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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…
Carrot and apple make this a perfect fall season soup.
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Longevity Chia Porridge – A magnificent breakfast for radiant health and longevity.
This recipe has become a staple in my life for the past few weeks. I have been really turned onto chia seeds and my body has been wanting more of them. From the most simple water and chia seed porridge to something as wonderful as my Longevity Chia Porridge… It is all good.
This recipe, in particular, is near and dear to my heart. One of my biggest and main goals in life is to live to be a centenarian. And by filling my body with longevity supporting foods I will accomplish that goal.
Longevity Chia Porridge.
What you’ll need:
Chia porridge already set. (1/3 cup chia seeds stirred with 1 cup filtered water. Wait a few minutes and stir again.)
Next morning take the chia porridge from your refrigerator and put whatever portion you desire to eat in a bowl (put remaining chia porridge back in the refrigerator for the next time). It’s nice to let your bowl of chia porridge warm a bit to room temperature if you have the time. Plus, the warm herbal tea in the next step helps warm it.
Brew organic herbal tea (I make a delightful blend of many kinds including nettles, raspberry leaf, rose hips, Spring Dragon Longevity Tea, spearmint, lemon balm, and whatever else… Chaga mushroom too!)
Take a few splashes of your tea and add to your chia porridge. This warms it up a bit.
Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of Heaven Mountain or Bija Heaven Mountain goji berries (They are the absolute best and the only goji I will buy available on amazon.)
Add 5 to 8 dried longan fruit pieces (Longan fruit are a wonderful food with numerous health benefits… reputed for things like healthy heart, blood, beauty and a sex tonic –> Yowza. I like them best in a smoothie or a chia porridge like this.)
Add 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut (dried and shredded) ** I have used on occasion Living Fuel’s CocoChia mixture that I stir in …. this includes the coconut plus some extra chia seeds as well as their xylitol sweetener.
1 to 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder mixed with cacao nibs (I take a jar and I combine cacao nibs with cacao powder and shake it up. I like this combination and I use it in my smoothies, chia porridge, and other recipes.)
Sweetener, if desired but I don’t. I’m however appreciating more food lately without added sweetness. Plus, if you use the CocoChia from Living Fuel it adds a little xylitol sweetener.
Stir everything together. Let it set for 10 minutes or so if you have the patience. :) By allowing it to set for a few minutes the goji berries and the longan berries get a little chewy and make for the most delightful texture.
******* 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. —>
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I’m a coffee flavor freak… black coffee, frou-frou type coffee, whatever. And, although I don’t indulge in icee frothy sugary type coffee beverages anymore, there was a time that I did. That was back in the day, before I knew any better.
Sure, I have organic fair trade coffee from time to time now, usually decaf, but that’s just plain coffee (my favorite brand is Green Star Coffee). When I feel extra sassy, I sometimes enjoy it as a fun beverage over ice with coconut milk or raw nut milk. That’s typically the extent of my coffee-ness though… until now… kind of.
Today, I share with you a recipe for a simple protein shake that you might start craving like mad once you try it. Coffee flavor lovers unite!
Organic, Fair-trade coffee at mom’s.
I think my addiction to the flavor of coffee started when I was seven years old… Nana gave me a sip of her coffee (well, we’re Italian after all, start em’ young), and I felt like such a big girl. It wasn’t long thereafter and I was shaving my legs (again, I’m Italian, what can I say? Or, maybe the coffee made the hair on my legs grow faster? ;)). Just kidding.
Well, the love of coffee and all things coffee flavored stuck with me. I remember growing up and taking sips of my mom’s International Coffee in the evening. You remember the ones, right? They came in those little tins and there were different flavors… kind of like a coffee hot cocoa. Oh the memories (sigh).
Well, tis no wonder that I can’t help but love coffee flavors with all of the nostalgia surrounding it. Imagine my immense delight when I made a delicious protein shake, with a coffee flavor. With each sip I was transported back to my childhood family room and remembering those good ol’ times. I know you might be thinking, “A protein shake that’s super yum? And, a coffee flavored one to boot?” YES.
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Raw Vegan Gluten-Free Organic Food Journal
~ Pint water
~ Quart green juice (my favorite recipe right now: 1 bunch celery, 2 heads broccoli with stems, 3/4 bunch parsley, small pkg cilantro, 1 head romaine, 1 bunch kale, 8 med cucumbers). This yields about a gallon with our Norwalk. This is refreshing and light yet packs a vibrant punch.
~ Raw Chocolate Milk Rasperry Protein Shake (raw chocolate milk from hemp seeds, pili nuts, raw chocolate powder, salt, vanilla, chai spices, and stevia – then added… raspberries, frzn blueberries, spinach, Sun Warrior protein powders, and ice). Plus supplements.
~ Core Bar and cold brewed green tea
~ Large Nourishing Salad Wraps
–> salad: avocado, rosemary, dill, arugula, black pepper, lemon juice, red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, jalapeño, shredded cucumber, raw olives.) ALL WRAPPED IN MINERAL-RICH COLLARD GREENS… Plus Raw Onion Bread in it. –> Here’s what I did: I mixed up the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Using a large bowl really helps you toss all the ingredients of everything to ensure it all gets mixed properly and every bite is perfect. I took a collard green and cut off the excess stem. I laid some soft raw homemade onion bread on top of the collard green (if your bread isn’t flexible, then you could crumble it). Then, I topped the onion bread with the bright-n-nourishing salad. Finally, I folded it like a simple taco and ate it.
Two large wraps… those are for me :)
A family of wraps. Raw vegan organic nutrition.
~ Herbal Beauty Feminine Ginger Tea
~ Quart green juice (same as above)
******* 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. —>
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Pili Hemp Nut Milk – I love you.
How did I make that delicious looking, creamy, raw vegan nut milk? I’ll tell ya! It’s Pili Hemp Nut Milk and my new go-to for nut milk. It’s fantastic for many reasons:
Pili nuts, hemp seeds, and salt
Creamy! The pili nuts… They damn near melt in your mouth when you eat them on their own. Heck, blend them and wowza.
Pili Nuts. Not usually inexpensive, so I stock up when they’re on sale.
Yield 1 quart
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Blend everything until smooth and creamy. Enjoy served by itself, in a smoothie, protein shake, raw soup, or on top of your cereal.
Bowl of pili nuts, like a bowl of gold.
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I’m pretty gaga for guacamole. What’s not to love? Creamy, fresh, satisfying, vibrant, and with a number of ways to enjoy it – raw by the spoonful, or heck, by the fingerfull, globbed on a vegan burrito (Chipotle, anyone?), or one of my favorites… Guacamole and Toast, anyone?
I’ve been upping the nutrient density of my guacamole though. Enter: organic broccoli. Do you remember not too long ago, when I used my trick of stealthily sneaking organic raw broccoli into a meal that I wrote about here? Broccoli is tres importante for adding tons of cancer fighting power to your life so it makes a very regular appearance in our lives.
Let me tell ya… there was not a hint of raw broccoli flavor in this new guacamole dish (of course, you can’t go wrong when you add some sweetness like mango or apple). So, here’s another recipe, loaded with nutrition to keep my family uber healthy, that I’ll go back to time and again: Mango Love Guacamole.
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Note: The following is an article I wrote for the fabulous One Green Planet site. Also, the image above was compiled by them from images I submitted.
Flexibility and The Power of the Raw Food Spectrum
Amazing benefits await when you start eating a raw vegan diet. Common experiences include effortless weight loss, increased energy, softer skin, clear and bright eyes, silky hair, better sleep, mental clarity, major health improvements, and peaceful frame of mind. Sounds great, huh!? However, one common question I’m asked is, “I see a lot of different raw food diets out there, which one is right?” As with many things in life, there are different schools of thought regarding which is the best plan when following a diet of raw vegan food.
The raw food diet has a nice wide spectrum as to the different styles of raw food options that are available. After years of fielding questions on my blog, it’s clear that the wide range of options can seem confusing or overwhelming at first. But fear not! Once you realize that the options are nothing more than a continuum ranging from “a little bit” to “all” raw, most of the various ways to “do” raw fall neatly into place. The spectrum of options actually becomes a powerful tool that allows you to precisely tune your degree of raw based on where you are in your life, health situation, and day-to-day circumstances.
At the least-raw end of the spectrum are people who merely try to incorporate more salads and smoothies into their vegan diet (for our purposes, we’ll assume the beginner is already vegan). By simply eating 1-2 salads or smoothies a day, this will automatically start replacing non-raw foods, most notably, cooked and processed foods made from refined wheat/flour, corn, and sugar. Score an immediate win for increased nutrition as you replace nutrient-starved crap with healthy raw veggies!
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Here are some eats in our home (and pics)…
A High Raw Day
Grocery Shopping – I get so excited when I’m loading up my cart with so much organic raw goodness. Health Nut Nerd Alert!
Super Nutrient Dense Raw Kale Salad – not shown in pic but that was also added was a bit of raw olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and a peach.
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Santa Barbara Acai Bowl
I dedicate this recipe to the wonderful city of Santa Barbara, CA, where I discovered Backyard Bowls (the inspiration for this recipe). Over the years, I had heard of acai bowls now and then, but I didn’t give them much thought and they weren’t prominent on my radar. I had never eaten one, had never even seen one in any local healthfood places, and the idea didn’t appeal to me enough to make my own.
Well all that changed with our recent trip to Santa Barbara this past spring! As I often do before vacations, I searched online for vegan food options near our hotel and Backyard Bowls came up as very popular. After reading a few of the rave reviews, acai bowls seemed like a great option for breakfast while on our trip.
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Here is a peek into one of my refrigerators (we have two, plus an additional stand alone freezer – love having all the storage space). I took you on a tour of my kitchen not so long ago with this video here.
But, here is a current snap shot! As you can see… Mostly raw. Organic. Vegan.
Organic Goodies!
Top shelf: chlorella tablets, Love Bean Fudge, raw stone ground sunflower / pumpkin seed butter, raw stone ground cashew butter, seaweed snacks, sunflower lecithin.
Middle shelf: Tons of fresh Norwalk pressed organic green juice, lettuce, chocolate, raw sauerkraut, 4-Ingredient Magic raw salad dressing.
Middle drawer: ginger, tempeh, tofu
Bottom shelf: miso (lots – about 5 jars), lettuce (washed and ready to go – I like to have it ready to eat so there’s no excuse), fresh brewed herbal tea (I have an exciting blog post planned to share my tea loving habits), strawberries
Bottom drawers: tons of fresh produce for salads, smoothies, and juices
What’s in your refrigerator right now?
I'm Kristen, and welcome to my blog. I'm a wife, mom, author, and I love to eat so food is usually the topic of my blog posts. I'm a former (almost decade long) vegan turned back omnivore who enjoys reading, rebounding, coffee, and dark chocolate. More...
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