Sprout me!

I have been learning so much about raw foods over the last few weeks I have hardly had time to absorb all of the information, let alone write about it! I am excited to get my thoughts semi-organized on my blog though, as I begin to share all of the valuable information I have acquired.
Nearly two weeks ago I went on an overnight stay to Katherine Scott's house, a local raw foodist and life coach. (She hosts the monthly potlucks that I go to as well.) It was for a "Sprouting Bootcamp." We learned all about raw food and made all of our meals together (it was fun being in a real size kitchen with other people helping out) in addition to learning about all sorts of sprouts, primarily wheatgrass and sunflower. All the the recipes we made had sprouts and we were given a sprouting jar which I immediately brought home and put to good use! I now have my alfalfa jar that I am constantly growing in, a few mason jars with sprouting lids, and the plastic container I got from the bootcamp, all simultaneously growing sprouts of all shapes and sizes! I love it! It really gives you a sense of accomplishment like, "I did this! And I'm benefiting from this!" which is irreplaceable.

 Oh, and did I mention it is SO EASY. Basic concept: soak, rinse, eat. The only thing that varies between sprouts is the soaking time, how often you rinse, and where you store them. Anyone can do this though. Really. Sprouts are powerhouses of nutrients as well, most packed with all of your B vitamins, as well as a slew of other vitamins and minerals. I also learned that a tablespoon of sesame has more than 3x the amount of calcium than in a glass of cows milk, without the leaching protein that steals from your bones in order to get digested. I have started putting sesame in my green smoothies; you can't even taste the difference. Another one of my new favorite things to do is wraps made from collard and chard leaves. It is the perfect edible wrap and provides you with more of your daily chorophyll!

Speaking of chorophyll, the more I get into raw foods, the more the sun really amazes me. If it weren't for the sun, life would not exist. We thrive off the sun; heck people pay good money to sit for 10 minutes in a gross bed to get their concentrated UV rays just for the sake of looking peachy! Seriously though, I am probably the most anti-tanning, pro-sunblock person in the entire world, and I cannot even deny the love I have for pure rays of light (not the fake bake kind either). Our bodies crave the vitamin D. We expose as much of our bodies as we can (without feeling indecent) for the sake of being tan. The sun is also the reason plants are able to grow, therefore eating plants is (stay with me here) like eating pure energy! Clean, pure, simple, yet uncomprehendable phytonutrients. Somehow, and I really do consider it a miracle, the sun transfers  itself into the ground, feeding the plant, causing it to grow and develop and thereby providing us with inner sunshine! So cheesy I know. But one green smoothie a day is all you need to feel the power that I'm referring to. If you have a blender (preferably a high speed blender, but anything will do) I challenge you to make a green smoothie everyday. Especially with so many fresh fruits in season right now, there really is no reason not to try it.