Day 20 (30-Day Green Smoothie challenge)

FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS: STUFFED BABY BELLA MUSHROOMS

Wao! how did I get to here? Day 20 already? I am super-duper proud of myself. When I put my mind to something, nothing and no one can defer me. I like that about myself. What a blessing this raw food journey has been to me. I find that I am more peaceful, patient, calmer and just a whole lot happier. In fact if I were anymore happier, it would be a crime, lol.

Been learning a lot and doing a lot of research. If you are one of those skeptics who really wants to try this lifestyle, I suggest you do your research and keep an open mind. Don't go into this thinking negative because you will subconsciously look only and the negative things people have to say out there--like there is anything negative about this lifestyle. I have realized people fear the things they don't know or are not used to.

Have you ever wondered how Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden with no fire? They had just trees, with fruits and nuts and vegetation and yet they survived somehow. Later on people started to realize that they could hunt and eat the animals during the winter because when they killed it and cooked it, it lasted longer. However, the animal or the cooked plant has lost its life-force and is full of death (toxins) at this point. Almost all of the enzymes and proteins are denatured and destroyed when heated to a temperature above 118 degrees.

With food in the raw state you are packing on on all the goodness of that food (vegan of course) because it still has all of its enzymes and amino acids (enzymes are also protein in nature) and therefore getting the life-force of that food and no death (toxins). Food was meant to decay eventually so it can go back into the ground and produce new life. Many processed food have such a long shelf life that one can only imagine what kind have chemicals have gone into the process of making it defy death.

The human body is the best picture of the human soul. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) Austrian philosopher.

Many doctors are clueless when it comes to holistic medicine and except for those of them who venture down the path of alternative medicine and disease prevention, many of them just know how to diagnose and prescribe drugs. I once heard that nurses study more nutrition than doctors actually do. Nutrition taught in school today is also a joke because it is geared toward the capitalist mindset of making money from people buying more and more products and foods that they don't need and which are sending them to the hospital. As for the food pyramid, I think it is a total JOKE.

I often imagine that something that has been killed has already started to decompose and hence contains toxins. Before I went raw/vegan, I would look at meat and think, hmm, I wonder how long that animal has been dead. I was a vegan then and a flab of flesh just lying there, lifeless, used to make me cringe. My friends, I am not writing these things to gross anyone out or make you stop eating what you're already eating. I write them so that you can think, if anything. We are so used to following what we see on TV that we have lost the ability to think for ourselves and this is costing us our lives, literally. You have to want to find out the truth about what you are ingesting you have to be proactive. Nothing will come and fall on your lap. If your health and that of your loved one is important to you, then go and seek and you will find. I hope I have enlightened you somehow. I will keep posting little nuggets like this for people who want to be in the know.

Hope your day is as blessed as mine. I will leave you with some powerful quotes from the father of medicine himself, Hippocrates:

A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses.

If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.

Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.

Prayer indeed is good, but while calling on the gods a man should himself lend a hand.

He who does not know food, cannot understand the diseases of man. Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.

Day 19 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS: NUTTY HONEYDEW MELON

Hope you've all been enjoying integrating the green smoothies into your day. Thanks to Victoria Boutenko and The Raw Family, we can enjoy these and more. If you want to know more about the green smoothies and what they can do for you, I suggest you buy her book GREEN FOR LIFE. I have been very busy today doing some photos for a prospective client and still have much more to do, so I am going to leave you with my photo of yesterday's breakfast. Feast your eyes, lol.

p/s I can't believe day 20 is almost here and I've had no cravings for cooked food. Great for me, because i don't have to worry about portion control and counting calories, I am too busy for that ;-). It takes very little to satisfy me these days because my body is very well nourished. If there were ever a secret to healing, staying fit and energized, going raw or at least incorporating more raw dishes in your life is it. How simple and basic and so very uncomplicated. Walk into the light and light up the world. GO RAW.

Stay RAW and Original always.

~B

Day 18 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS: My Finger-Licking Lasagna

Apart from the first two to three days that seem to go one forever, the rest of the days on the raw food lifestyle has a been a total breeze and an amazing high. My husband told me something I hadn't thought about today, he said "Baby, raw food preparation comes more easily to you than doing cooked food." He is absolutely right. I love preparing raw foods; playing with recipes and ingredients is such a great hobby of mine now.

I started my day with 20 minutes of circuit training with Jillian Michaels. She makes me sweat and I like that. I have been in the Kitchen all day today playing with recipes and I made a raw/vegan burger with french fries which Nina completely devoured, lol. Rick loved it as well and the plate of my finger-licking lasagna was gone in a flash! My, my,my, do we have some tasty eaters in this house. It feels great to make food that people love to eat, especially children.

I came up with this interesting cheese recipe, all by taste, and it blended great with the other ingredients in the lasagna. If you go down to Day 13, you will find the recipe of the Marinara sauce I used today. I have also discovered the great taste of pesto. It is incredibly easy to make as well. I like to use it for appetizers and as a dipping sauce. You can also eat it with julienned veggies, and as a stuffing for many side dishes. Whew! I am loving my life big time.

Here is my recipe:

Marinara Sauce:
Scroll down to Day 13 for recipe. Set aside.

Pesto:
2 cups of fresh basil
1 cup pine nuts
4 garlic cloves
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 -1 tsp salt (as desired)

Blend in food processor until smooth and set aside.

Cheese:
1 cup raw cashew
1/3 cup of pine nuts
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp lemon juice, fleshly squeezed
1/4 cup water
1Tbsp olive oil

Blend all together until smooth and set aside.

Using the flat blade of a mandolin or a vegetable slicer, cut peeled zucchini into flat strips. I used 1 zucchini.

Wash and strip leaves of two stalks of rainbow chard and set aside. You may also use spinach leaves but I had none today.

First, place the leaves of rainbow chard on plate. Then start layering the zucchini into a matted pattern. When that is done alternate between spread of cheese sauce first, pesto sauce and then marinara. Add some spinach leaves or chopped up chard leaves on the marinara and then place zucchini strips again. Then add cheese sauce, pesto and marinara. Continue process over and over till you obtain 3-4 layers. Garnish with some sprouts and serve as is. By far my favorite lunch or dinner recipe. Very delicious and filling. Enjoy!

~B

Day 17 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS: fyr sIGnatURE ApRIcOt PiE with a pECan cRUst

Going raw is one of the best things that ever happened to me. First of all, I have always been in pursuit of the optimum healthy lifestyles and I think--in my opinion--the Raw food lifestyle is it. It is a lifestyle because unlike most popular diets out there where people have a start date and an end date, the raw food lifestyle is a way of life that reflects your beliefs and values. Belief that live foods create live beings (Ann Wigmore says it best).

The fact that I can still satisfy my sweet tooth when I so choose--and in a healthy way too-- is just mind blowing to me. The fact that I don't necessarily need eggs and flour and bleached sugar and that one can safely use nuts, seeds and natural sweeteners to create a delicious-healthy-nutritious crust is just perfect. Today I made the best tasting pie ever. I added the ingredients as I went and it came out MARVELOUSLY GORGEOUS, lol. I now realize that there is a great shortage of adjectives to describe the different foods and experiences I've had ever since I started this raw journey.

There is an immense variety of foods and you don't have to eat just fruits and a bowl of salad everyday. If that were the case I would have been long bored out of my mind. Anyway here is my signature FYR Apricot Pie with a Pecan Crust.

Crust:

1 cup pecan

1/2 cup sunflower seed

3-4 mejool dates

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp carob nibs (optional) but if you want the full blasted taste of Yumminess you must get carob or 100% pure cacao nibs

Filling:

1.5 cups dried apricots

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 apple

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp organic grade B maple syrup (you can also use agave or raw honey)

1/2 cup fresh raspberries or blueberries (I like it for tartness)

In food processor with 'S' blade chop pecan, sunflower seeds and pinch of salt till almost fine. Then add dates and blend till mixture starts to stick together. Press into pie plate and sprinkle carob nibs on crust. Slightly press nibs into pie crust.

Blend ingredients of filling except raspberries or blueberries and process till thick and gooey. Spread thick mixture over crust with a spoon or flat spatula. Garnish with raspberries or blueberries. Serve as is or refrigerate and serve chilled. ENJOY! :-)

Day 16 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS: MEDITERRANEAN Kale SALAD

Hi everyone, hope you're having a sunny-diva day. I woke up bright and early today and did my usual, water, 20 minute walk and then home schooled my six year old. My choice of smoothie today was the kale- Panana (basically, 2 bananas, 2 pears, bunch of kale leaves and 2 cups of water). I wanted to try something different and very simple to make today for lunch, so I went with the Mediterranean kale salad. It was SURPRISINGLY ExTREMELy DEliCiOUs (do you like the play of letters?, lol just kidding around).

Mediterranean Kale Salad:

1 bunch of kale leaves, sliced very thinly

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

sprinkle of salt

2 Tbsp pine nuts

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

2 Tbsp black pitted olives, diced

1/2 avocado, diced

First work the olive oil, lemon juice and salt into the bowl of sliced kale with fingers, to wilt and moisten. The kale will start to get a darker green color. Then add the rest of the ingredients, toss and serve. This salad is very high in calcium and very delicious. YUM!

Day 15 (30-Day Green Smoothie challenge)

FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS: CARLIFORNIA ROLLS (SUSHI MADE EASY)

Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by today to read my little insights. Today was a fantastic day. I woke up with joy on my face and a heart full of gratitude. So if you don't mind I want to take a few seconds and be thankful for all that I have.

To the Earth: Thank you for staying rich and resilient.

To the Trees: Without you there'd be no functional ecosystem, I thank you for that.

To the Fruits : For your sweetness ever true, you satisfy my sweet tooth like no other and enrich my insides with vitamins and minerals.

To Vegetables: Green and red and yellow, in vibrant colors you live to sustain my cells and build me up to the best of me.

To Seeds and Nuts: Nutty-nutty me loves you to pieces. You provide me with energy and good fats that melt away and never stay on my hips.

To the Sun: Queen of rainbows, excellent provider of vitamin D, without you I'd be oh, so gloomy.

To the Rain: Water, the giver of life, the purifier, eliminator and transporter. You wear many hats. My hats off to you.

To the Organic Farmers: You truly know what patience is all about. Thank you for caring and taking the time to grow all these foods with abundant love. Your love is felt and can be seen in the beauty of me.

To the Community of Raw foodists: Thanks for your constant support as seen in all the great cookbooks and blogs.

To God the creator and author of life: If we go back to basics as in the garden of Eden, that which you provided for Adam and Eve is all that we truly need to fully sustain us. After all, out of earth (dust) you made us and just makes sense that those things that grow alive out of this same dust are what we need to stay alive, in that way we can be in sync with our own. YOU are awesome!

I am very blessed and grateful that I have the opportunity to have what I have and be able to eat the way I eat. I am in constant praise and thanksgiving.

Today I made myself the easiest smoothie:

2 bananas
1/2 bunch of spinach
1.5 cups of water

A yummy-delicious-nutritious green rejuvenating elixir

I made the best tasting raw/vegan carlifornia rolls for lunch (sushi)

3 nori sheets
3 Tbsp peeled and grated parsnips (they look like albino carrots)
1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumber
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
1/2 cup clover sprout (or sprout of your choice)
drizzle of agave
drizzle of Bragg's aminos or nama Shoyu

Lay a nori sheet flat and brush down with a little water
add grated parsnips, cucumbers, carrots, avocado and clover sprouts (you can use which ever sprouts you have). Drizzle some agave and Bragg's over filling and tightly roll into cylindrical shape. Use a knife and cut into desired shape. I was almost tempted to eat it long like that, it smells so good and tasted like the best sushi I ever had, just without the fish and rice. WHAT A LUNCH! Even non-sushi lovers will love this version.

Enjoy!

Day 14 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE READS...WITH A GLASS OF CANTALOUPE SMOOTHIE

Whew! Sorry for posting this late today. I have been very, very busy. Just came back from the whole foods market with lots of stuff for the coming week's menu. I can hardly wait to make some raw/vegan sushi. I think my mom will be pleased that I no longer eat raw fish, lol. I also bought some raw cashews for next week's Alfredo sauce. The fresh basil I got will be used for some pesto I will be adding to my lasagna, YUM! I never liked lasagna (except for my mother in-law's which is TASTY) but now I get to make my own raw lasagna. That will be an experience. For smoothie veggies I got, parsley (I love parsley), arugula, rainbow chard, kale(yes), spinach (a must) and some endive (this is packed with B vitamins). As usual I bought lots and lots of bananas, I can't live without it.

For the first time I bought some jicama (pronounced 'hee-ca-ma'). I plan to use them to make some raw french fries and some raw/vegan burger patty which I will make with the some of the baby bella mushrooms, hmm, I can't wait for that. Anyway, it is always fun going shopping and trying new recipes. I hope you try some for yourself and if you do I hope you like it.

I gotta run though, Rick and I are making some seaweed salad. I am hungry and have to go eat. Tomorrow I will introduce you to another new recipe. Don't forget to make your green smoothie and stay healthy. I am going to leave you with something delicious:

Banana Shake:

2 frozen bananas (or 1 cup of ripe frozen strawberries)

1/2 cup almond milk

2 tsp agave nectar or organic grade B maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Blend all until creamy smooth. YUMMY!!!