Road trip snacks

With the holiday fast approaching I thought today might be a good day to start getting my snacks in order for my 12 hr trip to the rents for the holidays. I'm preparing savoury chips today! I have made 3 different kinds of Kale chips and 3 different kinds of squash, sweet potato chips. Super excited! So excited in fact I ate 1 tray of kale chips before they were kale chips! Oops! Anyway to make the base of the chips see below...

Chip base
2tbsp olive oil
3tbsp brags liquid aminos
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (gives a cheesy flavour)
Then any spices you might like
First mix the liquids with your choice of veggie (sweet potato, kale, squash, carrot, parsnip, yuca, whatever you desire root vegetables are the best) after everything is glistening sprinkle spices to cover and nutritional yeast. Mix so everything is really coated and place on dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 115 degrees until they are crispy.

I use garlic in everything and then add other spices to that like dill, freak herbs, Italian herbs, chillis anything the sky is the limit. I put this mixture on any chip I choose to make no matter what it is then add my spices to it delicious.

These are my fav thing to make and have on hand when I'm craving something crunchy and not so good for me. My brain doesn't know the difference!

Stuffed peppers

I must apologize for the lack of posts these days. The Xmas season has me running around like a crazy person.

Today I decided to make stuffed pepper with sunflower seed pate. The pate looks similar to salmon salad with its bright colors from the carrot. It's really tasty!

To make the pate put the following in the food processor.
1 carrot
1cup sunflower seeds (shell off)
1 Roma tomato
1tbsp basil
1 clove garlic
Half a lemon juiced
1/4 tsp brags liquid aminos
Salt and pepper to taste.

Process until crumbly texture sort of like a salmon salad texture. Place in bowl mix chopped onion, celery, zucchini, and cucumber with pate mixture.

Cut your pepper of choice in half seed it and remove stem. Stuff the pepper half with the pate mixture. I also place lettuce in my pepper. This is a great snack or addition to any meal! Enjoy

French Fries in the Raw

The sun was shining and I was being creative in my kitchen again..... I wanted something munchy so I made French Fries!! These are made from Jicima, which is a root vegetable. Great source of quality phyto-nutrition dietary fibre and anti oxidants. It is a mild almost sweet flavour. High in Vitamin C, magnesium, copper, iron, and manganese.
I love it for the munchy factor.

Peel and slice the Jicima like French fries. Place in a bowl use about 1-3 tsp olive oil salt to taste cayenne to taste and1/2tsp garlic. Mix well and serve. If you want them warm place in dehydrator for an hr.

I love these things. I make raw veggie burgers and serve these with it. Enjoy!

Salad of the day mmmm

After running around all morning doing errands I was starving so I wanted something quick and easy! I put arugula (rocket ) in my bowl with some shallot, fennel and beat. Sliced all the veg with mandolin slicer thinking I would be smart and use my fingers instead of the little veg holder ( not a good idea!). Cut my finger guess I learned my lesson but this meal was worth it! I used my fav ginger dressing (found below) and some pine nuts viola today's lunch! Enjoy

Yummy Juice for your girly bits!

Today's recipe was inspired by my good friend Lizzy. She asked me what helps bloating thanks to that lovely Aunt Flow that loves to visit us and the most opportune times in our lives. Ladies you know what I am talking about. It plags us with having to wear a size larger, massive cravings, broken out face, mood swings just to name a few. Last year I went on a juice feast for 45 days (yes 45 days on nothing but juice, more about that later), I discovered a fabulous juice that was oh so tasty and it was good for my lady bits.

The juice has Fennel, Celery, and of course apple. Fennel is Rich in phytoestrogens, Fennel is often used for colic, irritable bowel, kidneys, spleen, liver, lungs, suppressing appetite, breast enlargement, promoting menstruation, improving digestive system, milk flow and increasing urine flow. Fennel is also commonly used to treat angina, asthma, anxiety, depression, heartburn, water retention, lower blood pressure, boost libido, respiratory congestion, coughs and has been indicated for high blood pressure and to boost sexual desire. Amongst several other things. Health benefits of Celery lower cholesterol, prevent cancer, reduce high blood pressure, and hydrate you just to name a few. Last but not least apple just to name a few, help fight diabetes, whiter brighter teeth, control weight, boost immune system, and helps fight cancer. So this juice is packed full of healthy lovely ingredients and tastes AMAZING!!

1 bulb of fennel (mine are usually quite large I would say like a fist an a half)
2-3 celery ribs
2-3 apples depending on your taste
Place all of the ingredients in the juicer alternating as you go through. Sometimes I ad a half of a lemon just to help it from turning brown in color. This juice is light and refreshing. 

Enjoy!!

Raw food Pyramid

I know there are guides on how the North American should eat so I thought I would touch base on this today. I feel that everyone needs to listen to their body as no 2 bodies are the same. That being said how can the Canada food guide be a proper guide for all people. I have tried to use it as a guide in my life to loose weight. I would follow it religiously and still find the pounds gaining up on me. I also
discovered that eating meat really made me feel nasty so I began to search for a better option. I found this.... Raw food Pyramid. It's great as I use it as a guide line for what things should be my main source of calories for the day. (I'm not a calorie counter I think that's bollocks) I like to eat until I feel full and then I stop.my body knows when I do not need anymore and then I do not get cravings. The best part for me about eating this way is that my wild mad cravings have stopped. I eat nutrient dense foods that taste and look amazing and I don't feel that I need to reach for that ice cream or cake or chips. It is a nice rewarding feeling that I love. It feels great to not deprive myself of anything and still loose weight. Mmmmm raw food

When there's nothing to eat...

Today was one of those days I looked in my fridge only to realize I have very little in it. I haven't been shopping in over a week and well eating like this that's not such a great idea. I felt bad for not posting a recipe today so here is the salad I came up with out of my almost empty fridge! Good thing tomorrow is date night!

I threw some lettuce, zucchini, carrot, pumpkin seeds, yellow pepper, dill, and raisins in a bowl (I know a lot for not having anything in the fridge...) I made my fav orange ginger dressing and was on my way to heaven for dinner...

Orange ginger dressing
1 peeled orange
1/4 cup olive oil
An inch of fresh ginger
Salt and pepper
1 tsp fennel seeds
Throw everything in the blender and blend until smooth. It gets really creamy and frothy. I love it! Poor over salad. If there is too much for one salad dressing can be saved in fridge for 1 day. Warning if you keep it in the fridge it will get super thick as the police oil thickens when placed in fridge.

Enjoy

Something interesting

I realized that I forgot to post something today and I wasn't very creative in the kitchen today so I do not have any recipes for you today I did happen to find this great article on the dirty dozen! I know so many people know about the dirty dozen but I have discovered that there are so many more that have no idea. My goal is to put clean healthy living foods in my body so it can heal and focus on getting rid of the toxins that are in my body from years of abuse. I strongly feel that eating foods that have had toxins aka pesticides, preservatives etc sprayed on them cant be good for my body. I mean ok if something can kill a living creature and you need to wear a mask to spay it on our food do you really think it is a good idea to put that in our bodies? I don't think so. It must be slowly killing our insides everytime we ingest it. eeek that sounds like a scary thought to me. I want to look and feel young for as long as possible and I think eating organic is the way to go.
http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214

Extra chocolately cream pie mmmm

If you are having a serious chocolate craving or your a chocolate lover like me then this pie is for you! It combines too of my favourite desert recipes into one mound of chocolate - y goodness! I started by making the crust. This is great rolled into balls and eaten on its own or used as a crust. 3/4cup almonds, 2tbsp shredded coconut, 2/3 cup medjool dates, 1tbsp of honey or agave, 1tsp vanilla, 4tbsp cacao powder, dash of salt. Put everything in the food processor and process until doughy consistency. Remove and press into a pie plate that has been powdered lightly with coconut flower (ground shredded coconut). You want it to be quite thin and even. For the filling 2 avocados pitted, 1 large banana, 1tsp vanilla, 1tsp honey or agave, 4tbsp cocoa. Place all ingredients in the blender or food processor. Process until smooth pour chocolate pudding into pie crust place in refrigerator to chill for about an hr. Top with cashew cream, or coconut cream. I just are this so satisfying I only needed a little piece and it fulfilled my cravings for sweets and chocolate. Enjoy

Raw Vegan Nog!

I was being creative in the kitchen again and was craving a sweet treat, well holiday cheer type treat! I can up with this fab raw vegan nog so foamy and frothy loved it! 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/2tsp cinnamon, 1/2tsp vanilla, 1tsp honey, 1.5 cups almond or coconut milk, 2 dates, 1/2 a banana, 1tbsp chia seeds. Mix everything in blender until smooth and frothy. Mmmm adding rum is optional. Enjoy!

Greek Salad mmmmm

Yummy Greek Dressing

Today I made a fabulous Salad for lunch it was so delicious and looked so fab I had to take a photo. I julienne all my veg (I am addicted to it as it just makes everything look so fancy and lovely). In today's Salad there was carrot, zucchini, cucumber, green pepper and black olives. I made a homemade Greek dressing that was divine on this salad. The recipe is as follows: 1tsp of the following spices marjoram, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, sage, parsley, and cumin, 1/4tsp sea salt, pepper to taste and 2 gloves of garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 lemon squeezed over top. It smelled amazing and tasted as great as it smelled and looked. I loved it! Hopefully you will too.

Raw Food and Arthritus

I have noticed that lately my osteoarthritis has been acting up. I am finding it difficult to hold books even standing for extended periods of time has started to hurt my back. So I decided to search online to see if there was something natural that I could do and look what I found.... Guess I will be going 100% raw sooner than I thought! Who knew this amazing life style had so many benifits and would help arthritis!!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/dieting/exclusive-raw-food-diet-has-cured-623560

My Story

It has occurred to me that there are so many people around me that really have no idea how to eat healthy and well. I look at people’s grocery carts and find frozen dinners, heavily processed “Diet” food, Diet pills, canned products that are full of sugar amongst other things. It really bothers me to see this as the saying goes we are what we eat. So many people in our society eat foods that we are told are healthy and good for us when in fact they contain very little if any nutritional value. Why is this? I feel it is such a shame as I used to be one of these people who jumped on any new fad diet in hopes that it would solve my many building health problems when in reality some of them caused part of the problem and were doing so ever since I was young.

I have battled with weight my entire life. At the age of 12 instead of eating like a kid I was on a strict diet due to a hereditary cholesterol issue. I have been on and off diets and never found anything that works. I later was diagnosed with a hormonal issue that I am still fighting with today. Eating a Raw living food diet has helped my body start its process to heal its self. I feel amazing my skin looks great I am finally loosing weight (60 lbs to be exact) and I have a renewed sense of being and vigor for life. Hear I am now sharing my story in hopes that I can change people’s lives as someone once did for me. I cannot be thankful enough to the special people in my life that have shown me the way. 

With the rise of the obesity epidemic, cancer, and other diseases it is my new goal to educate as many people that I can to help them make better choices for there bodies and the earth.  I want to give yummy healthy alternatives to the foods we crave so we can always feel satisfied and fulfilled with every mouthful. Who doesn’t want to live in a world where you can eat as much desert as you want and not worry about the side effects going to your hips or waistline. I want everyone to lavish in the smells and bright colors the world has to offer in the form of food.

On this blog I promise to post information on delicious recipes, healthy tips,  links to other amazing people trying to change the way we eat, amongst other things.

I am personally on a journey to heal my body mind and spirit and what better way than through amazing food. I am pleased to Welcome you on my journey and I hope that I will inspire you to embark on the journey to healthy living yourself. 

Almond Butter

After being unsuccesful at finding the Almond Butter in the store that I love (Artisan Brand) I decided I would try a hand at making my own. I reseached several blogs to find a recipe and instrucitons. I found several with various tips and tricks on how to make what they say is the best tasting almond butter. The recipe I ended up following was one that I found on the Rawatarian as well as the rawmazing website. Here it is     2 cups almonds, pinch of salt and 1TBSP honey (you can use agave inplace if you wish) I didnt realaze that this would take so long to make. I placed it in my food processor as asked and had to take several rests during the process but boy was it worth it!! This Almond butter was delicious I look forward to making my own other nut butters now that I know how. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.