RAW Living and Learning

Crystal blue skies this morning in SW Florida, the air is crisp and the smell is sweet. I had to fill up on some sunshine this morning and this was the perfect dish to do just that! I was blessed once again to receive fresh, tree ripe, Florida pummelos from our dear friends Dr. & Mrs. "F". Thanks guys!! You are so wonderful. Well this time I hit THE PUMMELO LOAD-- the mother load of pummelo. Seven of them are missing from the picture, I already ate those :) Mother Load of Pummelo Sunny Salad Bowl 2 pummelos, peeled and sliced/diced handful of sunflower sprouts (my own :) handful of organic raisins drizzle of RAW honey sprinkling of pumpkin seed powder (ground in nut chopper) These citrus fruits are sooo juicy, you will be left with a delicious juice in the bottom of the bowl. Be sure and drink that straight from the bowl, I always do!! It is so sweet and yummy with the raw honey mixed with the pummelo juice--yummo! Drink in the sunshine. If you spot a pumm...

Today I was inspired by Raw on $10 a Day (or Less) post for October 10th (my birthday!!). She made a chia stew that looked so yummy, and creepy, that I had to create a bowl for myself; minus the creepy factor. After I took the picture I stirred the fruit into the chia. The combo of apple, cinnamon and kiwi was amazing!! Here is how my yummy breakfast turned out: Apple Cinnamon Kiwi Chia by Eizabeth @ Raw Living and Learning 4 T dark chia seeds 3/4 C filtered water pinch of sea salt 1 T raw honey (in liquid state) 1 kiwi, sliced 1 red apple, diced small generous sprinkle of cinnamon Soak the chia in the water for 10 minutes. To the chia add the sea salt and honey then stir to mix. Pour chia into a bowl. Add the sliced kiwi and the diced apple. Sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon on top and stir to mix in the fruits and cinnamon. Enjoy! ~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for the courage to speak up in a very difficult situation. I wa s able to stand tall and express...

Today I opened up the refrigerator asking myself what I was going to make for breakfast. Staring back at me were my Brown Turkey Figs, fresh figs that is!! Over in the fruit bowl were my last two bananas. Originally I was going to simply slice them up with the bananas and eat them as is. But then I got the idea of making a hemp kream to serve on top. Well I changed my mind again and started creating this raw soup recipe in the food processor. The combination of the hemp, banana and Lucuma are fantastic. There are even more great components to the recipe so read here and see if you'd like to give it a try. This is by far my favorite raw soup so far! Kreamy Hemp Soup with Figs (makes one serving) by Elizabeth @ Raw Living and Learning 2 large organic bananas squeeze of fresh lemon juice 1 T Lecithin Powder 1 t Lucuma Powder 1 t raw honey (optional) 1 tsp vanilla pinch of sea salt 2 T Hemp Seeds 4 large Brown Turkey Figs, sliced (reserve for topping)...

Impromptu Breakfast Fruit Bowl This morning I could not think of anything to make for breakfast. I wasn't in the mood for one of my raw power puddings and I didn't want "just anything". I wanted something sweet with a little bit of a crunch. Here is what I started throwing together. I knew the focal point had to be my red skinned organic pear. It has been sitting on the counter top just begging me to find a recipe for it. Then I thought, dried apples and black mission figs with perhaps some raw honey drizzled on top and a splash of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Next I needed the crunch factor. Yesterday I dehydrated another batch of my sprouted buckwheat krispies. That would be my crunch! But wait, I had the fresh blueberries that I just bought last night. I had to throw some of those in too. And last but not least, my boxwood basil. So there you have it, my impromptu breakfast fruit bowl. Here is the recipe: Impromptu Breakfast Fruit Bowl by Eliza...

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.

This past Saturday we went to the Mango Festival. Man was it HOT!!!! Too hot to even enjoy ourselves to the fullest. It made the youngest two very cranky.They would just stop walking and cry. We all were dripping with sweat. But we stuck it out for a while and I got some good pictures. They had several vendors, activities for the kids, food, tasting tables, gardening supplies, fruit and vegetable trees and plants and even butterfly gardening information. Mote Aquarium had a set up there with many specimens on display as well as a touch tank and a beautiful fish tank. Our children loved the touch tank. They were able to hold a water hermit crab, sea urchin, star fish, and a horse shoe crab.  Later we found a bounce house and our three youngest spent about 20 minutes in it. Then we decided to call it a day and go get something really cold to drink. I still am glad that we went, even though it was so stinkin hot. One of the reasons I am glad we w...

Carob Breakfast Pudding Sprouty Citrus Salad Marinated Mushrooms and Spinach I thought I would share a days worth of meals again. I always like to see people's daily menus; it inspires me to be creative with my own menu. This day I started out with my favorite carob pudding. I can eat this any time of day, I really like it. I decided to top it with fresh banana and my buckwheat krispies. Wonderful! It kept me so satisfied. This is a great filling breakfast for those days when you know lunch might be later than usual. For lunch I had a refreshing sprouty citrus salad. I love finding all kinds of ways to incorporate my sprouts into recipes. For dinner I adapted a recipe from $10 a Day and served it on top of some raw organic spinach. It went so well together that I will always prepare it this way. I really love this recipe. Here are all three recipes. Hope you can try them soon. Carob Breakfast Pudding 2 ripe organic bananas (use them separately) 1 ripe organic avocado 1/...

Sprouted Wheat Berries Here you can see the bread triangles with dollops of raw honey . I purchased my Excalibur Dehydrator  one and a half months ago and made my first raw bread. It turned out really good and I look forward to making it again but with a few additions. The bread I made here was a slightly sweet version. I hope to make a more savory version next. By the way, I love my dehydrator. So far I have used it for buckwheat krispies, tomatoes, raw sprouted bread, stuffed mushrooms, and pepper corn crackers. Here is how to make the raw sprouted bread: Soak 2 cups of wheat berries overnight. In the morning rinse the berries very well and drain. Let berries sprout in a glass jar for 2 days. Each day you must rinse them off and drain well about every 6 hours. This is the same technique that I described in a previous sprouting post. I reuse large glass jars from applesauce or spaghetti sauce. I cut screen material into squares and rubber band it around the n...

Today I would like to share some really great raw salad dressings. Wait, aren't all salad dressings considered raw? No they are not. Remember, you have to be very careful about the ingredients you use. Raw salad dressings are as unprocessed as possible. Using ingredients that are as close as possible to their natural state. That is why I choose first cold pressed olive oils, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar and coconut vinegar, fresh herbs, vegetables and fruits. You get the picture. But keep in mind sometimes I will use a small amount of ingredients that may not be truly raw. For example, real maple syrup is heated to reduce the amount of water content and to make the syrup into what it is when we purchase it in jars. And I am pretty sure balsamic vinegar is not raw. I still love the taste sometimes in dressings so I don't mind using a tiny amount. I am not an extreme raw foodist . If I choose to eat something that is not raw I am fine with that. Keep it simple or ...

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...

Rainbow Breakfast Salad 1 large carrot, process with "S" blade 1 red apple, cubed 1 large stalk celery, chopped 1 grapefruit, peeled and cubed, keep all of the extra juices 1/4 C Gogi berries, soaked 1/4 C raw walnuts, soaked then chopped Fresh lemon basil, chopped and whole leaves to garnish 2 T first cold pressed EVOO 2 tsp raw honey Directions:  Put the processed carrot into a bowl or on a serving plate. Top the carrots with the apple, celery, grapefruit, Gogi berries, chopped lemon basil and chopped walnuts. Drizzle with a simple dressing made of the EVOO , raw honey and leftover grapefruit juices. Garnish with whole lemon basil leaves. NOTE: The lemon basil flavor is a key component to this salad, if you aren't growing lemon basil use some lemon zest and fresh basil instead. TIP: When I cut and peel a grapefruit this is how I reserve the extra juices- I cut each end off the grapefruit and squeeze all of the juice from these ends into a small bo...

With the second persimmon I decided to make a salad dressing. I was inspired by a recipe in my book titled, "The Raw Transformation" by Wendy Rudell. (this book is in my store) I had to wait another week before this persimmon ripened up enough. Not only is this dressing beautiful, it is delicious! The photo does not show its bright orange color. Here is the recipe: Persimmon Dressing 1/4 C cold pressed olive oil 1/4 C coconut oil, in the liquid state 1/4 C Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar, unpasteurized 1/4 C filtered water 1  Fuyu persimmon, cut into cubes 1 large clove of pressed garlic 1 T Nama Shoyu, or Tamari, or Coconut Aminos pinch of sea salt to taste 1 tsp raw honey or real maple syrup (syrup is not raw) I put everything into a blender and blended till creamy smooth. It makes 1 1/2 cups. Enjoy this fantastic dressing. Peace & Eat More Raw!!! ~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for one-on-one outings with our 3 year old. Today we shopped for Father's Day cards and went to...

I saw Fuyu Persimmons in our local grocery store at the end of May. I thought persimmons were in season in October??? Anyway, I thought, what the heck....I have never tried one and I wanted to! I bought two of them and was bound and determined to make two awesome raw recipes form these unique looking fruits. They took three weeks on my counter top to ripen. But boy were they worth the wait. I made a fabulous Persimmon Salsa served on a bed of my fresh sunflower sprouts that I harvested the day before. Here is the recipe, hopefully you'll give it a try. With the other persimmon I made a dressing; will post that next. Persimmon Salsa 1 ripe f uyu persimmon 1/4 of an orange bell pepper 1/4 of a red bell pepper 2 roma tomatoes handful of cilantro 1/2 C red or white onion 2 T Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar 1/4 tsp raw honey (optional) sea salt to taste sunflower sprouts Directions: Slice and cube the persimmon into small chunks. Cut the peppers, onion, and tomatoes into...

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...