Starting from right to left, we have a Jack LaLane Juicer, which we've had for two years now, and it's working just great. What's equally important when it comes to juicing is that this juicer is easy to clean. 

Then up above the stove top is a Breville Counter Top Convection Oven. Truth be told, our built in wall oven (not shown) broke down a while back and we replaced it with this handy and way less expensive replacement oven.

Next to the Breville is our Fresh Life Sprouter. This wonder machine will sprout seeds of many varieties in about a week with minimal effort beyond needing to change the water periodically. We sell these sprouters on our Aquaponics USA website. 

Next to the Fresh Life Sprouter is an air popcorn popper. According to our nutritionist guru, Dr. Joel Wallach, oils are not meant to be consumed by humans as they clog up the works, so he recommends air poppers over popping corn the old fashioned way in oil in a pan. And he also recommends we avoid microwave popcorn like the plague. 

Dropping back down to the counter top, you see three medium sized Crock Pots. You can cook different kinds of beans, soups and sauces or any number of yummy vegetarian foods all at the same time using these handy little slow cookers. As we set up our new vegetarian kitchen, we started with one Crock Pot; but it wasn't long before we realized that two were better than one and that three were better than two. Using all three at the same time allows us to freeze favorite and basic foods.

For years, we've been seeing people bravely diving into the bulk food bins that are showing up in stores everywhere. Bulk bin shopping started in Health Food Store chains like Whole Foods way back in the day; but today these mysterious bins are showing up at Safeway, Vons and many other chain super markets around the world.

So what in the world is cloistered in those bulk food bins? Everything from soup to nuts quite literally.

Someone should have been videotaping Oliver and I when we went to our local health food store, Sue's Health Foods, to make our first purchase of food from the Bulk Food section. We looked like a couple of clumsy teenagers with nuts and seeds flying everywhere as we tried desperately to get the provided plastic bags to fit over the bin wholes as we mis-timed the drop. Yes, Bulk Food procurement requires a certain familiarity with the process.

There are even entire articles on "How To Shop In The Bulk Foods Section" to assist newbies to not make fools of themselves like we did. So what did we pick out of the many choices available? 

Being newly minted vegetarians, we started with things with which we were familiar and that means the beans--lots of varieties of organic beans. Beans are a primary source of protein for vegetarians. 

For example, there are 8 grams of protein in only 1/2 cup of cooked black beans along with 8 grams of fiber. In fact, black beans are a veritable power house of nutritional support for the body; and they're a snap to cook in one of our slow cooking Crock Pots. You just soak the beans overnight in water to cover them. Dump the water out and place the beans in the Crock pot with a small amount of fresh water and some favorite seasoning. Cook for about four hours and you have one of the healthiest foods ready to eat. 

"Recent research has shown that black beans provide special support for digestive tract health, and particularly our colon. The indigestible fraction (IF) in black beans has recently been shown to be larger than the IF in either lentils or chickpeas. It has been shown to be the perfect mix of substances for allowing bacteria in the colon to produce butyric acid. Cells lining the inside of the colon can use this butyric acid to fuel their many activities and keep the lower digestive tract functioning properly. By delivering a greater amount of IF to the colon, black beans are able to help support this lower part of our digestive tract. Lowered colon cancer risk that is associated with black bean intake in some research studies may be related to the outstanding IF content of this legume."  (Quote taken from The World's Healthiest Foods website article on Black Beans)

Legume is the general name for many varieties of beans. So besides black beans, we have kidney beans, pinto beans, mung beans and lentils in our canisters. "Many public health organizations--including the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society--recommend legumes as a key food group for preventing disease and optimizing health." Before trying out being a vegetarian, I wasn't all that fond of legumes. I'm quickly changing my taste preferences and my tune. (Quote taken from The World's Healthiest Foods website article on  Black Beans)

The other familiar items we attempted to get into our Bulk bags were nuts--several varieties of organic nuts including walnuts, pecans, almonds and cashews, which are all known for different health properties. 

The walnuts are all about fighting inflammation. The pecans are artery defenders. The almonds contain the most fiber and are great for our guts. And the cashews are rich in iron and zinc which makes them brainpower boosters. Pictured above, courtesy of the Nuts for Life website, of course, are almonds. (Information taken from the Everyday Health website article entitled "Why You Should Go Nuts for Nuts")

Then we ventured into the seed section of the Bulk foods. By this time, we had figured out how to access the Bulk bins so we didn't leave a bunch of seeds on the floor. We started with sunflower seeds and from there, we went to black chia seeds and flax seeds. What do we do with the seeds? We put them in our salads. Salads have become a colorful collection of lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, spinach, olives, seeds, nuts and for a treat cranberries or mandarin oranges. 

Above is a photo of one of our famous Salads To Go in a handy personal pitcher. Salads like this become a meal in themselves. Add a protein drink to the menu; and your set. 

Finally, we ventured into the really mysterious bulk bins like Millet. What in the world is Millet?

Millet is one of the oldest domesticated grains on the planet. "Recent archaeobotanical research has confirmed the presence of domesticated pearl millet on the  Sahel zone of northern  Mali between 2500 and 2000 BC." (Quote taken from Wikipedia article entitled "Pearl Millet") 

In the U.S., millet is a popular bird seed and, therefore, "is a woefully overlooked grain [for human consumption], mildly sweet and nutty and so versatile it can be used in everything from pilafs to cookies. It has a soothing, comforting quality that makes it ideal for fall and winter meals. In the Middle Ages millet was more widely eaten than wheat. (Quote taken from The Kitchn website article entitled  "What Is Millet?") This means that the people of the Middle Ages didn't have to worry about all of the problems of gluten consumption because Millet is gluten free.

Just hit the Red Food Finder Menu Bar while you're in the supermarket, and it will tell you everything you need to know about what you're about to purchase. Let's take a look at the Quinoa Rotelle by Ancient Harvest.

Using an iPhone or Android, open the Fooducate AP and press the Red Food Finder Menu Bar. A square screen-like area will show up on your phone. Hover that screen area over the Bar Code of the product. You don't need to click anything, you will hear a sound indicating the Bar Code has been read. Then up comes anything you want to know about this product including:

Testimonials, like the ones below, from product users.

Nutritional Information about the product.

Alternative products you could purchase in place of the one you scanned.

And a Grade on the product you scanned.