For The Love Of Raw Food

I love raw food. And living healthy.

I try to make raw meals for myself when I'm on vacation too, which isn't always easy.

I like to have my grandbrats help, so that they'll be interested in eating healthy too.

Which isn't always easy either. First I've gotta catch 'em!

Well, I love 'un-cooking' so much, that I bit-the-bullet and invested in two fabulous

raw food, home-study courses!! (Be still my heart!)

The courses are by the amazing raw food chef, Russell James.

This one is called, " How To Be Your Own Raw Food Chef... And Still Have Time To Eat".

LOVE! LOVE!! LOVE IT!!!

But this one is my favorite!! It's ALL DESSERTS!!!! :-D

The title of it is, "How To Be Your Own Raw Food Chef... And Still Have Time To Indulge".

I'm a biiig fan of indulging!!!! I could eat desserts all day, if I let myself!!

My dream is to get really great at creating super-duper meals and desserts -

and then teaching others how to make them. I'd love to give demos at senior centers, and to others that need to be more watchful of their health. Or, to people who just like to chow-down on some great tasting eats!!

Of course I had to buy some decent knives to do the job right! Right? Right!

If you guys have been reading my blog for awhile, you know how freaked-out I am by knives, so wish me luck!! (Check out the post about Nori Rolls.)

I already have the "Excalibur Dehydrator" for raw food; cookies, breads, snacks, etc..

This is a really great machine!!

For some photos and info on raw foods I've made in the past, please take a peek here.

If you still want more, just type "raw food" in the search-thingy on this page (top right) and you'll find plenty.

Thanks for stopping by! ~

There are SO many things to love!

I love "Followers" and comments too!

Thank you.

Signing off for now,

gabriele

Raw Food - Sooo Good!

I love raw food.

I love the taste, the look and especially how it makes me feel!

On those few occasions that I revert back to my evil ways of eating,

I pay the price! Here is the proof - in a previous post:

Raw Food vs The Standard American Diet-S.A.D.

In this post, I'm featuring the recipes from the amazing, raw-chef and author,

Jennifer Cornbleet's fabulous book -

"Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People".

Here are the ingredients I used. Except for the red cabbage.

I haven't a clue as to why I put that bad-boy on the platter.

I'll also be showing two of my own recipes -

"Goji Berry Lemonade" and "Banana, Kiwi, Chocolate Pudding".

I didn't have lemons and, truth be told, was too lazy to get dressed

and drive to the store to buy them.

So I used the organic lemon juice instead.

It won't kill ya.

I had to use the curly kale, because I couldn't find the other kind.

There also wasn't any zuchini, for the Spaghetti, so I had to buy the yellow squash.

That's the beauty of raw food - nothing's written in stone.

(Don't forget to ignore that dang red cabbage.)

I buy the large bottle of Raw Agave Nectar and refill the little one, as needed.

I try to use it in moderation, like anything 'sweet'. (That's really hard for me!)

Here's what I used for the "Goji Berry Lemonade":

Two tablespoons Goji Berries

Two tablespoons Raw Agave Nectar

(Or sweeten to taste.)

Four tablespoons lemon juice

(I usually use one entire peeled lemon.)

Two cups water

Grind the ingredients in a blender until smooth -

And serve.

Yum!!

This is Jennifer's "Spinach Apple Soup".

And yes, that is the color! Pure health in a bowl. And sooo good!!

This is her "Mediterranean Kale Salad".

No, that's not cheese! I didn't have the pine nuts the recipe called for,

so I chopped-up, (rather badly) a few Macadamia Nuts.

But, yeah, in my other life, I'd be all over the cheese!!

How good does THAT look?! And it tasted even better!

Here are the yellow squash 'noodles', topped with Jennifer's "Marinara Sauce"

and "No Meat Balls", made from her "Walnut Pate".

I'm allergic to walnuts, so I used pecans.

I couldn't believe how delicious this was!!

If you have a high-speed blender like a BlendTec,

you can make some of these sauces a little bit on the 'warm' side.

Actually, that blender has a "Soup" cycle that makes things very warm.

I love that blender!

And finally, my favorite part of ANY meal - Dessert!!

This is my "Banana, Kiwi, Chocolate Pudding":

Cut two bananas into small pieces and freeze.

Cut two kiwis into small pieces and freeze.

Place the frozen pieces in a food processor along with -

Four tablespoons Raw Cacao

Four tablespoons Raw Agave Nectar

Grind until smooth.

Serve -

And dive right in!! Ohhh yeahhhhh!

Here is the link to Jennifer Cornbleet's wonderful book,

"Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People".

As well as her awesome DVD and newest book,

"Raw For Dessert".

I made some of her delicious chocolate truffles in this previous post:

"If I Can't Have Paris - At Least Give Me Truffles."

I do hope you'll give raw food a try. And I hope I did Jennifer's recipes justice.

I highly recommend her books and her DVD.

Well, the dishes are washed -

and it's almost time to think about the next raw meal.

What will it be??

There are SO many things to love!

Signing off for now,

gabriele

Raw Food vs The Standard American Diet-S.A.D.

As some of you know, I've been visiting my family in Oregon.

A lot of family. A lot of friends. A lot of food!

It was my awesome granddaughter's thirteenth birthday!!

There was cake. Great cake!

Even though I've been a raw-foodist for about two years now (with the occasional slip)

I made the decision to eat what everyone else was eating - "just to make it easier".

(Yeah, right!)

There were usually people in the kitchen and I needed room for my raw food preparation.

That was my reasoning. I think deep-down, I just wanted to see what it would feel like to eat whatever I wanted in the Standard American Diet again.

So I ate what everyone else did, but I took it - not "a step" further - I took it "a mile" further!

I ate junk food, more junk food - and even MORE junk food!!

(Much to the dismay of my family.)

My sugar-addiction raised its ugly head!!

During those two weeks, THIS is what it felt like:

Headaches or migraines daily

Dizziness

Facial swelling

Stuffy nose

Sinus pain

Blemishes

Ringing in the ears

Liquid in the ears

Bloodshot eyes

Blurry vision with and without glasses

Gum irritation

Sensitive teeth

Trouble concentrating

Trouble stringing a sentence together

Heart burn

Acid reflux

Bloating

Burping

Water retention

Weight gain (Duh!! No surprise there!)

Hand and finger cramps

Achy joints and stiffness

Tingling in hands and feet

Trouble getting up from a lying or sitting position

Extremely tired

Needing naps daily

And THIS is what it looked like.

Even my grandson!

This is what he looked like, the next day, after just ONE visit to a restaurant!

While he and my granddaughter were staying with us, and eating only raw-food for two weeks, they did SO well! That restaurant visit and eating S.A.D. only once, had its effect!

Here's what we usually look like.

(Both of these screamin' brats are home in Georgia now and we miss them SO much!)

Back to my Oregon trip -

Here's more stuff that got me!

And more.

My gorgeous seventeen year old granddaughter took me here -

a fabulous place with chocolate-concoctions I've only dreamed of! Yum!!

And more.

A nice greasy batch of scrambled eggs with all the trimmings.

But wait - there's more!

A Reuben that could choke a horse. (Yet SO dang tasty!!)

But here's the GOOD news!

I'm back to my raw-food ways!!

Beginning with...

A green-smoothie for breakfast.

Maybe some raw Celery Dill Soup with raw dehydrated Flax/Carrot Bread for lunch.

Or a bowl of raw Tomato Basil Soup with raw dehydrated Onion Bread.

Maybe a raw Jicama Potato Salad.

For dinner, maybe I'll have some raw dehydrated Flax Bread Pizza.

Maybe even with some raw Cheese topping.

But FOR SURE...

I'll have some of this raw Strawberry Cheesecake for dessert!!

Or a slice of this raw Chocolate Strawberry Torte.

(I didn't say a 'small' slice.)

Then there's always the raw Strawberry Banana Cream Pie.

Or the raw Chocolate Raspberry Torte.

And the not-to-be-sneezed-at (please don't) raw Apple Pie!!

But if I get that sudden sweet-craving and don't have a raw pie made,

here's my old stand-by...

A deeelicious, raw Chocolate and Vanilla Mousse, topped with ground nuts!

Ohhh yeahhh.

I'm not preaching to others to "go raw" (OK, sometimes I do:) but that's what works for me - what my body craves. Obviously.

And by the way, that list of symptoms - those were the exact symptoms I had, before I decided to go raw! After just a few weeks of eating raw foods - they went away!!

I spent years going from doctor to doctor trying to find out what was wrong with me, so that I could feel better!! None knew and just sort of dismissed me - or prescribed antibiotics!

Oh goody.

So, even though I'm home now and miss my wonderful family all across the country, like crazy (already!)

I'll be eating raw and healthy - and starting that awesome, killer P90X exercise routine again!

TODAY!!

Signing off for now,

gabriele

Raw Food, Desserts And Green Smoothies - For Kids.

As some of you know,

we have our five year old grandson and seven year old granddaughter

with us for two weeks.

My plan is to try to feed them only raw/living food during that time.

We start our mornings off with a green-smoothie.

These are the ingredients we used that day.

(A handful of each of the greens and three cups of water.)

When I make them for myself, I don't use as much fruit and add more greens,

but kids like a sweeter taste, or getting them to drink it is like pulling teeth!

I use a BlendTec high-speed blender and I love it!

The thing is a real work-horse!

For more information and to purchase this blender,

please go to Cathy Silvers' wonderful, informative website.

A green-smoothie is not the most attractive drink in the world,

but boy, does it give you energy! It's good health, waiting to happen!!

For detailed information about the health benefits of green-smoothies,

there's none better than the website of "The Raw Family".

(But finish reading my blog first!:)

This one likes them...

and that one likes them.

Even this one!

This is our eleven month old granddaughter, tasting a green-smoothie for the first time.

She kept reaching for more!

(The picture was taken in Georgia, three weeks ago.)

Later, our granddaughter wanted to play "Restaurant" and be the 'server'.

Her brother was the 'customer'.

She introduced herself and pulled out her pad and pencil, to take his order.

She asked the 'customer' many, maaany food-related questions,

and was pretending to write down his answers on her pad.

Her customer just wanted to eat.

Seriously.

Yay! Finally!! The order has arrived!

The 'server' decided to take her break early and have a bite as well.

This is a great-tasting, healthy breakfast or snack!!

Recipe:

A handful of nuts of your choice. (Not almonds, unless they've soaked for a couple of hours.)

A handful of pumpkin seeds, or hulled sunflower seeds. (Or both.)

Grind in a food processor. (Not too fine.)

Pour in a bowl.

Add a handful of raisins.

One cut-up, seeded date.

Add a few shakes of Cinnamon.

Stir.

Serves two.

Slice a half of a banana on top. (Or an apple, peach, whatever.)

If they're not looking I add a little water instead of 'milk'.

(I know, I know - it sounds gross, but it's still delicious!)

If they're looking, I add a 'small' amount of store-bought oat milk, or a nut milk.

You can make your own nut milks, but I've been too busy lately.

Later that day, he and I made a cabbage-salad for lunch.

We added pine nuts for protein.

(I just love this picture. Could those little legs be any cuter?!:)

We made our own yummy salad dressing... for kid's taste-buds.

Recipe:

Two T. Tahini

3/4 C. Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 C. Olive Oil

1/4 C. Agave Syrup

One T. Lemon Juice

Blend it in a food-processor, until it's smooth.

(Mom and Dad, if you're reading this -

it's unplugged and he's not allowed to put his hands in it!:)

He asked me if he was "a good cooker". He loves helping. So does she.

They both had a huge bowl of this and asked for seconds!

Making raw desserts is always fun!

But when you're tired and have a kid yackin' in each ear,

concentration seems to go right out the window - and you screw up.

We were attempting to make "Chocolate Covered Bananas",

from Ani Phyo's awesome book, "Ani's Raw Food Desserts"

(This is the "Liquid Chocolate".)

Even though I read the simple directions - twice,

I thought the "Liquid Chocolate" needed to go into the refrigerator to cool, before using it.

Wrong.

That made it too hard to roll the bananas in,

so he had to use his fingers to put 'globs' of hardened chocolate on the bananas.

By the looks of him, I think the scenario went like this:

one glob on the banana - one in his mouth,

one glob on the banana - one in his mouth.

Then the banana was rolled in the remaining ingredients and a healthy dessert was born!!

Later, after dinner and a bath, she enjoyed a nice piece of watermelon.

He, on the other hand, decided to chuck the whole raw-food thing...

and opted for a dead chicken instead.

Don't be a chicken -

Try raw foods and green-smoothies!!

Signing off for now,

gabriele