Raw Food Recipe – Basic Nut or Seed Butter Recipe

Basic Butter/Spread

Considering there is much controversy over which brand of nut butters are raw, one may feel more comfortable making their own brand of butter with raw nuts and seeds.  Carmellita and I are very found of saying…”if you make it yourself you know exactly what’s in it…”

2 cups of raw nuts or seeds (best to use one kind when tackling this recipe)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Use as needed.  **For various flavors, you may also use hemp, flax, avocado or coconut oils)

Dash of Sea Salt

Raw Honey/Agave Nectar/Maple Syrup/Yacon—sweeten to desired taste

In a coffee grinder or vita-mix, process nuts/seeds to a fine powder.

Using a food processor or high speed blender, process nut/seed powder with olive oil.  Texture should be soft and fluid.  Add salt and sweeteners as needed.   Next, transfer nut/seed butter to a glass jar (a mason jar works well) and refrigerate.  The butter will begin to thicken once refrigerated.   Stir before using, as oil settles to the top.

Warning:  Be aware of rancid nuts and seeds.  If used, they will ruin your entire batch.  Discard bad nuts/seeds immediately. 

Raw Food Recipe – Salad Magnificence – Living Food Diet

Salad Magnificence

An excellent raw food recipe or living food recipe when  you want to jazz up your salad.  Salads filled with greens such as spinach are very important to those who want high-vibration nutrition on the Raw and Living Food diet.  You don’t have to have a boring salad.  Enjoy a salad filled with phyto-nutrients and great taste.  Don’t settle for anything less than magnificence. 

2 handfuls of baby spinach
5 cups of green lettuce
1/2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 an avocado (cut in cubes)

1/2 avocado whole
1/4 cup Pomegranate seeds
1 cucumber (unpeeled and diced fine)

1 tomato (chopped) 

2 tablespoons Lemon juice  
1/2 red bell pepper (diced fine)

1/2 red onion  

2 cloves of garlic (finely diced)

1/2 tsp. Dill

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

3 tbs. pine nuts

Sea Salt to season                                                                                                      

Shred lettuce and spinach.  Mix in cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, garlic and tomatoes. Add dill and garlic powder.  Add sea salt, to taste. 

Allow to marinate, while blending in a separate bowl, 1/2 avocado, lemon juice, and olive oil.  Add sea salt to taste.  Hand mix until well blended with a smooth consistency. 

Take mixture/dressing and roll it into salad blend.

Add avocado cubes and top with sprinkles of pomegranate seeds and pine nuts.

Raw Food Diet Recipe – Nori Chips – Living Food Recipes

Nori Chips

Nori is normally sold in dried sheets. It is one of the many nutrient-rich sea vegetables on the market today.  Nori, and all other seaweed, is a rich source of calcium, zinc and iodine. It is also a good source of lignans.  You will really enjoy this nori chip recipe.  Nori chips are a great and nutritional substitute for potato chips and corn chips.

1 Pack Nori Sheets, raw

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked

2 cups almonds, soaked

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon chili powder

¼ cup sundried tomatoes, soaked

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Braggs liquid aminos (to taste)

Soak almonds and sunflower seeds overnight.

Soak sundried tomatoes for 20 minutes.

In food processor or high speed blender, process almonds, sunflower seeds, garlic, chili powder, sundried tomatoes, oil, and liquid aminos.  Process to a creamy texture.

Take sheets of nori and cut into small squares ( 1” x 1”).  Spoon ½ teaspoon or more of mixture onto squares.

Once the mixture is spooned onto the nori, place squares onto (mesh sheet) of dehydrator trays.  Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 3 hours or until crispy.

Optional:  May use more or less sundried tomatoes and oil, if necessary.  You don’t want the mixture to turn soupy.

Serve this as an appetizer when entertaining and you will not know where the chips went!

Raw Food Recipe – Mock Tuna Salad – Living Food Diet

Mock Tuna Salad Recipe

Enjoy a raw food vegan approach to an outstanding tuna Salad.  Filled with great nutrients including sea veggies.  This Mock tuna is sure to please.  We have provided a variety of ways you can serve this tuna salad.  Enjoy.  Great for lunches or to serve at raw food potlucks.  We know you will enjoy this living food recipe as you explore your options on the raw food diet.

½ Soaked Sunflower seeds

¼ Bell pepper

½ Chopped Avocado

½ Avocado

1 Chopped Date

2 tablespoons Dulse flakes

¼ teaspoon ground Mustard seed

¼ cup (or more) Extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoon Red wine vinegar

5 Greek Olives

2 tablespoons (or more) Agave nectar

¼ cup Chopped Green Onion

Sliced Tomatoes

Lettuce

Soak sunflower seeds for two hours. Drain sunflower seeds.  Add sunflower seeds and all ingredients to food processor except chopped avocado and pulse.  Fold in chopped avocado.  Place tuna over sliced tomatoes and lettuce.  And Serve.

Fantastic Ideas For Mock Raw Food Vegan Tuna:

§           A great dish to add to whole portabello mushroom caps

§           Place atop spinach leaves

§           Stuff small mushroom caps, and dehydrate for 2 hours at 110 degrees.

§           Stuff sweet peppers or Red and Yellow Bell peppers.

Raw food recipe – Basic Nut or Seed Cheese Recipe – Living Food Diet

Basic Cheese Recipe

Nut cheese or seed cheese is a staple in the raw food diet or the living food diet.  Normally fermented, you can use this raw food creation, whenever recipes call for any type of cheese.  When using cheese in desserts, add sweetener of choice.

2 cups soaked Nuts of Choice (cashew, almond, sunflower seed, etc…Authors pick: Macadamia nuts work best!)
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt 
water as needed

Soak nuts in water overnight.  Next day Process all ingredients together adding as little of the water as possible until a creamy consistency is achieved. Place in glass bowl.  Cover with towel or cheese cloth.  Leave in a room temperature dark place (counter top is just fine) for 24 hours.  This will ferment the mixture and make a wonderful cheese culture. 

Note:  The longer it ferments the stronger it becomes.  For a strong cream cheese taste, ferment 3 days.

A Guilty disposition & Scrumptious Flax Seed Crackers

As individuals growing on the path of enlightenment, we sometimes struggle with consideration for the next person, as it relates to our fulfillment of selfish desires. In other words the term, “wanting what we want, now;” in other words, “immediate gratification.”

I was pondering this when it came to the subject of food. A while ago, Carmellita made a tray of flax seed crackers. Earlier that day, she made a delectable salad filled with tomatoes, avocado, and bean sprouts. In the meantime I was attempting a fast. I say attempting because my mind wasn’t completely ready for one that day. When I looked at Carmellita’s salad, well all my attempts at fasting went out the window. I said to myself, “Well, maybe tomorrow.” Well, Carmellita was kind enough to share her dish with me, but I ended up eating about ¾ of her crackers. She stared at her nearly disseminated tray of crackers, let out a slight sigh, and proceeded to finish her meal.

Well in that moment it really hit me—“oops,” I cried, feeling slightly embarrassed. Now, I did not and I repeat I did not intentionally set out to devour my best friend’s flax seed crackers. I did feel really bad about it – after it was done. I know some of you are thinking, “It’s no big deal. You got carried away. You weren’t paying attention.” But allow me to stress how bad I felt after it was done.

Allow me to submit that those of you who feel that it was no big deal have never been on the opposite side of the offense or are probably the ones who have taken advantage of a person’s kindness. Now, I’m not saying this to pass judgment or to condemn, but I cannot say that during the process, as I was breaking large pieces of her crackers over the salad that she was nice enough to share with me, a little voice didn’t sweep through my mind saying, “not so much. Maybe Carm will want more.” You know why I can’t say that I didn’t hear that “little voice,” because I was busying arguing with it. “She’s fine. She’s through.” Yea right I didn’t know. That was my little voice; and can I tell you that when the voice of your Source speaks, it doesn’t argue with the selfishness of the Ego. Our intuition says what it has to say and that’s that.

So why did I not stop or why had I chosen to ignore this voice—because my wanting of what I wanted ignored and overrode the voice of pure consciousness. That’s when I later began to think about how we must be and show consideration and generosity at all times. A lack of consideration shows spiritual immaturity. Spiritual immaturity blocks our spiritual growth and development. As co-creators, we create everything. The point wasn’t what it was—flax seed crackers. It was the energy behind it. And believe me; no one wants to invite negative and low vibrational energy into their lives.

Family in all your actions be aware of the energy of your intentions behind it. Remember that inspired action is right action. I was “inspired” to slow down. If that inner voice says, “stop,” “wait,” “no,” or whatever it may be—Don’t argue. Just follow.

Until next time, Live Well, Live Wise, Live Wealthy, and let the Creative Spirit move you.

Raw Food Recipe – Swiss Chard Apple and Cherry Salad – Living Food Diet

Swiss Chard Apple and Cherry Salad

  Who said salads can’t be delightful?  This amazing recipe is delicious and detoxifying.  Wow.

Photo courtesy of: Kerrycv at www.goneraw.com

1 head swiss chard

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, soaked (2 hours)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 lemons

1 pinch salt

1 avocado

½ cup red onion

Optional:  For a more colorful, fiesta salad, add 1 Pear – cubed, and 1 Mango, sliced, and 1 small tangerine.

Tear chard into a large bowl and rub salt into it. Add oil.  Squeeze in lemons, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic, sesame seeds, and chopped cherries. Press chard with hands or fork to help it wilt and soak up the juices. Let it marinate for 20 minutes. Next, press in ½ of avocado.  Add chopped apples.  Mix well.  Slice into strips the other ½ of avocado.  Top of salad with avocado slices.

Living in Abundance on Alkalizing Raw Foods

In studying Universal Laws of Abundance, it is vital to take care to not neglect the health and wellness aspect of the law.  When individuals choose to study Divine Laws such as, the Law of Giving, the Law Attraction, the Law of Abundance, an eagerness to see the manifestation of the material aspect of wealth is usually the driving force.  But how many realize that if one fails to achieve good health or neglects to understand the importance of having an alkaline living food diet, then the abundance and enjoyment of money will be short lived?  Becoming holistic encompasses the “whole” self uniting in harmony with each part—body, mind, and spirit.  Entrepreneurs also have much to gain when incorporating more raw and living foods into one’s diet.  Living foods encourage mental clarity, while leaving one with a greater sense of focus and stamina.

Think of your body the way a farmer tills the soil.  Your body, just like the soil of the earth, extracts nutrients from the food it’s given.  Enzymes, which are found in (living and raw) foods, aid in the process of digestion (transporting nutrients to the cells).  By choosing alkaline rich foods, (foods with a ph level of 7.0 or higher), these foods contain vital and living enzymes which aid in the digestion and the absorption of nutrients. These nutrients are extracted from the food by the body through the process of assimilation.  If the food is alive, then the process of digestion is easier.  The nutrients are then distributed to the cells and then the healing of the body begins. 

“Let thy food be thy medicine” is a proverb that has been used in indigenous cultures all over the world for thousands of years.  But if the food is void of nutrition, then the healing process is compromised.   According to Wellness Educator, Carmellita Brown:

“For the average person, 80% percent of what we eat has no nutritional value.  About 40% of the foods we consume are meats and animal products such as milk, cheese, butter, which have nutrients, but these nutrients do not assimilate well in the Human body.  We eat it because we enjoy the way it tastes and because it gives us a temporary sense of fullness.  The other 40% is processed foods such as pastas, breads, canned foods, and frozen foods.  Only about 20% of what we eat is actually raw fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds.  This ratio not only promotes anaerobic pathogens, it also causes obesity, nerve damage, allergies, and stress.”

Making simple dietary changes need not be painful.   For many of us, there is a very real fear of becoming socially isolated and deprived of good tasting food because of changes in dietary choices. Taste is important and does not have to be discarded when making a selection of good healthful foods.  The days of the Scarsdale Diet are over.  You don’t have to eat bland, tasteless, putrid looking foods in order to achieve optimal health.  Here is a recipe that includes a few key foods that can be incorporated into any diet:

1 head of red leaf lettuce
1 cucumber
2 whole tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
2 avocados
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons of Cold Press Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Season to taste with dill weed, sea salt, and basil (dry or fresh)
Dash of Celtic “gray” Sea Salt to taste

Chop lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber.  Finely mince garlic and mix together.  Slice avocados into strips.  Add dill weed, salt, and basil and toss all ingredients together.  You may add hot peppers to your liking  (Serrano, habanero, jalapeno) for a thermogenic effect.  Enjoy

The dill mixed with the avocado will give a rich, creamy, and buttery type taste to the salad. Enjoy the many therapeutic proprieties of the food such as, apple cider vinegar (raising metabolism, cutting appetite), tomatoes (cancer fighting agent) and garlic (reduces high blood pressure).

There’s no need to be in conflict when choosing good, healthful foods.  Here a few tips to keep in mind.  When incorporating holistic foods into the diet always:

1.  Remember when choosing foods, don’t be afraid of Green.
Green is associated with prosperity and growth.  Romaine Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, Bok Choy are enzyme rich, low calorie foods that can be the base of any salad.  Imagine the leafy leaves of lettuce flushing away toxins.
 
2. Don’t let too much brown hang around
Unless it’s brown because it’s a raw nut, seed, or grain, more than likely the thing you are looking at is a “dead” processed or fried food.  Remember processed foods have “0” nutritional value; meaning that over time it physically wears and tears down the body.

3. If the label is too long, put it down
Additives and foreign agents are usually included in foods with lengthy labels.  The body won’t recognize those chemicals and therefore will not be able to digest them.

4.  Add fruit for breakfast
Don’t be afraid to experiment.  Nature has given humanity thousands of exotic fruits to choose from.  Apples, oranges, and bananas are fine, but Mangos, Bosc Pears, black plums, passion fruit, and papayas are a great way to start off any day.

Making small steps towards optimal health need not be taxing or painful.  The earth is plentiful. And as you begin to take steps towards your health, Abundance of the mind, body, and Spirit will be achieved.

Live Stress-Free, Eat a Raw Food Diet, and Keep Your Productive Attitude For Success

This resistance to creative energy becomes stagnant Chi or stagnant life-force. This stagnancy will cause joint pains, elimination and digestive problems, acidosis, and in some cases degenerative diseases.

So let us take a moment to discover how we can live stress free for optimal health and develop an affirming and productive attitude which leads to creativity and success.

A wonderful way to start the process of living stress free for optimal health is getting our bodies in motion through exercise. Exercise not only gives us a fit body, but it also allows chi or energy to move about our bodies.

A sedentary lifestyle or just a sedentary job can still cause stress because your body is not in motion. Think about how many times you have sat at your office desk for hours. During this time, your eyes became tired and strained, your back ached, and your neck started to cramp. The moment you stood to your feet and stretched your arms above your heads and touched your toes, you begin to feel a release as if the blood in your body has begun to circulate again. And that is just what happened. Exercise no matter how simple gets the blood circulating. And when your blood starts to circulate, chi is no longer stagnant. With this release, your brain cells reactivate which sparks creativity.

Stress can also be eliminated with the practice of meditation and yoga. Yoga and meditation is a great way to affirm your health and wellness. Many people see yoga as exercise, but yoga is truly a science, a science which uses the anatomy of the body to move energy and chi to promote vitality, strength, concentration, present-moment awareness, and higher consciousness. Yoga coupled with meditation puts the universal law of purpose and intention into motion and guides the creative process. As the practitioner moves through the asanas (poses), he or she is in an affirmative state which not only aligns the spine, but aligns energy, thoughts, and eventually actions. Accordingly, with the power to promote vitality, stress is no longer a factor. Stress cannot live where vitality breeds.

Drinking water and maintaining a high water content raw food diet promotes fluidity and the suppleness of our bodies. To experience optimal health and stress free living, it is a great practice to drink plenty of water and maintain a high water content  raw food diet.  We must eat raw living plant foods at a high quantity if we want to be supple and fluid.   This can be accomplished by drinking plenty of pH balanced water, eating raw fruits and vegetables, juicing, and preparing fresh fruit smoothies.

In recent decades, our markets are being filled with processed foods which have no water. These foods tend to rob water from our joints and muscles. As a result the body becomes rigid and this leads to stress. By juicing fresh fruits such as apples, melons, kale, turnips, and celery, preparing avocado, agave nectar, and mango smoothies, or eating a fresh salad made with spring greens, avocado, fresh lemon juice, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green onion, we put this nutrient rich water back into our bodies. This water promotes flexibility and fluidity. As a result, our organs perform better and our excretory system removes metabolic waste and toxins at an appropriate rate. When our excretory system performs in optimal health mode, we feel light, our organs are not stressed. This leaves room for our minds to use energy for creativity instead of fighting off toxins and diseases.

This leads to another wonderful tool for stress free living and optimal health, the dynamic duo of fasting and detoxification. Unfortunately for many, the idea of fasting and detoxification brings up feelings of depravity. However, this is absolutely erroneous. Fasting and detoxification is a process of cleansing, replenishing, and restoration. In the process of cleansing for example, during a juice fast, the body is being cleansed of toxins, parasites, and metabolic waste including incrusted bile and fecal matter. This cleansing process gives the digestive system a chance to rest and this energy can be used for creativity which leads to an affirming productive attitude. And an affirming productive attitude is much better for our emotional and mental state.

Accordingly, while addressing our emotional and mental state, another practice which promotes optimal health and stress free living involves our connection to nature. Nature is such an innate part of us and many of us who lead busy lives forget our connection with nature. Taking our lunch in the park, sitting on a park bench and feeding the birds, walking the dog, planting and gardening, or just standing on our front lawn taking a deep breath allows us to connect with nature. Connecting with nature is a surefire way to relieve tension and stress both emotionally and physically. This connection with nature reminds our bodies on a cellular level to enjoy life, to see abundance all around us, and that we are very much a part of the continuum. With this reminder, we understand there is no need to stress.

And just what is an affirming [productive attitude? Our attitude is an indicator to how we see life. An affirming productive attitude sees the good in life and therefore draws the good from life experiences. Remember, in order to develop an affirming productive attitude, the way in which we see life, we must let go of all that leads to stress and start to practice those things which allow us to experience joy, elation, love, affluence, peace, and order.

Stress is merely a signal that we are holding on to things which do not affirm our true and authentic self. By practicing those things that help us maintain good health and stress free living, we develop an affirming attitude. This affirming producctive attitude leads to direct alignment to creative energy. And when we are creating goodness, we will live in optimal health.

Summer Time Blast

I don’t know about you, but it’s so hot, I could fry an egg on the sidewalk.  Well, since I’m a vegan I won’t be doing that; so instead enjoy this glorious smoothie I made to beat the summertime blues.  Enjoy.

1/2 cantaloupe, peeled, deseeded & cut into cubes

6 strawberries

4 cups of nut milk (use any nuts of your choice)

2 cups of raw agave nectar or raw honey (sweeten to taste)

2 cups of crushed ice

Place all ingredients in a blender and enjoy.

The beauty of this smoothie is the richness and wealth of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and antioxidants included.  Here is a brief list of some of the healing powers of this drink.

Cantaloupe is rich in vitamin A and C.  The power of vitamin C protects us from free radicals.  Cantaloupe is also a healer of constipation, high blood pressure, fever, eases the digestive tract, aids with disorders of the kidneys and bladder, and help suppress the appetite.

The nutritional content of cantaloupe follows:

Vitamin and Mineral Content:

• Vitamin A : 3,420 I.U.
• Thiamine : .05 mg.
• Riboflavin : .04 mg
• Niacin : .5 mg.
• Vitamin C : 33 mg.
• Calcium : 17 mg.
• Iron : .4 mg.
• Phosphorus : 16 mg.
• Potassium : 242 mg.
• Fat : .2 gm.
• Carbohydrates : 4.6 gm.
• Protein : .6 gm
• Calories : 20

 Strawberries also rich in vitamin C contain a significant range of phytonutrients and antioxidants, which also fight free radicals.

**Remember free radicals are elements that can damage cells leading to many kinds of cancer

The nutritional content of strawberries follows:

• Vitamin K
• Vitamin B5
• Vitamin B6
•  Manganese
• Potassium
• Copper
• Magnesium
• Riboflavin
• Folic Acid
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids 

Raw Nutmilks are rich in protein, carbohydrates, and (good) fat.

Raw Honey has been used for years as an energy booster and cold/fever remedy.  Singers can attest to the soothing relief honey has on sore throats.  One of the most significant benefits of honey is, once taken, its ability to inhibit the growth of bad bacteria.

Agave nectar is found to boost the immune system and be an effective tool in weight loss.

Raw Food Vegan Recipe – Key Lime Pie – Living Food Desserts

Raw Vegan Key Lime Pie

You can still enjoy dessert with no guilt on the Raw Food Vegan Diet.  Enjoy this fabulous Raw Vegan Key Lime pie.  Yum. Try at your next raw food potluck.

Photo courtesy of: www.therawtable.com

 

 

Crust:

1 ½ cup pecans

1 cup walnuts

1/3 cup mixture of dates

(medjool, barhi, etc) & monuka raisins

¼ cup of coconut oil/butter

Dash of sea salt

Base Filling:

3 large avocados

1 large young coconut (use extracted meat)

1 tablespoon of young coconut water

3 tablespoons of cashew butter (raw)

2 large limes (juice of)

½ cup of agave nectar (sweeten to taste)

1 teaspoon of almond or vanilla extract

Dash of sea salt

Shredded coconut flakes and grinded lime rinds for garnish

Preparation:

For crust, in food processor or high speed blender, process nuts.  Next add dates, raisins, coconut oil/butter, and salt.  Process until ball forms.  Press crust into pie dish and set aside.

For filling, in food processor or high speed blender, process all ingredients.  Once smooth and creamy, pour into crust.  Place pie in freezer for 3 hours or until set.  Allow to thaw before serving.

Garnish with grated lime rinds and coconut.

Raw Food Diet Recipes – Walnut Taco Salad – Living Foods

Walnut Taco Salad

Want to add a little southwestern feel to your raw food diet.  Here is a simple but flavorful raw food recipe and living food recipe for an excellent Taco Salad.  Enjoy this live, raw recipe with health lovers at your next raw food potluck.

1 cup of soaked Walnuts

2 Soaked Sun-dried Tomatoes

1 chopped Roma Tomatoes

1 whole

Lettuce

Chili powder

1 chopped Jalapeño pepper

1 Chopped avocado

¼ cup chopped Green Onion

2 Clove of Garlic

2 tablespoons of Liquid Amino

¼ cup chopped bell pepper

Soak walnuts for 20 minutes.  Then, Drain walnuts.  Add walnuts, 1 sun-dried tomatoes, 1 garlic clove, 1 tablespoon of liquid amino, and pinch of chili powder in food processor and blend.  Add all other ingredients to a bowl over a bed of lettuce.  Place walnut mixture on top of salad.  Then add tomato, 1 tablespoon of liquid amino, 1 sun-dried tomato, olive oil, basil, and 1 Roma tomato to blender.  Blend until it has a soupy consistency.  Drizzle over salad.  Top taco salad with chopped avocado and serve.

Optional:                     To Make Taco Shells

In a food processor or high speed blender, process 3 cups of fresh corn.  Blend in 1 tablespoon of raw honey.  Pour mixture onto teflex sheets of dehydrator.  With spoon, form a circular shape with mixture.  Dry at 110 degrees, flipping once during drying cycle.   Dehydrate up to 8 hours or until desired texture is achieved.  Spoon walnut taco salad onto taco shells.