• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup water

Other Ingredients
• 2 cups broccoli, cut small or replace with ANY other veg you have
• 2 tablespoons green onion, chopped fine, for garnish (or parsley/cilantro)
• 1 tablespoon sesame OR hemp seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Coconut: Soak the 2/3 cup coconut in 1 cup of water overnight or for at least 20 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients

Broccoli: Chop your 2 cups of broccoli fine.  Steam if that works better for you, use any steamed or raw veg here that you can digest happily

Sauce: Blend all sauce ingredients to gather until smooth in a high speed blender (except the green onion and sesame) Taste for sweetness/spiciness/saltiness and adjust to taste

Serve: Pour just enough sauce onto the broccoli to cover and massage into the broccoli until it takes on a cooked texture. This can be dehydrated for two hours at about 110 F to take on a softer more condensed texture as well.

Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve
(The sauce can also be used as a dip for the broccoli or for other veggies)

The thai chilis in here may actually help with intestinal permeability.  Broccoli can actually CAUSE intestinal permeability if it is not chewed properly.  Chewing our food is very important for our digestive health.  Your digestive bacteria will make sulforaphane from your broccoli whether it is cooked or raw but really benefit from the florets being chewed well.

It is March!!  I am getting ready to plant some asparagus.  Having never planted asparagus before I have learned that I will not be able to harvest any for a while but it will be fantastic.  In the meantime I will head out and buy some locally to make a bowl of this warming “cheesy” broccoli soup.  This can also be made with broccoli or any green like spinach by substituting.  It’s super simple.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 6 stalks asparagus, raw or steamed
• ½ cup avocado, chopped
• ¼ cup celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons shallots, diced
• ¼ teaspoon Himalayan Salt
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• filtered water, as needed for blending and to reach 2 cups

Instructions

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender

Taste for seasoning (salt and pepper), adjust, warm if desired and serve

Save some asparagus tops for garnish if you would like

Make it purple?  Purple asparagus is even more nutrient dense than the green stalks but white asparagus is the least nutrient rich of any of them as it has been deprived of sunlight, that is why it is white.  This results in less chlorophyll, anthocyanins and other phytonutrients…

Enjoy this broccoli bowl with your favourite movie and pair of fuzzy socks or with chopsticks and a friend on the beach.  It is best to sprout the quinoa just until little tails appear but not until they get too long.  I like mine after 24 hours.  If using sprouted quinoa this recipe would take 24 hours to sprout and 2 hours in the dehydrator.  You can also serve the broccoli on a bed of greens or kelp noodles and skip the dehydration step just to make it fresh and instant… just like take-out only way way better 🙂

To make the quinoa easier to digest rinse it well to reduce saponins, sprout it to reduce phytic acid and for an extra super-step (bonus points) ferment it to reduce oxalates and phytates further.

Ingredients

• 1 cup broccoli, chopped
• ⅔ cup quinoa, sprouted or cooked

Sauce Ingredients

• ¼ cup almond butter
• 2 tablespoons miso paste
• 1 teaspoon sunflower lecithin, totally optional
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 1 teaspoon ginger, shredded, fresh
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• ½ cup water, or less, as needed to blend

Instructions

Quinoa: Sprout quinoa at least 24 hrs prior to serving this dish

Sauce:  Blend all sauce ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy

Broccoli: Massage the dressing into the broccoli until the broccoli begins to soften

Warm in the dehydrator if possible or desired for 30 minutes up to 2 hours

Assembly: Mix broccoli and sprouted or cooked quinoa in a bowl and top with sauce
Garnish with green onions, paprika, chives or sesame seeds if desired

Pesto is fast and easy, can be made with any greens including wild ones and can be used for anything from flavouring zucchini noodles to layering on top of raw crackers to stuffing baby tomatoes or mushrooms (my favourite).  I love the spiciness and freshness of baby arugula and now on the 1st of February am already starting to see some coming up in my garden.  I hope you enjoy the pesto as much as I always do.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups arugula, packed
• 1 cup basil, packed
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ cup walnut, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan Salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 whole lemon, juiced

Instructions:

Process the pesto ingredients in a food processor, starting with the garlic to make sure that it is broken down

Taste and adjust for seasonings