Raw Noodles Two Ways

Tonight's dinner was a wonderfully light yet satisfying meal. Spiralized green zucchini noodles loaded with fresh veggies and parsley. I tossed it with a light vinaigrette that everyone enjoyed.

Raw Zucchini Noodles with Vinaigrette

Here is my recipe:

3 small green zucchini, spiralized into noodles

1/4 of a sweet onion, diced

4 baby Bella mushrooms, diced

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

8 grape tomatoes, diced

Gently toss the noodles and vegetables together. Drizzle with the following vinaigrette:

Elizabeth's Favorite Vinaigrette

1/4 C First Cold Pressed Olive Oil

2 T Rice Vinegar

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T raw honey

dash of cumin

dash of dried basil

1 small clove garlic pressed

1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

Whisk together in a small bowl or shake well in a glass jar with tight fitting lid. Stores well in refrigerator for 4-5 days.

The second version of raw zucchini noodles I enjoyed last week. I made a delicious creamy sauce that I found on The High Raw Nourished Kitchen. It was super simple to make and had a wonderful flavor. Once again you'll want to spiralize about 3 small green zucchinis and then top with the following kream sauce:

Garlic Cashew Sauce from The High Raw Nourished Kitchen



3/4 C cashews,  I soaked and drained mine
1/2 C water
1 large clove of garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 drop of Stevia (I omitted)
1 T nutritional yeast
sprig of cilantro (to garnish)
**I added fresh ground black pepper also
Process all of the ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender (except for the cilantro and **black pepper).

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my new sprouting rack!! A very sweet couple in my raw living foods group had an extra  homemade rack and I bought it. I am very excited to use it--considering I have sprouts all over my small kitchen. This will free up some counter space, hurray!

Green Mint Sorbet

Green Mint Sorbet

My sweetie wanted a treat the other night so I threw this together for him. I must say it was very, very good. I loved the little specks of green and the mint and slight hint of lemon were just amazing in this recipe.

Green Mint Sorbet

In a food processor, process the following until creamy and smooth:

1and 1/2 frozen bananas

5 small mint leaves

small handful of baby spinach

1 lemon wedge, seeds removed and half of the skin remaining

Enjoy!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for trampolines and bean bags. I got such joy today out of watching my kids play on the trampoline and try so hard to get their bean bags into the toss game. Precious moments that I cherish.



Swiss Chard Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing

Swiss Chard

I have no idea who to thank for this incredible dressing recipe--I think it might be Kelli??, but this is now our new favorite--at least for my daughter and I that is. I even made it tonight and put it on some red cabbage, raisins, apples, raw soaked walnuts and sweet onion. Fabulous!!

Maple-Balsamic Dijon Vinaigrette

2 T EVOO or oil of choice

1 T balsamic

2 tsp pure maple syrup (this isn't raw)

2 tsp organic Dijon

1 small clove garlic, pressed

Whisk well and serve.

Swiss Chard Salad

1 bunch of rainbow Swiss chard, thinly sliced

1 organic apple, diced and drizzled with lemon juice

1 handful of organic raisins

1/3 C raw walnuts, soaked overnight

sweet onion, finely diced

fresh sprouts (to garnish)

raw sesame seeds (to garnish)

Enjoy this amazing salad tossed with the Maple-Balsamic Dijon Vinaigrette. It is fabulous!!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the "Wednesday Farmer's Market" that I went to after finishing up teaching our 6 year old. I got some amazing organic greens (kale, baby romaine, dill, Swiss chard and collards) but had to settle for conventional grape tomatoes, radishes, grapefruit, and sweet onion--but at least the conventional stuff was local as well as the organic.

Cheezy Pesto Nori Crackers

Cheezy Pesto Nori Crackers

The first step in this recipe is to soak your raw nuts overnight and soak the seeds for 2 hours.

 Drain them well and dry on paper towels. The rest is super easy, just throwing ingredients into the food processor. It helps to lay everything out first.

Here are the ingredients needed:
1/2 C raw almonds, soaked over night
1/2 C raw sunflower seeds, soaked 2 hours
1/3 C raw pumpkin seeds, soaked 2 hours
1-2 T fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried rosemary
6 fresh basil leaves
small bunch of fresh parsley
2 small cloves garlic
pinch of sea salt
3 drops of wheat free tamari
2 T nutritional yeast
2 sheets of Nori seaweed
Process all of the ingredients, EXCEPT the Nori sheets, in a food processor until crumbly but sticks together when pressed between your fingers. If too dry moisten a bit with some water. Lay out the Nori sheets on a Teflex dehydrator tray. Using the back of a spoon, spread the cheezy pesto onto the Nori sheets evenly.

Dehydrate for 3-4 hours on 110 degrees or until the cheezy pesto sticks to the Nori and is crispy. Cut into squares with very sharp kitchen scissors. Catch all of the crumbs and save, to sprinkle on other foods. Enjoy the crackers as is or crumble onto a raw vegetable soup or a tossed salad.
These are so good!! They are so full of flavor and taste so rich you really only can eat 3-4 at a time. I stored mine in an airtight container at room temp. and they stayed good for three days--then they were gone. Yummy!

+JMJ+Today I am grateful for kids that tell the truth. I love you M.A.D. :)

My Dilly Dip

Creamy Raw Dilly Dip

I was looking for an easy, healthy, yummy raw dip for spreading on collard wraps or just dipping raw veggies. I threw this one together and it was a hit!! Full of flavor with spices and creamy smooth due to the avocado and tahini. Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

CREAMY RAW DILLY DIP (SPREAD)

1 small avocado

2 T raw tahini

2-3 T fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 T filtered water

1/4 tsp wheat free tamari

1/4 tsp raw honey

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp chili powder

1 tsp chives

1 tsp onion powder or dehydrated onion flakes

1 tsp dill weed (+1 tsp more for garnish)

Place all into the food processor and process till creamy. Allow to chill in refrig for 4 hours. Garnish with more dill weed before serving.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for an unexpected act of pure generosity. We had a short somewhere in our phone lines and the phone and Internet were down. A man came into the house and had to rewire the lines. Four of the five kids were having breakfast and our oldest son had the dog locked in the bedroom--he thinks he is a vicious Havanese and barks like a German Shepherd. It would have been quite a big bill. He said to my husband, "You are a family man and I dig that". He did not even charge us! Beautiful act of kindness, we are very grateful.

Green Start Your Morning

I like to jump start my morning with GREENS. I made a wonderful energizing green juice today that gave me the start I needed. This juice is very green, no fruit. I wouldn't try it as a beginner juicer but veteran juicers will love it. The undertone of mint was wonderful and it really blended beautifully with the dandelion and parsley. I love the color, again a smile came to my face. :)

Green Start Your Morning Juice
1 large organic cucumber, skin on!
6 large dandelion greens
Small bunch of parsley, stems included
6-8 small mint leaves
Handful of sunflower sprouts (optional)
+Run all of your greens through the juicer.
Enjoy the raw energy and healing nutrients you are fueling your body with. The dandelion greens give me a sort of natural high. I feel really energized after juicing them or even when I drink them in a green smoothie. I put dandelion greens in the children's green smoothies and they don't detect a thing. I suppose they are so use to greens now, but they don't detect any bitterness like some may report.
Check out this link for the nutritional content of 1 oz of raw dandelion greens.
Just one cup of these greens provides just 25 calories, 1.5 g protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 19 mg Vit. C, 7,700 IU Vit. A, and 103 mg calcium.
I found this interesting info at http://healthrecipes.com/dandelion.htm
"Dandelion is corrupted French for ‘dents de lion’ (tooth of the lion), referring to the jagged edge of the leaf. It is also known as bitterwort, wild endive, Irish daisy and some other names as well. It is universally considered a noxious weed that destroys lawns. It does have its good side. In fact it is actually cultivated as a salad herb. Just because it grows wild in your yard should not dissuade you from taking advantage of this ‘first crop of spring’ as a nice salad.

Most people prefer to eat it ‘wilted’ with vinegar dressing. Dandelion is a member of the sunflower family. Its official name; Taraxacum officinal; is derived from the Greek words, ‘taraxos’ meaning ‘disorder’, and ‘akos’, meaning ‘remedy’, so we understand that dandelion has long been regarded to be a therapeutic herb.
Dandelion leaves and roots are used to treat various ailments by Europeans, Asians, and Native Americans as well. It stimulates the liver and the kidneys and is a general tonic. It stimulates digestion and acts as a mild laxative."
I prefer to eat it raw and just love it in my juices and smoothies. I am partial to my son's recipe that I posted yesterday but here is another combination to try:
 1 handful wild greens (e.g. dandelion), 1 small handful mint leaves, 3 cups honeydew melon.
Enjoy the "greenness"!
+JMJ+Today I am grateful for wild edibles.

Mason's Dandy-Cherry Creamy Smoothie

Mason's Dandy-Cherry Creamy Smoothie

We start each meal with our fruit first. I have learned that eating fruits at the end of a meal makes all of the food in your belly ferment in the fruit sugars. Not a pleasing thought! And since we have a few family members that suffer with various IBD issues we really have to be careful with foods.
Each day we try to incorporate a green smoothie and a fresh juice made with my juicer; which I love by-the-way. This morning I was low on "supplies" so my 6 year old son and I put together this smoothie. The only green I had left in the fridge was a beautiful bunch of dandelion greens. I had bought them to make an apple dandelion smoothie a few days ago but I had an accident with my new blender. The last blender broke a few weeks ago so I ran out in desperation and just bought a cheap BHG blender from Wallyworld. It actually is really powerful and was working great until I dropped the glass canister in the sink and cracked it. I phoned customer service and they are sending me a new one!! But that will take 7 days so out comes the mini personal size blender again as a stand-by. I have to be careful with this mini blender because it can over heat. I have to partially thaw frozen fruit and add the ingredients in a particular order. I added the dandelion leaves to the water first and blended those up until completely broken down. I just had to smile when I saw the beautiful, dark green color knowing that I am feeding my kids the most amazing living foods possible.

How can you not feel good about that? The kids will never taste the dandelion but they will get all of the life giving nutrients and that just makes me smile a big smile!
Here is the order in which I put in the ingredients. As you can see this would make a great travel smoothie as well. You could easily make this in a hotel room with a personal travel size blender. No excuses to eating raw living foods even while traveling.

Mason's Dandy-Cherry Creamy Smoothie
 Put 8 oz water into blender
Add 6 smaller sized dandelion greens torn into small pieces
Blend well
Add 1 organic banana broken into small pieces
Blend well
Add 1 T Vega Natural Flavor powder plus small drop of almond extract
Blend well
Add 1/2 C partially thawed, frozen organic cherries
Blend well until creamy
Enjoy! And Smile!
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my children and the fact that they LOVE their green smoothies.

Farmer's Market Daikon Noodles

Daikon Noodles with Grape Tomatoes and Cilantro

I have been wanting to try Daikon noodles for some time now so when I saw the beautiful organic ones at the Farmer's Market I knew now was the time to get busy with the spiralizer. They are super easy to spiralize and they make beautiful noodles. I love the mild taste, almost like a very mild radish but so much more refreshing. I dressed the noodles with some First Cold Pressed Olive Oil, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and then topped them with some grape tomatoes and cilantro. This made a very satisfying dinner for me, I just loved it! I have one more Daikon left, I am thankful for that. I need to think of another way to prepare this lovely vegetable. Any ideas??

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a burst of energy this morning that got me up out of bed and right into a workout routine! Wow, what a surprise. I have been having trouble just remembering to exercise, so when I woke up ready to get to it, I was very happy and grateful. As I was doing my push ups I was startled by an extra 28 pounds when the two year old jumped on my back! I hit the floor like a pancake. Needless to say I took him off my back and locked the door so I could finish. He thought it was all very funny.

Raw Salsa Hemp Soup

RAW SALSA HEMP SOUP

Looking for a super simple, super fast raw dinner you can throw together is 5 minutes or less after a looong day at work, or a loooong day of chasing 5 kids around????

Boy do I have a tasty recipe for you. I like that you can still give this soup a creamy taste with out using avocado. (Thinking of you Cynthia XOXO) I served mine with a side of romaine topped with radish sprouts, a drizzle of smoked tomato dressing and smothered in Bubbie's kraut. Yummy in my tummy!!

Enjoy the raw goodness.

RAW SALSA HEMP SOUP

1 very large "Ugly Ripe Tomato", diced

1 small clove of organic garlic

1 T Hemp Seeds

2 stalks of organic celery

1/2 small lemon peeled and diced, remove seeds

1 scallion, sliced for garnish

Process all ingredients, minus the scallion, in your food processor. Pour into your favorite soup bowl and top with the scallions.

Raw is easy and delicious--no excuses, right?!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for small attainable goals.

Dr. Brian Clement from Hippocrates Health Institute

WELCOME BACK: DR. BRIAN CLEMENT, DIRECTOR OF THE HIPPOCRATES HEALTH INSTITUTE IN WEST PALM BEACH, FL

I was blessed to be able to meet Dr. Clement and his lovely wife when they came to speak at our Living Foods Group here in SW Florida. This is a description of our meeting as posted on our meetup site:

"WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE HEALTHY??? WHY DO WE EAT JUNK?? DR CLEMENT GETS BEHIND THE MOST CURRENT SCIENCE TO EDUCATE US ON WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO! WHY ARE OUR CHILDREN SO SICK?? WHY SO MANY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES? WHY DOES 1 IN 3 HAVE CANCER?????


Dr.Clement will address the half century of work on disease and longevity conducted at the renowned Hippocrates Institute. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, MS, ALS, Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia and more can be altered, prevented, and at times conquered with Phyto-chemicals, antioxidants and other nutrients consumed on a diet of organic vegan living food. Hundreds of thousands worldwide share enthusiasm in their greatly improved health by utilizing unprocessed green foods."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WOW what a meeting it was! Dr. Clement's "Raw" honesty was refreshing--no sugar coating on his part. He tells it like it is and the most wonderful part is it is all factual!! No misleading information, no false hopes, no promotion of "special" products, just true, pure, living nutrition that everyone has access to. One supplement he insists that everyone consumes though is vitamin B 12--real vitamin B 12 not the toxic vitamins from the drug store but the B 12 that you can find at Hippocrates. Most every one today is deficient in this vitamin--don't be fooled by a blood test, opt for a urine test as well.
He also approves of raw supplements like Garden of Life.
Dr. Clement wrote a book that will really open your eyes in regards to toxic supplements that people are taking every day. His book is titled, Supplements Exposed. I will quote Debra Tau saying, "On a recent tour to New York state, Dr. Clement was told that five "health stores" in the area where he was scheduled to speak refused to promote the conferences to their customers. When the organizers inquired as to why, the stores each separately stated that while they support the work Hippocrates Health Institute and Dr. Clement have done over the past half century, they fear that Supplements Exposed will reveal that most pills they sell are not truly health-building."
Now read that again to really let it sink in!!
He also warned of the last hoax, fish oil supplements. Just Google it yourself to get educated.
He suggests getting your omegas from plant sources like chia seeds and chia sprouts. Did you know chia has EFA's? And I love how you don't have to worry about them going rancid like flax--I have enough to worry about. Read here more info from Dr. Weil.
"Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds. And it has another advantage over flax: chia is so rich in antioxidants that the seeds don't deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid. And, unlike flax, they do not have to be ground to make their nutrients available to the body. Chia seeds also provide fiber (25 grams give you 6.9 grams of fiber) as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.

Another advantage: when added to water and allowed to sit for 30 minutes, chia forms a gel. Researchers suggest that this reaction also takes place in the stomach, slowing the process by which digestive enzymes break down carbohydrates and convert them into sugar.
Chia has a nut like flavor. You can mix seeds in water and add lime or lemon juice and sugar to make a drink known in Mexico and Central America as "chia fresca." As with ground flax seeds, you can sprinkle ground or whole chia seeds on cereal, in yogurt or salads, eat them as a snack, or grind them and mix them with flour when making muffins or other baked goods. I find them tasty and an interesting addition to my diet.

Chia is undergoing something of a renaissance after centuries of neglect. It was a major crop in central Mexico between 1500 and 900 B.C. and was still cultivated well into the 16th century, AD, but after the Spanish conquest, authorities banned it because of its close association with Aztec religion (Indians used the seeds as offerings in rituals). Until recently, chia was produced by only a few small growers, but commercial production has resumed in Latin America, and you can now buy the seeds online and in health food stores.
Because of its nutritional value and stability, chia is already being added to a range of foods. Research has shown that adding it to chicken feed makes for eggs rich in omega-3s. Feeding chia to chickens enriches their meat with omega-3s; fed to cattle chia enriches milk with omega-3s. Chia can also be added to commercially prepared infant formulas, baby foods, baked goods, nutrition bars, yogurt, and other foods. Another bonus: insects don't like the chia plant so it is easier to find organically grown varieties. I expect we'll soon be hearing much more about chia and its health benefits."
Andrew Weil, M.D.
Check out this site for tons of info on chia.



I am buying the book Supplements Exposed and also his wife's recipe book titled, Healthful Cuisine. This book features over 170 raw vegan recipes! Plus 20 new recipes from celebrity Chef Chad Sarno.
Visit their web site for free recipes and valuable information. If you know anyone very ill or suffering from cancer you MUST read their healing stories. Many people have gone there after their doctor told them they would dye within weeks and they are still alive many years later and CANCER FREE. It is all about frame of mind, and raw, vegan, organic living foods.
What does the raw, vegan, living foods diet give our bodies enabling them to heal?
The Living Foods Diet Provides:
1. HORMONES- all cell language is conducted by hormones.
2. OXYGEN- In 1917 a Nobel Prize was awarded for a study showing that we can't properly digest foods lacking oxygen. Cooking food destroys the oxygen. The smell you smell when food is cooking are the oxygen molecules being released!!
3. PHYTOCHEMICALS- every plant in nature has chemistry in it that protects humans.
4. ENZYMES- they are the catalyst of all life!!!!!
Here are just a few pics of the raw, living foods we enjoy.

+JMJ+Today I am grateful for knowledge and people's unselfish generosity.

Farmer's Market Collard Wraps

Farmer's Market Collard Wraps



"To truly detoxify your lifestyle, think about what you can add in, NOT JUST TAKE OUT." by Terri Trespicio

++++++++++++++++++++++++
I have been making all kinds of great things with my produce from the Farmer's market. I bought some beautiful collard greens, I have never seen such big collard leaves! I also bought a head of nappa cabbage and decided to make a simple slaw. I used carrots, cabbage and some Lemonaise. Rolled up the slaw with some broccoli and clover sprouts and served it with a side of grape tomatoes and cilantro. So simple and so good.

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for clear blue skies, and a six year old little boy who comments on how nice the bright sunshine is. :)



Farmer's Market Papaya Soup

Papaya Sunset Soup

The farmer's market had some sensational organic papaya and I just had to try this magnificent soup. The trend seems to be recipes from Raw Energy this week.

I have been having a blast trying all of her recipes. Every single one has been amazing. My goal is to eventually prepare each and every recipe in the book. There is not one that does not intrigue me.

Plan ahead when making this soup as it does need to chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Did you know that papayas are a good source of digestive enzymes, carotenoids and natural sugars, plus vitamin C, potassium, folic acid, calcium and fiber. I learned all of this by reading the author's nutritional tidbits that she puts on each page. She went on to say that regular consumption of papaya will greatly benefit the condition of hair, skin, and nails.

Here is the recipe for Papaya Sunset Soup,  by Stephanie Tourles.

 (I called mine Farmer's Market Papaya Soup)

3 medium papayas (I used 1 large organic)

1/3 C filtered water

2 T fresh lime juice

2 T raw honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp sea salt

Slice papaya in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Scoop out all of the flesh and put into a blender with the remaining ingredients. Blend until creamy smooth. Allow to chill, covered, in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.

Yield 2 servings

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for fresh organic produce, watching my three youngest guzzle down my fresh carrot apple ginger juice and my delicious breakfast; a cherry collard smoothie! 

Farmer's Market Organic Sweet Potato Chips

I have been having fun making several recipes from Stephanie Tourles book titled, RAW ENERGY 124 Raw Food Recipes for Energy Bars, Smoothies, and Other Snacks to Supercharge Your Body. How's that for a title?!
Last Saturday I went to the Farmer's Market and loaded up on the organic produce so I could make some more recipes from her book.
I also have been having a blast with my dehydrator this winter. I said I was going to make some sweet potato chips soon and I decided to use the recipe found in RAW ENERGY. The recipe is for "Sweet Potato Chili Chips". They turned out wonderful! I have four more organic sweet potatoes left from the Farmer's market so I can make another batch. Very happy about that.

The recipe calls for 2 large sweet potatoes but I used 4 small ones. I sliced them very thin using my slicer from Pampered Chef and then coated them with EVOO, chili powder, sea salt, and a small amount of wheat free Tamari. I layed them out on the mesh dehydrator screens and dehydrated them for 16 hours. They were perfectly crisp and very delicious. I stored the chips in an airtight container and they should last for 1 week or so. Yeah right, mine were gone in 2 days! 
I love how the author adds tidbits of nutritional information for each recipe. She states that sweet potatoes are a good source of:
Antioxidants
Vitamin C
Vitamin B
Potassium
Iron
Slow-release carbohydrates and
Fiber

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the ability to learn from disagreements. I love the words of Terri Trespicio, "Disagreements offer invaluable insights. Don't avoid them-study them." 
 Guess it's time for me to study!!

Transitioning to Raw Part V

Dehydrated Mushroom Burger

The next step in my transition last year was to finally break down and buy a dehydrator. I really wanted to be able to dry my raw nuts after having soaked them as directed. And the thought of making raw cookies and raw crackers was very enticing. I am so glad that I made the investment. I purchased the 5-tray Excalibur. I have used it a great deal and couldn't imagine not having one; it makes living this lifestyle a breeze. I can have everything I need on hand and whip up any recipe I desire. There are so many things I have yet to make in the dehydrator that I don't think I'll ever get bored with recipes.

I've mentioned before how much I love Lisa's blog, Raw on $10 a Day (or Less!) and here is her mushroom burger recipe. I think it turned out great! The batch I made gave me 4 burgers. I put too many red pepper flakes in so mine were on the spicy side. I ate mine on a bed of organic spinach and then smothered it with slightly dehydrated mushroom slices, creamy tomato dressing and of course sprouts as a side dish. Yummy in my tummy! Check out Lisa's recipe here:

Mushroom Burgers

I mentioned crackers. I really didn't get 100% inspired to make crackers in the dehydrator until I saw this video on The Renegade Health Show. It shows The Krazy Kracker Lady making her famous crackers, chips and cookies. Check it out! I am going to try her recipes out this year, that is for sure! I just know my children would love them.
Yesterday I did it, I made Abeba's BBQ chips and her "popcorn". The popcorn is coated and dehydrated cauliflower. I really enjoyed both recipes and they were very easy. The hardest part was waiting for them to dehydrate. I used leftover vegetable pulp from a green juice I made consisting of: radish tops, baby spinach, carrots, and Bosc pear. I put the pulp into the blender along with water, a handful of soaked raisins, Tamari, 1 large Ugly Ripe Tomato, 2 stalks of celery, cumin, garlic powder and chili powder. I blended it to the consistency that Abeba shows on her video and made the chips. I took some reserved "batter" and added some nutritional yeast and sea salt to it, then coated tiny florets of cauliflower to make the "popcorn".

Here are two recipes I am going to try next:

Dehydrated Raw Food Recipes

From DehydratorBook

Sweet Potato Chips:
You will want to start by setting your dehydrator to one hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit. Then:
Take 3 medium sized sweet potatoes and wash, peel, and then slice them


Place all of the potato slices that you can easily fit on the mesh screen


Place the mesh screen into the dehydrator


If you desire you can salt to taste


Dehydrate for five hours or until crunch and then enjoy


Mango Wrappers:
This is that "something different" for those who do not eat tortilla shells and who want something a little different than the lettuce wrap. This particular recipe is to serve four people. Adjust accordingly to the number of people you will be serving.
Ingredients
4 cups of fresh mango chopped


2 cups of young and fresh coconut


1 pinch of some sea salt


1 pinch of some cayenne


1/4 cup of roughly chopped cilantro


Directions
Mix all ingredients except for the cilantro in a large container making sure that it is smooth


Spread the smooth mixture on top of Teflex sheets and then sprinkle with a little cilantro


Dehydrate at 105 for about four hours


Sheets of mango wrap should be dry but pliable when it is done


Cut into squares and fill with your favorites.

There are so many possibilities when it comes to the dehydrator and I feel it really took me to the next level. It opened me up to so many new recipes and taste experiences.

The next investment in my journey is the high powered blender; you know what I'm talking about. I am still a bit apprehensive but I know that I will be really, really happy with one. I am considering waiting until I return from my Raw Chef certification course. Yes I said Raw Chef classes!!! I am soooo excited to make the trip to Michigan with my sister-in-law and do an intensive weekend course on raw living foods. I will blog more about that as it approaches. We both are just so excited to do this together and get our Basic Certification. Plus it is a great excuse to get away for the weekend and have some fun together preparing raw living food recipes.
+JMJ+Today I am grateful for my dehydrator. We woke up this morning to some cold weather and coming down to the kitchen to find some warm and yummy dehydrated treats was wonderful!

Juicing Up a Storm and Kids in the Kitchen

My Breakfast

My breakfast today was inspired by the book Raw Energy. I just love reading through my raw and living food recipe books, it is one of my favorite things to do when I have time to myself.

A Great Book

I had two hours to myself yesterday as I waited for our daughter to complete her Drama Class. I sat out in the fresh air and flipped through two of my raw recipe books daydreaming about all of the meals and snacks I wanted to create.

Since I decided to add even more fresh juices into my diet this year I just had to try one this morning from the book mentioned above. It was inspired by Stephanie's "Post-Workout Replenisher" recipe on pg. 131. Her recipe calls for apples, carrots and celery. I chose to throw in a large handful of organic flat leaf parsley. It doesn't make a pretty juice but boy is it delicious.

Would You Drink This?

The orange of the carrots and the green from the parsley created an ugly brown color. Drink this one slowly, it has quite a bit of parsley and I have read that too much parsley too fast can make some people lightheaded. I actually guzzled it right down, it was so good, and I felt great. I wanted to add the parsley to benefit from its large amount of chlorophyll which aids in the cellular uptake of oxygen. In her book, Stephanie warns against consuming more than 4 to 6 ounces a day of pure parsley juice. Parsley has natural kidney-cleansing properties and can be a potent diuretic. I only use the amount seen in the pic above when I juice with parsley. I have more of a problem when I add too much beet juice to my fresh juices. I have to be very careful with beets, using only a very small slice.

When dinner time rolled around, two of the kids wanted to help Mommy make the salad. I kept it basic so they could get right in and help. We made a fresh salad with organic romaine, red bell pepper, grape tomatoes, and Mom's fresh broccoli sprouts. Here are my little raw chefs in action:

In Go the Broccoli Srouts

Ta-Dahhhhh

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for little helping hands in the kitchen! I love you guys. XOXOXO