Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

Dehydrating… PICKLES? OLIVES? Why not?

by Kristen in dehydrator, excalibur, raw food

Experimenting in the kitchen is always a fun time, especially when the result is a success. Here’s one to share… Who knew that dehydrating pickles and olives would be an option? Come to find out… it is.

Dehydrated pickles and olives

In the picture above you see organic sweet relish type pickles (from Trader Joe’s, already cut), sliced organic dill pickles (Trader Joe’s, again, already pre-sliced for sandwiches), and green olives on the right (those needed to be sliced). I was really pleased with the results of dehydrating these things.The sweet chunky pickles had a delightful chewy and salty texture. Great for eating a few by themselves or tossing on a salad. The dill sandwich slices are a salty, delicious, crunchy, and airy treat. And, the olives took on a fun chewy-ish type texture, salty too, of course, and good.

Although making these is new to me, and so they’re not featured in my book about dehydrating raw vegan foods… there are a bunch of other great recipes in it. You can pick up a hard copy through Amazon (or the ebook right here).

If you don’t have a dehydrator yet, I’d say the best ones on the market are by Excalibur and Sedona (you really can’t go wrong with either). Remember my recent post about dehydrating marinated mushrooms and onions? Making those is worth the price of a dehydrator alone.

Non-Sweet Minty Green Smoothie – My New Thang

by Kristen in green smoothies, raw food

I’ve been greatly enjoying non-sweet green smoothies for a while now. They’re refreshing, especially if indulging in heavy holiday eating (these were a staple this past holiday season). Perfect for New Year Resolutions in taking health to fresh new levels. They’re light, which gives extra energy during busy times. And, they’re nutritious for getting us back on track after holiday splurges.

Serving them in pretty glasses makes them even more fun (especially for kiddos).

A blender-full of goodness that refreshes my body and feels cleansing.

Here’s the gist of it…

Non-Sweet Minty Green Smoothie

1 to 2 cups water
1/2 to 1 cucumber
2 stalks celery
1 to 2 heavy handful(s) spinach or romaine
juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon or lime
handful mint (Don’t be shy… this is the trick! A heavy handful of mint elevates the flavor brilliantly, and you can also add other herbs – rosemary, basil, or parsley are wonderful)

Blend until smooth and enjoy this brightness in your life.

If you want to add oomph, blend in 1/2 avocado.

******* By the way… Have questions or comments? Use Twitter or my Facebook fan page to chat. Links are on the right-hand side of my blog. —>

Tips for Being Raw Vegan in an Omnivore World

by Kristen in Kristen Suzanne, raw food, vegan

Note: This is an article I wrote for the wonderful One Green Planet. And, the image you see above was compiled by them from photos I submitted to them.

Sticking to a raw vegan diet is relatively easy in the controlled environment of your own home and kitchen. But staying raw out in the real world takes some extra effort.

Whether you’re eating out with friends, going to a family gathering, or joining your co-workers for happy hour, there are plenty of social and logistical situations that are not very conducive to eating nature’s most healthy food. It might be easy for some people to just be hungry and eat later when they get home. But hungry and I do not get along well. There is a better way.

The key is to explain your situation to others when necessary and to always be prepared. It’s about thinking ahead and having options or a plan.

Explain and Train

First, explain your diet to your family and friends. Then train them how to accommodate you if they’re interested, or at tell them not be offended if you just fend for yourself and decline food they may offer. This upfront effort pays off. My husband and I have trained our family well. By now, everyone knows that when we’re invited to a function, we’ll probably bring our own food, and that’s just us, so don’t be offended. Or we may eat beforehand and bring snacks. The important tip for succeeding here is two-fold: 1) Let your family know what and why you’re eating raw or vegan. Share your excitement with them about it, while still letting them know that it doesn’t mean any extra work on their part. Depending on their tolerance for new things or alternative lifestyles, this may seem weird the first few times. But eventually, it becomes the new “normal.” Eventually their questions and comments stop coming up when it’s no longer new and different.

Warm Raw Chocolate Chinese 5-Spice Elixir

by Kristen in cacao foods, chocolate, coconut oil, maca, raw food

Here’s a divinely magical chocolate elixir that is perfect for starting your day or even winding down your evening. With colder temperatures approaching, my Warm Raw Chocolate Chinese 5-Spice Elixir is perfect for warming your spirit. Every time I make this recipe, I feel the ingredients working on my body with each sip. Calming… yet subtly energizing. And the texture? Wow, never felt a beverage so silky in my mouth. It was damn near erotic. I’m just putting that out there… lol.

Warm Raw Chocolate Chinese 5-Spice Elixir is great for warming you on cold mornings (or evenings).

Warm Raw Chocolate Chinese 5-Spice Elixir

Yield 1 large serving

1.5 cups filtered or spring water

2 vanilla drops

2 to 3 tablespoons raw chocolate paste chunks

1 teaspoon Jem raw nut butter

heavy splash coconut oil

1 heaping teaspoon maca

1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5-Spice

raw sweetener of choice, to taste

Blend until warm and serve in a wicked magical mug.

******* By the way… Have questions or comments? Use twitter or my Facebook fan page to chat. Links are on the right-hand side of my blog. —>

Greg Powered By Plant Protein – Here’s How I Help.

by Kristen in cacao foods, Hemp, hemp protein, raw food, sun warrior, sun warrior rice protein, vegan

Drawing artist I’m not… my specialty in art is in the kitchen. ;)

Here’s my latest batch of raw vegan protein powder for my super strong n sexy husband, Greg. You might remember a post I wrote years ago about the protein grenades I made him. Well, to make it easier on me, I now just mix some different protein powders and other add-ins, in a big bowl (the recipe changes a bit each time), and then I put it all in a big jar like this. From there, he takes about 3 to 4 scoops per protein shake (he likes a high amount of plant powered protein in his diet), and he drinks 2 to 4 of these a day. This particular blend is mostly Sun Warrior with additions of hemp, raw cacao powder, cinnamon, turmeric, maca, and he shou wu and astragalus (chinese tonic herbs – we’re big into tonic herbs these days for longevity and taking our health to new levels – that’s a future post though – I keep saying that don’t I?).

I get a lot of emails asking about Greg’s workout routine and diet. The gist is that he eats a lot like me. Plant based, moderate to high raw, organic, and protein shakes. He sometimes goes for a shake while I make a whole food meal for myself. He loves his shakes, what can I say? Ever since he started with Sun Warrior, he’s been hooked. It’s the magic bullet for him. He builds lean mass and feels strong.

His workout routine is consistent, too. He does 3 days in the gym, a day off, 3 days in the gym. One day is chest/tri. Next day is back/bi. Last day are the legs. Shoulders are in there somewhere :) He also runs barefoot in Vibrams and likes to do a little swimming when time permits. Ideally the run and swim are the same day and he calls it his “surf-n-turf.” And, throughout the day I see him dropping to the floor for push-ups or using our chin up bar to bust out some pull-ups – my man is strong. Oh! And now that we have a Bellicon Rebounder he has been using that, too. It’s one of the best purchases we’ve ever made.

Happy Holidays, Everyone! XOXO

******* By the way… Have questions or comments? Use twitter or my Facebook fan page to chat. Links are on the right-hand side of my blog. —>

Sweet Potato Kale Salad – Raw Vegan Transition Recipe

by Kristen in organic, raw food, recipe, vegan

I recently wrote about a great way to add baked yams (or sweet potatoes) to your life in an easy and effortless way. Although I tend to eat them straight from the fridge either plain or with a raw nut butter topping, there are times I use these delightful root veggies as an ingredient in a Raw Vegan Transition Recipe. (This is a great recipe for the upcoming holidays, too. I would add some extra seasoning like nutmeg or pumpkin spice.)

Here we go… this is really satisfying and tasty with plenty of delicious flavors and textures to please your tastebuds.

Talk about EASY! This organic kale is ready to go for salads, kale chips, or smoothies.

Mmmm… full of vibrant and nutrient rich goodness.

NutriBullet – Perfect For Magical Superhero Tonic Elixirs, Travel, and Protein Drinks

by Kristen in blendtec blender, raw food, super drink, super herbs, superfoods, tonic elixirs, travel, Vitamix

I have a new friend in my kitchen: The NutriBullet blender.

Ooh-la-la

Now, you might be asking yourself why I would buy this when I have both a Vitamix and a Blendtec. I bought it for two main reasons, well, three kind of.

The first – AND MAIN – reason is for travel. The NutriBullet makes a great travel blender (or for having at work). Up until now I was using a Tribest Personal Blender for traveling, but it recently puttered out (it’s cute that Tribest advertises its motor as powerful with 200 watts, but the NutriBullet boasts 600 watts of power – now that’s rightly powerful). As I was researching the new options for a travel blender, I became aware of the NutriBullet, and after reading the great specs and reviews, I decided that it was the best option for me.
I also bought it because I am adding Superhero Superherb Superfood Tonic Elixirs into our life, and the NutriBullet fits the bill for making these (so does any blender though – for the most part).

The components. It’s a 12-piece set.

Furthermore, (the third reason) it’s no surprise that I enjoy protein shakes – um, hello, (normally) yummy Immortal Machine (read my updated review of this product). Although a lot of people just shake and go (mixing protein powder with water in a shaker bottle and physically shaking it), I prefer mine blended up (quickly) so they get really smooth (zero clumps). Well, my cute little NutriBullet does this great, and if I want, I can drink it right from the BPA-free carafe it’s blended in. Helpful in times of rushing out the door. However, I usually transfer it to a fancy or fun glass. Any blender does the job for blending protein shakes, but since I needed something for travel, I can use this as well. And, I’ll be honest, when I have new kitchen friends, I’m inspired and motivated for healthy living and foods, so whatever it takes, eh?

Tonic ingredients getting ready for a quick but effective blend.

Quickie Raw Vegan Coconut Yogurt Recipe – 3 Ingredients

by Kristen in coconut, organic, probiotic, raw food, raw vegan food, recipe, vegan

I make my own homemade raw vegan coconut yogurt all the time. And, every time I make it, I tweet or post about it on facebook. And, every time I do that, someone asks me how I make it. Although I have a recipe with video here, I’m going to write a quickie recipe post that makes the recipe, well, a bit quicker (by way of the number of ingredients).

A creamy bowl of nourishing raw vegan coconut yogurt topped with raw cacao nibs.

Buying these products (found in the freezer section of Whole Foods Market) makes for making easy raw vegan coconut yogurt. Just thaw and use. No need to crack open any coconuts. Plus, they’re organic.

Set to culture for about 12 hours.

Quickie Raw Vegan Coconut Yogurt

Yield approximately 3 cups

Ingredients

3/4 to 1 cup raw young thai coconut water
16 ounces raw young thai coconut meat
Probiotic powder (2 capsules worth)

Instructions

Blend the coconut water and coconut meat until smooth.
Add the probiotic powder (simply open the capsules and dump the contents into the blender), and blend briefly.
Pour into a bowl (or jar) big enough to allow a bit of room to expand. Gently place a lid on top and set your coconut yogurt to culture on your counter for 8-16 hours. The longer it cultures, the more yogurt-y it becomes in taste.
When you’re ready to eat it, feel free to sweeten it and/or add extracts like vanilla, strawberry, etc. You can use this wonderful yogurt in many ways: smoothies, dressings, stirred into chia pudding, used as a dessert with raw chocolate, enjoyed as is with fruit and/or granola added, etc. You can even use it to make frozen yogurt-scicles. I’m a fan of stirring it into my super popular Longevity Chia Porridge (recipe here). *Stored in the refrigerator, Quickie Raw Vegan Coconut Yogurt should stay fresh for at least a week, but mine is usually gone by then.

Immortal Machine – Protein Shake – I LOVE YOU

by Kristen in chocolate, hemp protein, organic, raw food, review, vegan

Immortal Machine…

Immortal Machine by David Wolfe

The new plant-powered protein powder in my life.

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Edit: 12/5/12 I recently had a canister that tasted a bit off (bitter, smoky-ish) compared to how lovely the previous ones had been. Then, my mom said the same thing, and a reader of my blog said the same thing… had a bitter experience. ;) Well, go figure I’d rave about something and then there might have been an issue in their quality control. I’ve had foods with shilajit in them and I get the sense that maybe they had a batch with too much of that in it? Not that that would be terrible since its reputation is great but it changes the taste and then that changes the experience. Or maybe they forgot the stevia? Not sure. Still, I wanted to tell my readers about that. Since I have multiple canisters though, I opened another and it was great like usual.

Edit: 12/12/12 I heard back from Longevity Warehouse and it turns out I was right. They used a different shilajit in a batch, and although it was high quality, it changed the flavor. It seems they’re back to using the standard shilajit they normally use. Whew!

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There’s a new protein powder on the block that I’m regularly buying now, and I’m a raving fan. (That’s an understatement.)

If you haven’t heard of Immortal Machine, then you’re missing out. It’s a fabulous new vegan protein powder that knocks it out of the park in flavor and health promoting properties.

It’s so good on its own that I usually just mix it up with water and it tastes like fudgescicles. Or, I make it with iced organic peppermint tea … Thin Mint Cookies, anyone? That’s probably my favorite way to have it (mom’s favorite way, too). In fact, I’ve turned quite a few friends and family on to Immortal Machine and the response is always the same. “Whoa! That’s awesome. I’ve never had a protein powder that was so good!”

Even though this protein powder needs no hiding and it’s fabulous with just water or iced peppermint tea blended in… being the chef that I am, I’ve played with other recipes for fun. I heard tales of its deliciousness with nut milk and they were true – creamy and dreamy. I added Chinese Five Spice once, too. That was good. I also knew it’d be brilliant stirred into chia pudding and porridge… yup. In fact, adding this to my Longevity Chia Porridge recipe is smart. I’ve also used Immortal Machine in a medicinal-energizing-herbal-tonic elixir by blending it with soaked goji and longan berries. Whoa. That was intense, in a most amazing way. I was feeling the power all day. I also love blending Immortal Machine into warm drinks and it’s like hot chocolate. It seems the options of deliciousness are endless.

Those variations are all fun, but I think my favorite way is with plain ol’ water or iced organic peppermint tea (I’ve always been, and will forever be, a mint chocolate girl). Friends, I’m telling you, as it bears repeating… this stuff is a-mazing.

Carrot Apple “Halloween” Soup (Raw Vegan)

by Kristen in apple, carrots, ginger, Halloween, holidays, Motherhood, raw food, raw vegan food, raw vegan recipe, soup, tahini

The weather is ripe for enjoying warm raw soups. My inspiration today was from fall ingredients and the Halloween holiday. I whipped up this delightful and flavorful, raw vegan soup, garnished with black sesame seeds (a wonderful “jing” food – more on jing foods for future posts), and it screamed Halloween! It’s mega easy and only has 8 simple ingredients. Check it out…