Merry Christmas!

     I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas. We had a wonderful and yet sad Christmas this year. In the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas we lost my aunt, mother-in-law and 2 very dear family pets. This has been the saddest Christmas that I have ever had but at the same time it has made me take a good look at what Christmas really means, and that is a good thing.


     I have found that the meaning of Christmas has become a bit muddled, even in our home. Don't get m wrong, we do know what the real meaning of Christmas is but we are still getting too caught up in the worlds meaning of Christmas and Santa Clause. I want this to change in our home.


     What does this have to do with eating raw food you may be asking? I started out celebrating Christmas more like I feel that we should be celebrating it but somewhere along the way I got off track. See, I was not looking out for detours or side roads and I should have been. As soon as I start taking for granted that I am on the right path I get arrogant and take my eyes off of the road. This is where the trouble begins, whither it be celebrating Christmas, serving God or eating healthy. As soon as I stop being diligent about making sure that I am eating right and planning ahead I fall, and boy does it hurt.


     I have fallen down very badly indeed recently. I have fallen back on what has been familiar to me my whole life. You see, I stopped watching the road and ended up on a side street. I thought that I was watching the road but I had gotten arrogant. Arrogance is always my downfall. 


     Now here I am, feeling bad and so very sad from the food that I have eaten and the loved ones that I have lost lately. Please pray for my family as we heal from are losses and work at turning our eating back around again. I am learning to lean on God and not on my own understanding, in all my ways to acknowledge Him and that He will make my paths straight. May you learn these lessons without having to go through such a time as this and may God bless you and your family in the upcoming new year.


Words of inspiration:

 

 

And

Comfort Foods

   

     It has been a week and a half  since I have posted. I told myself when I started this blog that I was going to be very good about keeping it up and not let more than 2 or 3 days go between posts. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men! Oh well, things happen.


     This has been a very busy and sad time for my family. My lovely, sweet and amazing aunt passed away. She is the sweetest woman that I have ever met. I consider it an honor to have been related to her and to have been able to grow up around her. She has changed the way that I look at parenting and how I treat others. She had an infectious smile and the sweetest spirit. This world is a little less bright without her shining light.


     The other night my sweet baby doggie started having seizures and passed away a few hours later. She had almost died a couple of months ago and had to have a major surgery. She was never quite the same after that. We were blessed to have had her in our family for the 2 years that we did. The other dogs were rather quiet that day and didn't even try to get into the trash, they just laid around on the couch.


     With all that has been going on in my life I have fallen right back into looking for comfort in all of the "comfort foods" that have been surrounding me lately. All of the lovely, sweet people that loved my aunt so very much were kind enough to bring all kinds of food for the family. It was so very sweet of each and every one of them.


     I had learned that cooked food was an addiction for me and I thought that I had just about won my battle with it but I have not. If fact, I am still a very long way away from winning that particular battle. I ate some cooked foods every day for 8 straight days. I am not going to feel guilty about this, even though I don't feel too good physically, but now is the time to start eating right again. Every day that I have eaten foods that are not good for me is making it that much harder to eat right now.


     I have learned that when faced with a situation where I am wanting comfort that I will still go to the foods that have always comforted me. I have been comforted with food since I was a child and it is a very hard habit to break.


     I am not trying to go 100% raw. I am wanting to eat mostly raw or high raw, as it is sometimes called. I feel much better when I fix only raw foods at home and then eat cooked foods when at a restaurant or at someone else's house. This is just one day out of many in my journey going raw and I can only seek to improve. What are you trying to accomplish?

Raw Stir Fry Salad

    

     The other night I fixed a salad for supper. Now you might be thinking, what is so special about a salad? Oh my! This was no ordinary salad my friend. This was amazing, it took us back to stir fry but stayed healthy! It started out as a simple, ordinary salad and turned into so much more. The salad was simply chopped lettuce, tomato, cucumber, sweet onion, celery, grated carrot and zucchini. But the dressing put it over the top. I started out by juicing 5 limes and to that I added some toasted sesame seed oil, soy sauce, coconut amino acids, lots of fresh ginger, fresh garlic, dijon mustard, olive oil, sesame seeds and water. I blended it all in my vita mix, spooned some salad into my bowl, poured some of this amazing dressing over it and topped it with some wakame. Everyone in the house loved it!


     Maybe I will get around to measuring out this lovely dressing and maybe I won't, but I want to encourage you to experiment with your food. This salad came about because one of our favorite restaurants was Sho-Gun, a Japanese Hibachi Grill, and we still miss the amazing flavors that are in their stir fried rice, veggies and chicken. They have a wonderful ginger dressing, a yummy mustard dipping sauce and they put all of this soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds and mustard sauce into their rice. These are the ingredients that inspired this dressing and yummy sushi inspired the wakame topping. Everything blended together into perfect harmony. What have you made lately that turned out amazing?

Today's words of inspiration:

 

Vitamix

     The Vitamix is my favorite blender! It is very powerful and one of my favorite kitchen machines. The Vitamix is not merely a kitchen appliance it is a machine, a true workhorse. When I think back to the appliances that I used to own and then compare them to the ones that I have now I realize that I am a very spoiled lady! And very glad to be one, too. *smile* 

     The Vitamix can handle anything that you throw at it. I have made nut butters, ground wheat, whipped cream, sorbet, hummus, nut mylk, seed mylk, hot soup, creamy soup, green smoothies and the best fruit smoothies that you have ever had. You can make many more wonderful creations with the Vitamix then what I have mentioned here. It was one of the best investments that we ever made. We got the reconditioned one and it has worked out great. It has more than paid for itself in the 8 years since we bought it. 

     Just drop the food into it and turn it on. It is almost as simple as that. I have burnt out blenders before and one of the things that I love about the Vitamix is the fact that if you do overwork it it automatically shuts off and does not turn back on until it has cooled off. And I have overworked it. Like I said, I have used it a hundreds of times maybe even thousands. I am in the kitchen a lot and of all of my kitchen tools, my Vitamix and my Cutco knives are my favorites. They are the ones that I use every day.

     I appreciate all of the lovely kitchen tools that my sweet husband has bought for me, and all of the ones that he doesn't know that he bought for me. He knows that I have a lot of tools but as long as I use them all to prepare food for all of us he is ok with it. Although he would prefer it if I stopped buying new ones. What can I say? I keep finding new little gadgets to make preparing food more fun and interesting. At least the tools that I find now days are smaller, less expensive and I am finding them less often. That is what happens when you have already bought just about everything that you could possibly ever want! I am still finding books that I want though and I think of them as tools, also. They provide me with much inspiration in the kitchen. 

     One day soon I will post a list of my favorite raw foods cookbooks. Blogging is still new to me but I will get around to putting all of my favorites lists on here. Until then, if you have a specific question please feel free to ask me in the comment section. What are your favorite kitchen appliances and living foods cookbooks?

Vitamix

Veggie Sushi Rolls

     Thursday was my daughter's birthday, she turned 10, but since it was a rather busy evening she decided that she wanted to celebrate her birthday on Friday night, since she could stay up later and have more fun. I thought that was very wise of her.


     In our house every birthday boy or girl gets to pick what their birthday dinner and dessert is going to be. She informed me over a month ago that she wanted Zucchini Pasta with Marinara Sauce, a few weeks ago she said that she wanted Make Your Own Wraps, about a week ago she decided that she wanted Zucchini Pasta Salad and the other day she informed me that she wanted Veggie Sushi Rolls. She definitely has good taste! She never varied on her dessert though, Banana Ice Cream with Raw Granola. The Raw Granola was her own personal recipe. *smile*


     So last night we dined on Veggie Sushi Rolls and Banana Ice Cream with Raw Granola. Then we finished off our evening opening presents and playing games. It was a very fun and delicious evening! Below are our favorite recipes for Raw Sushi Rolls and Banana Ice Cream. What have you fixed lately that you fell in love with?


Veggie Sushi Rolls

• nori sheets
• zucchini, julienned 
• cucumber, julienned
• carrots, grated
• tomatoes, julienned
• yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• avocado, sliced

Layer all of of the veggies on one end of the nori sheet and roll up tightly. Cut into 1 inch slices and serve with sesame seeds, horseradish and soy sauce.



Banana Ice Cream

• ripe frozen bananas

Place frozen bananas in food processor and let sit for 3 to 5 to partially thaw. Turn food processor on and let it run until it becomes the consistency of soft serve ice cream.



 

Raw Zucchini Curry

     Tonight I really wanted some curry. I mean really wanted some curry! We were driving home and we were very hungry. I was talking about what I wanted for supper and I just could not get this Chicken Tikka Masala recipe, that I had not made for probably 3 years, out of my mind. It was the only thing that sounded good and boy did it sound good! The problem, how to make it raw?


     I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out but it turned out amazing! I julienned some zucchini, thawed some frozen peas, made some coconut butter (for the first time I must say!) and made a very yummy curry in the vita-mix. Oh, my, goodness!!! I am without words, well almost. (*smile*) I am the type of person that does not like to measure ingredients, so although I can give you an ingredient list I can not give you exact amounts. This is close to the amounts that I used. My husbands only complaint was that there was not more of it! What is one of your favorite non-raw recipes that you have turned, or want to turn, into a raw dish? I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!




Raw Zucchini Curry

• 12 small zucchini, juilienned without seeds & cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces
• 1 lb. peas, fresh or frozen that have been thawed

Toss together in a bowl.



Coconut Butter

• 4-6 cups coconut, shredded & unsweetened

Put into food processor and blend for about 5 minutes, until it turns into a lovely coconut butter.




Curry

• around 8-10 roma tomatoes
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• about 1/4 of medium sized sweet onion
• garlic, 2 cloves
• fresh ginger, about thumb size
• mild curry powder, around 1-2 Tbs. or to taste
• garam masala, 1-2 Tbs. or to taste
• 1/4-1/2 cup coconut butter, or to taste
• pinch of salt

Blend well in a Vita-Mix, or other high speed blender, and adjust seasonings accordingly. Mix with the zucchini and peas right before serving.

Yummy Raw Soup!

     I don't know about you but I have had a hard time finding raw soup recipes that I actually like. I mean I have liked some of them alright but none that I have loved. I read some great reviews on the book The Raw Truth, 2nd Edition by Jeremy A. Safron. I ordered this book immediately! The pictures are beautiful and the recipes divine. I have not had this book very long but it fast becoming a favorite. I love that the recipes do not have a bunch of strange ingredients, there are a few unusual ingredients but not too many. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a great new living foods book.

 

     I made the Pesto Soup recipe on page 127 and all I can say is, "Yummy!" I will defiantly be making this yummy raw soup again. There are so many recipes in this book that I can not wait to make that I could not even begin to list them all for you. I would love to post the recipe for this soup but I don't feel comfortable doing so when I have not been able to find it anywhere else on the web. But I highly recommend this book. 

     Later I will share with you my recipe for Pesto. It is low-fat, super healthy and super yummy! I made it to use as a dip and took it to my sister-in-law's house on Thanksgiving Day. It was gone in no time flat and we were left wanting more. My sister-in-law said that she didn't even get to taste it. I felt very sorry for her, it was just too good to miss. I made it the very next day and it was super good then, too. As soon as I get the measurements figured out, because I found out that that was important in this recipe, I will post it for you to make and devour! Until then I am sorry but I am going to have to leave you wanting more.(*smile*)

Tuesday's words of inspiration:

Raw Cereal Happiness!

     I was so excited when I found out that I could have cereal again! I have not had store bought cereal for probably 5 years now. I did make a grape nuts type cereal from scratch about 4 years ago and we all really loved it. We now know that a couple of us really need to avoid eating gluten, says the woman with a bunch of wheat berries in the house (*smile*). I know that I drive my husband crazy but he loves me anyway!

     I thought that when we started eating raw that there was no chance that I would get to eat cereal again. But here I am, eating cereal and loving it! The first recipe that I saw for raw cereal was in Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet. The kids loved it! I decided that I could make a yummy raw cereal without using the food processor. This made me even happier! This cereal is amazingly easy and oh so very yummy! What is one of your favorite meals that you thought you would have to give up in order to eat raw?

My Favorite Breakfast Cereal

• 1 banana, quartered & sliced
• ¼ cup raisins or currants, or more
• ¼ cup coconut, or more & unsweetened
• ¼ cup pecan pieces, or more
• Optional: walnuts, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc., let you imagination go wild!

     Put everything in a bowl and cover with almond mylk, sesame mylk or whatever your favorite mylk is and enjoy.

Monday's words of inspiration:

Free E-Book Giveaway!

 

 I just found out about an e-book giveaway and wanted to let you know about it right away! The giveaway is at Raw Foods on a Budget's web site at  rawfoodsonabudget.com. You should defiantly go check it out and enter for a chance to win these 3 awesome e-books. I know that I am hoping that I will be one of the 72 winners! Go check it out and let me know what you think. Let me know if you win! Good luck!

My Battle With Food Addiction

      One of the hardest things for me about eating healthier was going off of grains. I loved me some grains! I have gotten to where I can eat some grains now and then but I still have to be very careful about how much I eat and how often I eat them. Even though I have not bought commercial cereal for over 3 years now I still miss it on occasion. My problem was that if I were to eat a bowl of cereal I would end up eating half of the box, or more, before I stopped. Grains, sugar and cooked foods are a true addiction for me. My addiction is not as bad as it used to be but it is most defiantly still there.

     Part of my problem is that I have a gluten sensitivity. I was raised on white flour and white sugar, and now they are my enemy. Every time I eat something with those ingredients in it I can feel myself losing control, control over my body and control over my mind. I spent too many years with a body and mind that was out of my control and I don’t want to go back there again. I remember several years ago telling a friend that it was like I was addicted to food but I didn’t realize until much later just how right I was. It took me all this time to actually begin to understand this addiction. I don’t have everything under control but at least it is not as out of control as it used to be, and I praise God for that.

     I love being able to stop eating dates just because three or five were enough. I love not wanting to eat anymore, of feeling satisfied after just a few! This is not the case with every food but it is a start. I find that a green smoothie really helps me to start my day off right. I just need to remember to make one every morning! 12 Steps to Raw Food by Victoria Boutenko is a great book to read about food addiction and Fresh: The Ultimate Live-Food Cookbook by Sergei & Valya Boutenko is also very inspiring and has some very good recipes in it. At least they sound very good, I have not followed any of them exactly but I have used them for inspiration. I am putting one of my favorite green smoothie recipes on here for you and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

Green Smoothie #1

• 2 bananas, fresh or frozen
• 1 apple or 1 pear
• 4 cups of packed spinach, or to taste
• Enough water to blend to your desired consistency, I use around 3 cups

 

     Blend in a high speed blender. Drink. Feel better. Repeat.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Raw Foods

     What are your favorite raw foods? In my house we love fresh fruits and veggies, and we have a counter full of them to prove our love! Fresh produce can be pretty expensive, especially organic, but it is worth it for the health of myself and my family. The Lord has blessed me with the ability to find good, and sometimes great, deals. I thank Him all the time for the blessings that He has given my family. He lead me to a place called Produce Terminal where I can buy fresh fruits and veggies in bulk. Sometimes they have something organic but not usually. I buy organic when I can and thank God for providing this food for us, organic or not. Buying in bulk is not for everyone I know but there are 5 very hungry people in my house and this works out perfectly for us. We can go through a case each of apples, oranges, lettuce, tomatoes, pineapple or cantaloupe, and a small box of cucumbers in 1 1/2 weeks. Did I mention bananas? We eat 40-80 pounds in that same 1 1/2 weeks! Who knows how much we would spend on groceries if God had not lead us to Produce Terminal. God knows but I am kind of glad that I don't know, as it would probably put my husband into shock.


     This is not all that we eat. We love spinach, bell peppers, avocados, limes, lemons, zucchini, sweet onions, sweet potatoes, pears, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, cabbage, carrots and celery. No one in our house is a very picky eater when it comes to fresh fruits, veggies, dried fruits, nuts and seeds. Now if we are eating out somewhere or at someones house this changes. One of the younger kids whisper in my ear, "Mom, I don't like that dip, cake, cookie, etc. Do I have to eat it?" I tell them that no they do not have to eat it, even as I am standing there feeling so happy and grateful that, not only are my children making better food choices, but more importantly that they are not developing a taste for many of the foods out there that are so very harmful for them.


     Don't misunderstand me, they are not perfect and they still like some of the foods that are not good for them, but they are on a journey, too. We are all on a journey, each and everyone of us. Where God is leading us I don't know but that is ok, I don't have to know where the road will end because I know Him. Where are you at on your journey? Are you on a smooth part of your journey or in the middle of a rough patch? My prayer for you is that you will feel Gods presence no matter where you are.

Almond Mylk and Cookies

    Happy Thanksgiving! I knew that although I wanted to make a post today but I also knew that I would not have time to write one, so I wrote this post ahead of time for just this occasion. I am very excited that I actually thought ahead and prepared for the occasion! Anyone who really knows me knows that I end up being caught off guard, because I didn't plan ahead, all of the time. This is something that I have been working on for awhile now and let me tell you, the progress is slow but at least there is some progress finally. Praise the Lord for His help and patience!


     There are many recipes out there more almond mylk and they are a little different. These recipes call for anywhere from 1/4-1 1/2 cups of almonds blended with 1 1/2-4 cups of water, the measurements are all over the place. Well. I take that to mean that I should feel free to use whatever amounts that I want to. It said in one book that to make almond cream that you just reduce the amount of water. Well, that is very helpful! So, how much water you use is dependent only on how rich you want the mylk to be. This recipe is how I like my mylk and it is much cheaper then the recipes that call for larger amounts of almonds. There are 2 recipes below, as I do not like to waste expensive ingredients, and they are both awesome. I am going to make some sesame mylk soon but for now this is the mylk that we are drinking and loving. Hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!


Almond Mylk

• 1/2-2/3 cup of soaked almonds
• 6-8 cups of pure water
• 6-8 dates
• 1/2-1 inch of vanilla bean
• a pinch of salt

      Put all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend well. Pour mylk into a nut mylk bag and  squeeze all of the yummy mylk out. Pour into a clean jar and refrigerate. Shake well before using as the mylk tends to separate. Save the almond pulp and look at the recipe below.









Macaroons 

• leftover almond pulp
• 2-4 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut
• maple syrup, to taste
• a splash of vanilla
• a pinch of salt, optional

     Mix all ingredients. Scoop mixture using a small cookie scoop and pack tightly, turn out into your hand and flatten slightly. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 2-6 hours, or until they are the texture that you like.

     These cookies are super yummy and you get to use the same ingredient twice! No wasting and the kids will love them, you will love them, too. Enjoy!

 
 

Detox Is Not Fun

     I have eaten a lot of things that I shouldn't have in my life and now my body is going through a major detox. I have not been an alcoholic or a drug addict, so I don't know what it is like to detox from them, but I have been a food addict and detoxing from a food addiction is defiantly not fun. For me it is kind of like feeling sick most of the time. There are days that I feel very good and then there are the other days, the days that I feel like blaaa all day long. These days are not fun but they keep coming back for repeat visits. I have to keep reminding myself that my body is detoxing and that is why I feel so bad. This is the path that God has put me on and I need to learn all that He has for me to learn so that I don't have to go through this particular lesson again. I will praise Him in my circumstance!


     Don't tell anyone but I ate cooked food today! Just kidding, you can tell anyone you want. Hehe! My hubby and I had a chance to have a lunch dated at a mexican restaurant and I just couldn't pass up the chance for some quality time with him. He works a half hour from home and we don't the chance to meet for lunch very often. We had a great time but now I feel really bloated. I was really looking forward to a nice salad for supper and I was not disappointed! This is an all time favorite meal at our house! Yummy!


Chopped Salad

• 2 large heads of romaine, chopped finely
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 large yellow pepper, diced
• 5 stalks of celery, diced
• 5-6 roma tomatoes, diced
• 5 avocado, diced
• 1 large cucumber, seeded and diced
• juice of 3 lemons or limes
• splash of evoo, about 1/4 cup
• celtic sea salt & fresh ground pepper

Mix everything in a very large bowl and enjoy all by yourself before anyone gets home with your family! : )

Going Raw! The Begining

     Going raw started rather gradually for me. When I first started eating more raw food it was because I was trying to cut down on my calories and salads seemed like the way to go. Then I read The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose and the way that I looked at food started changing. See I have dieted off and on since I was 15 years old and I have been on more diets then I can remember. I have been studying natural healing and the relationship between what we eat and our health for about 12 years now. This was not the first time that I had read about eating being good for your health but this was the first time that it really clicked. The reason that it clicked now and not before is because of where I am in my life right now and what I have learned in the years the lay between the first time that I read it and this time. God is so good to give us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it! He knew that I was not ready for this information before and so He gave it to me again.


     The next book that really floored me was Why Christians Get Sick by Rev. George Malkmus. I had been telling my husband that I really wanted to know what God had to say about how I should eat and that I wished that of all the books out there about health and nutrition that there was one written by a christian from a Biblical perspective. I found this book on Amazon after hearing about George Malkmus from my mom and bought it right away, along with a few other books :). I started reading it as soon as it came in the mail and it blew me away! Here is the book that I had been telling my husband that I was wanting someone to write and it had been out there for several years before I heard about it. His beliefs are based in scripture and they resonated in me. Why had I not seen this before? I had certainly read these scriptures many times but they had never spoken to me like this before. Wow! God really used this book to open my eyes and change my life.


    I have read several books since reading Why Christians Get Sick and I have learned that there are a lot of books and movies out there about eating raw that I never knew about. Here is a list of my top 5 favorite books on the benefits of eating raw:

  
   1.  Why Christians Get Sick
   2.  The Hallelujah Diet
   3.  The Raw Food Detox Diet
   4.  12 Steps to Raw Food
   5.  Fresh! The Ultimate Live Food Cookbook


     I hope to get a list up of my favorite raw foods cookbooks soon. I found it a little challenging at first to find raw foods cookbooks that were user friendly to a beginning raw foods person like myself but I found some good one that I will share with you later. For now I will tell you what I had for supper tonight. Hope you don't mind not having quantities but this salad is an exercise in simplicity and very yummy, too! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did! Blessings!



Green Pear Salad

• Romaine Lettuce, sliced
• Onion, sweet, thinly sliced
• Pear, thinly sliced
• Macadamia nuts, ground to medium consistency

Plate salad and dress with Creamy Citrus Hemp Seed Dressing. Yummy!