11 week initiative, day 6, another great smoothie

Hello friends,

I am so excited the weekend is almost here. This morning I went to yoga class then came home and made a green smoothie (I seem to be on a green smoothie kick lately) made of...

1 scoop protein powder

1 banana

1 mandarin orange 

1/2 cup carrot juice 

1/2 cup water 

huge pile of spinach

ice

Blend until smooth and enjoy. I drank this around 11:00 and wasn't hungry for lunch until around 2:30. Before lunch I did one of my new work out videos, have you heard of Tracey Anderson? Her workouts are designed to make the body long and lean, not bulky... which is what I have been wanting to switch my workouts to. Simple moves, but boy were my arms and legs burning!

For lunch I had the same as I had for dinner last night. Marinated kelp noodles with almond butter dressing and veggies, but today I added some tofu. I also had a Ginger Snap Lara Bar, which is my favorite flavor so far.

For dinner I steamed a sweet potato and 2 beets, simple, but two of my favorite veggies so it hit the spot. Then I enjoyed a small dark chocolate bar. LOVE dark chocolate!!! Today  I also made a creamy corn curry & cilantro soup, which I will post tomorrow.

I am looking forward to a nice run in the morning and having some time off. No school, no work... what will I do with myself?

11 week initiative, day 5. Kelp noodle recipe, smoothie recipe, Almond Butter Dressing & cupcake e-book,

 Hello all!

It has been a good but cold Wednesday here. I am ready for some real sunshine. I started the day with a 5 mile run and some lower body weight lifting at the gym. I came home and made a green (it came out brown) smoothie with...

Fruity Cinnamon Smoothie

1 pear

1 banana

1 mandarin orange

carrot juice

cinnamon

vanilla

ice

2 huge handfuls of beet greens

It hit the spot and kept me full until lunch. For lunch I packed a green salad with lots of veggies an d hemp seeds.

 and a raw bar... have you heard of this one? It is really good, crunchy but chewy at the same time, and only 150 calories, which is low for a raw bar.

For dinner I marinated some kelp noodles in a mix of nama shoya, garlic, ginger juice, and chinese 5 spice powder.

I topped the noodles with bean sprouts, and lots of other raw veggies and topped with an almond butter dressing, original recipe adapted from Averie at Love Veggies and Yoga.I use...

Almond Butter Dressing

2 tablespoons almond butter

1 tablespoon ginger juice (or grated ginger)

1 teaspoon garlic

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

juice from one large orange

For dessert I am going to have my first raw cupcake! (losing my raw cupcake virginity!)

I'm sure many of you are aware of Shannon over at Rawdorable and the cupcake e-book she has created. After seeing so many of her yummy looking creations I knew I had to buy it. Today I got the time to create one the recipes. I chose to do the "lighter" recipe since I am doing the 11 week initiative over at Raw Food Rehab. The recipe was super simple to follow and came out perfect! The things I love about this e-book are...

Lots of recipes... I love variety.

Savory recipes too

A "lighter" version

Many frosting choices

The recipes are for 1 or 2 serving, which I LOVE because I don't usually like to make big batches of things... back to that liking variety thing (and I know that it is highly possible I will eat them all!)

The book is fun to read and look at, full of pictures and brightly colored.

If you like raw sweets (who doesn't?) that are easy to make, so should go to Rawdorable and pick up Shannon's e-book now. Also, I think Ellen would LOVE any of the cupcakes in your book Shannon!

The verdict... the cupcake is DELICIOUS! I split it with Mackenzie and she loved it too and asked for more before she was even done. Great job Shannon! Thanks!

The naked cupcake...

The frosted cupcake....

Not the best picture... sorry!

For other raw recipe books I love click here. Lori is doing a GREEN WEEK CHALLENGE for Earth day. Check it out here.  Averie has a chocolate give-away, click here.

I have a few give-aways and contests coming up... so become a follower of my blog with google friend connect so you don't miss out! Think raw treats!

My 30 day raw challenge/ Thai coconut sauce recipe/ smoothie recipe

Seriously wishing the weekend were longer! I have decided to do a 30 day challenge where I will eat 90% raw or more. I will be allowing myself some tofu (I have been craving it) and protein shakes before my long runs. I eat mostly raw anyway but have been getting off track on several occasions, then I notice a huge difference in the way I feel... I feel like crap! So, since I want to drop a few pounds too before bikini season, this challenge will be perfect for me. Please follow me and cheer me on!

Everyday I will post what I ate that day, any recipes and how I am feeling. So here I go. I started the morning off with a green smoothie.

Super Green Smoothie

2 huge handfuls of mixed dark greens

1 mandarin orange

1/2 banana 

4 strawberries

coconut water kefir

ice

a few drops of vanilla stevia

1/2 teaspoon blue green algae

(what do you think of blue green algae?)

Later in the afternoon I ate a banana and a raw protein bar in the car... I was on the run!

The other day I bought some Thai green curry tofu and scored big on a case of young thai coconuts from the Asia mart... 9 coconuts for 11.00... can't beat that! The tofu inspired me to make a thai coconut sauce to go with the tofu and put those over some kelp noodles and veggies.

Sarah's Thai Coconut Curry Sauce

meat from one young thai coconut

1/2 cup of the coconut water (or more if you want it thinner)

1 medjool date

1/2 teaspoon garlic 

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 jalapeno

1 teaspoon curry powder

salt 

1 tablespoon almond butter

Blend it all in a food processor and blend well. 

The finished product...

I poured the sauce over my kelp noodles and veggies, topped with tofu and enjoyed!

There really are kelp noodles buried under all that veggie, tofu and coconut sauce! I finished my meal with a cashew butter filled raw chocolate cup. YUM!

Manna Bread, Apple Crumble, Juice & Chocolate Shake recipes

Hello Bloggy peeps!

I feel like I have not posted on here in FOREVER! With my laptop getting fixed, well virus being removed, I have had to resort to using my desktop, which I don't like so much. I like the freedom to be able to move around if I want... know what I mean?

I have a few recipes to share. First, Manna Bread. Have you tried this? I LOVE bread and it is one of the things I can not go without. Raw or not, I have to have it. I saw some manna bread in the freezer section of my local health food store and had to try making my own after hearing rave reviews. So here it goes....

I started by sprouting 2 cups of white wheat berries....

In the food processor, I put a 1/4 cup of each, cashews, pecans and almonds and pulsed until roughly chopped and transfered to a mixing bowl.

I added 1/2  the sprouted wheat berries to the food processor.

and blended until it formed a dough.

I added 1 tablespoon cinnamon and a dash of sea salt and mixed that in. Then I moved the mixture to the bowl of nuts and added 1/2 cup raisins.

Mix well and form into an oval shape on a baking sheet or your dehydrator sheet. You can bake the bread in your oven at 200 degrees for 3 hours or dehydrate until the outside is crisp and inside is still tender, about 7 hours.

With the other half of the dough I processed it with 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning and some salt. I formed an oval log and placed it on the cookie sheet. I chose to bake this batch in my oven at 200 degrees for 3 hours. I have done a loaf in my dehydrator and it comes out perfect either way. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside... YUM!

Yesterday I made some juices... first my Green Lemonade...

Romaine

Dark Greens

Lemon

Apple

Ginger

Pear

Then I made some Carrot Juice with...

Carrots

Apples

Pears

Romaine

Cucumber

Last weekend I made Averie's Apple Crumble with a couple tweaks. It was so good! I took it to my sister's and I swear we could have finished the whole thing ourselves!

I mixed 1/2 cup oats, 5 medjool dates and about 5 dried mission figs, splash of vanilla, dash of pumpkin pie spice and 1/4 cup alond meal in the food processor and pressed into a tupperware container.

I chopped an apple and a pear, with the skin on and tossed with cinnamon, lemon juice and agave nectar.

I then added the apple/ pear mixture to the crust.

The I mixed 1/3 cup oats, 1/4 cup pecans, splash agave nectar, splach of stevia, splash of vanilla and more pumkin pie spice, then topped the apple mixture with the crumb topping.

This is to die for! So yummy and easy to make... Thanks Averie for the recipe, I can't wait to try it with other fruits... strawberries, peaches, blueberries.... whatever!

Last, but not least, last night I wanted something chocolate, so I made a Banana Chocolate Shake in the Vita Mix. I threw in...

1 frozen banana
1 tablespoon carob powder
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
6 drops liquid chocolate stevia
1 cup rice drink (from Trader Joes, can sub almond or any nut milk)

Blended it up...


Topped with cocoa nibs and a strawberry. Pefect!

Tomorrow I will be sharing with you... homemade Good for your Dog, Raw Carrot Pulp dog treats!

Raw Sweet Potato Cassarole & Smoothie Recipes

I woke up in a fabulous mood today! I just knew it was going to be a good day. I dropped Mackenzie off at school and headed for the yoga studio. I did 90 minutes of bikram yoga then came home and made a yummy smoothie. I used...

1/2 head of romaine lettuce
5 leaves of kale
1 banana
2 mandarin oranges
1 cup nut milk kefir
ice
6 drops of vanilla stevia.

1 heaping tablespoon bee pollen (For information on benefits of bee pollen and where I get mine click here)
 

This made enough for 2 smoothies.

I also made a Sweet Potato Cassarole and it is to die for! I wish I had taken pictures along the way. You must try this. I thought it would have a weird texture but it doesn't... it is perfect! I split it into two portions (after cutting the recipe in half) and froze one.


Ingredients

• 1  cup pecans or walnuts

• 4 cups peeled and chopped sweet potatoes

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 cup dates

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup honey

Directions

1) Put potatoes, 1/4 cup nuts, dates, cinnamon, water and vanilla in processor and puree till smooth.

2) Pour into a casserole dish.

3) In another bowl, mix the remaining nuts with salt and honey, and sprinkle over the potato mixture.

Amazing! I will be making this sure during the holidays!

Apple Pie, zucchini wraps, smoothie and cracker recipe

Hello,

I just need to take a minute to vent. Where I live we run on electricity and propane. In my old house I used to have to fill the propane tank a few times a year, and a bit more in the winter. Keep in mind I am in Northern California so it is not like we are getting close to zero or anything. I moved into a new house last December and have had to fill the tank 3 times now at 400.00 a pop, that is almost once a month. Something has to be wrong, I have not been using the stove, the heater has been set at 60 at night and around 65 or so when I am home, it is just my daughter and I, can we really be using that much? I have someone coming out to check for a leak today (another 96.00 to the propane company) so we'll see what they say. If there is no leak... do I really have to budget 400.00 a month for propane on top of the PG& E bill? That is crazy!

Anyway... on Sunday I made the Apple Pie from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Kitchen book, Mackenzie and I loved it so I thought I would share the recipe. I cut the recipe down because I didn't want 16 servings.

In food proccessor:

1 cup almonds

Proccess, but not to powder, and add

1 cup medjool dates

dash of sea salt

process again

Press mixture into individual

 dessert cups or a small bowl after adding a little almond flour to the bottoms

(Helps to get your fingers a little wet)

Cut 2 peeled apples into thin slices and add 1/4 cup raisins and 1 tablespoon cinnamon

In the food proccessor...

1 small orange

about 6 dates

proccess into a syrup, you may need to add a little water

add syrup to apple mixture and toss

Spread apples into each cup onto the pie crust. Enjoy!

This morning I made a green smoothie with...

1/2 cup nut milk

1/2 cup coconut kefir

1 banana

5 drops vanilla stevia

1 small orange

ice

3 leaves kale

Blend and enjoy... the coconut kefir makes it tangy and creamy... LOVE it!

Zucchini Wraps

1 zucchini

splash of Braggs liquid aminos

2 tablespoons flax meal

sea salt

proccess in food proccessor

spread onto non stick dehydrator sheets

Dehydrate at 145 for an hour then drop down to 105.

Take them out when they are dry but still pliable. Wrap your favorite veggies inside and enjoy.

Cheese Crackers

So, I just finished a bag of chees-y quackers from One Lucky Duck and I loved them, but not the price. Here is my attempt at recreating them...

1 cup soaked almonds

1/2 cup flax meal

sea salt

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 red bell pepper

Proccess until smooth, add water if you need to. You want it to be thick, but easily spreadable.

Spread onto teflex sheet...

Start at 145 for a hour and drop down to 105. After 4 hours peel back non stick sheet and continue to dehydrate until dry.