Quick Easy Smoothie

This mama-to-be is suffering with an ear infection.  I have been taking my NingXia Red, using Lavender Essential Oil and Purification Essential Oil blend on the outside of my ear and 2 drops of Mullein Garlic Oil in  my ear.  I am surviving and will make it to my Raw Foods 101 class tonight to teach the awesomeness of incorporating raw foods into your diet.  Actually, right now my ear doesn't feel too bad.  But it does slightly hurt to chew.  So I decided to whip up a quick smooth to fill me up and give me a nutrition boost to help get over this ear business.

Quick Easy Smoothie
1 Acai Smoothie Packet (you can find this in the freezer section of most health food stores)
1 - 1.5 Cups frozen Raspberries
1 fresh Banana
1.5 - 2 Cups Vanilla Flax Milk (feel free to sub with your favorite non-dairy milk)
Blend away and enjoy!

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

I love fall! It means I can bake with cinnamon and pumpkin purée and drink hot apple cider.  I decided to make a cookie that would be a good snack or even a quick breakfast last night and I must say these turned out pretty darn good! This recipe is gluten, dairy, egg, soy, and wheat free.  Feel free to substitute chocolate chips for dried fruit and the almonds for another nut you like or leave it out all together. 

3 Cups gluten free rolled oats
1 can puréed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/3 cup chia seeds

1/3 cup whole flax seeds

1/2 cup chopped raw almonds

1/3 cup enjoy life semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sweetener of choice (honey, coconut nectar, maple syrup, or org. Cane sugar)

Mix together use hands to form into patties and bake at 350 degrees for ~15 min or until slightly brown around edges.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Bananascream

Who doesn't love a sweet frozen treat? In our house we were big ice cream eaters after dinner. Since going vegan finding frozen loveliness hasn't been easy. Sure there are your vegan alternatives but they are so darn expensive! Once I learned about frozen banana ice cream we were forever changed. This recipe is so easy, yummy, and customizable I recommend everyone try it.  You may never go back to ice cream again.

Ingredients:

4 frozen bananas cut into small pieces

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

2 tbsp shredded coconut

1/4 cup coconut water

4 pitted dates

2 tbsp raw cocao or carob powder

Pulse in your food processor until broken down. Then run on hi until it comes together Ina soft serve consistency. If you don't have a food processor feel free to use a blender. Spoon into bowls and enjoy!

3 More Things I Think Every Raw Foodie Should Have

Green Mango Smoothie

As we all know I love a good smoothie.  Blending up deliciousness that is full of nutrition is amazing.  Today I bring you Green Mango Smoothie.  Full of yummy fruit and greens this smoothie will really give you a boost to your day.  As you look at the ingredients you may think oooo yummy until you see the dandelion.  Dandelion? As in the weed that grows in my yard? Oh yes my friends... This "weed" is so good for you we should be killing it but harvesting it! Why is it so amazing?

#1 – High in Calcium: Dandelion greens are loaded with calcium. Just one cup of chopped dandelion greens has 103 milligrams (10% of the recommended daily value) of calcium! That’s slightly more than kale! Add two to three cups of dandelion to a smoothie with calcium-rich fruits like orange, kiwi, fig or papaya and you’ll have a green smoothie that has more calcium than any dairy product!

#2 – Rich in Iron: Next to fresh parsley, dandelion greens have a high iron content. One cup contains 1.7 milligrams of iron.

#3 – Low Calories: Like all leafy greens, dandelions are low in calories. One cup of chopped dandelion greens has only 25 calories. While leafy greens are a low calorie food, I actually prefer to use dandelions because they have more calories than other greens. Since I try to get as many calories as I can into my morning smoothies, I add up to 4 cups of dandelion which adds 100 calories of nutrient-rich food!

#4 – Loaded With Antioxidants: Dandelion greens are high in vitamin A in the form of antioxidant carotenoid (beta-carotene) and vitamin C. Vitamin C also helps facilitate iron absorption.

#5 – The Ultimate Detox & Cleansing Green: If your goal is detoxification and cleansing, dandelion greens should be the ones you use in green smoothies! They are said to help cleanse the liver and many detox recipes call for them.

#6 – Lots Of Minerals: Dandelion greens are rich in minerals. Besides calcium and iron, they are a good source of copper (10% RDA), manganese (8% RDA), phosphorus (5% RDA), potassium (5% RDA) and magnesium (5% RDA).

#7 – 14% Protein: Dandelion greens have more protein per serving than spinach. The greens themselves are 14% protein and contain all essential amino acids so it’s a complete protein. One chopped cup contains 1.5 grams of protein.

#8 – Multivitamin Green: Besides vitamin A as beta-carotene (186% RDA) and vitamin C (21% RDA), each cup of chopped dandelion greens are also good sources of vitamins B1 (9% RDA), B2 (11% RDA) and B6 (11% RDA), vitamin E (13% RDA) and especially abundant in vitamin K (357% RDA).

#10 – Health Benefits of Dandelion Greens: The nutrients in dandelion greens may help reduce the risk of cancer, multiple sclerosis, cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and stroke. Dandelion contains anti-inflammatory properties which may provide benefit to those with asthma and other inflammatory diseases.

I hope you will now look at those wonderful yellow flowers not as weeds but, nutritious delicious food.

I got the wonderful dandelion information here: http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/green-smoothies/10-reasons-you-should-use-dandelion-greens-in-your-green-smoothie/

Cool Cucumber Salad

Let's celebrate my 100th post with a super delicious video!

Real Veggie Pasta

Who says veggies can't be fun. I got to break in my new spiral slicer (everyone should have one) and made golden beet, zucchini, and sweet potato pasta. I boiled in it some water for about 5-7 min, drained it and topped it with some organic marinara and called it good.  But I was wrong, oh so wrong.  It wasn't good...oh no, it was delicious! It's fun, nutritious, vegan, gluten-free and most of all easy. I can't wait to play some more with my new gadget.  So, how do you make dinner nutritious and fun?

Buffalo Tempeh Salad

This delicious salad tastes just like buffalo chicken with blue cheese.  Seriously!  Did I mention it is delicious?  Oh and it's vegan and gluten free too!  Here's what you need to make your own:

Ingredients
1/2 pkg. Flax Tempeh
1 rib celery, sliced
Spinach or green of choice for salad
Favorite hot sauce
Dressing
1 tbsp blueberries (I used frozen)
1 tbsp vegan mayo
1 tbsp tahini
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1.  On medium heat add a little olive oil to pan and break up flax into chunks.  Saute until slightly browned and move to a bowl.
2. Coat tempeh with hot sauce and allow to sit for a minute or two.
3. In a small blender (I used a magic bullet) combine all the dressing ingredients until smooth.
4. On a plate put down a couple handfuls of greens then add on tempeh, celery, and dressing.
5. Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday: Tempeh Taco Bake

I have the day off on Tuesdays so I like to make a dinner that I know both my husband and I will enjoy. Today I decided it should be taco night but not just your normal run of the mill tacos but vegan taco bake deliciousness. I stared off by making the tortillas this morning. Then I made cashew cheese sauce. Taco bake is like lasagna, layers of salsa, tortillas, "cheese", and your protein. Here's the recipe I used tonight.

Ingredients:
1 pkg gluten free tempeh
1 jar salsa
1/2 cup cashew cheese sauce
1/2 onion, diced
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Cumin, to taste
1/2 cup water

1. Start by preheating oven to 375 degrees. Place onion in a pan and sauté over medium heat until translucent.
2. Break up tempeh and add to pan with spices and 1/2 cup water. Stir occasionally and cook until water is reduced.
3. Time to layer.  Start with a couple of tbsp of salsa on the bottom of the pan.  This keeps the tortillas from sticking.  Then it's time to layer the tortillas on top of the salsa.  It's okay if they overlap.  Next add salsa, tempeh, "cheese" sauce, and tortillas.  Repeat until you are to the top ending with a cheese layer.
4. Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until everything is heated through.
5. Enjoy!

Eat: Gluten-free Pumpkin Bars

I love fall.  I love the smells, sounds, and flavors of fall.  That smell of leaves on the ground, cinnamon, clove, and of course pumpkin.  I just happened to get a free pie pumpkin from work the other day and I knew I had to do something with it.  Lucky me when I got an e-mail from Elana's Pantry for her Paleo pumpkin bars.   Me being me, I of course had to do some substitutions.  I hate going to the store for only 1 thing so I used what I had in the cupboard.  Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars

• 1/2 cup gluten free flour mix
• 1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup fresh baked pumpkin or winter squash
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• In a food processor, combine coconut flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon
• Pulse in eggs, pumpkin, honey and oil until well combined
• Stir in the chocolate chips by hand
• Transfer batter to an 8x8 inch Pyrex baking dish
• Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes
• Cool and serve
• * Note: I didn't use a food processor, I just put it all in a bowl and used a whisk... it worked out fine that way. *

• Here's a great link on how to roast winter squashes like pumpkin.  Oh and don't forget to roast the seeds too!
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Eat: Paleo Saturday

Today the hubby and I decided to eat a few less carbs this weekend.  One of my new favorite sites is http://www.paleoplan.com.  I know a few people who follow this lifestyle and the recipes looked really good so we decided to try a few out.  Now I am sure some of you are wondering what is the Paleo lifestyle and why on earth would you want to eat that type of food?  Here is a little bit from The Paleo Plan's FAQ.

Q: What is the Paleo Diet
A: The Paleo diet mimics the types of foods every person on the planet ate prior to the Agricultural Revolution (a mere 10,000 years or 500 generations ago). These foods (meats, seafood, organ meats, eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits, plus some nuts and seeds) are full of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, fiber, beneficial fatty acids, and low-glycemic carbohydrates that promote good health. 


The Paleo diet doesn’t contain refined sugars and grains, dairy, trans fats, high-glycemic carbohydrates, and processed foods that often cause weight gain, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many other health problems.
Want to know more check this out!


So what did we eat?
Well for brunch we made Baked Eggs in Bacon Rings

These beauties had bacon, eggs, tomato slice, onion and mushrooms.  They were super easy to make and I got the hubby's stamp of approval.  I would definitely eat these again.  They also kept us full until about 5 pm! 

For dinner we decided to try the Paleo Beef Stew

This stew only took an hour and it is one of the best things I've ever had.  I got another stamp of approval from the hubby.  In the stew there was onion, garlic, stew meat, carrots, mushrooms, beef stalk, tomatoes, red wine, thyme, pepper, salt and savory spice.  I really recommend this one!

I would say our little nudge into the Paleo way of life was a delicious one.  I can see us adding these and a few more into our food bank.  It is really great for those with food allergies since there is no dairy or gluten and other allergies can easily adjust a recipe to what works for them.  Now time to sit back and enjoy my Saturday night with the hubby.

-Happy Eating!

Eat: Raw Apple Cinnamon Crackers

I know I've been a little MIA lately.  I have been working on starting up this business and it's been taking up a lot of my time.  I do feel I am possibly making some progress (thank goodness!).  Anyways, back to the good stuff.  Raw Apple Cinnamon Crackers.  These are really easy to make.  If you do not have a dehydrator you can use your oven on the lowest setting with the door propped open.

Ingredients:
1 C Flax Meal (grind about 1/2 cup flax seeds to make this)
1/2 C Flaked Coconut
3 Sweet Apples
1/2 tbsp Cinnamon
1-2 tbsp Natural Sweetener (Raw Agave, Raw Honey, Date Paste)
Pinch Salt

In a blender (I used the magic bullet) put in 1/2 cup of flex seed and coconut.  Grind until flax is more like a flour in texture.  Pour into a large bowl.  Then in a larger blender (I used my Ninja) add apple slices, cinnamon, salt, and natural sweetener.  Blend until applesauce consistency.  Pour into bowl with flax and coconut.  Mix well.  Get out your dehydrator with a jelly roll screen.  Spread into a thin layer (1/2 inch or less).  Use a back of a knife to score the mixture into pieces.  Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 18-24 hours or until crispy.

* Note: I flipped my crackers over about 1/2 way though onto the dehydrator grid to allow the air to circulate more around the crackers.

If using an oven spread onto parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Score into pieces and dehydrate until crispy.

Enjoy!

Food: Orange Chia Pancakes

There are times, usually Sundays, where I want to make something just a little more scrumptious than the other days.  I haven't made Pancakes in forever and they are so easy to make from scratch, I knew that this was what I was going to make today.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. Gluten-Free Flour
3 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 tsp. Salt
1 tbsp. Raw Honey (It's what I had on hand)
1 C. Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Egg
3 tbsp Coconut Butter
1/4 C. Orange Juice (Fresh Squeezed)
~1 tsp to 2 tsp Orange Zest
1 tbsp Chia Seeds
1/2 tsp Guar Gum

Mix everything together in a bowl.  Once mixed heat your pan on medium low to medium heat.   I used an 1/8 C. as a scoop.  This recipe made around 18 to 20 pancakes.  They have a wonderful orange flavor and the chia seeds add a wonderful texture.  Drizzle some agave nectar and enjoy!