up and nothing has to be perfect. Things don't rise (or fall) and you just get a sense for what goes well together and what does not. So, today, I had a bunch of sprouted buckwheat that I had been sprouting for a few days. I knew I wanted to make some yummy cracker bread and boy did I get it right this time! I even wrote it down as I went, which I am becoming better at so that I can recreate my creations and share them. Well, THEN, I had a chocolate craving and was out of all of my raw sweets. So, I decided to try something a little new and use my buckwheat sprouts to make raw brownies. OK, let me just say, "to die for"!! Even my girls licked the spatula, the bowl, and begged for more brownies. They are a hit!! Here is the recipe. It's so easy. I know sprouting seems like a big pain, but once you get into the groove of it, you just get used to rinsing sprouts every time you do the dishes. For more info. on sprouting grains, seeds, etc.. visit www.sproutpeople.com or check out my article on Brighthub.

Sprouted Buckwheat Brownie Recipe

3 – 4 cups sprouted buckwheat (sprouted for about 3 days after soaking)
1 cup raw almond butter
1 cup flax seed meal
1 ½ cups raw cocao powder
½ cup coconut butter, melted over low heat
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
(1 cup agave nectar, or ½ cup agave, ½ cup pure maple syrup)
OR
1 cup pure birch xylitol if diabetic or on Candida cleanse
1 cup water if you used xylitol, only add as much water as needed if using agave nectar. The batter should be nice and thick, just enough liquid for the food processor to mix it up.

Place sprouts, almond butter and melted coconut butter into food processor and mix. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Coat a 9 x 13 pan with coconut butter or olive oil and pour batter into dish. Place in freezer. Once fully frozen, remove brownie from pan and cut into small, bite sized pieces. Store in ziplock bag in freezer and eat whenever you need a chocolate fix!! Freezing will not destroy the live enzymes and nutrients in the sprouts! You may also wish to dehydrate the brownies which is fine too! You can dehydrate them at 118 degrees overnight. This is great to do if you want to serve the brownies warm with some raw ice cream!

Review: Sprout People

As you know, I am a sprouter extraordinaire! I LOVE sprouting. It is the most economical and easy way to add an enormous amount of nutrition to your life. It is so exciting to soak 3 TBS of broccoli seeds and then yield 4 or 5 cups of sprouts! Nothing, well almost, pleases me more than to hear my kids asking for more broccoli sprouts. I just always have them going and I have found a very simple way to sprout them. Enter, Sprout People . These people know their stuff and what they say about their seeds is true!! I have tried many sprouting seeds and I have never been happier with the simplicity of sprouting until I found Sprout People!! They even have a sprouting kit for kids so they can experiment and be successful! No better way to get your kids excited about eating sprouts than when they grow them themselves!!! This is a good place for any beginning sprouter to start. Happy sprouting:)

Yesterday I made my hubby a sandwich on Ezekiel 4:9 bread with wild turkey that he had brought home, tomato, broccoli sprouts, mayo and mustard. He came home from a day of shrimping and said, "Babe, were those the sprouts YOU made? They were so good. I could eat those every day!" Music to my ears:)

Are Your Cosmetics Safe?

Are you aware that even cosmetics and skin care sold in health food stores can contain toxic ingredients? You can check the safety of your cosmetics, shampoo, lotions, etc... at www.safecosmetics.org and you can also find out what brands are safe to use!!!

My Daily Lemonade

Every day I fill my 2.2 liter jug with water, a few pinches of Himalayan or Celtic salt, a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some stevia. I send the kids to school with this refreshing drink as well. If you do not eat processed foods, adding the salt is very healthy as it allows your cells to soak up the hydration from the water more easily. This is not a good idea for people whose diets consist of processed foods!! The salt and lemon also add good minerals to the water. The lemon is a great source of daily vitamin C as well. Here's to your wellth!!