Diet, Dessert and Dogs

After several days of doing my part for Nestles, Cadbury, Lindt, Hershey and the rest of the candy industry by indiscriminately devouring every on-sale bag of Halloween chocolate available, this morning I decided to return to my NAG core and have one of my favorite breakfasts.  It’s called Earth Bowl.

I originally got this recipe from the cookbook Enlightened Eating, by my colleague Caroline Dupont.  I’ve modified it slightly to suit my own tastes.

Basically a bowl of fruit and nuts/seeds, this raw dish is reminiscent of cold cereal with its mix of crunchy, wet, and sweet.  The orange juice provides a liquid base into which you toss the other ingredients.  For those who prefer cereals with multiple ingredients (or, like me, those who will pour four types of cereal into one bowl just to get a variety in every spoonful), this is the perfect combination. The diced apple provides a wet, juicy crunch; the walnuts and pumpkin seeds are a softer crunch, with decidedly savory and even bitter undertones; and the berries are cold, dissolve on your tongue, and tangy.  All this, bathed in fresh orange juice, provides more sweetness and a great slurpy base. 

The bowl is also uber-nutritious, with omega 3’s in the nuts/seeds, zinc in the seeds, fabulous proanthocyanins in the berries, and your basic keep-the-doctor-away nutrients in the apple.  It’s also filling and can carry you through the morning.  All this, and raw, too! (”Sounds delicious, Mum! Did we mention that we love apples?”)

Earth Bowl

 1 Gala or Fuji apple, diced

1/2 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries

2 T. raw walnuts, broken

1 T. raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup (approx) fresh orange juice (about one orange)

Pour orange juice over apple and berries in bowl; toss with nuts and seeds.  Slurp away!

Makes one serving.