Thursday, March 20, 2014

Raw Chocolate-Covered-Cherry Shake

If you love chocolate covered cherries, you are going to love this recipe. When you sneak in the kale, it takes it to another level of health and wellness!

Recipe:
2 bananas
2 cups of fresh kale
1 Tbl coconut oil
4 pitted dates
1/2 cup raw cherries, frozen
1 heaping Tbls raw cacao powder
Ice and 1/2 cup of water

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy! You can't even taste the kale where the other ingredients are so powerful!



Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Raw Strawberry Jam with Chia Seeds!


We Be Jammin'!

I made this last night before bed and it was so easy. I'm always on the lookout for raw jams that do not use any refined sugar. This is a healthy, raw jam that your family will love!

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh strawberries
2 Tbl chia seeds
2 Tbl real maple syrup

I blended the strawberries in my food processor and poured them into a bowl. I added the chia seeds and syrup. I mixed them all together and poured the jam into a jar. When I woke up this morning I gave it one more mix and it was jam consistency, without the pectin! It tastes so fresh and delicious and screams of summer! I can't wait for you to try it!

Health Benefits of Chia Seeds:

"Combat Diabetes
Chia is being studied as a potential natural treatment for type-2 diabetes because of its ability to slow down digestion. The gelatinous coating chia seeds develops when exposed to liquids-can also prevent blood sugar spikes.

Get More Fiber
Just a 28-gram or one-ounce serving of chia has 11 grams of dietary fiber — about a third of the recommended daily intake for adults. Adding some chia to your diet is an easy way to make sure you're getting a good amount of fiber, which is important for digestive health.

Stock Up On Omega-3
Chia seeds are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, with nearly five grams in a one-ounce serving. These fats are important for brain health. "There's better conversion of omega 3s into the plasma or into the food than with flax seed," said researcher Wayne Coates.

Stronger Teeth And Bones
A serving of chia seeds has 18 per cent of the recommended daily intake for calcium, which puts your well on your way to maintaining bone and oral health, and preventing osteoporosis.

Don't Forget Manganese
Manganese isn't a well-known nutrient, but it's important for our health: it's good for your bones and helps your body use other essential nutrients like biotin and thiamin. One serving of chia seeds, or 28 grams, has 30 per cent of your recommended intake of this mineral.

Plenty Of Phosphorus
With 27 per cent of your daily value for phosphorus, chia seeds also helps you maintain healthy bones and teeth. Phosphorus is also used by the body to synthesize protein for cell and tissue growth and repair.

Pack In The Protein
Chia seeds also make a great source of protein for vegetarians and don't have any cholesterol. One 28-gram serving of these super seeds has 4.4 grams of protein, nearly 10 per cent of the daily value.

Fight Belly Fat
Chia's stabilizing effect on blood sugar also fights insulin resistance which can be tied to an increase in belly fat, according to Live Strong. This type of resistance can also be harmful for your overall health.

Get Full. Faster
Tryptophan, an amino acid found in turkey, is also found in chia seeds. While tryptophan is responsible for that strong urge to nap after a big Thanksgiving dinner for example, it also helps regulate appetite, sleep and improve mood.

Improve Heart Health
According to the Cleveland Clinic, chia seeds have been shown to improve blood pressure in diabetics, and may also increase healthy cholesterol while lowering total, LDL, and triglyceride cholesterol. All good news for your ticker!" Thank you, Huffington Post for this list!

What do you add Chia seeds to?
I'd love to hear!!

Raw Portebello Pizza's


When I first began my raw food journey, I made a lot of complicated recipes. I like to think of them as transition foods. They all tasted similar to food that I was used to when I ate the standard American diet. I have learned tools and tips that make eating raw easy for the beginner. You don't have to eat 100% raw to reap the benefits, either. Finding your own balance and incorporating a raw meal a day into your life will give you incredible health benefits and introduce you to a whole world of preparing food. For the "foodie," it will be extremely fun!

 The dehydrator is like a "crock pot" for raw food. These Raw Spinach, Tomato and Mushroom Pizzas will "cook" in my dehydrator while my family and I went out of town for a photo shoot. When we came home they had a soft, cooked consistency, but were still raw and healthy! All of the living enzymes were still intact and they were tastier than you can imagine! The house smelled insanely good when we walked through that door as well! It smelled like pizza cooking!

I made this recipe up on the fly with what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

4 Portebello mushroom caps
1 cup soaked cashews, drained (I soak mine overnight)
Various veggies for topping. I used spinach, tomatoes, peppers and onions
1 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbls. olive oil
juice of one lemon
sea salt

Create a olive oil and balsamic vinegar "dressing" and toss the chopped, raw veggies in the mixture. Coat mushrooms in this as was well.

Blend cashews with the juice of one lemon and a dash of salt. (You may need to add a touch of water to get it to blend well). It should look like and have the consistency of sour cream. Pour this filling into the mushroom caps.

Arrange veggies on top of filling. Add various spices on top of veggies. Oregano is a must for that pizza taste! Add salt and pepper. Place in the dehydrator at 104 degrees for 6 hours. Enjoy coming home to a warm, delicious, healthy meal!!
Rawk On & Enjoy Life!