snack it up

I'm addicted to kale chips..it's that simple.  I love the preparation of them, the smell of them "cooking" in the dehydrator, the texture, and of course the taste.  They are AMAZING!  And one of the great things..you can make them taste however you want!  I like a chipotle/agave mix...a little sweet/spicy.  You could make a few batches, different seasonings...and have a kale chip party!  I got 3 bunches of kale the other day for 3 bucks.  I have my dehydrator (9 trays) FILLED with them right now...that's a better deal than ANY bag of chips, and they are of course better for you.
I cut the kale into "chip size" pieces (removing the thick center stem) and rinsed them off.  In the blender I mixed 2 chipotle peppers (soaked for 4 hours, with the liquid) 1 garlic clove, 3 T agave, 2 T olive oil, 4 dates, and some sea salt.  After this was mixed, I poured it into the bowl of kale, and massaged the sauce into the kale. ( I suggest using gloves).  When it seems like the kale had wilted a little bit, I placed it on the dehydrator trays and will let it run for about 8-10 hours or so.  You could also put the kale onto cookie sheets and bake at 325 for about 20 minutes.  Either way, the goodness of kale with the yummy flavor of...well, whatever you want!  Enjoy!

it's time.

So I've been spending alot of time lately reading, educating myself on different aspects of raw foods..my latest book is "The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil" by Bruce Fife..pretty interesting stuff.  But sadly, with all that reading and educating, I've lost focus on the "doing"!!  How quickly we can fall off the wagon (for a special meal)..next thing you know the weekend ends and your meals have been a breakfast quesadilla, tacos, and a cheeseburger...a meat festival.  My body needs a total detox now!!!  I don't love red meat, I don't even really LIKE it..but if it's here, and being cooked, somehow it seems like such a delicious idea!  An hour later...not so delicious.  We love to punish our bodies though, don't we?  So today I'm back to what works...to what I crave and enjoy, and to what makes me feel good.  Shake for breakfast, a mid-morning snack of almonds, dates, and coconut..and juice for lunch, salad for dinner...with yummy avocado.
As an aside, JB and I have been downing a few "shots" of RAW apple cider vinegar daily, (for cleansing) as well as about 3 T. of pure coconut oil, (for it's healing properties)...(it also makes an amazing deep conditioner, AND face moisturizer).  We'll see if a difference is noticed...hard to tell when you're eating poorly..keep you posted!

As time rolled by...

Wow, I don't even know where the summer went..but it went fast!  Katina started school on Monday..my goal for her eating plan was never really reached.  I really went into the summer with a positive feeling about it, and a pretty solid action plan.  I guess that was unrealistic, since summer time (for kids) is pretty unstructured.  I shouldn't be too hard on myself for it, and I am considering the fact that maybe this WILL be easier with school back in session, and routines back in place.

I did use the time this summer to get more familiar with the whole "Raw" concept.  I have read bunches of books and blogs FILLED with information..so much information.  I played around in the kitchen and created some new recipes, as well as trying out a bunch of recipes I had found in the books and websites I perused.  I feel like I am armed with some great information and am ready to go.  It was a good summer, we had a great little family vacation in the middle, and JB and I even did a 4 day juice fast together.  I have to say I felt AMAZING after that!!  I will fill you in on the details of the juice fast on another day.  For now...time to get back on the horse!!

I thought season was over??!!!

Holy cow, it has been so crazy busy at work!  I don't know what's going on, or if half the country won the lottery, but season is still here!  I have been so tired by the time I get home at night that it's hard to even fall asleep..does that make sense?  At any rate, being busy makes you hungry..or at least it makes ME hungry!! So thank you Gloria, for giving me a boost tonight at work!
I am forever spouting about eating healthy, and raw, and do this, not that, blah..blah..blah..  Sometimes I bore myself!  Well, I work with a woman named Gloria, who grew up in the Dominican.  Now, if you are a half intelligent human being, you are aware that they have a TOTALLY different lifestyle in the Dominican than we do.  Gloria has been in the states for most of her adult life, and is married with 3 children..trying to raise them well in a COMPLETELY unhealthy society!!  It's hard enough to feed your children properly in this day and age, in this country..match that with the skewed information given by our government and media..and most people get confused about WHO to listen to!!  Gloria reminds me of a young child in this aspect..because she is always asking questions about food..which is GREAT!  I would have loved to know all this stuff when Katina was little..she would have been stuffing her face with avocado's like my nephew Mack (who is about 8 years younger than her).  So Gloria and I have had some great discussions about foods..more along the lines of what different things mean, what's REALLY healthy, and what the government wants you to THINK is healthy ;)

So along the way, we have shared recipes, and brought foods in to sample...long story short..I owe Gloria a bunch of thanks today.  She arrive at work a little before 5:00 today..( I had been there since 2:00).  At about 5:30 (just about "snack time") she said "Oh, Sarah, I have something for you..some juice"!  and she ran to the break room.  Bless her heart, she had thought to bring me some juice that she made today, something she remembered from the Dominican.  Beets, carrots, lemon, water, and I think ginger.  Anyway, it was so yummy (and I am NOT a fan of beets..never have been..I think it's the fact that the color gets on everything..come on, it's weird)..So thank you Gloria, you arrived with a healthy pick me up, right when I needed it!  It's so nice to know all of our information sharing was well received.
Now when will season end!!

Wrap it up B!

Yesterday all I could think about was having a nice wrap using collard greens.  Of course I didn't have any handy..but problem solved today!  Katina had cheer practice in town, so we had to leave the island.  I try to avoid leaving the island if I don't have to for a couple of reasons.  #1...money is spent that wouldn't be if I had stayed home.  #2...traffic is crazy sometimes, and so are the people.  #3...I just like to be home!  I know I sound like a snob..but it's much easier to relax and avoid bad money decisions if we just stay home!  Plus, when faced with all the fresh produce options in town, I end up buying a bunch of stuff I didn't plan on..which is fine except the "list" goes out the window.

So the wrap...SO delicious!  Katina and I each had one (she wasn't super hungry, but was good and ate most of it anyway)  See the picture above?  I took a big collard leaf and cut the heaviest part of the stem off (which kind of makes the bottom part straight).  I spread some homemade hummus on it (I used a can of chickpeas, 2 cloves of garlic, juice from a lemon, 1 T. tahini paste, 2 Tb. olive oil.  app. 1/2 c. water, and a sprinkle of chipotle powder, for kick).  I then cut up a red pepper, a cucumber, a tomato, and some snap peas (fairly thin slices) and filled the wrap with them.  Roll it up as tightly as you can, and cut in half.  The side dish is a summer squash salad.  Using my spiralizer (Spirooli..awesome gadget!)  I spiral cut a summer squash (then cut the pieces smaller so I didn't end up with 10 ft. long pieces) then tossed it with some halved grape tomatoes, cilantro, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper..all raw, all delicious! We followed it up with a nice run around the neighborhood..awesome at about 95 degrees!

The spiralizer is great, I highly recommend one!  I bought mine from Amazon..around $30.  It's amazing how much "spaghetti" you can get from a single vegetable.  It came with 3 different "blades" for different thicknesses..super cool!  I have also done one with zucchini, basil, tomato and mozzarella.  You could also steam the squash after you cut it (if you desire) in case people are freaked out by the raw texture.  Also a great tool for spiral cut fries (who doesn't love THOSE?)
A couple other pics from foods I made last week..

Kale chips with a chipotle bbq sauce..ready for the dehydrator

Almond cookies with cacao nibs and goji berries!  (also in there are banana chips and fruit rolls!)

Raw granola bars!  This was my first attempt, but they came out pretty good!

$25.00 for apples?? Really??

So on Sunday JB, Katina, and I met her Dad at Fresh Market for the "drop off"..I figured it was a nice in between spot to meet, and I could also run in and buy organic apples.  I used to buy them at Publix, but their selection is pretty bad..mealy apples are the worst!  Did you know apples are one of the main produce items you should really choose organic?  Since you are eating the whole fruit, skin and all, you aren't peeling away any pesticides as you would with,say, a banana or orange.  I guess the exception would be picking your own at a local farm, but we don't have that option here...so back to Fresh Market.

Long story short...we bought 16 organic gala apples..at a total price of $25 and some change.  I can get a 5 lb. bag of apples at Sam's Club for $6.  Why is it so expensive to eat healthy?  It's no wonder so many people in this country have cupboards stocked with junk food and processed items.  You could literally spend a whole paycheck on fresh produce..if you were go the all organic route.  The exception to this is during the main growing season..Nov. to April for us down here.  During that time I can drop $20 at the farmers market on a weeks worth of locally grown, fresh, organic produce. (still no apples though) That's a huge difference.  I wish I could figure out how to grow it all myself during the summer months..the sun really beats on us though..plus it hasn't rained in weeks.  Maybe an Aerogarden?  Do those things really work?  I guess if they did, everyone would have them.  I only know one person who does, and she only grows herbs.  Which is great, but I'm interested in actual produce items..

On a different subject, we have discovered an amazing substitution for sandwich making.  Obviously, there are huge numbers of people out there with gluten allergies, as well as people trying not to eat bread (or carbs).  That's all fine and dandy, but let's face it..without bread you have no sandwich.  And without a nice sandwich, what do you eat for lunch?  Or a late night snack?  We've been using Ezekiel bread for a while now, and it's great. (try a grilled cheddar and apple sandwich with dijon mustard on Ezekiel bread)   But a step away from that?  Try making a wrap using Collard Greens instead of bread.  Seriously!  Use hummus instead of mayo, fill it with any veggies, sprouts, even chicken or tuna if you desired!  Wrap it up  and eat it..so so delicious!  I know it may sound strange, but I promise it's such a neat thing!  The leaves are solid, they hold together so well...even better than most wraps or pita bread!  What a great way to get some greens into your diet and still enjoy regular foods!  I will pick up some collards tomorrow and make a few so I can take pics and show you.  If you can grow collards in your garden, then you have to try this!

This darn head cold!!!!

Ok, so I haven't been keeping up, but I have a valid excuse!!  THIS DARN HEAD COLD!!!  It's been dragging me down for almost a week, so I have been loading up on calories in order to fight it off..hence, laying off the Raw a little bit.  That's not to say I haven't been sticking with my same shake for breakfast and salad for lunch..I've also been juicing a little bit more for extra vitamins.  But basically I haven't been much into experimenting...when you can't really taste or smell anything, it's hard to mess around in the kitchen, ya know?  I am starting to feel better, and will post some pics in the next few days.  Right now I have some corn chips, some sunflower bread, cookies, and granola bars in the dehydrator, so we'll see how that goes!

Other than that, just a busy week.  And hot...looked like a storm was blowing through a little bit ago, but now it may have passed us by.  Man do we need rain!

Drums please...

Okay, I know it's Tuesday..and I missed a couple of days.  Am I really supposed to write every day?  I guess that's the idea right?  It sounds like it would be so simple to do, but somehow I haven't found the time.  I need to schedule it in.  

So, the crackers turned out awesome!  They took longer than I thought, probably about 15 hours to get really crispy.  The flavor is pretty strong, they have bell peppers in them and I can totally taste that!  When you are working with raw foods (and even dehydrating)  the flavors are much more powerful than when you cook something...cooking kind of kills them off.  We ate some of the crackers (or chips, depending on how you cut them) with hummus last night, and it was a great combo.  I will make them again, and will also try different flavors as well as a plain corn chip.  It's pretty cool to think that these have the texture of being cooked, without having been cooked.  Does that make sense?  

Corn chips and hummus!

 Now for item number 2, which was actually our breakfast on Sunday morning...Strawberry crisp with cashew cream.  This was a HUGE hit, and I think we could have eaten about 2 lbs. of strawberries prepared this way!  Very simple...the topping is dates, raw oats, and cinnamon (with a little honey or agave for sticking)   , put on top of cut strawberries.  The cashew cream is raw cashews, coconut oil, vanilla (I used some vanilla bean) and water.  Trust me, if you make anything, make this.  The cashew cream is awesome, just mix it in a blender until it's smooth, then refrigerate for a little bit.  You can keep any extra in the freezer.  This could be made with any fruit you have handy..and so good for you!  JB and Katina agreed that they felt like they were eating something very decadent, but without the terrible feeling after!  Seriously, try it.

Strawberry crisp with cashew cream!  

So that's the beginning of my week...I have a few ideas I'm throwing around so on my day off tomorrow I should be PRETTY busy in the kitchen.  I have always loved cooking, and really the preparation of food.  The problem with actually cooking is the wait involved..mostly waiting for it to cook..and somehow when cooking a big meal, I'm not even hungry by the time it's ready.  With raw foods, it's like instant gratification!  Aside from the dehydrating portions..you can eat most things right away (which I love)..but obviously the better part is how I feel afterwards..or how I don't feel.  It's all in how you look at it.  

I've found that over the last year, if I eat a big meal  (meat, veggies, bread etc..)  I am wiped out afterwards.  I guess my body is putting so much energy into digesting that food..there's no energy left for me!  The nap after a Thanksgiving meal?  Yes, it's fun, but actually not healthy.  My body just performs better with raw/living foods.  I'm not saying I'm 100% raw, or that I'll EVER be 100% raw.  Believe me..there are lots of foods that cannot be replaced and that I couldn't possibly "give up" ..seafood to name one..and bacon..(sorry, I really love bacon)  .but if we can get to 75% or 80%..I'd say that's better than most people, and our bodies will thank us!   

Until tomorrow..

Oh the toys...

The toys..the gadgets..the fun involved in this adventure!  I broke out the Cuisinart today for some heavy mixing...First up?  Asian Slaw (courtesy of the Raw Chef Blog)..a mix of thinly sliced veggies in this amazing almond butter/gingery sauce.  So delicious!  I have found so many great recipes on his site, and other sites from raw foodies in the U.K...they are on to something that we Americans haven't all figured out yet!  I wonder what the difference is in our thinking patterns, I'm sure there are plenty of people here in the states doing the same thing, but the Brits are so much more accessible on the internet.  A mystery for now I guess...

Item number 2?  Corn chips with a chili powder and cumin seasoning.  They are in the dehydrator right now, along with some sliced up sweet potato (just for kicks).  More on those tomorrow..but they smell delicious already!  I truly can't wait to try them..I believe my husband will have a tough time tonight if he can only smell them and not eat them (as they take about 10 hours to dehydrate).  Sorry JB!

On another note, Katina seems pretty interested in this deal.  I found a website (another U.K. person named Karen Knowler) that has a booklet you can download to "Go raw for a day".  It contains a couple pages to fill out about how you are feeling before and after your "raw day", as well as shopping lists and recipes to cover 2 days worth...pretty basic but interesting stuff.  Anyway, Katina mentioned that she is interested in trying it out..so that's exciting!  We decided it will be easiest to do if we wait until school ends (which is only in a week)..maybe this won't be as difficult as I thought?  She's so great about new adventures, I'll just have to keep the menu fresh and interesting!

Asian Slaw..yummy!

                                        

The dehydrator trays with Paraflex sheets (for the chips)

Corn chip mix out of the Cuisinart

Corn chips ready to be dehydrated!

That's it for now..going to eat some slaw and contemplate how to send fruit rolls to my brother.  I'm sure they'd be fine in the mail!  I might have to make another batch though, JB just told me how much he loves them, so they probably won't last long..

Getting started

Ok, this is new to me..the whole blogging thing.  However, I am on a mission to better myself, and my family.  The foods we eat have the ability to make our day better or worse..the foods we eat have a direct affect on everything we do.  I am tired of hearing so many people complain about how awful they feel, or how they catch every cold that's going around.  I am surrounded by people who are always sick...it seems so obvious to me...everything leads back to diet.  We are only as healthy as the foods we eat!  So I am embarking on a mission..to change the way people look at food..starting in my own home.

We are a pretty healthy family..a fruit shake for breakfast, nice salad for lunch (this is a daily routine)..but my real challenge lies with my 16 year old daughter.  She has all the knowledge of what's healthy..(currently not eating red meat),  she just needs to apply it.  16 is a tough age, no doubt, but my mission is to get her to embrace more living foods by the time school starts on August 8th.  I have purchased an Excalibur dehydrator, and a couple little gadgets (a spiralizer which we used yesterday to make AMAZING raw squash "pasta")..these tools will help me expand our raw food menu, and hopefully provide enough yummy options for a teenager to enjoy!  Yesterday I made mango fruit rolls..just pureed mango..nothing else.  They were awesome!  Right now I have strawberry banana fruit rolls in the Excalibur..pretty basic stuff, but I have to start somewhere, right?  Getting through the day raw is going to be a challenge...come on willpower..don't fail me now!