Hummus

  

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups dry garbanzo beans
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or to taste
• 1 cup filtered or spring water
• 1 pinch paprika

Directions

1. Soak the beans for 24 hours. Drain, and let sit for 2 to 3 days, until the bean's sprouts are about 1/2 inch long. Rinse the beans once or twice a day.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove from heat, and let stand for 1 minute. Place the sprouted beans in the hot water, and let sit for 1 minute. Drain. If you do not do this step, the hummus will be awful.
3. Place the sprouted beans into the container of a large food processor. Add the tahini, sea salt, lemon juice, and garlic. Process until smooth, adding water if necessary. It will take 3 to 5 minutes to blend. Let sit in the food processor for 5 minutes to allow the beans to absorb as much of the water as possible. If too thick, add more water, and blend again. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Spoon into a serving dish, and garnish with paprika.

A Raw Thanksgiving

    Our lovely, raw thanksgiving table! Everything was so delicious. We had  Cranberry Salad,  Walnut Stuffing, Sweet potato souffle, Broccoli and Cauliflower salad, and many other things!

Raw Cranberry Salad

This salad is very light, refreshing and full of flavor!

Ingredients:

1 bag of fresh or frozen cranberries

1apple cored

1 orange, peeled and seeded

1 C. walnuts

1 C. agave or other sweetener (we used honey)

Directions:

Chop walnuts. Use the S blade on the processor to chop cranberries, apple, and orange to a chunky salad.
Courtesy of: Theresa Ross

Raw Walnut Stuffing

    Oh my, this stuffing is amazing! It is so good, and it tastes exactly like real stuffing, and is really easy to make. When we were at our friends house for Thanksgiving we had this, and I could eat it every day and not get tired of it! Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:                          

2 C. Walnuts                         

1 C. Pecans                             

1/2 C. Almonds                    

1 Onion

2 Stalks Celery

2 TBS Sage

1/2 tsp. Rosemary

1/2 tsp. Thyme

1 Clove Garlic

1 tsp. Salt

Directions:

Process all ingredients until they stick together well.  Dehydrate until crumbly but moist. When I eat it I warm it up in the dehydrator. The flavor gets better with time!

Courtesy of: Mary Fucci

So cool!

    Have you ever seen how Brussels sprouts grow? I had no idea! Its so cool. We were at Trader Joe's the other day and we saw this:

    We, of course, just had to buy it! Isn't that neat?

Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

    We brought these cookies to a gathering one night, and everybody loved them! They are really yummy and flavorful :-)







                    Ingredients
2 C. Oats                       2 C. Raisins
2/3 C. Dates                  2 T. Sweetener
2 T. Coconut oil            1 T. Cinnamon
2 t. Nutmeg                   1t. All Spice
1/2 C. Nuts

                     Directions
Combine all ingredients, make into cookies. Enjoy!

Power Bars

   

    My friend was staying at our house one time and for dessert she made these Power Bars. Oh My Goodness! They are amazing! They taste like Reese's peanut butter cups (except much healthier and a whole bunch better). I had the recipe on hand and we made them during our 21 days Raw. Now, the recipe calls for Peanut butter and maple syrup (both of which are cooked). So the first time we made them we took raw peanuts that we had, ground them up in the food processor, and just used that. In place of the syrup we used honey and maple flavoring. They were pretty good, but not really the same. If you are looking to go completely Raw, you could do it that way, but I just made it how the recipe calls for and had it as a treat.


Ingredients

Bottom
1/3 C. Almond meal
1/2 C. Coconut Oil
2 T. Honey
1/2 C. Peanut butter

Top
3 T. Cocoa powder
1 T Honey
1/2 C. Coconut oil
1/4 C. Syrup

Directions
Blend "bottom" ingredients in food processor until smooth. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan and chill till solid. Once it is solid, prepare the "top" and pour that on. Chill and serve.

Courtesy of: Olivia Ross

Dehydrated Crackers

 

    These crackers are excellent. I like to have them with a salad for dinner or munching on them for a snack. They are very flavorful and work well for eating with salsa or hummus.
   





1 C. Flax
1 C. Sunflower seeds
3 T. Onion powder
2 t. Salt
1 1/2 t. Cumin
1 1/2 C. Water

    The original recipe says to grind the flax seeds, when I made them in the picture above I did not grind them, and personally I like them better because the flax seeds taste a little different when they are ground. Now my mom like them better when they seeds are ground, other wise they get stuck in your teeth, so whatever you want to do :-)
  Process seeds in food processor (different from grinding :-), add spices and water. Let sit a few
minutes. Dehydrate. Enjoy!

Courtesy of : Mary Fucci

Chow Mein Salad

    We made this salad for the first time about 2 weeks into our 21 days raw, and I was in heaven! It is very delicious. :-)

    All you need is: Bean sprouts, curly cabbage, broccoli slaw, shredded zucchini, snow or sugar snap peas, red pepper, and onion. You pretty much just combine it all in a bowl, putting how ever much of each ingredient that you want. There is a very yummy sauce that you can put on it, but if you would rather do something simpler, you can just put some Bragg's and Olive oil on it :-)

Sauce:
1 T. Lecithin (or ground Flax)
1 T. Almond butter ( generaly speaking,this is not raw, but I made and exception)
2 T. Braggs
2  t. Rice vinigar
3/4 t. Onion powder
1/2 t. Ginger
1/2 t. Garlic powder
1/4 t. Salt and Pepper

Enjoy!

The Dangers of Soda to You Body

Ok, lets be honest here. Everybody knows that soda isn't exactly the best thing for you, right? Well, the funny thing is, most people drink it anyway because its tastes so good! But have you ever read the ingredient list? Have you ever wondered what those really long unpronounceable words are, and what they are doing to you?

Lets talk about statistics. In the year 2000 over 15 billion gallons of Soft Drinks were sold, that's one 12 ounce can per person, per day! That one 12 ounce can (or more) that you drink daily adds up to about 60 gallons of soda in one year. Yikes!

One of the reasons why people drink soda is the caffeine. In fact, that is one of the main reasons why people keep going back for more, because, lets face it, caffeine is a drug. When you drink a lot of caffeine your body becomes used to it, and really "needs" it. If you go without caffeine you will probably experience major migraine headaches, a rise in blood pressure, irritability, and stomach problems. Caffeine intoxication is very dangerous to your body. According to Rhonda J. Malkmus who said in her book Recipes for Life: "While the artificial stimulation of caffeine temporarily arouses the intellect and fatigue seems to disappear, it is short lived. The excess stimulation depletes the body of vital energy and it struggles to deal with the poison that has entered the system." So while you are drinking soda (or anything with caffeine in it) and trying to awaken yourself, what you are really doing is making yourself more tired! Caffeine also causes many other things including : Nervousness, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, tremor, rapid heartbeats, and agitation.

Dr Mary Ruth Swope in her article titled, Why I don't Drink Soft Drinks and I Wish You Didn't, makes the following statement: "Soft Drinks contain caramel coloring, which, according to some researchers, has genetic effects and is a cancer-causing suspect. Polyethylene glycol is used as an ingredient sometimes. Glycol is used in anti-freeze in automobiles and as an oil solvent. Perhaps you have noticed that pouring cola drinks on your windshield in a snow or ice storm with keep the windshield from freezing over with ice." So, soda has an ingredient in it that is used in anti-freeze! Do you want to be putting that in your body?

Diabetes has been linked to extensive soda drinking. Drinking soda stresses your body's ability to process sugar and increases your risk of Diabetes. Did you know that type 2 Diabetes has increases by 90% in 10 years? I wonder if it has something to do with the large increase of soda intake by Americans? Do you drink lots of soda and get Heartburn often? Thats right, drinking soda causes heartburn, due to the very high acid content. Tooth decay is a horrible result of drinking soda. Did you know that if you place a human tooth in soda, within two days they will become soft and the enamel on the surface will have lost most of its calcium? Now, when you drink soda your teeth aren't submerged in the liquid for that amount of time so the affects will take a little longer to be noticed, but the soda does slowly wear down your teeth. Heart disease and High Blood Pressure are also results of soda drinking, as well as Kidney Stones. You see, the acid content in soda changes the urine in a way that promotes Kidney Stones. An ingredient in soda called Phosphate is really bad for you. Phosphate lowers the calcium in your body, and when your body is low in calcium, your body pulls the needed calcium out out of your bones, this is also known as Osteoporosis. Other results of drinking soda are: Impaired Digestion (soda on an empty stomach upsets the fragile alkaline balance); Mental Health problems (soda dissolves your brain); Gout; Cancer (cancer cant live in an oxygen rich environment, soda depletes your body of oxygen); Weight gain (1 can of soda per day is equivalent to 1 pound of weight per month); Liver Damage (soda is so strong and high in acid that your body has to work so hard to dilute it in your system that it overworks your Liver and Kidney).

We have talked about regular soda now lets look at Diet soda. Diet soda is advertised as "Sugar Free," and it is. It doesn't have regular sugar in it, but it has something 200 times sweeter, and much worse for you: Aspartame. Aspartame, though you may not realize it, has a very addictive nature and instead of getting you off sugar it actually increases your appetite for sweet things! Have you ever heard of Aspartame Disease? The symptoms are headaches, dizziness, attention difficulties, memory loss, slurred speech, and vision problems. Aspartame is cancer causing and has been proven to result in brain tumors. Methanol makes up 10% of Aspartame and is extremely harmful to the optic nerve (can cause blindness). Aspartame causes Seizures, Multiple sclerosis, Chronic fatigue, Depression, Diabetes, Potassium Depletions (which can result in Cardiac Arrhythmias and Paralysis of the Skeletal Muscles). Pretty horrible stuff, huh?

Hopefully this article has shed some light on the dangers of soda and next time, when you reach for a can of soda, perhaps you will remember all of the things that it causes and think twice about your decision. :-)

"If Mankind would at once discard all refined, sprayed, and unnatural foods, it would be the beginning of a people that would live long happy lives and be free of disease".

-Paul C. Bragg

Raw Sweet Potato Souffle

Mm. Mm. Mm. This stuff is really yummy! It tastes just like cooked Sweet Potato Souffle! If you don't like it cold you can warm it up in the dehydrator for a while.
   

    Ingredients

2 1/2 C. Sweet Potatoes

10 Dates

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbs Coconut oil

1 1/2 C. Water

1/2 tsp Psyllium

1/2 C chopped Pecans

Directions

Blend dates, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, oil, and water until smooth. Add potatoes and blend until smooth. Add psyllium, blend. Let sit 10 minutes, blend again. Top with chopped nuts, enjoy!

Courtesy of: Mary Fucci

Raw Walnut Stuffing

    Ok, this stuff is awesome. Not just good, or decent, but amazing. Its the best Raw Food item I have ever tasted! Oh, it is just so good :-) I could have it every single day and never get tired. It tasted just like really stuffing! You definitely have to try this stuff :-)



                                                                         

Ingredients:
2 C. Walnuts
1 C. Pecans
1/2 C. Almonds
1 Onion
2 Stalks Celery
2 Tbs Sage
1/2 tsp Rosemary
1/2 tsp Thyme
1 clove Garlic
1 tsp Salt

Process all ingredients until they stick together. Dehydrate until it is a bit crumbly (but not to dry). The flavor gets beter with time. Enjoy!

Courtesy of : Mary Fucci

Deli-Style Kosher Dill Pickles

    While we were in GA our friends were making pickles, we tried them, loved them, and begged for the recipe! Momma made a batch a day or two ago, they are still fermenting, but they smell and look delicious!





Per gallon jar:
8-10 cucumbers for pickling
1 large handful fresh dill with flower heads (or add 1/4 tsp dill seed if flower heads are missing)
4-6 large cloves of garlic
Water
1/2 C course Kosher salt or pickling salt
4 tsp. pickling spice
1/2 tsp whole black pepper corns
 
     Pack each Gallon Jar with cucumbers, sprinkling salt between each layer. Add pickling spice, salt dill, and bay leaves. Fill jar with water but leave 2 inches of room for brine to form. (You may prepare this in large crocks and then transfer to glass jars when finished). Weigh cucumbers down to keep submerged and cover. After 2-3 days, remove scum (if any has formed). Let ferment 3 more days and check for doneness by cutting off a slice of one cucumber. One they are fermented to the right stage (to taste), transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate. Ferment longer ( 12-20 days) for pungent sour pickles.

Courtesy of : Mary Fucci

Raw Blueberry Pie

    We just made this recipe the other night and it was amazing! Blueberries are very delicious and the nutty crust compliments them wonderfully.

             Crust 

• 1 C Walnuts
• 1/2 C Soaked almonds or pecans
• 1/2 C Dates
• 1/2 C Coconut
• 1/2 t. Pumpkin Spice

            Filling

• 5-6 C blueberries
• 1 T Lemon juice
• 1/2 C Orange juice
• 4 T Psyllium
• 1/2 C. Coconut
• 1/4 Dates
• Honey to taste
• 1 t. Cinnomon 

 Directions

    For crust process first two ingredients well. Add the dates and process. Add remaining two ingredients and process. Press into a lightly greases pie pan and set aside.

For filling, process 1 C of berries with the rest of the ingredients, except for the dates. Add the dates one at a time. Hand mix the rest of the berries. Pour the filling into the crust and top with shredded coconut. Chill and serve!

A slight variation that would also work (this is what we did) is to use 2 C. fresh blueberries and the rest frozen. If you try this I would love to hear your comments on it, Enjoy!