DIY Backpacking Food: Lentils with rice & apples

I love backpacking! Backcountry camping while carrying everything you need to survive on your back is so freeing! I'm beyond excited for hikes this summer and have started prepping lightweight dehydrated food.
Essential to dehydrating your own food is a dehydrator with a fan & heat control. Cheaper dehydrators without a fan take too long... the food will spoil before it's fully dehydrated. And don't even think about dehydrating meats without being able to set the correct temperature on your dehydrator.

Today I made Lentils with Rice and Apples. While I haven't tried this recipe re-hydrated, it sure tasted good fresh!

First cook 1/4 cup wild rice mixture for 40-50 minutes (according to instructions). Be sure not to add any butter, as fat does not dehydrate well.

In the meantime, cook 1 cup dry red lentils for 10-15 minutes with vegetable broth instead of water. Chop 1/4 of an onion and peel 1 clove of garlic. Chop 1 cup of Fuji apples into 1x1cm cubes or smaller. Add 2 TB of fresh lemon juice and some lemon zest to the apples.

Then heat 1 tsp of oil in a large frying pan and add chopped onion. Saute until the onions are turning golden. Then add minced garlic. Now add the apples with lemon and spices: 3/4 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp cumin. Cook until the apples are tender.

Mix in the cooked rice and lentils. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Dehydrate at 135° until the mixture is crisp.

Green Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

Summer has finally come to Alberta! It's been incredibly hot these past few days, and the ice cream maker has been in use. If you don't already own an ice cream maker - I highly recommend you get one! If not, ice cream can still be made in the freezer, but it won't be as creamy.

Since I'm not having dairy or eggs, I made coconut milk based ice cream. It's creamy and satisfying! Plus, you can change the flavor/sweetness to be exactly how you like it. :) This recipe even sneaks in some veggies for that lovely green color instead of using artificial colors.

This is the easy ice cream I made today, based off of Food Babe's recipe.

Blend in a high-speed blender (like Vitamix):

2 cans coconut milk

1 cup coconut palm sugar

3 tsp peppermint extract

2 loose handfuls spinach

1 pinch Himalayan sea salt

Then pour into an ice cream maker, follow manufacturer instructions and add a handful of cocoa nibs halfway through.

A healthy twist on broccoli salad

Margaret at www.kitchenfrau.com always has the most delicious wholesome recipes! This week I'm re-posting one of her lentil recipes that she has entered in a contest.

Take a look at the recipe - if it intrigues you and has you considering swapping out the greasy bacon for smokey paprika lentils, leave a comment or pin from her blog! Feedback is always appreciated :)

Broccoli Lentil Salad

http://www.kitchenfrau.com/broccoli-lentil-salad/

Doesn't it look absolutely delicious? It can even be adapted to be vegan too. Enjoy!

Lentil Health Benefits

1. Lentils are slow release carbohydrates, so they can help regulate blood sugar levels
   
2. Lentils are high in protein, but if you are vegan or vegetarian, keep in mind that lentils and legumes do not provide a complete protein source. Combining legumes with whole grains or nuts and seeds will provide you with a complete protein over the day.
   
3. The high fiber keeps you full longer, so lentils may be helpful in weight loss.
   
4. High in potassium and low in sodium: potassium plays a major role in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance. A balanced potassium distribution is crucial for the body to keep a steady heartbeat etc. Most Americans are deficient in potassium.
   
5. Low in fat. I am a fan of healthy, naturally occurring fats in avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oils, even coconut oils. But our diet needs to consist of many naturally low fat foods as well (please don't buy reduced fat processed products...) and lentils are a great choice!
   
6. A source of vitamin B6. All the B vitamins are essential for metabolism, but I find vitamin B6 especially important for regulating stress and adrenal fatigue.
   
7. A good source of iron. This is especially important who have a higher requirement of iron (due to monthly blood loss) and vegans or vegetarians (since non-animal iron sources are not as well absorbed). 

References:

Jenkins, D. J., Wolever, T. M., Taylor, R. H., Griffiths, C., Krzeminska, K., Lawrie, J. A., ... & Bloom, S. R. (1982). Slow release dietary carbohydrate improves second meal tolerance. The American journal of clinical nutrition,35(6), 1339-1346.

Wikipedia nutrition fact label for boiled lentils.

Chia Berry Sauce for Waffles or Pancakes

Another post about food! But no big surprise there - when it comes to healthy living I really love the nutrition aspect of it. Harry, on the other hand, is more passionate about the actual working out part, which I'm finding difficult to integrate into my schedule.

So this morning for breakfast - after searching high and low for any recipe - I finally decided on waffles. I chose this recipe because I've made it before: approved to be quick, easy, and even non-stick! Unfortunately, we didn't have any spelt flour (which I have successfully subbed for the all-purpose flour) and so I tried the recipe with a combination of buckwheat and all-purpose gluten-free flours. Not recommended.... the waffles tasted pretty doughy and were incredibly dense.
However - the berry sauce on top with a variety of other possible toppings really made up for it!

Chia Berry Sauce

My waffle with chia berry sauce

1. In a pot, dump in some frozen fruit. This time we had a mixture of fruits handy, but it could be only blueberries, strawberries, raspberries etc.
2. Add a bit of water and cover with a lid to cook soft. I turned mine up on high until it was nice and steamy, then brought the temperature down to low.
   You may want to add some sugar if you have a sweet tooth, or depending on the fruit you chose. I liked this sauce without.
3. Once the fruits are nice and soft, add in some chia seeds while stirring to prevent clumping. Add in slowly so that you can stop once the seeds have gelled up nicely and the sauce is as thick as you like.

I love this easy "recipe" simply because it's so quick and healthy. The chia seeds add a fun "gelly" texture and lots of extra nutrition.

Now - the pretty picture you see above is my plate. I like keeping my toppings rather simple, at most mixing in some chocolate almond spread with the berry sauce on my waffles today.
Harry's plate is a different story. It's a delicious, sweet mess... 

If I remember correctly that's a combination of: raisin cinnamon peanut butter, chocolate almond butter, maple syrup and, obviously, the berry sauce.

How do you eat your waffles? Loaded or limited toppings?

- Jessica

Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Last night around 10 pm, my friends and I were busy baking cookies and other treats. We hadn't seen each other in over 2 months due to conflicting and busy school/work schedules, so a date was long overdue!

In addition to baking these delicious oatmeal cookies, we also made white chocolate bark with Golden Grahams Cereal. That was too easy: melt white chocolate wafers and mix in the cereal. Then spread it out on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Break up into delicious bite-sized pieces!

As for the cookies... we found a recipe on the internet and changed it to be a bit healthier and gluten-friendly to accommodate my current diet. You can find the original off of allrecipes.ca here.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Cream together 3/4 cup butter and 1 - 1 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar until smooth
3. Beat in 2 eggs and 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract until fluffy.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients:
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamin
• a pinch salt if you used unsalted butter
• 2 3/4 cup large flake oats
• 1 cup raisins
5. Drop by tablespoons onto a lined baking sheet.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown but still a tad gooey in the middle. Cool on the baking sheet and enjoy!

Why use coconut palm sugar?

In short, refined white sugar is devoid of any additional nutrients that it used to hold, whereas coconut palm sugar still has many vitamins and minerals. As well, coconut palm sugar has a lower glycemic index of ~35 (vs. ~68 of table sugar), which means that your body won't get as big of a blood sugar spike that would stress the homeostatic response. 

Bonus: Coconut palm sugar has a slight caramel-y taste!

Why eat gluten free?

Gluten is one of the most difficult proteins for the body to digest and absorb, and can cause problems for many people by compromising GIT health and, for some, triggering autoimmune reactions. However, not everyone does better on a gluten free diet... those who can eat gluten should look for whole, sprouted or soaked grains and think of reducing gluten to give their digestive system a well-deserved break.

- Jessica