PRETTY RAINBOW...

Nina, 8 years old. 

Are you drooling yet?

Eating raw foods makes you appreciate food in such an awesome way...the time you put into making it, touching the food, smelling it, admiring the colors and texture and tasting..hmmm. So why is it that we humans like to take the shortcuts, avoid pain and change, when we know that those things are very necessary to building and molding us? Something to think about isn't it? Lots of great new this week and last, so my little Wonder aka my 8 year old, Nina, got a very impressive report card and a certificate because she made it to Honor's Roll. How cool is that? As a mom and her home-school teacher I feel so humbled and extremely proud.

*** I appreciate all of you who take the time to leave a comment, questions and/or suggestions in the comment box below every blog entry, makes me know that people are at least reading what I write, kinda' important for us bloggers and it's just really nice to get feedback too, so feel free to join the site, recommend to your friends  etc

PRETTY RAINBOW SALAD

Ingredients:

1 small head cauliflower, lightly steamed and then chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped thinly
1 medium carrot, chopped thinly
1 Tbsp green onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, thinly sliced
1/2 Yellow bell pepper, chopped thinly
Dash of salt
Dash of black pepper

Place all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Salad Dressing:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dry yellow mustard
1 Tbsp cashew butter (or nut butter of your choice)
1.5 Tbsp agave nectar

Mix all ingredients for the dressing until smooth and then pour over salad. You may add a few cashews or chopped almonds over the salad or eat as is.

VERDICT= I LOVE IT! It was so refreshing...

Little Miss wants to make a Yoga DVD  for kids. This is one of her invented stretches, well,  for kids huh? mommy can't do this for 3 seconds without tumbling over ! (And I am very flexible :o)

Breathe, MEDITATION

Ninashka

Remember to EAT &  DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

CHOCOLATE FOR ALL YE CHOCOHOLICS

The great thing about raw desserts is that you can never finish it all in one sitting, well, for me though. I had  about  2  tablespoons of this and my sweet-tooth was totally soothed. It is so very rich and filling. LOVE THAT! Saved the rest in the fridge for another day. 

I hope you have all been having a great week. Mine has been a little stressful but hey, I survived :) Anyway, I know sometimes some of us run towards food when we feel a little low. Sometimes I crave food, sweet foods when I feel blue (who doesn't?) and raw desserts are guilt-free for me. I don't need a lot to satisfy me so I make a batch and just save it in the fridge for whenever I need it.


DARK CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY MOUSSE

Ingredients:
1 vanilla bean seeds or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup cacao powder
1/3 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
2 small Haas avocados
1 cup maple syrup (I use grade B maple syrup)

Blend all together in a food processor until creamy. Enjoy as is or with slices of strawberries.

Seeds from vanilla bean

MINI FLOURLESS BROWNIES

I kept these cute little trays from some candy box I found and decided to use them for my mini brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup maple syrup

1 cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup cacao powder

1/3 cup mixture of dried cranberries and chopped almonds

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Put all ingredients except the dried fruit and nuts in a food processor and blend. Pour into ice tray or candy tray. Place in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes until it's firm. YUMMY.

Some good music for your listening pleasure: LUCKY

 XOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOOOOXOOXOXOXOOXOXOXO

Remember to EAT & DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

JUICE, JUICE, REJUVENATING JUICES & SMOOTHIES

Why does Nina feel the need to put on my glasses each time she 's drinking her smoothie in the morning?

Very interesting I tell you (scratching my head)

B.A.C.K JUICE (Broccoli-apple-carrot-kale Juice)

Ingredients:

3 granny smith apples, cored
1 bunch of kale, stems removed

6-7 large carrots
1 head of broccoli
1 lemon, whole
2-3cm fresh ginger root, peeled



BEET-iful Veggie Juice

Ingredients:

3 red delicious apples
6 large carrots
1 bunch kale
1 cucumber
1 zucchini
1/2 beet root
1 lemon
2cm ginger fresh ginger root

Strawberry-Mango Green Smoothie:

My two little munchkins love their smoothies :)

Ingredients:

2 handful spinach leaves
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen mango
1 ripe banana
1 cup water (You may use almond or soy milk if you chose. I like water with this one)

Blend all together until smooth and enjoy.

Blueberry Smoothie:

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
2 cups frozen blueberry
1 Tbsp flax seed meal
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup soy milk (vanilla flavored)



Spinach-Blueberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas
2 big handfuls of spinach
1 + 1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp Flax seed meal
2-3 cups frozen blueberries

I've found a way to use all my blurry pictures; turn them into art!

Remember to EAT & DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

SWEET TABBOULEH & SOULFUL MUSIC

Tabbouleh is a traditional Middle Eastern dish, usually made with bulgur, tomato, parsley, mint, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, salt, lemon juice and sometimes onions. I love the traditional Tabbouleh and even though I had bulgur wheat at home I decided to tweak it a little and see what it would taste like. I must say I really, really enjoyed this. Feel free to add your own twist to it. By the way, Nina fixed the parsley, she said "Mommy, let me show you how to do this the authentic way. Never use a knife to chop the parsley, it all has to be done by hand like this, see? aren't I a true Lebanese girl!" That's my daughter for you, amazes me all the time, so smart!

Here's the little Ms. Nina enjoying some soul music from one of Cameroon's best: Miss Debra Debs

Here's a link to Miss Debra Debs' site: http://debradebs.com/

SWEET TABBOULEH

I made the creamy white dressing and Nina made her own dressing, the 'yellow' one  and it was delicious. My little Chef!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp green onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
3 cups parsley, fixed
1/2 cup cauliflower florets, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside

Sweet Dressing:

1/3 cup cashews, soaked overnight
Juice of 1 orange
3 Tbsp olive oil
Dash of black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Juice of 1/ 2 lemon
2 Tbsp honey

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Toss the tabbouleh with about 4 tablespoon of the sweet dressing. Save the rest of the dressing in a tight container and put in the fridge.

Remember to exercise

Remember to EAT & DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

CREAMY NUT-TY SOUP

I was in the mood for soup today so I went for it! oh, before we get to the soup, just wanted to share one of my favorite lyrics with you...Songwriters ROCK! that includes me too I guess...words, words...words...

CREAMY NUT-TY SOUP 

Ingredients:

3 tomatoes
1 leek
1 red bell peppers
3 Tbsp fresh basil
2 tsp fresh parsley
3 Tbsp Cashew butter
Juice of half a lemon
Pinch of salt
1/2 a cup of water
3-4 Medjhool dates

Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Drizzle with 1/2 a tsp of olive oil, garnish with some green onions and paprika. I added a little cayenne pepper to mine because I like it hot. Also, some people may like their soup warm, so it's okay to go ahead and warm yours a little. I like mine cold :) I used several pieces of celery sticks as my spoon and ate it with the soup with each bite, cool huh?

Photo by Nina Lakota

Still rocking my urban twits, unsure what to do next on my hair...

*Photo by Nina Lakota

Remember to EAT & DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

Endive Salad with Orange-Mustard Dressing

Something quite interesting is going on in my house. My 16 month old son has this fascination with books. He is always with a book, 'reading' in some corner, flipping through pages and it goes on for minutes at a time. He even 'reads' off his diaper box ...anything that has words. I hope this stays long after he starts really reading. Anyway just wanted to share that with you.. here is a collage of the times I've had the camera near.

ENDIVE FACTS:

 I remember when I first found out about this beautiful-looking greens. I use them in my smoothies, juice it and eat is as a salad. Some people find it slightly bitter but I don't. I have never been the kind to shy away from something because of taste especially if I know it's beneficial to my health. Did you know that when compared to other green leafy vegetables endive is the richest source of Vitamin A? and if you remember from your nutrition class in school vit. A is particularly important for eyesight and good vision. Endive is also a great source of dietary fiber, magnesium, Vitamin E, C & K, Thaimin, folate, calcium, Iron, zinc and a host of other minerals.

Other health benefits of endive include clearing up the skin of acne, in combination with parsley and celery in juices it's a great blood tonic for those who are anaemic. Endive is also a very low calorie (it has just 1 calorie per leaf) food so it is great for those who want to lose weight to eat it as often as they can. It also relieves constipation because it is high in dietary fiber and helps to clean the liver and gall bladder. Now, do you see why I love this vegetable?


ENDIVE SALAD WITH ORANGE-MUSTARD DRESSING


Ingredients:

I head/bunch of endive, wash, fixed and set aside
1 granny smith apple, 1/2 apple julienned and 1/2 sliced

Mix together julienned apples and endive and put in a bowl. Place sliced apples over salad.

Orange-Mustard Dressing:

2 oranges, peeled and halved
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp fresh parsley
1tsp dry mustard powder
2 medjhool dates

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Dress salad with about 4 tbsp of orange-mustard dressing and save the rest in a tight-lid container and put in the fridge.

photo by Nina Lakota

My daughter likes to take pictures of me during my workouts. Someday I will be able to use just my upper body strength to do a pull-up, for now I am quite content with one leg on a stool.

Remember to EAT & DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!