Posts Tagged ‘Raw Food Recipes’

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Eating for Energy- Awaken Your Passion For Real Food

October 10th, 2010

So much hype goes into the fight for Obesity today that many are saying that the love of food is making us all fat. If you learn to eat for the right reasons and maintain the passion you have to eat great, healthy and wholesome foods, your love for food can be even greater than it ever was, going to the fast food places.

I was lead to believe that eating was and still is important for my health. When I discovered Fast Food I was amazed at how little it could cost to feed myself. I always knew that fast food was exactly what it was, fast-fat-greasy-great tasting-low nutritional value-not very healthy for me…

Little did I realize that my love for fast food would grow to the point of obesity! Did you?

Learning about food became a Passion for me. It all tasted so great and if the FDA said it was alright then, what the heck, it must be healthy? Little did I know that protecting my body would soon become a real problem. We are free to eat what we want, when we want, as much as we want and yet the quality is often overshadowed by taste and taste alone. As a generation, we soon lost the ability to separate great taste from great healthy and wholesome foods

great looking foods

Now that we understand the problems we have created, where do we get the information we need to realize that Passion without all the side effects?

Eating For Energy has given me the Passion I desire without all the side effects. Let me explain. My love to eat is very, very strong. I love to eat until I am totally satisfied. Quantities are important to me and many people “super-size” because they need that volume in order to be fulfilled. I am one of those.

Eating 8 hamburgers, while I was in high-school, was a regular habit for me. I use to practice many sports and when you are 18 years old who cares, right? Little did I know what would happen later on in life and I was even less aware, or cared of the consequences of my poor eating habits.

Rewarding myself with food was great and with friends, food became our way of celebrating even the smallest special occasion.

Eating For Energy helped me realize that eating is not the problem. It is much more than that. I still eat the quantities I need to satisfy my hunger. I have not lost any of my Passion to eat. I have changed my lifestyle in order to maximize my health and minimize my potential for disease.

Many people ask what I did and I would love to tell you all but start with reading Eating For Energy and then and only then will you have a greater appreciation for the foods you really should be enjoying. You know what, I love to eat even more now than I ever did before.

Pierre & Pierrette:from http://www.theequest.com

Thee Quest For Perfect Health

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Liquid Diet

October 9th, 2010

HPIM1664I was inspired this morning by Audra and Pierre’s posts to try something I had yet to try – to only drink juices and smoothies for an entire day.

For a late breakfast (I slept in) I had a green juice, albeit it was a powder I dissolved into a glass of water. After a frustrating experience with my juicer, I retired it, but after watching a video on juicing Yuri posted a little while ago, I was contemplating giving my juicer a second chance, and after reading the entries posted this morning, I was ready.

For lunch, I made Pierre’s blueberry smoothie, except mine was more a mixed berry smoothie and it turned out pink. It was fabulous, and I look forward to making many many more. Because of the restrictive diet I’m following that limits my fruit to low-sugar fruits only, I do not normally eat bananas or grapes, so I’ll have to wait patiently, or not so patiently, to try this again. I also froze the grape puree my juicer spit out.

I gave some to my dad to try. He was only supposed to take a sip because it was more for my mom, and he ended up taking a second “sip” and drinking half of it. He loved it and would definitely drink it again. I’m certain my mom will like it when she tries her share.

Since my juicer performed so admirably juicing the grapes for my smoothie, I decided to go ahead and try Audra’s juice recipe. My juicer definitely does not like the leafy greens, which is my problem with it since that is what I want to juice. In the end I persevered and made a small glass of the juice. It was definitely energizing, even with the small serving I had, although I did forget to add the ginger, which was probably best in the long run since it would have overpowered everything else and I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. With ginger, I have learned a little goes a long way, and it is something I’m slowly trying to incorporate more of so I acquire a liking for it.

Back to my day. Since I felt so good, I went and did a 20 min workout on the treadmill, and no, I didn’t just do a nice leisurely pace. I know better than that. In fact, I pushed myself and did some intervals at a faster pace than I’ve ever tried before.

Dinner was make-it-up-as-I-go, with a juice made from a pear, carrot and cabbage. I was hoping the cabbage would process better than the spinach. It was okay and tasted mostly of pear. Since it made a very small glass, I decided to make a second smoothie, this time with only the mixed berries and a bit of the frozen grape puree from my earlier smoothie. I got watered down raspberries as a result. I think banana must be what gives a smoothie it’s nice creamy texture since mine was lacking that, but it was a good excuse to add some more flax seed and it did the job of filling me up.

Also, throughout the day I was drinking plenty of water.

So if anyone has doubts about being able to function on liquids only, the answer is you definitely can. Admittedly, I wasn’t overly active today, but neither did I drink very much, so upping the quantity of juice and smoothies you drink should compensate for more activity.

A final note about my juicer. I went out and purchased the cheapest juicer I could to see if I even liked juicing. It’s small, and I have to cut my fruit and vegetables into tiny pieces to feed them into the juicer. I was envious watching Yuri stuff entire stalks of kale into his juicer. I think I’m confident that if I had a better juicer it is something I would do more of.

Does anyone out there have a juicer they like and would recommend? If you do, please let me know. Thanks.

Nichole

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Simple Raw Food Recipes

June 20th, 2010

The concept of eating a specialized diet like the raw food diet might send some people to the conclusion that you have far too much time on your hands. After all, when you eat whatever you want, you have the choice to make a complex and complicated meal if you have the time and energy to spare, but if you are in a rush, you can always grab a bite to eat as you zip from here to there. Simplicity is always an option when your selection is endless; but when you are “limited” to a raw diet eating plan, you will forever be pre-planning your meals, and working your fingers to the bone to keep yourself properly fed, right?

As is the case with a lot of things, the raw diet can look a lot more complicated from the outside than it actually is in real life. Sure, you can spend a few hours whipping up complicated and intricate meals for your raw eating plan, but if you are pressed for time, there are plenty of simple raw food recipe ideas out there.

With summertime now upon us, there is no better time to experiment with some of these simple, tasty and cool recipes, leaving you with more time to spend with family out on the back deck, while still enjoying some great meals that will satiate that fickle summer hunger.

A great example of a raw food recipe that sounds very complex but is actually quite simple is a summertime favorite, cold watermelon soup. This delicate dish is great for summer evenings, and will wow your guests without overwhelming you in the kitchen.

To make, simply combine a cup of watermelon flesh per diner in a blender with half a cup on sliced fresh mango, two tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice, two teaspoons of freshly chopped mint, half a teaspoon of freshly ground ginger and a pinch of ground cardamom. Blend until smooth, and chill for an hour prior to serving. Garnish with a fresh mint leaf, and prepare to answer questions about the prep time for longer than it took to actually make the dish itself!

Another great summertime dish is guacamole, but most store bought varieties include tons of dried and dead spices, preservative chemicals and added flavors and colors. When done right, a raw guacamole does not need any help for color or taste, and makes a great dip for fresh veggie plates.

All you need are two or three large ripe avocados, three medium sized cherry tomatoes, a lime and a handful of fresh cilantro. Chop the cilantro, juice the lime, coarsely chop the tomatoes, mash the avocados with a fork, and combine all of the ingredients together. Pop the dish, covered, into the fridge for an hour if you can, but be warned: this guacamole is so good, it is almost impossible to keep out of it for a full hour. The longer you can wait to dig in, the better the flavors will be able to meld together, but don’t fret if people want to dig in immediately.

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Plant Based Food Recipes

June 17th, 2010

Within the raw food discipline, there are many different paths to better eating. While you might initially equate a raw food regimen with a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, there are plenty of ways to keep eating different types of meats while staying true to a raw diet.

However, these practices tend to be the minority while getting more than their fair share of the attention. In the mad rush to show outsiders that a raw food diet is not as alien and strange as they might think it is, many raw foodies will go overboard with the meat recipes, adding cold smoked salmon to just about every dish in the hopes of appealing to those who might be frightened of a raw, meatless diet.

But truth be told, there are many more delicious food choices within a raw food diet, and a majority of them involve no meat at all. These plant based food recipes rely only on what can be grown and eaten raw, and as simple as that might sound, it can offer amazingly complex flavors and textures. And no, eating plant based recipes does not mean that all you are eating are salads.

A great example of an exciting raw plant based meal is a take on vegetarian sushi. To begin the meal, you might like to start with a light beverage that can be enjoyed with the meal. Rather than opting for traditional sake, you might consider lightly carbonated mint-infusion water. While the bottled stuff at the store can be quite pricey, you can make your own at home using fresh mint, ice water and an inexpensive home seltzer kit.

Traditional Japanese sushi is made with vinegar and rice, but the raw plant varieties are more of a sashimi style of presentation. Here, there is no rice, but just thinly sliced pieces of fish – or in this case, vegetables. You can create a very delicate and intricate plate of plant sashimi by thinly slicing fruits and veggies such as avocado and eggplant. Instead of using traditional soy sauce, you can use the raw variety found in many alternative grocery and health food stores, and of course, you can add some thinly sliced ginger to the plate for flavor. If you love the sinus-clearing kick of wasabi, you can make your own by grinding up fresh wasabi root. Try to avoid the premade pastes, many of which are not wasabi at all, but a mixture of horseradish, mustard, flavors and coloring agents.

For dessert with this fancy meal, you can create your own green tea iced dessert. While mass marketed green teas have already been dried and heated, you can find raw green tea leaves online or in some specialty grocery stores. Another option is to use matcha, which is a finely ground green tea powder made from sun-dried tea leaves. Either way, you can mix your green tea with frozen bananas in a food processor to create a fine but creamy dessert that will match the elegance of your main dish.

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Eating for Energy Recipe of the Week: Alkalizing Cucumber Soup

May 26th, 2010

Hello beautiful people! This week’s Eating for Energy recipe of the week is Alkalizing Cucumber Soup. I decided to start with a soup recipe because I’ve never tried a raw soup before. I’ve always suspected that I wouldn’t like them, and I finally had a reason to test that theory. Plus, I had all the ingredients on hand, and it looked pretty easy.

Ingredients:

  • Avocado
  • Cucumber, peeled and chopped
  • Chopped fresh dill
  • Lemon juice
  • Dulse flakes

(For recommended amounts see Eating for Energy page 234. Sorry, but I can’t divulge all of Yuri’s secrets!)

Makes two servings.

The directions say to throw everything into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. I had my doubts about how well avocado would do in my blender, but I figured I’d just follow the directions to start with and adjust if needed. So, I threw everything into the blender and turned it on low. Sure enough, the blades created a vertical tunnel. All the ingredients got pushed to the sides and just sat there.

So, I transferred everything to my mini food processor. This worked better, but not great. It took longer than expected and left the cucumbers chunky.

Using the amounts of ingredients recommended in the book, I ended up with a goo closer to the consistency of a dip than a soup, so I added more lemon juice, altogether about twice as much lemon juice as recommended.

The end result was a delightful minty green colored soup with dark purple flecks. Very pretty. (I would have taken a picture, but that’s not my forte, and it probably would have done more harm than good.)

Taste Test

Now, comes the most important part: the taste test!

In a word: pleasant.

I didn’t have very high hopes for this recipe after it took so much longer to make than I expected. I thought it would take about 10 minutes to just throw it all into a blender and blend it up, but it took more like 50 minutes. I originally thought it would be not great but good enough to make when I needed something quick, and since it wasn’t so quick …

However, I was pleasantly surprised. It has a very light, refreshing taste and goes down easy. I thought the dill would overpower the cucumber, but no. My daughter Ali liked it even more than I did, which is surprising since she doesn’t like cucumbers. The aftertaste is the best part. After I got done with it, I didn’t drink any water for quite some time because I didn’t want to wash the lingering taste away.

My 8-year-old son Michael said, “Yuck! … but it goes away quickly.” Meaning, he didn’t like it, but that was easy to deal with because it didn’t stick around in his mouth for a long time.

Lessons Learned

Changes I will make next time:

  • Use a mini food processor, not a blender.
  • Mash avocado up by hand.
  • Process cucumber by itself first. Then, add all other ingredients.
  • Use more dulse flakes to make it a little saltier.
  • Maybe add a bit of water to thin it out just a little more.

Conclusions

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I will definitely make this again, and with these changes, I expect it will take only 10 minutes to make.

Next week, Blueberry Morning. See you next week!

– Terri

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