Easy being green.

This week I've made a huge shift in what my body craves. I was hoping this would happen naturally over time, and it did, but in a big way! I've been CRAVING greens like crazy. Tuesday night I came home from work and had a big salad with romaine lettuce, kale, scallions, beets, carrots, mushrooms, & avocado along with a big green smoothie. The smoothie is a bit mossy in color as I used beet stems and leaves along with cucumber, kale, celery, parsley, and half an apple.

The next morning I woke up craving protein. I made my first chia seed pudding, wow have I ever been missing out!

Vanilla Coconut Chia Pudding

1/4 cup chia seeds

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/8 tsp ground vanilla beans

Mix ingredients together and wait at least 15 minutes before eating. I topped mine with banana slices, cinnamon, and leftover Raw Chocolate from my chocolate covered banana hearts. Holy freaking yum.

Last night I made apple cinnamon chia pudding to eat for breakfast this morning. It was about 1/8 cup chia seeds, 3/4 cup apple sauce, and 1 tsp cinnamon. I put it in an old almond butter jar and let it sit over night. It was the perfect boost to get me through work!

Yesterday I also made One Pot Gluten Free Vegan Mac -n-Cheese from the Pure2Raw Twins guest post on Averie's blog www.LoveVeggiesandYoga.com. Wow. That's all I have to say. This is such a delicious treat, and so healthy! This is by far the best quinoa I have ever eaten, and now one of my favorite all time dishes.

I liked it so much that I went out to buy more quinoa so I could make it again for dinner. This time I added some shredded collard green at the very end of the cooking process.

I even made my own tahini to make this dish possible! It's 5 parts sesame seeds to 1 part olive oil.

I paired the Mac-N-Cheese with a simple green salad, just romaine lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes.

And Raw Tomato Beet Soup. I wasn't crazy about the soup, but my friend Chrissie really liked it. I'm kind of particular about beets, but maybe if I were a beet person, I'd love this soup!

Raw Tomato Beet Soup

4 tomatoes

1 small beet

1/4 red onion

1 clove garlic

4 tbsp parsley, minced

1 diced tomato (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Puree all ingredients except the parsley, and the diced tomato, add them in while gently heating.

For dinner tonight I sauteed some leftover quinoa with a dressing I'd made for the salad. It was one part yellow mustard, one part red wine vinegar, two parts olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste. It was so yummy and was a nice change of pace as I ate the quinoa for lunch and dinner two days straight. I also wanted some red wine, I usually won't open a bottle by myself and it wasn't like I was craving the taste or the feeling, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. So, in the spirit of listening to my body, I also had a small glass of red wine. I didn't even finish the glass, but it did help me feel grounded and centered.

I bought four grains from the bulk bin and stupidly, did not label any of them.

There's wheat, barley, spelt, and oats. Can you tell the difference? I had to taste a few to make sure I got them all right.

I bought them because I've been wanting to try to make real Ezekial bread based on the passage listed on their breads. Ezekiel 4:9 "Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself." So, I did just that.

This was mostly experimental, I used 2 cups of the flour which I ground up in my blender, 1 cup of water, 1 tsp yeast, and 2 tbsp turbinado sugar. I'm not sure this is what Ezekiel would have made, I actually imagine his as more of a porridge. But here's mine!

Surprisingly enough-it tastes pretty good. The only issue is that it's kind of dry and dense, but I plan on trying this again because it has a rich hearty flavor and it's a complete protein.

Now I'm in the mood to make bread! Any suggestions?

Valentine's Day & the Importance of the Heart

I'm not super crazy about Valentine's Day. I think the whole thing is kind of tacky and commercial plus I enjoy celebrating the people I love regardless of the day, BUT it did give me the perfect opportunity to use all the heart shaped cooking tools I've been collecting.

I convinced Jesse to eat an all raw breakfast with me. I got up early so we could eat together in bed. We watched The Marvelous Misadventure's of Flapjack and snuggled with our dog while enjoying this nutritious meal.

It consisted of whole orange juice, grated cucumber 'hash browns' dusted with lemon pepper, avocado and tomato 'eggs' (inspired by Rawon10's Breakfast in Bed), a side of nacho cheeze, fruit salad with strawberries, tangerines & banana hearts, and banana cashew mousse with chocolate syrup, yum!

My favorite part of the meal was by far the banana cashew mousse. It started out as ice cream, but by the time we ate it, it had thawed to frosty mousse consistency, so yummy!!!

Banana Cashew Mousse or Ice Cream

2 large frozen bananas

1/4 tsp ground vanilla beans or vanilla extract

1/4 cup cashews

approx. 1/8 cup filtered water

Raw Chocolate Syrup

1 tbsp raw agave nectar

1 tsp raw cacao powder

Prepare the syrup first by thoroughly mixing the agave and cacao until completely incorporated. Add more or less agave depending on your preferred sweetness.

To make the 'ice cream' put the cashews in the blender (Vita Mix or Blendtec), then add just enough water to cover them, blend into milk. Then add the bananas and vanilla and puree until the mixture is creamy and lump free. Pour into a bowl, drizzle with chocolate syrup and enjoy!

For dinner, Jesse and I went to our friends' house to be with them, a few friends who live nearby, and a few close friends visiting from out of town. I brought a few raw goodies to share, the first was my Heart Cheesecake which I had waiting for me in the freezer.

I made raw chocolate dipped banana hearts, and oh man, were they good. Way better than I could have anticipated.

I sliced a banana lengthwise in three, then used a small heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out heart pieces (I froze all the discarded banana to make 'ice cream' later). Then I stuck a toothpick into each, dipped them in Raw Chocolate, put them on wax paper then put them into the freezer. I put them in the refrigerator about 2 hours before serving, so the banana would thaw but the chocolate would stay solid.

Raw Chocolate

1/4 1 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup raw cacao

5 tbsp raw agave nectar or to taste

1/2 tsp ground vanilla beans or vanilla extract

Gently warm the coconut oil until melted then mix in the rest of the ingredients until smooth. I used my blender, but it can be done with a good old fashioned bowl and spoon :). You can pour it into moulds, or dip fruit/nuts in it. Let it set in the refrigerator or freezer.

I also made zucchini rolls with beet hearts.

I used my mandolin to slice the zucchini and the beets and used the same heart cookie cutter to punch out beet hearts. I filled each roll with a piece of tomato, a piece of avocado, some nacho cheeze, and some alfalfa sprouts. They were beautiful, fresh, and tasty!

I feel like Valentine's Day, although mostly commercial, is a wonderful opportunity to think about the Heart in all of it's forms, physical, emotional, and spiritual.

Brugh Joy, an amazing teacher with whom I was so privileged to work, died in December. I feel that there's no way I can adequately describe Brugh. He was/is so much more than what he did, truly a unique and wonderful person, so open, present, and impactful. He was an energy healer, author, doctor, and a teacher of spiritual enlightenment and Heart Center Transformation. The impact he has on me carries far beyond the personal experience I had with him as he was Dr. Nicki Monti's teacher for over twenty years, another remarkable individual to whom I feel I owe in many ways my life (the life I have) and personal freedom. I learned Heart Centering Meditation from Dr. Nicki Monti, a practice that has greatly helped me ground & open myself, and has deepened my love for myself, others, and the world.

I was shocked when I found out Brugh had died, and disappointed that I wouldn't again have the opportunity to work with him in his physical form, but I didn't anticipate the level of grief I was to experience in the coming weeks. I've felt deep sadness, fear, anger, loss, and a general depression. After attending a memorial hosted by Dr. Nicki Monti, the sadness didn't cease, but many of my thoughts and feelings around Brugh became clearer and more focused.

I began thinking about the emphasis Brugh placed on 'touching the body with reverence' and experiencing the world with 'bodyfulness'. He embraced his humanity and taught me to embrace mine. He taught me to love, respect, and fully experience the body. I worked with Brugh nearly two years ago and my goals and values have significantly shifted since. My passion for cooking, healthy eating, and green living began to develop and continue to grow. I know that my lifestyle is strongly influenced by what I gathered from him, consciously and subconsciously.

In honor of Brugh, I'd like to spend a few moments talking about the Heart, in all of it's forms, because they are all connected as one and the same. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S.A. Heart dis ease. Are we literally dying of broken hearts? Both of my grandfather's died of heart attacks, and as Dr. Nicki says, "We die the same way we live." I completely believe that we live our lives in so many ways we are not conscious of and emotional suppression can lead to many types of illness. In my family, cutting oneself off from the heart is a common problem, and I'm sure the same can be said for many different types of people. It takes a lot of bravery to open and fully access one's heart. We must allow ourselves to be emotionally vulnerable, ready to experience deep pain as well as deep love and happiness. What you find, however, is that one of the attributes of the heart is innate harmony, calm in the midst of chaos. The heart understands, the heart does not fear, the heart can feel heavy, but is never weighed down.

To keep our hearts healthy, it is important to pay attention to both the physical and emotional aspects of the Heart. Listen to it, and speak it's words. Don't be afraid to open up and explore what's there. Practice love for yourself and for others. Meditate. Maintain a healthy diet full of greens (the color of the heart chakra is green), whole grains, and good fats. And if it feels right to you, explore heart centering meditation.

Namaste

Zucchini Bread and Raw Valentine Treats

I plan on spending Valentine's Day with some of my best friends and I've decided to make some delicious and loving raw desserts and snacks. I made raspberry heart cheesecake in advance.

To be honest, I liked Averie's Raw Vegan Cheesecake better! I should have looked at her recipe before making it, I think it really could have used more lemon juice, but the result was still creamy and delicious!

Raspberry Heart Cheesecake

Crust (The same as my Raw Hamentashen dough)

3/4 cup almond meal

1/4 cup cashew meal

1/2 tsp ground vanilla beans

1/2 tsp lemon zest

4 dates

1 tbsp coconut oil

Filling

4 cups raw cashews

1 cup filtered water

1/4 cup raw agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla beans or vanilla extract

juice from 2 lemons (about 8 tbsp)

Topping

3-4 tbsp filling (whatever you can't scrape out of your blender)

5 oz frozen strawberries

The crust ingredients need to be blended until smooth and pliable, I pressed a thin layer down in each of my heart shaped muffin cups. The filling also, blend until very very smooth, you may need a few tablespoons extra water. For the topping, that's right! Blend until smooth. Fill each muffin cup that has the crust inside with filling then carefully smooth a few tablespoons of the topping over each. Freeze until completely solid (otherwise getting the cake out of the muffin cups with be impossible!) Let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving. Makes approx. 12 cakes.

I've been eating pretty high raw these days, with the exception of whole grains which I've been craving like crazy! Maybe it has something to do with Jenna's post on the importance of carbs. Whatever it is, I've been making sure to have something healthy and whole grain to turn to so I don't find myself eating a bag of pita chips. I also have found that in order to eat enough veggies, it really helps to have some prepared and easy to use. On Monday I made a raw veggie salad to eat during the week, in wraps, over salad, and on it's own!

Raw Basil and Veggie Salad

4 oz fresh basil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp lemon pepper

1/4 red onion, chopped

4 small carrots, diced

2 scallions, sliced

1/2 sweet potato, diced

handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

2 large kale leaves, shredded

1 small zucchini, diced

Mix all ingredients together, use any veggies you have on hand-this is a great way to use the veggies that need to be used asap!

I had the salad inside of lettuce wraps with avocado slices for lunch yesterday, yummy!

As I mentioned before, I'm trying to make sure I have lots of healthy carbs on hand for when a craving hits! I've stocked up on Ezekial tortillas and Trader Joe's High Fiber Os. I also made myself some zucchini bread as a healthy treat. Here it is smeared with almond butter (drool).

Healthy Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups oat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup turbinado sugar

1 cup grated zucchini

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional... recommended, but optional!)

olive oil to grease the pan

Mix the oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and in a separate bowl mix the apple sauce, sugar, zucchini, and vanilla. Combine the two mixtures and add chocolate chips. Grease a loaf pan with olive oil (or use muffin cups!) and pour in the mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. It's done when a toothpick or knife comes out clean!

This is so satisfying, and even though it's a baked treat, it still feels so much better in my body than any other muffin or bread. I'm a fan of the turbinado sugar, I can feel the difference :)

Raw Hamentashen, Hair Wrap, and Hearty Soup!

Jesse bought apricots a few days ago that started going bad almost immediately. I decided to blend them up and make raw hamentashen!

I will give you the recipe, but I do not recommend you make them the same way I did! The taste is delicious, but the 'cookie dough' part was nearly impossible to work with. I will make this again, but in the form of jam thumbprint cookies! If anyone has any ideas as to how to make the dough more pliable and less sticky, let me know :)

Raw Vegan Hamentashen

Dough

3/4 cups almond meal

1/4 cup cashew meal

1/2 tsp ground vanilla beans

1/2 tsp lemon zest

4 dates

1 tbsp coconut oil

Filling

2 apricots (or any other fruit)

1/2 tsp lemon juice

agave syrup to taste (my apricots were very bitter, but usually I wouldn't add any sweetener to fruit puree)

I blended the dough ingredients until well incorporated. Some of the almond/cashew meal began to turn into butter but I stopped before it got too creamy. I scooped it out, rolled it into a ball and put in into the refrigerator to set a bit. Then I pureed the filling, rolled out the dough and used a cookie cutter to cut out circles, put a spoonful of jam into each circle and pressed into triangles. Then put them into the freezer to set.

It sounds easy, but it was nearly impossible to keep those dough circles together and then fill and press them without it turning into a crumbly mess. Next time, I'll roll the dough into small balls, press an indentation in each with a finger then fill the hole with jam. Much easier. And I'm glad I don't have to give up on this recipe, because it's really good!

I found the bead to make my hair wrap complete!

I had it all along, the power of cleaning is amazing! Here I am, complete with finished hair wrap.

I got the idea from a woman working at The Museum of Jurassic Technology (don't ask, I spent two hours there and I sill have no idea what it is) who had a thick felt hair wrap in beautiful deep colors. I asked her where she got it done and she said a friend had done it for her :( I really wanted one, but I knew there was no way I could felt on myself and make it look halfway decent. My alternative was to pull out a bunch of wool yarn I had from my mom that she made when I was a kid.

First I selected the piece of hair and braided it. Then I wove a piece of yarn through the braid using a wide eyed needle (I basically sewed the yarn into my hair). I left some of the yarn hanging past my hair to make it longer in the end. Then I took another piece of yarn and wrapped my hair in it, almost like a knitting needle, sewing through my braid every once in a while to keep it from falling apart. Then I did the outside layer, just wrapping and sewing through and wrapping and sewing through until I had several lumps of yellow then switched to pink/brown, then turquoise. I left the ends at the bottom after I tied them off and threaded the ends back into the wrap to hid them. The bead had a very small hole, so I used plain thread to sew it on then wrapped more yarn around the top to hide the thread. It took for every, but I'm so happy with it!

At work today, my boss asked me to make a soup from the cookbook 'Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen'. They didn't have all the ingredients for any soup, but I got so many ideas for raw and cooked soups from looking through the book. In the end, I made a soup inspired by the Spicy Chick Pea Tomato Soup recipe.

I wish I had had my camera with me to get a picture that does this soup justice, it was out of this world! It just melted in my mouth, so flavorful with a bit of spice. I ate a bowl of it with half an avocado and plan on making it again for Jesse and I soon!

Tomato Chick Pea Sweet Potato Soup

1 red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, sliced

3 celery ribs, chopped

4 tomatoes cubed

1 large sweet potato peeled and cubed

1 15 oz can chick peas

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (I used Trader Joe's fire roasted tomatoes with green chilis)

4 tbsp canned green chilis (optional, mine were included in the canned tomatoes)

1/2 tsp Trader Joe's lemon pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp sea salt or to taste

1 liter water

I put everything together in a pot, brought it to a boil, then stirred and let it simmer for about 40 min (or until the sweet potato is soft). It was easy, flavorful, beautiful, and out of the ordinary. It inspired me to try a raw chick pea soup, I'm going to start soaking some chick peas now to get them ready.

I can feel my period coming, I'm craving chocolate and peanut butter!!! I've been trying to eat as healthy as possible, I know I'll feel better if I can maintain a high nutrient diet!

For lunch I brought green juice, tangerines, a bag of broccoli, cucumber, carrots, celery, peppers, and sweet potato spears, along with some Superfood Mudstacks. I had an orange for breakfast and a bowl of soup for lunch. Why do I feel so bloated and fat??? My period really does a number on me, before, during, and after!

I caught this photo at work today, I'm amazed at the joy the baby seems to be exuding. She cried most of the afternoon, this photo was taken within the breif moments she was happy.

She really is cute :)

Catching up.

Before I begin, I had to post this picture of my dog.

This is his favorite spot, on the bed right in between my boyfriend and I. We have very few pictures of him looking so sweet :)

Being sick and being out of town the weekend before last really set me back in the food prep department. Eating the way that I prefer (healthy, whole ingredients, inexpensive) requires a time commitment. I usually prepare several foods over the weekend to have throughout the week then eat fruits, vegetables, and shakes along with whatever I made. Not only is it a problem because when I don't prepare I have limited food options, but my precious produce starts to go bad!

When I got back from the farmers market, I realized that I still had veggies from the farmers market in Encinitas I bought the week earlier. I pulled everything out of my refrigerator, went through it, washed it in an apple cider water mixture then let everything dry.

It felt good to lovingly wash my veggies. I've been battling a bit of depression since early January, and this was a calming and centering experience. I find I need to hold onto and act out my Self (values, desires, things I enjoy etc.) in order to find my footing. Going to the farmers market also feels wonderful energetically, and I feel that the food I buy there carries a higher vibrational frequency. There's more love involved when you buy food from the grower.

While the produce dried, I made several dishes, to be eaten together or separately. The first was a fresh and colorful tomato salad.

Tomato Salad

2-3 tomatoes diced (I prefer heirloom)

1/4-1/2 cup red onion diced (I added 1/2 cup, but it was very oniony!)

1/2 cup celery chopped

4 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

1 scallion chopped

1-2 garlic cloves minced

Trader Joe's lemon pepper to taste (or juice of one lemon with salt and pepper to taste)

I mixed everything together and ate in lettuce, tortillas, and as a side to my curried split peas. My boyfriend mixed the rest with tuna salad the next day, he said it was delicious! I love Trader Joe's lemon pepper, it is very different from regular lemon pepper! It's sea salt, pepper corns, and dried lemon zest in a pepper grinder so everything tastes fresh. My one complaint is that it's a bit salty, I wish I had more control of how much salt went in with the pepper and lemon zest. But beyond that, I love it. I use lemon juice and zest in almost everything and this is a simple way to get the lemony flavor without the lemon overpowering what ever dish I happen to be making. I also used it in the curried split peas and veggie rice I made for dinner.

I don't have a recipe for the curried split peas, toward the end I was having trouble getting the flavor I wanted and just kept adding seasoning until it worked. It contained split peas, carrots, celery, potatoes, curry powder, paprika, Trader Joe's lemon pepper, and lemon juice.

Here's my friend Patrick enjoying the vegan feast :)

The veggie rice contained Trader Joe's brown rice medley, lemon pepper, 1/2 red onion, broccoli, and garlic. We ate everything with Trader Joe's tortillas and it was fabulous. I prefer not to buy pre-made food, but when I want it, Trader Joe's really comes through!

For breakfast that morning I made a carrot apple smoothie. I can't believe I hadn't done this until then! Carrot apple juice is my favorite! This one has 4 small carrots, 1 apple, and about 2 cups of water blended until smooth.

Last night I was craving something sweet but wanted to stay healthy, so I made superfood mud pies.

Superfood Mud Pies

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1/2 cup cashew meal

1/2 cup almond meal

5 tbsp ground flax seeds (you could only use 2 tbsp, I had a dream about flax seeds so I think some one's telling me I need extra aminos!)

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp Trader Joe's Super Green Drink Powder

1-2 tbsp spirulina (I used two, and you can taste it!)

2 tbsp maca powder

5 tbsp cacao

1 tsp vanilla ground vanilla beans

1/3 cup maple syrup

I mixed everything except the maple syrup until well blended then stirred in the maple syrup and formed the batter into quarter sized balls. I think they taste best after being chilled in the freezer, but you can eat them right away! Of course all the powders are optional, just make sure to subtract some of the maple syrup so the batter doesn't get too soft. These go great with a green smoothie!

Also over the weekend, I wove a hair wrap into my hair using yarn my mom spun and dyed. You can kind of see it here.

And more here. It's still a work in progress, I need to buy some better beads before I'm truly happy with it.

I keep forgetting to mention this, but I want to say thank you to everyone out there blogging about raw, vegan, and healthy food, especially those who have been kind enough to visit and comment on my blog. My friends are all very open to different food, but I don't have any vegan friends and I so appreciate having a community of people I can relate to, draw from, share ideas with, and inspire me. These blogs are such an amazing resource, I feel blessed to be here. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Peace & Love,

Tess