RAW Living and Learning

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...

Oil Free Pesto Sauce Today I was in the mood for pesto. I had a perfect little organic zucchini waiting to be spiralized into some raw noodles and I have pots full of herbs right out the back door, on our upper deck. I put the two together and came up with the most delicious oil free pesto sauce. It is loaded with nutrition and enzymes. I love how each and every herb shined through in the finished product. With each bite I would taste a hint of the lemon balm, sunflower greens, oregano, parsley and basil. It was like an herb party in my mouth. I added the grape tomatoes for color and sprinkled on some black sesame seeds for contrast. After I took the final picture I threw on some of my homegrown fenugreek sprouts and a handful of raw sunflower seeds for a little crunch. Here is my recipe, hope you enjoy making it! Oil Free Pesto Sauce (one serving) by Elizabeth @ RAW Living and Learning handful of organic sunflower greens 8 parsley leaves, flat leaf 4 lemon balm leaves 2 s...

I am so happy to say that I won the Coffee Extract Giveaway- Week #7 at Rawfully Tempting. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Here are the details: Rawfully Tempting I decided to use it in my ultimate favorite breakfast. My raw carob/cacao breakfast pudding. I have written several times how much I LOVE this morning meal. The other day I made such a nutrient dense, power packed pudding that when dinner time rolled around I still wasn't hungry! I'm telling you, this is the most satisfying raw meal I have had thus far. Here is that recipe: Raw Power Pudding by Elizabeth 11/2 large bananas 11/2 Haas avocados 1 T Lucuma powder 1 tsp Nutritional yeast powder 1 T Lecithin powder 1 T Nutiva Hemp Seeds 1 t raw honey 2-4 T of a mixture of raw carob and raw cacao powders 1 capful of vanilla pinch of sea salt 1 T Gogi berries, soaked (reserve for topping) 1 T buckwheat krispies (reserve for topping) Process till ,in a small-sized food processor. Top pudding with the buckwheat kr...

Blackberry and Blueberry Cobbler 1/2 C blueberries 1/2 C blackberries 1/2 C sunflower sprouts handful of raw walnuts, soaked 6 hours handful of raw pecans, soaked 6 hours 4 deglet dates, rough chop 2 tsp raw honey 1 tsp vanilla pinch sea salt 2 T hemp seeds Process the dates, nuts, vanilla, honey and salt. Add the hemp and pulse a few times. Pour cobbler crust into a serving bowl. Top with the berries and garnish the side of the bowl with the sunflower sprouts. This makes one very large serving. Could be shared by two people. Enjoy! ~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for an empty refrigerator. We cleaned out the refrigerator and the pantry last week. We are down to almost nothing. Now we are going to restock them both with raw and living foods and some whole foods for my "cooked food eaters". Peace and Raw Health.

Lucuma Pudding I can eat different varieties of this raw pudding any day of the week. I am in love with this stuff. There are days when I can actually tell that I NEED this pudding. :) Well today was one of those days. I decided to use some Lucuma powder to flavor this version. It turned out spectacular. Right before I ate it I decided to sprinkle on one tablespoon of Hemp Seeds. They aren't in the photo. This will keep you full for HOURS. I sometimes don't get hungry again until almost dinner time! In June I posted a recipe for a basic carob pudding, this is a super charged version, minus the carob (I was out :() loaded with even more nutrition!! I added my buckwheat crispies to add a nice crunch. I have been adding these crispies to a lot of breakfast recipes lately. They take the place of dried cereals. Here is my recipe: Lucuma Pudding 1  organic avocado 1 large organic banana or 2 small (plus a few slices for topping) 2 heapi...

Raw Tacos.....I LOVE raw tacos!!!! When the family has their traditional chicken tacos I make a raw taco recipe for myself. I absolutely LOVE this raw taco recipe. It is so simple and has so much flavor. I wrap it up in romaine leaves or even collard leaves that have the tough spine removed. I also have two recipes for nacho sauces that can be drizzled on top, but I never seem to get around to making the sauce because I gobble these up so quickly. I don't think they need any sauce personally but if you are or were a cheese person, I would make a nacho sauce. I will post two recipes for nacho sauces. I am going to try them both very soon. I have been wanting to use them for dipping fresh veggies and also on top of a veggie burger. When the family grills I like to make my veggie burgers. A lot of grilling will be going on this holiday weekend, so I guess I better get to making some of this sauce. Here are the recipes: Raw Tacos 2 Cups raw walnuts, soaked 1/4...

Our Three Youngest The other day I was preparing some of my food and noticed our three youngest imitating me. We have a play wooden kitchen in the family room fully stocked with pots, pans, plastic food and dishes. My kids get so much use out of this set. They always pull out their stuff whenever I am in the kitchen preparing something. Well today they even donned their toques. We got these toques at Roy's Restaurant on Mother's Day. We went to Mother's Day Brunch and they gave these to all of the children. My kids have so much fun with these it makes the ridiculous price of that brunch almost worth it. Tee, Hee , Hee . I was preparing a raw dish I'll call "Berry Good Bowl". It is so simple and sooo good. This would be a great dish to prepare while traveling this summer because the ingredients would be really easy to have at the hotel room and you do not need any fancy equipment to prepare it. I have traveled twice so far since I went raw ...

Today for breakfast I really wanted to try my chia seeds that I bought a few weeks ago. I had been reading on line from several different people how much they love their chia . Well I just had to see what all of the fuss was about. I liked chia very much. It is a texture thing, so if you don't like textures similar to tapioca pudding you probably wont care too much for chia . But who am I to say; give it a try and decide for yourself. " Chia is a powerful plant that was used centuries ago as a staple crop by the Aztec Indians and other tribes in what is now Mexico. They believed it was very powerful, not only for the body, but for the mind. Chia is a whole grain that contains protein, fiber, calcium, omega-3s, and antioxidants. The benefits of chia have been rediscovered, and science is proving just how right the Aztecs were to rely on this little seed." (source : www. fitday .com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of- chia .html ) O...

Blackberries with Banana Hemp Kream Yesterday I went shopping for berries. Our market has them on sale and I had coupons for $1.50 off each package of berries. I actually ended up getting my blueberries for free and my blackberries for only $1.50 per 12oz box!! I am posting some of my favorite raw cobbler recipes today. You will notice that all of my cobblers incorporate some type of "green". One even uses sprouts as the cobbler's crust. I mentioned before that I have to start my day with greens. You will be amazed how wonderful berries taste when using fresh herbs and sprouts as a garnish or a central feature in a recipe. Gotta get my protein and chlorophyll! (I get protein from sprouts, dark leafy greens and sea vegetables.)  Hope you get a chance to enjoy these amazing berries while they are in peak season. Blackberries with Banana Hemp Kream Sunflower sprouts, rough chop Blackberries Boxwood basil, remove leav...

Green Mango Madness 1 golden mango, peeled and sliced off of pit 1/2 C frozen mango cubes 1 frozen organic banana large handful of organic baby spinach 2 T Nutiva Organic Hemp seeds 1 1/2 C filtered water Blend well in a high speed blender. Enjoy the green madness!

Blackberry Mango Smoothie Blackberries are now in season, so feel free to use fresh. I had found these organic frozen blackberries on super clearance at our local market, so I stocked up. I try to keep things simple, and one way I do that is using what ingredients I have on hand. I don't like feeling that I have to run out to the market just to make a recipe. Keep it simple and use things you have around the kitchen. You just might come up with an even better recipe than the original. Blackberry Mango Green Smoothie Recipe 1 1/2 C filtered water 2 handfuls organic baby spinach 2 T Nutiva Hemp Seeds 1/2 C frozen mango cubes 1/2 C frozen organic blackberries 1 ripe organic banana 1/2 of a frozen banana Blend well in a high speed blender. Enjoy! ~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for delicious fruits! I love starting the day with a nutritious green smoothie. Have a smoothie today and see how great you feel! Peace and Eat More Raw.

I love making smoothies for the children. It makes me feel good knowing I am getting raw foods into them and that they actually enjoy them!!  Our one and a half year old is enjoying his  in the picture above. I just can't get him to keep the straw in the cup! One day he pulled it out with such force that our ceiling was covered with dark purple smoothie. Oh yeah, I was a little bit agitated as I stood on the kitchen table trying to mop smoothie off the ceiling. The good thing is we haven't started repainting the interior of the house yet. Looking forward to that project, NOT!!!!  Well, back to green smoothies. I started incorporating more raw foods into the families diet with green smoothies. I got online and researched everything I could on green smoothies. I watched You Tubes, read blogs and scoured web sites. Then I copied down all of the great recipes, put them in a three ring binder and made my own smoothie recipe book. I don't even look at smoothie recipe books...

Last night I decided to have a rich, spur of the moment dessert. I decided to make Raw Carob Pudding. This is one of those raw recipes that you'll either "love it" or "leave it". I just happen to love it. It is so filling you could even have this as your breakfast meal. Raw Carob Pudding 1 ripe organic banana, cut up 1 organic avocado, scoop it out of the skin  1 T raw honey 4 Deglet dates, soaked 30 min if too firm  1/4 C raw carob powder, add more or less for your taste pinch of sea salt 1 tsp fresh lemon juice hemp seeds Directions: Put banana, avocado, lemon juice, honey, dates, raw carob, and sea salt into a small food processor. Process till smooth and creamy. Put into a bowl and top w/ some hemp seeds. Enjoy in good health! Today I am grateful for the unconditional love of Christ, on this Solemnity of The Sacred Heart of Jesus. ~ JMJ ~ +++++++ I also wanted to share something interesting that I stumbled across while resea...

~ JMJ ~ I am happy to start posting on my new blog. I should introduce myself first. I am a wife and a mother of five children. I home school all of my children for religious and academic reasons. I choose to eat a raw living food diet. I love raw food and how this living food makes me feel. I have been eating raw living foods since November, 2009. My goal is to consume foods as close as possible to the way they appear in nature, the way God created them to be. Here I will share my experiences with the raw food lifestyle and great recipes I make/create each day. I will share raw food recipes, my sprouting adventures, square foot gardening and container gardening, favorite raw food book titles, raw food products, kitchen appliances, and tools that have helped me with food preparation. From time-to-time I just might share some homeschooling thoughts, experiences, ideas, and tips. I will also take time to reflect back on my days and find all the ways I can experience g...