RAW Living and Learning

Clean and Green

2012-02-21T15:04:00.000-05:00

I found an amazing blog that I'd love to share with you. She has so many amazing raw recipes that I just have to share this goldmine!!
Her name is Natalia and you can enter her blog here.
Sign up for her mailing list and you will get an amazing free e-book with some pretty fantastic recipes. Also click on her recipe page and be prepared for some wonderful raw entrees you can add to your collection of recipes.
Today I made her "Clean & Green" whole fruit juice for part of my lunch. It was so crisp, clean and refreshing that I wanted to share her recipe with you. I love the idea of making a green juice using the high speed blender vs the juicer. Clean up was a breeze and I really felt satisfied having all of the fiber in the juice. I hope that you will try it too and also go check out her wonderful blog.

Clean & Green
by NataliaKM.com

Serves 1

1 C fresh squeezed OJ
1 green apple, core and chop (I used an organic Fiji)
2 stalks celery (I used organic)
1/2 C fresh parsley (I used a cup)
Blend in a blender until smooth.
*I added 1/2 C of ice to the blender to chill the juice.

+JMJ+Today I am grateful for sleeping through the night!

Cabbage Rose

2012-02-19T14:11:00.001-05:00

Lately I have been loving our daily juice routine. We tend to have our green smoothies first thing in the morning so our juicing happens right before lunch. Usually our juices are quite GREEN so this recipe was a change. It was really sweet with the 3 apples and the carrots. I found it on line and decided to give it a try. The children loved it!! This would be a great juice for those new to juicing. It is excellent.

Today this juice was my lunch. I am experimenting with a different form of the raw foods diet to see how I feel eating a low fat, high carb raw vegan diet. You know where this is leading--yes it is basically 80-10-10. I have not read Doug's book but have been following several raw foodists who eat this way and it is pretty basic.

I gave up oils several weeks ago and have been consuming no nuts, only occasionally some soaked seeds. So this will not be a big transition for me considering I eat a very low fat raw diet to begin with.

I stayed so full after my large green breakfast smoothie that this juice is all I could really eat for lunch. I will make up the calories at dinner. I'll have a large bowl full of bananas and dates and then a green salad with some of my homegrown white clover sprouts and some fresh tomato dressing.

Here is Philip McCluskey and Natalia KW's juice recipe:

Look at this gorgeous color!

Cabbage Rose
by Philip McCluskey & Natalia KW

1/2 small purple cabbage
3 carrots
3 apples
1 inch knob of fresh ginger
Prep all ingredients and juice.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for beautiful memories of my lovely mother-in-law. May she rest in PEACE.

Bean Free, Oil Free Raw Hummus

2012-01-27T13:37:00.000-05:00

Today I played around with Choosing Raw's recipe for zucchini hummus. I started making her original recipe but decided to add some tahini, hemp and additional spices. The original recipe was too bland for me, I LOVE loads of tahini in my hummus and lots of seasoning.
Here is how I made my version of:

Bean Free, Oil Free Raw Hummus Dip
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1/2 C soaked and sprouted raw almonds
2 T hemp seeds, Nutiva
2 small organic zucchini
1 clove garlic
cumin to taste
sea salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 tsp onion powder
2 small Meyers lemons, juiced
2 heaping T raw tahini, Artisana is nice!
pinch of chili powder

Process the ingredients in a small food processor until creamy smooth. If needed you can add small amounts of water as it is processing to get it the consistency you desire. I only had to add about a tablespoon of water to mine.

Use as a dip with cucumber, celery and carrot sticks. Before serving you could add some diced olives as a garnish as well as some diced tomato. I used the leftovers the next day to make some killer collard wraps for the hubby and me. Look for that post next!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for caring, giving people.

U-Pick Citrus

2012-01-20T10:46:00.000-05:00

Today we went on a wonderful field trip to one of THE last U-Pick Citrus Farms in Southwest Florida!!

It is owned and run by a couple by the name of Johnson. Judy and Bob began planting there 10-acre grove in 1980. Bob planted all 3,000 trees himself, from seed! Unfortunately they lost that initial crop to frost. But that did not stop him. He has had a thriving business for many years that also helps support local needy people.

Each season they donate 12,000 pounds of fruit to the Harry Chapin Food Bank and they also work with churches in their area to help feed hungry children.

They also sell some local wild flower honey from their nieghbor's bee farm down the road.

Their barn is an eclectic mix of antiques, Bob's sign and license plate collection and the supplies he needs to run the farm.

The grove is open from November to May. The location is:
18971 Misty Morning Lane, Ft. Myers, FL.
Email address is: upickcitrus@netzero.net
Phone: 239-657-4996

Judy and Bob were a delight and they were so wonderful to our homeschool group. The children had just as much fun playing with their dog and cat as they did picking the oranges and tangerines. The older two children were there as well but I didn't get a good photo of them...bummer!

I bought almost 60 lbs of citrus!!! You can imagine how much fresh juice we will be getting from that! And how wonderful the juice will be in our morning green smoothies.

And I am happy to say that they do not use any pesticides on their fruit! Grazing in the grove is free and they allow you to taste from the tree before you pick so you can select the fruit that is right for your individual taste. How great is that!!

Thank you Bob and Judy for allowing us to spend the day at your lovely home/grove. It was a splendid day and we had so much fun.

How about a green smoothie recipe with fresh squeezed Honey Tangerine juice:

I juiced several of the Honey Tangerines and added the juice to a blender full of raw sunflower seeds, freshly ground flax, 4 large collard leaves, banana and finally frozen mango and some ice.

U-Pick Green Smoothieby Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

2 C freshly juiced honey tangerine juice
4 T raw sunflower seeds
3 dates, pitted
3 T freshly ground flax seeds
4 large collard leaves, torn
3 small bananas
2 C frozen mango
1/2 C ice
Blend till creamy and smooth. Enjoy the goodness!

Our oldest son enjoyed a large glass of fresh squeezed Valencia juice with his breakfast--yum!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a day in the sunshine picking fresh citrus with friends and family.

Raw Fruit Tacos

2012-01-06T15:36:00.001-05:00

I had to take a break from blogging after Christmas so I could get us back into the groove of our home studies.
Now that we are back in the groove I thought it would be time to get creative in the raw kitchen again.
I came up with this recipe for lunch today and wanted to share it with you.
I made Raw Fruit Tacos.
Here is my taco filling

And here are my shells

Raw Fruit Tacos
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

4 Campari tomatoes, diced
3 small peppers, one red, one yellow and one orange; diced
2 scallions, greens only;diced
2 kiwi, diced
3 small pitted dates, diced
a sprinkling of ground cumin

Raw Taco Shells: Organic Romaine hearts, cut into 1/3's if large

Mix ingredients in a bowl, scoop onto your raw taco shells ( romaine heart leaves) and enjoy!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a fresh new outlook for the fresh New Year. Happy Raw New Year!

10 Days 100% Simply Raw Day 10

2011-12-24T11:53:00.000-05:00

Meal #1 Dandy Orange Mango Smoothie

Dandy Orange Mango Smoothie
by Elizabeth @ Rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

7 organic dandelion greens
8 oz frozen organic mango chunks
juice of 3 oranges
1 C ice
3 T white chia seeds
1/4 C raw pumpkin seeds

Blend in high speed blender until creamy. Enjoy!

Meal # 2 Snacking on random stuff

Organic celery sticks
Radishes
Clementines
Sprouts

Meal # 3 Yet Another Smoothie

It is a great day when I can enjoy two smoothies!!!

Raspberry Kale Smoothie
by Elizabeth @ Rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

4 C curly green kale
3 bananas
1/4 C raw pumpkin seeds
3 T white chia seeds
10 oz frozen organic raspberries
1 C filtered water
1/2 C ice

Blend until creamy. Enjoy!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my children patiently awaiting the count down to Christmas season which begins on the 25th and culminates on the Baptism of the Lord, January 9th.
Have a Blessed Christmas everyone. SO much to be grateful for!!!

10 Days 100% Simply Raw Day 9

2011-12-23T10:26:00.000-05:00

Meal #1 Berrylicious Smoothie

Berrylicious Green Smoothie
by Elizabeth @ Rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

8 oz frozen mixed berries
1/3 C raw pumpkin seeds
1 C filtered water
1 C ice
4 C kale
2 T Hemp oil
3 T white chia seeds
3 bananas
2 Medjool dates
Blend in a high speed blender till creamy. Enjoy!

Meal #2 Sunny Citrus Carrot Salad

Sunny Citrus Carrot Salad
by Elizabeth @ Rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

sunflower greens
3 shredded organic carrots
1 Florida navel orange, diced
2 T raw honey gently melted
1 T fresh key lime juice
Rough chop the sunflower greens and place on plate. In the center of the greens, place the shredded carrots. Top the carrots with the diced orange.
Dress salad with raw honey mixed with fresh key lime juice.

Meal #3 Simple Pear Salad

Simple Pear Salad
by Elizabeth @ Rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

Organic romaine, chopped
broccoli sprouts
sprouted lentils
1 large pear, diced
handful of fresh or frozen berries of choice
2 tsp Dijon mustard

Place the romaine on a plate, top with the broccoli sprouts, then the diced pear and top with sprouted lentils. To dress the salad, puree a handful of berries and whisk in the Dijon.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful I got the front porch scrubbed. We are now ready to decorate for Christmas!!

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 8

2011-12-19T21:41:00.001-05:00

Meal #1 Fruit Salad Smoothie

Fruit Salad Smoothie
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

4 large kale leaves (these were very large leaves!!)
1 C organic, red grapes
2 bananas
6 oz frozen organic raspberries
2 T white chia seeds
2 T flax seeds
handful of raw pumpkin seeds
Blend in a high speed blender until smooth. Enjoy!

Today was great, I cut a large bunch of bananas off our banana trees in the back yard. I bet you can guess what I was having for lunch. The upper half of the bunch was yellow and ripe. I had fresh picked bananas and a couple of clementines for lunch. How great is that!

Meal #2 Fresh picked bananas and a couple clementines

Home Grown Bananas

Meal #3 Tomatoes on a bed of white clover sprouts with fresh cracked pepper

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a night out with my handsome hubby!!

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 7

2011-12-18T21:32:00.001-05:00

Meal #1 Vanilla Mango Madness

Vanilla Mango Madness
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 C filtered water
8 oz frozen mango
2 frozen bananas
2 medjool dates
1 tsp good quality vanilla powder
4 C chopped kale
2 T white chia seeds
2 T hemp oil
2 T raw pumpkin seeds
Blend in a high speed blender till creamy. Enjoy!

Meal #2 Sprouted Lunch--This is so simple, just the way I like it.

I plated some sunflower greens, white clover and broccoli sprouts and topped it with a few Harry and David pear slices.
Now for some dressing!

Orange Persimmon Dressing-Fat Free

by Elizabeth @rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 orange Fuyi Persimmon, peeled and diced

juice of 1 orange

2 T chopped sweet onion

3 fresh sage leaves, rough chop

Blend in a small blender until smooth.

I made a second version of this plate by adding some sprouted mung beans and 1 chopped pear.

Meal #3 Leftover Raw Banana Kream Pie from yesterday--Seriously!

I want to be a bearer of light; something I struggle with almost daily. I get so wrapped up in just functioning and trying to keep up with everything that I lose sight of what is the most important.

Here is a beautiful meditation as we enter the last week of Advent in preparation for Christmas to begin.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for reminders like these, that get my mind back on track.

"Jesus so beautifully describes a Christian as “a burning and shining lamp.” As the calendar approaches the year's darkest night, reflect on those who have brought you light. How have you yourself brought a glimmer of light into someone else's darkness?"

— from Catholic Update: Advent Day-by-Day

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 6

2011-12-16T21:35:00.000-05:00

Meal #1 Strawberry Banana Mylkshake Smoothie
For this meal I started by making a batch of fresh vanilla almond mylk. It is so easy to just fill the blender with 16 oz filtered water, throw in a large handful of soaked and sprouted raw almonds and blend into creamy goodness. Next I strained out the pulp using a nut milk bag. Back in the blender went the mylk and I added 2 medjool dates, powdered vanilla and a pinch of sea salt. Blend well.
We used the mylk in our green smoothie this morning. It was more like a milkshake than a smoothie and it was spectacular.

Strawberry Banana Mylkshake
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

16 oz fresh raw almond mylk
8 oz frozen strawberries
3 ripe bananas, frozen are better!
2 C kale
2 T chia
2 T flax

Blend until creamy in high speed blender. Enjoy!

So what do you do with the leftover almond pulp?

You make a Banana Kream Pie and Raw Cookie Dough Bites of course!

For the pie I started with a simple nut free crust made of just Medjool dates and raw coconut. I used my small food processor to make the sticky "dough" for the crust and then pressed it into a glass pie dish.

Next I sliced a large banana and placed the slices on top of the crust and spread on top a filling made from half of the the pulp.(Save the other half of pulp for the cookies)

For the filling I used half of the nut pulp and added 1 banana, 3 medjool dates and a pinch of sea salt. I processed that in the same small food processor and spread it over the sliced bananas and crust.

Place pie in the refrigerator to set for 3 hours. Right before serving garnish the pie with more bananas.

For the Raw Cookie Dough Bites use the remaining half of nut pulp and mix it in a food processor with some raw oats, vegan chips, pinch of sea salt, date paste to sweeten and some raw coconut flakes. Roll into balls and chill in refrigerator for 3 hours.

We had these for dessert today after our evening meal. Very good!

Meal #2 Lunch with Harry and David

Lunch consisted of two large Harry and David pears. I peeled them because they are not organic and I simple sliced them up and ate them as is. Now that is SIMPLE!

Meal #3 Minn Inspired Pate

I posted some time ago about an amazing Pate made by Minn. I used her recipe for inspiration tonight but changed it up a bit.
In a small food processor I added:
1/2 C soaked sunflower seeds and raw almonds
1 organic carrot, chopped
2 sprigs of garlic greens, grown by our oldest son
small slice of sweet onion
4 EVOO cured sun dried tomatoes
2 leaves of fresh sage
2 leaves of fresh basil
Process into a Pate in a food processor. Spread onto some collard leaves.

Top the Pate with some sunflower greens.

Roll up tightly.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a nice chat with my neighbor!

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 5

2011-12-15T21:17:00.000-05:00

Meal #1 Tropical Blend Smoothie

The children and I really enjoyed this smoothie. It was so creamy from the small amount of soaked almonds and walnuts that I added. I only used 1 tablespoon but it made such a difference in the texture of the smoothie. When I don't have fresh nut milk on hand I'll just throw in a few whole nuts, whatever I have stashed in the freezer. I pre-soak and sprout nuts, allow them to air dry and then pack them in bags in the freezer. Here is my smoothie recipe:

Tropical Blend Smoothie

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

8 oz bag of tropical blend fruit

1 C filtered water

2 T raw pumpkin seeds

1 T combo of soaked walnuts and almonds, chopped

2 T flax

2 T chia seeds

1 inch piece of fresh aloe, peeled

4 C kale

1 C ice

3 ripe bananas

3 Medjool dates, pitted

Blend until creamy in a high speed blender.

Meal #2 Simply Green

This lunch was fantastic! So simple, so green, and so good. Here is how it looked in all of its green goodness:

And topped with this wicked drizzle

This is how it looks with a splash of color:

Simply Green w/ a Splash of Color

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

sunflower greens
3 peeled and sliced kiwis
2 stalks of celery, sliced
sprouted mung beans
fresh cilantro
Plate the sunflower greens, top with the kiwi and then the mung beans, celery and cilantro. Drizzle on some color with this drizzle:
Drizzle
In a personal size blender, blend together:
Juice of 1 orange
Handful of raspberries
1 T sweet onion like Vadalia

Meal #3 Raw Pasta and Sauce

Raw Pasta and Sauce
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 zucchini, spiralized into noodles
Sauce:
1 C fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C fresh juiced OJ
squeeze of lemon juice
3 sun dried tomatoes cured in EVOO
3 plain sun dried tomatoes, soaked till soft
2 dates
fresh sage to taste
fresh basil to taste
1 handful of a combination of walnuts and almonds, finely chopped
pinch of Himalayan salt

Blend until creamy in a blender. Pour over the raw zucchini pasta. Enjoy!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for creative children.

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 4

2011-12-14T21:43:00.000-05:00

Meal # 1 Mixed Berry Goodness

Mixed Berry Goodness
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1/4 C raw pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 C fresh OJ
1/2 C ice
8 oz frozen mixed berries
2 T white chia seeds
2 T flax
2 ripe bananas
4 C collards, pack it in
Blend till creamy in a high speed blender. Enjoy!

Meal #2 Sunny Apple Salad

Sunny Apple Salad
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

2 organic Fuji apples, diced
1/4 C soaked organic raisins
1/4 C sprouted mung beans
sunflower greens
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T raw honey gently warmed to liquefy, drizzle over salad

Meal #3 Sliced Tomato and Sprout Plate

As you probably can tell one of my staple raw foods are sprouts!! I grow them myself and eat them daily. They are just one of those things that I cannot do without.

Here are some of my sunflower greens that I harvested today. These will be in tomorrow's lunch recipe. The roots and dirt will go into the compost bin.

Personally I can eat just a plate full of sprouts alone but decided to add these beautiful ripe tomatoes and some cilantro.

Sliced Tomato and Sprout Plate

3 small tomatoes, sliced

handful of fresh cilantro, rough chop

white clover sprouts

sunflower greens to garnish

drizzle on some good quality balsamic (optional)

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for finally getting the Christmas cards ordered.

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 3

2011-12-13T21:55:00.002-05:00

As usual, upon waking I guzzle a tall glass of filtered water and then start the blender full of a green smoothie.
Meal #1 Orange Mango Kreamsicle Smoothie

Orange Mango Kreamsicle Smoothie
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 C fresh juiced OJ
handful of soaked raw cashews
6 soaked dates, pitted and chopped (don't skip these!)
1/2 C filtered water
4 C kale
2 T flax
1 T raw pumpkin seeds
2 T chia
1/4 of an avocado
8 oz frozen mango cubes
1 C ice
Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender.

You could serve this smoothie to just about anyone and they would never taste all of the beautiful kale that is in here! It truly tasted like an creamsicle. Only the green color would give it away. The key to the creaminess is the combo of cashews, pumpkin seeds, avocado and the dates.

Meal #2 Arugula Salad

Organic arugula lettuce
5 radishes, sliced
1/2 a cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, diced
white clover sprouts
sunflower greens
Dressing:
raw honey
fresh lemon juice
Plate the arugula leaves and top with remaining ingredients. Make a simple dressing with lemon juice and raw honey, drizzle on salad.

Meal #3 Da Ru Ma Green Salad

We went to a benefit concert tonight and had to get a quick bite to eat prior. I had some green tea and a small green salad at the restaurant--no pic, had to use our phone camera and we are trying to figure out how to upload it to the laptop...duuuuuuuhhhhhh.

Ponder this thought about afterthoughts:
How often we jump with enthusiasm into a project, then fade out as it becomes difficult. Sometimes there's virtue in the second thought, the delayed response, restraint rather than zeal.

— from Catholic Update: Advent Day-by-Day

+JMJ+Today I am grateful for a wonderful night out with my husband enjoying beautiful Christmas music.

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 2

2011-12-12T23:05:00.003-05:00

Day 2 began with a large glass of filtered water upon awakening.
Drinks throughout the day consisted of lemon water and herbal tea.
Meal #1: Mango Madness Smoothie
by Elizabeth @ Rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com
1 C filtered water
3/4 C fresh squeezed Florida Navel OJ
4 C collard greens, chopped
1/4 of a peeled lemon
2 T flax seeds, freshly ground
2 T whole white chia seeds (one of our staple super foods!!)
2 T raw pumpkin seeds (for Iron)
3 ripe bananas
8 oz frozen organic mango
1 C ice
Pack all of the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until thick and creamy.

Serve some to the special people in your life too! Here are three of our five children seriously enjoying their daily green smoothie. Our children wake up asking for their green smoothies; it's a beautiful thing.

Mango Madness Smoothie

Meal #2 Marinated Kale Cucumbers

I know this looks like almost nothing as far as a lunch would go but I'm telling you, my morning smoothie kept me so satisfied that I really was not even hungry at lunch time. But I did want a little something and this was the perfect thing.

The recipe comes from the book, "Cooking the Whole Foods Way".

It has several recipes I can use for my needs (raw) and the rest I can prepare for my family. They eat a combo of raw and cooked.

My Father-in-law was sweet enough to surprise me with this book, thank you!

The recipe calls for 6 leaves of a leafy green, so I chose kale. I finely chopped the kale and then massaged it for 3-4 minutes to break down the cell walls. Next I added it to a bowl full of peeled and cut cucumbers. I sprinkled on a generous amount of dill weed and then made the dressing. The recipe calls for parsley but I swapped that for dill and some extra kale. I made some other changes as well so here is my version of her Lemon-Parsley Dressing which I re-named Lemon-Dill:

Elizabeth's Lemon-Dill Dressing

1/4 C First Cold Pressed EVOO

Juice of 1 lemon

2 T dried dill weed (I sprinkled it on the cucumbers first)

1 leaf of chopped kale

1 tsp Tamari

1/2 C fresh OJ

1 T rice vinegar

I blended it in my personal size blender and poured over the cucumbers, kale and dill. mix well and allow to marinate over night.

I also nibbled on some radishes while plating my lunch.

Meal # 3 Zucchini Pasta with Marinated Mushrooms

by Erica Palmcrantz and Irmela Lilja

This recipe comes directly from the book titled, "RAW FOOD". I am so upset because I took pictures of my plate full of this fantastic "pasta" and I had no memory card in the camera so the photo is from the book itself featured on pg. 62 of "Raw Food".

No offense, but mine looked so much better--I am so bummed I have no photos of it. Enough pouting, here is their recipe:

1 zucchini, peeled (I did not)

4 mushrooms (I used entire carton of baby bellas)

5 cherry tomatoes (I used 10)

1/4 C sunflower sprouts (actually called sunflower greens)

Marinade:

1 T nama shoyu ( I used 1/4 C Tamari)

1 T olive oil (I used 2 T First Cold Pressed)

2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped (omitted)

1 T lemon juice (1/4 C I used)

Here is how I put mine together:

I prepared the marinade and allowed the mushrooms to marinate for 2 hours. Next I spiralized my zucchini using the blade that cuts thicker noodles. Next I plated the "noodles" and then topped them with the marinated mushrooms. I finished the plate by adding the tomatoes and my very own sunflower greens that I harvested just moments earlier--can't get any fresher than that!

Something to meditate on:
"Two lines from the Annunciation story can touch us deeply, where we live today. When Mary asks, “How can this be?” her words could also be spoken by the person who works hard—but loses a job, or the one who tries to eat healthily and exercise—but still gets cancer. God doesn't explain such puzzles, but Gabriel does tell Mary not to fear. "— from Catholic Update: Advent Day-by-Day

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a much needed wake up call from Fr. Henry.

10 Days 100 % Simply Raw--Day 1

2011-12-11T10:59:00.001-05:00

After posting Saturday's Meditation I became inspired to try a 10 day 100% pure Simply Raw cleanse/detox. The five children and I came down with a terrible flu while we were traveling in Michigan. It lasted a full two weeks and I survived on herbal tea, cooked and raw vegetables and of course the morning green smoothies. I literally had to force the food down, there was no appetitite to be found. I also had to take some OTC meds in order to sleep one night, I had such a painful headache. So needless to say I have a lot of detoxing to do. What better way than a 10 day Simply Raw protocol. I will avoid gourmet raw during these 10 days and focus on simplicity which translates into easy recipes!
I will be sharing my meals from the day prior to each post, as I began my 10 days on December 10th. So here is how my Saturday looked on my 10 Days 100% Simply Raw
DAY 1
Large glass of filtered water upon rising
20 minutes of a full body workout using weights, large excercise ball and cardio
Meal #1: Post Workout Green Smoothie

Cherry Kale Smoothie (makes 5 large servings)
by Elizabeth @ RawLivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 bunch of Dino Kale
1 bag frozen cherries
1/4 an avocado
4 ripe bananas
1 tsp coconut oil
2 T chia
1 C filtered water
1 C ice
Place ingredients in the "Wild Side Pitcher" of a Blendtec blender, or any large high speed blender pitcher, and hit the "smoothie" button. This makes 5 large servings.
I had a 16 oz glass after my workout and it was delicious. I served the remaining servings to the children and hubby.
For the second meal of the day I was thinking of soup. While I was sick I never got to have a really good bowl of soup and I was craving it big time.
I am always drooling whenever Lisa at Raw on 10 or Less posts her avocado soup. Her recipe along with the one from "Raw Food A complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day" are my favorites.
I decided to try creating my own avocado soup by combining key components in both of theirs. Here are two versions that I came up with:
Meal #2: Avocado Soup, Version 1 (serves 2)
by Elizabeth @ Rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 large Haas avocado
1 C filtered water (More if needed)
2 T fresh lemon juice
zest from 1/2 of the lemon
2 T of diced Vadalia onion
1 clove of pressed garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes
pinch of sea salt (optional)
1 tsp raw honey
cucumber noodles
finely diced orange bell pepper
finely diced Roma tomato
broccoli sprouts
Directions:
In a high speed blender add the water, avocado, lemon juice and zest. Blend till creamy adding water if needed to obtain your desired consistency. Next add the garlic, 1 T of the onions and a pinch of sea salt. Pulse a few times. Next prepare the cucumber noodles by peeling a cucumber and slicing thin strips on a mandolin. stop before you reach the seeds. Stack the noodles and cut into thinner strips using a sharp knife. Pour the soup into bowls and add the cucumber noodles. Garnish the soup with a drizzle of raw honey, chopped orange peppers, tomatoes, remaining onion and the broccoli sprouts.

Avocado Soup Version 2 (serves 2)
by Elizabeth @ Rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 large Haas avocado
1 C filtered water (more if needed)
2 T fresh lime juice
zest from 1/2 of the lime
1 clove pressed garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp Tamari
fresh cilantro
scallions, the greens only, finely sliced
cucumber noodles (see above recipe for how to)
finely diced orange bell pepper
finely diced Roma tomato
broccoli sprouts
Directions:
In a high speed blender add the water, avocado, lime juice and zest. Blend till creamy. Next add the garlic, Tamari, and red pepper flakes and pulse a few times. Pour soup into bowls and add the cucumber noodles. Garnish soups with the peppers, tomato, cilantro and sprouts. For a finishing touch top with a very small amount of ground sea salt. Insanely good!!

I actually had a bowl of each for Meal #2. I was really happy with how delicious they both were and how distinctly different they tasted.

Meal #3 Pear Delight

2 diced pears

6 soaked dates

2 soaked figs

1 T raw dried coconut, soaked

1/3 C raw sunflower seeds soaked 2-3 hrs

cinnamon

Directions:

Place the diced pears into a bowl. Slice the figs and dates into bite sized pieces. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pears and gently toss. Enjoy!

I will leave you with this thought to ponder during this hectic season as we await Christmas:

"Can we rest securely in the knowledge that we are cherished by a God who pursues us passionately? If we can burrow deep into that identity, we don't much need pretension, titles, acclaim, prestige or perfect Christmas gifts. We have enough."
— from Catholic Update: Advent Day-by-Day

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my day filled with raw living foods and for feeling much better!!

Saturday Meditation

2011-12-10T09:53:00.004-05:00

"We often miss the prophets in our midst. A few signals might point them out: they disrupt our cozy routines, present new ideas we find unsettling and ask us to reach beyond our comfort zones."
— from Catholic Update: Advent Day-by-Day

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for disruptions.

Mountain View and Raw Collard Greens

2011-11-19T15:36:00.001-05:00

Look at my views

Enjoying the beauty of the North Carolina mountains once again and it feels wonderful! Traveling is easy, if you eat raw, with just a little bit of planning. Of course packing the blender is essential so green smoothies can be enjoyed every morning.
Stocking up on fresh produce once you reach your destination is a must. I knew that this trip was going to include Storm's fantastic recipe for raw vegan collards so I made sure that I printed out the recipe. The thought of heading for the hills of North Carolina made this recipe so relevent!!! I found the most amazing organic collard greens at the local grocery store (thinking-- how could I not!!) and also some Heirloom tomatoes; not to mention sweet white onions, so well known in the South. A little pre-planning (soaking and grinding my cashews into flour at home) made this a snap to put together once we reached our destination. I enjoyed this amazing raw recipe for lunch and dinner on two different days.
Check out Storm's recipe here.
I skipped his step of letting the greens sit in the sun and instead ate my greens in the sun :)
I watched our oldest two build a fire and ate my raw greens sitting on the brown grassy hill as the younger three rolled around in the leaves; it was pure bliss.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a stupendous view on top of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

My 2011 Garden and a Recipe

2011-11-12T13:24:00.000-05:00

The garden went in pretty easily this fall and I am hoping I can harvest some great produce. My neighbor was sweet enough to give me 4 cucumber plants (love yah!) that he started from seed. Unfortunately one of them did not survive a tropical downpour that we had a few weeks back. But the remaining three look just fine.

I also planted some marigolds as a border, they remind me of my Grandma and Grandpa that are no longer with us--memories flood back each time I look at the beautiful flowers--you'll see those down below in the updated pics.

I decided to plant the majority of the garden from seed. As you can see, the plants planted are tomato and peppers. And as I said the cucumbers against the fence were grown from seed, thanks Bubba!!!

In the front row I planted seeds for Chinese Cabbage; the second row is all Romaine; the third row is Collards; the fourth row is Kale.

One of my cutie pies is in the backround modeling our banana trees. We have 3 hands on the trees right now!! That has never happened before, usually we only have one growing at a time. I hope these ripen nicely because we love these small sweet organic bananas!!

This year I once again am growing potted plants up on our second story deck. I will be growing tomato, aloe and a full herb garden as well as micro greens and some lettuce.
So far I have the aloe and tomato planted.

Now let's look at how everything has grown over the past 20 days:

I forgot to mention that I am also growing a pineapple.

Here is a super easy recipe for Raw Cranberry Sauce. It takes about 3 minutes to make and is packed with fresh flavors. I will be having it as part of my Raw Thanksgiving Feast that we will be preparing early this year. I am making a turkey for our oldest son because he LOVES turkey. The rest of the menu is entirely plant based and a large portion of it will be raw so I can indulge also.
Here is the cranberry recipe:

Raw Cranberry Sauce
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 large Florida navel orange
1 bag of fresh organic cranberries
1 organic red apple
2 T date fluff (paste)
fresh lemon juice
Using a food processor, process the cranberries into small pieces. Place into a mixing bowl. Next pulse the apple into small pieces, add that to the bowl. Lastly pulse the orange and mix with the apples and cranberries. Gently fold in the date fluff. Drizzle with some fresh lemon juice and gently stir. Chill.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for an unexpected gift from the hubby. Thanks sweetie!!

Essential Fatty Acids

2011-11-06T13:05:00.011-05:00

It is essential (for specific health issues) in our household that we get our EFA's in proper proportion every day. The easy way we achieve that is by loading up our morning green smoothies with them! Another way is to enjoy them in a luscious raw pudding!!

I alternate and rotate and combine two or three of the following in our daily green smothie: Nutiva White Chia seeds, Nutiva Hemp Seeds, Organic Flax Seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds or Hemp Oil.

Our goal is to get the perfect balance to reap their anti-inflammatory properties, this is essential for us.

The way that most Americans eat leads to an overabundance of Omega-6 fatty acids which actually promotes inflammation in the body. The good thing is we don't eat like standard Americans so there is not much concern that we will have too many 6's but I still need to pay close attention to our intake of Omega-3's. Plant-based eaters do not have a DIRECT source of EPA and DHA in their diets so it is important to realize that our bodies will have to convert ALA (an omega-3 fatty acid) into its two final acids, EPA and DHA.

It is all about ratio. We need a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 of between 2:1 and 4:1. But what are the ALA or Adequate Intake levels for men and women to consume?

Men need 1.6 grams

Women need 1.1 grams

(You'll have to adjust for children)

Let's look at foods that have that perfect ratio of omega-6 to omega-3:

WALNUTS

FLAXSEEDS (grind fresh before use)

GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES

HEMPSEEDS

Broken down into two groups you would have:

Some Foods high in omega-6 that we consume

raw pumpkin seeds

raw sunflower seeds

raw tahini

tofu (use limited and only organic)

**Other sources that we personally do not eat are: edamame and wheat germ.

Omega-3 Sources we consume

organic flax

organic raw walnuts

organic green leafy vegetables, raw and cooked

hempseeds

Nota Bene: In only 1 Tbsp of ground flaxseeds a person can obtain their daily ration of ALA--now that is easy!! Pop it into a smoothie, any recipe of yours or my pudding recipe below.

Raw Pudding Packed with EFA's

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 organic avocado

3 small organic bananas (ripe with brown spots on skin!)

3 heaping T of raw carob powder (Foods Alive brand)

1 T raw mesquite (Foods Alive brand)

2 T Nutiva White Chia Seeds

1 T date fluff (see recipe here)

1 T Nutiva hempseeds to garnish

In a small food processor, process the first six ingredients until creamy smooth. Add a splash of water if needed to achieve desired consistency. Sprinkle the hempseeds on top. Enjoy!

Nota Bene: This pudding is VERY filling. It is loaded with fiber and the chia will keep you revved up and going strong for hours--Aztec Warrior food at its best.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful that my newly planted garden survived the rain storms last week :)

Resource on EFA's: "The Complete Idiots Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition" by Julieanna Hever, M.S.,R.D.,C.P.T.

Unprocessed Plant-Based Diet

2011-10-28T15:16:00.003-04:00

It may stun many people, including me, to learn that humans require NO animal products in their diet! In reality animal products are the cause of numerous health ailments and diseases. I learned this a few years ago when I began becoming familiar with the raw living foods lifestyle. The real shocker is that all of our nutritional requirements can be met by consuming all of our food from the plant kingdom! Two different lifestyles can help one accomplish this feat: Raw Vegan or Vegan. A raw vegan consumes raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted vegetables, sprouted grains and sprouted beans, sea vegetables and sometimes a small amount of cooked plant based foods like soaked, sprouted and then cooked quiona or other whole grains. Whereas a vegan may consume both raw and cooked fruits, vegetable, nuts, seeds, whole grains, sprouts, and sea vegetables. The tricky part to the vegan diet is keeping processed vegan "junk" foods out of the picture, with the exception of certain condiments, wheat free pastas and perhaps organic tofu occasionally. So how did I get started on all of this talk? Well, I have my nose buried in the following two books:

THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO PLANT-BASED NUTRITION by Julieanna Hever and UNPROCESSED by Chef AJ.

I am trying to teach my children the facts when it comes to nutrition or should I say proper nutrition, that will allow their wonderfully created bodies to thrive as they were meant to. We have some major inherited health issues to face in this household and I am trying to do the best possible job in giving them the tools to make proper life choices when they leave the nest. Did I really say that? Leave the nest? This mama bird can't swallow THAT reality, but back to the topic--
The first book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition", has alot of good nutritional information and also some great recipes. Some of her material I find conflicting with other sources but for the most part she does a good job. I don't agree with all of her view points, as I am sure no one could agree with EVERYTHING someone writes, but I feel this book is a great tool to help people take back their health one bite at a time. It is amazing how once the light bulb goes on your whole world changes. The major difference between this book and the second title, "Unprocessed" is that the former author cooks with more "processed" food items like maple syrup, canned beans, vegan chocolate chips, nutritional yeast, canned vegetables and a few other things. Whereas in "Unprocessd" she is teaching you how to eat a diet free of salt, sugar, fats and processed products. Only on rare occasion does she use something "semi-processed" like gluten free brown rice noodles, alcohol free extracts and Dijon mustard. But for the most part her recipes are straight up fresh and unprocessed, whole foods--I love that! I like most all of their recipes and can really incorporate several of them, with minor changes, into the families diet. I like how many raw recipes are included in the "Unprocessed" title. The rest of the family does eat cooked foods and a high amount of raw. I on the other hand choose to eat raw with an occasional cooked item thrown in. I feel the best though on completely raw, to be honest.
So here are two recipes that we experimented with; we made the "Unclassic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" from the Idiot's Guide and then I combined two recipes, one from each book, to make a mock parmesan.
Let's start with the mock Parmesan. Chef AJ's recipe is called, "Faux Parmesan" and Julieanna's is called, "Parmesan Shake". They recommend using this on anything you would put dairy Parmesan cheese. I think it makes a great "seasoning". The kids like sprinkling it on food as if it were salt. The beautiful part is this "shake" is high in:
Calcium
Magnesium
Vitamin E
All B vitamins
Protein and
Healthy fats
I made this amazing mock parmesan in less than a minute! Here is how I put it together:
Mock Parmesan Cheeze
1 C raw, soaked, sprouted and dehydrated almonds
1/2 C nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp kelp powder
1/3 C raw sesame seeds, white
2 T salt free, MSG free "McCormick Perfect Pinch Original All Purpose Seasoning"
In a small food processor, process all of the ingredients for roughly 40 seconds or until you achieve a slightly powdery texture. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed. Don't go overboard with the raw sesame seeds or it will be too bitter.

The next recipe I made for the children was Julieanna's "Unclassic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies". Let's just say that our oldest son kept trying to grab the cookie jar and run away with these! He is our pickiest eater so that says a great deal for this recipe. You can get your children to eat cookies with no wheat, oil, eggs, or other nasty stuff!!
I started the day before by preparing my date fluff, as I call it. The authors of the books call it "date paste" but mine always turns out so beautifully fluffy and yummy I prefer to call it date fluff. Anywaaays...to make the date fluff I soak 1 Cup of pitted dates in coconut water overnight. The next day I process it into a fluff using my mini food processor fitted with the "S" blade. Store your fluff in the refrigerator or freeze if you make a double or triple batch, for later use. Into a large mixing bowl I placed a mashed banana, date fluff and powdered vanilla.

Next I made oat flour using my new Blendtec blender, thanks again honey!!!
Added that to the bowl.

On top of that I measured in the baking soda, baking powder and a pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt.
Stir until creamy.

The oats, coconut flour (I added that to the recipe!) and raisins went into the bowl.

I also put in a half a cup of "Enjoy Life" vegan mini chocolate chips--raisins and chocolate go soooo good together in our opinions.
Form into cookie shapes, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake (350 degrees for 7 min) or dehydrate till set.

I must mention that the author's do cross reference to each other's books, so you will see some of Chef AJ's recipes listed in Julieanna's book. I must say that I am very happy with both of these books, I have found several helpful hints and techniques that I can pass on to the children. They understand the whole raw living foods lifestyle but I wanted them to have a better grasp on continuing to eat plant-based cooked items -vs- unhealthy cooked choices throughout life.
I am very excited to say that my garden has been planted!! I will post about that soon as well as another unexpected "science class" discovery in our yard.
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for fantastic test results x two!

I Love Simple Raw Foods

2011-10-21T08:00:00.002-04:00

Raw lunches like these make me smile. So simple and so delicious. With our home school year in full swing there are days when simplicity is just what I need. Time runs short but I will not compromise when it comes to what I eat and the example I am trying to set for the children. Today we all also had some Apple Kale Lemonade. It was very tart and very good. I used a beautiful deep purple kale and a mixture of organic macs, yellow delicious and Fuji and then we juiced 3 lemons. Now that is lemonade! (no pic--the color was awful) If you are not use to green juices you may want to sweeten it with some liquid steevia.

Pear and Sprout Sandwiches

The sunflower greens that you see in the pic are mine but the alfalfa sprouts came from the market. I used the romaine as my "bread" and made mini sandwiches by rolling up pair slices topped with sprouts and greens. This was a very filling lunch--loads of fiber.
I have been posting some new posts to the home school page, so you can click on that to see some new, fun pics of the kiddos having fun learning. For the first month and a half of our new school year,every other day another box of books and supplies would arrive. It is always kinda crazy our first few months getting back into the swing of things but so far so good. I look forward to a great year. Formally teaching all five kids will keep me challenged, to say the least, but I am up for it!
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a new start on my exercise program. It has been hit and miss and I am trying to commit to a regular schedule of weights and aerobic activities. They say it takes 21 days to develop a habit--we shall see about that.

Blendtec Blender Birthday and a Sphinx

2011-10-10T16:20:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday to Me

Oh yes, I finally have a high speed blender!!!! My wonderful husband got it for me for my birthday. Happy birthday to me :)
The first thing I made with it was an orange sorbet for the family. We ate it so fast I forgot to get a pic of the finished product, oops!

Into the blender went:
3 large oranges
1/2 C organic green grapes
2 Cups of ice

Blend on the "ice cream" function and presto, fresh living sorbet. It was wonderful! Since then I have been whipping up the green smoothies in 15 seconds flat. I am so happy to finally have the power I have waited for for 13 long months. We have burned up 3 conventional blenders since the start of my raw food journey but I still have my travel (Tribest) blender for trips.
Take a look at what I found hanging out on the backyard fence.

Tomato Sphinx Moth

It turned into a great science study for the children. We got out all of our moth and butterfly field guides and determined it was a Tomato Sphinx Moth. Pretty cool!! And I didn't even scream like a sissy when I saw it. Normally I would have screamed so loud that the whole neighborhood would hear. I do that every time those darn Florida Anoles jump out at me.

+JMJ+Today I am grateful for my wonderful, new blender!!!!! Thanks honey. XOXOXO

Asian Marinade

2011-10-03T19:01:00.001-04:00

Here is an incredibly simple raw recipe that I know you will love!! I could eat this several times a week and never get tired of it--it is just that good! I call it "Asian Marinated Veggies". Peace and Raw Health!!

Asian Marinated Veggies

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 Bunch of Organic Broccoli

1 Large Yellow

1 pkg Organic Mushrooms

Tamari

Pure Maple Syrup

Splash of Water

EVOO

Sesame Oil

Fresh Garlic

Sliced Ginger

Sesame Seeds (black and white)

Directions:

Chop the broccoli, dice the onion, slice the mushrooms and toss them with the Tamari, syrup, water, EVOO, sesame seeds, ginger and garlic. Allow to marinate for six hours and then place in dehydrator until warm. Serve and enjoy the goodness!!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my peaceful kayak trip. I saw a raccoon fishing in the mangroves, a flock of Ibis feasting on an oyster bed, and a Grey Heron. I also found a yellow "noodle" and a brand new fishing lure wrapped up in the top of a mangrove; I brought both of those back home! It's the simple things that make me give thanks!!!

Name That Fruit (and a smoothie recipe)

2011-09-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

Can You Name This Fruit?

(answer below)

Not to confuse you with the picture of my smoothie, it does not contain this mystery fruit, I just thought they looked really cool alongside the glass.

Easy As 1, 2, 3 Smoothie

This smoothie is so refreshing and so good for you. Filled with chlorophyll and sweet goodness.

Ingredients:

1/4 of a ripe honeydew melon

1/2 bunch of flat leaf parsley

1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Answer to the mystery fruit question: It is the fruit of the tree Annona reticulata. Does that help?

If I were in India eating this fruit I would be considered lower class but in Central America, Mexico and the West Indies it is enjoyed by all! Here is some more important and useful information:

Toxicity
The seeds are so hard that they may be swallowed whole with no ill effects but the kernels are very toxic. The seeds, leaves and young fruits are insecticidal. The leaf juice kills lice. The bark contains 0.12% anonaine. Injection of an extract from the bark caused paralysis in a rear limb of an experimental toad. Sap from cut branches is acrid and irritant and can severely injure the eyes. The root bark has yielded 3 alkaloids: anonaine, liriodenine and reticuline (muricinine).

Other Uses
The leaves have been employed in tanning and they yield a blue or black dye. A fiber derived from the young twigs is superior to the bark fiber from Annona squamosa. Custard apple wood is yellow, rather soft, fibrous but durable, moderately close-grained, with a specific gravity of 0.650. It has been used to make yokes for oxen.

Medicinal Uses:
The leaf decoction is given as a vermifugedecoction is taken as a tonic and also as a remedy for diarrhea and dysentery. In severe cases, the leaves, bark and green fruits are all boiled together for 5 minutes in a liter of water to make an exceedingly potent decoction. Fragments of the root bark are packed around the gums to relieve toothache. The root decoction is taken as a febrifuge.
From a nutritional standpoint this fruit has the following:

Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion*

Calories	80-101
Moisture	68.3-80.1 g
Protein	1.17-2.47 g
Fat	0.5-0.6 g
Carbohydrates	20-25.2 g
Crude Fiber	0.9-6.6 g
Ash	0.5-1.11 g
Calcium	17.6-27 mg
Phosphorus	14.7-32.1 mg
Iron	0.42-1.14 mg
Carotene	0.007-0.018 mg
Thiamine	0.075-0.119 mg
Riboflavin	0.086-0.175 mg
Niacin	0.528-1.190 m
Ascorbic Acid	15.0-44.4 mg
Nicotinic Acid	0.5 mg

*Minimum and maximum levels of constituents from analyses made in Central America, Philippines and elsewhere.
So what is this mystery fruit?
It is the Custard Apple.
I happen to think it is wonderful. But it is best eaten in privacy due to the messy way in which I eat them. It is LOADED with seeds!! As I may have posted before, you eat the fruit by scooping it out with a spoon, sucking the flesh off the seeds, spitting them out and then scooping all of the soft custard from the insides of the skins--yummy! I eat 4-5 at a time.
So where did I get these amazing fruits? From my friends backyard. Thanks "R".

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a great bike ride. I biked about 5 miles last night and it was the best escape. I cycled alongside the water and watched the sun as it began to set. I take it for granted that I live in paradise; I really need to remind myself to be grateful each and everyday for this natural beauty that we are surrounded by. Everyday is like a vacation--just with real life thrown in; meaning the daily grind--but I am grateful for the grind, don't get me wrong.

Famous Pineapple Mango Salsa from CHI

2011-09-17T07:41:00.002-04:00

Creative Health Institute has some mighty amazing raw recipes, as I posted about in my last entry, and this one is at the top of my favorites list! The combination of pineapple and mango with a hint of heat (I added red pepper flakes) is amazing served in a creamy, ripe, avocado boat. And of course it would be fantastic served with some raw corn chips--wish I had some!

Famous Pineapple Mango Salsa

from Creative Health Institute

2 C diced raw pineapple

2 C diced, organic, raw mango

1/4 organic red bell pepper

1/4 organic orange bell pepper

1/4 organic red onion, diced

1/4 C fresh cilantro, finely chopped

2 organic limes, juiced (I used key limes from our tree)

S and P to taste (I omitted)

**I added a good sized pinch of red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Stir together all ingredients, pour into a serving dish. Enjoy!

I served mine on a bed of salad inside avocado boats and drizzled the juices over the salad greens as my dressing. As I was eating this dinner I couldn't help but think it was good enough to be served at a raw restaurant! This is so delicious and I highly recommend you give it a try. Thanks CHI for all of your wonderful recipes.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a bucket full of fresh picked "Mystery Fruit"--I picked them myself; thanks to a dear friend who invited me to!! All the details will be in my next post.

Raw Sprouted Chili

2011-09-10T12:38:00.000-04:00

RAW CHILI

I just love the "meaty" taste of portobello mushrooms and I knew they could make an amazing raw chili. I began combining a salsa recipe with my idea of a raw sprouted chili and the result was this:

RAW CHILI

by Elizabeth at rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

2 large, organic, portobello caps, finely chopped

2 organic tomatoes, diced

1/2 a sweet onion, diced

1 T First Cold Pressed Olive Oil (optional)

pinch of Himalayan pink salt

1 organic cucumber, finely diced

1 organic carrot, very finely diced

1/2 C sprouted lentils

1/4 C sprouts (broccoli, clover, or alfalfa)

1/2 C organic corn, cut off cob (raw)

1 T chili powder (less for mild chili)

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/2 T cumin

2 T sun dried tomatoes, diced

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 C fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic, pressed

Directions: Simply combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and gently toss until incorporated evenly. Serve and enjoy! Keeps refrigerated one day.

I topped mine with a dollop of Poppy Seed Dressing. I learned how to make this amazing dressing at my Raw Chef Training at CHI. If you want some inspiration to incorporate more raw living foods into your lifestyle or if you are in a raw recipe rut, go here for some inspiration!!

+JMJ+Today I am grateful for a day of nature exploring with all 5 children. We observed a turtle, black racer snake who shed his skin on our front porch, several anoles, LARGE grasshoppers, tadpoles and butterflies. Quite a day!

Driving through an Earthquake and Running from Irene

2011-08-31T12:28:00.004-04:00

"When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude." ~ G.K. Chesterton

How grateful I am that our family went through both the earthquake and the hurricane with out any harm. We actually were driving through the quake and therefore never felt a thing. Our vacation was in both D.C. and Williamsburg. So we were on our way out of D.C. and heading to Colonial Williamsburg when the earthquake hit. Then we were glued to the news while trying to enjoy Williamsburg, keeping an eye on the path of Irene. We only saw some scattered storms while in Williamsburg on Friday night and drove through some on our way back to Reagan Airport. It ended up that our flight on Sunday was cancelled so hubby worked his magic and got us a new flight out on Sat at 8 AM. Way to go EJ!!!! It was wonderful, we got home safe and still had an extra day at home to get unpacked and rested up before reality set in--our vacation was over. Back to the daily routine and hubby back to work :(
We had such a blast in D.C. We stayed at Capital Hill Suites.

Capital Hill Suites
It was in the perfect location. Right across the street from the Library of Congress, well one of the several buildings, and across the street from St. Peters. It was wondeful just walking a few steps to Mass.

St. Peter's
I took the older two to the Library of Congress and we had a private meeting with the director of Children's Literature. It was amazing. She showed us some rare books that we may never have seen in our life time had it not been for this chance opportunity. I called her on my cell phone from inside the library and explained that we came from Florida to see the library and I was wondering if she could show our home schooled teenagers exactly what she did in the Children's Literature Department. Well, she said "Yes, come on up". We had to go up a hidden spiral staircase to the second floor, it was just like a movie, so exciting. We felt like we were sneaking around doing something forbidden. It is hard to describe, but it was truly amazing. She showed us the world's smallest book. It is only 6 pages long and can only be read with a high powered microscope. It is the story of Old King Cole. Then she showed us some one of a kind Russian and Japanese books as well as private book collections that various people had donated to the library. She showed us some of the most beautiful picture books for children that I have ever seen. I will cherish this memory forever and am so grateful that I got to share it with our two oldest children. I told them that in life they must never be afraid to "ask". If you want something you simply need to ask politely and the worst that can happen is hearing the word "no". All it took was a simple phone call and we were in a room of the Library of Congress that only a few select groups can see, by appointment only. Pretty darn special!
We went to many museums while in DC and had a great time snapping photos of the kids.

Our Oldest

Our Two Year Old

Our Five Year Old

Our Seven,Five and Two Year Olds

A Very Large Elephant

Our Seven Year Old Loves George Washington

Our Fourteen Year Old

Air and Space Museum
One of the days we took a bus tour of the city and got off at several of the sights. That was the best idea ever. Hubby thought of this one and I am so glad he did. We would never have been able to see all that we did in such a short time any other way.

Double Decker Tours

Union Station

The White House Off in the Distance

Here is our last photo taken at Union Station before we WALKED back to our hotel. I can't believe how well the younger children did walking as far as we did throughout this entire vacation! Yes we had to take turns carrying the younger two when they got tired but that was few and far between.
The second half of our vacation was spent in Williamsburg. We spent two days walking around Colonial Williamsburg and then a day exploring Williamsburg itself and the campus of William and Mary.

Both of our hotels had kitchens of some sort, one kitchenette and the other a full kitchen. I packed my Tribest personal blender so we had green smoothies every morning!! That was great. We had no problem finding food options for everyone while eating out and we prepared several meals in our room in Williamsburg. Finding fresh organic produce in DC was the biggest challenge. We had to walk everywhere and the small neighborhood market was very limited and very over priced. I did the best that I could and it all worked out fine.
Here is a recipe I made the day before we left for vacation and I never got a chance to post. It is a simple curry sauce served ontop of zucchini noodles. Very delicious!!

Creamy Curry Pasta Sauce
by Elizabeth at rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1/2 C raw sprouted almonds
juice of 1 organic orange
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
pinch of Himalayan salt
1/2 T hemp seeds
1 scallion sliced thin on the diagonal
1 organic zucchini spiralized into noodles
In a small food processor or blender, puree the almonds, OJ, lemon juice, curry, turmeric, salt, and hemp seeds. Pour on top of zucchini noodles and garnish with the scallions. Enjoy!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for experiencing our nation's capitol with my family.

Carob Buckwheat Crunchies Topping

2011-08-19T21:00:00.003-04:00

Today this topping just popped into my head. I knew it would be fantastic on some fresh organic strawberries. Well, I was right and here I sit typing and fighting over each bite with the baby, our two year old.
This would be amazing on raw ice cream or on top of carob avocado pudding. Here is a pudding recipe.

Take a look at my simple method of sprouting and making "Sprouted Buckwheat Crunchies":
Soak 2/3 C of organic, raw, hulled buckwheat in spring water for 20 minutes. Rinse until no slimy residue remains. I rinse them in a colander making it easier to sprout them using the same. Place your colander over a bowl to allow for drainage. Rinse the buckwheat every 6-12 hours. Place back onto your bowl to drain and sprout. Keep rinsing every 6-12 hours until their tails sprout. You will see the tiny tails emerge in 1-1 1/2 days. Once your buckwheat has sprouted, spread them onto dehydrator sheets and dehydrate for 6-10 hours or until crunchy when tasted. I just keep checking my buckwheat during the dehydrating process and once they are crunchy they are done! Allow them to fully cool and then store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid in your pantry. Keep in mind that 2/3 C of buckwheat seeds will yield about 1-1 1/4 cups of sprouted.
In a previous post I wrote about the nutritional facts of buckwheat, here is what I wrote:
Buckwheat is a variety of plant in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the North American genus Eriogonum. Buckwheat is not a cereal but a pseudocereal. It is not a grass either, despite the common name and grain-like use of this crop. The name "buckwheat" or "beech wheat" comes from its triangular seeds resembling the beech trees much larger seeds, contained in the beech nut, and the fact that it's used like wheat. This name makes it very confusing especially for those looking for gluten free alternatives. This seed is in fact gluten free and in recent years has been used as a substitute for other grain in gluten free beer!
How about its chemical composition?
The seeds contain:
STARCH-
71-78% in groats
70-91% in different flours
25% amylose
75% amylopectin
PROTEINS-
18% with biological values above 90%--due to its high concentration of ALL ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS!!!!
Especially high in lysine, threonine, trytophan and the sulfur-containing amino acids.
MINERALS-
Iron 60-100ppm (wow, nice way to get this mineral naturally)
Zinc 20-30ppm
Selenium 20-50ppb
ANTIOXIDANTS-
rutin 10-200ppm
0.1-2% of tannins

Carob Buckwheat Crunchies Topping
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

2 T sprouted buckwheat crunchies
1 T raw carob powder
1 T raw honey
2 pinches of Himalayan salt
In a small bowl, mix the buckwheat crunchies with the raw honey until well coated. Next add the salt and carob powder, mix well. Sprinkle on top of fresh strawberries--green tops included!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for wet kisses from the baby--he's still two so I can call him the baby! At least that's my definition of "baby". Peace!

Strawberry Banana Mylk

2011-08-15T13:00:00.001-04:00

Take a look at this strawberry! Unfortunately it is NOT one of mine. My strawberry plants were producing very small fruit; I am grateful yes, but I just had to buy the box of berries I found with this mammoth one peeking out at me at the store.

Needless to say it was an organic strawberry and from what we could tell, it was 3 that had fused together!!!

So what does one do with a carton of delectable organic strawberries and a batch of freshly made almond mylk? How about blending up some yummy Strawberry Banana Almond Mylk.

Strawberry Banana Mylk

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

6 oz fresh organic strawberries, keep green tops on

1 1/2 organic bananas

1 T chia seeds

1 T hemp seeds

1 1/2 C fresh raw almond mylk

Blend all of the ingredients until creamy smooth. Enjoy!

Here is the simple way that I make fresh, sprouted, raw almond mylk.

1. Soak 1 cup of raw almonds in filtered water for 10-12 hours. Drain off soak water, rinse almonds well, drain, and allow to sprout for 1-2 days, rinsing them 2x/day. Once you see a tiny tail sprout out of the bottom of the almond they are ready!

2. Blend the almonds with 32 oz of filtered water until white and foamy. You can sweeten it with a few soaked dates and you can add a pinch of Himalayan salt.

3. Place "nut milk bag" (or in my case a paint straining bag) inside a glass or plastic measuring cup.

4. Pour mylk into bag to strain out the nut pulp.

5. Gently squeeze out all of the mylk leaving the nut pulp behind in the bag.

6. Save this nut pulp in the freezer to make raw cookies and crackers.

7. Pour nut mylk into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator. Remember to shake well before serving. Enjoy!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for beautiful, red berries.

My First Sapote

2011-08-14T12:05:00.000-04:00

I tried my first sapote today, a Mamey Sapote that is. I understand there are different types of sapote but our market had the Mamey and I have really been wanting to taste one. If eaten raw they will contain:
A serving size of 1 fruit without refuse of raw mamey sapote contains 691.92 calories and has 8.091 grams of protein, 112.3812 grams of sugar, 2.5668 grams of fat, 30.132 grams of fiber and 0 milligrams of cholesterol. Raw Mamey Sapote contains the following vitamins and minerals: Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc, Iron, Phosphorus, Manganese, Copper and Sodium.

How to choose Mamey Sapote: Mamey is hard when unripe and becomes softer as it ripens. Press it till the skin collapses to know it is ready to eat. Mamey will not taste good unless it is ripe!
Climate and origin: Mamey is a tropical fruit grown mainly in South America, the Bahamas, and Florida.
Taste: Mamey is moderately sweet, flowery and creamy. It has flavor of carrot, sweet potato, and the texture of an avocado but not as slimy. Excellent taste!

I found mine at our local Publix grocery store. I chose one that was still fairly hard, knowing I was going to allow it to ripen at home. It ripened in just two days. Once it feels slightly soft while gently pressing on it, it is ripe.
While at the store you can do a "scratch test" to determine if the sapote was picked at the proper time. Near the bottom, more pointed end use your fingernail to gently scrape away a small portion of the brown skin. If it looks deep orange in color it was picked at its peak!

"Scratch Test"

I cut it open just like an avocado. Scooped the seed out with a spoon and I tasted it right out of the skin. You can eat it this way with a spoon or turn it into an amazing pudding like I did.(recipe below)

Large, Black Seed

I saved the seed hoping to grow a tree but I don't know if I can wait seven years for it to bear fruit!! I found this great article on growing sapote in Florida.

Mamey Sapote Growing in the Florida Home Landscape¹
Carlos F. Balerdi, Jonathan H. Crane, and Ian Maguire²
Scientific name: Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H.E. Moore & Stearn

Other common names: sapote, mamey colorado

Synonyms: Calocarpum sapota (Jacq.) Merr., Calocarpum mammosum (L.) Pierre

Family: Sapotaceae

Relatives in same family: sapodilla, satin leaf, caimito, canistel, abiu, green sapote.

Origin: Mexico and the Central American lowlands

Distribution: Mamey sapotes ( Plate 1 ) have been grown or cultivated in Central America, Mexico, northern South America, and the West Indies for centuries. The first recorded introduction into southern Florida was during the mid-1880s.

• Importance: The mamey sapote is an important fruit in Miami-Dade, Florida (US), Mexico, Central America, and in the West Indies--including the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. In the state of Florida, Cuban Americans and Central Americans have helped to establish a small but viable industry. Except for the Americas, this very attractive and excellent fruit is not well-known, probably because its short-lived seeds may have discouraged intercontinental transport in colonial times. Recently, there is increasing interest in this fruit in other countries (e.g., Australia, Israel, Philippines, Vietnam, Spain, Venezuela).
Description
Tree
The mamey sapote grows into an open tree with a thick central trunk and a few large limbs. Mamey sapote trees are large, erect to spreading trees which may grow to a height of about 40 feet (12.2 m) in Florida and may exceed 60 feet (18.3 m) in more tropical regions.
Leaves
The leaves are large, up to 12 inches (30.5 cm) long and 4 inches (10.2 cm) wide, simple, and obovate to oblanceolate in shape. The underside is lighter green or brownish and pubescent (hairy) when young but becomes glabrous (smooth) when mature. The leaves are clustered at the ends of the small branches. Depending on the cultivar (variety) and recent crop load, trees will drop most of the leaves in late winter or spring, but develop new leaves rapidly.
Flowers
The small, perfect, whitish, almost sessile flowers are produced abundantly along small branches (1/2 to 2 inches; 1.3 to 5.1 cm), and tend to cluster towards the ends of the stems.
Fruit
The fruit is a berry, ovoid to ellipsoid in shape, with a persistent calyx at the base. Most vary from 3 to 8 inches (7.6 to 20.3 cm) in length. The skin is thick and woody with a russet brown, somewhat scurfy surface. The pulp of mature fruits is salmon pink, orange, red or reddish-brown in color, soft and smooth to finely granular in texture, usually low in fiber. The pulp has a sweet, almond-like, unique flavor. Normally, the fruit contains a single, large, elliptical seed but it may have up to four. The seed has a shiny, hard, dark brown surface with a light brown scar (hilum) on the ventral side. Seeds may crack and sprout in overmature fruits. Fruit weight ranges from 0.75 to 6.0 lb (0.3-2.7 kg).
Season
In Florida, the bloom season may be in summer, fall, and winter depending on the cultivar (variety). Because of this, each cultivar has its own main maturity season ( Table 1 ). For example, 'Pantin' matures most of its crop in July and August with some fruit maturing before or after these months. 'Magana', on the other hand, matures its fruit in March and April with some fruit maturing before or after these months. Other cultivars will mature fruit in the winter, thus allowing for year-round harvest. Trees may have flowers, immature fruit and mature fruit all at the same time. It takes from 13 to 24 months from flowering to fruit maturity.
Production
Seedling trees begin to bear fruit after 7 years or longer. Grafted trees begin to bear in 3 to 5 years. Mamey sapotes are very prolific. Mature trees may bear 200 to 500 fruit per year. Twice this amount may be obtained from large trees.
Varieties
The sapote has been widely propagated by seeds in the countries of its origin. There is great variation in seedling tree fruit shape, size, and pulp quality and color. Some seedling trees produce high quality fruit, and from these, superior types have been selected which are vegetatively propagated as named cultivars (Table 1).
In Florida, 'Pantin' accounts for the largest acreage, while 'Magana' is the next in importance. These two cultivars make up 95-98% of the acreage. Table 1 shows the characteristics of cultivars found in Florida. Different cultivars produce at different times of the year and planting of three to four cultivars may suffice to have mature fruit year-round (e.g., 'Tazumal', 'Pace', 'Magana', and 'Pantin').
Climate and Soils
The mamey sapote is a tropical tree which tolerates warm subtropical conditions, and is not tolerant of freezing temperatures (Figure 1). Young trees are very vulnerable to cold and are injured at air temperatures below 32°F (0°C). Mature trees can withstand 28°F (-2.2°C) for several hours with only slight damage but are killed if the temperature goes down below 22°F (-5.6°C) for very long.
The mamey sapote grows well in a wide variety of well-drained soils, from heavy clays to the limestone and sandy soils of Florida. Mamey sapote are intolerant of constantly wet or flooded soil conditions. The wet soil conditions decrease the oxygen content in the soil, causing roots to die which weakens the tree. In addition, weakened roots are more susceptible to attack by root rotting fungi (e.g., Pythium spp.).

Raw Sapote Pudding
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 medium mamey sapote
2 small organic bananas
1 T chia seeds
1 T hemp seeds
Scoop the flesh out of the sapote skin and place in a small food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and process smooth. Will thicken in about 15 minutes or less. Enjoy!

Recap
How to choose Mamey Sapote: Mamey is hard when unripe and becomes softer as it ripens. Press it till the skin collapses to know it is ready to eat. Mamey will not taste good unless it is ripe!
Climate and origin: Mamey is a tropical fruit grown mainly in South America, the Bahamas, and Florida.
Taste: Mamey is moderately sweet, flowery and creamy. It has flavor of carrot, sweet potato, and the texture of an avocado but not as slimy. Excellent taste!

Nutritional Value:

Serving Size: 100g (1/8 of 8” fruit), Calories: 51, Protein: .5g, Fat: .5g,

Carbohydrates: 13g, Fiber: 3g, Potassium: 47mg, Vitamin A: 230 IU, Vitamin C: 14mg

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for tropical fruits. Being able to enjoy the unique produce down here makes the intense heat almost bearable :)

Maple Cinnamon Flax Crackers

2011-08-09T11:12:00.000-04:00

Keep these hidden or they are sure to get gobbled up! They are not totally raw of course, because of the pure maple syrup, but they are still a better cracker than any processed one, in my humble opinion. I got the idea from Foods Alive. . They have all kinds of flax crackers and I just took one of their flavors, looked up the ingredient list and made up the proportions. Well, they turned out great. And how easy, three ingredients! Flax, pure maple syrup and cinnamon powder. I poured 2 cups of organic, golden flax seeds into a mixing bowl. I barely covered the flax seeds with filtered water. I let them sit and get gelled up for about 30 minutes. Next I stirred in 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup and 2 T cinnamon powder. I spread the mixture onto two Teflex dehydrator trays and dehydrated until crispy. These store beautifully in an air tight container at room temp.
I was able to make a large batch of these for way less than one bag of theirs. If you wanted to make these 100% raw you could use plain steevia to sweeten and then add in a pure maple extract perhaps. I am not worried about the maple syrup, I use it in small amounts every so often. It isn't anything to get stressed about. I am not trying to be a raw food purist here, just a healthy person who eats as much living foods as possible and shares them with her family. Give these crackers a try, I know you will love them. Peace and Raw Health!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my neighbor who went out and foraged for green coconuts for me. Thanks Fred, love yah!!

Almost Raw Mini Monkey Cookies

2011-08-04T11:00:00.002-04:00

I love getting lost on the Internet cruising through recipe sites and day dreaming about all of the yummy foods I want to prepare. Well today I got so inspired to make cookies that I jumped right up and started tweaking a cookie recipe I found on Amazing Health.
If you omit the vegan chips this can be a totally raw vegan recipe. I added the chips as a special treat for my 5 monkeys. I used my raw carob powder and the amazing Raw Wild crafted Ground Vanilla from Ultimate Superfoods, that I purchased while away at my Raw Chef Training up in MI.
Let's look at the recipe:

Almost Raw Mini Monkey Cookies
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 1/2 Cups raw oats, grind into a flour in food processor
2 T raw carob powder
pinch of Himalayan salt
pinch or two of raw vanilla powder
6 soaked dates
2 organic ripe bananas
1 T alfalfa sprouts or clover sprouts (the kids will not even know!!)
1/2 C vegan chocolate chips (optional of course)*

Place your oat flour into a mixing bowl and add the carob powder, salt and vanilla powder, mix well. In food processor, pulse the dates, sprouts and bananas till just smooth, pour over wet ingredients and mix. Dough should be almost the consistency of traditional cookie dough, but slightly wetter. Next fold in the optional vegan chips. Spoon onto teflex dehydrator sheets and dehydrate on 110 degrees for 12-16 hours. Enjoy!
*NOTE: If you omit the chips you will probably need to add a bit more raw sweetener.

Monkey #1

Monkey #2

Monkey #3

Monkey #4

Monkey #5

All Five Monkeys at the Homeschool Convention

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my dehydrator :) b/c I can create healthful treats for my monkeys!!

Lisa's Raw StRAWberry Shortcake

2011-07-31T22:38:00.001-04:00

Want a very quick and easy raw recipe to satisfy your craving for summer shortcake?? Well, here is Lisa T's incredible raw recipe. Lisa is the coordinator of our local living foods group and at our last potluck Meetup she had this on the raw buffet; along with her raw pizza which was out of this world. I hope to make that soon and post that recipe as well. Her pizza tasted like the real deal, the best raw pizza I have ever had and she even served it warm from the dehydrator--oh man was it good!!
For her shortcake I started with the crust which was simply raw, soaked cashews, dates, Himalayan salt and vanilla. A secret ingredient was added and I'll share that in a minute.

In my mini food processor I pulsed together the cashews and dates. I pulsed it until it looked like course crumbs.

My processor is small so I did this in batches, emptying each batch into a mixing bowl. Once all of the crust was pulsed and in the mixing bowl I added some flavoring. In went a pinch of Himalayan pink salt,

Next a pinch of raw wild crafted vanilla,

And finally the secret ingredient that really makes this taste like shortcake

I added 2 tablespoons of raw Maca Powder. Stir crust until completely combined. Reserve about 1/2 cup for the topping. Lisa stressed adding the Maca if you want your crust to be more "cakie". Is that a word? I don't care, all I know is she was right!

Next I pressed my crust into a pie dish using my hands, that always seems to work best with raw recipes I have found; our hands make the best tools.

Next it was time to prepare the strawberries. I used 1 carton of organic berries and left the green stems on. I just can't see wasting an opportunity to get more greens, I think it is criminal that people cut off the tops and discard them! EAT them I say. Not to mention the little green flecks look beautiful in the finished product.

I gently pulsed them in the food processor with 1 T of agave, you could use raw honey or some steevia if you prefer. You want the berries to be in small chunks.
Pour your filling onto the crust and sprinkle on the reserved crust mixture as a topping. Garnish with a big, beautiful berry.

Take a big bite and enjoy. Insanely good!! Thanks Lisa for sharing the recipe with me. NOTE: This kept very well in the refrig for three days; tasted just as great as day 1.

Lisa's Raw StRAWberry Shortcake
(measurements are not exact--eyeball it)
CRUST & TOPPING:
2 C raw cashews, soaked
4 medjool dates, pitted and soaked
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of Himalayan salt
2 T raw Maca Powder
Process the cashews and dates. Stir in the vanilla, salt and maca. (my note:Taste and adjust as needed.) Reserve some of this mixture for your topping. Press remaining crust mixture into a pan.
FILLING:
1 large carton of organic strawberries (my note: keep green tops on)
3 T raw honey or Agave or a few drops of steevia
Pulse into small chunks or dice by hand. Top crust with berries and sprinkle on the reserved crust mixture. Store in refrig.
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for loving friends like Lisa.

Raw Mango Salsa

2011-07-26T14:35:00.000-04:00

RAW MANGO SALSA

Today's lunch was inspired by Megan Elizabeth's Mango Chutney recipe. I decided to change it a bit and make it a "salsa" with some added heat. As I was eating this fantastic salsa I was thinking, if only I had a Vitamix or a Blendtec blender, I could also make this into a creamy soup.

I served my salsa with cucumber rounds as Megan Elizabeth does with her chutney recipe and I must say it was simply delicious. The sweet of the dates is a perfect contrast to the heat of the red pepper flakes. I think this would also be very good with some jalapeno finely diced. I didn't use scallions but instead added dried onion. I think scallions can be quite overpowering and I didn't want them to take center stage. By adding dried onion instead of scallions you can still taste the tomato and mango combo, which is fabulous! And the sprinkle of organic kelp flakes adds just enough saltiness.

Raw Mango Salsa

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning

2 organic Florida mangos, finely diced

2 organic vine ripened tomatoes, finely diced

1 tsp dried onion flakes

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 T fresh organic lemon juice

4 small soft dates, finely chopped

sprinkle of organic kelp flakes

Peel mangos and finely dice. Finely dice the tomatoes. Place mangos and tomatoes into a glass bowl, add the lemon juice, dried onion flakes and red pepper flakes. Gently stir. Chop the dates into tiny pieces and fold into the salsa. Top with a sprinkle of the kelp flakes. Serve with cucumber rounds.

Enjoy! You can't imagine just how good this is, it is a must try!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for vacation memories.

Creative Health Institute- Day 3 Advanced Raw CHef Training

2011-06-02T11:50:00.000-04:00

Finally I can post about Day 3 and our graduation. I have been away from blogging because we had to get ready for a 5 night/ six day trip to the homeschool convention up in Orlando so I have not been able to get anywhere near blogger for several days now. I tend to only focus on a few things at a time or I get overwhelmed and grumpy. So my focus the last several days has been on the kiddos and our homeschool convention. We had a great time, but traveling raw and with kids who are gluten free/dairy free and high raw, is always a great challenge. Will post about that later.
Day 3 at CHI Sunday, May 1, 2011
Breakfast was served at 8AM. We were treated with the following killer menu:
Atifah's Raw Pancakes with Blueberry and Gojilicious Syrups
Raw Vegan Bacon
Fresh juice OJ
Raw almond milk

Right after breakfast the food prep stations were humming once again--the roar of Vitamixes and food processors and the hum of numerous dehydrators.
We had to prepare kale chips from 9:15-10:15AM
Team 1- Pizza Kale Chips
Team 2- Sour Cream Kale Chips
Team 3- Krispy Kale Chips (our team)
Team 4- Corn Chips
10:15-10:30am BREAK TIME
10:30-12:00pm FOOD PREPARATION BEGAN
TEAM 1- Not So Meat
TEAM 2- Mexican Refried Beans
TEAM 3- Taco Tostados (our team)
TEAM 4- Not So Cheese
Can you tell what was on the lunch menu?? Raw tostados!!! Talk about fantastic. These were so amazing and I am so glad I know how to prepare all of these wonderful recipes now.
When I got home one of the first things I made were the tostadas and the refried beans.

Take a look at our lunch menu:
Not So Meat
Spanish Rice "Sofrito" (recipe)
Taco Tostados
Not So Cheese
Mexican Refried Beans
Rejuvelac (sprouted quiona)
Apple Lemonade

Rejuvelac and Apple Lemonade

Tostados and Not So Meat

All the Fixins for Raw Tostadas

Even though the food was delicious and the people we were sharing it with were beyond amazing, I couldn't help but feel a little sad during lunch. After lunch we all would graduate and that meant going our separate ways as well.
Here are my graduation pictures:

Bobby, Master Chef, Presenting Diplomas

Speech by one of the Chefs at CHI

My Sister-In-Law and Bobby

Cynthia's Speech (my sister-in-law)

Me, the Happy Graduate with Bobby

Me Crying and Giving Thanks

Cynthia (on left) and Me, CHI's New Raw Chefs

You can see my sister-in-law's blog pics here.
If you are interested in these raw chef classes here is all of the information for Creative Health Institute:
866-426-1213
www.creativehealthinstitute.com
email: info@creativehealthinstitute.com
+JMJ+Today I am grateful for the mindset of beginning each day as a fresh start, with no mistakes....yet. Keeping it positive! Peace.

Day 2 Advanced Raw Chef Level 1: Part II

2011-05-24T13:58:00.001-04:00

Day 2 Part II
So now I will continue writing about our fantastic Day 2 food preparations.
From 3-4PM we were busy creating raw cookies and brownies.
Team 1- Coconut Macaroons
Team 2- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Team 3- Walnut Date Balls
Team 4- Best Brownies
I must admit that by far my favorite of these raw goodies were the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Bobby, our Master Chef, said that he took his grandma's cookie recipe and converted it to a raw recipe. We were able to eat them warm out of the dehydrator and it was a cookie experience I will never forget. They really were THAT good!!!
Next up on the schedule was the Garden Burger Demo followed by the Ketchup, Mustard and Mayo Demonstrations. My sister-in-law and I took this time in our busy schedule to sneak out to Saturday's Vigil Mass at a very nice, orthodox, Catholic church--just like we like them. It was a much needed escape for us from all of the information overload that we were experiencing during this amazing Raw Chef Training and a time to give thanks for all that we were so blessed to have accomplished thus far. When we returned we were brought up to speed on what we missed and it was time for a Pesto Stuffed Mushroom Demonstration.
Before dinner we were able to go and take a tour of CHI's sprouting room. Boy was I in sprout Heaven, as you can imagine!! Take a look at these pics--can you tell what everything is??
If you want to see a pic of me "Grazing on the Wheat grass" go here and scroll down to the end of my sister-in-law's post. Too funny!!

Dinner was served at 5:30PM
Here is what we had:
Garden Burgers with romaine lettuce buns
Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms
Not So Cheese
Kale Salad with Blessed Tahini Dressing
Coconut Macaroons
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Best Brownies
CHI's Almond Joys
Walnut Date Balls
That evening we watched the movie "Eating" and learned sooooo much information that everyone should know. I am really glad we got to see this film, I have been wanting to view it for quite some time now. After the movie several of the students went into the Banya sauna. Then it was light out at 10:30PM.
I will post about Day 3 soon. I was so sad to see our weekend come to an end but I also was so grateful for this amazing opportunity. Stay tuned for Day 3 and our graduation ceremony.
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for seeing my First Grader learn his math facts for the day. Way to go MA.

Day 2 Advanced Raw Chef Level 1: Part I

2011-05-21T23:06:00.000-04:00

Saturday, April 30th, 2011
Day 2 began at
8AM with Breakfast Preparation
Team 1 was preparing Raw Quinoa
Team 2 was preparing Rawsome Oatmeal
Team 3 was preparing Green Smoothies
Team 4 was preparing Almond and Pecan Milks
Our team made a wonderful green smoothie. Everyone really enjoyed it--it was gone before we could even put it on the breakfast table. All of the "Chefs in training" kept sampling it.
Once we all had our preparations completed it was time for a fantastic, raw, nourishing breakfast.

We enjoyed:
Fresh Juiced Orange Juice
Rawsome Oatmeal
Rawsome Quinoa
Fresh blueberries, strawberries
Banana Manna Bread with Cashew Frosting
Green Smoothies
Nut Milks
We also were able to sample the delicious Energy Soups

The one in the forefront is the unsweetened Energy Soup and the one in the back round is the sweet Energy Soup. They had "toppings" to add to the soups:

The toppings were:
Kelp
Dulse
Flax meal
Rye seeds
Here is how my Energy Soup looked and boy was it yummy!! I chose the sweet version.

We were so fortunate to have several demonstrations throughout our training and preparation sessions. Like I said in the previous post every minute of everyday was utilized and devoted to teaching us as much as possible during our Raw Chef Training Program. One of our many demonstrations was given by Chuck. He demonstrated how to make the Banana Manna Walnut Bread with Cashew Cream Frosting.

10:00AM Food Preparation resumed

Team 1- Granola Cereal

Team 2- Muesli Cereal

Team 3- Better Than Lara Bars Blueberry

Team 4- Better Than Lara Bars Cashew Cookie

My sister-in-law

11:00AM Food Preparation
Team 1- CHI Corn Chowder
Team 2- Mama Angelina's Tomato Basil Soup
Team 3- Broccoli Soup
Team 4- Paige's Sweet Potato Soup
Our team prepared the Broccoli Soup. It was good and beautiful also.

I dressed it with some EVOO, sprouts, fresh basil and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Mama Angelina's Tomato Basil Soup

We then jumped right into our next Food Preparation. All teams prepared Raw Pad Thai Salads.

Zucchini Noodles with red bell peppers, sprouts, lentil sprouts, and cilantro. Here are the left over zucchini cores.

Bobby, our Master Chef Instructor told us how he seasons these and then dehydrates them for later uses. What a great idea! He calls them "mushrooms".
We prepared an incredibly delicious sauce for our Pad Thai.

Here is our dish, tossed:

During our Pad Thai preparation we were served a delicious Pineapple Orange Coconut Banana Smoothie. The interns at Creative Health were so gracious and made sure that we were well hydrated and that our energy levels were high.

Lunch was served. We were able to sample each team's Pad Thai and we also had a broccoli and cauliflower salad served with Bobby's famous Poppy Seed Dressing. When I returned home I just had to make this dressing. It is just delicious! Here is how my recipe looked.

Four more awesome demonstrations were on our schedule. These were:
Seed Cheese
Smoked Pepper Cheese
CHI Sour Cream
Sprouted Quiona Rejuvelac

I will stop here for Part I of our Day 2 experience. So much happened each day it still makes my head spin when I think about all that we did and learned. I will finish Day 2's post soon. We had the opportunity to prepare raw cookies and brownies, more demos and our dinner preparation, movie and Banya time.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my son's increased energy and rosy cheeks.

Advanced Raw Chef Level 1: Training and Certification

2011-05-12T12:32:00.000-04:00

CREATIVE HEALTH INSTITUTE
"OUR COMMITMENT TO INSPIRE EVERY PARTICIPANT IN OUR PROGRAMS TO LIVE A TRANSFORMED LIFE OF SUPERB HEALTH AND WELL-BEING AND ENROLL OTHERS IN SHARING OUR VISION."

Well, the exciting news I was referring to in the previous post is that I completed my Level 1 training as an Advanced Raw Chef. I have dual certification, one through Creative Health Institute and also through Alissa Cohen. Creative Health Institute is such an amazing place. I am so grateful that I was able to go there and meet these wonderful and loving people. Here is a bit from their site:

'The Wheatgrass Place'

Your Body Can Heal Itself..
WE OFFER A TOTAL HEALTH SOLUTION

Teaching wellness that works since 1973
We are the longest running hands on raw living foods program operating in the same location, for 37 years
Over 15,000 graduates
We are a learning facility
We sell no supplements and our focus is entirely on your learning the skills to live a raw/living food lifestyle

What you get at Creative Health Institute:

"Whether you are suffering from Cancer, Diabetes, Heart disease, or nearly any other ailment, or, you are healthy, and wish to stay that way, our program will provide you the tools to help your body heal itself, naturally! "

Need I say more? I think not.

Flowers that greeted us at the front door. Attention to detail--gotta love it!

So let's talk about their Raw Chef Training and Certification Program. I flew to Michigan and met my sister-in-law who drove up from Ohio. We shared a room at CHI and were on the same Training Station. So needless to say we had a load of fun together learning side-by-side and sharing this, as Cynthia says, "Life changing experience". And that is indeed what this experience was. The amount of love and healing that is given and goes on there is truly amazing. The out pouring of generosity and knowledge is beautiful. Each and every person I met was so special and so unique. I am so blessed to have been in their company.
Our check-in time was on Friday, April 29th from 2-4PM. Cynthia and I got un-packed and settled into our room. They are just like hotel rooms but it felt more like a sorority to me. I felt like I was back in college at Michigan State, moving into Alpha Chi Omega all over again. I went to MSU for my first two years and then I transferred to Ohio State University and spent 3 more years there. I graduated with two degrees, a BS in Dental Hygiene and the second, a BS in Education. (a little side note)
After we got settled we looked around the facility and met some of our fellow raw chefs and were given our (precious) notebooks. These held our intense training schedule and our recipes, guide to setting up a raw kitchen, sprouting charts, measurement equivalents, supplemental materials on food combining and seed and nut milks.

A beautiful welcome reception was given for us.

We were served:
Apple Lemonade

Kale Chips--3 types
Corn Chips
Large Green Salad with Sprouts and Tomato
Mexican Almost Refined Bean Dip

Not So Cheese Sauce
Salsa

Guacamole

Pepper Cheese Log
Zen Crackers

Mango Salsa

After our lovely reception we were given the overview of class and expectations by our Master Chef instructor and friend, Robert C. Morgan. He let us call him "Bobby".

Talk about a spectacular man. Such love he has for every person that comes through their front door. He is a stickler for organization, cleanliness and exceptionally fresh, organic ingredients. He is a wonderful teacher and a wonderful person. I am blessed to have met him and share 3 days with him and all of the hard working Interns at CHI.
Next we had our introduction to training stations and appliances.

We then had a demo on proper knife skills. Safety comes first at CHI and we all learned a great deal from our instructors. It doesn't matter how long you have been preparing foods in a kitchen, there is always something new to learn.
Next we were split into Teams. We each got to name our teams and I came up with "The Sprouting Spartans". We jumped right into raw food prep. Each team was given a recipe and all of the ingredients needed. Our first food prep was called, "Pizza Party Preparation". Team 1 was Pizza Crust, Team 2 was Marinara Sauce, our team was Team 3- Pesto Sauce, and Team 4 was mozzarella Cheese.
Here is Bobby working with the Mozzarella team, demonstrating how to use a nut milk bag to make the fermented cheese.

Our pesto ingredients were: soaked cashews, garlic, pine nuts, fresh basil, alfalfa sprouts, and lemon juice. I think it turned out spectacular!

Here is my sister-in-law having a blast playing with a Vitamix for the first time.

And here is my other teammate "T" and I seriously discussing the recipe. I am in the red apron and bandanna.

After all of the teams completed their recipes it was time for our Raw Pizza Party Dinner. The teams got to dress their own pizzas and then we all sat down to dinner.

Here is our dressed pizza.

Several students commented that these were the best pizzas they have ever tasted. One man from Chicago, I think, liked them better that traditional cooked pizzas. Now that says a great deal!! All of the teams did a great job, everything tasted so good and looked so beautiful. We were also served another very large green salad loaded with sprouts and tomato.

The salad was served with Bobby's Sweet Onion and Poppy Seed Dressing. I made that this week and will be posting about it soon. It is sooooo delicious. I'll have to ask him if I can give out the recipe!

After dinner we had a demo on making raw chocolate syrup. Why would we need to make a raw chocolate syrup you ask, well because they treated us to a raw ice cream party that night. Bobby himself was on the juicers making our ice cream and teaching us as he went along--he never wastes one minute, he had us learning every minute of every day! Wonderful.

We had fresh strawberries, bananas, pineapple, soaked nuts and the raw chocolate sauce for our toppings. They called them Dessert Banana Splits, I called them pure joy!

Here is my very large serving

Here are Allie and "Cheese Lady" making their raw banana splits. Can't you tell how happy they were?

Needless to say we all were completely exhausted after our first day that we didn't even watch the scheduled movie or go into the Banya sauna. That was fine with me, I needed time to just chill in the room with Cynthia and try to get some much needed sleep. But what a blast Day 1 was!! I will post Day 2 and Day 3 next. You won't believe all that we learned!! Be sure to come back and read all about our raw chef adventures!!

I must say I was also recovering from the shock of going a whole day without changing a single diaper. Don't get me wrong, I missed my family dearly but this was a much needed escape for me. I am so blessed and thankful.

Want some great raw recipes???? Check this out!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the love given by strangers and the friendships that were created almost instantly upon introductions. XOXO CHI family!!!! I miss you all!

Loaded Tomato Soup

2011-05-10T15:25:00.000-04:00

I have been away from Blogger World for over two weeks--much too long. But so, so much has happened in this short time that it makes my head spin. Some of it stressful, some of it depressing and some of it very, very exciting! I will only focus on the exciting. I am now officially a certified RAW CHEF!!!! I am so excited about that. I made a trip up to Michigan and went through Raw Chef Certification with my wonderful sister-in-law. If there is anyone who can relate to this whole raw adventure it is definitely her! We had a blast and we were overwhelmed all at the same time. Wow what an experience. I will be posting all about it and I have loads of photos. I am still compiling everything and will get it up just as soon as I can. I have been tearing up the kitchen with raw recipes. So much else is going on here that it has been a bumpy few weeks, I look forward to smoother days.
Here is my lunch recipe that I wanted to share with you. Whenever organic corn is in season in SW Florida I snatch it up. I wanted to incorporate it into two different recipes this week and here is my first one, I call it Loaded Tomato Soup. All I can say is, it is truly fantastic. Super simple, super fresh and bursting with flavor. The soup base is actually a pizza sauce recipe that I learned while at Raw Chef "school". I just took that recipe, thinned it down with some extra water and added some olive oil and a few different ingredients.
Loaded Tomato Soup
by Elizabeth @ Raw Living and Learning
2 large Heirloom Tomatoes, cut in fourths (use more if small)
1 scallion, greens included, chop
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 C red clover sprouts
2 tsp raw honey
1 T first cold pressed EVOO
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp dried basil
pinch of black pepper
pinch of pink Himalayan salt
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 C warm water to thin to desired consistency
Process in personal sized blender until smooth. Pour into soup bowl and add the following toppings:
1 ear of raw organic corn, cut off cob
4 organic white mushrooms, diced
1/4 of an organic cucumber, diced
1 organic orange mini sweet pepper, diced
black sesame seeds
fresh cilantro
fresh oregano
fresh Greek basil
Enjoy!!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for great medical news. I am praying for more!

Sounds Strange, Tastes Great

2011-04-27T11:02:00.001-04:00

The past few days I have been eating very little following the juice fast. I actually kept juicing the day after my 3-day fast ended. It just felt like I should keep going. I have been eating whole foods again but not much in the way of quantity and have only had one or two meals per day. Today I felt like a crunchy salad so I made a delicious curry sauce to toss onto dandelion greens, celery, carrots, and green apple. It sounds strange when you read the sauce's ingredients, but it tastes great!! Later today I will put this same sauce onto some grated cabbage and carrots and have it for dinner. If you thinned the sauce with some more water or lemon juice it would make a lovely dressing for tossed salads, keep it thick and use it as a fruit and veggie dip.
This recipe is from Bethany Tait and she calls it:
Dandelion Greens with Curry Sauce
1 head dandelion greens, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
2 green apples, cubed (I used one)
1 stalk of celery (I used two)

Sauce/Dressing/Dip

1 banana
1/2 C soaked sunflower seeds
2 Medjool dates, pitted
juice of 1 lemon
1 scallion (I used onion powder)
1/2-1T curry powder
sea salt
pepper
Using a food processor or blender, process the sauce until smooth, adding water as needed to thin to your likeness. If using as a dip omit the water and keep it thick.

Pour sauce over salad and mix well until all of the vegetables and apples are coated with dressing. Enjoy!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for finishing a very small organization project.

Juice Fast/Feast Day 3

2011-04-23T20:33:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how fast this fast went!!! The most shocking thing is that I never got hungry. Amazing! Here is what today looked like:
I woke up feeling very well rested and had no detox symptoms. I am very shocked that I have not had frequent trips to the powder room, if you know what I mean. I was hoping for a good cleanse. I may have to take some other measures. I was given a pamphlet on some capsules that actually help to loosen old waste and really clean the colon. Something to think about.
8:45AM Big glass of lemon water
9:15 AM spinach, dandelion, pineapple, sunflower greens, and collard stems left over from the kiddos green smoothie ****This was by far my most favorite juice of the fast, it was so amazing!!!****

9:45AM Dino kale, parsley, carrots--I even shared this one with the three youngest kids. Very yummy.

11:30AM Time for a lemon spritzer

12:00PM Lunch was a "Ginger Fizz" ginger, apple, sparkling water
2:00PM 3 broccoli florets, 2 celery ribs, 3 tomatoes from my garden, 1 mini red pepper, pinch of sea salt
Dinner was grapefruit and apple juice

Snack time tonight was some watermelon, wow I actually got to chew something. It was really good and I felt fine after eating it. I have no idea what I will have tomorrow; I am actually considering doing one more day but we shall see.
I hope everyone has a Blessed, peaceful and joyous Easter!
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the phone conversation I had with my sister. Bless her heart; she is in really good spirits from what I could tell.

Juice Fast/Feast Day 2

2011-04-22T22:08:00.000-04:00

Last night when I was typing my post I started feeling a bit off--slightly nauseous, a headache and that wicked sinus drainage. But I am happy to report that I woke up today with no headache and no sick tummy. The morning began with a big glass of lemon water at 8 AM.
At 8:30 AM I had a mean, green drink consisting of parsley, one cucumber, 2 kale leaves, 2 stalks of celery, a wedge of lemon, 1 red apple and 1 green apple. It was very good!

At 10 AM I had a "Pink Morning Tonic" which was simply 1 grapefruit and 1 red apple.

Unfortunately I had to run a ton of errands and was on the go with just lemon water from 12:30 PM to 3:30PM. When I got home I made some carrot pineapple juice for the kiddos and I had carrot, pineapple, cabbage, apple, pear and dandelion. Very good but if you don't care for cabbage, leave it out--you can definitely tell it is in there. I liked it!

4:30 PM I had back to back lemon spritzers. I used "Mountain Valley" sparkling water and the juice of 1 lemon. Dinner was late, at about 7:30. I juiced several oranges and had two tall glasses of OJ.

Right now I am sipping on warm mug of Detox Tea. Hard to believe I am functioning on so little. But when you think about it these juices probably have more nutrition than what a person eats all week consuming the SAD diet. I have not felt hunger yet and have been so pleased with all of the juices.

My best friend from Chicago was sweet enough to send me the link for a new juice bar in her town. She is so clever; suggesting I go to their site, read the menu and get recipe ideas. Way to go M!!! That place is amazing. Check out these juice combos at Peeled.

apple, pineapple, ginger
carrot, apple, beet
green leaf, celery, coriander, green apple, lime
green leaf, carrot, apple, beet, lemon, ginger
carrot, pineapple, lemon, ginger
beet, apple, ginger
beet, pineapple, pear, ginger
fresh greens, pineapple, cilantro, lime

Time to get some rest. Good night!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the sweet smell of gardenia.

Juice Fast/Feast Day 1

2011-04-21T20:33:00.001-04:00

The morning started with 10 oz of water and into it went the juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 tsp of Acacia fiber. At 10 AM I had a cup of Detox Tea.
11 AM was my version of Hippocrates Green Juice. I juiced 1 cucumber, sunflower greens, parsley, kale, celery, a small piece of lemon and 1/2 tsp dulse.

At 1 PM I juiced half of a Honeydew melon. Followed it with more Honeydew, ginger and pear juice.

3 PM was carrot apple juice. I made a bunch of it and shared it with the kids.

Had another glass of Detox Tea at 4:30PM. Then for dinner at around 5:30 PM I had a simple grapefruit juice.

Lots of water in between. I am feeling tired tonight and will go to bed early. My sinuses are draining like crazy! Don't know what that is about.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for making it through a full day of juice fasting. This is the first one for me, so it makes it a bit special :)

My Food for the Next Three Days

2011-04-20T22:38:00.002-04:00

Here is a pic of most of my food for the big 3-day juice fast/feast!! I am so excited it is queer. Missing from the pic is my broccoli, some more kale, collards and tomatoes from my square foot garden, parsley from my herb garden, some radish sprouts and three large cucumbers from my sweet neighbor across the canal.

For my records I am going to bore you with my food list and the cost. I want to keep track and compare to future juice fasts.
3 (5lb) bags of organic carrots $11.97
1 organic honeydew $4.99
1 bunch organic spinach $2.99
2 bunches of greens $5.98 (organic dandelion greens and organic dino kale)
3.08 lbs organic tangerines $5.21
3.31 lbs organic valencia oranges $5.59
5 organic lemons $4.45
2.89 lbs organic green cabbage $2.57
1.78 lbs organic green pears $3.54
2 (3 lb) bags of organic red and green apples $9.98
1 box organic Detox Tea $4.69
1 bottle of Mountain Valley Sparkling water $1.89 (for melon and lemon spritzers)
1 bunch of organic parsley $2.99
1 bunch of broccoli $2.00
red clover sprouts (pennies)
broccoli sprouts (pennies)
sunflower greens (pennies)
radish sprouts (not in pic--seeds soaking, will be ready on day 3)

I will be using my L'EQUIP XL Pulp Ejection Juicer to juice up all of this beautiful food. My recipes will be coming from the book, "Juicing for Life". I just love her simple recipes and she even gives you simple guide for a juice fast and a sample menu. All of the suggested juice recipes for the fast are grouped together for easy access. She begins the book with the basics of juicing and then the main portion explains what juices are appropriate for various disorders from acne to water retention and everything in between. The final portion of the book show cases specific diet plans and she even has a suggested reading list. I really like this book because it is not complicated at all and the recipes are great.
In addition to my juicing I will be doing foot soaks, body brushing, detox tea, and Hippocrates green juice will start my mornings. Lots of lemon spritzers and lemon water throughout the day and if I get hungry in between green juices I will have orange juice as my "snacks". I actually considered doing a strictly orange juice fast but I don't think I could go three days with out my greens!
I look forward to starting this fast in the morning and will post my recipes and experiences as I go along.
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for determination.

Lemon Herb Sauce

2011-04-19T13:36:00.000-04:00

It is a beautiful, sunny, and hot day here in the SW of FL. I am sending warm thoughts to all of you who are still experiencing winter type weather.
Today's lunch came together beautifully. I have been wanting to create an oil free, raw, creamy sauce for zucchini noodles for several weeks now and today was the day to make it happen. This creamy sauce is so bright with lemon and herb flavor it is truly an explosion of tastes! Each bite is slightly different as you taste the Greek Oregano, basil, and lemon balm. So simple, so delicious and bursting with raw, living energy.

Lemon Avocado Sauce with Herbs

I topped some zucchini noodles and diced baby bella mushrooms with this delightful sauce. Right before eating it I decided to add some fresh ground black pepper.

Lemon Herb Sauce
by Elizabeth @ Raw Living and Learning

1 avocado
juice of 1 lemon
1 T nutritional yeast
1 T yellow miso
water to process
20 small leaves of Greek oregano
8 leaves of lemon balm
2 large leaves of basil
3 T diced Vadalia sweet onion
In the food processor, process the avocado, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, miso and water until creamy smooth. Add the fresh herbs and diced onion and pulse a few times. Spoon over some spiralized zucchini noodles and diced Baby Bella mushrooms. Top with some fresh ground black pepper. Enjoy!

This last week of Lent is a very special one, Holy Week. This week our Lenten topic is "Good Imagination". We all know that using our imagination can be a fun thing but at times our imagination can produce frightful images and thoughts. We shall try to focus on using our imagination to serve God, using it to assist us when solving problems, helping us to do what we know in our heart is right and also using it to help us learn and grow.
I personally can always work on controlling my imagination as it tends to get the best of me at times. If I allow it to run wild I feel out of control and helpless. That is when I need to focus my thoughts, stop, pray, listen and react according to what I know is true. For the children I hope to help them see how their imagination can be a wonderful and creative tool they can use for good. Helping them to realize that thoughts, even if imaginative, can be turned into a reality if only they allow themselves to believe in them.
As a side note: I am getting very excited for my 3 day juice feast! I am planning my juicing menu and schedule and look forward to day 1, this Thursday.
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for red tomatoes in my garden!! Looks like I'll have to juice them!

Constructing a Compost Bin, Planting a Pineapple, and Spirulina--Hands on Science

2011-04-16T10:19:00.000-04:00

The other day I just had to do something constructive with the kids to get my mind off of things. I have been having chest pains, well actually a tightness in my chest, every time I think about my very sick sister. I just had to get outside and TRY to clear my mind!! Well, a science project would accomplish two things; science lesson for the kids and therapy for Mommy.

Step 1: Obtain a large plastic bin and charge up your cordless drill!

Step 2: Drill small holes into the bottom of the bin for proper drainage.

Step 3: Drill holes into the sides of the bin for proper aeration.

Step 4: Round up the kids, this is their science project after all!

Step 5: Load up the bin with some "brown stuff". Dead leaves or twigs work fine. This is a Mahogany tree that drops its foliage every April. We have Fall in SW Florida--crazy!

Step 6 : We added a thin layer of black manuer. This helps speed up the decomposition process.

Step 7 : Add a thick layer of kitchen compost scraps that you have been collecting for the last two to three days. We had fruits, vegetables and coffee grounds with unbleached coffee filters here.

Step 8 : Snap a picture of the kiddos admiring their finished science project. Now all we have to do is wait, add more scraps, keep it moist, and turn it often. The result will be rich, dark, soil for our next square foot garden bed.

The next science project we completed that day was the planting of our pineapple. Three weeks ago we kept the top to a beautiful pineapple that we got from the Farmer's Market and we placed it in a jar filled with filtered water. We waited patiently for it to sprout these tiny roots.

Then we planted it in some good potting mix, watered it and placed the pot next to our square foot garden. I will remember to water it each time I water the garden. Once it gets established and grows larger roots, we will transplant it in the yard. This was a fun and simple project showing the kids how easy it is to cultivate new plants from one that you just enjoyed eating for lunch. We attempted to do this with one of our avocado pits but it never did sprout. We will try that one again soon. I think I might have stuck the toothpicks in too far??
How about a delicious smoothie recipe? I finally bought our Spirulina!! Yeah! We have been enjoying it every morning in all of our green smoothies. This recipe was very green and very good.

Jolly Green Smoothie
by Elizabeth @ Raw Living and Learning

1/2 C frozen mango
1/2 C frozen peaches
2 small ripe bananas
2 C kale
1 C baby spinach
1 Celery stalk
1/2 C sunflower greens
2 T chia seeds
2 T Hemp seeds
5 spirulina capsules
1 C filtered water

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for forgiveness. Can you tell where I have been? God is so good!

Release Day and a Recipe

2011-04-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

We had so much fun raising our ladybugs and butterflies this Spring! I had posted about it in a previous post here. I had done this with our older two children years ago and this time around it was the younger three that had a great hands on science project to learn from and enjoy. Here are two of the butterflies just after emerging from the chrysalis. No that is not blood dripping down but some liquid that relates to their pigmentation. I freaked out when I saw it and my daughter explained what it was. Too funny.

Two Butterflies Newly Emerged from Chrysalis

Now it was time to feed our new butterflies. We followed the instructions that came with the kit and nourished them for about three days before we released them.

We also were watching our ladybugs get bigger and bigger each day. Now it was time for release day. I had the help of our youngest child. He was very excited and got into it in a big way. He put on the gardening gloves, helped me plant our nectar plants and helped me release the butterflies first.

We released the ladybugs in our square foot garden, in the strawberry plants to be exact. They hug around for a while and then most of them flew away somewhere in the yard.

See the Raisins? That was Their Food

Wow, This is so Cool!
Now let's talk green smoothies. As I have written before, we start our mornings around here with a killer green smoothie. I look forward to creating a new one each day for the kids and I. The other day I went a little crazy and started throwing just about everything into the blender and here is the recipe I ended up with. I call it, "Ain't Holding Nothin Back" smoothie. I submitted it to Blend It and Mend It and will post if she features it. SO far she has featured I think three of my recipes. She videos herself making her own and viewer submitted smoothies. I just love her site! Check it out. http://www.blenditandmendit.com/

Ain't Holding Nothin Back Green Smoothie
by Elizabeth @ Raw Living and Learning

1 organic red apple, skin on
Small bunch of inner celery stalks, organic
1/4 of a lemon
1 banana
1 large kale leaf, organic
8 dandelion greens, organic
2 T Hemp seeds
1 T chia seeds
Juice of 2 tangerines
8 oz frozen organic blueberries
1 cup ice
1/2 C water
Blend into creamy green/blue yumminess. Enjoy!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the progress my sister has made.

Cuke Boats on a Sea of Sprouts

2011-04-06T13:32:00.002-04:00

First I want to mention that I harvested my first batch of Swiss Chard from my square foot garden!!! I used it for my dinner the other night, making my, all time favorite, chard salad. I posted my recipe here.

Today's fabulous lunch idea was inspired by Lisa's post. She made a very simple stuffed cucumber recipe and I decided to jazz it up a bit. I started with a bed of sprouts (sea of sprouts) that consisted of broccoli sprouts, red clover sprouts and sprouted French lentils. Next I hollowed out a very fat and stubby cucumber.

For the filling I used one avocado and some grated white onion as did Lisa but then I added in some lovely Grape Tomatoes, cumin, coriander, turmeric and Himalayan pink salt.

To finish it off I drizzled on the slightest bit of Bragg's apple cider vinegar. The result was spectacular! What an amazing and easy raw lunch recipe.

On a sad note, a great deal of suffering has been going on this last week. My one and only sister, has been fighting for her life in the hospital. She is six years older than me and we have two brothers as well. I am the youngest in the bunch, the boys are in between my sister and I. This has been very hard on us all not to mention our parents, her husband and daughter; they are all suffering so deeply. By offering these sufferings up with Christ's suffering on the cross, I am confident that God will use them for something beautiful. His plan is perfect, even if the human mind cannot comprehend this reality. I have put my faith in God and that is THE ONLY thing that gets me through trials. My prayer is that we all can remain close to our Lord and find strength to get through this horrific nightmare, loving one another and being supportive.
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the moments I have had with my sister at the hospital, praying over her and trying to take in this whole experience with an attitude of peace.

RAW Living and Learning

Clean and Green

Cabbage Rose

Bean Free, Oil Free Raw Hummus

U-Pick Citrus

Raw Fruit Tacos

10 Days 100% Simply Raw Day 10

10 Days 100% Simply Raw Day 9

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 8

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 7

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 6

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 5

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 4

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 3

10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 2

10 Days 100 % Simply Raw--Day 1

Saturday Meditation

Mountain View and Raw Collard Greens

My 2011 Garden and a Recipe

Essential Fatty Acids

Unprocessed Plant-Based Diet

I Love Simple Raw Foods

Blendtec Blender Birthday and a Sphinx

Asian Marinade

Name That Fruit (and a smoothie recipe)

Famous Pineapple Mango Salsa from CHI

Raw Sprouted Chili

Driving through an Earthquake and Running from Irene

Carob Buckwheat Crunchies Topping

Strawberry Banana Mylk

My First Sapote

Mamey Sapote Growing in the Florida Home Landscape1

Description

Tree

Leaves

Flowers

Fruit

Season

Production

Varieties

Climate and Soils

Maple Cinnamon Flax Crackers

Almost Raw Mini Monkey Cookies

Lisa's Raw StRAWberry Shortcake

Raw Mango Salsa

Creative Health Institute- Day 3 Advanced Raw CHef Training

Day 2 Advanced Raw Chef Level 1: Part II

Day 2 Advanced Raw Chef Level 1: Part I

Advanced Raw Chef Level 1: Training and Certification

'The Wheatgrass Place'

Your Body Can Heal Itself..WE OFFER A TOTAL HEALTH SOLUTION

What you get at Creative Health Institute:

Loaded Tomato Soup

Sounds Strange, Tastes Great

Juice Fast/Feast Day 3

Juice Fast/Feast Day 2

Juice Fast/Feast Day 1

My Food for the Next Three Days

Lemon Herb Sauce

Constructing a Compost Bin, Planting a Pineapple, and Spirulina--Hands on Science

Release Day and a Recipe

Cuke Boats on a Sea of Sprouts

Mamey Sapote Growing in the Florida Home Landscape¹

Your Body Can Heal Itself..
WE OFFER A TOTAL HEALTH SOLUTION