Fruit Kabobs

I have been reading the classic nutrition book, "Fit for Life." I absolutely LOVE all the recipes in this book. They are mostly vegetarian and are all properly combined to aid in digestion and eliminate a lot of the stomach issues people experience frequently (bloating, gas, heartburn, etc.). Really fascinating information.

The basic tenets of this book state that there are 3 distinct cycles our bodies go through every 24 hours. From Noon to 8pm is the Appropriation Cycle where we take in nourishment (Eat), from 8pm to 4am is the Assimilation Cycle where our bodies absorb and use the nourishment, and lastly from 4am to 12pm is the Elimination Cycle where our bodies cleanse and detoxify themselves (this final cycle is extremely important in preventing illnesses, acute and chronic, and also ridding ourselves of unwanted fat).

Although all 3 phases are extremely important and build upon each other, I have been trying to implement this 3rd cycle more often in our home. In order to aid your body in proper elimination, the authors suggests you eat nothing but fruit or fresh, fruit juices before noon. I have added greens to this list as well because they practically digest themselves, and we drink large green smoothies every morning any way. We don't usually make it until noon, but my goal is to at least have the children (and myself) drink our smoothies and eat some fruit before they eat anything else. It actually has really simplified our mornings. The kids were a little bored after the first couple of weeks, so we decided to take all the fruit we had in the house and make fruit kabobs.

They each made them themselves. I personally would rather just sit down and eat fruit instead of cutting up every piece and putting it on a stick so I can just take it off the stick and then eat it! But, that's just me. They were very proud of their creations and stopped whining about the fruit rule for the day! You can do this with any fruit you have on hand. :)

Apple, Strawberry Cobbler

We made this raw pie for a friend of ours the other day, and it was really, really yummy (we made one for us too!). I rarely bake desserts because the raw desserts are so fabulous, and are so good for you! You don't feel heavy and sick like you do after eating a big slice of baked apple pie with ice cream. It's a win-win situation! The only thing that would have made it better is if I could have gotten strawberries from my favorite farm (James went there, but they were sold out!). But, it was good nonetheless.

This recipe is from the "I Am Grateful" raw recipe collection:

Ingredients:

For the crust and topping:

4 1/2 cups of raw pecans (do not soak)

3 Tbs of finely chopped, well-packed dates

2 Tbs cinnamon

1 Tb vanilla

1/2 tsp sea salt

For the filling:

5 cups sliced pink lady apples (or other very sweet variety)

3 cups sliced strawberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tb vanilla

pinch of sea salt

To make the crust:

Process the 3 cups of pecans with the cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt for 1 minute in your food processor fitted withe the "S" blade. Then place in a bowl and add remaining 1 1/2 cups of pecans ( I would get the pecan pieces vs. whole pecans so it sticks together better). Press the crust into your pie pan setting aside 1 1/2 cups of this crust mixture for the topping.

To make the filling:

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Evenly distribute the filling on top of the crust. Then crumble the remaining crust on the top.

Voila!

Banana Berry Freeze

Not the best picture, but this was really good. We actually made it for breakfast (you'll see why when I post the ingredients). I modified this recipe from a book I recently finished by Dr. Joel Furhrman, "Disease-Proof Your Child." He is another whole foods, mostly plant-based diet advocate, but he is also an MD so he gives some great medical background as to why diet can alleviate or prevent many illnesses (for my friends with kids with ADD or ADHD or severe allergies- he gives specific dietary guidelines to help). He is a bit extreme in his views, but that doesn't mean that I think he is wrong...just means you might have some BIG changes to make after reading his book! He has a ton of recipes in the back. We've tried some and really like them, others...not so much. This one was a winner!

Ingredients:

(per serving/person)

1 1/2 frozen bananas

1/4 cup non-dairy milk

1/4 tsp of vanilla

handful of frozen blueberries, strawberries or raspberries

tsp of ground flax seed

chopped nuts of your choice

Blend the frozen bananas, milk (we used almond milk), and vanilla - it will be thick like ice cream, especially if you have a Vitamix or other good blender. Top with frozen berries of your choice (we used blueberries and raspberries), the ground flax, and some nuts (we used slivered almonds). Enjoy!

More on our Snacking Table (& Why We Sprout)

Our snacking table is still a success! We are getting more foods from the farmers market, and eating all of it by the end of the week. The nagging for snacks between meals has stopped almost completely too! Here we have cucumber, carrots, sliced apples, almond butter, raw corn on the cob (yes raw- it's straight from the farm and super sweet- no cooking or butter needed!), and steamed broccoli.

Here: Snap peas are a great snack since you eat the entire pod and they are sweet and crunchy, plus more watermelon, some lightly steamed broccoli with sea salt, and sprouted sunflower seeds.

A quick word about sprouting nuts: What are sprouted nuts, and why would someone want to sprout them? I learned about sprouting from Alissa Cohen's "Living on Live Food" book. Her explanation is great, so I'll just post it here:

"There are some very good reasons to soak and sprout. Soaking nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes removes their natural enzyme inhibitors: phytates and oxalates.

Sprouting greatly increases the nutritional value of these foods and makes them far more digestible because their protein is broken down into amino acids, their starches are changed into simple sugars, and their fats are converted into soluble fatty acids.

Sprouting increases the enzyme content of these foods. Even though they are initially raw, their enzymes are lying dormant. Sprouting activates them. If you do not sprout them, your body has to use its own enzymes to break up these foods.

Soaked and sprouted nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes are highly nutritious and produce an amazing amount of nourishment than otherwise would not be available."

Also, I've noticed with Brad's allergies that food he normal reacts negatively to doesn't bother him if sprouted. For instance wheat breads and tortillas bother him, but he does fine with sprouted wheat breads and tortillas. The same goes for some nuts he eats.

How do you sprout? Well, that is another post entirely. Certain foods can simply be soaked, others actually need to be sprouted. For most of the nuts and seeds we have been using at our snacking table, I simply put them in a large bowl and cover them with enough filtered water so they expand, then let them soak overnight on the kitchen counter. The next morning, rinse them well and they are officially "sprouted." The soaking obviously makes them soft, so I throw them in my dehydrator and season them (sea salt mainly, but you can use oil or other seasonings to spice them up- lime and Chile powder are good on pistachios and cashews!), and they crunch back up. This way we can receive the benefit of raw, sprouted nuts but enjoy the taste of roasted, crunchy, salted ones!

Food for Thought

I just had to share this little tidbit I learned this week. I just finished reading Michael Pollan's"Food Rules" book, and am about halfway through a book by Dr. Furhman called "Disease Proof Your Child." Both are great reads on feeding your children and family a whole foods diet- basically just feeding them real, unprocessed foods. Dr. Furhman said that at the beginning of each day they cut up some fresh fruits and veggies and put them in bowls on the kitchen table along with some selections of raw nuts. They leave this food out the whole day for the family to snack on. It's really a simple thing, but I tried it out this week and it had amazing results.

Especially since we home school, my kids seem like they are eating 24-7. And, not always the best of choices. But, I cut up several different types of raw and steamed veggies, one big bowl of fruit, and put out several different types of nuts throughout the week. The result: They stopped asking me for food between meals. They would just go over and eat what was out. They were eating raw fruits, veggies, and nuts all day long too! I found that my husband and I were going over and snacking on the produce too. And since the whole family was eating good stuff throughout the day, I didn't find myself worrying or nagging them to eat up veggies at mealtimes. I still served them, but it wasn't like that was all they were going to eat for the day, so it made me feel really relaxed.

When I got home from the market, I took about 30-40 minutes and washed all the produce and cut it up and put it in containers in the fridge. Each morning it took me all of about 5 minutes to set stuff out. I made sure to put out different stuff every day and put out stuff I know my kids like, plus some foods that they've never tried. I learned this week that Benjamin loves red bell pepper. Over the course of a couple days he ate 2 raw bell peppers himself! Bradley ate an entire jicama this week, plus an array of other great foods. Savanna really like the broccoli and kale salad. I found that I really like raw celery and carrot sticks. I've never eaten too many veggies without some sort of dip or dressing, but since they were all just out solo, I found I was munching on them throughout the day.

This week our snacking table consisted of: carrots, celery, jicama, bell pepper, kale, artichokes, peanuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, strawberries, oranges, cucumber, tomatoes, apples, cantaloupe, and peas...isn't that cool?!? Just thought I'd pass on this little tip!

Homemade Applesauce

Well, I love to make fresh applesauce, but we got a HUGE amount of apples from a friend's tree, so we decided to can some so it lasts longer. We just made it up as we went along, and the results were great. Here are the details:

Slice apples- I didn't take the skins off, but most people do. I have a Vitamix that completely pulverizes EVERYTHING!

Put them in a large pot with just a cup or two of water to steam them until they are soft.

Blend them until smooth. I added a bit of honey and cinnamon.

Pour into the cans, and can in a water bath canner. Applesauce takes about 20 minutes (for pints and quarts) in the canner. Cool and Store!

**Fresh applesauce is even better tasting and better for you, and will last about a week in the fridge. Just cut up the apples and process in a food processer with honey and cinnamon until it is the consistency you want (you can put it in the blender for really smooth- we use the fp so it is a bit chunky).

Sun Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 6 lbs of Roma tomatoes


• 4-5 minced garlic cloves (depending on the size- I like a lot of fresh garlic)


• 1 tsp of sea salt


• 1 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper


• 2 1/2 tsp of dried Italian seasonings


• 1/2 cup cold-pressed olive oil

Cut off the ends of each tomato. Slice tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Carefully cut out all of the seeds. Gently stir/mix the sliced tomatoes with all of the above ingredients. Marinate for 8 hours or overnight. Spread out on dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 115 degrees for several hours (the amount of time will depend upon the texture you are looking for- the longer you dehydrate the chewier and dryer the tomatoes will get). It takes about 8-10 hours, depending on how you like them.

I store them in glass jars. These are the best sun dried tomatoes I've ever had. They are great in salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes- my kids even like to eat them plain. Sometimes, they don't even make it to the dehydrator!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Savanna belongs to a book club and she was asked to bring these to their next meeting. She and I were not feeling well, so James actually made these beauties. I watched him, and it only took him about 15 minutes! Seriously easy and seriously good.

How He Did It:

We get the 1 pound bars of chocolate from Trader Joes (there are two kinds that are vegan: the dark chocolate and the bittersweet chocolate). Just break off a good size piece of the bar and chop it into small pieces. Microwave the chocolate pieces on high in a glass bowl for about 2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds. Dip the strawberries the melted chocolate and place on wax paper. Place in the fridge for about 10 seconds and then serve! (You can also refrigerate these for about day, covered).

Easy Freezer Strawberry Jam

True to my word, here are the pictures and recipe for my easy freezer strawberry jam...well, it's not really mine. I just followed the instructions in the Pectin box! But, if you are a visual person, I will give you two sites that have recipes for this same freezer jam. Way easier than the cooked jams and SO good!

http://www.preparedpantry.com/aneasywaytomakefreshstrawberryjam.aspx

http://www.recipezaar.com/Freezer-Strawberry-Jam-31972

I made three batches: two with the normal Pectin and a ridiculous amount of sugar, and one with the no or low-sugar pectin, and about 3/4th of the amount of sugar. Both were great. Next time I will probably use the low-sugar pectin, about 1/2 of the amount of sugar, and I'll add a little bit of honey or agave nectar, if needed.

This is all you need to make great jam!

Our Crushed Strawberry "Juice"

Strawberries and LOTS of sugar!

Strawberries, Sugar, and Pectin

I like the glass mason jars, but these little plastic freezer jars are great because of size, and are pretty inexpensive.

The End Result!

These will last about 3 weeks in the fridge, and up to year in your freezer! To make all three batches, it took us (including clean-up) about an hour and an half- sweet deal (literally)!

Ben's Strawberry-Banana Birthday Pie

Okay, well this may look/sound strange to some of you, but I've been making pies like this for years. They are quick, simple, VERY delicious, and, best of all, made with whole raw food ingredients (no additives), so it's safe for the whole family to enjoy.

This recipe comes from Alissa Cohen, and is in her book "Living on Live Food." Alissa is a raw food chef and consultant. With Brad's allergies, I am so grateful for raw, vegan cookbooks! I can make him wonderful desserts, snacks, and meals using just a few ingredients. It takes little time and has HUGE health benefits, even for those of us without allergy issues.

Forgive me as I digress, but I think nutrition and how the body works is fascinating. Matt Amsden, another raw food chef, has this posted on his website. It's a VERY basic explanation of why everyone should incorporate more fresh fruits and veggies in their diet. I could go on and on (And I might at a later date. Hey, it's my blog. I can say what I want!), but this should suffice for now. :)

The top 3 things that are sapping your energy & compromising your health:

1. DEHYDRATION: Our body is over seventy percent water, shouldn't your food choices mirror this? A great way to get a head start on becoming hydrated is to consume food that has not had the natural water removed from it through cooking. Cooked food does nothing to provide your body with much-needed water and dehydrates you further in your bodies attempt to digest it. Everything you put in your stomach needs to be turned into liquid to be digested. How easily is your current diet liquefied?
2. MALNUTRITION: Recent data shows that nutritional deficiencies are most often caused by what we eat rather than by what we do not eat. Your current diet may be robbing you of precious vitamins and minerals. A well balanced diet of consciously prepared raw plant foods contains the full compliment of essential vitamins and minerals, while food prepared using conventional methods destroys over 80% of that foods nutrition. Can you afford 80% less nutrition than is naturally found in your food?
3. LACK OF ENZYMES: Enzymes are responsible for every metabolic process that takes place in your body from digestion to healing. Most prepared food is served with up to 100% of the natural enzymes destroyed. One hundred percent! When the lipase and amylase enzymes are destroyed, the body cannot digest fats or carbohydrates and they are stored in the body, causing you to gain weight. When you consume living, enzyme rich food, it practically digests itself. This leaves you with a surplus of energy to play harder, work more efficiently and do more of what you love! To learn more from Matt visit www.rawvolution.com.

Okay, onto the recipe!

Strawberry Pie

CRUST:

2 cups of almonds (I used pecans and walnuts work great too)

1 1/2 cups of dates, pitted and soaked until soft

1 cup of strawberries, diced

FILLING:

2 1/2 cups of strawberries

3 very ripe bananas

FOR CRUST:

1. In a food processor, blend nuts until fine
2. Add dates and blend until smooth
3. Place in a bowl and mix in the diced strawberries
4. Mold into a pie plate

FOR FILLING:

1. Dice 1/2 cup of the strawberries and set aside
2. In a food processor blend the remaining 2 cups of strawberries
3. Place in a bowl and stir in the diced strawberries
4. Pour into crust
5. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight and serve!

(I made his name out of blueberries.)

This is seriously so good. It tastes like Yoplait yogurt with a nut crust underneath- total hit and guilt-free!

**For more info or recipes from Alissa Cohen, go to http://www.alissacohen.com/!

Green Smoothie Recipes

I posted this on a friend's food blog, but thought I'd post it here too!

Our family has been making green smoothies pretty much daily for about a year and half. I have noticed TREMENDOUS benefits in our health from adding more servings of fruit and dark greens. We are a veggie-eating family, but some of those dense, leafy greens are hard to get down. If you want to learn more about the benefits of making and drinking green smoothies, I HIGHLY recommend the book "GREEN FOR LIFE" by Victoria Boutenko. It's a quick read and chalked full of great nutritional info.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post a few of our family-favorites! You may need to add less greens in the beginning and more fruit (especially for the kiddos), but as you do this more and more, you will be able to drink more greens and like them! I sometimes sweeten our smoothies with a little agave nectar or raw honey. However, that's not really necessary if you use very ripe fruits. I hit the sales on super ripe bananas or day-old strawberries and freeze them in large batches. Frozen grapes are really good for smoothies too.

Smoothie #1
3 bananas

1 cup of papaya

4 big handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water


Smoothie #2 (similar to #1, but still a hit)
3 bananas

3 huge handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water


Smoothie #3
2 bananas

6-7 strawberries

juice from 2 oranges

2 handfuls of romaine

1 cup of water


Smoothie #4
Half a head of green or red leaf lettuce

2 bananas

juice from 2 tangelos

1/2 a bag of frozen mangoes

1 pear

1 cup of water


Smoothie #5
6 ounces of orange juice

1 cup of pineapple

1/2 cup of coconut milk (this is the best if you get a Thai coconut and use the water and meat, but the canned stuff works too)

2 handfuls of romaine/spring mix/or red leaf lettuce


Smoothie #6
1 stalk of celery

2 cups of blueberries

1 banana

2 cups of water


Smoothie #7
6 to 7 romaine leaves

1 cup of red grapes

1 medium orange (peeled, but whole, not juiced)

1 banana

2 cups of water


Smoothie #8
2 large grapefruits- juiced

6-7 frozen strawberries

1 cup of peaches

2 handfuls of bok choy


Smoothie #9
4 ripe pears

4-5 kale leaves

1/2 bunch of mint

2 cups of water

(I would add sweetener on this one!)


Smoothie #10
2 bananas

2 large collard or chard leaves

1/2 pack of Trader Joes frozen "Mangolicious" blend (has frozen mango, raspberries, and blueberries)

1-2 cups of water or orange juice

**You can substitute water with any juice you like. The amount you put in depends upon the consistency you like. My kids like it thick like ice cream...I like it almost as thin as juice.

The possibilities are endless really. You can add greens to any of your usual smoothie favorites. It will change the color, but if you do it in a small amount, it shouldn't take away from the flavor much. You can substitute in these recipes for any greens you like. Our favorites are KALE, COLLARD GREENS, SWISS CHARD, SPINACH, ROMAINE, and BOK CHOY. I sometimes also add ground flax or nuts/nut butter for added protein. Most of these recipes will yield a quart of green smoothies (32 oz). Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!