“I wish for everyone to help create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

Watch his “TED talk” below. It is powerful.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup sesame seeds, soaked overnight
• 4 ½ cups filtered water
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 3-4 tablespoons evaporated cane juice

Directions

Drain the soak water from the sesame seeds using a wire sieve and rinse them under hot running water. Place all ingredients (fresh water, ice cubes, sugar, and salt) in the Vita-mix and blend 3 minutes. If you like, you can strain the milk through a seed milk bag, but this is not necessary if the seeds are sufficiently blended. Keep refrigerated for later use. Over time the milk will separate slightly; simply stir before pouring.

Notes:
Sesame milk has a better magnesium/calcium ratio and content than cow’s milk, having two and a half times more magnesium and a magnesium/calcium ratio 4 times higher than that of milk. It has the same amount of calories as 2% milk, but with less saturated fat.

• 1 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
• 2 teaspoons water
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon (optional) cardamon or other seasonings (dried chives, shallots, onion, garlic, ground green or black pepper, etc.)

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. The minimal amount of water should allow the salt and spices to stick to the pepitas without leaving a puddle in the bottom of the bowl. After mixing, spread pepitas evenly on a baking sheet and bake for roughly three to five minutes, watching closely to take them out when most of the pepitas are swollen. Some may be lightly browned, but you should avoid over-cooking them. Remove to a bowl immediately and allow to cool for best flavor.

Ingredients

• 4 ounces canned sardines, drained
• 1-2 teaspoons yellow or brown mustard
• 1 tablespoon onion (optional), finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice (optional)

Mash the drained sardines and mustard together in a bowl using a fork. Stir in the optional onion and lemon juice.

Notes:

Serve on whole wheat bread, pumpernickel bread, or whole wheat crackers.

It’s always good.  The secret sauce is made of soy sauce, fresh grated ginger, toasted sesame oil, a little olive oil, and freshly crushed garlic.

Here’s the healthy Stir Fry Recipe.

• 2 carrots, shredded, grated, or sliced thin in a food processor
• 3 stalks celery, sliced thin in a food processor
• 5 cups green cabbage, broccoli, and/or cauliflower, chopped or shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, grated
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 2 chicken breasts (optional), cubed and soaked in soy sauce
• 2 cups quinoa or brown rice, cooked
• ¾ cup peanuts (optional)

Directions

If using chicken breast, cut it into 1 in. squares, marinate in 3 tablespoons soy sauce 5 minutes, and add to skillet first and cook, stirring, until cooked through (about five minutes). Add chopped vegetables and carefully add water, keeping it on medium heat, covered. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. After vegetables are cooked al dente, add garlic and ginger, mix, and cook for another 3 minutes. Drizzle evenly the toasted sesame oil, olive oil, and soy sauce, then more to taste if needed. Serve over brown rice (or stir in the quinoa) and enjoy.

Notes:
I use a garlic press to crush the garlic. I use a grater to grate the ginger. I buy ginger in bulk and freeze the entire root in a plastic bag in the freezer. Peanuts (preferably unsalted) can be added if desired.

Ingredients

• ½ pound mustard greens (2 to 3 cups)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 ½ cups red lentils, rinsed
• 6 cups water
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon turmeric (or curry powder)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
• lemon juice or umeboshi vinegar, to taste

Directions

1. Wash greens and cut or strip leaves from the stalks. Discard stalks. Coarsely chop the leaves and set them aside.
2. In a heavy-bottomed stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden and sweet. Meanwhile, chop carrots and celery.
3. Add cumin seeds to onions and stir for another 1 to 2 minutes until cumin smells fragrant. Add carrots, celery, lentils, water, thyme, oregano, basil, turmeric, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add finely chopped mustard greens at the end while it’s still piping hot.

Note:

You can use chopped spinach or Swiss chard instead of mustard greens. Cook spinach or chard for 4 to 5 minutes.

Actually, the story was born after Anika declared she is “tired of having soup all the time!” There was a little teenage angst coming coming from our four-year-old regarding our having soup again, so I pulled the old “it’s princess food” trick.  It worked like a charm.  And then Princess Clementine gave her a clementine from her clementine orchard for dessert. She really liked that one, too.

Is using fairy tales at the table bad form?  Hey, not if it gets your kid to eat her soup!

So I had to try them out again just to get a fresh opinion.

Sardines rock!  They’re so good.  All you have to do is dump them in a bowl, add a lot of mustard, mix it together, and put them on some toast and you have a beautifully tasty meal.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I think people who don’t like sardines just haven’t tried them with mustard (mustard is a good approach to hiding strange flavors, as you may have gathered from the liver mcnuggets post.)  Also, if sardines aren’t packaged or processed right their flavor will really suffer. You can get good sardines at Costco, or online at Vital Choice seafood.

Sardines are high in omega-3 fatty acids.  They are low on the food chain, and thus are very low in mercury.  Not only do they contain a lot of omega-3, sardines also contain a lot of iron, selenium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, phosphorus, potassium, protein, and coenzyme Q-10.  Sardines are good for your heart, brain, joints, and pretty much everything else.  Yes, sardines are very good for you!  You can read more about sardines at Associated Content, or better yet, at whfoods.org.

Sardines can have a lot of histamine, which isn’t a problem unless you’re sensitive or have urticaria or hives.  Check out an article about histamine avoidance if you’re curious.

If you get quality sardines and you like fish, you’ll probably love them right out of the can.  But mixing them with mustard has never failed at making them a hit for me.  I have not tried them on the kids yet because we haven’t yet incorporated them into our routine like we have with salmon.  That’s on my agenda, and I’ll let you know what they think by posting a comment.

A tin of sardines

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced (or chopped in a food processor)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced (or chopped in a food processor)
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 medium carrots, chopped finely in a food processor
• 30 ounces kidney beans
• 30 ounces black beans
• 16 ounces canned stewed tomatoes
• 1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ¼ tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, finely shredded
• 1 avocado
• 1 cup plain kefir

Directions

Sautee onions, red pepper and carrots in olive oil for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add cumin, chili powder, turmeric, thyme and garlic and sautee for 1 more minute.
Add all beans and tomatoes to sauteed veggies and add water if needed; simmer for 15 minutes. Add ginger to chili and simmer for another minute.
Avocado or kefir can be added as a final topping (wait for the chili to cool before adding kefir so as to preserve the live cultures).

Notes
Kefir is a healthier substitute for sour cream, providing the wonderful benefit of live cultures.