Day 39 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

WELCOME TO ALEXA'S RAW FEAST DINNER!

I had the most incredible dinner last night at Alexa's and George's house. I won't lie I have been secretly waiting to eat some of her food for a while; the girl has got SKILLS! and I do learn alot from her. Walking through the door, I immediately found the kitchen, I was curious to find out what she had made and yes my eyes did FEAST before my belly did. Seeing the different vibrant colors of live food got me very excited. I brought some of my coleslaw to add to the feast as well.
Not only did she make a variety of uncooked food but she also catered to the vegans and non-vegans with a delicious, heart-healthy, colorful and rich lentil soup. She also homemade some sprouted Eziekel flat bread! What did I tell you? THIS GIRL HAS GOT SKILLS :-)

Now, I must show off my plate of course: This is Alexa's Raw Food Dinner Menu
Flax seed bread-priceless
Cashew-Cilantro cheese-Amazing and priceless
Honey plantain with carrots-okay remember I once said you couldn't eat raw plantain, well, I didn't know better, you couldn't even taste it in this dish because it was diced up very thinly and small and oh, this dish too was priceless.
Olive tappenade-Yumilicious and priceless
Sprouted chickpea hummus-smooth and very delicious and priceless
Salsa-what a refreshing dip this was and oh so priceless
Clover Sprouts--I just love sprouts , I should have made a wrap with the lettuce she had but that flax seed bread got a hold of me, lol...hmm did I forget priceless too?
Basil Pesto--Hmm, Hmm fantastic. you may think I'm being overly dramatic but wait till you try raw foods and the slightest tastes start to explode in your mouth...you will need more adjectives like hmm, let me see, priceless?

Here's our gracious and lovely host, Alexa with her beautiful baby Ilusha.

Nina and April enjoying some lentil soup with sprouted Ezeikel flat bread.

Okay, I want you to focus on those tall bottles with Green Magic in them, lol. That's how I started my dinner, with this refreshing elixir of apple and fennel, the greener one has more fennel and ginger, that was my favorite. Homemade juices rock!

Here's me and Deidre and Ilusha in his high chair that looks like his own personal space station. The thing with raw food is this, you don't have to over eat to feel completely satisfied because you're eating nutritionally dense foods.

Alexa, Me, Rick, George, April and Nina

Enjoying our bounties...

Ilusha:One of the healthiest babies I know, just look at that face!

What did you think, that we were gonna go without unveiling the best for last? OMG, okay, let me take a breather before you run off this page: This is the best tasting raw/vegan chocolates and truffles EVER!!!! What a healthy alternative to what you buy in stores, what a healthier choice for our children and us! She gave me some to take home, yeeeeeeeeeaaaaH. Needless to say my night was nothing short of spectacular. I love being raw, the possibilities are endless, the creative juices behind every recipe, the beauty of touching and making food with love knowing it is only going to add to the betterment of your wellbeing. What a way to live, what a joy to experience this lifestyle. I am truly blessed. Thank you Alexa and George and Ilusha. I have a different love and respect for all things living and to have found the versatile nature of fruits, greens, nuts and seeds is purely magical. GO GREEN!

Day 38 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

PHOTO FROM: http://www.naturemoms.com

I think finding the book that will become your favorite raw uncooked book is like finding the person you will be with for the rest of your life. Yesterday my wonderful hubby bought me a great pre-Christmas gift; RAW FOOD REAL WORLD by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis and I must tell you I haven't been able to put this book down since yesterday.

I am in love with everything about this book, the colors, the photographs, the personal stories of the two very beautiful people (who happen to also be a couple) who wrote it and of course the recipes are to die for! For those of you who know me personally or at least know of me through my book Lemonade Street, you must know I am a die-hard romantic, so yes, I am stating (and forsaking all other books to come) that I have found my favorite raw uncooked book and I am only on page 37 out of 367. It is like an album of never ending warm and fuzzy feelings; a love story. And what a wonderful way to be connected with the one you love by sharing something you're both passionate about: that is one of the secrets to a happy and fulfilling marriage. Rick and I talked about this years ago, no wonder we're still together and still so in love with each other.

Anyway I just wanted to share this with you guys and hope you get a copy for you plus what I wouldn't give to get a gift card from her organic beauty site http://www.oneluckyduck.com/

This is a link to their restaurant in NewYork http://www.purefoodandwine.com/

I have to run now, will share some pictures of our dinner tomorrow. We've been invited to dinner by some good friends and I can't wait to see what's to eat. Come back tomorrow for more.

~B.

Day 37 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

"Life is color."--Bernice Angoh

EAT TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO EAT. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT and WHAT YOU EAT BECOMES YOU...GO GREEN. LIFE IS COLOR.

Hello happy people, I hope you're all doing great today. Well, I started my day with a 20 minute walk with my walking-buddy, my six year old daughter, Nina. We got a good dose of Vitamin D and then I did a 20 minute circuit training (cardio and strength training) which left me feeling very high and energized. Breakfast was one of the green smoothies from below and then for lunch I had a hefty plate of my coleslaw. By the way, yesterday I received my order of Lacuma powder, raw cacao butter and some raw/vegan chocolate paste (sweetened). So someday this week I will be making a fantastic raw ice cream...stay tuned :-) you wouldn't want to miss that!

I was researching more on Vitamin B12, you know, the one some people say you can only get from eating meat. Well, it goes that most meat eaters should be the ones who are vitamin B12 deficient more so than vegetarian, vegans or raw/vegans. The reason being most non-vegans lack intrinsic factor which is needed for the absorption of B12 in the ileum and that approximately 80% of consumed B12 is absorbed by humans with healthy digestive systems, plus at higher intakes, absorption of B12 quickly drops down to 3%.

This translates to the fact that those on the Standard American Diet of meats(all flesh including chicken and fish), sugars, dairy, processed foods and high fructose corn syrup are at risk of having unhealthy digestive systems due to poor food combining, highly putrefactive nature of animal proteins and a diet high in processed foods. An unhealthy digestive system causes the inability of the system to produce intrinsic factor which is needed for absorption of B12. Okay, some may argue that their systems are healthy and clean, but if you are a heavy animal flesh eater ( people who eat some kind of animal flesh more than one time a day and many do, they may eat bacon or sausage for breakfast, then eat a fish or chicken or beef dish for lunch and dinner), your absorption rate of vitamin B12 automatically goes down to 3%. So, I think it is safe to say that non-vegans are more prone to B12 deficiency. We can now lay to rest the notion that we (non-meat and dairy eaters) are B12 deficient. A cup of alfalfa sprout a day, mixed with your salad gives, you enough B12 to sustain a healthy body.

I rest my case.
~B

Day 36 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

My RAW-mazing COLESLAW

YOU MUST TRY THIS!

I think I outdid myself today with this recipe. I hope you all love it. I made a big batch so I have leftovers for tomorrow.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of green cabbage, thinly sliced

1 cup of purple cabbage, thinly sliced

6 medium sized organic carrots, 3 grated, 3 julienned (or all grated)

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

2 organic apples, chopped

Mix all in a bowl and set aside.

Dressing:

2 cups of almonds, soaked overnight

1/4 cup of agave or raw honey (I like and used agave with this one)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried mustard powder

1.5 cups of olive oil

1/4 cup coconut oil

juice of 1 lemon

juice of 1-2 oranges

Process in blender until smooth. Pour over veggies and toss.

warning:WILDLY DELICIOUS!

Day 35 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

My Rich Fudge Brownies with Hazelnut Sauce

Can you believe it's day -35? Well, there is something I must say, cooked food is very addictive. The other night I tried some of my husband's vegan baked-zitti and after two spoonfuls I found myself wanting more. I had to restrain myself, because I realized what was happening; cooked food is addictive! and I, Bernice, definitely don't want to go back to that. I also realized that the food tasted different on my tongue. It felt like, well, it didn't give me the great taste that raw foods, especially my greens, gives me. It is almost as if I could feel the lack of nutrient whereas with raw foods every time I eat I feel like I am adding oxygen to my body, there is a freshness in the chlorophyll that leaves you very satisfied and quenched, lol, ok I know that didn't help but that is as close as I can describe the feeling.
Yesterday I had a whole oatmeal for breakfast, the recipe for this delicious raw breakfast is on a previous day, feel free to cruise around. I made a big bowl of my kale salad for lunch, I think I am addicted to this salad, it is just that good and the pine nuts make it very tasty. Today am going to make my Asian cabbage salad or maybe a tasty raw coleslaw, yes, why nut? lol, did you see that? I wrote "why nut?". Nuts are wonderful and very versatile. I still have some cheesecake and that will be my desert for tonight. I am still waiting for the raw cacao butter I ordered so I can do a white chocolate cheesecake and invent some more recipes for you all to try.
I also wanted to point out that I have added some affiliate sites to my blog and if you need to order something you can do it from the link here, it will help me make some spare change, lol. I am hoping to add more as time goes on. Eventually there will be some FYR apparel for those who'll like to support the blog and all FYR efforts.

I am also happy to announce that I donated a a poem to the children's orphanage in Haiti. The kids made the banana leaf cards by hand and every card you buy (I wrote all the words to the card) will be a double gift as the profits will go back to support the children in the orphanage. If you feel inclined to give, please do so by clicking on this link :http://web2.accureg.com/PiggyInk/ProjCur.aspx

Here's the recipe for the famous Rich Chocolate Brownie I promised you:

Chocolate Fudge Brownie:
1 cup walnut
5 mejool dates, pitted
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor with an 'S' blade till it's fine and start to ball up. Press into a square pan and freeze for 1 hour. Cut into desired squares and enjoy with a fresh glass of raw almond milk. YYYYYYYUUUUUUUMMM. This is the easiest desert recipe. i added some chopped macadamias to half of mine to give it a white chocolate speckled illusion.

Have a blessed day.

~B.

Day 34 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

My Raw/Vegan Ultra-delicious strawberry cheesecake

"Did you know that calves, instead of drinking their mothers' milk, are fed a formula made from cows' blood? Yes, these practices are all perfectly legal."--SelfHealth Revolution by Michael Zenn

Have You Met Your Meat Yet?

Do you recall that funny feeling after a meal of steak? Like you've just eaten a cow? Well, if you have it is because you have eaten a portion of a cow and all its barnyard Friends. Long ago I used to be very clueless meat-eater. Little did I care or know how my meat was handled and cared for. Who cares right? as long as it's FDA approved we are good to go. The FDA cares very much about us, they bring us the best of nature, right? Well, NO ONE LOVES YOU LIKE YOU, NO ONE CARES FOR YOU LIKE YOU, NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU BUT YOU!

Cows are still fed feed that contains their barnyard friends like cats, dogs, fish, chicken, pigs and other cow parts. Did you read that correctly? Your MEAT is a cannibal! If that doesn't scare you, then this message wasn't for you. Let those who have ears listen; that is not only relevant for the Bible but with everything else in life. And the FDA? What do they say about this? In Michael Zenn's Self Health Revolution it says "Government spokesmen believe that whatever is processed by renders, becomes denatured (meaning it's actually no longer what it was before)"
So your Government spokesperson means that since it has undergone some kind of process to change the meat (they are heated for 30 minutes under very high temperatures), whatever it was before has been changed. What are you eating my friends? First, they heat it up in the rendering process and then you take it and heat it up some more! what are you eating? Ever imagined how eating or lets say being fed other animal parts can change the chemical composition of the animal? Ever imagined how eating that 'sick' and 'alien' flesh changes the chemical composition of you?

There is a famous saying that goes "You are what you eat." I have come up with mine and I think it is even better "What you eat, eats you."-- Most people don't believe animals have feelings but they do have fear vibrations they send out when they 'know' death is coming. Imagine what's going on in them when they see themselves on the slaughter line. I am sure they want to escape, I am sure that their adrenaline in at its peak, I am sure they have feelings, I am sure they like us, want to live, want to survive and enjoy life by playing in the grass or in the mud or just lazying around watching the sky. If "Curiosity killed the cat." I can safely say that "Ignorance kills the man."

If your problem is where to get your protein from, as so many fire back, protein is not all the craze, it will take a hard try on your part for you to be protein deficient. The body can get all its necessary amino acids from seeds, nuts and dark leafy greens. Humans are not meant to me meat-eaters but when it is packaged right and the Gorey red bleeding flesh is camouflage with seasonings and spices, I bet you it is very inviting isn't it? Sometimes it serves to be gullible and this is the one time. When I look at a piece of flesh my brain goes on alert mode and I am very grateful for that, in the past I would still eat it and ignore my inner voice but that is what I called denial. If you were sent out there with a spear in one hand and asked to go get your own meat or chicken or pig, would you? I think you would run the other way. Why then do we let others do the dirty work for us? so we don't feel the guilt because we didn't kill the animal? so there is no blood on our hands?

Did you know that the two leading causes of death in the U.S are directly related to meat consumption (cows, Turkey, pigs, chicken, fish etc)

"Patrice Green, J.D., M.D. and Allison Lee Solin state that animal products easily account for our largest intake of pesticides and herbicides, in fact, more than 80 to 90% by some estimates."--Self-Healing Colitis & Crohn's by David Klein, Ph.D.

"One half of all antibiotics in the U.s. alone are used in the production of livestock." Here are a few facts from Dr. klein's book:

Meat is the most putrefactive of all foods. This means of all foods meat is the most liable for decay in the intestines.

The hardest thing for the human body to digest is cooked animal meat.

Protein metabolism yields great amounts of toxic byproducts.

Flesh food can take up to 5 (five) days to pass through and out of the body (Plant food takes about 1 day).

Meat contains waste products that the animal did not get to eliminate and toxic hormones and fluids released into their blood stream at the time of death.

This may sound extreme but it is the truth and the truth usually stinks or should I say stings; when you look at your steak, chicken, pork the next time you're eating start to think:

Hello meat, how were you cared for? how long have you been dead for? hat sores, cancers or diseases did you have before you were slaughtered? Ask, Ask, Ask and maybe one day you will ask yourself if it is really necessary to eat flesh that you yourself wouldn't go out to kill or slaughter.

Did you know that bowel cancer is the second form of deadly cancer after lung cancer? What causes or puts you at risk of having this? answer: just go back and read from above.

I think I've written enough for today. There are many books and resources out there about animal protein, make use of them all and if you still want to eat animal flesh do so knowing what you are ingesting. It is GOOD to be in the know.

"People think the FDA is protecting them. It isn't. What the FDA is doing and what people think it's doing are as different as night and day."--Herbert Lay, Former FDA Commissioner.

"When I look animal flesh I see death; wilted, unscented, bland, limp and lifeless, but when I look at plants and seeds and fruits, what a difference it makes to see life in all its glory--colors of green and rainbows, sweet scents of fruits that tingle my nose. Life is color."--Bernice Angoh

HAVE YOU MET YOUR MEAT YET?

~B.

Day 33 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

NINA'S GRAPE-LEMONADE POPSICLE

It is drizzling outside my window and I am watching a great movie with some raw/vegan strawberry cheesecake I made yesterday. My morning started off wonderfully, did a 20 minute jog and then a 15 minute Pilate's (abs). For breakfast I had half a cantaloupe, Nina had the rest. Lunch today was pretty basic, pesto and veggies! I can't get enough of that. I tried Nina's creation; grape-lemonade Popsicle and it was fantastic. It's a good treat for a hot day. Here's what she said she put in it:

Grape-Lemonade Popsicle:
1 glass of water
Juice of 5 freshly squeezed lemons
3 packets of stevia
1 cup of red seedless grapes, cut in halves



Pretty creative of her and it did taste good. You might want to try it for you or some little angel you know :-)


Gotta run, got a busy day today. catch you all tomorrow.





~B.