Carob Buckwheat Crunchies Topping

Today this topping just popped into my head. I knew it would be fantastic on some fresh organic strawberries. Well, I was right and here I sit typing and fighting over each bite with the baby, our two year old.
This would be amazing on raw ice cream or on top of carob avocado pudding. Here is a pudding recipe.

Take a look at my simple method of sprouting and making "Sprouted Buckwheat Crunchies":
Soak 2/3 C of organic, raw, hulled buckwheat in spring water for 20 minutes. Rinse until no slimy residue remains. I rinse them in a colander making it easier to sprout them using the same. Place your colander over a bowl to allow for drainage. Rinse the buckwheat every 6-12 hours. Place back onto your bowl to drain and sprout. Keep rinsing every 6-12 hours until their tails sprout. You will see the tiny tails emerge in 1-1 1/2 days. Once your buckwheat has sprouted, spread them onto dehydrator sheets and dehydrate for 6-10 hours or until crunchy when tasted. I just keep checking my buckwheat during the dehydrating process and once they are crunchy they are done! Allow them to fully cool and then store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid in your pantry. Keep in mind that 2/3 C of buckwheat seeds will yield about 1-1 1/4 cups of sprouted.
In a previous post I wrote about the nutritional facts of buckwheat, here is what I wrote:
Buckwheat is a variety of plant in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the North American genus Eriogonum. Buckwheat is not a cereal but a pseudocereal. It is not a grass either, despite the common name and grain-like use of this crop. The name "buckwheat" or "beech wheat" comes from its triangular seeds resembling the beech trees much larger seeds, contained in the beech nut, and the fact that it's used like wheat. This name makes it very confusing especially for those looking for gluten free alternatives. This seed is in fact gluten free and in recent years has been used as a substitute for other grain in gluten free beer!
How about its chemical composition?
The seeds contain:
STARCH-
71-78% in groats
70-91% in different flours
25% amylose
75% amylopectin
PROTEINS-
18% with biological values above 90%--due to its high concentration of ALL ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS!!!!
Especially high in lysine, threonine, trytophan and the sulfur-containing amino acids.
MINERALS-
Iron 60-100ppm (wow, nice way to get this mineral naturally)
Zinc 20-30ppm
Selenium 20-50ppb
ANTIOXIDANTS-
rutin 10-200ppm
0.1-2% of tannins

Carob Buckwheat Crunchies Topping
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

2 T sprouted buckwheat crunchies
1 T raw carob powder
1 T raw honey
2 pinches of Himalayan salt
In a small bowl, mix the buckwheat crunchies with the raw honey until well coated. Next add the salt and carob powder, mix well. Sprinkle on top of fresh  strawberries--green tops included!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for wet kisses from the baby--he's still two so I can call him the baby! At least that's my definition of "baby". Peace!

Strawberry Banana Mylk

Take a look at this strawberry! Unfortunately it is NOT one of mine. My strawberry plants were producing very small fruit; I am grateful yes, but I just had to buy the box of berries I found with this mammoth one peeking out at me at the store.

Needless to say it was an organic strawberry and from what we could tell, it was 3 that had fused together!!!

So what does one do with a carton of delectable organic strawberries and a batch of freshly made almond mylk? How about blending up some yummy Strawberry Banana Almond Mylk.

Strawberry Banana Mylk

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

6 oz fresh organic strawberries, keep green tops on

1 1/2 organic bananas

1 T chia seeds

1 T hemp seeds

1 1/2 C fresh raw almond mylk

Blend all of the ingredients until creamy smooth. Enjoy!

Here is the simple way that I make fresh, sprouted, raw almond mylk.

1. Soak 1 cup of raw almonds in filtered water for 10-12 hours. Drain off soak water, rinse almonds well, drain, and allow to sprout for 1-2 days, rinsing them 2x/day. Once you see a tiny tail sprout out of the bottom of the almond they are ready!

2. Blend the almonds with 32 oz of filtered water  until white and foamy. You can sweeten it with a few soaked dates and you can add a pinch of Himalayan salt.

3. Place "nut milk bag" (or in my case a paint straining bag) inside a glass or plastic measuring cup.

 4. Pour mylk into bag to strain out the nut pulp.

 5. Gently squeeze out all of the mylk leaving the nut pulp behind in the bag.

 6. Save this nut pulp in the freezer to make raw cookies and crackers.

 7. Pour nut mylk into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator. Remember to shake well before serving. Enjoy!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for beautiful, red berries.

My First Sapote

I tried my first sapote today, a Mamey Sapote that is. I understand there are different types of sapote but our market had the Mamey and I have really been wanting to taste one. If eaten raw they will contain:
A serving size of 1 fruit without refuse of raw mamey sapote contains 691.92 calories and has 8.091 grams of protein, 112.3812 grams of sugar, 2.5668 grams of fat, 30.132 grams of fiber and 0 milligrams of cholesterol. Raw Mamey Sapote contains the following vitamins and minerals: Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc, Iron, Phosphorus, Manganese, Copper and Sodium.

How to choose Mamey Sapote: Mamey is hard when unripe and becomes softer as it ripens. Press it till the skin collapses to know it is ready to eat. Mamey will not taste good unless it is ripe!
Climate and origin: Mamey is a tropical fruit grown mainly in South America, the Bahamas, and Florida.
Taste: Mamey is moderately sweet, flowery and creamy. It has flavor of carrot, sweet potato, and the texture of an avocado but not as slimy. Excellent taste!

 I found mine at our local Publix grocery store. I chose one that was still fairly hard, knowing I was going to allow it to ripen at home. It ripened in just two days. Once it feels slightly soft while gently pressing on it, it is ripe.
While at the store you can do a "scratch test" to determine if the sapote was picked at the proper time. Near the bottom, more pointed end use your fingernail to gently scrape away a small portion of the brown skin. If it looks deep orange in color it was picked at its peak!

"Scratch Test"

 I cut it open just like an avocado. Scooped the seed out with a spoon and I tasted it right out of the skin. You can eat it this way with a spoon or turn it into an amazing pudding like I did.(recipe below)

Large, Black Seed

 I saved the seed hoping to grow a tree but I don't know if I can wait seven years for it to bear fruit!! I found this great article on growing sapote in Florida.

Mamey Sapote Growing in the Florida Home Landscape¹

Carlos F. Balerdi, Jonathan H. Crane, and Ian Maguire²

• Scientific name: Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H.E. Moore & Stearn
• Other common names: sapote, mamey colorado
• Synonyms: Calocarpum sapota (Jacq.) Merr., Calocarpum mammosum (L.) Pierre
• Family: Sapotaceae
• Relatives in same family: sapodilla, satin leaf, caimito, canistel, abiu, green sapote.
• Origin: Mexico and the Central American lowlands
• Distribution: Mamey sapotes ( Plate 1 ) have been grown or cultivated in Central America, Mexico, northern South America, and the West Indies for centuries. The first recorded introduction into southern Florida was during the mid-1880s.

• Importance: The mamey sapote is an important fruit in Miami-Dade, Florida (US), Mexico, Central America, and in the West Indies--including the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. In the state of Florida, Cuban Americans and Central Americans have helped to establish a small but viable industry. Except for the Americas, this very attractive and excellent fruit is not well-known, probably because its short-lived seeds may have discouraged intercontinental transport in colonial times. Recently, there is increasing interest in this fruit in other countries (e.g., Australia, Israel, Philippines, Vietnam, Spain, Venezuela).

Description

Tree

The mamey sapote grows into an open tree with a thick central trunk and a few large limbs. Mamey sapote trees are large, erect to spreading trees which may grow to a height of about 40 feet (12.2 m) in Florida and may exceed 60 feet (18.3 m) in more tropical regions.

Leaves

The leaves are large, up to 12 inches (30.5 cm) long and 4 inches (10.2 cm) wide, simple, and obovate to oblanceolate in shape. The underside is lighter green or brownish and pubescent (hairy) when young but becomes glabrous (smooth) when mature. The leaves are clustered at the ends of the small branches. Depending on the cultivar (variety) and recent crop load, trees will drop most of the leaves in late winter or spring, but develop new leaves rapidly.

Flowers

The small, perfect, whitish, almost sessile flowers are produced abundantly along small branches (1/2 to 2 inches; 1.3 to 5.1 cm), and tend to cluster towards the ends of the stems.

Fruit

The fruit is a berry, ovoid to ellipsoid in shape, with a persistent calyx at the base. Most vary from 3 to 8 inches (7.6 to 20.3 cm) in length. The skin is thick and woody with a russet brown, somewhat scurfy surface. The pulp of mature fruits is salmon pink, orange, red or reddish-brown in color, soft and smooth to finely granular in texture, usually low in fiber. The pulp has a sweet, almond-like, unique flavor. Normally, the fruit contains a single, large, elliptical seed but it may have up to four. The seed has a shiny, hard, dark brown surface with a light brown scar (hilum) on the ventral side. Seeds may crack and sprout in overmature fruits. Fruit weight ranges from 0.75 to 6.0 lb (0.3-2.7 kg).

Season

In Florida, the bloom season may be in summer, fall, and winter depending on the cultivar (variety). Because of this, each cultivar has its own main maturity season ( Table 1 ). For example, 'Pantin' matures most of its crop in July and August with some fruit maturing before or after these months. 'Magana', on the other hand, matures its fruit in March and April with some fruit maturing before or after these months. Other cultivars will mature fruit in the winter, thus allowing for year-round harvest. Trees may have flowers, immature fruit and mature fruit all at the same time. It takes from 13 to 24 months from flowering to fruit maturity.

Production

Seedling trees begin to bear fruit after 7 years or longer. Grafted trees begin to bear in 3 to 5 years. Mamey sapotes are very prolific. Mature trees may bear 200 to 500 fruit per year. Twice this amount may be obtained from large trees.

Varieties

The sapote has been widely propagated by seeds in the countries of its origin. There is great variation in seedling tree fruit shape, size, and pulp quality and color. Some seedling trees produce high quality fruit, and from these, superior types have been selected which are vegetatively propagated as named cultivars (Table 1).
In Florida, 'Pantin' accounts for the largest acreage, while 'Magana' is the next in importance. These two cultivars make up 95-98% of the acreage. Table 1 shows the characteristics of cultivars found in Florida. Different cultivars produce at different times of the year and planting of three to four cultivars may suffice to have mature fruit year-round (e.g., 'Tazumal', 'Pace', 'Magana', and 'Pantin').

Climate and Soils

The mamey sapote is a tropical tree which tolerates warm subtropical conditions, and is not tolerant of freezing temperatures (Figure 1). Young trees are very vulnerable to cold and are injured at air temperatures below 32°F (0°C). Mature trees can withstand 28°F (-2.2°C) for several hours with only slight damage but are killed if the temperature goes down below 22°F (-5.6°C) for very long.
The mamey sapote grows well in a wide variety of well-drained soils, from heavy clays to the limestone and sandy soils of Florida. Mamey sapote are intolerant of constantly wet or flooded soil conditions. The wet soil conditions decrease the oxygen content in the soil, causing roots to die which weakens the tree. In addition, weakened roots are more susceptible to attack by root rotting fungi (e.g., Pythium spp.).

Raw Sapote Pudding
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 medium mamey sapote
2 small organic bananas
1 T chia seeds
1 T hemp seeds
Scoop the flesh out of the sapote skin and place in a small food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and process smooth. Will thicken in about 15 minutes or less. Enjoy!

Recap
How to choose Mamey Sapote: Mamey is hard when unripe and becomes softer as it ripens. Press it till the skin collapses to know it is ready to eat. Mamey will not taste good unless it is ripe!
Climate and origin: Mamey is a tropical fruit grown mainly in South America, the Bahamas, and Florida.
Taste: Mamey is moderately sweet, flowery and creamy. It has flavor of carrot, sweet potato, and the texture of an avocado but not as slimy. Excellent taste!

Nutritional Value:

 Serving Size: 100g (1/8 of 8” fruit), Calories: 51, Protein: .5g, Fat: .5g,

Carbohydrates: 13g, Fiber: 3g, Potassium: 47mg, Vitamin A: 230 IU, Vitamin C: 14mg

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for tropical fruits. Being able to enjoy the unique produce down here makes the intense heat almost bearable :)

Maple Cinnamon Flax Crackers

Keep these hidden or they are sure to get gobbled up! They are not totally raw of course, because of the pure maple syrup, but they are still a better cracker than any processed one, in my humble opinion. I got the idea from Foods Alive. . They have all kinds of flax crackers and I just took one of their flavors, looked up the ingredient list and made up the proportions. Well, they turned out great. And how easy, three ingredients! Flax, pure maple syrup and cinnamon powder. I poured 2 cups of organic, golden flax seeds into a mixing bowl. I barely covered the flax seeds with filtered water. I let them sit and get gelled up for about 30 minutes. Next I stirred in 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup and 2 T cinnamon powder. I spread the mixture onto two Teflex dehydrator trays and dehydrated until crispy. These store beautifully in an air tight container at room temp.
I was able to make a large batch of these for way less than one bag of theirs. If you wanted to make these 100% raw you could use plain steevia to sweeten and then add in a pure maple extract perhaps. I am not worried about the maple syrup, I use it in small amounts every so often. It isn't anything to get stressed about. I am not trying to be a raw food purist here, just a healthy person who eats as much living foods as possible and shares them with her family. Give these crackers a try, I know you will love them. Peace and Raw Health!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my neighbor who went out and foraged for green coconuts for me. Thanks Fred, love yah!!

Almost Raw Mini Monkey Cookies

I love getting lost on the Internet cruising through recipe sites and day dreaming about all of the yummy foods I want to prepare. Well today I got so inspired to make cookies that I jumped right up and started tweaking a cookie recipe I found on Amazing Health.
If you omit the vegan chips this can be a totally raw vegan recipe. I added the chips as a special treat for my 5 monkeys. I used my raw carob powder and the amazing Raw Wild crafted Ground Vanilla from Ultimate Superfoods, that I purchased while away at my Raw Chef Training up in MI.  
Let's look at the recipe:

Almost Raw Mini Monkey Cookies
by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 1/2 Cups raw oats, grind into a flour in food processor
2 T raw carob powder
pinch of Himalayan salt
pinch or two of raw vanilla powder
6 soaked dates
2 organic ripe bananas
1 T alfalfa sprouts or clover sprouts (the kids will not even know!!)
1/2 C vegan chocolate chips (optional of course)*

Place your oat flour into a mixing bowl and add the carob powder, salt and vanilla powder, mix well. In food processor, pulse the dates, sprouts and bananas till just smooth, pour over wet ingredients and mix. Dough should be almost the consistency of traditional cookie dough, but slightly wetter. Next fold in the optional vegan chips. Spoon onto teflex dehydrator sheets and dehydrate on 110 degrees for 12-16 hours. Enjoy!
*NOTE: If you omit the chips you will probably need to add a bit more raw sweetener.

Monkey #1

Monkey #2

Monkey #3

Monkey #4

Monkey #5

 All Five Monkeys at the Homeschool Convention

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for my dehydrator :) b/c I can create healthful treats for my monkeys!!

Lisa's Raw StRAWberry Shortcake

Want a very quick and easy raw recipe to satisfy your craving for summer shortcake?? Well, here is Lisa T's incredible raw recipe. Lisa is the coordinator of our local living foods group and at our last potluck Meetup she had this on the raw buffet; along with her raw pizza which was out of this world. I hope to make that soon and post that recipe as well. Her pizza tasted like the real deal, the best raw pizza I have ever had and she even served it warm from the dehydrator--oh man was it good!!
For her shortcake I started with the crust which was simply raw, soaked cashews, dates, Himalayan salt and vanilla. A secret ingredient was added and I'll share that in a minute.

In my mini food processor I pulsed together the cashews and dates. I pulsed it until it looked like course crumbs.

 My processor is small so I did this in batches, emptying each batch into a mixing bowl. Once all of the crust was pulsed and in the mixing bowl I added some flavoring. In went a pinch of Himalayan pink salt,

Next a pinch of raw wild crafted vanilla,

And finally the secret ingredient that really makes this taste like shortcake

I added 2 tablespoons of raw Maca Powder. Stir crust until completely combined. Reserve about 1/2 cup for the topping. Lisa stressed adding the Maca if you want your crust to be more "cakie". Is that a word? I don't care, all I know is she was right!

Next I pressed my crust into a pie dish using my hands, that always seems to work best with raw recipes I have found; our hands make the best tools.

Next it was time to prepare the strawberries. I used 1 carton of organic berries and left the green stems on. I just can't see wasting an opportunity to get more greens, I think it is criminal that people cut off the tops and discard them! EAT them I say. Not to mention the little green flecks look beautiful in the finished product.

I gently pulsed them in the food processor with 1 T of agave, you could use raw honey or some steevia if you prefer. You want the berries to be in small chunks.
Pour your filling onto the crust and sprinkle on the reserved crust mixture as a topping. Garnish with a big, beautiful berry.

Take a big bite and enjoy. Insanely good!! Thanks Lisa for sharing the recipe with me. NOTE: This kept very well in the refrig for three days; tasted just as great as day 1.

Lisa's Raw StRAWberry Shortcake
(measurements are not exact--eyeball it)
CRUST & TOPPING:
2 C raw cashews, soaked
4 medjool dates, pitted and soaked
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of Himalayan salt
2 T raw Maca Powder
Process the cashews and dates. Stir in the vanilla, salt and maca. (my note:Taste and adjust as needed.) Reserve some of this mixture for your topping. Press remaining crust mixture into a pan.
FILLING:
1 large carton of organic strawberries (my note: keep green tops on)
3 T raw honey or Agave or a few drops of steevia
Pulse into small chunks or dice by hand. Top crust with berries and sprinkle on the reserved crust mixture. Store in refrig.
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for loving friends like Lisa.

Raw Mango Salsa

RAW MANGO SALSA

Today's lunch was inspired by Megan Elizabeth's Mango Chutney recipe. I decided to change it a bit and make it a "salsa" with some added heat. As I was eating this fantastic salsa I was thinking, if only I had a Vitamix or a Blendtec blender, I could also make this into a creamy soup.

I served my salsa with cucumber rounds as Megan Elizabeth does with her chutney recipe and I must say it was simply delicious. The sweet of the dates is a perfect contrast to the heat of the red pepper flakes. I think this would also be very good with some jalapeno finely diced. I didn't use scallions but instead added dried onion. I think scallions can be quite overpowering and I didn't want them to take center stage. By adding dried onion instead of scallions you can still taste the tomato and mango combo, which is fabulous! And the sprinkle of organic kelp flakes adds just enough saltiness.

Raw Mango Salsa

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning

2 organic Florida mangos, finely diced

2 organic vine ripened tomatoes, finely diced

1 tsp dried onion flakes

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 T fresh  organic lemon juice

4 small soft dates, finely chopped

sprinkle of organic kelp flakes

Peel mangos and finely dice. Finely dice the tomatoes. Place mangos and tomatoes into a glass bowl, add the lemon juice, dried onion flakes and red pepper flakes. Gently stir. Chop the dates into tiny pieces and fold into the salsa. Top with a sprinkle of the kelp flakes. Serve with cucumber rounds.

Enjoy! You can't imagine just how good this is, it is a must try!

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for vacation memories.