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Archive for the ‘vegan’ Category

Grapefruit Avocado Fennel Salad

May 28th, 2012

Sometimes I menu plan and find that life has interrupted and things don’t get made according to the plan. Adding insult to injury, ingredients get used in different recipies, leaving a random collection of their brethren behind. Part of me really enjoys the challenge this presents. And this salad is one of the successes born under those circumstances.

This salad is filling enough to serve as a light meal.

Grapefruit Avocado Fennel Salad

2 romaine hearts
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 avocado
1 cup loosely packed fennel
2 Tbs hemp seeds

Dressing

1/2 cup grapefruit juice
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp Trocomare or sea salt

Wash and tear romaine into bite-size pieces. Roll in a towel to dry.
Cut grapefruit into wedges or pieces, removing that interior “skin”.
Thinly slice or shave fennel, cut avocado into slices or chunks.
Whisk dressing ingredients in a salad bowl to combine. Add romaine, toss to coat. Arrange fennel, grapefruit and avocado on top and sprinkle hemp seeds to finish.

I wasn’t sure if I would like the grapefruit-fennel combination, but I’ve come across that combo in a few recipes and decided to try it. I added the avocado after taste testing and finding I wanted something richer and creamier than the salad was without it. Glad I did — it worked really well and hit the spot for adults and kids alike.

Another delicious way to eat your rainbow!

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avocado, fennel, grapefruit, hemp seeds, salad

Delicious & Filling Fresh Rolls

May 19th, 2012

I have been dreaming of making Thai Wraps again for dinner (post coming soon). My hopes were dashed, however, when I discovered that my children breakfasted on the mangoes required by the wrap recipe, leaving none for dinner. Being too busy otherwise to go to the store, I moved on. Onto Plan B, with many of the same ingredients, but a whole different direction! Best thing about this dish — it’s one of those that’s better for being made ahead of time. Make the veggie mixture and dip ahead of time so assembly is a snap. And you can even wrap these the night before and tuck them away in your lunchbox. Having all that time to salivate in anticipation will surely do more to improve the flavor than any ingredient possibly could!

Sioux-per Fresh Rolls

1/4 head green cabbage, shredded
4 medium carrots, shredded
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped mint
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp minced ginger
1/2 vidalia onion, chopped fine
1 cucumber, diced
2 avocados
rice wrappers

Grate, mince, dice and mix everything but avocados and wrappers in a bowl. This is what I had on hand — sprouts, beets, radish, greens, etc would be lovely too.
Run rice wrapper under water, covering all of both sides with water. If you haven’t worked with them before, know this: it will still be a bit stiff when you put it on a clean cutting board, but it will be perfect by the time you roll, never fear. Don’t wash it til it’s droopy and soft, as that can increase chances of it tearing as you roll it.
Put about 1/2 cup mixture plus 2-4 avocado slices about 2/3 down the wrap (like where a smile would be on a smiley face). You can also add tomatoes, noodles or tofu at this point if you like. Or mango. If your children haven’t eaten them already, that is.
Fold up the bottom over the mound of veggies — I like to use this part of the wrap to squish everything down into a more compact roll, like you do when making burritos. Then fold in each side, and keep rolling til you have a gorgeous fresh roll ready to eat!

Based on some recipes from the internet and various cookbooks on loan from the library, I made a dipping sauce thusly:

Citrusoy Dipping Sauce

1 lemon
1 lime
1 juicing orange
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 inch piece ginger, minced
4 scallions, finely sliced, greens and all
1/2 cup nama shoyu (this is saltier and seems more concentrated than tamari, etc)
1/3 cup water
2 Tbs umeboshi vinegar
dollop Sriracha or 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbs maple syrup (optional)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Best made at least an hour ahead so the flavors can meld together.

This won a HUGE thumbs up from adults and kids alike. The other cool thing is that working with strong aromas like citrus, ginger, garlic, mint, basil, cilantro, everyone kept walking into the kitchen with vehement exclamations attesting to the awesomeness of the smell. So much so it got me thinking about what a difference fresh herbs make. I love that both kids were happy to go get the mint from the various places it lives at our house. So excited for the rest of our herbs to kick in (c’mon weather! We had May in March, now April in May? what gives??) so we can keep up the good smells.

We served it with a cold cuke-avocado blended soup (also had celery, ginger, garlic, jalapeno, onion, fresh mint, cilantro, cumin, lemon juice and salt) which we garnished with tomatoes. I put in about a half jalapeno; while Dante enjoyed it, Lulu found it to be too spicy. Hard to remember to reign in the heat sometimes… especially in a cold soup. I like the warming quality it lends to something otherwise cooling.

We also made the drink with many names (this cookbook had it as Jamaica (pronounced /həˈmaɪkə/) but since I first knew it as sorrel tea, I’ll go with that. I did a post way back when on the tea, and today’s version was even simpler — I adapted it to this:

The Red Fairy: Maple Mint & Hibiscus

Pour 4 cups-ish boiling water over ~ 1/3 cup dried hibiscus leaves (look in the bulk spices section at the health food store, some ethnic grocers or get them from Mountain Rose Herbs) and let that steep. If you’re like me, let it steep all day since you’re busy doing other things. Strain it into a pitcher, add maple syrup to taste, toss in several mint sprigs and fill the pitcher with cold water. Voila! Impressive deep red color, tasty, tart and oh so good for you! And again, better for sitting, can definitely be made ahead of time. I might add lime next time, tho I’m not sure if it will tip the sourness into the realm of obnoxious. Will have to try.

And keeping me company during dinnermaking? Tim Minchin as castaway on BBC’s Desert Island Discs. The show has been running 42 years — I believe you can listen to the entire archive of more than 1000 shows! Lots of excellent folks in there – from Nick Park to David Tennant to Sir David Attenborough to Roald Dahl and more!

I’ve been making lots of these wrap type rolls lately, either with collards or rice wrappers. I’m on the hunt for a new dipping sauce — what’s your favorite?

Enjoy this excellent way to eat your rainbow!

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Summer Pizza and Pesto!

August 24th, 2011

I love the bounty of summertime and basil is one of the tops for me. First of all, I think it is such a beautiful plant. The green of the leaves, the delicious aroma and the possibilities in the kitchen that are endless. It is part of the mint family nd in Greek, basil means “King”. It is high in Vitamin A, beta-carotene, magnesium and potassium. It has anti-inflammatory properties and is used for skin ailments as well as cold, headache, reducing fever and digestive aid. Medicinally, not only the leaves but the seed and oil of the plant are used for treating various ailments.

Basil is fairly easy to grow especially in the garden. It will also do well as a potted plant. Since it likes humidity and lots of sunshine, it is easier to grow in the summer than indoors in the colder months but it can be done and is quite worth the efffort. If you pinch back the plant, it will bush out a bit creating more and longer growth. Use the leaves as they are picked. Keep those stems! When mincing up basil for use in sauces or making pesto, use those stems.

Oooooo, speaking of pesto, what a treat it is to have in the summer! It is so fresh and makes you feel incredibly alive. I swear I get a jolt of energy when I eat the stuff. It is so easy to make and I recommend making a lot, I mean a hge batch so you can store the goodness away for the middle of winter as well.

Pesto!

2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 medium sized cloves of garlic
salt to taste

Put all the ingredients in the food processor and pulse until well blended.

Now, the great thing about making pesto is it lends itself to a lot of variation. Instead of pine nuts, you can use walnuts or a comination of the two. I like to use a bit less oil while making the pesto when I am going to be storing it. To do this, make the pesto minus a little oil. Fill an ice cube tray wwith eh pesto. Then, here is the little trick, top the pesto cubes with a little more oil. That helps seal in the color and it will brown less. Once the cubes are frozen, pop them out and store in the freezer in a container until you are ready to use it. The otehr reason I like to use less oil is so I have more flexibility withe the cubes. In winter, it is lovely to pull out a pesto cube, add some coconut milk and serve over veggies.

Let’s not rush things though. After all, it is still summer and we have plenty of sunny basil picking days ahead of us. Pesto is a great way to dress up a plate of veggies or add some fresh basil to your homemade salad dressing. A perfect appetizer or main meal for two is summer pizza. Using your favorite raw bread or cracker recipe, make one large or a couple smaller rounds and dehydrate. My new favorite is a cheezy cracker recipe. It is made with cashew and sunflower seeds as the base. Added in are tomatoes and red pepper. It is the loveliest orange color and really tastes like cheezy crackers. It compliments the color of the pesto superbly. Top your pizza with pesto and fresh sliced tomatoes. Rigth now there are a lot of great Heirloom tomatoes available in your garden or at local farmers markets and stands. The pizza takes only five minutes to make if you have preparred pizza flats stored away and is filling, full flavored and a divine treat!

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a delicate balance

January 16th, 2011

Last year, after reading The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, I was looking up more information about the relationship of consumption of animal protein with disease and stumbled on a movie on You Tube called A Delicate Balance. I started watching and found it to be really informative and well done. Their assertions are backed up by research studies. I was shocked at some of the statistics, and found some new information on a topic on which I had previously considered myself well-versed.

People can’t make well-informed choices if they don’t have information! This film goes a long way to elucidating the connection between disease and diet.

Definitely worth a watch! I’m not sure how long you can watch it free online, so take a gander while you can!

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disease, film, food, nutrition

Snowy sweets

January 14th, 2011

So we’ve just had a blizzard! Record-breaking amounts of snow fell across the state today — even bigger totals than in the Blizzard of ’78 that I vaguely remember. So how do I propose to deal with the huge amount of snow in my yard!? Melt it all by cooling maple candy on it!

We have been listening to Little House in the Big Woods, and at one point they made snow candy with molasses and sugar. That reminded me about maple candy, and today we had oodles of freshly fallen snow to work with!

I haven’t done this before, so I googled and read several methods to get the idea, and then did this:

Poured no small amount of maple syrup into a small saucepan. I did maybe a cup? First lesson. If you plan on eating it all in one sitting, consider less than a cup. That’s a LOT of sugar to eat. Unless you have 6 foot tall mountains of snow to scale, enabling you to burn it all off…

Brought syrup to a boil over medium high heat. Boiled for 6-7 minutes stirring almost constantly. You can do the whole candy thermometer directions if you have one, but I tend to keep food made with snow simple. Ok, I admit it. I don’t have a candy thermometer.

When the syrup was boiling, it was all foamy, but that settled town once it wasn’t on the burner.

After 6-7 minutes, we took the pot off the heat, grabbed a roasting dish and filled it with snow. We did not, but in the future I would first grease the dish to help any candy that gets stuck to the sides come loose. I would also pack down the snow. We left it light ‘fluffy, just as it fell.

So i took the slightly cooled syrup and poured it over the snow.

It hardened immediately, tho was hot enough to melt through our light fluffy snow

I had some hungry shovelers/fort builders who were looking for some more energy just as the syrup hit the snow.

Taste testers heartily agree that maple candy is delish, if it a bit sticky. Helpful tips from them: take small bites and keep it movin’ so it doesn’t stick to your teeth.

Crunch on that!

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maple snow

Ready, set, go!

January 12th, 2011

What am I going to eat? Do you ever say this? I feel like I say this a lot unless…..

I plan a day to make lots of goodies. We are quite a mixed bunch in this house. My husband eats whatever I make at home and thoroughly enjoys the variety and surprise of what might adorn the table. My 10 year old has unique tastes that always surprise me and I can never seem to know if he will love it or hate it. he loves spicy and things that frankly, are notso pleasing to me such as sardines! My six year old is in the pickier phase of food choices and says, "I don’t like it" before even trying it. He loves mashed potatoes and noodles with marinara sauce and don’t mess with changin’ it up! On the flip side, same said six year old loves raw mediterranean dolmas, kale salad, kale chips with lots of nutritional yeast on them and salad. Go figure! Then there is me. I have horrible self control when I bring junk food in the house or sweets. So, I have a plan!!

I have days of mass food prep for raw foods so when I feel not much like making raw foods for me and still cook for the family, I don’t have to. Here is what I do. Figure out what I am in the mood for and peruse my recipes and cupboards. Next, I lay out all those recipes and start the process. I start soaking anything that needs it and look over what order I need to make things in. If anything is for the dehydrator, I make sure I have enough going in that will fill it. Moore bang for your buck doing it this way. This is all done in the afternoon or early evening.

Fast forward to the next day. Everything is soaked and the recipes are out and I am in the kitchen ready to rumble. The recipes I am making today are Mediterranean dolmas out of Ani Phio’s book that are just fantastic. I make them all at once calling in Gatlin, the six year old to do the rolling. When I first started making these, he didn’t like them. After the I don’t know how many times later, and having participated in making them several times, he started to try them again and now loves them. Having them all rolled, I keep them in the fridge and it is quick to grab one for a snack, send with hubby to work or pack up and bring for us for lunch.

Next in the line up is the classic Cashew Mayo. Everyone in the house loves this dip and it is quick, easy and filling to serve for lunch with cut up veggies, smear on a romaine leaf topped with tomato and any other toppings around like shredded carrot, eggplant bacon or some seaweed. It is a perfect appetizer for hungry bellies while dinner cooks or a good pack and go when heading out for a playdate.

One of my favorites and more on the heartier side are some burgers. The base is walnuts and they have a little spice from a jalapeno thrown in. These will go in the dehydrator and then can be a substantial lunch or accompany an evening meal. The kids aren’t fans but Dan and I are.

A new recipe to me are rosemary flax crackers from a recipe put out by Carmella at the Sunny Raw Kitchen. Those will help to fill the dehydrator trays and be the crunchy item on the menu for the week. I may get ambitious and make some Walnut Hemp crackers but time will determine that.

Rounding it all out are Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. I got the recipe from Renegade Health but am going to make some changes and switch out the peanut butter for almond butter. The whole family loves these! They stay in the freezer and are perfect when we have a hankerin’ for chocolate.

So, there you have it. Lots of choices for me this week that are nice and varried and qwill keep me smiling!

So, go soak your nuts!!

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Fire-n-Spice ‘n a Flick

January 2nd, 2011

Happy New Year!

My New Year’s Resolution? To start posting yummy stuff again! So without further ado:

Today we took a break from the recent round of partying and heavy holiday food for a delightful excursion into Hartford. Fire-n-Spice is a vegan restaurant on Sisson Avenue just before it hits Farmington, a hop, skip n jump from exit 46 off I84. In other words, super easy access. Don’t judge this lovely gem from the outside — it appears to be just one storefront among many, but the inside is painted a warm yellow with African wall hangings and a welcoming vibe. The owners follow a Rastafarian way of life, and this flowers beautifully in their menu.

We were beckoned over to the counter, quickly assessed as first-timers, and given the skinny on the food. Since all 3 tofu dishes (BBQ, jerk AND scrambled tofu) had just run out, we opted to share one plate and go back for another once they were back in action. All in all, we had many options to choose from for an entree — spanish rice, red beans n rice, or quinoa, steamed kale (I went back for more of this simple-but-tasty delight!), stir fried veggies, curry pot (potatoes simmered in coconut milk, turmeric, cumin, coriander, thyme, onion and cilantro), chole (Indian-style chick peas in a creamy curry masala sauce), red lentil dahl and ital stew. Keeping warm in a case off to the side were samosas, plantains and lentil, soy or ackee patties, and chillin’ in the dessert case were sweet potato pudding (jamaican style, crustless), cornbread pudding and a cranberry ginger cake (I think — by the time talk came around to dessert, I was stuffed and on information overload!).

Everything was delicious — the curry pot had me wondering why on earth I’ve never made potatoes like that before. Ditto all 3 tofu dishes — I tend to fry mine and add it to asian dishes. Yawn! All 3 were yummy, including tofu scrambles which I’ve seen in cookbooks but never been inclined to try before. What have I been waiting for? These were scrumptious! And the BBQ tofu has me longing for summer picnics. The chole was also delicious and different than any I’ve ever had — most seem to be tomato based, but this one wasn’t, and didn’t suffer one bit for lack of tomatoes. I’ve wanted to make chole at home but haven’t since tomato cans are lined with BPA (even Eden, whose bean cans aren’t). This dish gives me hope that I can find a recipe for chole that doesn’t contain tomatoes… an exciting prospect indeed for a family that loves this Indian chick pea dish!

The word Ital is derived from the English “vital”, and refers to making lifestyle choices that bring about or maintain optimum Livity (quoting from wiki: “the life energy Rastas generally believe lives within all of us…what is put into one’s body should enhance Livity rather than reduce it. Though there are different interpretations of ital regarding specific foods, the general principle is that food should be natural, or pure, and from the earth”).

Sign me up! Especially if it means I can eat more ital stew! I don’t think I’ve ever actually eaten okra before, but I’ve heard a lot of bad things about it. How it can be good if cooked properly, but that mostly it’s just slimy and icky and something to avoid. Or best eaten pickled. That sort of good press. Well, let me just say that my first bite of okra in the ital stew has me signed on as a fan! This stew was lovely, thick, creamy, sweet, warming, filling… the list goes on. Definitely something to go back for! Chock full of beans (three kinds!), sweet potatoes, dumplings and an array of spices, this option made it to both our plates!

After two plates of yummy goodness, we were too stuffed to try anything else. So let me report here that there is an array of food beyond what we had! Smoothies! Juices and wheat grass shots! Breakfast (including brunch on Sundays)! Salads, sandwiches, soups… well you can see for yourself by checking out their menu online — the brunt of it here with the smoothies, juices and drinks here.

Don’t miss out on all the raw food goodness, including everything from appetizers, salads to entrees and soups! They didn’t have the raw entrees ready to go today, so if you have your heart set on a raw meal, I’d ring them ahead of time and let them know you’re on your way with a hankerin’ for raw food. The options look interesting though, so definitely worth the call.

We like to eat out — heck, who doesn’t? But in the back of my mind, I always know that we are likely eating things we wouldn’t eat if we knew they were in the food. Oyster sauce and fish sauce at thai restaurants, milk and butter at indian restaurants, lard as the cooking grease and who knows what else at chinese food restaurants, etc. So it was a real treat to go to one of the few vegan restaurants I can think of in our area! We felt great, though full Full FULL afterwards!

I highly recommend this little gem, especially if you find yourself in the area. It’s but a stone’s throw from Real Art Ways, a great place to see a movie you aren’t likely to see elsewhere, as well as some thought-provoking art in the gallery. They serve freshly-made popcorn with real butter, as well as beer and wine! They have some interesting daytime programming (1st and 3rd Monday Matinees) coming up that might be of interest, including South: Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition (1/3/11), The Mystery of Picasso (1/17), West Side Story, Duck Soup, Grey Gardens, and Le Fleuve.

This weekend they’re showing the New York International Children’s Film Fest: Kidflix 2010 on Saturday, January 8 & Sunday, January 9, 11 AM. Recommended for ages 3-8. Curated for the youngest audiences, Kidflix is a selection of nine short films from around the world selected by the New York International Children’s Film Fest. We watched some of these online and even an old fuddy duddy 10-year-old enjoyed himself!

So make it a date — dinner and movie supporting local, independent business! I’ll bet that’s in keeping with your new year’s resolutions!

Best wishes for the year ahead!

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Free Thanksgiving Ebook

November 21st, 2010

This is amazing!!

Heidi and Justin over at Raw Food Right Now sent a most gracious email with an offering you will truly be Thankful for this Thanksgiving!

I love that Heidi and Justin are truly real people trying to survive eating raw in a not so raw food society. They always have great tips and have the most delish recipes. Definately check out their site.

Now on to the good stuff. Here is the email I recieved and morning free to share!! Thank you Heidi and Justin!!

Please make sure to mention Crunchybits when you email Heidi to get your FREE Thanksgiving book. I already recieved mine and can’t wait to make the Cranberry Relish recipe. Christmas holds no worries either with their Christmas Ebook. I am most excited about drinking the ‘egg’nog and making sugar cookies for Santa with the kids and OOooo, don’t forget the chocolate coins which was always the best to get when I woke on Christmas Morning!!

——————————————————————————–

Raw Food Right Now
Thanksgiving 2010 Issue

Inside This Issue:
How to Get Your Own F’ree Raw Thanksgiving ebook!

Get More Holiday Recipes with Our RFRN Christmas eBook!

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Hellooo from snowy Minnesota! Justin and I are all curled up near the modern “fireplace” …our computers.

We had over 12 inches of snow…and more is on the way! We are looking forward to having some nice hot tea and warming soups this winter in addition to all our raw favorites.

I just can’t believe how fast this year has been – it will already be Thanksgiving in one week! Amazing!

Justin and I are working hard on a few upcoming “secret raw food projects”. I have been sworn to secrecy so I can’t say anything specific…but all I can say right now is be on the lookout in your inbox – I’ll email you with the news because we are going to tell you first!!!

I hope that no matter where you are right now in the world that as the end of the year…the end of a decade rolls near…that you are able to find time to take care of yourself!
XOXO,
~ Heidi & JS

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How to Get Your Own F’REE Copy of Our Insanely Popular Raw Thanksgiving eBook!

As much as we love all of our international friends reading this right now (from 37 countries!!!), our American holiday of Thanksgiving is upon us.

We love you Canadians too – hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving this year!

You may be a long time raw foodie, or this may be your first Thanksgiving raw.

But did you know that Justin and I wrote our first book, “Raw Thanksgiving ebook” over 4 years ago?!

We originally offered the ebook for f’ree in November 2006…and the response was so huge I couldn’t leave my computer for a week!!

Nowadays the ebook “Raw Thanksgiving Recipes” sells year-round for 12 dollars. Hundreds of people have purchased our Thanksgiving ebook, and we are thankful for their support to help keep RawFoodRightNow.com alive.

Keep in mind the f’ree ebook promotion expired over four years ago…but we have decided to offer one final special for the Thanksgiving ebook…

…we are offering YOU your own very f’ree copy of the book!

HOW TO GET YOUR F’REE RAW THANKSGIVING EBOOK

All you have to do…. is email us a quick nice little note to me before 11/25/2010 to:

rawfoodrightnow@gmail.com

Make sure to introduce yourself and ask nicely for the Thanksgiving book!

It’s that simple!

Keep in mind that we haven’t set up some crazy delivery system for doing this… so when you email me I will be emailing you personally!

Please be patient if I don’t email you immediately…but I promise if you email me I’ll send you the book for f’ree within 24-48 hours.

I’m so excited for you to try my Goji Berry Cranberry Sauce! And the Raw Stuffing — mmm!!

FYI my most popular recipe EVER is inside the Raw Thanksgiving ebook – for Raw Devilled “Egg-less” Egg Spread!

Get Your Copy Today – Email Heidi now!!

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Get More Recipes with Our Raw Christmas Ebook – ON SALE! One Week Only!!

And if you want extra holiday recipes…our second book, Raw Christmas, is going on sale today for one week only!

Normally we sell copies of this gem for $15 each, but we’ve slashed the price all the way down to less than 10 dollars…you can get 14 more holiday recipes for only 9.97!!

Just look at all the Yummy Christmas recipes:

Spiced Apple Cider
Instant Egg Nog
Christmas Wreath Salad
Red Berry Vinaigrette
Flax seed Crackers
Mango Cranberry Chutney
Macadamia White Cheddar Cheese Ball
Meaty Nut Loaf.
Marinara Sauce
Dark Chocolate Coins
Rich Chocolate Fudge
Creamy Rice Pudding
Raspberry Jam
Sugar Cookies

Just think: Two books filled with holiday recipes for 9.97 is a great deal – especially because hundreds of raw foodies know these recipes actually work!

You can see pictures of all the recipes on the official Christmas ebook web page:

http://www.rawfoodrightnow.com/rawchristmas.html

Grab your copy today and get ready for all the upcoming holiday parties!!

Buy Raw Christmas Right Now!!

And if you already have the books or don’t need them this year and still want to support us, feel free to send over a “donation” by buying a copy. We appreciate it!

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Heidi’s Famous Caramel Apple Dip

You may already have my secret recipe for Raw Carmel Apple Dip…but I have been getting many requests for it from people claiming they can’t find their copy of the recipe.
Raw Carmel Apple Dip is one of the recipes included in the Raw Thanksgiving ebook that I am sending out for F’ree – this week only!!! so if you haven’t already gotten a copy of the Thanksgiving ebook…email Heidi now!!
Raw Carmel Apple Dip
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups Medjool dates, chopped and soaked for one hour in a mixture of water with the juice of one small lemon (drain the dates, and leave the soaking water aside)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
juice of one half small lemon
1 teaspoon salt

Blend in a high powered blender, and using the plunger tool, keep moving the mixture as the blender might struggle a bit. Blend until creamy. Serve the dip with apples or pears.

Tips:

1. The dates get a much better “bite” of flavor when soaked in the water/lemon juice mixture
2. Maple syrup gives a better caramel flavor than agave nectar. Or, if you are opposed to maple syrup, you can choose to use the clear agave nectar (the ONLY kind to use) instead.
3. the vanilla extract helps give the mixture the color and the flavor of caramel. Without the vanilla extract the dip has a much lighter brown color and the date flavor comes through.

Good news! If you store the dip in an airtight container, this caramel apple dip will last for approximately three days.

If you want more awesome recipes like this for the Holiday season, make sure to check out our Raw Christmas ebook!

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What is Raw Food Right Now?

Raw Food Right Now is a raw food company dedicated to helping you go raw in your world. We are here to help you learn about raw food and make the raw food diet work for you.

Raw Food Right Now is the creation of Heidi and JS Ohlander; a happy loving couple who went raw together back in 2004. Since that time they have studied every aspect of raw food, and are here to share their extensive knowledge with others.

Their popular blog, rawfoodrightnow.blogspot.com is revered as one of the best raw food blogs on the Internet. It’s frequent content is full of raw food news, articles, tips, tricks, recipes and inspiration on how to make raw food quick and easy and fun.

Raw Food Right Now means eating food that feels right to you, feels right for your body, and makes you feel good. Raw Food Right Now means making raw food preparation as quick and easy as possible so you can eat raw food and get on with the other important things in your life. And Raw Food Right Now means the latest news and information to keep you up to date in the raw food world!

For more information, check out the blog:
http://rawfoodrightnow.blogspot.com

To make sure you stay up to date on all the news and information we bring you on RFRN, make sure you are signed up to our RSS Feed and get our posts in your inbox using Feedburner!

Get RFRN blog posts in your inbox today!

That’s it for this issue!
Talk to you soon!

~ Heidi and JS

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Want to Share the Fun that we call Raw Food Right Now?

Go for it!! Feel free to forward any parts of this newsletter to whoever you think would benefit from our information…even someone who isn’t raw! Here’s how you can spread the word:

Heidi & JS Ohlander are the creators of Raw Food, Right Now!, a website dedicated to making the raw food diet fun and easy for everyone. Heidi & JS help bring raw food to your world by offering tips, news, and information on integrating raw foods into your daily life.

Visit their site athttp://www.RawFoodRightNow.com

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Movie Nights

November 4th, 2010

We love family movie nights! Now, usually the kids get to pick the movie but there are the occasions that I get to pop one on to watch with my hubby. I guess we are doing a good job because the kids seem to be into my crunchy health movies now, too!

The first movie I want to mention is Simply Raw : Reversing Diabetes In 30 Days.The movie follows six people sent to Tree Of Life in Arizona as they learn about and follow a raw vegan diet for 30 days. All the people have diabetes. Most have type 2 diabetes but one of the cast has type 1. There is a twist at the end for one of the people who find out that they actually had type 1 not 2 diabetes which is much harder to get rid of completely.

At The Tree Of Life, Dr. Gabriel Cousens assesses all the people with various medical tests and they are very closely monitored over the 30 days. They learn how to prepare food themselves and learn all about how they can take charge of their life. It is amazing that within the first week some of the people are off meds all together and the others are greatly reduced.

I was very hesitant to see this movie because I don’t have diabetes and neither does anyone in my family. I know some people who do but didn’t think it would have much relevance for me. I was wowed completely by this movie and would watch it again! It is amazing what diet can do. I know this but it is so incredible to see the transition these individuals go through during the 30 days.

I loved that they are real people. They have families like you and I. They know that when they go home they will go back to living in a society that is not incredibly supportive of a fantastically healthy lifestyle and even have a skewed view of what healthy is.

I laughed and cried and fell in love with them all! I highly recommend this film to all!

Second on the screen was Crazy Sexy Cancer with Kris Carr. She is a young lady in her early 20′s who finds out she has a rare cancer with tumors that will never go away. She takes matters into her own hands and decides to find life rather than find how to die. She meets some other crazy sexy people along the way all with different types of cancers and powerful stories that create a message of we will not give in. One is even so fittingly put “Fuck Cancer”. There are benefits put on to help raise money to pay bills from the extremely expensive procedures, tests and meds that Jackie is one who started the Fuck Cancer movement. She is on an astonishing 17 medications most of which are to combat another medication she is on. What is wrong with that picture!!!

Another person she meets is a writer and her sister both of who have cancer. The sister has a young child at home and it shows the realities of how this affects moms in a most devastating way.

The women in the movie all have fabulous stories to share. Kris is on a major mission to fight this disease and win! She goes to all extremes and realms of the natural health world to find solutions. She tries a macro diet, yoga, visualization, chiropractics, juice fasting and ends up at Hippocrates Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. She learns about sprouts and the raw diet and how to incorporate this into her life.

Through all her exploration and video diaries, she does find life and is enriched. She also finds something else very special worth living for….. but you’ll have to see the movie to find that out!

So cut up those veggies and make your favorite dip for movie night!

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Fall Harvest Squash Rice

September 28th, 2010

Happy Autumn everyone!!
I love this time of year for so many reasons. I love the crisp fall air and the surprise flashback to summer warm days. The leaves change their colors to magnificent reds, yellows, oranges and even purples. Even though I grew up in New England and have seen many fall seasons, the changes that come with fall never cease to amaze me.

Apples, pumpkins and winter squash, oh my!! The food, oh the food of fall is not to be underestimated. The bounty that comes with this season is so different than summer and yet just as abundant!

My boys and I went to a dear friends house last night to celebrate the arrival of fall. Cornhusk dolls were part of the festivities and they were so much fun to make. A friends daughter came over to sit by me and helped teach me how to put angel wings on my doll and then she made a crown for my doll. So sweet!! Her doll still came out way better than mine, of course.

After the crafts and outside celebrations, we all went inside to share a meal together. I brought one of favorite recipes that really celebrates the fall harvest from Ani Phyo’s Ani’s Raw Food Kithcen recipe book. She titles it Walnut Cranberry Squash “Rice”. It is really yummy, but I was blown away by how well received this dish was by everyone including some who have dabbled in raw foods before and some like the “bat fairie” from My Everyday Magic that are a little more wary of raw foods. A couple people made sure I knew, several times, they want the recipe, like pronto! So, here’s to you!!!

Fall Harvest Squash Rice

1 small butternut squash, about 1 lb peeled, seeded and cut into 2 inch cubes
1/2 small yellow onion
1 TBS cumin seeds
1TBS corriander powder
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup walnuts, crushed
2 tsp salt

Put small batches of cubed butternut squash in a food processor and process into small pieces
Put procesed squash in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients
mix well
will keep in fridge for a couple days

Seriously, this recipe is so easy to make. I didn’t have cumin seeds on hand, so I just used poedered cumin. I also add a bit more cilantro as I just love it! This is definately a recipe to double! Also, it is the type of recipe that is very forgiving with measurements and lends well to adding in your own personal touch. Keep this one for your next harvest party or to liven up your Thanksgiving table. Enjoy!!