Apple Strawberry Almond Walnut Molasses Porridge

I made this one today and it turned out really well.  I am on my second day of no dairy. I almost caved in this morning and ate toast with butter, but luckily, the bread was old, so I threw it away and made myself basmati rice with eggs and chilies.  I think I will be able to not cave in tomorrow morning because now I know I can have rice and eggs and that tastes really good, I just have to adjust my mind to eating differently. Of course my wheat intake will go down with no toast, as toast without butter is just not the same.  Usually I eat one or 2 pieces of toast with butter and sometimes marmalade and sometimes cheese, but always lots of butter!  This is a big change for me, so my first breakfast today was the rice and eggs at around 7 am and then at around 1.30 pm I made my second breakfast.  I forgot to photograph it today, so will add one the next time I make it, which will probably be tomorrow.

This is what I made for my second breakfast today.

APPLE STRAWBERRY ALMOND WALNUT MOLASSES PORRIDGE

1.5 cups oats of your choice soaked overnight

1 small apple quartered and cored

4 large strawberries cut in half

3 tablespoons almonds

3 tablespoons walnuts

1 or 2 tablespoons molasses

Drain and rinse the oats, make sure you rinse thoroughly. Place in a pan with enough water to cover the oats by 1/8 inch or a little more.  Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes or until water has evaporated, if it gets too thick add a little more water.  While the oats are cooking place the nuts in the food processor and blend into small pieces, then add the apple and strawberry.  Pulse it all together so that the apple is in small pieces and the strawberry is blended into everything.  Add this to the porridge when the porridge is finished cooking.  Then add the molasses, stir it in really well and then serve with cashew milk, or milk of your choice.

Molasses is very high in many minerals including calcium,potassium, magnesium, manganese, copper, phosphorus, chromium, cobalt and sodium.  It also contains B6, riboflavin, niacin and thiamin.  Molasses also contains anti-oxidants, polyphenols and iron.  Using molasses in porridge instead of sugar is a great switch.

Cashew Milk

I've decided I need to stop using butter and milk products for the moment. I just cannot support this vile industry of enslaving animals any longer. It is very different having your own cow, goat or sheep and they have too much milk and need milking, but this keeping female animals pregnant so they can satisfy our needs is really disgusting.  So, this may be quite a transition as I think i am addicted to butter and I love cheese.  I know I can make cashew cheese, and even though delicious, its the harder and melting cheeses.  I just found a vegan mozzarella cheese recipe that I can make.  I will try some of these and report back.

For my porridge today I used cashew milk that I made and it was lovely.  I have been vegan before, so this isn't new.  I'm not going vegan this time I don't think. I am going to eat what I feel like eating.  My husband likes to eat chicken, so I often may just get lazy and eat it with him.  We use the whole chicken, first we roast it, then that ends up being at least 3 meals, burritos, pasta sandwiches and then we use the bones for stock and so we actually get at least 6 meals from the whole chicken for 2 people.
Now, you might think, why is she stopping dairy and still eating chicken!  Well, I don't know that I will be eating chicken for sure, but I raised chickens in the past and I really don't mind eating them, I don't feel guilty. I know I could kill a chicken if I had to, but I know I couldn't kill a cow, horse, pig, sheep/lamb, or goat, so as far as eating animals goes, the chicken is the only one I consider at all now, and not just any chicken.  Here in Portugal they have what they call Frango de Campo or chicken from the field and they are huge compared to the other chickens that they have in the supermarket, the other ones are factory farmed.  I don't eat fish because I think the ocean is toxic, so I'll be almost vegan and see how it feels.

 CASHEW MILK

1 cup raw cashew nuts soaked for 8 hours

1.5 to 4 cups water (depending on what thickness you want)

 Depending on how creamy you want it depends on the amount of water you put in it. If you want a cream, use only 1.5 to 2 cups of water, if you want half and half use 2 to 3 cups water and if you want full milk between 3.5 and 4 cups of water.  Store in the fridge.  It should keep for 3 days. It probably won't keep for 4 though.  Y

You can use this for milk, cream of half and half and you'll love it I'm sure.

Cashew nuts are very high in copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and manganese.

Green Beans with Mushrooms Garlic and Red Pepper

Hi Everyone,  I created this recipe this evening.  As you may have noticed, I am rather fond of green beans and there are a few recipes on here for them.  Well here is another.  Green beans have many health benefits and are very delicious if cooked correctly.  Blanching makes the beans stay crunchy, but cooks them just enough to keep the flavor and colour.

GREEN BEANS WITH MUSHROOMS GARLIC AND RED PEPPER

500mg (1lb) green beans both ends trimmed

4 - 6 mushrooms sliced

2 cloves garlic crushed and chopped

1/4 red pepper cut into tiny cubes

2 T butter, ghee or coconut oil

In a large saucepan blanch the beans in boiling water for 3 1/2 minutes.  Rinse under cold water and set aside.  While waiting for the water to boil melt 1 T butter in a large skillet (frying pan) then add the garlic, saute for 1 minute and add the mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes and add the red pepper.  Make a space in the center of the pan and add the other tablespoon of oil, add the beans and mix with all the veggies, saute for 1 minute, then serve with main course of your choice.

Green beans are high in anti-oxidants,  they are very high in vitamin K which plays a crucial role in blood clotting and  bone metabolism, which is also a benefit of manganese which is also very high in green beans.  They also contain good amounts of vitamin C, fiber and many other essential vitamins and minerals.