RAW Living and Learning

A few nights ago I put together a recipe for the children.  It made a great, healthy, protein packed treat for them before bed. Everyone loved it, hubby and I included. I have been thinking about it ever since because I used up the last of the strawberries and look forward to getting more today so we can make another blender full!! It's THAT good! Hemp seeds were the primary ingredient supplying the protein and chia supplied the perfect balance of Omega-3's and Omega-6's. Here is some history about these amazing seeds, taken directly from this site . Check out their web site it is pretty awesome!! http://www.superfoods-for-superhealth.com/hemp-seed.html Hemp Seed Benefits The Protein-Rich Super Seed Hemp seed comes from the hemp plant, which has been used for centuries in the paper, textile, biodegradable plastics, and construction industries. Hemp seeds, however, have recently been rediscovered as a highly nutritious food. They are one of the best...

Today I whipped up a refreshing salad with an oil free, raw vegan dressing that reminded me of Key lime Pie! My leafy green of choice today was Wild Arugula. I love it's peppery flavor. And did you know it is loaded with Vitamins A and C and is also good source of Calcium and Vitamin K? We harvested most of the limes off our Key lime tree this past week and I have been enjoying them in many different ways. The creamy sweet lime dressing I created today is a perfect contrast for the arugula's peppery flavor. Sprouty Arugula and Citrus Salad by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com 3 C of Wild Arugula (I found @ Trader Joe's) 2 C of broccoli sprouts 1 C of sunflower greens 6 small navel oranges, peeled and diced 1 small sweet white onion, diced Rough chop the arugula and top with the broccoli sprouts, sunflower greens, oranges and onion. Drizzle on the Kreamy Keylime Dressing. Kreamy Key lime Dressing by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspo...

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, flo...

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 necta...

I posted a few days ago about a great site I found called Blend It and Mend It. Well, now she has show cased two of my smoothie recipes!! She videos her recipes and also viewer submitted recipes, demonstrating how to make wonderfully healthy and delicious smoothies and green drinks. A recent video is of my cherry smoothie that I wrote in to tell her about. Elizabeth's Cherry Green Smoothie 2 C spring water 1 10 oz bag of organic cherries 2 ripe bananas 3 handfuls of organic spinach 1 T chia seeds 1 T hemp seeds 1T sprouted and dehydrated raw buckwheat (buckwheat crispies posted here ) 1 tsp pure vanilla or almond extract (we use almond primarily) Blend until creamy smooth. Enjoy! I love how Jane improvises, using what she has on hand when recreating other's recipes. She has made some good substitutions. Go to her site and watch the video . My recipe calls for hemp seeds and she substituted sesame. Did you know that a 2 tablespoon serving of he...

Raspberry Grapefruit Salad Here is a very simple and very delicious salad. As I have said before my favorite breakfast food is salad. I of course had this as my breakfast and it was wonderful. I just love how the simple dressing turned out. I used this same dressing on my Zucchinni Noodle Salad recipe that I will be posting next!! Raspberry Grapefruit Organic romaine, cut into thin strips 1 large grapefruit, peeled, seeded and diced 1 handful of organic raspberries 1 T Hemp seeds 1 T raw sesame seeds Plate the lettuce and top with the grapefruit, raspberries, and seeds. Drizzle on some Balsamic Dijon Dressing. Enjoy! Balsamic Dijon Dressing 1/2 C First cold pressed EVOO 1/4 C Balsamic vinegar 2 T raw honey or real Maple Syrup 1 T organic Dijon mustard 2 tsp dried onion flakes pinch of sea salt pinch of black pepper Combine all ingredients in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well. Keeps in refrigerator for 4 weeks. Shake well before each use. Allow to sit at roo...

Banana Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Wait until you read the super charged ingredients in these little cookies. I was playing around in the kitchen today with new recipes and wanted to make an extremely nutritious cookie for the children, and hubby too. You can easily make these totally raw by purchasing raw oats. I just used really good organic oats today. Grind the raw oats to make the oat flour that I refer to in the recipe. I got out a big bowl, opened up the pantry and literally made this recipe up as I added each ingredient. I just threw in what ever I thought would taste good together and here is the result. You can make these two ways like I did. Keep some of them cold in the fridge and dehydrate the rest till desired texture; store those in an airtight container on the counter. Eat within two days....ours will be gone in one! My husband and children like both versions. My husband liked the dehydrated a bit more than the cold cookie. My older two children thoug...

Getting back into the normal routine after a trip is always a chore with a large family. It still amazes me how much laundry a family of seven can produce on a short 5 day vacation! But I am digging my way out from underneath this mountain of dirty clothes and trying to get back to normal. Unpacking all of the suitcases is what I dread the most. Then I get to sort through all of the mess and try to make piles of color sorted laundry, the kiddos help with this. I already have done about 5 loads and I think I have 5 more.The older two help me with switching the wet clothes to the dyer and then emptying the dryer and folding. Thank goodness for that!  On the brighter side, I am happy to say that my sprout kitchen is back in full swing. My lentils will be ready to eat today and the broccoli sprouts should be ready in three days. I will plant my sunflower seeds on Thursday or so, after they get their tails on. My adzuki beans are in the sprout bag.  Now that I...