DAY 8 - Daniel Fast

First, it's off to the grocery store to replenish your stock!

snow peas
shredded broccoli (also called broccoli slaw)
fresh ginger
cilantro
sweet corn (frozen)
veggie burgers (frozen section)
sesame seeds
peanuts
rice vinegar
sesame oil
chili paste (sambal oelek)
soba noodles
medjool dates
any other fruit or veggie you need more of



BREAKFAST: Granola with "milk" and fresh fruit

I have some exciting news! I did a little experimenting and tried tweaking my favorite granola recipe to make it Daniel Fast-Friendly, and guess what? It is delicious! So now we can put granola back into our breakfast rotation.

Here is the recipe:

Mix:
4 cups oats or other whole grain
1-1/2 c. nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, etc.)
1/2 c. flax seed
1/2 c. other seed (pumpkin, hemp, sunflower, sesame, chia)
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon

Heat in saucepan then pour over oat mixture and stir to coat:
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. unsweetened fruit juice, simmer until reduced to a syrup-like consistency (apple, oj, cherry, grape, pomegranate, etc.)
1 t. extract (vanilla or almond)
1 medjool date (break down date in liquid until dissolved)

Spread granola on two cookie sheets and bake at 300 for 20 minutes. Stir, then re-spread and bake an additional 10 min. Turn oven off and leave in warm oven until completely cool, dry and crisp.

Add:
1-1/2 c. dried fruit (raisins, currants, dates, craisins, blueberries, cherries, apples, apricots, etc.)
1/2 c. other (bran twigs, unsweetened coconut, puffed sorghum, puffed brown rice, etc.)

Store in an airtight container.

Note: Because there is no sweetener in this recipe (usually I use 1/4 c. real maple syrup, agave syrup or honey), select sweeter dried fruits like dates, plums and cherries, don't use sunflower seeds and omit the salt.

I used 3 cups of old-fashioned oats and
1 cup of this (rolled oats, wheat, rye, barley
and triticale with ground flax seed)

Spread it on a cookie sheet and slow bake it

Stir in your favorite dried fruit. I vary mine, but today I chose:
almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts for the nuts
flax, pumpkin and sunflower for the seeds
cherries, raisins, currants and dates for the fruit
and bran twigs for the "other"

LUNCH: Greek Wraps

This is a delicious way to use left-overs from yesterday's Greek meal. Just spread a sprouted or whole-grain pita with hummus and load it with all the salad ingredients (tomato, cucumber, olives, green onion, yellow pepper, romaine lettuce). Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then fold and eat!

DINNER: Oriental Stir-Fry

I have to be honest, I don't like tofu. But I decided to try it in this recipe because I've heard that if you marinate it, it takes on the flavor of the marinade. Well, it worked! I am happy to report that this was quite good.

Soba noodles are made of buckwheat. They are tender, delicious
and good for you! Bragg's liquid aminos are very close in taste
to soy sauce but much better for you. I use a little of each.
Sambal oelek is the small jar with the green lid. You can find
it in the Asian food section of your grocery store. Same with
the rice vinegar and dark sesame oil (which is very flavorful!)

Marinade: Mix 1/4 dark sesame oil, 1/8 c. aminos/soy sauce, 1/8 c. rice vinegar, 1/2 to 1 tsp. sambal oelek (hot chili paste), minced garlic, fresh-grated ginger root. Cube as much tofu as you would like and stir it into the marinade.

Veggies: Saute strips of onion, yellow/orange/red pepper, mushrooms, snow peas, and shredded broccoli in dark sesame oil. When the vegetables are almost done, add the tofu and marinade and heat through.

Noodles: Boil soba noodles in salted water for 4 minutes and drain. (Do not overcook)

Arrange noodles on a platter, then top with veggies and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

This looks just as good as PF Chang's
and is 100 times better for you!