RAW Living and Learning

This film is not only filled with gardening secrets but it is a feast for the eyes. It is so beautiful and captivating it got me wanting to run out to the yard and get dirty! Take the time to watch the entire film, it will be worth your time. Some of the most crucial information is at the very end.  Just think of all the fruits and vegetables you'll be harvesting from you home garden! Virtually no weeds, no irrigation! WOW! Even if you don't garden you will gain valuable health information. He explains so beautifully and simply how we are designed to eat water filled fruits and vegetables in their uncooked state. He effortlessly sells the raw, living foods lifestyle without even knowing it. People today are sick because our food is not good. Our factory farmed fruits and vegetables are devoid in all of the nutrients we need. We must eat locally and organic if we want to thrive, heal and grow. Don't overlook the simplicity; simple is always best. http://www.backtoedenfilm...

Today was filled with fast food, not the drive thru type most people eat on the SAD diet, but fresh, ripe, raw, fast foods! Low in fat and high in carbs to keep me alert and running strong all day long. In the morning I prepared a pre-work out green smoothie in the high speed blender. It only took about 1 minute to make. It was loaded with, bananas, frozen mango, and mixed baby greens. Fast food!! For lunch I grabbed two, ripe, organic pears.   Two handfuls of sprouts; broccoli and clover. A bunch of baby bok choy and 2 stalks of Broccolette. Placed it in a beautiful wooden bowl and lunch was served. Fast food! I sat out in the sunshine watching the youngest three play in the yard and nibbled away on my lunch with my fingers. Two little ones kept coming up to me begging for baby bok choy. I am convinced that if we want children to eat healthy, we as  parents must lead by example. If they see us getting excited about fresh, ripe,...

Being a low fat raw vegan makes it challenging to think up different oil free salad dressings each day/week. I was getting into a rut and felt like I kept hitting a dead end thinking up new dressing ideas. Then all of a sudden I got inspired after listening to several of the interviews on the Brilliant Body Summit , and now the recipes have been popping into my head. Herbs I thought! How can I feature a new herb in each dressing? Would it help me create new recipes? It seems to be working. I feel like certain ingredients go well with each individual herb thus giving me several new dressing options. It is fun experimenting with sweet and savory. In a previous post I featured DILL as the star herb in my raw cucumber soup. But you could easily use the same recipe for a salad dressing or sauce for spiralized zucchini noodles.  Here is an example of a savory dressing I created today with the star herb being SAGE. Hope you enjoy it. ...

I placed an order with Sunfood last week and today I was so happy to see the package at the front door! I just had to try two new "superfoods" that I read about on their site. The one I will talk about today is the Incan Berry. I purchased an 8 oz bag containing 8 servings; 1 oz per serving. In that serving you get: 11 grams of fiber 2 grams of protein 30 % Vitamin A 10 % Vitamin C 6 % Iron Pectin Bioflavonoids Potassium Phosphorous Did you know that Incan berries were one of the few plant species cultivated at the Citadel of Machu Picchu? (we actually studied Machu Picchu in our home school history--kinda cool to have the kids taste the same food!) Also, Incan berries possess adaptogenic properties to help assist the body with stress and circulation--I can use that! I can describe the taste of these wonderful berries as a perfect blend between sweet and tart. Very delicious. Today I decided to use them in a recipe. I like to call it Incan Berry Tabbouleh . ...

The three little boys and I went to our local market while the older two were bowling the other day. This market specializes in organics and we were so thrilled when we found a package of edible flowers. The boys were so shocked to hear that they could eat flowers on their salad. It was very cute to watch their reactions when I told them this. Each flower has its own unique flavor and we had a great time taste testing each one. I kept the salad simple so the flowers could shine through. You can't get any easier than dressing it with a salad dressing made from just one ingredient! Blossoming Salad by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com 2 C organic green leaf lettuce 2 C organic romaine lettuce Handful of organic grape tomatoes 1/2 C broccoli sprouts 1/2 C sunflower greens Handful of edible flowers Dressing : The juice of 1 Florida Honeybell Tangelo (any orange will do) +JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the simple pleasure of tasting flowers...

Massive salads are usually my dinner of choice and I have been enjoying them in many different ways. I was getting into a rut and really needed to start switching things up. I have been trying many different fruit and veggie combos as well as many new no fat/low fat dressings. I just take a look around the kitchen for inspiration and start putting things in my personal size blender and a new dressings are created, usually with 3 ingredients or less. This salad was a mixture of mixed greens, my home grown sunflower greens and the most yummy Amish tomatoes that I found downtown at the 100% organic market.  I had some dates soaking in the refrigerator and some juicy, organic plums on the counter top. The 80/10/10 dressing that I made was just those two fruits; three soaked Medjool dates and two organic plums. Perfection!   Plum Dressing by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com   2 ripe, organic plums 3 soaked, pitted, Medjool dates (keep so...

I am so happy when peaches are in season. I only buy fresh peaches organic, so when summer is here I know I can indulge in juicy, fresh peach deliciousness!! I love chopping them up on top of salads and even just on a bed of sunflower greens, drizzled with a little fresh lemon or orange juice. But today a peachy Swiss chard green smoothie was on the menu. If you are new to Swiss chard it can be a bit "earthy" tasting. Not to worry, because using it in a green smoothie with sweet fruits will allow you to try this amazing green in a yummy way. This green is a power house of nutrition and really is worth adding to your diet. It is loaded with vitamins K, A, C, E, and B vitamins 2, 6, 3 and 5. Plus it has magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, choline, calcium, tryptophan, folate, zinc, biotin, phosphorous and protein!!! See what I mean. Greens are truly amazing and everyone should be consuming these powerful foods everyday. Just remember to rotate your greens each day. You don...

I was preparing the family dinner the other day and I was starving!! I whipped up this amazing raw soup in less than 1 minute and continued to prep the dinner--no kidding. Here is how it came together: I washed 1 cup of organic blueberries and 1 cup organic raspberries; into a bowl they went. In my personal sized blender I blended 2 organic bananas with a small handful of both blueberries and raspberries; poured it over top of the berries in the bowl and I was chowing down in less than a minute!! Quick and DELICIOUS! Berry Soup by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com 1 Cup organic blueberries (reserve a few for soup) 1 Cup organic raspberries (reserve a few for soup) 2 organic bananas water for blending (2 Tbsp more or less) In a bowl place the raspberries and blueberries. Next, in a personal size blender, blend the 2 bananas and a few blueberries and raspberries with a tablespoon or two of water just to get it blending. Blend until smooth and pour over the ...

I am in a phase of craving these fruity green salads lately. I try to listen to my body because it always tells me what I need. At the moment it is greens with fruit. Never under estimate the power of fresh herbs with fruit or any salad for that matter. Just by adding some fresh herbs to one freshly juiced orange you have a no fat, super tasty dressing. The burst of flavor that the herbs and citrus add makes you feel like there is a rich dressing on top when in fact you are getting the added bonus of another fruit and green serving in your salad vs a toxic and fatty bottled dressing. Those little crunchy morsels that you see are my beloved Buckwheat Crispies.  I have a post explaining how I make these. For your convience here is the recipe: Buckwheat Crispies 1 pound buckwheat groats Directions:Put buckwheat groats in a large bowl and fill to the top with water. The buckwheat will double in size, so use plenty of water to keep it submerged. Rinse the buckwhe...