Here's a dish that's delicious when transitioning into more raw food—sprouted, lightly steamed lentils. Sprouting increases digestibility and nutrition (which is already high in lentils), and decreases the amount of cooking time to a few minutes. Steaming will also sweeten the flavor, and the lentils hold their shape beautifully—no mushy food here. Their taste and texture are similar to roasted chestnuts. Because lentils swell to almost four times their size once soaked and sprouted, they make a super affordable food.

These steamed lentils add a hearty element to the raw tomato soup recipe given below. Lentils can be eaten sprouted (raw), however we find the flavor to be strong, so we use them sparingly.

Ingredients (makes 2 cups):
Serves 2-4
1/2 cup green lentils
3 cups pure water
2 tablespoons Spectrum walnut oil (or your favorite)
2 tablespoons green onions or leeks
1 tablespoon South River Azuki Bean Miso (or your favorite)
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon fennel
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Soak lentils for 6-8 hours in sprouting jar, covered with pure water.
Rinse and drain twice daily until little tails appear, about 1-2 days.
Do a final rinse, drain, and put in steaming basket in cooking pot with water.
Cover pot with lid, turn temperature to high, and set the timer set 10 minutes. (Smaller lentils may be ready in just 3-5 minutes.)
When water boils, turn heat down to medium and continue steaming.
Transfer lentils to a serving bowl and drizzle with oil.
Add miso, spices, and mix gently. Serve immediately.

Spicy Tomato Veggie Soup

Ingredients:
3 cups pure water
1 cup carrots, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
4 tablespoons leeks (or green onions), finely chopped
2 tablespoons Spectrum walnut oil (or mild tasting olive oil)
1 tablespoon South River Azuki Bean Miso (or your favorite)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon fennel
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic (optional), pressed

Directions:
If you are using a Vitamix to make this soup, the sundried tomatoes need no soaking. Otherwise, soak to soften.

Put all ingredients into a Vitamix or blender, and blend until creamy smooth. Place in cooking pot and warm to 110 degrees, no more. Add lentils. (They will warm the soup up even more.) Serve immediately.

Many people we talk with don't have a overwhelming desire to follow a 100% raw food diet, yet they're looking for ways to eat more living foods. Sprouted, steamed lentils, combined with a raw soup or salad makes a half-raw, half-cooked meal that's filling, warming, and sustaining—perfect for cold weather days or nights. There's the added benefit that the lentils have been sprouted, which brings even more nutrition than if the lentils were merely cooked—a definite plus.

We've found that moving at a graceful pace while gently holding a vision of how to bring more healthful practices into our lives provides an approach that's both sane and doable, one that we can live with. And this is what it's all about for us—the slow and steady advancement and honing of our daily practices and skills over the course of many years.

It's exciting to hear about the transitions that people are making—whether it's switching to organic whole foods, increasing the amount of living foods each day, letting go of coffee and sugar, learning how to sprout seeds or nuts, or eating whole grains.

It's been our experience that by listening to and acting upon the holistic messages our intuition brings—and allowing ourselves to let go of attachments that might be holding us to patterns that we've outgrown—we can (most of the time) move into new levels of health and well being with ease. This shift brings us into a deeper resonance with our hearts and the transforming power of love.