Rainy Day Recipes

I was inspired by all the rain today to stay inside and do some decluttering and culinary experimentation. I managed to clean out my bathroom closet and create some new recipes.
For breakfast I had some Raw Apple Banana Bread topped with homegrown clover sprouts and pureed strawberries. Very yummy and so easy to make.



RAW APPLE BANANA BREAD

2 apples (I use granny smith)
1 cup ground flax
1/8 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 banana
1/4 cup chopped, soaked almonds
1/4 cup water
raw agave to taste (if using red apples, this may not be necessary)
shredded coconut

Blend all ingredients except almonds and coconut in food processor or vitamix
Stir in almonds and coconut
Spread 1/2 inch thick on keflex sheet
Dehydrate for 10 hrs. at 115 degrees
Flip and dry 2 additional hours

I was recently in Whole Foods (my second home) and I was tempted by this dark chocolate bar by Vosges. It's called "Red Fire" bar and it just sounds so exotic and delicious. It's dark chocolate with Mexican chili's and cinnamon.
I didn't buy it because A)Too much sugar B)Too much green- and I don't mean the kind I juice! $8.49 for a candy bar- good grief!



So I got to thinking- hmmm...why not make a healthier raw version. It's more like a fudge than a candy bar, but still delish.


I had some left over and dipped some strawberries into it.

RED FIRE FUDGE

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup agave
seeds from one vanilla bean
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup dry coconut flakes
cayenne to taste
chili powder to taste
cinnamon to taste

Blend first 6 ingredients until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Add small amounts of the last 3 ingredients until the taste is to your liking. Remember, it's always easier to add more than to adjust for too much spice.
Spread mixture on a pie plate lined with natural wax paper and freeze until set. Caliente!

For lunch I made a Thai Vegetable soup that I found on Raw Freedom Community, but messed around with the ingredients a bit to fit what I had in the house. Since it was pouring out, I didn't feel like going to the store.
I have to admit, I'm getting really good at improvising.



THAI CURRY SOUP
2 mini red bell peppers
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 carrots
1/3 cup soaked cashews
2 radishes
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. curry paste
1/3 cup almond milk
1/2 tbsp. agave
1/8 cup vidalia onion
1/2 tsp tumeric

Blend all ingredients in VitaMix until smooth. Garnish with coconut flakes and parsley sprigs.


All in all I actually enjoyed my rainy day, but I'm still hoping for some sunshine tomorrow!

Fasting and Foraging, South Florida style

I know it's been a while since my last post. I've have lots to talk about, so I decided to save it all up and do a combo post.
I've been juice feasting in varying degrees for the last week or so. I just felt like my body needed extra detox, so I went for it.
I met a dude called "Tony the Gardener", who takes over abandoned urban community gardens in some pretty rough neighborhoods. He grows organic, "wild crafted" herbs and vegetables which are vastly different from the organic veggies I'm used to, as I was about to find out.
I went to meet him in Whole Foods parking lot and waited 30 minutes with my friend before she gave up and went home. He has no cell phone and my only communication with him was through email. I figured I'd already made the trip so I went inside to pick up a few things and wait a bit more. About 15 min later he called from a pay phone (they still have those?) and said he got held up harvesting in the rain, but would be there soon. He showed up soon after with 3 huge boxes of....WEEDS! He said that because I was so nice and waited, that he would throw in the third box for free. Wow, free weeds, just what I need.
I tell you, these looked like what you would throw away when you clean your garden. There I was on my kitchen floor, with my computer on one side of me, the box of weeds on the other, looking on foraging websites trying to figure out what this stuff was. Two hours later, I was sure of dandelion with the root attached, basil, lemongrass, and some type of cabbage. The rest was a mystery.
I decided to be daring, so the next morning I stuffed it all in my juicer. It smelled like I was mowing my lawn, and tasted like I was drinking it. Well, Tony said that this stuff would be potent. Maybe it would just take some getting used to. So I suffered through two more juices, but it was the salad that would prove to be the last straw.
I decide to eat for the first time in three days, so I made a salad and added some of the weeds. I put some dressing on and the weeds just sucked it up, so I added more and more, and each time it just sucked it up like a sponge. This stuff was like it's own life force, feeding on the dressing for it's nourishment. Would it grow and multiply? Well, if it does, it's doing it in the back of the garbage truck, because I threw it's weedy ass into the circular file! And I don't even want to talk about the snotty cactus-thingy! The nightmares have only just stopped! =shudder=
I guess I'm just not that adventurous yet. But on to my juice feast.
For three days I drank 3-4 juices a day and 2 green smoothies.
Here's an example:
Breakfast Green juice-
radish, kale, cucumber, parsley, bell peppers, yellow squash, watermelon rind


The radish makes this pretty pink on top. The picture just doesn't do it justice. I'm such a girly-girl!

Lunch- Choco Cherry Green Smoothie
1/2 avocado
1 cup watermelon
4 cherries, pitted
2 oz. coconut water
1/4 cucumber
1 large handful spinach
2 tbsp. hemp seeds
5 ice cubes
sweetleaf dark chocolate flavored stevia to taste
coconut flakes

Blend first 4 ingredients until thick and smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients except the coconut and blend until smooth.
Garnish with coconut flakes



Post lunch- another juice
Dinner-Green Soup
I don't measure, just dump everything green that I can find in. The things that are important to include are the avocado for creaminess, and the cucumber and celery for the juicy base.
I think I added spinach, kale, collard, chard, cucumber, celery, avocado, zucchini
Then add spices, whichever you like. Mine had dulse, basil, cilantro, parsley, himalayan sea salt, cayenne
Add some purified water and into the Vitamix it all goes. The cayenne gives it heat, so you get that "hot" feel.

Post dinner- another juice

In between, I drink lots and lots of water with lemon or PH drops. I always drink lemon water through a straw to protect my teeth.

On day 4, I had a few bites of the weed salad for dinner. That staved off my salad craving for a while.

On the 5th & 6th day, I ate a healthy breakfast and did green juices and smoothies the rest of the day.
My breakfast was sprouted quinoa & sprouted buckwheat with berries on day 5, and two dehydrated flax crackers with sprouts, avocado, and berries on day 6.

All in all, it was easy and I really didn't crave eating food. I felt satisfied, but I did miss my berries, because I never juice my fruit and I use very little in my smoothies. I like to eat it for breakfast, so it was nice to get back to that.

Those amazing dads

Since today's father's day I want to dedicate my blog to all the dads out there, especially my own wonderful dad, Garry.
My dad is incredibly supportive and is always there when I need him. He's been by my side throughout this entire ordeal and is always amazingly positive. Although he wasn't always aligned with my decision to pursue alternative avenues, he did the research and is now solidly in my camp.
The support of family through a health crisis is key, as attitude is at least 90% of the battle. So for this in addition to putting up with me during my extremely rebellious teen years, I cannot thank my dad enough!



Yesterday I checked out another raw restaurant called Soma Cafe in Lake Worth. My friends and I had a Kale salad made with green apples, celery, and a delicious lemon based marinade, an awesome corn chowder with hints of cilantro and cayenne for a nice spicy kick, angel hair zucchini "pasta" with marinara, and for desert apples with "caramel" dip and chocolate chip "rawkies".
Everything was delicious, the service was attentive, and the owner was very appreciative of our input and constructive criticism. (The raw macaroons rated a less than favorable review and were replaced by the chocolate chip "Rawkies"). All in all, the restaurant gets our recommendation and is on the revisit list.
http://www.thesomacenter.com/nourishment.html

Lastly, I made this awesome apple flax bread yesterday. It's got a nice moist texture and tastes delicious topped with my raw almond/cashew/hemp butter. Yesterday I added some pureed raspberries. Yummy, healthy, and low on sugar.

Here's the recipe:

APPLE FLAX BREAD- thanks to Anthony (Rawmodel.com)
2 apples (I used green for less sugar)
1 cup of organic ground flax
1/8 cup of organic extra virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup of purified water.

Blend all in food processor
spread 1/2 inch thick on dehydrator sheet and dry for 10 hours.
Flip and dry for another 2

CASHEW ALMOND HEMP BUTTER- my own creation
1 cup soaked organic raw cashews
1 cup soaked organic raw almonds
4 tbsp organic shelled hemp seeds
organic extra virgin coconut oil as needed

Blend nuts and seeds in food processor, adding small amounts of oil as needed to obtain a creamy, buttery texture.

Unbelievably simple, delish, and healthy! Add pureed berries for a healthy take on the classic SAD food staple, peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Got Protein?

Lately the hot topic surrounding vegetarians and vegans seems to be getting enough Amino Acids and Protein. The naysayers will tell you that you must ingest something that once moved and had a mom in order to get enough of those.
I don't go up to people at the drive thru and ask them "how do you get your chlorophyl?"















so I wish the burgermeisters would stop asking me how I get my protein!



The answer is easy- I get them from my vegetables (and an occasional nut, sprouted bean, or grain).



Here's the down and dirty:
We can get our protein from both animal and vegetable sources. The difference is that animal proteins are "complete" meaning that they contain all of the essential amino acids, while vegetable sources usually are incomplete (low on or missing certain essential amino acids). Different vegetable sources are deficient in different amino acids, so as long as one eats different vegetables, one can get all of the essential amino acids throughout the course of the day.

Some vegetable sources such as beans and nuts are especially high in protein, and some such as quinoa and hemp seeds are complete proteins.



Soy is also a complete protein, but much of it is unusable to the body and it contains a trypsin inhibitor. Soy also stimulates mucous production similar to dairy products and most of it is genetically modified and chemically treated.




Here's the real clincher: During digestion, all proteins are broken down into their amino acids so that they can enter the bloodstream where they become the building blocks of cells. What's not needed is excreted by the body.
Vegetables contain amino acids in their pure form, whereas animal sources contain proteins that must be broken down into amino acids.
So in other words, the body has to work much harder to extract the amino acids from the protein and then get rid of what it doesn't need!



Another interesting fact: The RDA for protein is 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight, which for me works out to about 36 grams. A can of tuna has 32 grams, which makes it easy to see why most Americans get WAY too much protein!


*There's 2.5 servings in a can of tuna


This is bad, because diets high in protein can lead to kidney problems, and if carbohydrates are restricted can leach calcium from the bones.

So where do I get my protein? Let me count the ways:









Spread the veggie love!

Graduation Day

The last few days have been pretty busy. I finished doing my "purge" cleanse, and aside from almost fainting outside of my son's graduation ceremony, it went by unceremoniously. It's pretty tough eating nothing for two days save for 2 oranges and a couple of gallons of watered down citrus juice.
But it's behind me now and I'm just savoring my last couple of days without pills.
The best thing is that my son graduated with honors from high school! And the great part is that I was there to see it and enjoy it- and I'm so grateful for that!

Hippocrates Sprouting 101

This past Saturday my friend Donna and I went to Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach for a Raw Cuisine/Sprouting & Wheatgrass Class. The class was from 10AM-4PM and included their famous raw buffet.

First up, the fabulous Michael Bergonzi lectured on the importance of chlorophyl, wheatgrass, greens, and of course the almighty O2. Michael stresses over and over the importance of proper breathing and oxygenation. Ok, breathe....
Michael stresses that food is not a cult or a religion, but a choice. You can choose to eat healthy, or you can choose to eat McDonalds. Either way, it's only food. This rings true to me, because I find that many vegans and raw foodists are food snobs. Hello, you're not superior to someone else because of what you eat. Sorry, but it's just not that easy!






He also praises the awesome Kris Carr, a graduate of the Hippocrates Health Educator Program. He points out that what makes Kris so notable is that she deals with her medical lemons with a positive outlook. I agree, but that's just part of it. There's just so much more that makes Kris so fabulous, but I could go on about that forever because I absolutely love Kris- XOXO!

Next we took a tour of the amazing greenhouse packed to the gills with the most beautiful, lush, green wheatgrass and sprouts I've ever laid eyes on. And the oxygen emitted by the plants was so unbelievable that I wanted to set up a tent and camp out there for all eternity! Ok, breathe....





Then it's back to the lecture room for a raw food prep class given by chef Ken Blue. He prepared such raw goodies as pizza, caesar salad, marinated mushrooms and marinated zucchini. Even better, these treats made their way onto the huge, deliciously fresh lunch buffet.





We had our lunch outside overlooking a beautiful lake and pond with a waterfall, shaded by lush greenery. The grounds at Hippocrates are unbelievably beautiful and tranquil. It's incredibly healing and cathartic just being there, so it's no wonder that it's the number one healing retreat in the country!

After lunch we headed back inside for the wheatgrass and sprouting class. Although I've been doing fairly well with my own sprouting, I learned some things to tweak my technique for better sprouts and bigger yields.

Last, it was into the store for some retail therapy. I picked up some sprouting seeds and trays for more of my patio farming.
The day was at once peaceful, serene, and informative, and Michael is one funny dude. It's like "stand up sprouting".

For more information on Hippocrates Health Institue, contact their website at http://www.hippocratesinst.com.
For sprouting and wheatgrass help or info contact Michael at http://www.hippocratesgreenhouse.com or email him at wheatgrassking@yahoo.com.