Peachy Keen Green

Jeff texted us (siblings) a photo of his blueberry pancake dinner. It looked delicious, so I called him for the recipe! He made it up (of course),  and says that yeast pancakes -- and these in particular -- are the best he's ever had. And they are SUPER healthy. (Yay, more spermidine from wheat germ.) So I added them to my blog so that I'll make them! Makes 12 pancakes. Ingredients  1 cup whole wheat flour 4 T wheat germ, ground into flour 1.5 C soy milk 1 package yeast (quick rise, or regular active dry) 12 oz blueberries Instructions Mix the flour and wheat germ. Warm the soy milk in the microwave so it's lukewarm, and add 1 package yeast; mix. Add the soy milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix! If the blueberries are cold, warm them slightly in the microwave (want them to be room temperature. Fold the blueberries into the mix. Go putter around for 20 minutes (if quick rising) or 30 minutes (if regular active yeast). Come back and heat up your griddle (

When we visited Chelsey and Josh last November, Chelsey made a delicious, super thick oatmeal. The secret? Almond milk and oats, almost equal amount! Then the other day, Jeff suggested adding wheat germ to oatmeal to get the maximal  autophagy benefits of spermadine , so that's a new addition. (See another nice summary of spermidine and other anti-aging agents .) Ingredients   (per very hungry person) 1.5 cups almond milk (vanilla, sweetened ok) 1 heaping cup oatmeal flakes (NOT instant) 2 heaping T wheat germ Topping: blackberries or other berries roasted flax seed Instructions Mix the almond milk, oatmeal, and wheat germ in a saucepan and bring to a boil on the stove. Stir for a minute or two. Turn off heat, cover, set aside to thicken. When it's ready, dish out and top with berries and flax seed. Yum!

Jeff made a batch of his black bean soup and told me his recipe, so I thought I'd give it a try! TJs didn't have collard greens so I tried kale. He cooks his beans in a big pot where he makes the soup, but I made the beans in the Instant Pot and added them at the end. It makes a very hearty soup! Ingredients 1 lb black beans, soaked overnight 3-4 purple carrots, chopped 2-3 stalks celery, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, diced Collard greens or kale, chopped vegetable broth (or just bean broth) Tomatoes, chopped (optional) Spices: 1 T cumin seeds 1 T coriander 1 bay leaf 2-3 cloves garlic 1 tsp salt Instructions Put the soaked beans in the Instant Pot to cook. (If soaked overnight, set pot to 20 minutes.) In a soup pot, saute the onion, pepper, cumin seeds, and a little salt in oil for a few minutes. Add the celery and carrots and saute another few minutes. Add the rest of the spices and stir.  Add tomatoes if using. When the instant pot beans