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Monday, July 27, 2009

Devilish Delight Chocolate-Cherry Balls

If you are craving something super sweet. So rich one is usually enough.

Devilish Delights
  • 3C Walnuts
  • 1C Almonds
  • 2C Dried Cherries
  • 1C Pitted Dates (soaked for 20minutes - reserve soak water)
  • 2.5C Shredded Coconut
  • 2.5T Cacao Powder
  • 4T Cacao Nibs (if you have fine without)
  • 1/2C Raisins or Dried Cranberries
  • 3T Maple Syrup
  • 1/2T Basalmic Vinegar (brings out the taste in the cacao - I'm not sure why but it works)

Pulse Walnuts, Almonds, Cherries, Pitted Dates, Cacao, Cacao Nibs, Maple Syrup and Vinegar in food processor until goopy (if it is too dry add reserved soak water from dates 1T at a time until the consistency is similar to peanut butter). Stir in Shredded Coconut and Raisins mix well with spoon. Scoop out with a tablespoon and roll into balls in the palm of your hand. Use a small bowl of shredded coconut to roll the ball in to coat. Put balls on a plate lined with parchment paper and stick them in the fridge or freezer until firm until. I've been told these taste like they have alchohol in them due to the cacao nibs. I think they would be excellent at Christmas instead of rum balls.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Japanese Cabbage & Noodle Salad


I really enjoy spiral cut zucchini. Much like traditional noodles zucchini noodles have a nice texture and take on the flavour of whatever you decide to pair them with. Tonight I decided to try an asian inspired salad & noodle recipe that I adapted to raw from a traditional cookbook.


Japanese Cabbage & Noodle Salad
  • 1/2C Sliced Almonds
  • 1/2 Small head red cabbage - shredded
  • 1/2 package of bean or soya sprouts
  • 1C sliced mushrooms
  • 1/3C sunflower seeds
  • 1/2C sliced thin celery
  • 1 Zucchini spiral sliced into noodles
Dressing
  • 1/3C Sesame Oil
  • 3T nama shoyu (wheat free soy sauce)
  • 1/2T Miso Paste
  • 4T Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1T Maple Syrup
  • 1 pinch pink salt
Wisk dressing together in a small bowl until miso is completely disolved.
Mix salad together in large bowl drizzle with dressing and toss together until thoroughly coated. 
Red Cabbage on Foodista

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Spicy Portabello Sandwich


Spicy Portabello Mushroom Sandwich
  • 3 Portabello Mushoom Caps (take stems out)

Marinade
  • 1medium mango
  • 3 medium tomatoes
  • 1/4 jalapeno pepper
  • pinch of salt
  • 1tsp tumeric
  • 1tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • blend all in high speed blender until smooth
Cover mushrooms in marinade and let sit in fridge for 3-4 hours. Dehydrate for 2 hours at 105. (not nessesary but makes them chewy nice and chewy).

Slice mushooms and layer on dehydrated bread (I've used Matt Amsden's Famous Onion Bread in the photo above -
recipe can be found in his book RAWvolution) with sprouts, tomatoes and avocado. (enough for 2 sandwiches)

To B12 or not to B12


I keep hearing how important it is for people on a plant based diet to supplement with B12. Because my body chemistry is fairly delicate I tend to be particularly vigilant in trying to make sure that I'm getting the correct amount of vitamins and minerals daily.

Most people get their daily dose of B12 by consuming animal products such as red meats, cheese or milk. People who choose not to eat animal products or byproducts can supplement by taking B12 capsules, liquid or injections. B12 can also be found in nutritional yeast (only if fortified... try Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula and Twinlab Natural Nutritional Yeast... keep them in the refrigerator & out of the light - B12 is light sensitive), seaweeds (ie nori), fermented soy, & algae (ie spirulina). There is a debate that B12 from plant sources is not as readily absorbed as it is from animal sources. Some believe that taking a good quality probiotic will help you to absorb plant derived B12. However from what I've read most experts on the subject believe that plant sources will not raise your B-12 levels enough to keep you from being deficient and that taking some sort of supplement is necessary.

In his book Cure for Diabetes Dr. Gabriel Cousins has this to say about B12 “Thirty-nine percent of meat eaters are deficient in B12 and up to 80% of vegans and live-food eaters are deficient in B-12 after six years"... the body stores B12 in the liver so if you have spent most of your life eating a standard American diet and are new to live foods you probably have enough B12 stored in your liver to see you through until you figure out which type of B12 is right for you - however - Dr. Cousins goes on to say... "it is absolutely essential that we supplement with this nutrient. Research has found that vitamin B-12 is also very helpful in maintaining proper function of the nervous system in individuals with Type-2 diabetes. Increased levels of B-12 were closely correlated with reduced oxidative stress in individuals with poor blood sugar control. People’s needs for for B-12 are quite variable, and stress plays a big role in those needs. Vitamin B-12 deficiency can result in memory loss, depression and numbness or burning feelings in the feet…

From an article Dr. Cousins wrote on B12 for Living Foods.com he suggests....

"
My suggestion, out of my concern for all of my clients, for my fellow live fooders and vegans is that it is well advised to supplement with an actual B-12 human active supplement. There are vegan B-12 supplements, which allow us to be totally successful vegan live fooders. My general recommendation is that if you have symptoms of B-12 deficiency, you can even start with a 100 pg. injection, or according to the research, an oral administration of 1,000 pg. per day for two to four weeks is equal to repeated monthly injections. After about a month of the oral, the dose can be cut in half. One can even cut that in half again. I don't really recommend nutritional red star yeast, because of the fungal potential; I think that the safest and healthiest approach is via supplementation."

If you would like to read more about what Dr. Cousins has to say on this topic you can find an article at www.living-foods.com (the link below)


I use two websites on a regular basis that have excellent nutritional information databases.

  • www.freetrainers.com
  • I've been using this site for years. The basic membership is free and they have never spammed me. This site is mainly geared towards fitness training but, also offers a nutritional database where you can enter all the foods you have consumed on a daily basis. The site will break these foods down and tell you if you have met your nutritional goals for the day.

  • www.nutritiondata.com
  • Enter any food into the search bar (upper right hand side of the site) and the site will give you a Nutrition Facts sheet on it (also free).

    Saturday, July 18, 2009

    After the Feast...


    I had someone ask me a few days ago how things are going for me now that I'm back on solid food again. She also wanted to know if I'd gained back any weight and if I still think going on an extended fast was a good idea. The short answer to the last question is yes I still think the juice feast was a good idea and that it helped me to achieve a greater level of health and awareness about myself. I've gained back 5lbs over the past month and a half (which I expected). I believe that if your only goal is to lose weight juice feasting may not be the solution for you. Fasting does help your body release weight but, if you come off the juice feast and jump right back in to eating how you ate before you will gain the weight back (and probably more because your metabolism will be much slower). If you go into it with other goals in mind, healing a health problem, gaining a greater understanding of yourself and your body for instance or as an aid in helping to transition into a healthier diet - I would still say - yes - go for it. Check out David & Katrina's juice feasting site to research what is involved to do it in a healthy informed way before you start (under my links or click on the "Juice feasting" logo above my photo to the right and it will take you there). If you want to connect with others doing a juice feast they also offer a free community site www.globaljuicefeast.com - you will find blogs, discussions, moral support and the like there (both are great resources).

    I'm still finding my footing post feast. In many ways juicing every day was much easier than planning healthy menus. I still have days where I will choose to juice for most of the day because I'm busy and don't want to have to think about what I might want to eat - no I'm not sick of juice (amazing isn't it?) - I actually crave it a lot of the time. I still start my days with warm water, fresh lemon juice and msm powder. For breakfast I usually have fruit juice with blue green algae mixed in or a green smoothy, lunch is a salad, blended raw soup or green juice depending on how busy my day is and you've seen what I've been eating for dinner :). Some of my allergy issues have resurfaced so I'm focused now on reducing stress, and investigating which foods make me feel best. I'm reading a lot about Doshas and trying to follow some of the guidelines of Ayurvedic nutrition for my body type.

    Cheezy Ravioli with Walnut Pesto

    A friend gave me fresh basil from her garden yesterday - mmmm - I love basil. I wanted to use it to
    make something with pesto for dinner tonight and came up with this. It turned out really well - a nice
    comfort food dish.

    Ravioli with Walnut Pesto

    Ravioli Shells
    • 1 small Jicama peeled and sliced thin with a mandoline slicer
    • 1/2 Lemon Juiced
    • 3T Olive Oil
    • Pinch of Pink Salt
    • 1 clove Garlic crushed and minced
    Ricotta/Mushroom Filling
    • 1/2C Mushrooms Minced fine
    • 1C Macadamia nuts
    • 1/4C Lemon Juice
    • 4T Water
    • 2T Nutritional yeast
    • 1T Olive Oil
    • 1T Apple Cider Vinegar
    Toss Minced mushrooms in Lemon Juice, Water, Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar until coated. Drain liquid into food processor set mushrooms aside. Add 1C Macadamia nuts and 1T nutritional yeast to food processor blend with s blade until smooth and creamy.

    Assemble

    Lay out Jicama rounds on a flat surface use a small spoon to scoop small portions of ricotta on to the centre of Jicama rounds. Place a few minced mushrooms on top of the ricotta and fold over Jimaca rounds to form half moons. Place on teflex covered dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 105 for 1 hour (not necessary but makes them nice and warm). Sprinkle Ravioli with 1T of nutritional yeast (* nutritional yeast contains no live enzymes but, it is chock full of beneficial B vitamins, minerals & protein - this is not the kind of yeast that is used to make bread or beer. It has a sweet cheezy taste.)

    Walnut Pesto
    • 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
    • 3T Water
    • 2C Fresh Basil
    • 1C Fresh (soaked for 3hrs and drained) walnuts
    • 2 cloves of Garlic
    • 1/2 squeezed Lemon
    • Pinch of Pink sea salt (I can't get enough of this! Have you tried it? If not so buy some - you won't be sorry)
    Blend all until smooth in food processor. You will have extra - keeps well for up to 2 weeks. Very good on zucchini pasta. Right a photo from a few days later on black olives & yellow zucchini cut with a spiralizer

    Friday, July 17, 2009

    Cauliflower & Pecan Salad with Mustard dressing

    I guess the olives aren't technically raw... purists could omit - but tasty with.

    Salad
    1/2 Head small cauliflower chopped
    1 handful grape tomatoes
    1 small Tomatillo chopped
    1/2 cup sliced green olives
    1/2 cup broken pecans
    1 Cup french sliced yellow beans

    Dressing
    4T Grapeseed oil
    3T Basalmic Vinegar
    2t fresh ground black or yellow mustard seeds
    1t agave
    1 crushed/sliced clove of garlic

    Marinate Tomatillo, Pecans, Beans and Cauliflower in dressing for 2-3 hours add tomatoes and olives toss and serve. (2 Adult servings)

    Wednesday, July 15, 2009

    Maple Walnut Ice Nocream

    I had so much fun making ice cream the other day I decided to try making one of my favourite kinds - Maple Walnut. I think it turned out even better than the chocolate.

    Maple Walnut Ice NOcream
    • 1C soaked cashews (1-2hrs)
    • 1/2C soaked walnuts (1-2hrs)
    • 1/2 cup young coconut meat
    • 1/2 Maple Syrup
    • 1 1/4 cups water
    • 1T vanilla extract
    • Pinch of sea salt
    • 1/2 cup coconut oil
    • 4T Walnuts
    Blend all except walnuts in blender until very smooth. Pour into ice cream maker add walnuts and follow manufacturer's instruction (1 quart)

    Southwestern Spaghetti Squash - Raw


    I don't think my photo does this dish justice it smelled and looked so good while I was making it that I just piled it all on a plate and took a quick snap without fussing too much so I could gobble it up fast... yum and very filling!

    Southwestern Spaghetti Squash (Raw)
    • 1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
    • 2T Olive Oil
    • 3T Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 1 Clove garlic crushed
    • 1T Nutritional yeast
    • Pinch of Salt
    Cut Squash in half and remove seeds brush with olive oil and dehydrate 8-10/hrs at 110 to soften. When done scoop out soft part of the squash with a fork (will be stringy like spaghetti). Marinate spaghetti squash in ACV, Olive Oil, Garlic and Salt while you make the topping.

    Southwestern Topping
    • 1 Cup of Corn
    • 1/2 Cup Black Olives
    • 1/2 Cup Red Onion
    • 1 Medium Tomato seeded and chopped
    • 2T Olive Oil
    • .5 Medium Lime (juiced)
    • 2T Chilli Powder
    • 2.5T Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 1 Clove Garlic Crushed
    • 4 sprigs of cilantro chopped
    Mix together all ingredients except Tomatoes and let flavours marinate for about 10 minutes
    pile Squash on plate or in bowl sprinkle with nutritional yeast and top with southwestern topping and chopped tomatoes

    Side Salad
    I made the side salad using delicious fresh picked spinach from a friend's garden. The salad is baby spinach greens, a little chopped red onion, some radish sprouts, sliced mushroom and cucumber.
    I kept the dressing simple so it wouldn't over power the Squash...

    Hemp Oil Dressing
    • 1.5T Hemp Oil
    • 1/5 Lime squeezed
    • 1/2 clove garlic
    Wisked together in a bowl and poured over greens to taste (makes a lovely green dressing - very pretty!)

    Sunday, July 12, 2009

    Cacao Nib Ice NOcream

    I've been craving chocolate so I decided to try making cashew nut icecream. I adapted this recipe from one of Matthew Kenney's in "Everyday Raw"

    Cacao Nib Ice NOcream
    • 1 cup soaked cashews (1-2hrs)
    • 1/2 cup young coconut meat
    • 1 1/4 cups water
    • 1T vanilla extract
    • Pinch of sea salt
    • 1/2 cup coconut oil
    • 2T cacao powder
    • 1/4 cacao nibs
    • 1/2 Agave Nectar
    Blend all except cacao nibs in blender until very smooth. Pour into ice cream maker add cacao nibs and follow manufacturer's instruction (1 quart)

    Monday, July 06, 2009

    RAW Spaghetti with Marinara & Veg.

    I made this last night - sooooo good!

    Marinara
    • 1c Sundried Tomatoes soaked 5 minutes or more
    • 2T Italian Seasoning (or if you have it fresh basil & oregeno)
    • 1tsp Honey or Maple Syrup
    • 2T Water
    • 1 medium tomato chopped and seeded
    • 1 clove garlic (or more to your taste)
    • 1/2T olive oil
    pulse all in a food processor until well blended

    Marinated Veggies
    • One sliced red pepper
    • One handful pitted kalamata or black olives
    • 1/2 small red onion
    • 1C sliced mushrooms
    • 3T Olive Oil
    • 2T Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 1 clove garlic crushed & sliced
    • 2T Nama Shoyu (soya sauce)
    Mix Olive Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic and Nama Shoyu together, pour over veggies. Add your in your marinara sauce and mix all together well - let marinate while you make your pasta

    Pasta
    • 1 Medium Zucchini
    Peel then slice Zuchini into spaghetti using a spiral slicer (like a saladaco or spirooli) OR if you can peel your zuchini and slice it into thin strips using a veggie peeler then julienne the slices. I added in another chopped tomato to my pasta then put the veg/marinara on top.

    Full Moon Tomorrow ...

    Blessing Moon, Thunder Moon, Meadow Moon, Capricorn Moon, Wort (herb) Moon, Raspberry Moon

    This moon is all about staying grounded. Which is timely because because I just posted a few days ago on how to do just that (think wading). Another big thing happening during this full moon is a lunar eclipse (cancer/water). Emotions are likely to be running high with some people because Capricorn and Cancer are in opposition (water/earth). The count to 10 rule before you react is probably a good idea for the next few weeks.

    This is the perfect time to pay attention to your dreams, focus inward, and start identifying and clearing out old emotional baggage.

    Friday, July 03, 2009

    Raw Dill Pickles... YUM!



    Raw Dillies

    14 Pickling Cukes (3") sliced long
    4 Sprigs fresh dill
    1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
    3 Whole Cloves
    1/2 lemon juiced (squeezed)
    2 cloves garlic crushed open
    pinch of sea salt
    Cold water to cover

    Pack a sterilized jar with pickles, dill, cloves and garlic and cover with water, ACV and lemon squeeze. Cover with lid set in hot sun for a few hours (2-4hrs) to let the flavours marinate - then refrigerate - will keep up to 4 weeks. Use raw Cauliflower, Carrots, Green Beans, and Red Bell Pepper slices to make veggie pickles. Pickled raw beans as a garnish for fresh tomato/celery juice are delicious (remember to snap the ends off your beans!).