Raw Food & Healthy Eating Scotland

Rawfood, vegan, vegetarian, plant based & healthy eating in Scotland

Buckwheat bread raw vegan recipe

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salad with buckwheat crackers

Buckwheat bread is a great raw vegan staple food.  It’s one of those things you can make in bulk then keep for whenever you need a quick tasty snack.  Buckwheat is very high in nutrients and very low in price, so it’s a real store cupboard essential for when you’re on a budget.

Not quite a cereal, buckwheat is a sort of wanna-be grain that’s related to rhubarb and sorrel.  Gluten-free and a good source of high quality plant-based protein, it’s an excellent grain substitute for people who want to avoid gluten.

Quite bland in flavour, once soaked and sprouted it lends itself just as well to sweet dishes as it does to savoury, so there’s no end of combinations you can try with it: porridge, pancakes, crackers, or just throw some into your smoothie.

Buckwheat side-effects and how to minimise them

Even though buckwheat is not a grain, it does have the same protective mechanisms that all up and coming baby seeds have – ie antinutrients such as leptin and phytates (it basically isn’t all that keen on being eaten).

Buckwheat in particular also contains fagopyrins which can cause allergic reactions when consumed in large quantites.  So it’s a good idea not to go over the top in your consumption of them.  However, there are some good workarounds when it comes to minimising antinutrients, such as sprouting them, and also adding in a fermentation element.

This recipe includes both sprouting and fermentation, so it’s one of my favourite ways to eat buckwheat.

How to sprout buckwheat

Buckwheat will sprout really easily as long as you have a good quality supply of seeds.  Just soak the seeds in a jar of water over night then drain them the next day (they will be quite slimy… this is due to the formation of mucilage during the soaking and sprouting process – yes, not the most appetising-sounding thing in the world, but it’s quite good really).

Rinse and drain twice daily for about three or four days; until you see some little tails poking out, then it’s ready to be transformed into… well, whatever you want really!  You can use sprouting trays to make the process a little less fuss.

This buckwheat bread recipe is transformed into pretty pink deliciousness by the addition of fermented beetroot.  It also really pumps up the nutrition factor with lovely live probiotics, so it’s all good.

How to ferment beetroot

My basic guide to fermenting any kind of veggies: chop them up, chuck them in a glass jar, fill the jar with salty water, put the lid on, and ignore them for a bit.  It’s pretty slap-dash, but that’s really all there is to it.

Ok – there’s LOADS more to it.  There’s whole books written about the subject, including this excellent one:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Fermentation-depth-Exploration-Essential/dp/160358286X

Funny enough, one of my next blogs was going to be all about fermentation, but then my esteemed pal Patrick Queen beat me to it.  He’s done a much better job than I would have done, so I’ll take the lazy option and just link to his one instead.  See the master at work:  https://www.euphonichealth.com/recipes/2018/3/4/saerkreut  

So here’s my recipe for buckwheat bread.  You can substitute different seeds and add different veggies etc.  Just play around with it because there’s really no limit to what you can do with buckwheat.  Ok there probably is quite a limit.  It can’t make you invisible, for instance.

Pink Buckwheat Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups sprouted buckwheat

1 cup flax seeds (soaked overnight)

1 cup sunflower sprouts (sprout the sunflower seeds for two or three days, in the same way as you would the buckwheat)

1 cup fermented beetroot

1 onion

Method:

Process all ingredients using a food processor (add a little lemon juice or water if necessary), then spread the mixture on dehydrating trays.  Dehydrate for a few hours until the ‘bread’ starts to look a little firm.  Score some lines across it (for ease of breaking into shapes later), then turn over and dehydrate for another hour or so.  If you don’t have a dehydrator you can use a cool oven with the door a little ajar.

I want to experiment this year with planting buckwheat out and see if I can grow some buckwheat flowers, as they are much-loved by bees.  And I’m all about keeping the bees happy.

Have you had any success with growing buckwheat plants?  Let me know in the comments below, I’d be happy to get some tips!

Raw Vegan Emergency Supplies

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10 Emergency Raw Vegan foods for when you’re snowed in

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed there’s been a bit of snow outside. I must admit, I’m one of those people who scoffs when they see panic buying going on in supermarkets, but my devil-may-care approach left me somewhat unprepared when the country ground to a halt this week.

My usual vegbox delivery didn’t turn up (understandably!) and I found myself scrabbling about in the cupboards wondering what I was going to eat for the next few days.

I soon realised that I was – quite by accident – fairly well-prepared for any eventuality, so I thought it would be a good topic to write about.

So, here are my top ten tips for staying stocked up in the snow!

1. Sprouts

I’m not talking Brussels sprouts here (although they would be pretty handy in an emergency too) – I mean those groovy little seeds and pulses that will sit in the cupboard for ages, just waiting for you to add a little water so they can grow into superfresh, supercharged superfoods whenever you need them.

salad with buckwheat crackers

Supercharged sprouts

Surely they must be the all-time number one emergency go-to food?

I like to maximise storage space by filling the cupboards with jars of sproutable seeds, rather than tins of dead pasteurised food.  That way each jar has the potential to triple or quadruple itself in quantity, giving you an abundant supply of fresh vibrant living foods.  You don’t get that with a tin of mushy peas, do you?

2. Seaweed

I always keep a huge bag of sea spaghetti that I get from Funky Raw – I call it my Apocalypse Spaghetti because I’m sure it would see me through the darkest of days! I get a 1 kg bag and it seems to last forever.

I take out a handful whenever I need it, soak it in water then marinate it to soften and add flavour (it’s pretty bland on its own). It’s a fantastic source of minerals, which is handy if you’re running low in green veg.

seaweed salad

Sea spaghetti with spicy fermented beetroot

That pic has just reminded me of another surefire winner when it comes to emergency food – fermentation.  I always have a big jar of fermented veggies on the go (eg sauerkraut or kimchi) – it’s amazing for adding flavour and substance to even the more boring of salads.  Not to mention all those lovely live probiotics to boost your immune system while you’re stuck indoors.

Other handy types of seaweed I like to keep in the cupboards are: wakame, nori, Irish moss, kelp and dulse.

3. Fresh fruit

Some types of fruit, such as apples and melons, will store well for fairly long periods of time. It’s also handy to keep a good supply of bananas in, in varying degrees of ripeness.

4. Frozen fruit

I have a shelf in the freezer dedicated to bags of frozen berries. They’re becoming very widely available in the supermarkets these days (you’ll probably find them near the frozen desert section), although sadly there never seems to be any organic options. I’ve even seen bags of frozen coconut pieces in Sainsbury’s, which are very useful for blending into smoothies and soups.

5. Frozen veg

Don’t forget you can freeze leafy green veg and chopped up root veg like carrots and ginger – you can even store them in handy smoothie-sized bags ready to blend up for a refreshing drink. Whenever I have a surplus I fill a few containers up and keep them for those times when the cupboards aren’t so flush.

6. Dried fruit

Dates and figs are great dried fruits to have on hand for a speedy sugar supply. I prefer these over fruits like raisins and sultanas, as the latter tend to have sulphites and oil added to them. If you’re careful with your suppliers of dates and figs then you can avoid these additives.

Soak them in a jar of water to rehydrate them, and keep them in the fridge for an emergency fast carb supply.

7. Coconut

Dried coconut flakes, coconut sugar and coconut oil are great store-cupboard stand-bys. Coconut flakes can be used to thicken smoothies, or blended into tea/coffee as a milk substitute, and coconut sugar is a nice light healthy sweetener.

I always have big tubs of coconut oil in, as it’s so versatile – I use it for my teeth (oil pulling/swishing) and on my skin as a cleanser/moisturizer. Oh and I also eat it of course 😉 You can spread it on crackers as a butter substitute, or if you cook any of your food it’s a good stable saturated fat.

8. Dried herbs

I love my herbal teas, especially in the winter when I’m feeling the chill, so I always have cupboards full of various herbs. I usually stockpile in the Spring and they seem to last me all year round. Nettles, dandelions and radish greens are among my favourite freely-foraged foods. They can be added to smoothies or you can make some warming tea with them.

I also have a seemingly endless supply of wild garlic (both frozen and dried) that I foraged from some local woods last year, which is ideal to add to salads and soups.

9. Wheatgrass

Another sure-fire Apocalypse food, you can buy huge big bags of wheatgrains at a very low cost, and as long as you have access to soil and water you can grow trays of lovely fresh microgreens no matter what kind of weather’s out there.

10. Green powders

If you decide not to go the fresh wheatgrass route, an easy substitute (albeit a lot more expensive) is to buy green superfood powders for adding an easy mineral boost to smoothies. You can get mixtures such as Vitamineral Green or Pure Synergy, or individual greens like wheatgrass and barleygrass etc. I also like algaes such as chlorella and spirulina.

Beware some of the new fancy superfood blends that are finding their way onto supermarket shelves lately – close inspection of their ingredient list often reveals quite a few cheap fillers! Always got to keep one step ahead 😉

So there you have it – my guide to the best emergency rawfood supplies for when the next snowstorm hits!

Did I miss any out? What are your favourite stand-bys in times of shortage?  Let me know in the comments!

How to grow your own microgreens

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Would you like to grow your own microgreens but never seem to get around to it because it just feels like it will be too much work?  Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s really easy, doesn’t take much time, and at the end of it you get your very own home-grown baby greens, bursting with flavour and nutrition – what more could you ask for?

What are microgreens?

I’m glad you asked 🙂  Microgreens are young green leafy plants that have not yet grown to maturity.  They are one step up from sprouts.  If you can sprout it, then you can grow it into a microgreen.  Unlike sprouts however, microgreens need soil and light in order to grow.

Microgreens are an ideal addition to any self-respecting raw foodie’s diet, as the young tender leaves are perfect for eating raw (in fact, cooking is not recommended as they are so delicate) and they won’t contain the anti-nutrients that more mature plants can develop over time.  Not only that, research has shown that they contain 4 – 40 times more nutrients than mature plants.

AND they’re so tasty!

How to get started

To begin, you will need a box or tray of some kind.  Any size will do, depending on how much you want to grow, and how much space you have.  Just use anything that you can put compost in.  I usually use these kind of trays, but you could adapt any old crate that you happen to have lying around.

It’s best to use one tray with small holes for drainage, then place it inside another tray without holes to catch the water, especially if you’re planning to grow your microgreens indoors.

Line the tray with a couple of inches of compost, water it lightly (it should be damp, but not too wet), sprinkle the seeds on top, then cover with another thin layer of compost.  You don’t need to space the seeds out like you would when growing mature plants; you can scatter them quite thickly.  You’re aiming for the seeds quite close together, without them getting too crowded and actually touching.

You can cover the trays with a lid in the first few days, as this helps retain moisture and speed up the germination process.  Water them as often as necessary, not too much.  After a couple of weeks your microgreens should be ready.

Where should I grow them?

Find a warm bright place such as a sunny windowsill.  It also helps to have a good source of ventilation, to avoid mould.

What kind of microgreens should I grow?

Some of my favourite microgreens include:

Snow pea greens

Good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and folic acid

Sunflower greens

Another rawfood classic – have a read of this informative website for a list of benefits

Radish and broccoli

I love these because they’re so hardy and grow so easily – not to mention their super-duper nutrition.  They’re a pretty strong and spicy taste.

Fenugreek

Adds a tasty curry flavour to your salad

And not forgetting – the mighty wheatgrass!  This is a fantastic microgreen to grow so you can enjoy all the benefits of fresh wheatgrass juice.

There are plenty more types of seeds you can try, so have a play about and see what suits your taste buds.

Should I soak the seeds beforehand?

If you’re familiar with sprouting, you might be wondering whether you should soak the seeds in water first.  This is optional really; I’ve grown microgreens successfully from soaked and unsoaked seeds.  One nice advantage to soaking them first is that you can enrich the soak water with minerals and enhance the nutrition of your plants.  A simple way to do this is to add a tiny pinch of sea salt and let it dissolve in the water.

Having problems growing your microgreens?

Check out this website, it lists some great solutions for issues such as mould and slow germination.

Good luck with your microgreens!  I hope this article was helpful for you 🙂