Workshop Dates for Spring!

Spring is here and Summer is just around the bend.

Now is a good time to replenish the body with living enzymes and vitamins from fresh and uncooked veggies and fruits.

Here are the available dates…

Living Foods for the Adult Beginner - $95/person

Saturday, June 13th, 2009, 3-6 p.m. (3-hour seminar), and
Sunday, June 20th, 2009, 2-5 p.m. (3-hour seminar)

New to living foods? In this workshop, you will learn the benefits of living foods. You will learn the basics of the raw food kitchen and have opportunities for hands-on food preparation. Please arrive hungry and ready to eat, because you will be sampling delicious meals throughout.

Live Mylk, Juice and Smoothie Workshop - $25/person

Sunday, June 14th, 2009, 2-3:30 p.m. (1 ½ hour workshop), and
Sunday, June 21st, 2009, 2-3:30 p.m. (1 ½ hour workshop)

Attendees of this workshop will learn how to prepare delicious and satisfying fresh juices, milks, and smoothies, and compare the pros and cons of juices and smoothies. You will learn also about the powerful green smoothie, a much revered beverage in the raw food world. Please bring an empty container with a tight lid that can hold a fluid liter of smoothie to take home.

For more information:

call - 949-0147
e-mail - valine@allthewaylivefoods.com

Avocado and Tomato and Dulse Salad

Breakfast will never be the same!

I am so used to having something sweet to start the day. Whether it was oatmeal with bananas/dried fruits, fruit cereals with berries and brazil nut or hempseed milk, assorted fruits, buckwheat cereal or even a green smoothie... breakfast was always a healthy and sweet way to start the day.

Well, that has changed from healthy and sweet to healthy and savory. Ever since I learned that my daughter has yeast in her blood, candida albicans to be specific, I've scrutinized all sweets. In fact, to avoid feeding and growing the yeast, she is supposed to avoid all fruits, especially bananas, dried fruits, and all sugars (and other things). It's been hard because fruits are so easy to serve to children, but here is one way I've combatted the urge to make it sweet (and I must admit I've benefitted from these changes as well).

I made this Avocado Tomato and Dulse Salad one morning, and I served it with some mixed greens, some sunflower sprouts that I cultivated in the kitchen myself, and miso cups. I must say it was a wonderful way to start our day.

The idea comes from Dr. Gabriel Cousens' book entitled Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine. His recipe is called Avocado Tomato Salad.

The ingredients are super simple:

2 avocados, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 - 1/2 cup of dulse, cut into pieces
2-3 tablespoons of hempseeds (optional)
pinch of himalayan sea salt (optional)

I hope you like it.

Fruit Cereal by Valine and Hempseed Milk from Alive in 5

My husband and I started eating Fruit Cereal years ago. The original recipe came from The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit for Life Kitchen by Marilyn Diamond. So this recipe is inspired by her Cocobana Cereal and Fall Fruit Breakfast Pudding which are found in that that book.

Fruit Cereal is a real treat because it is sweet and somewhat "heavy". Sweet and heavy is not something I do often, but when I'm in the mood for a filling breakfast, I choose this recipe. This also a fun cereal to make as a family or group.

I use bananas and apples as the base, but you can be versatile with the rest of the ingredients, and enjoy it with your favorite milk. Here are the ingredients I used for this recipe on a particular day. Shown in the picture is 1/2 cup of raisins, a handful of dates, and 1/4 cup of hempseeds. I didn't even use all of the raisins and dates.

Here is the recipe:
3 ripe bananas, peeled, halved and chopped
4 apples, peeled and grated
1/3 cup of raisins
a handful of pitted dates, chopped
1/4 cup of nuts and/or seeds of your choice (my note: Be sure to activate them by soaking them the night before. Hempseeds don't need soaking.)
1/4 cup of freshly ground flax seeds (my note: I was out of flax seeds that day.)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
berries for the top (optional)

When I add the ingredients in the order listed, it always looks beautiful to me.

Enjoy the cereal with a milk of choice. Vanilla Brazil Nut Milk is now a favorite, but most mornings, when I want a quick milk, I make Hempseed Milk.

Hempseed Milk from Alive in 5:

5 cups filtered water

1 cup raw hempseeds

1/2 raw agave nectar

1 tablespoon vanilla flavor (my note: I used alcohol-free vanilla extract)

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt

Combine all the ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.

Seaweed and Cucumber Salad

This is a delicious salad! I changed the original recipe which is called Wakame Cucumber Salad, found in Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Food. I added some dulse, and a tablespoon more of lemon juice and a tablespoon more of nama shoyu. Alissa Cohen calls for Bragg Liquid Aminos, instead of nama shoyu.

Wakame is a very chewy seaweed. Whenever I make this salad, my girls usually ask for a peice of wakame. Wakame is a crunchy seaweed that takes some time to chew.

2 cups of wakame, coarsely chopped (soaked 2 hours minimum)
1 large or 2 small cucumbers, sliced very thinly
1 cup dulse, coarsely chopped (soaked 2 minutes)
1/4 red onion, diced
3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
4 tablespoons nama shoyu

Combine the seaweeds, cucumber, and red onion in a bowl. Mix the lemon juice and nama shoyu together and add it to the salad. Toss together and serve.

NOTE: I check the seaweed for shells and rocks and those little tiny things that I don't want to eat/serve. Soaking the wakame is important because it is very chewy. I use a pair kitchen scissors to cut the wakame and dulse into smaller pieces. I also remove those really tough wakame pieces that look like ribs. I also peel most of the cucumber skin off, leaving only 2 strips of skin on the cucumber. For me, and my daughters actually, it makes the cukes easier to chew. I guess it's a texture thing. Another thing, I also buy my seaweed in bulk from Maine Coast Sea Vegetables. Seaweed is ridiculously expsensive in the store.

Sunflower Sprout Juice

This is a great way to consume greens. Whenever a tray of greens is ready to harvest, I like to blend large portions with freshly made fruit juice, and use the rest for snacking and salads.

Sunflower sprouts are so healthy, full of vitamins, enzymes, and amino acids for protein-building. I love it when we eat sprouts. I actually encourage my daughters to eat sprouts whenever they like. I let them to scissor-cut or pick sprouts from the tray or their clay pots, because I want them to eat as many greens as they choose.
2 cups sunflower sprouts
2 cups fresh apple juice
1 banana (optional)

Blend sprouts with juice and banana, and drink immediately.

Mexican Pate and Tomato-Lime Salsa on Romaine Lettuce Leaves with Avocado-Corn Guacamole

This was an ambitious project. Preparing a dish with a sunflower seed-based pate and two toppings is a gourmet project for me. I usually keep things simple for my family. However, once I get through with all the chopping, I am surprised and rewarded by how delicious it is.

I used the Mexican Pate recipe from Alive in 5 and the Spicy "Beans" recipe in Raw Food Real World to make the Mexican Pate recipe. Does that mean I can call it my own?

Mexican Pate:

2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked overnight (my note: The seeds expand to 3 cups. I love it when that happens. I feel like I'm making my money stretch.)
1 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour or more

1 tablespoon miso (my note: I used sweet white miso)

2 tablespoons Mexican seasoning

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon raw agave nectar

1 teaspoon sea salt

6 tablespoons filtered water or soaking water from sun dried tomatoes

3 green onions, chopped
1 small handful fresh cilantro

In a food processor, grind the sunflower seeds, tomatoes, miso, Mexican seasoning, olive oil, agave, and sea salt until thoroughly combined. Add the sun dried tomato soak water a few tablespoons at a time and process further until smooth or dough-like. Add chopped green onions and cilantro and pulse gently.

Tomato-Lime Salsa from Raw Food Real World:
3 cups finely chopped, seeded tomatoes (my note: I like to use romas. I didn't take the time to seed them.)

3 tablespoons lime juice (my note: Fresh-squeezed is best.)
1 handful cilantro leaves, finely choppe

1/2 small jalepeno, seeded and finely chopped (my note: I like to use anaheim or cubanelle because they are mild. When I make this for my family, I don't use too much.)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

In a medium bowl, combine the salsa ingredients and taste for seasoning.

Avocado-Corn Guacamole from Raw Food Real World:

3 ripe avocados, pitted

1 cup fresh corn kernels, cut from 1 ear (or use thawed frozen corn)

1 large handful cilantro leaves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely minced (my note: I usually omit this ingredient)

1 teaspoon sea salt

In a medium bowl, mash the avocados with a fork. Add the corn, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno, and salt and stir well to combine. If not using immediately, cover the surface of the guacamole with plastic wrap and refrigerate. This will only keep for about a day or so. (my note: I'm sure why Raw Food Real World says use plastic wrap. I would think an air-tight lid would be fine.

Serve it all on romaine lettuce leaves with some lime wedges on the side. It's great!

Chocolate Milk from Real Food Raw World

Delicious!

Now my children will grow up knowing how the most delicious chocolate milk tastes, without the dairy and artificial sweeteners. First make the VANILLA BRAZIL NUT MILK, and then add more agave and cocoa powder. See recipe below.

VANILLA BRAZIL NUT MILK from Raw Food Real World

1 cup raw Brazil Nuts, soaked 2 hours or more
4 cups filtered water
¼ cup agave nectar or raw honey
2 tablespoons coconut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lecithin (optional)
2 packets stevia (optional)
Pinch of sea salt

In a Vita-Mix or high-speed blender, blend the nuts and water on high speed for about 2 minutes, making sure the nuts are thoroughly blended. Strain the milk through a nut milk bag or multiple layers of cheesecloth twice for smoothness. Rinse the blender cup and place the milk back in it with the remaining ingredients. Blend to combine thoroughly and taste for sweetness.

To make CHOCOLATE MILK add 3 heaping tablespoons of organic cocoa powder or carob powder, plus an additional packet of stevia or tablespoon of agave, to the blender along with the strained milk and other ingredients.