Happy New Year::2010

A very Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone around the world peace, health, happiness, success, much love and kindness in both giving and receiving.

Only the best in 2010!

Green:Hemp:Apple:Pear Smoothie

Kale, these were on the small side, I used about 7 leaves, stem removed
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 pear with peel, cut up
1 apple with peel, cut up
2 dates, pitted
1 tablespoon dulse flakes
1/4 cup hemp seeds
water

blend and enjoy.
good tasting, filling and satisfying.

Living Foods Institute::Atlanta, GA

Please read Here!

Lov'n It Live

Lov'n It Live was the restaurant we went to tonight for my birthday, located in East Point, Georgia. This avocado dish was absolutely delicious, served with spicy flax crackers. We also had a kale/avocado salad that was amazing. Oh, and the Irish moss drink was super delicious. The atmosphere is great, soothing music, art work is lovely. We got a bit lost going there.....it was worth it.

Mimi Kirk, age 71, living on live foods.

Mimi Kirk on the "Doctors".

Purely Delicious

Purely Delicious arrived in my mailbox today. Always good articles, ideas and great recipes. Nice photos too.

Will cuddle up with my magazine now and get re-inspired.

Green Smoothie with Hemp Powder & MSM

Green Energy Smoothie with Hemp Powder & MSM

1 pear
1 apple
2 dates
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 lemon, skin off
4 leaves of kale
3 celery stalks
hemp powder to your needs and liking
MSM powder to your needs and liking
water

place fruit in bottom of vitamix or power blender
add other ingredients
last place the greens on top
add water up to about fruit level
blend
nice tasting energy power smoothie.
your body will love it!!

Sesame Milk

Loving this creamy sesame milk. This is how I make it.

1 cup unhulled sesame seeds, soaked over night, then drain.
Blend:
seeds
handful of cashews
agave or date
pinch of salt
couple of dashes of cinnamon
2-3 cups of water

strain in nut bag

I love drinking it right after blending.
It's super high in calcium.
keep refrigerated.

Here is some nutritional information:

Natural sesame seeds (unhulled) contain 5 grams of protein per ounce, 3.1 grams fiber, and 14 grams of total fat.

Natural sesame seeds, those that are unhulled, are high in calcium. One tablespoon provides 87.8 mg while the hulled variety offers only 10.5 mg for that same tablespoon. Comparing sesame seeds to milk turned up some surprising figures in the calcium count. One cup of natural sesame seeds had 1404.0 mg of calcium, while one cup of non-fat milk provided 316.3 mg. and one cup of whole milk contained 291 mg of calcium.

Both natural and hulled sesame seeds contain healthy amounts of the B vitamins riboflavin, thiamine, and niacin. With natural seeds scoring 8.7 mcg of folic acid for 1 tablespoon and plenty of vitamin B6, you can count on sesame seeds for excellent nourishment.

Caroline's at Eden's Market

It was nice coming back home from beautiful Budapest. An order I had placed on line at Eden's Market was waiting for me. Jet lagged, a bit tired, Caroline's Raw & Handmade Sweet Granola Chunks were a real treat. I like how they are in chunk pieces and you can break them apart easily too.

Caroline and I met at Alissa Cohen's, Living on Live Food Certification Program. She has beautiful energy and it travels through her yummy food creations.

Organic, Bio Market in Budapest, Hungary

School Lunch Revolution

Women Go Raw - Mimi Kirk

An inspiration and role model Mimi is. Great interview.

Purslane Salad

purslane, a nice big bunch, chop up to bite size, including stem

1 corn, cut kernels off

4 okra, cut into small slices, i used red and green

yellow and green string beans, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

2 dates, chopped

salt, olive oil, lemon juice

toss it all together

sprinkle with hemp seed if you like

makes a light, delicious summer salad

Living Raw Food:Get the Glow

Just purchased "Living Raw, Get the Glow". As the previous book, "Raw Food Real World" it is gorgeous. There are photographs of recipes, the restaurant and kitchen of the elegant Pure Food and Wine with food prepping and it's staff. All beautiful. One of my favorite restaurants in NY.

Here's a great interview of lovely Sarma Melngailis at Choosing Raw .

This book makes a fabulous gift and a great "coffe table" or "juice table" book.

Looking forward to making some delicious healthy, raw recipes.

Chard Kale Mango Pudding

chard kale mango pudding

2 chard leaves, stem cut out
2 kale leaves, stem cut out
2 mangoes
1 teaspoon Artisana* coconut butter
1 date
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 teaspoon MSM
pinch of salt
a small cup of water to make pudding consistency

blend all together.
makes 2 large size portions of delicious green pudding.

*Artisana Coconut Butter has been a favorite. It is not just oil, coconut meat is in it. It's creamy and divine.

Pineapple with Mint

With the weather being very hot and sticky, lighter foods feel refreshing.

Cut up pineapple and chopped mint is so uplifting, cool and fresh.

Vegetable Medley With Apple

vegetable medley with apple

5 leaves of dandelion leaves
3 leaves of beet top greens
1 carrot, cut to chunks
1 yellow summer squash, cut to chunks
2 apples, cored and cut to chunks
fresh dill, small handful
3 fresh mint leaves
pinch of salt
3/4 cup water or as much or little as you like

blend away....salud!

The apple gives it a nice flavor, cutting the bitter taste of the greens.
I was sipping it as a smoothie, but it can be served as a soup with a few mint leaves to decorate on top.

Carrot Ginger Pear Soup

carrot ginger pear soup

juice together:
carrots
ginger (choose the amount to your liking)
cucumber

blend:
the above juice
pear - with skin, without pits
small amount of coconut oil
avocado (I used one for two servings)
salt
ice cubes (optional), it's nice chilled

pour into bowls
top with chopped fresh herbs, any combo is delicious...I used spearmint, basil & chives
drizzle with olive oil

this is a gorgeous and super delicious soup, I promise!!

Carob Banana Coconut Maca Cayenne Drink

Carob Banana Coconut Cayenne Drink

11 oz. box of coconut water
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon carob powder
1/2 banana
1 teaspoon maca
pinch of salt
2 shakes of cayenne
some cubes of ice

blend it up.
makes a very refreshing, frothy delicious drink.

Garlic Top Pesto

Visiting my friend Viv at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, NY, I learned about a new green. Garlic top greens. I have never seen this in a grocery store or vegetable stand. What a fun looking, swirly vegetable. Viv gave me a nice sized bag of it and a recipe to go with it. Garlic top pesto. Thank you Viv.

Benefits of garlic is claimed to be medicinal, strengthening the immune system, it helps to ward off colds, among other ailments. Garlic works as an antibiotic against some types of bacteria, viruses and intestinal parasites. It lowers blood pressure and blood cholesterol. Its other healthy benefits include an anti-inflammatory agent, and acts as a expectorant and decongestant.

I made the whole batch and put some in the freezer.
The whole house seemed to get a good cleansing with the garlic aroma.
It has a spicy kick to it. After eating it, it sure felt like my insides were going to get a good cleaning.

Garlic top pesto recipe:
cut the ends off.
cut into smaller pieces.
food process in small batches, keeping what's been processed in the fp.
scrape the sides down with spatula to get it processed real good.
add a good amount of olive oil, in small increments, make sure it's not too much.
add pine nuts. this gives it a nice creamy consitency. again, in small increments.
towards the end I put some more pine nuts and pulsed it so it has little bits.
add your good salt.

I had it with cut up tomato and avocado. It is delicious, powerful and cleansing. Just what the "good" doctor ordered.

Spinach Soup/Pudding/Smoothie

Local produce is becoming more and more available. Finally the season is here to enjoy the local harvests. Today I purchased a large bag of beautiful spinach. Strawberries are deliciously sweet and juicy, have been freezing them. Growing my own herbs is such a treat, ready at hand. This soup/pudding is absolutely tasty, light and very satisfying.

for 2 people

a good amount of spinach, about 2 big handfuls, washed, I break the stems off

1 large mango peeled and cut into pieces

a handful of frozen strawberries

4 or 5 leaves of spearmint

1 date

water- start with 1/4 cup add more as needed

blend

the gentle taste of the mint makes it fresh and light.

Bobby's Super Antioxidant Smoothie

My husband, Bobby makes this super smoothie a few times a week. It's super antioxidant, delicious and beautiful in color. Makes a nice batch for 2 people.

2 packs of Sambazon acai antioxidant superfood (these come frozen in 4 packs)

1 pack of Sambazon Amazon cherry (also frozen and in 4 packs)

2 scoops of Green Vibrance (organic greens and freeze dried grass juices, powdered)

3 tablespoons ground flax seeds

1 teaspoon MSM

1/2 -1 cup frozen organic mix berries (now the berry season is here, will use fresh)

1/2 cup frozen bananas

any fruit juice or water to give it some more liquid

Blend and enjoy. Feel strong.

Tomatoes & Raw Tahini

A dear friend gave me a box tomatoes. Gorgeous colors.
I cut some up, sprinkled it with Himalayan Crystal salt.
Raw tahini on the side for a dip.
Made a light, nutritious healthy snack.

Spinach Salad

Spinach Salad

chopped spinach
shredded beets
chunks of mango
shredded apple
pine nuts
chopped date
toss it all together and add dressing

avocado, quartered and placed on sides of salad

dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons agave
1/2 lime juice
salt, pepper
whisk together

sprinkle dulse flakes over avocado and salad

truly amazingly delicious and very colorful.

Kale Mango Strawberries Smoothie

At an Indian market I purchased a case of 18 mangoes. They use a lot of mangoes in their cuisine so it's a perfect place to shop for them. The price was great, $8 for the case.

Today this is my morning smoothie:

2 leaves of kale, stem removed

2 mangoes

4 strawberries

1 date

water to your consistency

blend.

drink or eat with spoon....delicious!

Health Book Summaries

I've been meaning to post about HealthBookSummaries.com. Just received
the new summary via email, so it's fresh on my mind.

A great concept developed by Mike Adams of Natural News and Kevin Gianni of Renegade Health. They do amazing work and service in the health field.

HealthBookSummaries.com is a service where you can review health books for FREE! You get to read quite a few pages and there is an option to purchase the book. You can learn a tremendous amount very quickly by browsing these summaries. What a great service! After registering, a monthly email is sent with a new summary to read. How amazing is that? Kudos to Kevin and Mike!

Taboul "Live"

Kristen's Taboul-"Live" is becoming a favorite of mine. As she writes in her book "Easy Raw Vegan Salads & Dressings", "when I make it, I eat bowl after bowl after bowl of it. Seriously!" I understand it. It is a fantastic salad....parsley, cilantro, carrot, avocado, etc. And yes, it is so easy and it is so delicious.

Endive Stuffed with Cashew Tahini Pate

Endive Stuffed with Cashew Tahini Pate

1 cup cashews soaked for 30 minutes
3 tablespoons raw tahini
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon agave
sea salt
cayenne
chives chopped

pulse cashews in food processor (I use a small one for small batches),
keep it a little crunchy by not making it creamy.
place in bowl.
mix in tahini, onion and agave.
salt to taste.
cayenne to your taste. it gives a nice kick.
place on endive leaves with chopped chives on top.
little tomatoes goes nicely with it.

a satisfying, simple little meal. enjoy!!

I Love Books

When I attended " A Focus on Nutrition" at Urban Zen, Dr. T. Colin Campbell was one of the panel speakers on The Power of Plant-Based Nutrition. His message cannot be ignored. Dr. Campbell has 40 years of fascinating research which is in his book, co-written with his son Thomas M. Campbell II, The China Study. I have deep gratitude and admiration for what he has given to us. This is a must read. I'm inhaling this!

I have purchased some e-books and I guess they are good, but for me I must have the book in my hands physically. I spend time on a few computers and I never remember where the e-book is. Especially a recipe book....for me it's got to be a REAL book.

Just purchased two of Kristen's Easy Raw books. Looking forward to making some delish meals.

Easy Raw Vegan Juices, Elixirs & Drinks

Easy Raw Vegan Salads & Dressings

Oh and now look what she has done. Can't wait to get this one. Yes, I LOVE chocolate, don't you? Ultimate Raw Vegan Chocolate Recipes

Green Juice with Avocado

This is the juice that was served at Urban Zen. So delicious and refreshing. A perfect morning drink with the lemon. I never thought to put avocado into the juicer. The juice becomes slightly creamy. Make sure the avocado is put in the beginning so the other veggies can push it through. Enjoy!


apple (1)
avocado (1/2)
cabbage (1/4)
celery (3 stalks)
cucumber (1/2)
kale (3 leaves)
lemon (1/2)

Urban Zen

Please go here for my current post >>>Something Nice to Talk About.

Cacao :: Food of the Gods

A visit to someone's home was so very rewarding. She was showing her many fruit plants and pointed to the cacao tree. I was thrilled. Loving chocolate and raw cacao this was very special to me.

Cacao pods grow randomly out of the tree trunk. Out of little clusters of flowers they become the fruit or pod. Each pod may contain 20-60 beans.

The scientific name Theobroma means "food of the gods". At one point the Aztec empire used cacao beans as currency. The buying power of quality beans was such that 80-100 beans could buy a new cloth mantle.

Cacao is very high in minerals. The shell of the pod is strong, protecting this special food, needing a good knife to open it. Each bean is covered with a white pulp. To make chocolate this pulp is dried off and the bean is exposed and goes through processes.

I was given three cacao pods, yes I was definitely very happy. The fruit is not sweet. The texture and the gentle bitternes of the nibs are exotically wonderful. I am so grateful to have this experience of eating "food of the gods".

Avocados

Avocados are in abundance now in Bahia, Brazil. I am gratefully accepting these green gems as gifts. Eating them in salads or just cutting it in half (eating both halves) adding lime juice and salt or Spike. Loving it.

Bahia Salad

At a favorite restaurant this is one of my favorite salads in Bahia, Brazil. Arugula, pineapple, mango, sundried tomatoes and a little buffalo cheese in it. Olive oil and salt on it and it is such a refreshing meal. Coconut water on the side. Perfect!
Have been having fun using the camera on the iphone. Downloaded the Sepia app camera.
I like the sepia tone of the coconut pic.