Take your texture game to the next level with these simple produce tips sure to make bulk prep work much easier so that you can make these delicious stews in a flash!
*All frozen ingredients can be thawed at room temp, in the dehydrator, or most quickly in a bowl of warm water.
Adzuki Bean Sprouts
My favorite bean sprout, great to make in bigger quantities to have on hand at all times. Soak them for 8-12 hours, rinse, and then sprout for 8 – 36 hours rinsing very well2 times a day. I then wash, bag, and freeze them for future use and a more cooked bean texture and taste!
Bell Peppers
I mostly use red peppers but yellow or orange are great too, green peppers are actually unripe peppers and harder to digest. Great used fresh, or cut and then frozen for a more cooked texture in some recipes.
Beets
I use fresh beets in the sauces but otherwise cube, or grate and freeze them to create a softer texture in the dishes.
Bok Choy
One of the best greens ever, I like the large bok choy best but baby Choy works well too. Perfect fresh or frozen and thawed in some dishes. Most of the time I chop up the stem and then pulse blend the greens into the sauce.
Broccoli
Can be used fresh but my preference in these recipes is to chop and freeze for a soft cooked texture.
Carrots
All colors of carrots are great and can be used fresh, but my preference in these recipes is to chop them up and then freeze them for a softer cooked texture once thawed.
Cabbage
Both red and white cabbage is great, but note that the red will stain all other ingredients red. Cabbage can be used fresh but my strong preference in these recipes is to chop and freeze for a soft, milder cooked texture.
Cauliflower
Can be used fresh but my preference in these recipes is to chop and freeze for a soft cooked texture.
Celery
Can be used fresh but my preference in most of these recipes is to chop and freeze for a soft cooked texture.
Chickpeas
Great to make in bigger quantities to have on hand at all times. I like to soak them for 8-12 hours, rinse and then sprout them for 24 – 36 hours rinsing 2-3 times a day. I then wash, bag, and freeze them for future use and a more cooked bean texture and taste!
Coconut Milk
In these recipes, I use homemade mature coconut milk, check out a video on how to do this here!
Garlic
I prefer to use garlic powder rather than using fresh as it is less irritating to the digestive tract. If you prefer fresh the conversion is .5 tsp powder per clove of fresh garlic.
Drying and grinding your own is easy and fun too!
Green Peas
My preference is fresh bought in season and frozen myself, otherwise, I will buy frozen peas on occasion.
Any recipe with peas in it can be swapped for sprouted lentils, mung, adzuki, or chickpeas.
Herbs
(parsley, oregano, mint, basil, thyme, dill, rosemary, cilantro) – Most recipes call for fresh herbs, especially cilantro, otherwise they are clearly marked. A basic conversion is to use 1/3 the amount of dry herb to fresh.
Lentils
All colors of whole lentils are great to sprout in larger quantities to have on hand at all times. Red is among my fave and quickest, they can be soaked overnight, rinsed, and eaten for dinner. For other larger varieties soak for 8-12 hours, rinse, and then sprout for 24 – 48 hours, until a .5 cm tail forms, rinsing 2 times a day. I then rinse, bag, and freeze them for future use and a more cooked texture and taste!
Mango
Delicious in sauce, the weight is measured by edible portion, I prefer fresh but frozen can be thawed and used too.
Mung Bean Sprouts
Great to make in bigger quantities to have on hand at all times. I like to soak them for 8-12 hours, rinse and then sprout them for 24 – 36 hours rinsing 2 times a day. I then rinse, bag, and freeze them for future use and a more cooked bean texture and taste!
Mushrooms
(Button, Crimni, Portabello, Shiitake, Oyster) – All delicious varieties, in most recipes I prefer to slice / cube and dehydrate at 118° for 1 – 1.5 hours before using in a recipe. In some cases, I like to cut and freeze them for a wetter “stewed” mushroom texture and taste!
PS learn how to boost the vitamin D in mushrooms by 600+ %
Napa Cabbage
Can be used fresh or can be chopped and frozen for a softer cooked texture once thawed.
Okra
Both long or short okra can work, although the small ones are better for these recipes imho. They can be used fresh, but my preference is to freeze the shorter ones whole and then thaw them in warm water before adding them to the dish. If using the longer okra, cut them into bite-sized pieces, freeze them, and then dehydrate them at 118° for 1 hour before adding them to the dish for a better texture.
Olives
My preference is sundried oil and salt-free black olives, while they can be hard to find, I find the best luck in specialty grocers, fancy delis/health food stores. Here are the best ones I have found USA and Canada, and here in Europe.
Onion
Sweet onions like “Maui Sweet” are my favorite, after that a mild red onion or yellow onion. In almost all of the recipes in this book, I cube and freeze the onions, this gives them a cooked onion texture and also mellows out the pungent onion flavor, and reduces the irritating qualities.
Plantain
Normally I eat these as black as black can be but in the Jamaican recipe in this book, I like to use semi-ripe plantains, all yellow with a bit of black and slightly soft to the touch. Learn more about eating raw Plantains here!
Parsnips
Best to cube and then freeze them for a sweeter taste and softer cooked food texture once thawed.
Tomato
The tastier the better, I like plum / Roma best for the sauces and then cherry or grape tomatoes for the chunks in the stews. Most of the time I use fresh tomatoes but in some recipes, such as the Minestrone, it’s nice to freeze and thaw your tomatoes, in the dehydrator, for a stewed texture.
Zucchini
Can be used fresh in some recipes, in others I recommend chopping them up and then freezing them for a softer cooked texture once thawed.
