Results of My First Liver Cleanse

I hope I don't gross you out.  I'm fascinated by what my body produces even though these little babies were clogging up my system.

Here's a pic of the gallstones I just released in my first liver cleanse:

That's a penny for comparison.

I've actually done a liver cleanse once before, about a year ago, but I didn't follow all the instructions and didn't get anything out.

This time I followed the instructions to the letter in the new book The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse.  I guess drinking the Epsom Salts made all the difference.  And all that apple juice the week before.

Did it hurt?

Nope.  I had a bit of a headache the day of the cleanse and I laid low, reading my book and watching movies, but nothing hurt while it was coming out.  That's the beauty of drinking apple juice before the cleanse - it softens up the gallstones.

Would you do it again?
Yep.  In fact, I'm going to do what the book recommends and do a liver cleanse once a month until I don't get any more stones out.  (oh boy, more pics!)

Since the liver is the filter for the body, I need to get it cleaned out, and then keep it clean, in order to more easily process all the toxins I'm desiring to get rid of and all the new toxins that invariably get in through our environment.

I tried detoxing metals, chemicals, parasites, etc. a couple months ago with MMS, but I kept getting sick in the process.  It was pretty clear to me that my liver just couldn't process all those toxins I was pulling out of hiding in order to release.  Well, with the size of that monster gallstone (and there were 2 more like it later that I didn't bother to photograph), I can understand how my liver might be a little overloaded.

Get the book
The full details of how to do the cleanse, and how to adjust it if you can't handle apple juice or epsom salts, are in the book The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse.  I was ready to do the cleanse on my friend's recommendation, but I was also glad I read the book so I understood the impact of gallstones in the liver, how they get there, the signs that you have gallstones, and what to expect from the cleanse.

For example, Dan only got a few little gallstones in his first cleanse.  But the book and our friends have said that the 3rd cleanse is usually the one where the floodgates open, so he's going to keep with the program right now too ... even though, as he says, he didn't win the gallstone race with me.  whatever.

The Day After
Today, the day after the cleanse, I have a LOT of energy, I feel good, lighter and my tummy feels good.  It's nice to eat food again (there's a short fast in the cleanse).  And mentally I feel even more prepared to own my brilliance and go light the world now that I don't have those stones clogging up my system. YAY!

Follow The Joy

Dan is a very wise man. Thankfully, I get to have insightful conversations with him when I need a little reminding of what I already know, or of what I desire to believe.

We just had a teary talk about the power of following your joy. I thought about turning on the video camera or the audio recorder, but in this case it would have interrupted our flow ... so I'll just recap.

I have doubts now and then.

Sometimes even fear.

Even with all the examples in my own life of how following my joy has turned out great, it's easy for me to still hear the voices from my past conditioning (and from current society) that say I should ...

I should grow my business this way ... I should do marketing this way ... I should do this to make money ... I should be following up with these certain people ... I should do this task that's next on my list ...


... Should whatever.  Basically, it's the message to use my analytical mind to figure out how and take responsibility and make it happen.

But my heart says to follow my joy.  And when I follow my heart, my decisions are easy and clear.

So how do I trust that following my heart and doing what is joyful will really lead to all that I desire?  By doing the tasks I feel like doing, by growing my business in my own way, will I really generate plenty of income and be able to sustain this joyful lifestyle?

I say: It's a trust game.  I need to trust the process.

Dan says: You can't play the trust game by just putting a toe in and then pulling it back out.  You have to dive into the lake.

Richard Bach (in Illusions) says: "it's like diving into a deep lake on a hot day.  There's the shock of that sharp cold change, the pain of it for a second, and then accepting is a swim in reality."

OK, so I need to jump in.  How do I do that when I still have doubts?

Wait a second here.  Dan, do you believe you are rewarded when you follow your joy?

Dan says:  it's more than that, I believe I am rewarded MOST when I follow my joy.

Oh.  That's what I've been missing.  I was thinking of all the ways I wasn't rewarded for following my joy, but that was also within the constraints of the conditioning I grew up in: the schooling, the corporations, etc.

When I think of the times I have followed my joy, I can see all the MANY ways I've been rewarded - more than just financially.

So now I continue on with my excavation of old email newsletters I've received from people, people I thought I should listen to, and unsubscribing from the ones that don't bring me joy. 

I am deciding in each moment what to do next based on what feels joyful. And the note on my computer monitor says as a helpful reminder:

I am rewarded the MOST when I follow my Joy.  Does this bring me joy?

Try it, dive in, and see. :)

Validation

Get Validated!

Hello World Inspirational Poem

Here's the "screensaver" like version of Hello World so you can declare the poem outloud yourself while receiving even more inspiration from my nature photography.

(visit the Dan Coppersmith nature photography website for even more professional and inspiring photos)

Only You Validation Poem

Let me recite the Only You poem to you and remind you how valuable you are, simply by being you.

(from my book, The Elusive Here & Now)

Hello World Self Esteem Poem

The Hello World Self-Esteem Poem came about from a workshop where I recited a very popular poem from my book called Only You. Watch this video as I recite Only You to you, tell you the story of how Only You inspired me to write Hello World, and declare Hello World to you.

Hello World is a hugely transformational poem. I've seen it uplift many people in just minutes - both from hearing it and from declaring it out loud themselves.

Once you've watched this story, I highly suggest you go read the poem - out loud - and see for yourself how much more alive and brilliant you feel.

Enjoy!

Laura's Bliss Kisses - The Bliss-full Way To Travel

I like chocolate, especially when I can chew on it.

Thankfully my friend and raw kitchen elf came up with this "bliss kiss" recipe.  I've found that when I make it with cacao butter (in place of coconut oil), it's a particularly easy way to travel and still have my chocolate bliss fix. 

[Cacao butter will stay solid at room temperature after it's been refrigerated once.  Kisses made with coconut oil need to stay frozen or refrigerated (I like frozen) so they don't get mushy]

When you play with your own variations, please comment what works best for you ... I love trying new versions of this and getting even more great ideas!

Laura's Bliss Kisses

 

4 Tbsp	Mayan Gold Cacao (Chocolate) Powder
4 Tbsp	Tocotrienols
¼ tsp	Sun Fire Salt
1½ Tbsp	Vanilla Agave Nectar
1½ Tbsp	Coconut Oil
Optional:
1 Tbsp	Chia Seeds
1 Tbsp	Goji Berries
1 Tbsp	Cacao Nibs
½ tsp	Vitamineral Green or Revitaphi or Blue-Green Algae
2 drops	Orange Essential Oil

Stir the dry ingredients together in a bowl. If you are including any of the optional ingredients, add them in now too. If you decide to add any of the powdered greens, I suggest you also add the orange essential oil to cover any potential "green flavor".

Add the Coconut Oil and Agave Nectar and stir. It works best and is more fun to get your hands into the mix now and really mush all the ingredients together so that the oil and agave bind the dry ingredients well.

Create small teaspoon-size drops of the mixture and place them on wax paper. You will get about 10 little bliss kisses per recipe. Freeze your bliss kisses for best taste and longevity, though you may find that after licking your fingers you desire to eat them all up quickly.

You can also use Carob in your bliss kisses to make a sweeter kiss. Try using half Cacao and half Carob or substituting Carob for the Tocotrienols in the recipe.

For an extra-creamy and more truffle-like bliss kiss, substitute Cacao Butter for the Coconut Oil. Mmmmmm. Enjoy!

 Photos of the Process

Part of the fun of making bliss kisses is how chocolatey you get your hands from mixing the batter and forming the small bliss kisses. You can see the size of my bliss kisses (about a half to a whole teaspoon) on the wax paper below my chocolate-covered hand.

Mmmmmm! Chocolate!
The best part of making bliss kisses has to be licking my fingers when I'm done!

And this is the lovely Laura who created this fabulous recipe!

Always On The Move With Nori Rolls

These little beauties keep us moving.  They're easy to travel with, they are nicely filling, and they taste yummy!

I now make several batches at a time to fill up my dehydrator and have them always on hand in the fridge.

Yes, I keep them in the fridge because I had a batch go moldy on me in the cupboard.  Must be our Texas humidity.  Anyway, they're perfectly fine outside the fridge for a few days of travel.

You need a dehydrator for this, but you also need it for crunchy nuts, flax crackers and lots of other yummy stuff, so just go get one!

Many thanks to Gopal's Power Wraps that were sold at my local natural food grocery store.  I tried one of each of their wraps, looked at the list of ingredients, and made my own.  I like mine better now, but if you can find Gopal's Power Wraps, perhaps you'll find your own recipe inspiration. :)

Nori Rolls - Barbeque Jerky Flavor

These nori rolls make a great carry-around snack ... we often take them while hiking or traveling or just roaming around town. This recipe will make about 10-12 nori rolls (depending how thinly you spread the paté filling).

1 Cup	Sunflower Seeds (best if you've soaked them, but fine if you don't)
¼ Cup	Sun Dried Tomatoes or Tomato Concentrate Flakes
4 Tbsp	Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp	Pure Water
2 Tbsp	Molasses
1 tsp	Liquid Smoke
½ tsp	Chili Powder
½ tsp	Fajita Seasoning (typically includes garlic powder and pepper)
¼ tsp	Sun Fire Salt
4 sheets	Nori Sheets

Grind all ingredients (except the nori sheets!) in a food processor or vita-mix blender. Add more water as needed to make the paté filling spreadable.

Cut the nori sheets into 2 inch wide sheets. Spread the paté filling evenly across one 2" nori sheet at a time, leaving about an eight of an inch space unfilled on either side of the width (but not the length). Gently roll the nori sheet (like you would roll sushi) until the end flap is sealed and place the nori roll on your dehydrator tray.

Dehydrate your nori rolls at 145 degrees for 1 hour, then dehydrate at 105-110 degrees for another 22 hours or until the inside filling (seen at the ends of the rolls) is dry to the touch. Enjoy!

Photos of the Process

Here's my 2" sheet of nori with the paté filling spread to about an eighth of an inch of either side of the width. I've just started to roll it from the edge closest to me (bottom of the photo). I've got the nori roll on a sushi bamboo mat that can sometimes facilitate the rolling procedure, but I've also rolled nori without it and it works fine (sometimes better since there's less to clean).

Here's the nori roll after it's been rolled up. There's a little bit of the filling sticking out of the end of the wrapper, but it's OK because it's helping to hold the roll closed.

Here are the nori rolls on my dehydrator tray before they go in to get dried. They look about the same once they're done ... they're just not as flimsy.

Nori Rolls - Curry Flavor

The curry flavor nori rolls are my new favorite. This recipe works great with different kinds of nuts or seeds as the base and will make about 10-12 nori rolls (depending how thinly you spread the paté filling).

1 Cup	Almonds (best if you've soaked them, but fine if you don't) You can also make this with cashews or sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp	Golden Flax Seeds
2 Tbsp	Vanilla Agave Nectar or Honey
8 Tbsp	Pure Water
3 Tbsp	Nutritional Yeast Flakes
1 tsp	Curry Powder
1 tsp	Sun Fire Salt
4 sheets	Nori Sheets

Grind all ingredients (except the nori sheets!) in a food processor or vita-mix blender. Add more water as needed to make the paté filling spreadable.

Cut the nori sheets into 2 inch wide sheets. Spread the paté filling evenly across one 2" nori sheet at a time, leaving about an eight of an inch space unfilled on either side of the width (but not the length). Gently roll the nori sheet (like you would roll sushi) until the end flap is sealed and place the nori roll on your dehydrator tray.

Dehydrate your nori rolls at 145 degrees for 1 hour, then dehydrate at 105-110 degrees for another 22 hours or until the inside filling (seen at the ends of the rolls) is dry to the touch. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Seed Pate Creativity

I got a little creative in the kitchen playing around with pumpkin seeds and trying to make a pate I could fill into a lettuce leaf wrapper.  Here's the very filling (nice pun!) result:

Pumpkin Seed Pate Lettuce Wrap

1 Cup	Pumpkin Seeds (soaked for 1 hour, rinsed and drained)
1/4 Cup	Sun Dried Tomatoes
1/4 tsp	Sun Fire Salt (add salt to your desired taste)
1 tsp	Fiesta Mole Powder
1 Tbsp	Vitamineral Green or Revitaphi
1/8 tsp	Cayenne
1 Tbsp	Coconut Oil

Grind all ingredients in your food processor or blender. Add water in small amounts if your the mixture is too chunky for your blender. Fill up a romaine lettuce leaf with the pate mixture, roll up and enjoy like a taco. Enjoy!

Wow, Raw Taco's Actually Satisfy!

We live in Texas and we love tacos.  We like them with lots of cheese and Frank's hot sauce.  But we don't like to eat meat much anymore.  Dan still eats buffalo meat now and then, but having a raw alternative is nice for both of us and our bodies ... it's so much easier to digest!

So, here's the raw recipe for taco "meat" that Yemiah cutely calls "taco-eat".  For a really raw taco, just put some of the taco-eat in a romaine lettuce leaf, add home-made raw salsa, some Yemiah's Raw Sour Cream, and you're ready to go.  Or do a transitional meal like we still do now and then, where we just substitute the taco-eat (at room temperature - not heated) with the regular tortillas, cheese, Frank's hot sauce, etc.  Either way, you're gonna feel taco satisfied!

Taco Eat Lettuce Wrap

Grind the following ingredients in your food processor or blender. Pulse the grinding so that the mixture stays chunky rather than turning into a fine powder.
1 Cup	Almonds (soaked for 8 hours, rinsed and drained)
3 Cups	Walnuts (soaked for 4 hours, rinsed and drained)
3-4 tsp	Sun Fire Salt (add salt to your desired taste)
1/2 tsp	Black Pepper
1/2 tsp	Cilantro (dried)
1/2 tsp	Parsley (dried)
1 tsp	Basil (dried)
1 tsp	Cumin
1 tsp	Garlic Powder
1 tsp	Poultry Seasoning or Fajita Seasoning
1 tsp	Chili Powder
Empty the blended mixture into a large bowl and add the following ingredients:
1/2	Sweet Onion (chopped)
1	Red Bell Pepper (chopped)
1	Habanero Chili (chopped) - Optional
1 Cup	Pine Nuts (not soaked)
1/2 Cup	Hemp Seeds
1-2 Tbsp	Vitamineral Green (you won't even taste the added greens and they're super good for you!)

Mix all ingredients well per the above instructions. Fill up a romaine lettuce leaf with the mixture, roll up and enjoy like a taco. You can also top your taco with home-made salsa for added kick! Many thanks to Yemiah's Raw Food Delights DVD Set for this recipe, with our addition of some superfood greens. You don't even notice they're there except that you feel so good. Enjoy!

Raw Pesto Pasta

Pasta has always been one of my default dinners.  Now we've got a raw alternative, especially in the summer when zuccini and summer squash are in season.

You'll want to get yourself a spiralizer to make the pasta noodles - otherwise it's way too much work and you'll just want to boil noodles instead.  With a spiralizer you get perfect veggie noodles and a lot of fun making them. (This Spiralizer is the one I have and I love it!)

Then, here's the oh-so-simple and oh-so-yummy raw bell pepper pesto sauce:

Yemiah's Bell Pepper Pesto

2 Cups	Walnuts (soaked and rinsed)
3	Large Red Bell Peppers
1/2 Cup	Lemon Juice
2 Cups	Cilantro (or substitute fresh basil if you want a more traditional pesto)
1 Tbsp	Sun Fire Salt

From Yemiah's Raw Food Delights DVD Set, DVD #3 Italian Delights.

Blend all ingredients until smooth in a food processor.

This is house staple everyone loves. Yemiah's Italian Delights covers a variety of Pestos made from a handful of ingredients. Most Raw Food dairy replacements are too heavy for Yemiah and David. Yemiah designed each of her Pesto and other dairy replacement recipes to emulate a different variety of cheese - texture and spicing - using upscale, lite ingredients. You'll love the rich creamy flavors and tastes during eating, then you'll love all the energy you feel after eating.


To make a stronger flavored version of this recipe, halve the amount of walnuts.

For a Mediterranean twist, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pitted, sun dried olives and replace the cilantro with arugula.


For a South American twist, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Fiesta Mole. Enjoy!

Raw Mock Sour Cream

Dairy and me don't get along so well.  As in, I get really stinky farty.  Digestive enzymes help a little, but generally I'm better off just finding the raw, non-dairy alternative.  Here's a great one:

Yemiah's Sour Cream

2 Cups	Cashews (soaked and rinsed)
3/4 Cup	Lemon Juice
1 Cup	Water
4 Tbsp	Onion Powder
	Finely chopped fresh chives, dill, and parsley to taste
2 tsp	Sun Fire Salt

From Yemiah's Raw Food Delights DVD Set, DVD #2 Quick Meals.

Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender or a food processor.

This is a key recipe for people choosing upgrade of eating cheeses. This recipe is fast since cashews are extremely hydroscopic/hygroscopic (water absorbing) and require only a few hours soaking to soften. Also, as the cashews are soaked they work well for people with nut/cashew allergies. You'll be amazed with it's perfect sour cream flavor and consistency.

You can use this as a topping or add in a few herbs and a bit more water to create a decadent creamy salad dressing. Add a sprinkle of Fiesta Mole and Truly Natural Vitamin C to add an exotic Chiapas-Polynesian-Berry flavor.


Nori rolls with avocado, tomato, arugula, greens and sour cream are fantastic! Enjoy!

Raw Mock Tuna Salad

You could eat tuna salad, or you could upgrade to this tasty raw version ... with another shout out of gratitude to Yemiah's Raw Food Recipe DVD's!

Yemiah's Mock Tuna Salad

1 bunch	Celery
2	Large Red Bell Peppers
1	Large Sweet Onion
4 Tbsp	Raw Sauerkraut
4 Tbsp	Dulse Powder (blend Dulse into a powder in your food processor)
1 tsp	Sun Fire Salt
4 caps	Seaweed Energy (empty contents of capsules into the mixture)

From Yemiah's Raw Food Delights DVD Set, DVD #2 Quick Meals. The recipe listed here is the lite version. The DVD version adds 2 Cups Activated Walnuts, which make this a more substantial meal.


Toss all ingredients into a food processor and hit pulse till mixed. Using pulse keeps all the material chunky, with greater texture.


Great to eat as-is, in Nori rolls or kale wraps with Raw Sour Cream below, also as a base for nut loaves, pate's and dehydrated veggie patties. Enjoy!

Raw Creamy Spinach Dip

This is another staple raw food that's almost always in my refrigerator for the week.  If I have Green Flax Crackers around I'll dip those in, or celery sticks, or even potato chips (I still eat them now and then).

This recipe came from Yemiah's Raw Food Recipe DVD's - a great investment for more raw food ideas and lots of them are winners!

Yemiah's Creamy Spinach Dip

	Step 1: Almond Cheese
2 Cups	Unpasteurized, Activated Almonds or alternatively dry or soaked Almonds
1½ Cups	Water, less for soaked/wet Almonds
1/2 Cup	Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4-1/2	Hot Pepper - Habenaro or Jalapeno
4 Tbsp	Golden Flax Seeds or Olive Oil or half and half mixture
2 tsp	Sun Fire Salt
	Step 2: Chopped Spinach
16 oz	Fresh Baby Spinach (or frozen)
1/2 - 1	Sweet Onion
1/2 Cup	Artichoke heart (optional)

Blend until smooth all ingredients in Step 1 Almond Cheese. Pour into large mixing bowl. For Step 2, pulse Spinach & Onion together in a food processor or hand chop coarsely. Mix together the Almond Cheese and coarsely chopped Spinach & Onions for desired tasted and creaminess. Pack tightly in a glass jar and refrigerate to intensify flavors and enjoy all week! Spinach dip is ready to eat as soon as you're finished.


Use as an entree, dip, spread or addition to soups. Adding different amounts to soups can create an unusual flavor component and texture which is amazingly delicious, subtle and will have people trying to guess what you've added.


Great in Nori rolls with greens, avocado, sprouts, tomatoes and a sprinkle of Fiesta Mole. Great mixed with shelled Edamame Beans for a richly robust flavor appealing to most anyone. Great added to baked potatoe with a sprinkle of Fiesta Mole for an upscale transitional dish. Enjoy!

Tomato Flax Crackers

I tried this recipe once.  It was OK.  I'd suggest adding some more spice to it.  Really, I like my Green Flax Crackers so much, I haven't bothered trying any other kinds again.  Still, maybe you will prefer this version:

Tomato Spice Crackers

This recipe makes 2 trays of crackers for your dehydrator. To create more trays of crackers simply repeat the recipe process since the seed gel and spice mix blends best in this small batch size.

1¼ Cups	pure water
½ Cup	Golden Flax Seeds
¼ tsp	Sun Fire Salt
1 Tbsp	Tomato Concentrate Flakes or Sun Dried Tomatoes
½ tsp	Cumin powder
¼ tsp	Cayenne pepper powder

Soak the Golden Flax Seeds in the pure water for at least 4 hours (or overnight in the fridge).

After soaking, stir the seeds with a spoon to mix the gel well. Add more water if it's really thick. Pour the seed gel mixture into your Vita-Mix or other high-powered blender. Add more pure water until the entire mixture is at the 3-cup line in your blender container.

Add the remaining ingredients and blend from low to high, for a short period of time, just until the seeds are partially shredded and the mixture has a uniform color. Spoon half the mixture onto a teflex sheet on your dehydrator tray, and smooth it out with a spoon until it's covering almost the whole sheet and is of an equal thickness all over. Put into your dehydrator, and add the rest of the mixture to another sheet/tray.

Dehydrate at 145 degrees for only two hours to evaporate the water off, then turn it down to 110 and dehydrate until your desired consistency (shorter = moister/breadier, longer = crunchy/crispy).

After it's been dehydrating for a while (about 10-12 hours), the top of the batter should look dry. To dry the bottom, take each teflex sheet with the batter attached, flip it over onto the mesh tray, then peel the teflex sheet off and leave the batter on the mesh tray so the wet side is facing up. If there's any residue on the teflex, scrape it off with a spoon and smooth it out onto the rest of the cracker. You can also watch the video of how this is done.

To make your crackers extra crunchy you can keep aside some of the flax seed gel from the blending process and simply stir in the seed gel to the spiced blend before spreading the entire mix on your teflex sheet. The whole flax seeds will give your crackers even more crunch. Enjoy!

Green Flax Crackers - A Favorite

We don't make any other kind of flax crackers anymore - we love these so much.

You need a dehydrator to pull this off, but it's worth it! Yummy, good for you, and did I say yummy?

Here's the recipe:

Green Crackers

2 Cups	Golden Flax Seeds
2 Cups	Sunflower Seeds (soaked and rinsed)
2 Tbsp	Sun Dried Tomatoes or Tomato Concentrate
1/2 Tbsp	Vitamineral Green or Revitaphi mixed greens powder
1/2 Tbsp	Blue-Green Algae
1/2 Cup	Dulse
2 tsp	Sun Fire Salt
1/2 tsp	Fiesta Mole
1 tsp	Curry powder
1/2 tsp	Chipotle powder
5 Cups	Water

Grind flax seeds on their own in a food processor or dry container of a high-powered blender until they are a rough flour consistency. Pour into a mixing bowl.

Blend all other ingredients in a high-powered blender with 1/2 of the water, adding the water as needed to allow the blender to create a smooth texture.

Mix flax seeds and green mixture and any remaining water. Spread thinly (for maximum crispiness) on teflex dehydrator sheets. Recipe makes enough to fill a large dehydrator (my Good4u 10 tray dehydrator) with thin and crispy crackers.

Dehydrate at 145 degrees for 20 minutes to evaporate the water off, then turn it down to 110 and dehydrate until your desired consistency (shorter = moister/breadier, longer = crunchy/crispy). 

After it's been dehydrating for a while (about 10-12 hours), the top of the batter should look dry. To dry the bottom, take each teflex sheet with the batter attached, flip it over onto the mesh tray, then peel the teflex sheet off and leave the batter on the mesh tray so the wet side is facing up. If there's any residue on the teflex, scrape it off with a spoon and smooth it out onto the rest of the cracker. You can also watch the video of how this is done.

This is my new favorite cracker! It gives me all the greens I need while still tasting nice and salty/spicy/crunchy ... just like I like it. Try it to dip into Yemiah's Creamy Spinach Dip. Yumm ... Enjoy!

Flax Cracker Basics

This is a great quick tutorial on how to make basic flax crackers.

Especially important is spreading it thin and the technique for flipping the crackers over onto the mesh dehydrator screen.

No, this is not Dan Coppersmith ... it's another raw Dan. :)

Soaking Nuts Before Eating

If you're new to raw food recipes, you're probably new to eating lots of nuts in your diet.  Not all raw foodists eat lots of nuts, but a lot of the recipes that taste like cooked food use nuts (like cheesecake, yummmm!)

You don't HAVE to eat nuts in order to get enough protein. Watch Tonya Kay's protein video for more on dispelling this myth.

However, when you do eat a lot of nuts, it's important to soak your nuts before you eat them.

Why?

All nuts (and seeds) have an enzyme inhibitor that keeps them from sprouting into the the tree, bush or plant that they carry inside of them.  Once they are planted in the ground and given some water, the enzyme inhibitor is destroyed and the nut/seed can begin to sprout.

So, when you eat a lot of nuts and/or seeds, you can end up with a lot of that enzyme inhibitor in your digestive tract and that just slows everything down, not just the nuts you're eating.

But I like my nuts crunchy!!!

OK, so here's the recipe we use to make nicely salted, crunchy nuts for snacking on.  You'll need a dehydrator to do this in nice big batches and at a low, even heat.  If you want to try it in your oven, just set it on warm and watch the nuts ... too hot for too long will destroy the good enzymes in there.

Activated Nuts

	Your Favorite Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachio meats, filberts)
	Pure Water
2-5 Tbsp	Sun Fire Salt

Soak your favorite nuts in pure water for several hours. The harder the nut, the longer it should soak. For example, soak almonds and filberts overnight - about 8-10 hours. Soak walnuts and pistachio meats for 3-4 hours.

Rinse the soaked nuts in pure water several times until the rinse water is clean. If you stop here, be sure to refrigerate the nuts or they will get moldy.

If you prefer salty or crunchy nuts, take these next steps...

Salting Option A:
Soak the nuts in salted water (~5Tbsp of Sun Fire Salt for 1 Quart of Water) for another hour.

Salting Option B:
Sprinkle Sun Fire Salt over the rinsed nuts. (that's what I do)

Place the nuts on meshed dehydrator trays and dehydrate at no more than 105 degrees Faehrenheit (to maintain all the good enzymes) for about 24 hours or until they are crunchy.

For a great dehydrator I highly suggest the Good4u 10 tray dehydrator

p.s. dehydrating salted pistachio meats for 3-4 hours leaves them tasting like hot buttered bread (that's good for you). Yummy!

For a good source of raw, organic nuts, check out Sun Organic Farm. Enjoy!

Green Is Good Smoothie

I've been a fruit smoothie drinker all my life, but now that I have plenty of sweetness everyday with my Chocolate Bliss, I actually crave more greens.

This Green Is Good Smoothie recipe is my favorite way of getting greens without tasting too, well, green.

The Vitamineral Green powder is actually pretty yummy and I even put it in my Chocolate Bliss to make sure I'm getting plenty of superfood, alkalizing greens in my diet.  I eat lettuce and celery and sometimes some kale too, but my most powerful mineralization comes from Vitamineral Green.

OK, so enough chit-chat ... here's the recipe:

Green Is Good Smoothie

2 Tbsp	Golden Flax Seeds
2 Tbsp	Tocotrienols
2 Tbsp	Vitamineral Green or Revitaphi
1	Banana (frozen or fresh)
1 Cup	Ice
2 Cups	Vanilla Almond Milk (or 1 Cup Almond Milk and 1 Cup Water)

Add all ingredients to a Vita-Mix or other high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Drink immediately.
This is a great smoothie for getting essential oils and fiber that help you to regulate your digestive tract. The vitamineral green has no aftertaste and the banana and almond milk make the smoothie slightly sweet. Enjoy!

Hurray for Hemp and Hemp Milk!

I bought hemp milk at our local Herbmart natural grocery store, but it didn't really taste all that good.  Once we got this recipe (thanks Laura!), we've all become hooked, including Dan's teenage athlete daughter.  It's very, very, VERY filling!

Here's the Hemp Milk recipe, and then a few words on hemp because we love it so ...

Hemp Milk

5 Tbsp	Hemp Seeds
1 Tbsp	Maca
4 Cups	Water
14	Dates (or substitute 6 Tbsp Vanilla Agave Nectar or Honey)
1/4 tsp	Cinnamon
1/8 tsp	Cardamom
1/8 tsp	Sun Fire Salt

Add all ingredients to a Vita-Mix or other high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Drink immediately or chill for later enjoyment.

We also add this hemp milk recipe to any smoothies we're making - just leave out the sweetener and use a banana or other fruit instead.

When you're really hungry, or feeding always-starving teenagers, hemp milk is a staple to have on hand!

A few words about Hemp
Once I read about the superfood Hemp in David Wolfe's Superfoods book, I instantly became a passionate supporter of all things hemp (which is NOT marijuana).  Hemp seeds have little to no THC - the hallucinogenic chemical found in marijuana.  Instead, they are high in protein, containing all the essential amino acids for your body to create protein.  (check out the Tonya Kay video about amino acids and protein - she explains this really well).  Hemp seeds are also high in Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's).

When eaten on their own, the seeds taste a little bit nutty and make a great salad topping.  Though I must say that I got some hemp seeds in the refrigerated section of the local natural grocery store and they didn't taste nearly as moist and yummy as the pristine hemp seeds we get from David Favor.  It's worth the upgrade!

I can go on and on about the value of hemp as a commercial crop, but I'll save that rave for another posting.  Stay tuned and in the meantime, enjoy your hemp milk!

Go Go Goji Lemonade

This Goji Lemonade recipe is on our Loving Superfoods website too, but thought I'd put it here in case your perusing raw superfood recipes ...

½ Cup	lemon juice Fresh squeezed from 3 lemons or try Santa Cruz Organic Lemon Juice. You might also try this with limes or grapefruit.
3 Tbsp	Goji Berries
½ tsp	Sun Fire Salt
1 Tbsp	Tocotrienols
6 Tbsp	Vanilla Agave Nectar
2 Tbsp	Coconut Oil

Add all ingredients to a Vita-Mix or other high-powered blender, then fill the blender to the 6 cup mark with pure water. Blend on high until smooth, pour into a container, and chill.
The combination of the Citrus juice, Salt and Agave creates great hydration properties, and adding Gojis, Coconut and Tocos rounds out the nutrient spectrum creating a very satisfying beverage. Enjoy!

Cold Weather Means More Mole!

It's raining here today.  It's almost like Fall arrived in a full-on run ... no sauntering in this year.

This cooler weather makes me especially appreciative of the Fiesta Mole Superfood mix.  The garlic, spicy, tomato blend is a nice contrast to the sweetness of Chocolate Bliss and even when it's served as a cold soup it warms me up all over.

Frankly, I tend to sprinkle the dry Fiesta Mole mix on everything I can think of.  Usually that's on top of lettuce, avocados, and baked potatoes (yes I eat cooked food!).

A friend of mine says she sprinkles it on top of granny smith apples.  I haven't tried that just yet, but I bet it's yummy.

When you can't think of anything else to sprinkle it on top of, or you want a really warming raw food dish, here are two other ways to munch more mole:

Fiesta Molé Soup

½ Cup	Fiesta Mole mix
1-2 Tbsp	Olive Oil
3-5 Cups	pure water (less water for thicker soups)
Optionally also add:
½ Cup	Activated walnuts (soaked for 3 hours and rinsed)
2 Tbsp	Nutritional Yeast Flakes for a cheesy taste
½ tsp	Cayenne pepper

Blend until smooth (works best in a Vita-Mix or other high powered blender). Serve immediately if you want it warm (you do not cook this soup or you will lose the nutrient power of the superfoods). Or keep it chilled and sip a cup whenever you crave something savory.
Our favorite additions to the soup once blended are:

Corn niblets Avacado Bell peppers Cucumber

Tomato Radishes Edamame (non-GMO young green soybeans) Hemp seeds sprinkled on top

Fiesta Molé Dip

1/2 Cup	Fiesta Mole Mix (you can make this with the sample size Fiesta Molé)
1/3 Cup	Olive Oil
1/3 Cup	pure water

Blend all ingredients until smooth in a food processor. Add more water to desired taste and consistency. Makes a great spicy dip for vegetables ... peapods are a favorite. Enjoy!

Our Personal Chocolate Bliss Recipe

Here's our latest Chocolate Bliss recipe that is tasting super good to us and has lots of extras that are super good for us. :)

(Visit Loving Superfoods for the original Chocolate Bliss recipes)

1 Gallon of Chocolate Bliss (Our Personal Recipe)

3 Cups	pure water
1.25 Cups	Chocolate Bliss mix
1 Cup	Vanilla Agave Nectar

1 Tbsp	Bee Pollen
1 Tbsp	Tocotrienols Creates a creamier, frothier bliss - more like milk chocolate and high in natural vitamin E, CoQ10 and Glutathione
1 Tbsp	Pristine Guarana An adaptogenic that gives your bliss a mocha-like flavor and gives you more energy and focus
1 tsp	Pristine Yerba Matte An adaptogenic that tastes a little like green tea and give you more blissful state of awareness and relaxation
1 Tbsp	Vitamineral Green For adding many superfood greens to your diet while still preserving the chocolatey goodness taste

 
Blend until smooth (works best in a Vita-Mix or other high powered blender), pour into a gallon-sized sealable plastic container, and then fill the rest up with pure water. Shake well, and then chill.

Here's a helpful hint: Add the Vanilla Agave Nectar right after the water - that way you can use the measuring marks on your blender (we have a VitaMix) rather than dirtying an extra measuring cup.


Enjoy!

Chia Pudding Upgraded

I've been making Chia Pudding for about a year now and only just got this upgrade idea from my fellow superfoodies at our last Superfood Dinner.

Since Chia soaks up all the nutrients of whatever you soak it in, why just soak it in water? Why not soak it in hemp milk? Or Chocolate Bliss? Or both?!?

So I did both. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yummy!!!!!!!! :)

I made it not as sweet and I like it - tastes even more like the oatmeal I was craving - only better. Gotta love upgrades!

Here's the updated recipe:

3 Cups Hemp Milk (see recipe here)
1/2 Cup Chocolate Bliss (see recipe here)
½ Cup Chia Seeds
Soak Chia seeds in the combined hemp milk and chocolate bliss in a large bowl overnight to make Chia Gel

¼ tsp Sun Fire Salt
¼ tsp Cinnamon
½ Cup Activated Cashews (soaked for 4 hours and rinsed)
1 Banana

After creating chia gel overnight, stir the gel well and place 1 Cup of it in a Vita-Mix or other high powered blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Pour mixture back in bowl with remaining chia gel and stir well. Keep refrigerated. Enjoy!

What are Superfoods and Why do we LOVE them!

This is our story only a couple months after we started our superfood journey.

Hear how I got off of coffee thanks to Chocolate Bliss and how much better we feel when we eat superfoods.

Is it time for you to uplift yourself with some additional, yummy, nutritious foods?

Chocolate Bliss Superfood Drink - What's in it?

If you haven't checked out Chocolate Bliss yet, well, get with it!

I can't think of a better way to own your brilliance and really shine than to eat yummy, super-nutrient, chocolatey superfoods and Chocolate Bliss is my daily favorite!

Watch this video for all the why's of how great the ingredients are ... and then get some!

here:
http://www.lovingsuperfoods.com

When You Are Vegan, Where do you get your protein?

An inspiring catalyst for my superfood journey, Courtney Taylor, has these great videos from a session she did in her home with Tonya Kay. Both of them offer great wisdom about raw food eating (all of which will be posted here shortly!) :)

I love the straight-to-the-point conversation in this video about protein. A few more things to note that aren't called out in this video (from David Wolfe's Superfood book):

Highest source of protein: Blue-Green Algae and Spirulina
Next Highest (and complete amino acids): Hemp Seeds

Go Superfoods! Yeah!