Quinoa, millet and lentils, oh my...

Date:   9/15/2007 4:37:42 AM ( 17 y ago)

This is the weekend that I try eating an all vegan, mostly-raw diet- no animal products at all!  No protein powder, since the ones I've found come from animals or soy (I rarely eat soy).  No more yogurt or cottage cheese.  No beloved sushi.  I bought my foods using McDougall's list as my guide. He is  not a raw foodist; he advocates a plant & carbohydrate-based diet.  Some of the foods on his list I'll have no problem eating raw, but others I will very gladly cook. My experience last year with soaked grains left much to be desired.

At Whole Foods I found cooked millet at the salad bar. On the shelves of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's I found seeds: pepitos, shelled hemp and ground flax. The flax is probably not raw, but the other two are.  Also, a box of quinoa.  Being 100% raw with these foods will be a challenge if I can't find a pleasant way to prepare whole grains, but I'm not terribly worried about this; I'm more concerned with getting all my nutritional needs met through whole foods that are as unprocessed as possible before I get to them. 

Other foods I bought include: lentils, pinto beans, mango, bananas, kiwifruit, tomatoes, garlic, scallions, cilantro, avocados, Ezekiel sprouted bread, spinach leaves, yams and limes.  These will join the couscous, sunflower seeds, almonds, kidney beans, and black beans already in the house.  Another trip to the store and I'll have additional vegetables and fruits to round out my menu. 

My challenge will be to see how creative I can be with foods I normally don't eat.  I have no real experience with millet or quinoa, and my experience with beans often included smoked ham or, at the very least, sazon seasoning (which I cannot find down here!).  I should be cutting back on the salt and spices anyway, because it's good to enjoy nature's foods plain.   I'm a little worried about the beans because I know they will be bland. I will definitely need to look up recipes to make this stuff interesting and varied. 

I made a test menu for tomorrow to see what the nutritional profile would be. In the morning I have a smoothie with the main ingredients being banana, mango and hemp seeds-  simple, and apparently the hemp seeds will make it very creamy.  For lunch I have a salad with all sorts of seeds and grains.  I have 1.5 ounces of almonds as a snack.  For dinner I've got lentils and broccoli, and will probably make a little salsa or salad.  The profile looks like this: 48 grams of fiber (I'll probably get sick from that!), about 65 grams of protein, 188 carbs,  76 grams of healthy fat (7 gms saturated), all for 1,595 calories.  I think this is decent for a first pass.

If anyone has ideas for dealing with the grains and legumes, I'd appreciate both vegan and raw recipes!!

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