At Week’s End… Stylin’ Green Smoothie Jug

At week’s end…

I’m finding myself rather weary and bored with my food. But alas, there’s a silver cloud to this tale…or rather a green one. My new Green Smoothie Jug arrived! How exciting!!! I now have my own special, take along jug for my very special smoothies.

For my new jug today?

Rather boring I suppose but: bananas, strawberries and mixed greens. Simple, easy and so delicious. AND now in a great DIVA, gorgeous way…beautifully served. I took my great dinner with me to rehearsals and lessons tonight so that I could share both the bottle and its contents with all my friends. What a hit!

Thanks Diva’s for creating something so stylin’ and functional.

From last week’s post I mentioned the nastursiums. Well, they, as beautiful as ever, made it to my dining table but alas not in my smoothie. Perhaps tomorrow?

Is there a Thanksgiving smoothie on the horizon? I’m thinking something with pumpkin pie spice. Happy Giving Thanks days to all my Canadian Diva Buddies! (and yes I meant “days” as it’s good to give thanks everyday!)

Til next time keep those blender motors runnin’!

Doll

Workin’ the Raw Food Diet

Today was day 1 of Operation Back on Track and I must say, it was a success!

The key to today’s momentum?

Chopping up a whole slew of cucumber and apples and putting them in a big bowl, with a whole bunch of black grapes. Not only did this give me some raw munchies to keep me out of the cookie cupboard, but the kids ended up joining in on the fun too. Happy bonus!

Tomorrow’s goal?

Add a green smoothie to the festivities, and take some pictures!

Big Bessy! Here I come!

Coffee Addiction: Wake up and Smell the Green Smoothie!

I used to LOVE coffee. Did you hear my emphasis? Yes, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED coffee. And it still seems a bit strange to put that in the past tense as really I didn’t see myself as someone that drank coffee merely because I needed the caffeine, or was in the habit, or well for any reason except that I truly loved it.

I was also a bit of a coffee snob. I would faithfully detour through one of the local coffee stops prior to work or during a break. During the past couple of years my once-a-week indulgence was an almond mocha made with soy milk, heavy on the chocolate to cover the soy flavor, and de-caf or at least half-caf because I really didn’t need want the caffeine. And one of my regular detours could make this specialty so good I thought it was a little bit of heaven.

My oldest daughter could order her own Mocha at ten, and I just smiled and thought of how I didn’t know what a Mocha really was until I was nearly thirty. (The coffee snob thing used to be only coffee and not all the sweetly steamed additions.) Now I wish I could somehow infuse her with the true energy I feel from my regular green smoothies — double-grande please, no detour required!

I’ve had a slow grieving process with moving my love of coffee into the past tense. Since committing to starting my day with a green smoothie I have had less frequent coffee indulgences. I told myself I was making the detour as a fun treat, and that indulging in the small size occasionally was simply part of moderation and balance.

Moderation or not, continuing to drink coffee actually became self-inflicted disappointment. That Mocha? The taste seemed burnt, sour, and not even the chocolate part lifted my taste buds. And there was no energy infusion of any type — natural or otherwise. I tried switching to Chai tea, and when the same disappointment followed I tried to believe it was just that that particular barista couldn’t make a good one. After telling myself that a half a dozen times, I decided maybe it was me and not them. Sometimes I still enjoy the smell of rich coffee, but I quite literally do not like the taste of it at all.

I’m still trying on this new identity of the non-coffee drinker. I still feel bad when someone offers me dark rich coffee, and I have to decline.

And on cold fall mornings like this one there is still a reflex deep within my psyche that immediately says, “maybe today I’ll have a cup of coffee.” Then I get up, try to keep my eyes open during ten minutes of light box therapy, drink some water, and bounce on my rebounder for at least a few minutes while starting to plan the day. Then as if by body memory I pull out some greens and look around to see what fruit I have to work with (I’m not a morning person so I seriously may not remember what was clearly there the night before), and start blending. I see, smell, and sometimes can’t help but taste the ingredients. And I smile.

And I don’t even realize that all thoughts of coffee have disappeared…

Green energy hugs –

Tami

Husband in the Raw

Hey Raw Moms, if you’ve got a husband like mine, then you know the sheer jealousy that can take over as you watch him graciously gulp down an entire pizza without so much as a belch. Or a zit. Or an ounce of flab. Yeah, I know I know, my hubby gets those mood swings that undoubtedly, In MY mind, seem diet related– but to the outside world, he’s a toxin free hunk! I mean, look at the guy!

I’ve been wishin,’ and hopin,’ and prayin’ that some raw love would come into his life because I sure do love his relaxed demeanor when he drinks his morning green smoothie. BUT, I made the egotistical mistake of telling him that the reason he thought his last smoothie tasted like chalk was because his body was too toxic. I should’ve bit my tongue. I don’t know what I was thinking. Well, I was kinda thinking that if he gave the drink a chance, his taste buds would get used to it. But NOPE, Mr. Stubborn banned smoothies for over a month. And, not only that – he ate pizza quite frequently. UGHHHH.

That was until I met Carmella http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/. Well, I must admit, I didn’t actually meet her. In fact, she probably doesn’ tknow I exist. But her sunny raw kitchen gave my family hope of sharing a rawmeal together without gags, sighs or complaints. Once I introduced Carmella’s recipes to my new Vitamix –things really got kickin in our own kitchen. I also had to let go of the feeling that maybe Doug (that’s my man’s name) wouldn’t like my creations. I set out with the intention of only pleasing his palette. Health would have come second. I had some convincing to do here.

So we started out with a version of Carmella’s cashew dill garlic cheese. Find her recipe here: http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/09/recipe-of-week-garlic-dill-cheeze.html I followed directions for soaking the cashews, but fermented with a Body Ecology starter pack (essential duo) and some digestive enzymes, because that’s what I had on hand. We don’t do rejuvelac in our house. I then fermented the cheese over night in a closed container to avoid contamination with any wild species of dreaded stuff. In the morning, I added chives, dill, salt, lemon to the mix and rolled the beauty into a ball and topped with more herbs and some almond meal.

I served this with home-made sprouted crackers made simply from equal amounts of quinoa and rye, then added some dill, chia seeds and salt for flavor. Those dehydrated pretty much until my hubby got home and devoured them. That’s right, ladies. The guy thought the cheese was dairy. He looooved it! Carmella, I owe you!

I served mock egg salad as another cracker dipping option. I followed this recipe: http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=22032, but replaced cashews with young coconut meat. My Dougs were in heaven. The little one loved his fakin’ eggplant bacon, which went along with it. But, Daddy Doug didn’t like it too much.

Both of these recipe ideas were also courtesy of Carmella’s Sunny Raw Kitchen. Sheesh, how does she do it?
Finally, we put the little guy to bed and enjoyed a raw strawberry shortcake that nearly knocked my husband’s socks off. I swear he was licking the plate and fighting me for seconds.

I followed this recipe http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/2007/10/recipe-of-week-strawberry-shortcake.html, and used walnuts instead of cashews in the base. The whipped cream was to die for. I used only a handful of cashews and about 2 times the amount of coconut milk for my whipped cream topping. I made my coconut milk by blending the water and meat of a young green coconut. YUM YUM YUM!! This may be the best raw dessert I have ever had.

So, thanks to Carmella, Vitamix and a bunch of failed raw experiments and ego driven remarks against my husband, we have come to some raw peace here on the home front. He will eat raw if it tastes good. And so will I. There! We agree.

Try these recipes on your unsuspecting men – they are sure to enjoy.

Love and Peace,
Gina

CREATING HARMONY AROUND YOUR DINNER TABLE

I love being a Mom and truly believe for some of us it is a Spiritual Calling. For as long as I can remember, all I have ever wanted was to have a family. I always knew with certainty that I would have children, nurse them, and devote myself to consciously raising them. When you live in that clear an intention, the Universe conspires to support you no matter what…A la THE SECRET.  Becoming a mother is a Course in Miracles, and feeding my family is a sacred task. This is why I have embraced the Living Foods lifestyle. Everything about it is in harmony with the pure vibration of a child’s potential.  I seek only to develop and harness that potential and do nothing to diminish it. And so, I have converted my family over to Raw. It has been so exciting, yet not without its challenges

My husband comes from a strong, well-meaning Italian family; meat, pasta, bread and cheese dominate every family celebration. Being RAW is tricky- you learn to plan ahead.  I fill us up with Green Smoothies; bring the salads, fruit platters and raw desserts.  Then I let go and enjoy the celebration! Tomorrow is another day- we all cleanse. Being flexible and adaptable is a sign of good mental health. For me, family is paramount, and true, overall health is about more than our diet. Especially in social situations with family I have learned that being rigid is more stressful than allowing occasional compromises, especially when it comes to the kids! However, I draw the line at junk food, pop, candy, anything fried or packaged.

HARMONY IS HEALTHY AND PLEASURABLE

I have learned the hard way that an over emphasis on food can mar the entire experience and though I am Raw and convinced it is the best way to go, I am more apt to attract people to the benefits if I walk my own path in harmony with others. I feel that this food and lifestyle is a very gentle and loving experience for ALL! But I don’t push it.

Having travelled the world, I was always touched by the loving (not stressful) relationship other cultures had to their food. Be it Asia, South America, Australia or Europe, the focus was never on calories or health per se. The central theme seemed to be about PLEASURE. Everything about food brought enjoyment; from the beautiful way food is displayed in local markets, artfully prepared and gracefully served and shared- everywhere there was beauty and delight.

This is vastly in contrast to our typical Western model of diets, deprivation, binging and guilt.  We have lost our natural, wholesome relationship to food every bit as much as we have lost these same qualities in our food. HOW we eat, our state of being, is as important as WHAT we eat, raw or otherwise.When we eat on the run, while driving, watching TV or reading the news, microwave our meals, eat out of plastic containers, while standing up…Where is the sanctity, or nourishment in that?

WHAT’S EATING YOU?

Sadder still is how everyone here is on a diet- even pre-teens! All the dieting in the world won’t guarantee physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. And no matter how much we binge we still remain hungry and empty on some level.

Even raw foodists experience this initially until the internal shift catches up to the external one. So it is not only about what you are eating, but ‘what is eating you’.

Like passionate lovers sensually experiencing each other, is how we may re-learn to engage with our food. Eating our food this way with our senses fully open and awake will we be truly nurtured and fed.  Beautiful, Raw food liberates such subtle but powerful distinctions and revelations. When I fully understood the damage of ‘shoulding’ on my family over food I determined that I needed to find ways of bringing harmony. I have been creating rituals to re-establish a more balanced, peaceful and ‘irresistible’ connection with our food. I share some of them with you:

RITUALS THAT BRING SANCTUARY IN THE HOME

• I start off by just slowing down, my movements, my thoughts, and my pace, centering myself and gaining emotional poise
• I take the time to think about ways I might create or add to the atmosphere a feeling of excitement, or calm, or fun.
• When preparing a meal for myself or the family I light a little candle just for ME.
• I put on some classical music to enjoy, or I sing, chant or pray.  I believe this puts my love into the food which is the most important ingredient (remember ‘BABETTES’S FEAST’ and ‘LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE’)
• Then I do what my husband’s mother does- I “set a beautiful table!” with fresh or wild flowers, or create a centerpiece of gold and crimson leaves, or pine cones, berries and acorns, or sea shells and crystals- something lovely to reflect the season, usually gathered by my children on a Nature’s walk.
• I use the ‘good dishes’ and beautiful, simple but cared-for linens.
• Clearing away remnants of work, mail, etc. I am now ready to ring the dinner bell.
• After hands are washed and everyone is assembled, Luke lights the dinner candle
• We all hold hands and sing the blessing. (I love to take this moment to see the light in my family’s eyes) Then the feast begins.

I encourage my little tigers to take their time and really savour every bite, and to be thankful.  I really do believe the woman sets the tone in the home, and my husband holds the space for us all.  He models good habits by putting his fork down between bites, chewing thoroughly, even closing his eyes and letting out little “Ahhhhh”s and “Mmmmm”s.  He even declares enthusiastically “Mama sure is the best chef in town!”  To which my sons usually chime in “She sure is!”  Having support makes mealtimes an experience of bonding, laughter, storytelling and true sustenance.

I keep it really simple throughout the day by serving light fare:
Green smoothies and juices, fresh fruit, crudités with raw dips or pate, guacamole with olives and dehydrated flax crackers, seaweed and veggie salads, or raw soup.

Dinner is a little more elaborate- maybe a main meal salad made from kale, dandelion, parsley and arugala with okra, tomatoes, onion, olives, avocado and hempseeds topped off with a miso- ginger dressing;  Or perhaps a raw gourmet dish of zucchini pasta with stuffed pesto mushrooms and lemon-raspberry ‘un’cheescake; or wild rice ‘un’stir-fry with garlic-ginger marinade.  If it is Friday, it could be a homemade lentil stew, or curried cauliflower quinoa, or millet-veggie patties with tahini, or a brown rice gluten-free pasta with steamed rapini and garlic…

Whatever I serve it will be of the freshest, organic (when possible) ingredients prepared and served with love, and eaten with gratitude! Having a loving and healthy family is the pinnacle of success for me!  BLISSINGS!