RAW Living and Learning

Well I am sharing yet another raw soup recipe. I have been on a soup kick I guess. But this recipe is really, really good and I hope you can give it a try. It only requires 4 main ingredients and comes together so quickly. I have added an optional ingredient if you need to get selenium into your diet--3 raw Brazil nuts. They lend a yummy creamy texture to the soup too! I garnished the soup with some fresh, home grown sunflower greens. If you have been reading over my blog you know that I LOVE my sprouts. I always have at least 3 varieties sprouting each day, sometimes more. If you need information on how to sprout and grow sunflower greens you can look at some of my previous posts. Here is a basic one on sprouting and growing. And here is a picture of the black sprouting trays I currently use. I purchased them at Ace but my father found some at Home Depot as well. Of course you can always order them on line if you prefer. When I first started out I just used a disposable H...

Raw Fajitas by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com 1 organic zucchini, sliced into strips 1 organic yellow squash/zucchini, sliced into strips 1 organic onion, sliced 1 organic red pepper, sliced into strips I organic yellow pepper, cut into strips broccoli sprouts Marinade: 2 T dried Italian seasoning blend 1 T balsamic vinegar 2 T first cold pressed olive oil splash of water 1 tsp low sodium Tamari soy sauce Mix the marinade ingredients and pour over the veggies. Cover and allow to marinate in refig. for 48 hours. Stir the veggies two times each day. Dehydrate on 120 degrees until warm and softened. Serve in Romaine wraps and garnish with broccoli sprouts. Enjoy! +JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my rebounder. I am feeling the benefits of this low impact exercise, it is fun and it makes me happy.

Today began with a large glass of filtered lemon water followed by a monster green smoothie packed with goodness. Lunch today, as I continue to experiment with my version of 80-10-10 was a giant berry salad. If you aren't familiar with 80-10-10 you'll look at my lunch and think, "Man, she's a pig". But eating this way requires high caloric intake and low fat intake. This salad gives me the carbohydrates and calories I need to keep me going. My photos don't show just how large this plate full of fruit really was--it was gigantic! I actually had a hard time eating it all. But boy was it good. Berry Salad 3 organic bananas 16 oz organic strawberries 3 organic Bosc pears 1/2 of a Meyer lemon cinnamon In a food processor process 1/2 of the strawberries, 1 banana, and the juice from 1/2 a Meyer lemon. Next, slice the remaining strawberries, 2 bananas, and the 3 pears. Plate the sliced fruit, top with the pureed berry sauce and sprinkle on cinnamon to tas...

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...

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...

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 yo...

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 Florid...

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) ...

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 leave...

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 th...

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 fig...

Inspired once again by the remarkable Lisa at Raw on $10 a Day or Less , I decided to break down and make another batch of raw bread that uses flax meal. My attempts in the past have turned out bitter tasting, raw bread that landed in the trash. Well this time I was convinced that I could make this work. How can you go wrong with one of Lisa's amazing recipes ? This bread is nothing short of spectacular!! I am in LOVE with this raw onion bread. I followed Lisa's recipe closely with the exception of using my leftover carrot/veg/fruit pulp. I make it a habit to freeze my juice pulp for future raw bread and cracker recipes. I was composting it but now I realize it is more valuable in my raw recipes. I have enough other kitchen scraps to compost, so this precious pulp goes into the freezer now. I spread the dough quite thin on the teflex sheets, almost as thin as a wrap.  For several weeks I have been enjoying many recipes with this raw onion bread. I sliced it into square...