Raw Food

When I mention a 'raw food diet', I get some strange looks.  Some people say 'so you're just eating carrot and celery sticks now'... or 'that sounds so boring...' or 'I would get sick of eating salads all the time'.  Sound familiar?  Well it couldn't be further from the truth.  There are sooo many recipes for raw food.  And the best part - its good for you and tastes great!  Raw foods have a higher nutrient value than foods that have been cooked.  Processed food and "convenience" food often has added chemicals, preservatives, additives, colouring and many other things that are just not good for us.

Raw fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants and it is believed that this can help reduce signs of aging.  According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman (author of "Eat to Live") raw cruciferous vegetables, such as cauliflower, cabbage, cress, bok choy, kale, broccoli and similar green leaf vegetables have the most powerful anti-cancer effects of all foods.  He further believes they neutralize free radicals, rendering them harmless and reducing cancer risk.  Certainly something to think about.

With all the food intolerances and allergies I have, I want to get the most out of what I am eating - the most vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and flavour.  So I am incorporating more raw food recipes into my diet.  I am not eating a completely raw diet, but I believe by adding some recipes to my repertoire I am becoming more healthy and it is opening up a whole new world for me.

Some raw food recipes are easy to prepare, while others need advanced planning and specific kitchen appliances (blender, food processor, dehydrator) to prepare them.  I found one recipe for raw vegan chocolate mousse - it is so decadent!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  I served it to guests last week, and I didn't tell them anything about it until after they tasted it.  After the rave reviews, one of my guests asked for the recipe and nobody would believe that the main ingredient is avocado!  I will add the recipe at the end of this post -only four ingredients and very easy to make.  Let me know if you like it.

One of my favourite sites for recipes and information is better raw. (Check out the link on the top corner of my blog - just look for the chocolate covered strawberry....yum!)   Tanya Alekseeva writes a blog and has written a few e-books of raw food recipes.  I have purchased two and I have loved every recipe I have tried so far.  The link will take you to the books if you would like to purchase and download one (very reasonable prices too) or you can check out her blog.  I like ordering e-books as I can download them right away, instead of waiting for them to arrive by snail mail!

I am always looking for recipes for food that I can eat.  You have to eat healthy to be healthy.  And if it tastes good and is good for me....well to me, that is the perfect food!


Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse

4 ripe Avocados
1 cup Agave Nectar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup Organic Fair Trade Cocoa Powder (or Carob)

Slice each avocado open and scoop out the insides. Place the insides in a food processor or high speed blender.  Add Agave nectar, vanilla and cocoa powder.  Process or blend the mixture until fully blended, smooth and the colour of chocolate.  You can instantly serve the mousse, but I recommend you let it cool in the fridge for at least an hour.  Serve in cups with fresh fruit or mint.  It tastes great with sliced strawberries!

(recipe from Autonomie Project at www.autonomieproject.com)

(Note:  I couldn't find Organic Fair Trade Cocoa Powder so I substituted with an organic dark cocoa powder)
                                                               ENJOY!                           

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Yummy Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes

This cupcake was decorated by my four year old grandson Coady.  As you can see, he loves chocolate chips and candy dinosaurs, but the cupcake and icing were made from the recipe I have included.  They are my version of a red velvet cupcake - they are wheat free, gluten free, egg free, soy free and bovine dairy free.  I am allergic to any kind of cow dairy, but goat and sheep are okay, which is great because I love goat cheese!  Anyway, I digress.  These cupcakes have a reddish tinge like red velvet cupcakes, but not from food colouring - from beets!  They are not only delicious but they are good for you, and they have the seal of approval from my grandkids!  They are so moist and delicious it is hard to believe they are free from some of the top allergens.  The icing is pink because it is made with raspberries.  I searched for a cupcake recipe that not only my grandsons could eat, but that I could eat too so we could decorate them together.  I found a recipe for velvety beet cupcakes at Chatelaine, and adapted it.  I hope you enjoy them too!

 

Gluten free Red Velvet Cupcakes with Raspberry Icing

¼ cup                    frozen raspberries

1 ¼ cups               all purpose gluten free flour
¼ cup                    unsweetened dark cocoa powder
¾ tsp                     baking powder
¼ tsp                     baking soda
½ tsp                     salt
½ tsp                     xanthum gum (if not already added to flour)
½ 398 ml can       beets, rinsed, drained, patted dry
¾ cup                    organic granulated sugar or cane sugar
¼ cup                    oil (safflower, vegetable oil, even virgin olive oil will work)
1                            egg replacer (I use flax gel – see note below)
1 tsp                      vanilla
½ cup                    coconut milk
½ 250g                  soft goat cheese, cubed
½ cup                    icing sugar

 Measure out raspberries and leave on counter.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper cups.  Stir flour with cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, xanthum gum and salt in a large bowl.  Puree beets in a blender.  Beat sugar with oil in a medium bowl, using electric mixer, until combined (2 min).  Beat in egg, then beets and vanilla.  Gradually beat in one-third of flour mixture just until blended, then half of coconut milk.  Repeat additions, ending with flour mixture.  Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each ¾ full.

Bake in centre of oven until a cake tester inserted in cupcakes comes out clean – 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove cakes to a rack to cool completely before icing.

Push raspberries through a sieve into a bowl, using the bottom of a ladle.  Discard seeds.  Stir in cream cheese and icing sugar.  Spread over cooled cupcakes.
Makes 12.

Note:  To replace one egg:  mix 1 tbsp flax meal with 3 tbsp warm water.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes before using in recipe.

I use all organic and gluten free ingredients but if you don't have celiac or specific allergies, you can adapt this very easily.

View from the balcony

Spring has arrived in the Comox Valley.  The snowdrops have been blooming for a few weeks now.  Tulips and daffodils are ready to bloom, perennials are making their presence known and crocus are giving us the shot of colour we desperately seek after a dreary winter.  But the best part of spring has to be the sound of the birds.  Eagles, robins, juncos, ducks - these sounds greet me every morning when I walk our dog.  It is very hard to be sad or down when you hear the joyful sound of birds in spring!  The condo we are staying at is on the Puntledge River, so close I can almost feel it.  The view from the balcony is beautiful.  I can watch the ducks and trumpeter swans swim by, and the eagles perched on a nearby tree.  I will miss this view when we head home to Ontario.  And I will definitely miss the eagles!  They are fascinating and so majestic! 
A week ago my grandson Brodie was visiting with his mother.  We saw something in the river but couldn't quite make it out at first.  To our surprise and dismay, it was a bald eagle!  It was being swept down the river, and looked as if it was struggling trying to get out.  It was right in the water, wings flapping furiously.  We all wanted to do something to help it, and various scenarios of what to do flashed through my head.  I wanted to run down to the river and jump in to help but I am not a strong swimmer, so that was out.  So we watched helplessly from the balcony.  I silently prayed for it as we watched it furiously flapping one wing, thrashing through the water.
Could it be... yes, it was actually getting closer to land.  We all started to yell "come on you can do it".  And it did!  I have never seen anything like that!  We were so happy that it made it to shore.  I'm sure some of our neighbours were curious as to why we were excitedly jumping up and down and high fiving each other - as if we had actually helped it ourselves! I wanted to be sure it was okay, so I got out the binoculars.  I was surprised, and happy to see that it still had a fish in its claws and was beginning to eat it!  It was wet, and in my mind had been through a harrowing experience, but it had managed to keep hold of its lunch!  We took turns looking through the binoculars.  It was so exciting and something we will not forget - especially Brodie.
Nature truly is beautiful.

Glutenized!

My husband and I are spending the winter in Courtenay BC - our two sons and two grandsons live here so we get to escape the snow and spend quality time with them!  The bonus - Courtenay is very gluten-free friendly so it is easy to shop for groceries and restaurants for the most part are very careful.  Some restaurants even have dedicated kitchens to ensure there is no contamination!  Monday, we decided to go for a drive and ended up in Campbell River.  We really didn't have any plans, so when we saw the ferry for Quadra Island was in, we decided to hop on it.  We ended up at Rebecca Spit and took the dog for a long walk.  Getting a might peckish after a few hours, we stopped at a little restaurant.  There wasn't much of a selection for me, and after many questions, we decided on sweet potato fries.  That is the only thing I can possibly think of where I could have come in contact with gluten.  My fault - I should have known better.  They tasted delightful, but I paid for it for three days - headaches, gut pain, diarrhea, well you get the idea.  That's what happens when you get hungry and haven't planned ahead.  I usually pack snacks or protein bars but this was an unexpected trip.  We didn't even have our camera, which is really too bad because it was so beautiful. Last minute trips are fun, but not good if you have so many food allergies/intolerances.  You have to be prepared all the time, and sometimes its just not fun.  I always have water and snacks for the dog stashed in the car.  So lesson learned - stash some snacks and protein bars in the car to tide me over for the few places that can't accomodate.  If its good enough for the dog.....  In the meantime, I'm going back to lie down....