In a small sauce pan melt coconut oil on a low heat. Add cacao powder and mix into melted coconut oil, be careful not to cook on to high of heat. You can scorch the cacao powder and it will leave a bitter taste to the chocolate. Then add maple syrup and sea salt and whisk until well integrated. Set aside.
Pour oats into a pan with water or milk, or do half water and half milk (It is a personal preference). Bring to a boil, and then reduce to low. Add golden berries, cinnamon & coconut oil and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be sure to cook on low after you get a boil so that you do not burn the oats. Remove from burner when finished cooking and put into a bowl. I like to let the oats cool a little before eating.
Add dates to your Vitamix, blender, or food processor (Any of these work). Then add all other ingredients and blend starting off with about 1/3 cup of warm water, add more water based upon how moist dates are and desired consistency of caramel sauce. I like to use warm water, I feel it brings everything together better. I like my sauce silky and thick. So I prefer to blend until I don’t see any chunks. Then serve on everything! Refrigerate any left over in a glass container. It will last about 4-5 days.
This is a great green smoothie to have in the morning because of the oats. It fills you up and has a fresh note from the cucumber. I love this smoothie, its quick to make with the frozen berries, which also give it a nice chill.
I try to make sure that I soak the Brazil nuts close to 4 hours, but I feel overnight produces a flavor profile that is a bit off. So my suggestion would be no less than 3 and no more than 6 hours.
When using herbs and spices don’t sprinkle from the dispenser into a steaming pot, the steam may enter the spice container and degrade it over time. Shake the spices into your hand, away from the steam, before adding to any dish. If you can avoid using aluminum or copper pans for preparing herbs, I would suggest doing so. Both metals are detrimental to the quality of the herbs. The metal in aluminum pans may be released in unsafe amounts into the preparation during cooking and can be quite toxic.
I will put in a bowl with wild rice, avocado, sautéed kale and shiitake mushrooms. You can put in a glass container and store in the refrigerator. It lasts for about 2-3 days. I use for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. I never use a microwave to reheat items. I always use a toaster oven or pan on the stove. The squash is super decadent with a little maple syrup, extra cinnamon and a dollop of coconut whip cream on top with crushed pecans. A version of this was always served at my families thanksgiving dinner, but with a lot of refined sugar added.
Wash carrots, you don't need to peel them, just roast them whole. Then toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with curry and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Roast carrots in oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Depending on how thick or thin your carrots are, you may need more or less time. Just watch them to make sure they don’t burn.
This is a great way to get your cruciferous veggies in your diet. Since they are steamed, they are not as hard on your stomach. I have read in many articles that cooking your cruciferous vegetables can reduce the amount of goitrogenic properties these veggies have, which can suppress your thyroid hormone function. So if you are dealing with fibroids, a hormone dependent condition, you may want to try and cook your cruciferous veggies so your body is in hormonal balance and not receiving as many Isothiocyanate’s. Isothiocyantes are found in cruciferous vegetables and appear to be heat-sensitive. Therefore cooking them appears to lower the availability of these substances.
