Attention all Bloggers!!!

Hello everyone! I hope you are all healthy and happy! I'm in the process of building a new website, and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in contributing recipes!

I'm working with an individual who specializes in advertising and consultation. He's working on commission, so we're both hoping lots and lots of people see the site!

I love your recipes and creativity and would love to post some with links back to your blogs/websites and any other information on you that you'd like.

The site is geared toward people who are looking to begin incorporating health so vegan and raw recipes are more than welcome, but I'd prefer ones that don't need any fancy raw foodie equipment (juicers, dehydrators, spiralizer, vita mix, etc.).

I'm so excited about this project, I'll let you know as soon as the site launches :)

Please feel free to email me with recipes, or questions at writetess@gmail.com <3

Cultured & Well Read

I picked up several books this weekend and am pages away from finishing The Body Ecology Diet. I haven't been able to put it down! I feel like I've been looking for my next food challenge/growth period and this is it! It incorporates eastern medicine, and spirituality as well as food, diet, and cleansing. 

It's focus is on yeast overgrowth in our bodies and eliminating the problem by starving the yeast and replacing it with friendly bacteria through probiotics, cultured vegetables, and kefir. I'm going to use up all the food in my refrigerator now and gradually transition onto the Body Ecology Diet. It's recommended that at first one should consume some animal protein; eggs, meat, or fish. I considered for a moment some organic cage free eggs... but I just can't see feeling good mentally or physically if I do that. So for me the diet will be mostly veggies, cultured veggies, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, millet, and sprouted almonds. This is going to force me to get creative which I'm also excited about!

I also purchased a used copy of The China Study which I've been wanting to read for some time now but haven't yet gotten around to it! 

John Simmonds also lent me The Biology of Belief, Healing with Whole Foods, and Timeless Secrets of Health & Rejuvenation. I have quite the reading load, but am feeling so inspired and excited to continue my food education! I'll sit down with a big bowl of veggies, a blanket, and a book about food & healing :) Bliss. 

Even before my reading adventures began, I felt a pull towards being more mindful of my diet. Jesse and I have been drawn to heartier meals with less sugars! I've made this dish twice now, it's a new favorite of Jesse's and so easy to whip up.

Crunchy Quinoa Salad

3 cups red quinoa, cooked (1 1/2 cups dry)

1/4-1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

4 tbsp brown spicy mustard

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar

sea salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together. You can mix the mustard, oil, and vinegar together in a separate container but I've just been dumping everything in and it's worked out fine! I also added tomatoes to mine, but I wouldn't recommend it, they don't go well with the nice crunch of the other veggies. Serve warm or at room temperature, as a side or a meal!

Even before purchasing The Body Ecology Diet, kefir was floating around in my consciousness. I bought a starter on Saturday and made some using vita coco coconut water. I let it sit out for three days and I think it worked! I can see the culture and the taste it tart but I feel like there's still too much sweetness. My kitchen has been cold the past few days and I'm wondering if I should have let it sit longer.

Last night I went to Whole Foods to buy some young Thai coconuts to make more kefir and kefir pudding! I had no idea Whole Foods sliced and re-packaged the coconuts so nicely! I become so thrilled by these things! I bought four, which ended up being plenty. 

To make kefir, I emptied the water into a saucepan and gently heated it to about 92 degrees.

I used about 3/4 cup of my first kefir to start this batch and 1/4 cup to mix into the blended coconut meat to make coconut pudding. (It was so hard not to eat all of this immediately)

I also bought a vegetable culture starter and made my first batch of cultured vegetables! It's something I've always been interested in, but too frightened to do myself. I used cabbage and garlic for this batch. The Body Ecology Book recommends making the brine by blending some cabbage and water instead of squeezing it out of the cabbage. I was so grateful for that advice as the squeezing step seems so labor intensive!

Here it is, documentation of my first cultured veggie experience!

And here is the final result. I'm having some trouble getting the cabbage to stay beneath the brine. I may end up scooping of the top when all is said and done. These jars will be added to the others to ferment in my kitchen. Jesse keeps asking why we aren't making gin instead. 

Here's a snapshot of my current arsenal of foods and supplements. Perfect health, here I come!

Sugar Adventures

I'll start with exciting news: I made the Evolve Wellness Center newsletter!

This recipe was inspired by things that are good for your heart and my mom. Don't tell anyone, but I wrote it without ever actually making it! Shhhhhh... I'm confident that it's delicious. Thanks to John, Micah, and Ulrik for giving me this opportunity!

Also, I enrolled in a program to become a holistic health counselor! The program is through Integrative Nutrition, they've sent me a bunch of exciting goodies I'll post pics in my next post. Ultimately I would like to have a degree in nutrition or dietetics but this feels right for now and their philosophy on diet is almost entirely similar to mine. I need to thank my mom, my dad, Micah, and the world for making this possible for me!

On to food, I'll begin with sugar. I've mentioned countless times how much difficulty I have controlling my sugar intake and how dramatically it affects me. You think I'd have learned my lesson by now, huh? Alas, no. Here is a story about sweet treats and food adventures...

I went to the farmers market before work on Sunday. I haven't been eating enough vegetables, the summer selection felt strange and unfamiliar! I left with summer squash, cherry tomatoes, corn, lettuce, fresh figs, squash sprouts, an avocado, and a freak cucumber.

I made a delicious salad with spiralized squash and squash sprouts briefly sauteed in garlic and olive oil served over romaine lettuce and cherry tomatoes.

And seemingly innocent fig tarts...

The dates in these were too much for me. I took most of them to work because there's no way I could eat more than one, but for those of you who can handle it, here's the recipe!

Raw Vegan Fig Tarts

Crust
1 cup walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts but would use pecans in the future)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 dates
1/4 tsp sea salt

Filling
2 cups cashews
1/2 cup filtered water
6 dates
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch sea salt

Topped with thinly sliced ripe figs or fruit of your choice

Pulse the crust ingredients until nuts are grainy then spoon into tiny tins or muffin cups. Press down to coat the bottom. Blend filling until smooth then spoon onto the crust.

Top with fruit, chill, and serve!

This is the first raw vegan dessert I've made using only fruit and nuts. I didn't realize that dates have an almost caramelly custard flavor to them when blended with nuts. It's nice to know I have that flavor option even though I can't use many dates in my cooking or uncooking. I really need something low-glycemic. Even if agave is processed and dates are raw, agave is still a better choice for me.

Monday night, Jesse and I brought vegan veggie lasagna to a friends house. I also made some strawberry banana tofu pudding for dessert. 1 banana, 1 handful strawberries, 1 block organic silken tofu, blended.

My mom made this all the time when I was a kid. I try not to eat too much soy... but I really love it. This in particular seems relatively harmless, as there is no additional sweetener other than fruit but at this point in the week I've made dessert Sunday and Monday. 

Tuesday Jesse and I weren't feeling particularly hungry. We had corn on the cob for dinner.

And delicious coconut pineapple rum slurpies.

Or pina coladas, Jesse pointed out after I'd given them a fancy name.

I usually prefer drinks to be at room temperature, but in lieu of summer heat I've been blending ice into my drinks and smoothies. The blendtec gets such a great consistency out of the ice!

Let's see... now we're at Wednesday. My lovely friend Chrissie's birthday! I decided to try my hand at a banana cream pie! Almost the same as the fig tart, only I used pecans and coconut sugar in the crust and layered banana slices under and on top of the pie. It was very rich but good!

I also had a grey hound cocktail made with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, heavenly!

Okay, so many delicious, exciting, wonderful, and seemingly healthy things. I woke up Thursday feeling  HORRIBLE. Fatigued, dehydrated, discouraged, distant etc. etc.

Where did I go wrong?

Food Wise:
Too much sugar, too frequently
Alcohol combined with sugar
Too much coffee
Not enough water
Not enough vegetables
Not enough amino acids and b12

Life Wise:
Not enough down time
Carrying more than I need to: holding onto past, and potential future circumstances instead of taking things moment by moment

The solution: Start taking better care of myself food wise so I have the energy to take care of everything else! I had acupuncture treatment today with John Simmonds, he told me my blood was thin, also possible problems with my spleen and pancreas. (He can tell these things just from looking at my face, pretty amazing!) He recommended beets and kale for my blood. I'm sure he had many other insights I missed as I was so very very gone this afternoon. Scary gone when I think back on it. He also recommended cloves and cinnamon.

I stopped at Whole Foods on my way home to purchase kale and beets. I made this salad using kale, beets, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and sea salt. (Note the out of focus photo due to shaky hands!)

I washed it down with a green pumpkin pie spice smoothie.

I used a few spoonfuls of Whole Soy & Co's plain organic soy yogurt, a tbsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, a tbsp of Vitamineral Green Powder, and a bunch of ice.

I'm feeling mostly better, just tired. I haven't been sleeping well, so something else to work on. I've been having nightmares and anxiety dreams! This has been an intense couple of months, mostly in good ways but I can't help but feel a bit knocked over. I think I just have to let go and float for a bit. It's a good time to remember my innate harmony.

And now sleep, at 9:15 on a Friday! Goodnight all <3

Celebrate Your Choices

Earlier this week I started a posting listing the reasons I choose not to eat meat and dairy, but it rapidly became depressing. So many disgusting and ethically questionable subjects arose: animal treatment, genetic engineering, antibiotics, hormones, toxins, environment stuff, the way meat packing employees are treated... It just felt overwhelming and a bit crushing. I decided that my blog isn't the place for negativity on this level, not that we should ignore it, but I don't have to integrate it into my personal life.

To be honest, my number one reasons were rather selfish. Eating mostly vegan, raw, and organic makes me feel good, physically, mentally and spiritually. I really don't want to minimize any of the issues with our food supply, particularly the health and environmental issues associated with animal foods BUT I think the most important thing we can do for ourselves and the world is do what makes us feel best as individuals.

Getting to the point that we can clearly make these choices is another story. Advertising, addictions, and self destructive defenses can muddle our ability to know and feel what is best for us. I do not mean for this to be a discouraging hurdle! Exploring the self is exciting and fun as long as we accept that it's all a continuing process and remain free from judgement. For me, food is a way of exploring my physical body by means of sense, feeling, and function. It also gives me a perspective on perspective! When I eat _____, my thoughts tend to focus more on _____ or I feel ______ when I'm eating _____ etc. etc, etc. I happen to be EXTREMELY sensitive to food and overly analytical so I don't expect most people to have this experience but I encourage everyone to explore their own experience however it may manifest.

Food should be celebrated, never guilt driven :)

And now, food!

Sprouted whole grain bread, raw almond butter, organic blueberry jam, bee pollen :)

Failed oatmeal pancakes made from ground oats, banana, baking soda, and water. They still take a nice picture!

Salad with organic romaine lettuce, carrots, scallions, balsamic braggs dressing, and brown rice pasta topped with avocado.

Organic popcorn with olive oil and sea salt, popped in a regular pot. I'm pleased to say that Jesse and I have decided to leave the microwave unplugged in the new apartment! We still have it available for occasional use but it's important to me that we use it as little as possible.

Vegetable soup with kidney beans, onion, carrots, celery, cabbage, and potatoes.

My new favorite summer treat, a Raw Vanilla Orange Frosty Smoothie!

Orange Frosty
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup filtered water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 large oranges divided into segments and frozen

Blend all ingredients minus the oranges until smooth. Add the oranges and blend until liquified. Add a few cubes of ice if it's too rich and blend until smooth.

Another raw vegan winner! In my experience thus far, nut milk + vanilla + frozen fruit = a guaranteed winner. Strawberries, cherries, blueberries, mango, pineapple, banana... Yeah, there's no wrong answer. Remember, for easy nut milk just blend 3-6 tbsp raw almond butter with 1 cup filtered water!

And to finish, I'd like to show off my new succulents. I love having plants in my home but can't seem to keep them alive for long! Succulents are supposed to be drought resistant, so I have a good feeling about these guys :)

Have an amazing weekend everyone! <3

Healthy & Happy

I was just looking over my past couple of posts, my goodness it's been a busy few months! I'm still busy, but it's amazing how my eating has naturally fallen back into place. High raw, no sugar, whole grains, lots of veggies and no anxiety over-eating (despite having my share of anxiety!) 

I've been buying heirloom tomatoes lately and loving salads with lemon juice, olive oil, and sea salt as dressing!

I've been using simple almond milk as the base for most of my smoothies, just blend 3 tbsp of almond butter with one cup of filtered water, and voila! Here are some spinach, banana, almond milk smoothies.

My boyfriend and I have been on a steady diet of brown rice and vegetables for dinner. Brown rice and stir fry style veggies, brown rice with black beans and spicy veggies, brown rice pasta with broccoli, spinach, and tomato sauce etc. etc. It never seems to get old!

This is a stir fry I made with broccoli, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, peppers, olive oil, braggs liquid aminos, ginger, a pinch of cayenne, and cashews. So very very good.

I wanted this to be banana ice cream, but it wanted to be a smoothie.

I wanted this to be a mixed berry peanut butter smoothie, but it wanted to be ice cream! Both were delicious either way!

A simple snack: Tomato Dulse Sandwich... mmmmmmmm...

Sprouted whole grain bread, heirloom tomatoes, dulse, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and olive oil to moisten the bread! 

And lastly, congratulations to my brothers for graduating High School and Jr. High School!!!

Sweet Potatoes and Unpacking

After a week of having officially moved in, I still have boxes to unpack! I'm so ready to be done. My food habits have improved signigicantly, but still aren't fantastic. It's slowly getting better and easier, I've been eating more salads, smoothies and plain raw veggies. 

Here's another basil smoothie made from almond milk, basil, lemon juice, and agave nectar. 

I've been loving basil lately, my favorite is spinach, basil, frozen strawberries and water blended up! Really tasty and simple.

I bought a bag of Bob's Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli as a quick and easy meal. Here it is with cacao nibs, coconut, and almond milk. 

I graduated from Meditation 2 class through the Psychic Institute of Southern California! Again, I highly recommend these classes if you ever have the opportunity to take one or more. I started Healing 1 today, I'm so excited!

For the last day of Meditation class, I brough a raw vegan chocolate pudding sprinkled with cacao nibs, bee pollen, and shredded coconut.

I started with about 2 cups almond milk, added 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, then mixed in 1/2 cup of chia seeds then let it sit over night until the chia seeds absorbed all the liquid, then I added about 1 tsp vanilla beans, 1/2 cup agave nectar (or more to taste) and another 1/2 cup cocoa powder and blended the whole thing up until smooth. I honestly kind of threw this together, and just kept adding cocoa and agave as needed. I was suprised at how delicious and rich it turned out, considering that it was mostly just water and seeds!

My good friends Kevin, Chrissie and I tried a new restaurant in Echo Park called Elf Cafe. They serve all vegetarian, all natural food with lots of decadent vegan options. I had an amazing cream of mushroom soup and we shared the vegan fondue (roasted veggies with a walnut romesco sauce!) and the stuffed meditarranean dolma. We also got a pot of chai tea with almond milk to share. Mmmmmm, so delicious. 

Chrissie has a great sense of food, she uses all natural ingredients and always comes up with something flavorful and creative. She told me she'd made sweet potato enchaladas, served with a home made verde sauce and goat cheese. I'm sure it was out of this world. I made this dish inspired by hers.

I baked a sweet potato at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, it was still firm when I took it out of the oven. Then I cubed and sauteed it with 1/2 cup of chopped onions, scallions, and garlic. I added lime juice salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste. I made home made tortillas with masa flour, canned black beans with added onions, Trader Joes verde salsa, pico de gallo salsa and avocado. This dish had so many flavors and textures, sweet potatoes are extremely comforting in any form.

I reheated the rest of the sweet potato for lunch the next day and ate it on it's own, still amazing. For dinner I made a 'taco salad' with romaine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, brown rice, black beans, and salsa.

And now, the BEST recipe of the week: Coconut Sweet Potato Pudding! Shown here with raw vegan chocolate pudding and blueberries.

Almost Raw Coconut Sweet Potato Pudding

1 cup fresh coconut meat

1 lg sweet potato (baked)

3 tbsp honey (or to taste)

3 tbsp agave nectar (or to taste)

1 tsp vanilla bean

1 tbsp organic soy lecithin

4 tbsp coconut oil

2 tsp agar agar (optional, makes the consistency very thick)

4 tbsp chia seeds in 3/4 cup water, soaked until liquid is completely absorbed

1 cup water (may need more depending on the softness of sweet potato and coconut)

Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender until smooth. Place in the refridgerator for 2 hours to allow agar agar to set. Serve with raw chocolate syrup, berries, etc. This could easily be a pumpkin pie custard filling if you added 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice. I layered this with chocolate pudding then topped it with coconut oil chocolate and shredded coconut. Yeah, really really good. Really good. 

Have a great Sunday everyone :)