Raw Food Presentation Coming Soon!

I will be doing a RAW foods presentation/demonstation for the November C.H.O.I.C.E.S. meeting. (CHOICES is a natural birth and healthy parenting group)

I am so excited about this upcoming meeting. Sara from Happy Foody gave me some awesome ideas for the raw food demo. I plan to make (to sample) green smoothies, a couple different juices, some raw fudge balls, and maybe a couple other things.. I'm off to buy a Spirillo..

I'm also showing FOOD MATTERS! Watch the trailer here.

"Let thy Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food" - Hippocrates. That is the message from the founding father of modern medicine echoed in the controversial new documentary film Food Matters from Producer-Directors James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch.With nutritionally-depleted foods, chemical additives and our tendency to rely upon pharmaceutical drugs to treat what's wrong with our malnourished bodies, it's no wonder that modern society is getting sicker. Food Matters sets about uncovering the trillion dollar worldwide 'sickness industry' and gives people some scientifically verifiable solutions for overcoming illness naturally.
"With access to better information people invariably make better choices for their health..."

The Green Smoothie Challenge!!

For 30 days:


~Drink at least 16 oz. of green smoothie per day (a quart would be even better!)
~Do some sort of activity every day. This could be an intense workout, or just dancing with your kids around the living room. It could be a 15 minute yoga session or a walk around the block.
~Add a green leafy salad to your lunch or supper (with light dressing…stay away from the creamier sauces).
~Stop drinking pop.
~Cut out all white sugar.

Need ideas? Recipes? Inspiration?
Go to Happy Foody.
Go on. Go!

Eating Raw

Eating raw is healthy for everyone! :)

My kids (ages 11, 9, 6, and 3) are eating tons of fruit (watermelon, strawberries, apples, bananas, and peaches) some vegetables, farm fresh eggs, raw milk, almond milk, nuts, raw nut butters on sprouted bread, and more. I would say they are eating about 50-75% raw.

My husband, who has lost 35 pounds recently on the Master Cleanse is eating a lot of raw these days too! He looks and feels great, and can really feel it when he eats junk.

Being a nursing momma, I have to keep my calories up to maintain a milk supply. I am eating green smoothies for breakfast (with fruit, chia, kale, hemp protein, and Superfood), big salads for lunch (salad greens, avocado, various veggies and homemade dressing) For dinner a baked potato, baked butternut or acorn squash with a side salad or broccoli.

Thanks to Sara at Happy Foody, I have found some new favorites! Raw Food World is an online raw food store, and that's where I ordered my chia seed! You must check it out!

Raw

During the last year (most of which I was pregnant with Jesse) I ate about 50% raw. During that time I was eating farm fresh eggs, raw cheese, raw butter, and drinking a bit of raw milk. I was eating a mostly vegetarian diet..

I read the book Nourishing Traditions and loved it! It tells all about the benefits of eating a raw diet (including raw dairy, etc.) It details the difference in store-bought milk, and raw milk..and the difference in store-bought eggs, and cage free eggs, and so on. There is indeed a HUGE nutritional difference. It also tells all about the benefits if lacto-fermented foods (vegetables, kefir, etc.) Great book!

Now that I have a nursing baby, I cut out dairy altogether. Dairy causes all sorts of issues for babies, for me it's just not worth it.

After much research it is my goal to one day eat 100% raw. Right now I am doing the 80-10-10 It is going really well so far..

You can read testimonial after testimonial of people who switched to raw diets and eliminated all sorts of health issues without drugs! Obesity (or even being slightly over-weight), headaches, acne, diabetes, and cancer, just to name a few.

Here is a lady that lost 160 pounds just by going raw.
Here is a group of diabetics that got off insulin by eating raw.
Here is a RAW FOOD infomercial! and here is another!
Here is Woody Harrelson, a raw foodist!

Black Bean and Corn Salad

This recipe is from my sister Kelli. It is sooo good, I recommend making a double batch so you have leftovers. I made it for a banquet Sunday and everyone asked for the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 small container of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small jar. Cover with lid, and shake until ingredients are well mixed.

2. In a salad bowl, combine beans, corn, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Shake lime dressing, and pour it over the salad. Stir salad to coat vegetables and beans with dressing, and serve.

Drying and Storing Herbs

Now is the time to dry your fresh herbs for storage. Don't wait until late summer or fall when you are busy canning! Now is the time!

The plants should then be gathered as follows:
*barks in the spring,
*leaves before the plant flowers,
*flowers on the first day of opening, and
*roots are best in the autumn (when lifting a root an effort must be made to get out the entire root, so a long spade or fork is needed)

The best time to cut herbs for drying is just before they flower. This is when the leaves have the most oil. Different varieties of herbs flower at different times of the season, so look for buds or newly opened flowers as your clue for harvesting. But, if your herbs have already flowered, they can still be harvested and dried. It is better to harvest herbs mid-morning when the leaves are dry but before the hot midday sun, but early evening is also good!

For some herbs you can cut and hang. For other herbs you must dry them quickly due to moisture content, or they will mold, ruining the entire bunch.

For herbs such as lavendar, cone flowers, goldenrod, oregano, and sage:

To harvest, cut the whole stems within a few inches of the base of the plant, gather into groups of 5-6 stems, tie and hang in a warm, airy location. When dry, strip off the leaves, store in a covered container such as a jelly size mason jar.

You can then tie them in loose bundles, and hang in a warm, airy place until dry. Make sure they aren't crowded so that air can circulate around them.

If you are harvesting echinacea (cone flowers) for medicinal purposes see this page, as you will also need to harvest the roots.

For high-moisture herbs such as lemon balm, basil, tarragon, mints, dandelion, nettles, and red raspberry leaves:

Remove individual leaves, or dry on stems. Lay in a single layer in a food dehydrator and dehydrate until very dry. Remove leaves from stems (if you haven't already) and place into air tight containers (mason jars, vacuum sealed bags, etc)

You can also dry these types of herbs in an oven. Heat over to 200 deg. Turn off. Place your herbs in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in warm oven. When dry, place into air tight containers (mason jars, vacuum sealed bags, etc).

You can also lay herbs on mesh screens in front of a dehumidifier over night, and store when dry.

All herbs need to be stored away from direct sunlight or heat as these rob the herbs of their potency. Enjoy your herbs!

Coming soon: herb butter, and vinegars and oils infused with herbs..

Homemade Ketchup

(without all that nasty high fructose corn syrup)

Summertime brings BBQ's and what's a BBQ without ketchup? But have you ever looked at the label? Here is a healthy alternative to store-bought.

1 6-oz can of tomato paste

1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp sweetener (I prefer agave or honey)

1 tsp Braggs Liquid Amino's or soy sauce

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp salt

2 1/2 Tbsp water

Combine ingredients in a small pot or saucepan, simmering for 10-15 minutes on medium heat, stirring often. Allow to cool, then store in the refrigerator in a mason jar. Usually lasts 2-3 weeks.