Sunday, July 19th, 2009

How To Grow Sprouts

by Kristen in alfalfa, broccoli, growing sprouts, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw, multi pure filter, mung, organic, raw, vegan, video

Here is a quick video showing you how I grow my sprouts at home. I LOVE GROWING THESE NUTRITIOUS LITTLE CUTIES!!! I’ve written about it in a previous blog post here.

The link to the water filter I use is here.

I usually buy my sprout seeds here but there are many great sources on the web. Enjoy!

Winner of My 12th Awesome Giveaway! Congratulations Life’s Delights!!!

by Kristen in awesome giveaway, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw, prize

Congratulations Life’s Delights!!! You win!!! Your name was chosen as the winner of my 12th Awesome Giveaway. The prize is your choice of any 1 of my 11 available books (view choices here) – YAY!!!!!! Simply email me the address you want your prize sent to.

Here is what Life’s Delights had to say when asked, “In the spirit of my latest and greatest news of being pregnant… What is your favorite childhood story AND why?”

My favorite book as a 4-5 year old was from the Little Critter series called “Just Grandma and Me”. It came with a casset tape that I could play and pretend to read along with. It is about a special day spent with Grandma at the beach. I loved imagining myself at the beach with my grandma.

My next Awesome Giveaway is in July (AGAIN!), so check back for details!

Kristen’s Raw 12th Awesome Giveaway – FREE Raw Vegan Book

by Kristen in awesome giveaway, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw

It’s that time again -YEEHAW! Giveaway Time! This month I’m giving the winner one of my Raw recipe/lifestyle books or ebooks (view choices here). This contest is open to anyone around the world. If you live outside of the continental United States, I will email you the ebook of your choice.

Want the chance to win? It’s simple to participate! All you have to do is answer the following question in this post’s comment section. The contest will end Wednesday night, July 15th @ 11:59pm. I’ll enter everyone’s name who answered the question into a drawing and announce the winner on my blog Thursday, July 16th.

Question: In the spirit of my latest and greatest news of being pregnant… What is your favorite childhood story AND why? (This can be a personal story from your childhood or your favorite story that you read or was read to you.)

EXCITING, AWESOME, AMAZING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Kristen in family, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw, pregnancy

I’M PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!

…about 4 weeks along, due St. Patrick’s Day 2010!

How To Make Sauerkraut (Video) – Raw, Organic, and Unpasteurized

by Kristen in cabbage, carrots, easy raw vegan food, fermented food, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw, sauerkraut, video

I made my third batch of organic, raw, unpasteurized sauerkraut Tuesday. This time I used organic (and locally grown!) cabbage and carrots. (I also threw in some organic cayenne pepper, but that part wasn’t shown in the video. I wish I had organic fresh hot peppers to use.) I can’t wait to see how it turns out… have to wait a month. Patience. I recorded the steps (briefly) so that you can see how darn easy it is to make this awesomely nutritious and delicious food. Fermented Foods Rule!!!

I used this food fermenting vessel. It’s some of the best money I’ve ever spent. I’ve already paid for it more than once with the sauerkraut I’ve made, so this is a great way to save money. And, it should last my lifetime.

Here is a post about my first sauerkraut adventure with some written directions on how to make your very own precious sauerkraut. And, here is a post about my first adventure harvesting it. Enjoy! (*I don’t know why these videos are getting cut off on the right side… must have been something I selected when uploading it.)

Raw Food in NYC – Gena, Dhru, Judita, Pure Food & Wine, and FUN! (video too)

by Kristen in central park, dhru, green juice, judita, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw, new york, One Lucky Duck, We Like It Raw

Today was a nice day in New York. The sun came out many times. We spent the early part of the day walking around Central Park which was filled with runners, walkers, families, musicians, artists, and all kinds of neat stuff.

Then, we met Gena for fresh Plant Blood at Cafe Blossom. I was pretty hungry so I had three juices! Ha! I was buzzing on greens for the rest of the day and it felt great. Gena is a great gal and we hit it off. It was a gab fest that I was not ready to have end. Fortunately, we’re meeting up for dinner (and hopefully more juice dates) before I leave. This is a picture of us each enjoying a Plant Blood called Pink Lady. It was fabulous!!!

After our juice date with Gena, my husband and I went back to the room to freshen up for our get together with Dhru and Judita. We arrived at Pure Food and Wine early, so I opted for my 4th Plant Blood of the day around the corner at One Lucky Duck – Pure Juice & Takeaway.

Then, we met Dhru. It was great to finally meet face to face, and it was everything I expected… fun & cool. We really enjoyed talking with him and I look forward to spending more time with him before my trip ends.

When drinks ended, my husband and I elected to stick around and have dinner at Pure Food and Wine. As anticipated, dinner was very good. My husband ordered the lasagna (very popular) and I ordered a falafel dish. I admit though that my favorite part about PF&W and One Lucky Duck are the desserts. Heavenly. Flavorful. Awesome. Perfection. I want to make a meal out of them… and this isn’t out of the question.

As we know… raw desserts can often be eaten even as breakfast! The next time I go there, I’m either ordering two desserts for myself along with a nice cup of herbal tea for my meal. Or, I’m getting a salad and dessert (or two! Ha!).

How To Make Raw Vegan Milk

by Kristen in easy raw vegan recipe, hemp seeds, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw, macadamia nuts, non-dairy, raw vegan milk

Raw vegan milk, made with raw nuts or seeds, is easy, healthy, and wonderful. It’s cholesterol free, full of nutrients, and it’s much easier on the planet. Raw vegan milk is perfect for drinking by itself, adding to smoothies, or eating with Raw granola (or any cereal!). Yum!

When I make a nut or seed milk I usually make it with hemp seeds, because they’re packed with nutrition, I love their flavor, and no presoaking is required. Hemp seeds’ amino acid profile dominates with the 8 essential amino acids (10 if you’re elderly or a child), making it an excellent vegetarian source of “complete” protein. Go hemp!

However, you can make Raw vegan milk out of a variety of nuts/seeds. Here are some things to keep in mind. Always try to get raw, organic nuts and seeds if you can. When using cashews, hemp seeds, macadamia nuts or Brazil nuts, you basically don’t have to soak them before hand. Just put them in the blender with the following ingredients in the recipe below, and blend. Based on the consistency that you (and your family) like, you can simply increase or decrease the amount of water and sweetness. If you don’t have a high powered blender you might want to briefly chop the cashews, macadamia nuts, and/or Brazil nuts before blending to make it easier.

If you’re using pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, etc… then the general rule is to soak them before blending them for 6-8 hours (or overnight). This is done to release the enzyme inhibitors and make them easier to digest. Simply put them in a bowl on your counter, with enough water to cover by about an inch. After 6-8 hours, drain and rinse. Then, you’re ready to use them in your Raw vegan milk recipe.

Raw vegan milk will stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to five days. It’ll separate when it’s been sitting in your refrigerator so simply shake it up before serving. It also freezes pretty well (you might want to make a couple of batches at once and freeze them in glass mason jars).

CREAMY DREAMY HEMP MILK
By Kristen Suzanne of KristensRaw.com
Yield 4 cups

2 1/2 cups water, more if desired

1 1/2 cups hemp seeds

1 – 2 tablespoons raw agave nectar or 2 – 3 dates, pitted (optional)

Blend all of the ingredients until creamy and smooth.

Variations:
- Make it vanilla by adding the seeds of a vanilla bean or some vanilla extract

- Make it chocolate by adding 1-2 tablespoons (or more!) of raw chocolate powder :)

Interview: Kristen + Dhru of We Like It Raw = Fun!

by Kristen in give it to me raw, interview, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw, We Like It Raw

I had a great time being interviewed by Dhrumil of We Like It Raw (and Give It To Me Raw). Fun! Fun! Fun! We covered so many topics:

~ Omnivore Bodybuilding to a Plant Based Diet

~ My Story of Vegan to Raw

~ My Raw Food Career Journey

~ High Raw & What I Like About It

~ The Importance of Plant Blood

~ How I Make Raw Easy For Me

~ Community Rocks

~ Upcoming Projects

~ And More

If you’re interested in hearing it, head over here.

Winner of My 10th Awesome Giveaway – Vegyogini

by Kristen in awesome giveaway, books, easy raw vegan recipe, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw

Congratulations Vegyogini!!! You win!!! Your name was chosen as the winner of my 10th Awesome Giveaway. The prize is your choice of any 1 of my 11 available books (view choices here) – YAY!!!!!! Simply email me the address you want your prize sent to.

Here is what Vegyogini had to say when asked, “Where is your favorite place to vacation AND why?”

I live in L.A. and I love taking a week or two of vacation to just stay in town, relax, and explore L.A. It’s so fun to learn more about your own hometown. :)

My next Awesome Giveaway is in May, so check back for details!

Kristen’s Raw 10th Awesome Giveaway – FREE BOOK!

by Kristen in awesome giveaway, easy raw vegan recipe, Kristen Suzanne, Kristen's Raw

It’s that time again – YEEHAW! Giveaway Time! This month I’m giving the winner one of my Raw recipe/lifestyle books or ebooks (view choices here). This contest is open to anyone around the world. If you live outside of the continental United States, I will email you the ebook of your choice.

Want the chance to win? It’s simple to participate! All you have to do is answer the following question in this post’s comment section. The contest will end Saturday night, April 25th @ 11:59pm. I’ll enter everyone’s name who answered the question into a drawing and announce the winner on my blog Sunday, April 26th.

Question: Where is your favorite place to vacation AND why?