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Living Light Chef Showcase
Last year about this time was our introduction to the Living Light Institute in Fort Bragg, CA and the Expo that they held each year. Being our first year at the expo (after going raw only 4 months earlier), we enjoyed every aspect. They had several things going on at once so we could choose to watch a chef, or listen to an expert talk about any aspect of the raw food diet in several locations close to the institute. We enjoyed ourselves and gleaned knowledge and enthusiasm for our new raw food journey. Our previous blog about the conference last year can be seen here . We will always remember rubbing elbows with our peers and feeling like we belonged.
This year the Living Light Institute in Fort Bragg is holding a conference specializing in raw food chefs and recipe techniques in the kitchen and available in person or to watch by live streaming video. Today was day one of three and was very informative and inspiring.
Look it up here: Living Light Chef Showcase. You can probably still sign up for the video streaming. One ticket includes a 6 month pass to view the videos at your leisure. The video option is a wonderful way to feel like you're there, but not have to spend all the time traveling.
If you are interested in the raw food diet or just wondering how to change to healthy eating habits check it out!!
This year the Living Light Institute in Fort Bragg is holding a conference specializing in raw food chefs and recipe techniques in the kitchen and available in person or to watch by live streaming video. Today was day one of three and was very informative and inspiring.
Look it up here: Living Light Chef Showcase. You can probably still sign up for the video streaming. One ticket includes a 6 month pass to view the videos at your leisure. The video option is a wonderful way to feel like you're there, but not have to spend all the time traveling.
If you are interested in the raw food diet or just wondering how to change to healthy eating habits check it out!!
Homemade Fruit Leather 101 in 2010
Got fruit? We recently went Blackberry picking and easily bagged 1-1/2 gallons of fresh blackberries. What a blessing it is to live in a place that there is a plentiful supply of these wonderful morsels for the taking. It's first come first serve on the roads that house the wild brambles. We were not the first to pick the ripe fruit from the thorn riddled branches, but we still went home with plenty. It's a wonderful year in our county for wild berry picking. We had plenty of rain early this year which has aided in berry production. We still have plenty of time to go pick more.
When I have too much fruit, my first thought is always fresh Fruit Leather! The dehydrator has been a wonderful addition to my kitchen. If you have one, have you used it lately? I try to keep mine going constantly (hopefully you have noticed from my previous posts). In fact as I sit and write this I have corn chips dehydrating right now!
This was my first try at blackberry fruit leather. Knowing the fruit can be a little tart, I did add a little sugar and stevia to the mix, I do not normally add sugar to my leather recipes. Blackberries can be a little extra work also because of the seeds. But they are worth it!
After the blackberries were picked I rinsed and soaked them in filtered water over night in the fridge. I emptied the water through a strainer, boiled to remove any contaminants and what I got was a wonderful deep purple blackberry fruit juice base that I saved for the kids tea base.
Here's what I did with the fruit.
First I took the berries and ran them through the Vita-Mix. Then I removed the seeds by squeezing the fruit through a filter bag. (sorry I didn't take photos, it was messy!)
Next I added 2 apples (cored) 1/2 cup organic sugar and approx 4 cups of berries back in the Vita-Mix.
When I have too much fruit, my first thought is always fresh Fruit Leather! The dehydrator has been a wonderful addition to my kitchen. If you have one, have you used it lately? I try to keep mine going constantly (hopefully you have noticed from my previous posts). In fact as I sit and write this I have corn chips dehydrating right now!
This was my first try at blackberry fruit leather. Knowing the fruit can be a little tart, I did add a little sugar and stevia to the mix, I do not normally add sugar to my leather recipes. Blackberries can be a little extra work also because of the seeds. But they are worth it!
After the blackberries were picked I rinsed and soaked them in filtered water over night in the fridge. I emptied the water through a strainer, boiled to remove any contaminants and what I got was a wonderful deep purple blackberry fruit juice base that I saved for the kids tea base.
Here's what I did with the fruit.
First I took the berries and ran them through the Vita-Mix. Then I removed the seeds by squeezing the fruit through a filter bag. (sorry I didn't take photos, it was messy!)
Next I added 2 apples (cored) 1/2 cup organic sugar and approx 4 cups of berries back in the Vita-Mix.
Blend until smooth. Use a spatula to spread the fruit mixture evenly on Teflex sheets. As thick as you can. Make sure you don't try to get too close to the edge, the mixture is quite thin and does tend to ooze to the side! I left approx 2 inches all the way around. The color was beautiful!
The next photo shows what it looked like when it was done. It took approx 8 hours. You know when it's done by the fact it doesn't stick to your finger when you touch it
. This sheet was moved to a piece of parchment and is ready to roll.
The following photo shows the finished product.
I store all the fruit leather in an easy to open container to promote snacking by the kids. It's these great snacks that I want them to choose!
Can you imagine anything easier? The fruit you use does not need to be beautiful to do this. Have any fruit that's being passed up because it's a little bruised or over ripe? Make Fruit Leather!!!!!
The next photo shows what it looked like when it was done. It took approx 8 hours. You know when it's done by the fact it doesn't stick to your finger when you touch it
. This sheet was moved to a piece of parchment and is ready to roll. The following photo shows the finished product.
I store all the fruit leather in an easy to open container to promote snacking by the kids. It's these great snacks that I want them to choose!
Can you imagine anything easier? The fruit you use does not need to be beautiful to do this. Have any fruit that's being passed up because it's a little bruised or over ripe? Make Fruit Leather!!!!!
Raw Cookie Dough Recipe
When I was a kid my Mom always had the ingredients for Nestle Toll House cookies in the house. So naturally we made them, it seemed like we always had them around. I know that can't be true, but it sure is nice to remember it that way. As I got older my Mom let me make them with her, then of course I was trusted to make them myself. That old tried and true recipe is still on the back of the chocolate chip bag! (I think it has changed a little from what they previously taste like, could have been the butter or fat we used, or my memory). Yes, I remember tasting the cookie dough raw. There was usually some comment about "Don't eat too much or you'll get a belly ache" so of course while Mom was looking, I only took small bites. I remember at least once eating a little too much. Yes, a belly ache followed. And I also got scorned for the amount of cookie batter left to bake. Sorry Mom! As you can see I have fond memories of baking. While trying to adhere to our raw/living food diet, I am still trying to keep the kids happy with some sugary treats in the house while keeping them healthy and tasty. This raw cookie dough recipe is one of those recipes. They are even vegan (if you don't use honey)!
I used a recipe from Angela Liddon's blog "Oh she glows " and modified it a little bit for sweetness. Thanks for the recipe Angela!
This is what was left after a couple days of samples to neighbors and snacking. I had to make the kids wait for a taste until I took a photo. They were very patient.
I used a recipe from Angela Liddon's blog "Oh she glows " and modified it a little bit for sweetness. Thanks for the recipe Angela!
This is what was left after a couple days of samples to neighbors and snacking. I had to make the kids wait for a taste until I took a photo. They were very patient.
Raw cookie Dough recipe modified version by Toni Genaro
Dough
1 ¾ C raw cashews
¾ C raw whole oats
2 dates soaked for 30 mins to soften
¼ C agave or honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ C virgin coconut oil
½ tsp Himalayan salt
Process the cashews and oats in the food processor with the S blade until pieces are small. Place all other ingredients in processor and blend. Mix until a smooth dough forms. Make large ball and place in refrigerator in medium mixing bowl. Note: some oil will separate from the dough, wipe the excess off and discard.
Chocolate:
½ C carob powder
½ C cacao powder
4 Tbs agave or honey
3 Tbs Maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp Himalayan salt
2 Tbs Dandy Blend (optional)
2 Tbs virgin coconut oil (melted)
Place all ingredients into medium mixing bowl except coconut oil. Melt coconut oil in double boiler on stove and add to bowl, stir until smooth. Place between two sheets of parchment or teflex sheets and use rolling pin until approx ¼ inch thick. Place in freezer to harden, approx 30 minutes.
Cut chocolate into squares and mix into cookie dough by hand. Prepare 2 logs and store in refrigerator in a covered container or wrapped in parchment, cut cookies off as desired. Or roll into ¼ inch+ sheets and use cookie cutters, keep on parchment paper. Note: I used the roll method because they last longer. If you used the cookie cutter method you need to separate them with parchment paper and place in covered container in the fridge. The rolls were easier to store
The Dandy Blend adds a coffee flavor to the chocolate. If you have some fresh coffee beans on hand you could grind a couple until very fine and add to the chocolate mix as a substitute. Dandy blend is used for a coffee substitute and to break a coffee habit. It can be added to cold or hot drinks, smoothies, ice cream etc. Check it out!
The kids said they tasted like oatmeal with chocolate chips. I think I'll try some raisins in the next batch. Of course this batch is long gone!
Quick nuts and seeds "meat" substitute recipe
Our new favorite quick meal. We call it nut seed meat. You use any combination of any kind of nuts and seeds, in the food processor along with some spices and you have Toni and Damon's nut seed meat!
Our inspiration started with the seed pate recipes in the Cafe Gratitude recipe book . This nut seed meat can be combined with seasonings to mimic Italian sausage, Hamburger, taco meat, or anything else you are craving. With the addition of the lecithin you get the "greasy" feeling that is hard to imagine in a raw dish. With all of the nuts and seeds that we now keep on hand it's a quick and easy meal. We ususally have lots of left overs also, they are always fun to toss on a couple of slices of sprouted bread, in a green salad or just on some flax chips or crackers for snacks. I posted a previous entry about the "meat" that I made from Cafe Gratitude, this time I came up with my own sausage flavored nut seed meat. It tasted just like Italian sausage!! We used some left over raw spaghetti sauce for the topping .
We continue to experiment in the kitchen with all of our fresh ingredients. What have you been up to lately? I would love to hear what you do with all of the wonderful summer foods that are now available. Please share!
Our inspiration started with the seed pate recipes in the Cafe Gratitude recipe book . This nut seed meat can be combined with seasonings to mimic Italian sausage, Hamburger, taco meat, or anything else you are craving. With the addition of the lecithin you get the "greasy" feeling that is hard to imagine in a raw dish. With all of the nuts and seeds that we now keep on hand it's a quick and easy meal. We ususally have lots of left overs also, they are always fun to toss on a couple of slices of sprouted bread, in a green salad or just on some flax chips or crackers for snacks. I posted a previous entry about the "meat" that I made from Cafe Gratitude, this time I came up with my own sausage flavored nut seed meat. It tasted just like Italian sausage!! We used some left over raw spaghetti sauce for the topping .
Raw Italian Nut Seed "Meat" Sausages by Toni Genaro
1/2 Cup pumpkin seed (soaked, sprouted and dehydrated)
1/4 Cup Brazil nuts (soaked for at least 2 hours if you have time)
1/4 Cup pine nuts
1/4 Cup sunflower seeds
1/2 Cup fresh mushrooms (button or mini crimini)
2 Tbs Bragg's amino acid
1 tsp Sunflower Lecithin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh basil, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dill seed (ground) fresh if available
1/8 tsp fennel seed (ground) fresh if available
Place all ingredients in food processor with S blade and process until mixed, chunky and not too smooth. Serve immediately or place in dehydrator to warm. Keeps in fridge for up to 5 days. The leaves we used for "casing" wraps were Radicchio that we are growing in our garden. I will take current photos for a later (sooner than later hopefully) post.
Note: Most seeds can be eaten raw. Most nuts should be fully soaked, sprouted and dehydrated to help in digestion and absorption. If they don't have a hard dark skin like almonds or walnuts, soak them for at least 2 hours before adding to recipes. We do not stick by this religiously, but we do notice that soaking works. Renee Oswald is a wonderful coach for making seed stash. She recommends purchasing in quantity, soaking, sprouting and dehydrating in large batches so you always have "seed stash" available for recipes. She's right, it takes the several days of preparation for lots of raw recipes down to only minutes.
1/2 Cup pumpkin seed (soaked, sprouted and dehydrated)
1/4 Cup Brazil nuts (soaked for at least 2 hours if you have time)
1/4 Cup pine nuts
1/4 Cup sunflower seeds
1/2 Cup fresh mushrooms (button or mini crimini)
2 Tbs Bragg's amino acid
1 tsp Sunflower Lecithin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh basil, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dill seed (ground) fresh if available
1/8 tsp fennel seed (ground) fresh if available
Place all ingredients in food processor with S blade and process until mixed, chunky and not too smooth. Serve immediately or place in dehydrator to warm. Keeps in fridge for up to 5 days. The leaves we used for "casing" wraps were Radicchio that we are growing in our garden. I will take current photos for a later (sooner than later hopefully) post.
Note: Most seeds can be eaten raw. Most nuts should be fully soaked, sprouted and dehydrated to help in digestion and absorption. If they don't have a hard dark skin like almonds or walnuts, soak them for at least 2 hours before adding to recipes. We do not stick by this religiously, but we do notice that soaking works. Renee Oswald is a wonderful coach for making seed stash. She recommends purchasing in quantity, soaking, sprouting and dehydrating in large batches so you always have "seed stash" available for recipes. She's right, it takes the several days of preparation for lots of raw recipes down to only minutes.
Raw Chocolate Brownies ... with recipe!
Everyone enjoys sweets. They are the delight of our taste buds. What if you could make sweet foods and desserts that didn't contain "bad for you" ingredients. That's what raw desserts are.
I became a vegetarian 9 years ago. Since then I have not consumed or desired sweets on a regular basis. Yes, I would eat an occasional piece of cake or tasty treat out of the Halloween candy bowl but only periodically. Baking was only for parties or gatherings with friends. So making raw desserts has not been on my list as a high priority. Be aware: by the time you price all the ingredients, raw desserts can get expensive.
In her recipe book The Raw Transformation, Wendy Rudell gives easy to read instructions for some great snacks and main dishes. Yes, some recipes are more difficult but the following Chocolate Brownie recipe was delightful and easy.
Chocolate Brownies by Wendy Rudell
2 Cups almond meal (leftover pulp from almond milk)
1 Cup dates, soaked 2 hours to soften
1 Banana
1 Cup pine nuts, soaked overnight
1/3 Cup Cacao powder or carob powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs agave syrup or honey
1 Cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Fudge Sauce (optional)
In a food processor combine nuts, dates, banana, cacao, vanilla and agave syrup. Add almond meal and process all ingredients until mixed thoroughly. Fold in chopped nuts and place on teflex sheet, forming batter into a large square not more than 1-1/2 inches thick. Score into bite-size pieces with a knife and dehydrate 4 6 hours on one side: flip over and dehydrate 4 - 6 hours on the underside. Frost with Fudge Sauce and serve.
Additional notes: The brownies themselves were not too sweet, had a slight banana flavor and needed lots more time in the dehydrator, but were excellent with the hard chocolate that I chose. After the 6 hours on each side in the dehydrator I separated the brownies at each score point into individual pieces and dehydrated for another 6 (approx) hours. This made the "creamy" center turn more like a "cake" texture. I also wanted a hard dipped chocolate coating. It was more expensive to make than the brownies! But worth every bite!!!
Hard dipping chocolate recipe posted by rawererin on Raw Freedom Community
1/2 Cup coconut oil
1/2 Cup cacao powder
1/2 Cup maple syrup (the more I use this the more I have found that it really compliments chocolate so well!)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Mix all ingredients in Vita-Mix until smooth, take out immediately to keep warm, dip brownie bites and place on waxed paper. Place in refrigerator to harden.
Enjoy!!!! By the time I realized I hadn't taken any photos there were only 4 left! (pictured above). This is the first time I've dipped anything but strawberries in chocolate, they didn't look the greatest, but they tasted great!
I became a vegetarian 9 years ago. Since then I have not consumed or desired sweets on a regular basis. Yes, I would eat an occasional piece of cake or tasty treat out of the Halloween candy bowl but only periodically. Baking was only for parties or gatherings with friends. So making raw desserts has not been on my list as a high priority. Be aware: by the time you price all the ingredients, raw desserts can get expensive.
In her recipe book The Raw Transformation, Wendy Rudell gives easy to read instructions for some great snacks and main dishes. Yes, some recipes are more difficult but the following Chocolate Brownie recipe was delightful and easy.
Chocolate Brownies by Wendy Rudell
2 Cups almond meal (leftover pulp from almond milk)
1 Cup dates, soaked 2 hours to soften
1 Banana
1 Cup pine nuts, soaked overnight
1/3 Cup Cacao powder or carob powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs agave syrup or honey
1 Cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Fudge Sauce (optional)
In a food processor combine nuts, dates, banana, cacao, vanilla and agave syrup. Add almond meal and process all ingredients until mixed thoroughly. Fold in chopped nuts and place on teflex sheet, forming batter into a large square not more than 1-1/2 inches thick. Score into bite-size pieces with a knife and dehydrate 4 6 hours on one side: flip over and dehydrate 4 - 6 hours on the underside. Frost with Fudge Sauce and serve.
Additional notes: The brownies themselves were not too sweet, had a slight banana flavor and needed lots more time in the dehydrator, but were excellent with the hard chocolate that I chose. After the 6 hours on each side in the dehydrator I separated the brownies at each score point into individual pieces and dehydrated for another 6 (approx) hours. This made the "creamy" center turn more like a "cake" texture. I also wanted a hard dipped chocolate coating. It was more expensive to make than the brownies! But worth every bite!!!
Hard dipping chocolate recipe posted by rawererin on Raw Freedom Community
1/2 Cup coconut oil
1/2 Cup cacao powder
1/2 Cup maple syrup (the more I use this the more I have found that it really compliments chocolate so well!)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Mix all ingredients in Vita-Mix until smooth, take out immediately to keep warm, dip brownie bites and place on waxed paper. Place in refrigerator to harden.
Enjoy!!!! By the time I realized I hadn't taken any photos there were only 4 left! (pictured above). This is the first time I've dipped anything but strawberries in chocolate, they didn't look the greatest, but they tasted great!
Raw Spinach Mushroom Quiche Recipe
Where does time go sometimes? My new schedule working at home (if you can call it a schedule) is mixed with so many duties throughout the day I find myself not getting all of the things completed during the day now compared to what I would accomplish when I was away from home for 8 hours. Does that make sense? I used to leave for 8 hours a day, and when I came home I completed more tasks than I do when I don't have to leave?.... My blog for instance. I would go to work, come home, make dinner, clean up the house, sometimes start some laundry, prepare a recipe for the following day, (soak nuts etc.) and still post a blog..... What am I doing wrong? Oh well, maybe I am getting better at the "juggling" work and home together.... I'm posting! And believe me, I don't want to go back to leaving for 8 hours a day to work for someone else. I do consider myself very fortunate, I do still have to work, take phone calls, make sales calls etc. Discipline is my new challenge, distractions come easy when you work at home.
On with the subject of my post.....
The last trip to Cafe Gratitude in Healdsburg, CA, we found a new recipe book. I have made several items and it is now the first recipe book I seek!
The Raw Transformation by Wendy Rudell . She knows her stuff! The recipes are easy to follow and each one that I have made has been a perfect blend of taste and texture. Do take note this recipe will take a few days to complete.
Spinach Mushroom Quiche by Wendy Rudell
Crust:
1 Cup almonds, soaked overnight
1 Cup pecans, soaked 6 hours
1 tsp Celtic sea salt or 1Tbs Nama Shoyu or Bragg's
1 Tbs ground flax meal
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 Cup orange juice or coconut water
After soaking the nuts, dehydrate them for 1 hours so they are not soggy. In a food processor with the S blade, process the nuts until they are finely ground. Add in the flax seed meal, seasonings, and enough liquid to moisten and hold together the mixture. Press mixture into a pie 9" deep dish pie plate and dehydrate at 115 for 1 to 2 hours.
Filing:
4 Cups baby spinach leaves - tightly packed
1/4 Cup raw tahini, almond butter, or pumpkin seed butter
1/4 Cup macadamia nuts, soaked for 3 hours
4 Cups chopped mushrooms
2 Tbs lime juice or to taste
1 tsp Celtic sea salt or 2 Tbs Nama Shoyu or Bragg's
2 Cloves garlic
1/2 - 1 tsp minced ginger
1/4 tsp jalapeno or cayenne (optional)
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cardamom
2 - 3 Tbs flax meal or psyllium to thicken
1/4 Cup young coconut water
In a food processor combine spinach, nuts, nut butter, lime juice, mushrooms, seasonings and water. Add in enough flax meal or psylluim to thicken. Remember that this will continue to firm up with time. Fill the crust with filling and either chill to firm, or place in the dehydrator for 4 hours if you want this to be a warm dish. Garnish with slices of mushrooms to make a decorative pattern on the top of the quiche. (My pattern wasn't very well thought out, but it worked....)
I did not make the following sauce. We had a cheesy garlic spread that we used instead. Toss some pine nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic and Bragg's in blender. Works in a pinch!
This recipe was listed with the quiche, I'm sure it's wonderful, I think I was out of beets.....
Optional: Sunflower Beet Sauce (for topping)
1 Cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
1/2 to 1 beet
1 - 2 Tbs lemon or lime juice
2 Cloves garlic
1/4 tsp minched ginger
Celtic sea salt, Nama Shoyu, or Bragg's to taste
Touch of honey to taste (optional)
Water for consistency
Blend all the ingredients in the Vita-Mix to a smooth sauce consistency, adding a little water if too thick.
Makes 1 1/2 cups.
When I make large recipes like this one I always share with our neighbors. They loved it too!
Notes on the book: Wendy doesn't go into detail for the obvious or easy techniques of each recipe, but does list some great ideas for things like making your own spice mixes and drying citrus rind to make your own dried zest sprinkle. The simple things that I never thought of. Once again growing up in this consumer driven world of going to the store to purchase what you need instead of re-purposing items or using what you have.
We now are at that point, the dried rinds, making our own spices and such. We are trying to throw away less and stop relying on the market for those things we can make ourselves. Which is why we are gardeners. Doesn't it make sense? We have actually looked for lemon and lime powder in the market to use in our tea. Note: We started making tea for the kids several years ago when we realized how much we were spending on Organic Lemonade. We have gone from packaged teas to using loose leaf teas (which we will be planting soon). We use fresh lemon and lime juice in our recipes/smoothies on a daily basis. We do compost all of the waste, but why don't we toss the rinds in the dehydrator? After last year (our first summer of being raw) I have a strong feeling we will be adding another dehydrator to our kitchen!
Our pantry of home made products continues to grow as our knowledge does; as we try to stop purchasing the things that will be thrown away. Even if you don't have a dehydrator, you can use your toaster oven on a low setting to dehydrate. You can even use a light bulb inside your regular oven to dehydrate! (put it inside a cardboard box
)
Did you know 80% of the products manufactured today end up in a landfillwithin only 6 months?
On with the subject of my post.....
The last trip to Cafe Gratitude in Healdsburg, CA, we found a new recipe book. I have made several items and it is now the first recipe book I seek!
The Raw Transformation by Wendy Rudell . She knows her stuff! The recipes are easy to follow and each one that I have made has been a perfect blend of taste and texture. Do take note this recipe will take a few days to complete.
Spinach Mushroom Quiche by Wendy Rudell
Crust:
1 Cup almonds, soaked overnight
1 Cup pecans, soaked 6 hours
1 tsp Celtic sea salt or 1Tbs Nama Shoyu or Bragg's
1 Tbs ground flax meal
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 Cup orange juice or coconut water
After soaking the nuts, dehydrate them for 1 hours so they are not soggy. In a food processor with the S blade, process the nuts until they are finely ground. Add in the flax seed meal, seasonings, and enough liquid to moisten and hold together the mixture. Press mixture into a pie 9" deep dish pie plate and dehydrate at 115 for 1 to 2 hours.
Filing:
4 Cups baby spinach leaves - tightly packed
1/4 Cup raw tahini, almond butter, or pumpkin seed butter
1/4 Cup macadamia nuts, soaked for 3 hours
4 Cups chopped mushrooms
2 Tbs lime juice or to taste
1 tsp Celtic sea salt or 2 Tbs Nama Shoyu or Bragg's
2 Cloves garlic
1/2 - 1 tsp minced ginger
1/4 tsp jalapeno or cayenne (optional)
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cardamom
2 - 3 Tbs flax meal or psyllium to thicken
1/4 Cup young coconut water
In a food processor combine spinach, nuts, nut butter, lime juice, mushrooms, seasonings and water. Add in enough flax meal or psylluim to thicken. Remember that this will continue to firm up with time. Fill the crust with filling and either chill to firm, or place in the dehydrator for 4 hours if you want this to be a warm dish. Garnish with slices of mushrooms to make a decorative pattern on the top of the quiche. (My pattern wasn't very well thought out, but it worked....)
I did not make the following sauce. We had a cheesy garlic spread that we used instead. Toss some pine nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic and Bragg's in blender. Works in a pinch!
This recipe was listed with the quiche, I'm sure it's wonderful, I think I was out of beets.....
Optional: Sunflower Beet Sauce (for topping)
1 Cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
1/2 to 1 beet
1 - 2 Tbs lemon or lime juice
2 Cloves garlic
1/4 tsp minched ginger
Celtic sea salt, Nama Shoyu, or Bragg's to taste
Touch of honey to taste (optional)
Water for consistency
Blend all the ingredients in the Vita-Mix to a smooth sauce consistency, adding a little water if too thick.
Makes 1 1/2 cups.
When I make large recipes like this one I always share with our neighbors. They loved it too!
Notes on the book: Wendy doesn't go into detail for the obvious or easy techniques of each recipe, but does list some great ideas for things like making your own spice mixes and drying citrus rind to make your own dried zest sprinkle. The simple things that I never thought of. Once again growing up in this consumer driven world of going to the store to purchase what you need instead of re-purposing items or using what you have.
We now are at that point, the dried rinds, making our own spices and such. We are trying to throw away less and stop relying on the market for those things we can make ourselves. Which is why we are gardeners. Doesn't it make sense? We have actually looked for lemon and lime powder in the market to use in our tea. Note: We started making tea for the kids several years ago when we realized how much we were spending on Organic Lemonade. We have gone from packaged teas to using loose leaf teas (which we will be planting soon). We use fresh lemon and lime juice in our recipes/smoothies on a daily basis. We do compost all of the waste, but why don't we toss the rinds in the dehydrator? After last year (our first summer of being raw) I have a strong feeling we will be adding another dehydrator to our kitchen!
Our pantry of home made products continues to grow as our knowledge does; as we try to stop purchasing the things that will be thrown away. Even if you don't have a dehydrator, you can use your toaster oven on a low setting to dehydrate. You can even use a light bulb inside your regular oven to dehydrate! (put it inside a cardboard box
)Did you know 80% of the products manufactured today end up in a landfillwithin only 6 months?
Traveling in the raw
... successful.
Journeying seven days away from home eating a high raw diet was easier because we were prepared. Our trip consisted of 12 hours drive time (if we drove straight through). If we were to eat 3 meals a day that would consist of 21 meals. Damon and I usually only eat 2 meals a day when we are away from home. So, we were prepared to eat between 14 and 21 total meals. We knew we would probably shop for or eat out for a couple of meals, so we didn't plan specifically, we just took ingredients that would work with each other so we could provide ourselves the best food available.
We regularly eat 3 meals a day when I work at the office away from home full time. Like many others that do the same, you need to eat the most important meal of the day, breakfast. Then there's that afternoon meal for lunch, THEN when you finally get home, you need to prepare dinner. While at home, or away (without the 9 - 12 and 1 - 5 schedule), we usually eat breakfast at about 10 and lunch/dinner at about 4. We will snack in the evenings if we are hungry or pulling long hours. So traveling is about the same. We did have some time issues with the conference, but having food in our room was an incredible experience. We didn't have to eat in the restaurant downstairs. Although the conference coordinators did convince the dining room to serve some local organic vegan meals (very impressed). We had so much food that we had to eat what we brought. And we saved A LOT of money by doing so. We were also very happy to not have to drive all over town to find a variety of food. Four days in one motel, the menu at the in-house restaurant can get tiring.
On Wednesday before we left we spent the day in the kitchen making food for the road. We prepared raw chili, dehydrated chips, cashew sour cream, vegan cheese and some of our favorite "love" bread. We planned on making as many meals as possible, not only to save money purchasing food, but to stay as raw and unprocessed as possible. So, we cleaned out the refrigerator of the food we knew would go bad, that consisted of all of our fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouts, sprouted bread, avocados and whatever else we had. Which was EVERYTHING!
On Thursday when we left we ate at Cafe Gratitude in Healdsburg. It was my second visit and Damon's first. Although we knew we were traveling with a bounty of food, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to have lunch at this wonderful raw restaurant. We had wonderful meals and got back on the road. Thursday night we got to our motel late (after visiting with my relatives, aunt Betty, uncle Bob and cousin Gail) in Prunedale. We arrived in Paso Robles at 11:00 pm and had vegan cheese sandwiches in our room. It was a late dinner, but we knew we wouldn't be able to relax without a full belly.
On Friday we made it to Pismo Beach to have lunch. We parked on a frontage road overlooking the ocean, opened up the back of our vehicle and made burritos with vegan chili, vegan cheese, tomato and cabbage. (we purchased some gluten free tortillas)
As you can see, we made do with the space we had. We re-arranged our luggage, and laid out our kitchen. With the food prepared, we moved to a bench overlooking the ocean.
The end result was fantastic! What a refreshing place to enjoy a wonderful meal.
I know this shot shows some chewed upon food, but it is a great photo!
This chili recipe from Matthew Kenney's Everyday Raw recipe book has been a staple in our house for the last month. Funny thing that happened during the weekend. We were blessed to see several raw chef's prepare food. Jason Wrobel prepared chili (a recipe very similar to this one) at his demonstration. We were laughing..... we had eaten chili for several meals all weekend, and to be presented with it (of all things) this weekend was classic. Jason did a great job on the recipe, he uses humor and song in his presentations. Food Network needs someone like him to represent a raw cooking segment. He would be a great spokesman for a living food lifestyle!
Suggestions for preparing food on the road:
Take a good cutting board and knife.
Make sure you've packed your condiments in convenient small jars, if you have to purchase them they are expensive.
On Friday night we were in Costa Mesa. We prepared open face vegan chili cheese burgers.
As you can see the difference from the Friday afternoon meal was the sprouted bread and a veggie/broccoli burger we brought from home. Damon made a great yellow bell pepper salsa to top it off. All of our dressing were made fresh daily.
We did not bring our Vitamix for smoothies in the morning. We are very proud of the fact we did without it, although I know I was lacking on my fruits. We did keep breakfast simple, mostly greens, to help with digestion.
Saturday breakfast was lettuce wraps with avocado, cheese, sprouts and orange slices. Damon made a sauce that was pleasing to the pallet with ginger, garlic and vegan sour cream.
Loving fresh air as we do, we were feeling very cooped up at the end of the first session on Saturday so, we took a walk around the motel. Much to our liking we found a great Japanese market across the street from the motel. Talk about a foodie paradise! We love Japanese food, and were very happy to find fresh Kimchee (several different kinds), fresh fish, lots of mushrooms, veggies and everything else you could imagine! Of course not everything was organic and un-processed, but we chose some items to complement the food we brought.
Our lunch on Saturday was spring rolls. Cabbage, Enoki mushrooms, avocado and yet another wonderful simple dipping sauce by Damon.
Again, we made due with the space available....
And enjoyed the view that was available.....
When you enjoy the person you are with and the food that you have to eat, it doesn't matter where you are!
We did go out to dinner on Saturday night. Lucky for us, the restaurant 118 degrees is only about 1-1/2 blocks from the motel. So again we walked.
Sunday morning we had avocados stuffed with seaweed salad, Kimchee (we purchased for the second time at the Japanese market) and a special sauce made by Damon.
Sunday afternoon we had another mushroom salad mix, on bean sprouts, seaweed salad and some spicy sauce put together by me, because Damon was in a hurry to get back to his meeting!
As you can see, we used several of the same ingredients in different ways. The same things you would do at home. Raw isn't difficult. I still remember having to purchase 3 separate ingredients for every cooked meal, the meat, the veggies and the fruit. You had to mix them up, leftovers were usually wasted, or eaten to avoid them....
We still came home with lots of food. Ending our trip in San Francisco's China Town was another highlight. I will need to make that another post..
My best wishes to all on any trip you have planned. Of course children who are not 100% raw are more difficult, our next trip with kids will be cataloged... I'll let you know how that goes.
Journeying seven days away from home eating a high raw diet was easier because we were prepared. Our trip consisted of 12 hours drive time (if we drove straight through). If we were to eat 3 meals a day that would consist of 21 meals. Damon and I usually only eat 2 meals a day when we are away from home. So, we were prepared to eat between 14 and 21 total meals. We knew we would probably shop for or eat out for a couple of meals, so we didn't plan specifically, we just took ingredients that would work with each other so we could provide ourselves the best food available.
We regularly eat 3 meals a day when I work at the office away from home full time. Like many others that do the same, you need to eat the most important meal of the day, breakfast. Then there's that afternoon meal for lunch, THEN when you finally get home, you need to prepare dinner. While at home, or away (without the 9 - 12 and 1 - 5 schedule), we usually eat breakfast at about 10 and lunch/dinner at about 4. We will snack in the evenings if we are hungry or pulling long hours. So traveling is about the same. We did have some time issues with the conference, but having food in our room was an incredible experience. We didn't have to eat in the restaurant downstairs. Although the conference coordinators did convince the dining room to serve some local organic vegan meals (very impressed). We had so much food that we had to eat what we brought. And we saved A LOT of money by doing so. We were also very happy to not have to drive all over town to find a variety of food. Four days in one motel, the menu at the in-house restaurant can get tiring.
On Wednesday before we left we spent the day in the kitchen making food for the road. We prepared raw chili, dehydrated chips, cashew sour cream, vegan cheese and some of our favorite "love" bread. We planned on making as many meals as possible, not only to save money purchasing food, but to stay as raw and unprocessed as possible. So, we cleaned out the refrigerator of the food we knew would go bad, that consisted of all of our fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouts, sprouted bread, avocados and whatever else we had. Which was EVERYTHING!
On Thursday when we left we ate at Cafe Gratitude in Healdsburg. It was my second visit and Damon's first. Although we knew we were traveling with a bounty of food, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to have lunch at this wonderful raw restaurant. We had wonderful meals and got back on the road. Thursday night we got to our motel late (after visiting with my relatives, aunt Betty, uncle Bob and cousin Gail) in Prunedale. We arrived in Paso Robles at 11:00 pm and had vegan cheese sandwiches in our room. It was a late dinner, but we knew we wouldn't be able to relax without a full belly.
On Friday we made it to Pismo Beach to have lunch. We parked on a frontage road overlooking the ocean, opened up the back of our vehicle and made burritos with vegan chili, vegan cheese, tomato and cabbage. (we purchased some gluten free tortillas)
As you can see, we made do with the space we had. We re-arranged our luggage, and laid out our kitchen. With the food prepared, we moved to a bench overlooking the ocean.
The end result was fantastic! What a refreshing place to enjoy a wonderful meal.
I know this shot shows some chewed upon food, but it is a great photo!
This chili recipe from Matthew Kenney's Everyday Raw recipe book has been a staple in our house for the last month. Funny thing that happened during the weekend. We were blessed to see several raw chef's prepare food. Jason Wrobel prepared chili (a recipe very similar to this one) at his demonstration. We were laughing..... we had eaten chili for several meals all weekend, and to be presented with it (of all things) this weekend was classic. Jason did a great job on the recipe, he uses humor and song in his presentations. Food Network needs someone like him to represent a raw cooking segment. He would be a great spokesman for a living food lifestyle!
Suggestions for preparing food on the road:
Take a good cutting board and knife.
Make sure you've packed your condiments in convenient small jars, if you have to purchase them they are expensive.
On Friday night we were in Costa Mesa. We prepared open face vegan chili cheese burgers.
As you can see the difference from the Friday afternoon meal was the sprouted bread and a veggie/broccoli burger we brought from home. Damon made a great yellow bell pepper salsa to top it off. All of our dressing were made fresh daily.
We did not bring our Vitamix for smoothies in the morning. We are very proud of the fact we did without it, although I know I was lacking on my fruits. We did keep breakfast simple, mostly greens, to help with digestion.
Saturday breakfast was lettuce wraps with avocado, cheese, sprouts and orange slices. Damon made a sauce that was pleasing to the pallet with ginger, garlic and vegan sour cream.
Loving fresh air as we do, we were feeling very cooped up at the end of the first session on Saturday so, we took a walk around the motel. Much to our liking we found a great Japanese market across the street from the motel. Talk about a foodie paradise! We love Japanese food, and were very happy to find fresh Kimchee (several different kinds), fresh fish, lots of mushrooms, veggies and everything else you could imagine! Of course not everything was organic and un-processed, but we chose some items to complement the food we brought.
Our lunch on Saturday was spring rolls. Cabbage, Enoki mushrooms, avocado and yet another wonderful simple dipping sauce by Damon.
Again, we made due with the space available....
And enjoyed the view that was available.....
When you enjoy the person you are with and the food that you have to eat, it doesn't matter where you are!
We did go out to dinner on Saturday night. Lucky for us, the restaurant 118 degrees is only about 1-1/2 blocks from the motel. So again we walked.
Sunday morning we had avocados stuffed with seaweed salad, Kimchee (we purchased for the second time at the Japanese market) and a special sauce made by Damon.
Sunday afternoon we had another mushroom salad mix, on bean sprouts, seaweed salad and some spicy sauce put together by me, because Damon was in a hurry to get back to his meeting!
As you can see, we used several of the same ingredients in different ways. The same things you would do at home. Raw isn't difficult. I still remember having to purchase 3 separate ingredients for every cooked meal, the meat, the veggies and the fruit. You had to mix them up, leftovers were usually wasted, or eaten to avoid them....
We still came home with lots of food. Ending our trip in San Francisco's China Town was another highlight. I will need to make that another post.
. My best wishes to all on any trip you have planned. Of course children who are not 100% raw are more difficult, our next trip with kids will be cataloged... I'll let you know how that goes.
A plastic shopping experience...update!
This is a product Damon found while doing some "emergency" shopping at a large supermarket chain locally. We found it again while emergency shopping again in Los Angeles.
If you go to the website for the company Progressive Produce, they have several potato products offered in microwaveable plastic including XL potatoes and sweet potatoes, they did not have photos of the organic products. They did offer some recipes .
Another plastic subject:
BPA aka Bisphenol-A is a widely used and controversial chemical that is used in plastics and is present in more products than you realize.
When we switched to glass jars instead of plastic ziplock (Ziploc and Saran brands are BPA free if you were wondering...though we still would be leery of heating anything in them) and glad food storage containers we felt we were doing a good thing. We know that plastic is not okay to microwave, and that putting warm food inside these plastic containers can release harmful gasses. Once you look into BPA, you find out that canned foods, baby bottles & plastic water bottles along with many other products all contain this harmful chemical. Much to our dismay, after researching, the Ball lids we are using on our jars, are also lined with BPA. (Note: there is an alternative to BPA, companies just don't choose it, we assume it's because it's more expensive).
After my last post and running I ran into a friend in town, we started discussing BPA and her unknowingly using BPA riddled jugs for her filtered water for the past 20 years. She was obviously bothered by the fact that she too thought she was choosing a healthy alternative to tap water by providing filtered water for her family, and come to find out, by storing it in BPA jugs may have done more harm than good.
Lucky for me she found the product that we have been looking for. BPA free lids for our glass jars! Tattler Re-usable Canning Jar Lids! I ordered a set immediately as our email to Jardan brands which simply asked if they planned on finding a BPA-free option for their products was rudely answered with a cut and pasted reply from their FAQ. I am anxiously waiting for my order, as soon as we try them out, we will review them here (and replace all of our lids). Even though we never cook our food that we store in jars, we will feel better about storing our foods free of BPA. If you do canning of any kind do yourself a favor and consider using these lids!
Consider what we are eating.... the companies that are producing our food are trying to make it easier for us.... not healthier. Learn to enjoy our time preparing meals again. Put a large sign on the fridge "We are what we eat". Why are we choosing plastic wrapped, microwaveable ready made meals that we rarely touch and surely have no idea where they came from? Grow a garden, even if it's just a couple of plants in pots. We vote with our forks...begin to take control!
I tried to take a photo, but for some reason Iost it, and the photo at their site at www.progressiverecipes.com did not have the organic option.... This photo was from their site, sorry it's so small, you just had to see it (if you haven't encountered one already).
Read the above package label carefully. It is a plastic wrapped microwavable (in the plastic) Organic Potato. They also included on this 2 x 1-1/2 inch label all of the "buzz" words and symbols that they could fit to make consumers believe this product is a healthy product.
"Produce of USA" was it grown in the USA, did it simply receive it's sanitation treatment and plastic armor here in the states or is it just a product that the USA commonly produces?
"Clean & Safe, Ozone washed, Chemical Free" with a quick trip to wikipedia I found this as the second sentence of the description of Ozone: Ozone in the lower atmosphere is an air pollutant with harmful effects on the respiratory systems of animals and will burn sensitive plants; however, the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is beneficial, preventing potentially damaging ultraviolet light from reaching the Earth's surface. That says to me that if they are using ozone to wash these potatoes, they are killing at least the outer layer of any "living" nutrients that we need from our food. The skin holds many minerals and nutrients (untreated). I also searched the FFDCA Act (the organization that is stated to have approved the wrap) for Ozone and this came up: Enhancement of the Microbiological Quality of Selected Ready-to-Eat Vegetables Disinfected by Chloramine, Chlorine, Ethanol, and Ozone. Use your own judgment. I am not an expert researcher, but what I read in the short amount of time while engrossed in this article, I found that plastic is bad, and ozone treatment isn't much better. "USDA, Organic symbol with Certified Organic by CCOF" CCOF is a third party organic certification service that does use USDA standards, if you look into that certification have a couple hours to read what is and isn't allowed.
"Net Wt 8 oz" If you've ever purchased a potato, as I'm sure everyone has, you know that they are all different shapes and sizes. How do they make all of the potatoes weigh 8 ounces each? If an individual weight were printed on the label I would feel better about how they manage that one for every potato!
What the package label does not mention is the plastic classification number. Why not? The information on the inside of the label states that the plastic is approved by the FFDCA Act and guaranteed for the microwave at high temperatures. The FFDCA Act is interesting to say the least, convoluted is more like it. The portion I read on Tolerances for Poisonous ingredients in food didn't offer me much hope as to the safety of the plastic used on this product (or the viability of the act itself)......
You can't wash it, you can't poke holes in it, and I'm sure there should be a burn warning for children (or the childlike) regarding the scalding temperature of the steaming russet with the surely latex like skin. You do know you don't need to wrap the potato in anything in a microwave, better yet, wash it, rub it down with coconut oil and bake it for 45 mins for the best potato you've eaten in years (if you've been microwaving them in the past). Nathan likes them with coconut butter and nutritional yeast instead of dairy and cheese!
Read the above package label carefully. It is a plastic wrapped microwavable (in the plastic) Organic Potato. They also included on this 2 x 1-1/2 inch label all of the "buzz" words and symbols that they could fit to make consumers believe this product is a healthy product.
"Produce of USA" was it grown in the USA, did it simply receive it's sanitation treatment and plastic armor here in the states or is it just a product that the USA commonly produces?
"Clean & Safe, Ozone washed, Chemical Free" with a quick trip to wikipedia I found this as the second sentence of the description of Ozone: Ozone in the lower atmosphere is an air pollutant with harmful effects on the respiratory systems of animals and will burn sensitive plants; however, the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is beneficial, preventing potentially damaging ultraviolet light from reaching the Earth's surface. That says to me that if they are using ozone to wash these potatoes, they are killing at least the outer layer of any "living" nutrients that we need from our food. The skin holds many minerals and nutrients (untreated). I also searched the FFDCA Act (the organization that is stated to have approved the wrap) for Ozone and this came up: Enhancement of the Microbiological Quality of Selected Ready-to-Eat Vegetables Disinfected by Chloramine, Chlorine, Ethanol, and Ozone. Use your own judgment. I am not an expert researcher, but what I read in the short amount of time while engrossed in this article, I found that plastic is bad, and ozone treatment isn't much better. "USDA, Organic symbol with Certified Organic by CCOF" CCOF is a third party organic certification service that does use USDA standards, if you look into that certification have a couple hours to read what is and isn't allowed.
"Net Wt 8 oz" If you've ever purchased a potato, as I'm sure everyone has, you know that they are all different shapes and sizes. How do they make all of the potatoes weigh 8 ounces each? If an individual weight were printed on the label I would feel better about how they manage that one for every potato!
What the package label does not mention is the plastic classification number. Why not? The information on the inside of the label states that the plastic is approved by the FFDCA Act and guaranteed for the microwave at high temperatures. The FFDCA Act is interesting to say the least, convoluted is more like it. The portion I read on Tolerances for Poisonous ingredients in food didn't offer me much hope as to the safety of the plastic used on this product (or the viability of the act itself)......
You can't wash it, you can't poke holes in it, and I'm sure there should be a burn warning for children (or the childlike) regarding the scalding temperature of the steaming russet with the surely latex like skin. You do know you don't need to wrap the potato in anything in a microwave, better yet, wash it, rub it down with coconut oil and bake it for 45 mins for the best potato you've eaten in years (if you've been microwaving them in the past). Nathan likes them with coconut butter and nutritional yeast instead of dairy and cheese!
.Another plastic subject:
BPA aka Bisphenol-A is a widely used and controversial chemical that is used in plastics and is present in more products than you realize.
When we switched to glass jars instead of plastic ziplock (Ziploc and Saran brands are BPA free if you were wondering...though we still would be leery of heating anything in them) and glad food storage containers we felt we were doing a good thing. We know that plastic is not okay to microwave, and that putting warm food inside these plastic containers can release harmful gasses. Once you look into BPA, you find out that canned foods, baby bottles & plastic water bottles along with many other products all contain this harmful chemical. Much to our dismay, after researching, the Ball lids we are using on our jars, are also lined with BPA. (Note: there is an alternative to BPA, companies just don't choose it, we assume it's because it's more expensive).
After my last post and running I ran into a friend in town, we started discussing BPA and her unknowingly using BPA riddled jugs for her filtered water for the past 20 years. She was obviously bothered by the fact that she too thought she was choosing a healthy alternative to tap water by providing filtered water for her family, and come to find out, by storing it in BPA jugs may have done more harm than good.
Lucky for me she found the product that we have been looking for. BPA free lids for our glass jars! Tattler Re-usable Canning Jar Lids! I ordered a set immediately as our email to Jardan brands which simply asked if they planned on finding a BPA-free option for their products was rudely answered with a cut and pasted reply from their FAQ. I am anxiously waiting for my order, as soon as we try them out, we will review them here (and replace all of our lids). Even though we never cook our food that we store in jars, we will feel better about storing our foods free of BPA. If you do canning of any kind do yourself a favor and consider using these lids!
Consider what we are eating.... the companies that are producing our food are trying to make it easier for us.... not healthier. Learn to enjoy our time preparing meals again. Put a large sign on the fridge "We are what we eat". Why are we choosing plastic wrapped, microwaveable ready made meals that we rarely touch and surely have no idea where they came from? Grow a garden, even if it's just a couple of plants in pots. We vote with our forks...begin to take control!
A plastic shopping experience
While in the big city of Los Angeles (specifically Costa Mesa California) on our recent trip we needed a couple of items to add to our meal. In the past we had gone to Trader Joe's frequently when we would travel to the city for various reasons, the closest Trader Joe's is 3 hours south of our home. If you are not familiar with Trader Joe's, it is a "yuppie" natural foods market touting organics and whole foods. So, we found a Trader Joe's market in Costa Mesa thinking we would easily find the items we needed. We were looking for several fresh items to add to a salad. After changing our diet a year ago we have found that traveling while following a raw, living foods diet is actually very easy if you can find small items at local markets to add to your menu. We were in search of one carrot, possibly a tomato and some fresh greens. Upon entering the store we were very shocked at the amount of plastic that we saw. There was nothing we could purchase outside a plastic package! Even Safeway or Von's has fresh organic produce available that you can buy just one of, without purchasing plastic!
We did purchase a small package of organic greens for a salad. It was tasty that evening but we did notice that it only stayed fresh for about 2 days. To compare, when we had left home we had taken some greens that we had in the fridge that were already a couple days old. They stayed fresh for about 7 days total, while the Trader Joe's plastic packaged greens were only fresh for 2 (we had removed the plastic packaged greens the night we purchased them and wrapped them in wet paper towels in a wax paper bag).
As you can see, we had an excellent start to a wonderful salad.
It is a sign of the times. Even an apple has a sticker on it. Gone are the days when you could purchase items without a label attached so the checker would know how much to charge for the single item you wanted to purchase. Digital scanning is the future, even for our fruits and vegetables. The new system will be a "laser label" on all fruits and vegetables to avoid the sticker that is currently used, and track it's source in cases on contamination. I'm not sure if this is the answer, but I do know it will mean that I won't have any trash (even as small as a sticker) to throw away when purchasing produce.
This article by Dr Weil talks about the plastic produce subject, I still don't agree with plastic. If at all possible, purchase fresh produce from a farmer's market first, then a market that doesn't package everything in plastic. Not only is produce better for you when it's not packaged in plastic, it's less trash in the landfill.
We did purchase a small package of organic greens for a salad. It was tasty that evening but we did notice that it only stayed fresh for about 2 days. To compare, when we had left home we had taken some greens that we had in the fridge that were already a couple days old. They stayed fresh for about 7 days total, while the Trader Joe's plastic packaged greens were only fresh for 2 (we had removed the plastic packaged greens the night we purchased them and wrapped them in wet paper towels in a wax paper bag).
As you can see, we had an excellent start to a wonderful salad.
It is a sign of the times. Even an apple has a sticker on it. Gone are the days when you could purchase items without a label attached so the checker would know how much to charge for the single item you wanted to purchase. Digital scanning is the future, even for our fruits and vegetables. The new system will be a "laser label" on all fruits and vegetables to avoid the sticker that is currently used, and track it's source in cases on contamination. I'm not sure if this is the answer, but I do know it will mean that I won't have any trash (even as small as a sticker) to throw away when purchasing produce.
This article by Dr Weil talks about the plastic produce subject, I still don't agree with plastic. If at all possible, purchase fresh produce from a farmer's market first, then a market that doesn't package everything in plastic. Not only is produce better for you when it's not packaged in plastic, it's less trash in the landfill.
Yay! I am a certified Elixir Master!
I am just overloaded with information today after completing the very last leg; the fourth day of David Wolfe's Longevity Conference which was the Elixir Master training program. I both met and was trained by some of the foremost smoothie and Jing herb Elixir masters. They are blending amazing Jing herbs into sugar free superfood concoctions such as Reishi Espresso with ginseng and stevia and an inexplicable Raw Jing herb Superfood Fudge that has properties that well, make a for a great time after the kids are nestled into bed.....
This is an absolutely groundbreaking addition to our knowledge as raw and unprocessed food researchers. We plan on taking the power of these herbal elixirs and spreading it among our family, friends and community as soon as possible. To be honest, some of the elixirs I sampled today Beverly Hills and Hollywood celebrities are paying as much as $20, $45, even $75 dollars a glass for! They do contain some of the rarest and most powerful medicinal herbs on the planet. Smoothies like these are by no means intended to be part of your everyday diet; yet they are something I strongly believe everyone should experience the effects of. It's 12:27 now, I woke up at 6:30 this morning and have been taking notes like a court stenographer at the most intensive learning session I could have imagined for four days....I am ready to party! Unfortunately I do need to force myself to sleep as we are leaving to Chinatown in San Francisco at 6:30am tomorrow morning to get herbs for elixir teas and smoothies. I promise to share the benefits of this trip with you often...good night!
This is an absolutely groundbreaking addition to our knowledge as raw and unprocessed food researchers. We plan on taking the power of these herbal elixirs and spreading it among our family, friends and community as soon as possible. To be honest, some of the elixirs I sampled today Beverly Hills and Hollywood celebrities are paying as much as $20, $45, even $75 dollars a glass for! They do contain some of the rarest and most powerful medicinal herbs on the planet. Smoothies like these are by no means intended to be part of your everyday diet; yet they are something I strongly believe everyone should experience the effects of. It's 12:27 now, I woke up at 6:30 this morning and have been taking notes like a court stenographer at the most intensive learning session I could have imagined for four days....I am ready to party! Unfortunately I do need to force myself to sleep as we are leaving to Chinatown in San Francisco at 6:30am tomorrow morning to get herbs for elixir teas and smoothies. I promise to share the benefits of this trip with you often...good night!
