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 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.

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 Recipe – Live Pie Crust (Basics)

You can use this Live Pie Crust raw food recipe with any filling you like.  This Living Food Pie Crust recipe can be the basics for all your pies.

Live or Living Food Pie Crust (Basic)

Photo courtesy of: http://rawfoodrightnow.blogspot.com

2 cups Almonds

1 cup Walnuts

1 cup Dates, pitted, soaked in water

Dash of Sea Salt

Vanilla extract (optional)

In a food processor or high speed blender, process all ingredients.  Use a slight bit of water, if necessary to form a dough.

Press dough/crust into a pie pan or plate. 

Optional:  Chill in the refrigerator for up to an hour.

Using a combination of nuts is a fun way to experiment with many types of crusts.  Each nut will lend its own taste.  Feel free to substitute almonds and walnuts with coconut, brazil nuts, pecans, etc.  Nuts make better pie crusts than seeds, but seeds may be used in combination with nuts.  You may also use nut flour alone or with a combination of raw nuts.  Whatever you choose, always remember to have fun and enjoy.

If you are using your pie for a non-dessert/savory dish, substitute dates, with a non-sweet fruit, such as cucumber, tomato, sundried tomatoes, zucchini, rejuvelac, or you may use water.

Raw Food Recipe: Energy Soup (Ann Wigmore) -Basic Living Food

Basic Energy Soup

Adapted from Lillian Butler of http//:www.rawsoul.com and raw food pioneer, Ann Wigmore this Energy Soup is extremely nourishing to the body.   Creating soups through the blending of foods aids in digestion and absorption of vital nutrients found in these whole foods.  This is a great food for boosting energy levels as well as aiding the body with elimination.  This blend has everything the body needs, protein, sugar, fat, water, sodium, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins.

Ingredients:

2 leaves romaine lettuce

4 leaves turnip green

2 leaves dark green kale

1 zucchini or yellow squash

½ avocado

1 cucumber

1 large apple, pear, or mango

1 cup fresh sprouts (sunflower, buckwheat, mung bean, etc…)

2 tablespoons dulse flakes (may add kelp, nori, and other sea vegetables)

¾ cup Rejuvelac

Sea salt to taste

In a food processor or high speed blender, process all ingredients.  For added flavor add more herbs and spices suit your specifications. 

How to Make Rejuvelac (One Gallon Recipe)- Raw Food Basics

We are continuing with our Raw food Basics recipes. One very important aspect of the raw and living food diet is “getting probiotics.” Probiotics assist in digestion and overall good health. Rejuvelac contains probiotics and this recipe makes it easy to prepare your own rejuvelac (makes one gallon). Enjoy.

Rejuvelac Recipe

Photo courtesy of: Brian Lucas at www.goneraw.com

1 cup sprouted soft wheat berries
1 gallon pure water

Preparing Sprouted Wheatberries:

Place 1 cup of wheatberries in room temperature water for 24 hours. Change water at least 2 times in a 24 hour period. Remove water from wheat berries.
Rinse sprouted wheat berries well. Blend wheat berries with enough water to cover on high for 5 seconds. Pour in gallon glass jar. Fill with water. Cover with cheesecloth. Let it sit at room temperature up to 3 days. The length of time will depend on humidity and temperature. Strain. Should taste like tart lemonade. Store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Drink at least 2 glasses daily for good health. You may use Rejuvelac in recipes instead of water. Especially scrumptious in raw vegan dairy and cheese recipes

This is a great replacement to using water in recipes. It is filled with enzymes and probiotics.

Warning: Pay attention to rejuvelac. The possibility for it turning rancid in warmer temperatures is high. If it smells putrid, discard the solution and sterilize the jar containing it. Also pay attention to seeds, one bad seed will destroy the entire batch.

Raw Food Recipe – Pina Colada – Natural Living Food Beverages

Pina Colada

Enjoy this raw food drink and dessert on the living food diet. Pina Coladas are fun drinks and desserts all in one.  You don’t have to sacrifice a great dessert beverage on the raw and living food diet.  This dessert beverage is sure to please a crowd at your next Living food or raw food potluck.

Photo courtesy of: www.derekandsara.com/raw Original recipe adapted from www.derekandsara.com/raw Modifications courtesy of www.bluelotusliving.com

1 ripe pear
1 banana
2-3 slices fresh pineapple
1 date
1-2 T shredded coconut (garnish)
1 tsp coconut butter/oil
add a bit of water and a handful of ice.

Optional:  If a sweeter taste is desire, add more dates, raw agave nectar, or raw honey to taste.

To increase phytonutrients and balance sugars, add a 1 leaf of kale, turnip, or 1oz. of spinach or wheat grass juice. 

Raw Food Diet Recipe – Collard Greens with Creme of Broccoli – Living Foods

Collard Wraps with Crème’ de la Broccoli

A great raw food vegan recipe.  Filled with nutrients this raw food diet recipe will surely tantalize your taste buds.  Raw food can be fun, nutritious, and tasty. 

5 collard leaves, de-stemmed

3 cups Broccoli flowerets

2 ripe avocados

1 clove of garlic

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons Braggs Liquid Aminos

Sea salt to taste

1 tbs. Extra virgin oil

In a plate, marinate collard leaves with sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and braggs liquid aminos.  Set aside for 10 to 20 minutes.  The longer it marinates the softer the leaves will be.

In a food processor or heavy duty blender, process broccoli, garlic, nutritional yeast, avocados, and sea salt.  Blend until creamy. 

Note:  Add extra virgin olive oil if needed, to blend to consistency.

Spoon dressing into each collard leaf and roll into a wrap.

Optional:  Add ½ tomato to dressing.  The tomato will give the dressing a salsa type of flair.

Raw food recipe – Raw Cherry Almond Yogurt – Living Food Diet

Raw Cherry-Almond Yogurt

Yogurt can be a morning treat or a morning duty for the sake of nutrition.  This living food and raw food diet dessert is classified as a morning treat.  Enjoy this nutritious recipe for raw yogurt.

Photo and recipe courtesy of: http://veganchicksrock.blogspot.com Modifications by: www.bluelotusliving.com

Raw Food Diet Recipe – Raw Ice Cream – Living Food Basic Recipe

Basic Vanilla Ice Cream (Raw Ice Cream)

There are several options in preparing raw ice cream.  I’m going to list 2.  They are simple.  But the option really depends on the type of texture you want from your ice cream.  You do not necessarily need an ice cream maker or vitamix, but you can create awesome creations with either one.  You may choose to freeze your creation and then just scoop it out later.  Or if you have a champion juicer, you may freeze the ice cream in ice cube trays, and later run it through the juicer.  Whatever you decide you will never go awry with this fun treat.  Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of: http://rawveganicecream.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight (the main ingredient)

1 cup almond milk (make it real thick & creamy)

1 cup young coconut meat

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (or you may use raw vanilla bean)

¼ cup (nut) butter, optional

1 cup agave nectar  

Option 1: In a high speed blender or food processor, process all ingredients until a smooth fluid consistency.  Add more almond milk or coconut water, if needed.  Pour in containers and freeze.  Stir every 30 minutes.  After ice cream sets, serve.

For option 1:  If you do have access to an ice cream maker, follow manufacture’s directions.   Only allow ice cream to chill, typically up to an 1 hr., then process through ice cream maker

Option 2:  Slice and Freeze 3 bananas overnight.  In a food processor or high speed blender, process frozen bananas with vanilla extract and agave nectar.  Serve.  This option will give you more of a soft serve yogurt texture.

As with all raw food creations, feel free to add carob, cacaco, spices, superfoods, and fruit to create a variety of ice creams.