Get Figgy with It.....It's Fig Season!!!!

I have been enjoying fresh figs!!! Our local market had them on sale, buy one get one free for a 16 oz box. So I got 2 boxes for $5 and some change. I have been eating figs everyday. Here are two recipes that I made over the past week. There are several others but they really weren't that exciting...just simple and good.
One of my favorite morning meals is my power pudding. I decided to incorporate fresh figs into it knowing how delicious it is with dried figs. After I took this picture I piled on the rest of the fig slices...the more the better I think. Here is the recipe:

Figgy Power Pudding

1 large avocado
2 small organic bananas
4 T carob powder (Raw is best)
1 T Non-GMO Lecithin powder or Sunflower Lecithin powder
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 tsp Lucuma powder
pinch of sea salt
6 fresh figs cut in fourths
Sprinkle of Hemp Seeds

Process the avocado and bananas until smooth. Add the carob, lucuma, sea salt, vanilla, and lecithin. Process till fully combined. Put pudding into a bowl, top with the fig slices and sprinkle with the Hemp Seeds. Enjoy!! This is insanely good.

Raw Fig Cereal

5-6 Turkey figs, cut into fourths
1/4 C Buckwheat Krispies
Fresh almond milk

Put everything into a ceral bowl and enjoy!

~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for finding a book on clearance for $2. It is called 6 Minute Toning. More about this later. Peace.

My Saturday Morning Fuel

This past week has been all about my children. One can truly be humbled when they put others first. I get such joy caring for my family and having the privilege of teaching our five children at home. This past week was filled with new books arriving daily, lesson plans being written, school work being completed, grading papers, field trips being planned (I am our homeschool groups Field Trip Coordinator this year), running to classes out of the home, and just trying to settle into our new routine.
Look at my cute boogers!!! Our oldest (our one and only daughter) wouldn't pose for me so I'll just post her pic that we took for her homeschool ID card. Love yah Mad Dog!!!!

                                 Yes, I'm Only One And I Do School


This past summer I really tried to relax and have a little bit of time for myself. I had a blast setting up my first blog and posting all of my posts. Now that life is going to be jam packed with teaching the children and taking them to all of their activities and classes out of the home, I will have to limit my blogging to the weekends.
After a long week I really needed some good raw fuel this morning. Juice popped into my head, carrot clementine to be specific.

Carrot Clementine Juice

I used 12-15 small and medium sized organic carrots and 3 clementines, peeled. I had a little one nearby who wanted a taste!

                                                                             That's Good Mommy

                                Look at My Juice Mustache


There was no way I was going to compost all of this beautiful pulp.

I decided to make up a cracker recipe. I got some initial inspiration reading over Ani Phyo's "Black Sesame Sunflower Bread"  recipe. But I wanted crackers and I had all of this beautiful pulp to incorporate into a recipe. Here is what I came up with. First I used my hands to go through the pulp removing any large pieces of carrot that did not get ground up during the juicing process. Of course you should just pop those pieces into your mouth and munch while you "un cook". Next I put in some flax meal, whole flax seeds and sunflower seeds. Then I tossed in some white sesame seeds, sea salt, and some spices. Next I added some water to get the dough to the consistency I desired. I let the dough rest a bit so the whole flax seeds could gel.

                                         Before Mixing

Here is the recipe:

Carrot Clementine Crackers
by Elizabeth @ Raw Living and Learning

2 1/2 C juice pulp (carrot clementine)
1/2 C ground flax seeds
1/3 C whole flax seeds
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 C raw sunflower seeds
1/3 C raw sesame seeds, white
onion powder to taste
garlic powder to taste
2 C water, more or less depending on desired consistency

Place juice pulp into a medium sized bowl. Add the ground flax seeds, whole flax seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, sea salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Using a rubber spatula spoon, mix very well until evenly combined. Taste at this point and adjust seasonings as needed. Add in 2 C of water and stir. Let dough sit for about 20 minutes. Stir again and check consistency. Add more water if needed. If dough is too thin just add in more flax meal. Spread dough onto Teflex dehydrator sheets. I used two trays. Spread to the thickness that you like your crackers. If you want to make bread, spread the dough thicker. Dehydrate on 110 degrees until crispy. For bread, leave a bit moist and still pliable. Enjoy!

                     I Love My Dehydrator!!


Throughout the year I am going to try and post about our home schooling under my "Homeschool Page" on this blog. I hope to share some of the cool and fun things that we do this year. It will be my way to document all of the great memories that my children and I are creating as we live and learn together.
~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for my faith and Mother Church. I really would be nothing without them. My purpose on this earth is to love and serve The Lord and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven. I will be held accountable on judgement day for the way that I raised our children, and I hope that I will be able to stand tall knowing that I did my best to raise soldiers for Christ. Everything I do is for the glory of God. He is so loving and so merciful. My only wish is that I can love and serve Him more on our earthly home and live forever with Him in our Heavenly home for all eternity.

Ultra Easy Blackberry Sorbet

My daughter wanted a frozen treat last night. I had bought some organic blackberries on super sale last month and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use them. Wanting to add some creaminess, I added some frozen mango to the raspberries. It turned out wonderful. Here is the ultra easy recipe.

Ultra Easy Blackberry Sorbet

2 C frozen organic blackberries
1 C frozen mango
Raw sweetener of choice, to taste (optional)

Place fruit in food processor. If very hard allow the frozen fruit to only soften a bit. Begin processing fruit until it looks like soft sorbet. Taste fruit, if needed add a raw sweetener of your choice. If sorbet softens too quickly while processing, spoon into a container and allow to freeze 20-30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

                     Madison Enjoying Sorbet Studying for Drivers Ed


We decided to start doing some of our school work today, even though I am still in the process of ordering our remaining books. It went better than expected except for the fact that when my husband came home I was still in my pajamas!!! I feel like I did having a newborn. I never seemed to get a shower until after dinner. Well tonight I am not taking one. Hey, at least I am all ready for bed, in my P.J.'s and all. Just have to brush/floss/wash my face. :)
~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for a good start to a great homeschool year. I am off to order books! I love getting our new books each year, it is very exciting.
I am so grateful for the gift of hoeschooling. It is a freedom that I thank God for each day!!

I Made Kim Chi!!!!

I am so excited. I have been wanting to make my own Kim Chi and I did it! It was super easy and I can't wait to make my next batch. This first batch was pretty flaming hot, so next time I will tone it down a notch.
The recipe called for Napa Cabbage but I used a regular head of green cabbage instead. I also made a few changes to other aspects of the recipe but it all turns out the same in the end. I try not to deviate too far from the original but it is always fun to add your own creativity to a base recipe.
I will begin with the recipe and then show you how I put it all together:
Kim Chi Base
(NOTE: You will need a pair of vinyl gloves)
1 whole head of Napa Cabbage (I used regular green cabbage)
1/4 C sea salt
1/4 C or less of ko choo kah rhoo (red chili powder from Asian markets)
1/4 C warm water

Additions to Base
1 clove of pressed garlic
1 T grated ginger
3-4 scallions, sliced on the diagonal, greens too
2 T fish sauce or anchovy paste (I used a curry paste)

Secret Sweetening Mixture
1 C filtered water
1/2 of an organic apple
1/2 of an organic pear
1/2 of a vidalia onion

Here is the process of making Kim Chi:
Chop your cabbage into bite size pieces or use a food processor to rough chop.
Measure 1/4 C of sea salt and add it to a small bowl of warm water, stir until dissolved. Put cabbage into a large bowl and pour salt water over the cabbage. Stir well. Cover with some clear plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temp for 4 hours. I stirred the cabbage every hour to redistribute the salt water and keep the cabbage coated and moist.

                                   Cabbage and Salt Water

While the cabbage and salt water were doing their stuff, I used this time to gather my jars. I like to reuse in our household, a great lesson for the children, so I use old jars from various foods. I washed them in hot soapy water and then sterilized the jars and lids in boiling water. Let them dry and get ready for the next step.

                                            Reusing Jars

Next, rinse all of the salt water off of the cabbage and allow to drain in a colander. Prepare the chili paste by adding 1/4 of a cup of warm filtered water to 1/4 cup of ko choo kah rhoo in a small bowl (I had some powdered chipolte in there too). Stir to make a paste. Put the drained cabbage into a large bowl. Add the pepper paste to the cabbage along with the garlic, ginger, scallions, and the anchovy paste or fish sauce.
In a blender prepare your secret sweetener. Add the water to the blender and then the apple, pear and onion. Blend till creamy smooth. Pour this into the large bowl of cabbage and chili paste.

                                                    All of the Unmixed Ingredients

Now it is time to get dirty, well not really because you are going to be wearing gloves. You don't want to burn your hands with the chili paste! Put on your gloves and start mixing the Kim Chi until every cabbage leaf is thoroughly coated with the sauce ingredients.

 Once well mixed, start filling your jars with the Kim Chi. Do not fill jars to the top, leave an inch or more of space at the top. Put lids on but do not screw on tight. Allow jars to sit on your counter top for a full 24 hours. After 24 hours you can tighten the lids a little more and place them in the refrigerator to chill. The Kim Chi will continue to ferment slowly in the refrigerator. The refrigerated jars of Kim Chi will last about 1 month. Enjoy!

                                     My Recipe Made This Much


~JMJ~Today I am grateful for slowly but surely accomplishing many of the goals that I had set for myself. And I look forward to attaining those that I have yet to accomplish!!

My Last Mango

Mango Chia Pudding




I had to decide what to do with my last mango that I picked from my friend's tree. It was really ripe and fragrant and ready to be enjoyed. I had some chia gel in the refrigerator so I decided to make a pudding with it. To add some creaminess and texture I added half of a small avocado and some other ingredients to compliment the flavors. This mango was so large it made 4 servings of pudding!! And I mean large servings! It was really delicious. Here is my recipe:

Mango Chia Pudding
by Elizabeth @ Raw Living and Learning

1 very large Valencia Mango, peeled and rough chop (reserve 5 cubes for top)
1 large organic banana, peeled and rough chop
1/2 of a banana, sliced (for topping)
1/2 of a small Haas Avocado
1/2 C chia gel (thick gel is best)
1 capful of vanilla extract (alcohol free)
juice from 1/4 of a lemon
1 T Lecithin powder
pinch of sea salt
1 T finely chopped dried coconut, unsweetened
1 tsp chia seeds, unsoaked or buckwheat krispies

In the food processor, process the mango, 1 large banana, avocado, chia gel, lemon juice, lecithin powder, vanilla and sea salt. Spoon the pudding into a bowl and let set up in the refrigerator. Once pudding becomes the consistency you prefer, top with the cubed mango, banana slices, coconut, and a sprinkle of either chia seeds or buckwheat krispies. Enjoy!

~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for another night out with my adorable hubby. We got to enjoy the company of several doctors that he works with. We met at a local restaurant, Ruth Chris to be specific. It was an enjoyable evening of socializing and good food. The restaurant was gracious enough to put together a raw salad, as per my specifications. The chef even plated it in a beautiful way. It was awesome. I actually had two salads, my first one was beefsteak tomatoes and red onion on a bed of watercress with a simple balsamic dressing. I just asked them to leave off the blue cheese and it was perfect. All you have to do is ask, you'd be surprised at how accommodating people can be!

WOOHOO!! I Got Gudernoobs!!

GUDERNOOBS, what's a Gudernoob you ask? Well, allow me to tell you. Gudernoobs are a sweet and tasty, bite-sized chew. Are they raw you ask? Well, I asked one of the founders and she said, yes. How did I come across Gudernoobs? My husband brought home a few from work. He knew I would be really excited about this healthy snack. It is similar to a raw fudge that I make. 
I looked on the back of the bag and decided to  call the number. I thought I was calling someone in Ohio, as the address on the bag read, little did I know I actually was calling someone right here in my town. One of the founders returned my phone message promptly. I saw my area code on the caller ID and thought maybe she was here vacationing. We do live in a very popular vacation destination spot. But it turns out, she actually lives here!! Too funny. I asked her if I could get a full bag to sample with my family and to review for my blog. She got me out a package in the mail that same week.

I was very pleased to sample these yummy treats with my family and I wish WOOHOO Foods only success.


GUDERNOOBS Keep It Real
"They are made from a healthy combination of dried fruit and other natural ingredients that are dressed up to look like popular candy or junk food snacks."


They come in four flavors:
Big Time Brownie
Awesome Apple Cider
Perfect Peanut Butter
Outrageous Oatmeal Banana

Guternoobs contain the following real foods:
dates, raisins, walnuts, bananas, apples, cocoa, oatmeal, flax, cinnamon, vanilla, and peanuts.
When I asked her if they were raw I think she may have thought I just meant not cooked/baked. I cannot verify if the oats, cocoa and nuts are actually "raw" in the sense that raw foodists eat raw. I don't eat peanuts and neither do most raw foodists so you could just share the peanut butter ones with someone who is not adhering to a strict raw diet. If you want to confirm whether or not they are truly raw you would have to contact the company.
These certainly would be a healthy snack alternative though for family members that are not eating strictly raw foods. I did actually taste all of them so I could properly do a review of them. My favorite is the Awesome Apple Cider. My 13 year old son's favorites are the Perfect Peanut Butter and the Awesome Apple Cider. My 6 year old loves them all as does the 23 month old. He kept yelling for one after the other. Look at him here enjoying his Gudernoobs.

                       My Mouth is Full of Gudernoobs

 My oldest child does not like dates but she agreed to taste the Big Time Brownie and the Awesome Apple Cider. Her favorite was the Awesome Apple Cider. The hubby likes all of the flavors but likes Awesome Apple Cider the best. 
The founders have an awesome story to tell. WooHoo Foods was founded by two moms who wanted something better for their kids. The idea of creating a new-wave snack product came from one of their second-grade daughters.
Gudernoobs are available online at
http://www.woohoofoods.com/
You can read all about the company and their delicious product there.

Thank you Holly and Ellen for sending me a bag of your delicious treats! Our family really enjoyed tasting them!

~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for the safe return of my brother, his wife and two boys from their camping trip. I am very thankful that they did not have a dangerous encounter with any bears!! I was truly worried. Peace and Hugs!!

Impromptu Breakfast

Impromptu Breakfast Fruit Bowl

This morning I could not think of anything to make for breakfast. I wasn't in the mood for one of my raw power puddings and I didn't want "just anything". I wanted something sweet with a little bit of a crunch. Here is what I started throwing together. I knew the focal point had to be my red skinned organic pear. It has been sitting on the counter top just begging me to find a recipe for it. Then I thought, dried apples and black mission figs with perhaps some raw honey drizzled on top and a splash of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Next I needed the crunch factor. Yesterday I dehydrated another batch of my sprouted buckwheat krispies. That would be my crunch! But wait, I had the fresh blueberries that I just bought last night. I had to throw some of those in too. And last but not least, my boxwood basil. So there you have it, my impromptu breakfast fruit bowl. Here is the recipe:

Impromptu Breakfast Fruit Bowl
by Elizabeth at Raw Living and Learning

1 red skinned organic pear, diced
1/8 C dried, unsweetened apples, cut bite size
4 dried black mission figs, sliced
1 handful fresh blueberries
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
drizzle of raw honey
2 T buckwheat krispies
10 boxwood basil leaves

Combine all of the fruit in a bowl. Drizzle with the raw honey. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top. Add the buckwheat krispies and boxwood basil. Enjoy the simplicity!

~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for new opportunities. I am going to hold the position of Field Trip Coordinator for our local home school group. I look forward to learning new things and planning these fun outings for the children in our group. Our oldest two children are going to be my assistants. They are excited to have this opportunity as well. We look forward to a great school year!

                       Our Two Oldest

Our Magnificent Mini Organic Bananas

Our Organic Bananas from the Backyard

Several weeks ago I walked out to the back yard and almost broke out into tears. Two of our banana trees had fallen over from the weight of the banana bunches on them. They were still dark green and I thought they would be a total loss. I decided to cut them off the tree, bring them inside and see what would happen. To our surprise they slowly started to ripen. Each day we got more and more excited as we watched the faint shade of yellow appear. They finally started getting tiny brown spots and I knew they were ready for a taste test. Let's just say the little ones could not stop eating them. I froze half for our raw ice kream recipes and green smoothies, and there are still about five left for eating as snacks.
Here is our 4 year old enjoying his "cute" banana.

Look at Those Cheeks!!... Mom Wants to Eat Em!

The kids just kept saying, "They are so tiny and cute!!"Usually when they stay on the tree and reach maturity they are much larger. We don't remove the bunch until they are yellow and starting to get their brown freckles. Unfortunately this time we were not able to do that. I am happy to say that even though these were tiny they still had their amazing flavor. If you have never tried a Florida banana like this you are missing out on a rare treat. Wish I could share some with you!



The Key Lime tree is looking beautiful. I can't wait to post about them as they become closer to harvest time. I want to make several raw key lime treats. Peace and RAW Health.

~JMJ~Today I am grateful for the gluten free and dairy free baked good recipes that I was able to make for our children the past few days. It has been a struggle trying to find out what was and may still be , upsetting our son's system but I am grateful that things are being revealed to me and I am learning more and more each day. My prayer is for his complete healing and I have faith that that will happen!

I Won the Coffee Extract Giveaway!

I am so happy to say that I won the Coffee Extract Giveaway- Week #7 at Rawfully Tempting.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
Here are the details:
Rawfully Tempting

I decided to use it in my ultimate favorite breakfast. My raw carob/cacao breakfast pudding. I have written several times how much I LOVE this morning meal. The other day I made such a nutrient dense, power packed pudding that when dinner time rolled around I still wasn't hungry! I'm telling you, this is the most satisfying raw meal I have had thus far. Here is that recipe:
Raw Power Pudding
by Elizabeth

11/2 large bananas
11/2 Haas avocados
1 T Lucuma powder
1 tsp Nutritional yeast powder
1 T Lecithin powder
1 T Nutiva Hemp Seeds
1 t raw honey
2-4 T of a mixture of raw carob and raw cacao powders
1 capful of vanilla
pinch of sea salt
1 T Gogi berries, soaked (reserve for topping)
1 T buckwheat krispies (reserve for topping)


Process till ,in a small-sized food processor. Top pudding with the buckwheat krispies and Gogi berries. Enjoy!

Well, since I had my new bottle of Coffee Extract from Medicine Flower, I decided to make a Raw Mocha Pudding today. I kept the ingredients simple in this one because I really wanted to experience the flavor of the extract.
I was so excited when my package arrived. It had my extract and a tiny sample bar of soap. The soap is wonderful by the way. I have been using it in the shower. That tiny bar of soap really lasts a long time!! It smells so good, makes me hungry...has the smell of oregano almost. Too funny!!

My Wonderful Prizes!!

For this pudding I used the following recipe:

Raw Mocha Pudding

by Elizabeth

11/2 Haas avocados

11/2 large bananas

1 capful vanilla

12 drops of Coffee extract by Medicine Flower

pinch of sea salt

1 T Lecithin powder

3-4 T of a mixture raw carob and raw cacao powders

1 T Buckwheat krispies (for topping)

1 T Gogi berries, soaked (for topping)

*I forgot to put the gogi berries on before I took the picture

Process in a small-sized food processor till smooth. Top with the buckwheat krispies and gogi berries. Enjoy!

You want to talk about amazing!! This was absolutely wonderful. I am so thrilled that I have this wonderful extract in my pantry. Next month I will be using it in my Raw Cacao Birthday Cake. I can't wait. But until then, I will be making several batches of my Raw Power Puddings using this extract.

~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for the evening I had last night, floating around on my raft watching our three youngest swim. Oh how I love summer evenings. I am going to enjoy each and every last one. Our new homeschool year starts soon and I am not ready to give up our "vacation time" just yet. :) But, I am not worried because any time we need a break, Mom says we can and we do it!! Oh the freedoms of schooling your own children. It is a beautiful thing!

Marinated Recipes

Marinated Baby Bok Choy

I have said it before, I love simple recipes. This is a wonderfully flavorful dish. The first time I had raw bok choy was in a recipe similar to this one. I fell in love with it. I make it regularly and it always turns out perfect. Here is the recipe:

Marinated Baby Bok Choy

1 head of baby bok choy, chop into bite-size pieces

1/4 C coconut aminos

1 t sesame seeds, soaked

drizzle of first cold pressed EVOO

2 cloves fresh garlic, pressed

onion powder to taste

sprinkle of Dulse

Mix everything together and let marinate 30 minutes or longer. Only keeps one day, otherwise it starts to get too mushy. Enjoy!

I also made some marinated mushrooms, but neglected to take a picture. But hey, they are mushrooms...not too exciting anyway. I never would have thought nut butter and tahini would be good in a mushroom marinade but these were fantastic!! Here is my recipe:

Mushroom Marinade

1 pkg of white mushrooms, sliced

2 T raw tahini

1 T Raw Almond butter

2 tsp raw honey

2 capfuls Coconut Aminos

3 capfuls Coconut Vinegar

pinch of cumin

pinch of coriander

1 clove garlic, pressed

squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Mix the above ingredients except for the mushrooms. Slowly whisk in EVOO till a smooth and creamy consistency is reached. Now toss with the mushrooms. Let marinate 4 hours. Enjoy!

~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for accomplishing my school work project!! I finally packed away last years homeschool portfolios for the three oldest and even organized the textbook shelves. I recycled two large garbage bags of papers. It feels so good to down size to just the important stuff. I still have a long way to go before our new school year starts, but I am so grateful for the work I have finished thus far. It was looming over my head and making me crazy. The craziness is gone and I am ready to get ordering the last of our new books for the Fall. Now it is getting exciting, no longer worrisome. Next I will write up my lesson plans, shop for supplies and we are good to go! I look forward to an organized, fun and productive school year. My goal is to feel more peace this year instead of stress; last year was tough with nursing the baby while teaching. Now that he is a bit more independent it should help a bit. My theme for the year is, KISS.... "Keep It Simple Sweetheart".

Oatmeal in the RAW

The other day I was craving oatmeal. Of all things to crave during this hot summer, but that is what I decided to make. Of course this isn't your traditional cooked oatmeal, it is RAW oatmeal. (sorry for the blurry picture)

Figgy RAW Oatmeal

If you can find truly raw steel cut oatmeal use that, otherwise use some raw oat groats. Soak the oats for 24 hours, rinse and drain well. In the morning I get my sunflower seeds and dried figs soaking. Next, mix it all together and top with a drizzle of raw honey. At this point you can eat it up or gently warm it in your dehydrator. Since it was summer I did not heat this recipe, but in the winter I am sure I will. Sometimes I like to sprinkle on some cinnamon and nutmeg. Here is the recipe:

Figgy RAW Oatmeal

1 C Truly raw oatmeal or oat groats, soaked

1/4 C raw sunflower seeds, soaked

4 dried figs, soaked and sliced

pinch of sea salt

raw honey, gently warmed to liquid state

cinnamon

nutmeg

Rinse the soaked oats, seeds, and figs, let drain. Place oatmeal in a bowl. Mix in the sunflower seeds and salt. Top the oatmeal with a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg. Next place sliced figs on top and drizzle with the warmed honey. In the cooler months, warm the oatmeal in the dehydrator. Enjoy!

~JMJ~ Today I am grateful for a great surprise in my mailbox, it brought a big smile to my face. My best friend from MI sent me a card. We use to write notes and letters to each other almost daily, years ago. I had so many notes and letters from her they filled a box, a large box. I get so use to e-mail that when her hand written card arrived I just have to smile. Seeing her handwriting brought back a flood of memories of the letters I use to look forward to when we were young girls. I love you Legs!!!! :) Peace and Hugs.