The Art of Intuitive Eating
Our lives,
so seemingly small,
ripple out
to the whole universe
as tiny whispers
like the sounds
of butterfly wings,
and the clear voice
of the living truth.
-J.L.D.
Slow Food - Soaked Wild Rice Power Salad
There is so much nutrition packed into this dish that we've dubbed it a power salad. It's filling and satisfying, with earthy tastes and textures—and gives the teeth a bit of a workout! Teamed with the avocado and ginger dressing, it makes a complete meal. We make this salad with soaked wild rice but it would also make a great transition meal if the rice was cooked.
Ingredients:
Wild Rice Salad Serves 4-6 as a side salad
2 1/2 cups cabbage, kale, and collards, finely chopped, or your favorite greens
1 cup wild rice, soaked (directions follow)
1/4 cup carrots, shredded
1/4 cup dry arame seaweed
4 tablespoons green onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds, soaked
3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, soaked
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Celtic, or Himalayan salt
Garnish: sliced asparagus (optional)
Avocado Ginger Dressing:
1 whole small Hass avocado, peeled, seed removed
1/2 cup pure water
1 tablespoon raw tahini
1 tablespoon ginger root, peeled and grated
1 small clove garlic, peeled and pressed (optional)
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Celtic, or Himalayan salt

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until creamy.

Directions for Salad:
Start the rice three days in advance.

Begin by soaking 1/2 cup wild rice in a one quart mason jar, filled with pure water, for 12 hours.
Rinse and refill jar with fresh water. Soak for another 12 hours. Drain.
Rinse and drain twice daily for 2-3 more days. It will be chewable, but not soft.
Put into bowl.
Soak pumpkin and sunflower seeds overnight in pure water, or, for 4-6 hours before using.
Rinse and drain. Put into bowl.
Soak seaweed in pure water for 15 minutes. Drain, and put into bowl.
Scrub carrot, and rinse. Grate carrot and cabbage, adding to bowl.
Chop green onions, kale and collards in a food processor. Add to bowl.
Add Bubbies sauerkraut, salt, and oil.
Mix well, and serve.

Note: If you aren't going to make the dressing, be sure to put the super-finely grated ginger root and tahini in the salad to balance the flavors. Makes great leftovers stored up to 1-2 days in fridge.

A Little Story: Slow Food

We live in a complexity of time—human time, solar time, cosmic time, and the timeless states of Soul, with spiritual states like being, knowing, and loving. Preparing raw food can take some time (but no more time than it takes to go out to eat) and patience, especially when sprouting seeds, nuts or grains, or waiting for yummy dehydrator foods to be ready to eat.

Baby Lettuce We recently saw a YouTube clip of a three year old girl making her own raw cookies from scratch, under the watchful eye of her father who was filming. First she said to the viewers that she was going to teach us how to make the cookies, then she proceeded to grind up flax and sunflower seeds in a large electric food mill, emptying the powdered seeds into a large bowl—all the while maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the viewer.

She measured out the cinnamon, added handfuls of raisins, the right amount of salt, mashed a banana (with a little help from Dad), and then mixed all the ingredients in the bowl by herself. She dropped dollops of cookie dough of various shapes and sizes onto the Teflex sheet, carried the tray over to the dehydrator, climbed up on a chair so that she could take the dehydrator door off, and put in the tray, saying that part was a little tricky, but still, she did it! The dehydrator was turned on, then she waited for an hour by playing in the house, and went back to the dehydrator, opened it up, flipped the cookies over (we were amazed that she could do this!), put the tray back in, and waited for two more hours until they were ready! The last scene was of her eating and talking about her creation—she was in cookie heaven!

Rex commented that she could have just opened a box of cookies, but by having made them herself, she had a ball, and in the process, learned about developing patience while her food "cooked", and she shared a cookie recipe with other people. She also enjoyed having done something all by herself, and, it was clear that she thought she was in charge of her life!

Good things often come slowly over time, like soaking rice to make this salad. Seeds become trees. Rivers merge with oceans. Flower heads follow the sun—perhaps a metaphor for our consciousness that seeks illumination—and seasons seem to dictate various activities of action, rest, introspection, and growth.

We can be like the little girl, making cookies. And we can take the time to soak rice or grow sprouts, having fun all the while, knowing that we're eating the freshest and best foods available to us—and that though our process of learning we can teach each other!












The Healing Feast is about:
healthful practices,
following our intuition,
& eating life-giving foods.

It's about:
transformation, joy,
inspiration, peace, gratitude,
and soulful beauty.

It's about:
living a life filled
with abundance and love,
& giving what is the best
within ourselves to the world.
"A smile from the heart is a gift to receive."
JLD