Not Your Mama's Raw Mac N Cheese

This is not your mama's mac n cheese.  I tried.  I scoured my raw recipe books and googled raw recipes for mac and cheese, and nothing I tried met my standards of tasting like a good quality version of the traditional cooked mac and cheese.  Oh well.

The good news is, I combined several recipes and came up with something that tastes pretty darn yummy.  I just prefer to call it Raw Cheesy Pasta so we don't expect a flavor that's just not there.

If you love mac n cheese, you might like this raw cheesy pasta as an upgrade option, just don't expect it to taste exactly like the traditional cooked version.  This raw recipe is of course way better for you. :)

Here's how I did it:

Raw "Macaroni Noodles"
Summer squash spiralized with the thick noodle setting and cut into smaller pieces so they look a bit like macaroni size noodles.  Coat the noodles in a little olive oil and salt and let marinate while you make the rest of the recipe.

Raw Cheese Sauce
1/2 Cup Cashews (soaked for 1/2 hour to 4 hours and rinsed)
1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper
1/2 tsp Sun Fire Salt
1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Turmeric
1/2 Tbsp Mellow White Miso (optional)

Blend all ingredients in high powered blender like the Vitamix or in a food processor.  Blend until a creamy consistency.  You shouldn't need to add any water because the bell pepper is very watery.

When you're ready to eat, put a spoonful of the cheese sauce on top of the noodles.  This tastes best when the noodles and the cheese sauce are at room temperature.

My Additional Tips For Extra-Yummyness

• This recipe tastes especially good with a little Fiesta Mole Powder sprinkled on top (as in the picture)
• You can make the cheese sauce a bit creamier by using some macadamia nuts and/or pine nuts in addition to the cashews.  The recipes I pulled from used all macadamia nuts or all pine nuts, however I found that this was more expensive and didn't taste any better than with the cashews.
• Yellow Bell Pepper really works the best.  Red or orange are too sweet.
• You can also make the noodles out of zucchini or a mix of zucchini and summer squash.  One recipe called for noodles out of yams, but they were very crunchy and the yam taste was overpowering.
• You could experiment with dehydrating/warming the noodles mixed with cheese sauce for a little bit before eating.  I haven't tried this yet, so let me know if you like it.

Enjoy!

Raw Mango Blueberry Cobbler

Oh My Goodness this is a good dessert!  OK, so I don't ever post icky desserts, but wow, this mango blueberry cobbler gets high praise!  The recipe is a slight adaptation from Ani Phyo's Mango Cobbler in her recipe book Ani's Raw Food Kitchen.


Really, the only thing I did differently was to add blueberries into her recipe ... I love mango and blueberries together. Here's the recipe with my additional notes below on how I would improve or play with it even more:




Raw Mango Blueberry Cobbler
Crust/Topping:
3 Cups Pecans (dry)
3/4 tsp Sun Fire Salt (or other high quality sea salt)
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (easier) or 1 Vanilla Bean (scraped insides only)
3/4 Cup Dates (pitted)
Process the pecans and salt in a food processor or dry container of your high-powered blender until a flour-like consistency is reached. Add in the dates and vanilla and process until mixed well and a dough-like consistency. Set crust aside while you make the syrup (no need to clean out the food processor).
Syrup:
3/4 Dates (pitted)
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1/2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (easier) or 1/2 Vanilla Bean (whole bean)
1/3-2/3 Cup Water, as needed
Food process or Blend all ingredients until a smooth, thick syrup consistency. Add more water only as needed in order to facilitate the blending process.

Filling:
4 Mangoes (ripe Kent variety is best because they are the least stringy/fibrous)
3/4 Cup Blueberries (fresh or defrosted frozen variety)
Dice the mangoes into bite-size cubes. Put all filling ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add the syrup and toss until all the fruit is well covered.

Press half of the crust into the bottom of your serving bowl. I first used a 1 quart casserole for a thick cobbler.  In this photo I'm putting all the crust on top in a lasagna-style pan.

Pour the mixed filling/syrup on top of the crust. Crumble the remaining crust/topping across the top of the filling. Your dessert is now ready to enjoy immediately or refrigerate for a couple of days of enjoyment.

Here are a couple of suggestions for ways you might play with this recipe:

• Add a little cinnamon to the syrup for additional "baked" flavor
• Make the filling with peaches instead of mangoes.
• Make a filling of all berries or sweet apples
• For a larger pan, like a lasagna-style pan, put the filling/syrup directly into the pan and put all of the crust/topping on top. This makes it even easier to get the dessert out of the pan. :)
• Add finely ground pecans or other favorite nuts on top for a crunchy topping

Enjoy!

A Day In The Life Part 4: What Tools of the Trade Do You Start With?

This is a continuation of our Day in the Life Story of what we eat ... this time talking about the kitchen tools we use to make especially yummy raw foods.


What Tools of the Trade Do You Start With?

Blend, Blend, BLEND!  So much of the raw food diet is facilitated by blending.  It breaks down the cell walls of foods so it's easier to digest, enhances flavors, enables you to eat more fruits and veggies in less time, and is all-around an awesome way of eating/drinking/slurping food.

When we found raw foods, we already had a Vitamix in the house and if we didn't we'd be getting one soon.  You can make a lot of raw foods, including our beloved Chocolate Bliss with a regular blender, but you can do so much more with a Vitamix or other high-powered blender.

We also have a small Hamilton Beach blender we got for traveling with our Bliss.

The next thing we got was a dehydrator, but only because I knew I wanted to play extensively in the raw food game including making my own nori rolls, crackers, and making our activated nuts crunchy again.  I wouldn't suggest this be item #2 for you ... maybe #3 or 4 or not at all.

I would however suggest your second tool be a food processor.  Even a small one that doesn't cost much money can help you with some of the recipes, especially pates.  This is the Cuisinart Food Processor I got, but that's also because I make food for lots of people at our superfood dinner parties.

We already had a juicer in the house, but it wasn't used much and still isn't.  It sits in a cupboard and comes out on rare occasions when we crave fresh juice.

The Spiralizer is a very fun tool, especially if you like pasta, for very little money.  I don't use it often because I don't make raw veggie pasta often, but when I do make raw pasta it saves a LOT of time.  I wouldn't attempt raw veggie pasta recipes without it because I would get tired and bored of all the effort.

If you missed the first parts of this Day In the Life story, here are some links you might be interested in:

Part 1: What do Melissa & Dan Eat?

Part 2:  Cooked Foods and Cooked / Raw Combinations We Eat

Part 3:  How Do You Transition To More Raw Foods?

Part 4:  What Tools of the Trade Do You Start With?

Enjoy your journey!

With lots of Love,

Melissa

A Day In The Life Part 3: How Do You Transition To More Raw Foods?

This is a continuation of our Day in the Life Story of what we eat with suggestions on how you can easily transition to more and more raw foods in your diet...


How Do You Transition To More Raw Foods?

The first week we discovered Chocolate Bliss and the whole line of Sun Fire Super Foods, we jumped in feet first and ate almost 100% raw superfoods for the first week.  It was awesome.  You can watch our short video about transitioning to raw where we talk more about what we ate in that first week, why it was so great, and the differences we noticed from being raw.

Since then I've read that it's not always recommended to go raw that quickly because you can have more detox reactions.  I didn't. I felt great.  That might be because the Sun Fire Super Foods are designed to help you detox more gradually, or because I didn't have major health issues (I was just a bit overweight), or just because (the answer to any persistent 2 year old).

How fast should you go raw?  However fast you feel like it.  And here's some more support:

I really liked the information and advice in this book by Natalia Rose:  The Raw Food Detox Diet.  In the book she offers a little test to see what percentage raw might be best for you based on your past eating habits and your current health.  She gives very practical information about why raw food is so great, menu suggestions and some awesome raw food recipes (the very yummy Thai Bliss soup is from her).

Raw Til Dinner is a popular approach for transitioning because most of us (Dan and me included) can be quite satisfied with raw foods until the evening sets in and we start to crave something warm and chewy.  The more raw foods you eat, the more clean-burning nutrition you are getting, the easier it will be for you to concentrate and be alert throughout the day, and the healthier you will be.  And if you can eat healthy cooked meals in the evening, all the better.

With any upgrade I make in life - mental, emotional or physical - I prefer to be OK with slippage.  If I go back to eating cooked foods, or even some junky foods now and then, the best thing I can do is NOT judge myself for it, but simply enjoy the taste (if it is indeed enjoyable) and look for ways to upgrade that food/taste I'm craving next time into something healthier - whether that be a raw version or just healthier ingredients.  I'll talk more later about how I identify the flavor and ingredient components I'm craving in a traditional food and how I then upgrade that taste into a raw, superfood or other good-for-you version.

Stay tuned for the final part of this Day In The Life diatribe:

Part 4:  What Tools of the Trade Do You Start With?

Enjoy your journey!

With lots of Love,

Melissa

A Day In The Life Part 2: Cooked Stuff and Cooked/Raw Combinations We eat

This is a continuation of our Day in the Life Story of what we eat ... talking now about the cooked stuff too. To the often-asked raw foodie question "what percentage raw are you?" I think I prefer the answer "I am not a label".  I eat cooked food and I eat raw food in varying amounts, depending on the day, the weather, my cravings, or whatever.  Here are some details on the cooked stuff we eat...

Cooked Stuff and Cooked/Raw Combinations

We still eat cooked food.  Most often in the evening.  Sometimes during the day (I still crave eggs now and then).  We've found some great ways of upgrading standard cooked food into better ingredient options and even combinations of cooked and raw foods that work great for us.  Here's what we most often gravitate to when we crave cooked stuff:

• Baked Potatoes / Baked Sweet Potatoes
• We now bake our potatoes in the oven rather than the microwave (takes a bit more planning).  We're in the process of upgrading from regular white baking potatoes to sweet potatoes (more minerals and better for you).  I especially like the Jersey Sweet Potatoes because they're more tangy than sweet.
• On top of our baked potatoes I put flax oil (tastes like butter) or hemp oil, Dan still uses organic butter.  We both use Sun Fire Salt and I add a few sprinkles of Fiesta Mole Powder.
• I've been craving greens so much, and hydration, I now add a huge handful of mixed baby salad greens on top of my dressed baked potato.  It's my upgraded version of "potato salad". :)
• Chipotle Style Burrito Bowl
• We have historically LOVED the burritos we get from the Chipotle chain of restaurants.  I gravitated to vegetarian burritos once I started my raw superfood journey and Dan has recently done the same.
• Now we make our own version at home:  brown rice cooked with lime juice, cilantro and a little organic butter; organic black beans from the can cooked with a little chili seasonings; sautéed green bell pepper and red onion; avocado, organic salsa, and lots of lettuce on top.  It's oh so yummy! 
• Upgraded Pizza
• We've tried lots of different upgrades for our pizza cravings.  We've made our own flax seed pizza crusts in the dehydrator (so-so); tried "natural brands" like Kashi, Whole Foods, and Amy's; bought cornmeal pizza crusts (ew) and have finally settled (so far) on an organic whole wheat pizza crust that we can customize.  We use organic pasta sauce and now the raw goat milk cheese on top, plus any other yummy veggies we like.  The interesting thing is that the old styles of pizza we used to like don't taste good to us anymore.  Our tastes have upgraded and we don't eat pizza nearly as often.
• Tacos
• We love tacos and we especially love our upgraded raw/cooked tacos.  We use the Taco Eat nut mixture for our meat and lightly warm it on the stove.  We've found some organic sprouted corn tortillas we really like and we warm those on the stove too.  Then we combine the taco eat with raw goat cheddar cheese,  Frank's RedHot Hot Sauce (our fave), green onions from our garden and some lettuce on top.  Super yummy and we never miss the meat.
• Pasta

• Sometimes we do raw pasta with a squash and the spiralizer and sometimes we cook noodles, though not nearly as often.  For cooked noodles I prefer rice/quinoa noodles or something like that rather than wheat.  I also really like spaghetti squash which I cook in the oven (haven't tried it raw yet, but I bet that's good too).
• For sauce, I still heat up organic sauce from the jar because it's quick and easy.  Sometimes I'll make a pesto sauce and I'm playing with some raw marinara sauces. 
• Potato Soup
• This is a favorite and even goes camping with us often.  The idea came from a lady who analyzes live blood cells and said this is the best combination for hydrating your cells.  It's also similar to the "Hippocrates Soup" that the Gerson Diet recommends for addressing cancer and other diseases.
• Here's my recipe:  1 onion loosely chopped, 1-3 cloves of garlic, loosely chopped, about 2 Cups of potatoes chopped (ideal when they are not white and sweet potatoes are awesome), 5 stalks of celery chopped, 1 carton of potato leek soup (works best) or vegetable stock. Optionally add sliced carrots or tomatoes (Hippocrates Soup style).  Put all ingredients in large soup pot and add water as needed to cover all ingredients.  Add spices like parsley, cilantro, salt, pepper, celery seed, bay leaves, and cumin.  Simmer for about an hour or until potatoes are soft.
• Veggie Soup
• I prefer the potato soup, but veggie soup is a nice alternative with lots of tomatoes, various veggies and maybe some noodles or rice.
• Tomato Soup
• We've been getting the roasted bell pepper tomato soup in cartons from Costco because it tastes so good, but lately I've been noticing how milky it is.  Stay tuned for some upgrades to raw versions of tomato soup.
• Eggs
• I still love eggs.  Every now and then I'll make a poached egg on an english muffin for a late morning snack.  I used to love them scrambled, as an omelet, in fritatas and so on, but now I just  have one egg poached when I crave it.
• Green Onion Sandwiches
• The one wheat-based item we still get as a treat now and then is a french baguette.  We especially like to use it for green onion sandwiches with organic butter a little salt and the green onions from our garden.  I guess you could say that's a raw and cooked combo. :)
• Popcorn
• We used to eat microwave popcorn because it was easy.  Now we've upgraded to a stove contraption that lets us use the organic white popcorn we get from the store and coconut oil to pop the corn.  We top it with a spray mister of flax oil (tastes butter) and our beloved Sun Fire Salt.

Stay tuned for the additional parts of this Day In The Life diatribe:

Part 3:  How Do You Transition To More Raw Foods?

Part 4:  What Tools of the Trade Do You Start With?

Enjoy your journey!

With lots of Love,

Melissa

A Day In The Life: What do Melissa & Dan Eat? (Part 1)

One of our newer raw superfood clients asked me to give her a "day in the life" story of what Dan and I eat so she could get some ideas of how to be more and more raw in her food choices and perhaps even upscale some of the cooked things too.

So of course I'd like to share my efforts at cataloging "a day in the life" with you too. My intention is to give you lots of ideas, links to our favorite recipes, and the inspiration and permission to go explore what works best for you.


This is not your average Day In The Life story.
We've been consuming raw superfoods for over a year and a half now, so rather than tell you a specific day in our life, I thought I'd give you more of a sense of how we transitioned to raw superfoods, and what kinds of things we eat at what times of day.  Here are my caveats that give you even more perspective on what our model might mean for you:

1. We are not 100% raw foodists.  We do not have any judgment on what you or anyone else chooses to eat ... we're quite OK with whatever makes us feel good and whatever makes you feel good.  Less labeling can be a good thing.
2. We both work from home, so we always have easy access to our kitchen and flexible schedules for uncooking whenever we want.  I enjoy cooking and uncooking, but not to excess.  I prefer to have my kitchen time be quick, simple and fun so that I have even more time for the other fun things I do.  Since I used to work in the corporate world with a 2 hour commute one way (oy ve!) I'm empathetic to the standard work culture and I'll do my best to offer suggestions for that type of situation.
3. We both came from the Standard American Diet (SAD).  We both ate meat regularly, some fast food, and particularly loved pizza and ice cream.  I had at least one cup of coffee (or black tea) every morning in order to be awake and civil.  Dan drank Diet Dr. Pepper for his source of caffeine and sometimes energy drinks even though they caused his throat to hurt at times.  We wanted to be healthier, but we weren't looking for a dramatic life shift that was hard.
4. We won't eat something if it doesn't taste good.  We won't keep doing something just because it's supposed to be good for you unless we're really enjoying it.  We both believe that life is supposed to be, can be, and is easy and joyful as we go about creating and enjoying delicious experiences.

So, What Do You Eat?

I'll cut to the chase and give you some groupings of the raw foods that we currently love to eat.  Look for our parts 2, 3 and 4 of this day in the life story for more info on how you might transition to more raw foods and upgrade your cooked foods.

Breakfast

• Chocolate Bliss
• I make a gallon of Chocolate Bliss at a time using our favorite bliss recipe and I drink 8 ounces right after some pure water first thing in the morning.  I will usually drink another 8 ounces 2 or 3 more times throughout the day, depending on whether I have other stuff in the fridge to eat or how much I'm craving chocolate.  Bliss is really such a quick, good-tasting, and well-rounded nutritious food, I use it as a staple throughout the day whenever I crave it.
• This is also how I got off of coffee.  Watch this video on stopping coffee where I talk more about adding Guarana and Yerba Matte to my Chocolate Bliss in order to stop drinking caffeine and lose weight even more quickly.
• Nuts
• A handful of nuts here and there helps address any little hunger pangs and give you something chewy. We sometimes activate our nuts, especially when we're eating a lot of them, and sometimes we don't (again, it's all about using our time to do fun things).
• We almost always have almonds on hand.  We've also really enjoyed pistachio meats which we get from Sun Organic Farm and activate with Sun Fire Salt, and Dan especially enjoys Brazil Nuts.
• We keep about a quart of nuts easily accessible in jars on the kitchen counter.  The rest we store in the fridge so they keep better.
• Smoothies
• Smoothies are a great way of starting the day and highly recommended by lots of people.  Sometimes we make them.  Most often we just have Chocolate Bliss.  See below for more details on the kinds of smoothies we like (they are more often a mid-afternoon snack for us).

All-Day-Long Snacky Meals

• More Nuts as per above
• Nori Rolls (Gopal's Wraps)
• I found these raw snacks called Gopal's Power Wraps at our local natural grocery store (Natural Grocers and Roy's Natural Market).  I liked them so much, I made my own.
• Here's the recipes for the two flavors I really dig: BBQ Jerky Nori Rolls and Curry Nori Rolls.  You'll need a dehydrator to make them, or just go buy Gopal's Power Wraps.  I usually make about 3 times each recipe once a month to keep Dan and me well supplied.  Oh, and I store them in the fridge because I don't dry them as much as Gopal and they can get moldy if you leave them out for weeks on end.
• Yemiah's Creamy Almond Spinach Dip
• This is a favorite and it can last for a couple weeks in the fridge.  The recipe makes a nice big batch and I use it in all sorts of things all week long, as well as just dipping crackers and veggies into it as a dip.  You'll see it referenced below in other recipes (like wraps).
• You can also customize this dip quite a bit.  Once you've got the basics of the almonds and lemon juice for the creamy cheesy flavor, try adding in different veggies or spices for variety.
• Green Crackers
• Another fave to have on hand.  I make a big batch and keep them in the cupboard to munch on as is or dip in Creamy Almond Spinach Dip or whatever I have on hand.  I seem to alternate between making Nori Rolls one month and a bunch of crackers the next.
• Tomato Crackers with raw cheese
• This is a new recipe so stay tuned for links to the recipe.  I found this in the Sarma Raw Food recipe book (which I love!) and it's our new favorite.  Now I make green and red crackers in my dehydrator so we have a bit more variety.
• Dan loves cheese.  I love the taste, buy my body doesn't love cow's milk.  Goat cheese and I seem to get a long fine.  Lately we've been using a Raw Goat Milk Cheddar Cheese (again found at Natural Grocers).  I actually use it more when we make tacos than on crackers, but it's a nice alternative, especially if you love, Love, LOVE cheese. :)
• We've been playing with raw nut cheese recipes and some are quite easy.  Again, I'll post links when they are ready, or get the Sarma Raw Food recipe book (you'll be happy you did).
• Apples with almond butter or Fiesta Mole Dip
• I love apples.  I love the way they taste, the many different varieties, and how easy they are to travel.  They're also really good at regulating your digestion and giving you some balanced energy.  YAY for apples!
• I've always loved apple slices and peanut butter.  I've upgraded that to almond butter because it's a bit better for you than peanut butter.  If you have a food processor, you can also make your own almond butter (great money savings) by simply putting almonds in the food processor and grinding until creamy (about 30 minutes).
• The Fiesta Mole Dip is a favorite dip that I always enjoy and never get tired of.  I especially like it with granny smith apples because their tartness balances nicely with the tomato spice of the dip (go figure).  I also enjoy dipping celery and snap peas in the Fiesta Mole Dip.
• Carrots in Hummus
• You can get raw hummus and hummus made from things besides chickpeas, but I just get a nice big tub of organic hummus from Costco.  I can munch on baby carrots and hummus for hours, or dip a few raw crackers in there too.
• Celery sticks
• Celery is a really nice balance to Chocolate Bliss - the sodium and water of the celery really help your body to flush toxins out.  Dip celery in Fiesta Mole Dip, eat it between sips of Chocolate Bliss, or just eat it straight.
• Bananas
• We also love bananas.  They often go into our smoothies, but sometimes we eat them straight too.  In all our adventures of new raw food recipes, it's nice to remember the value of pure, unadulterated fruit.
• Here's a tip:  if your bananas are too ripe, just freeze them, skin and all.  When you're ready to make a smoothie (or a raw ice cream!) simply soak the banana in luke-warm water until you can easily slip off the peel.  Your frozen banana is a great sweetener for any smoothie.
• Avocado with  Fiesta Mole sprinkled on top
• I love avocados and I love the flavoring of  Fiesta Mole.  Once I learned to keep ripe avocados in the fridge, I've been enjoying them regularly because I can keep many in the house without feeling like I need to eat them quickly before they get too ripe.  My simple snack is to spoon the avocado into bowl and sprinkle the  Fiesta Mole powder on top.  Simple as that and oh so yummy.  Particularly good when I crave potato chips because I'm getting good fat and salt (in the mole).  Just not so crunchy.
• Easy Guacamole
• Here's what I do: spoon out an avocado into a bowl, sprinkle on a Tbsp or so of lemon juice (from the Santa Cruz organic lemon juice bottle I keep in the fridge), sprinkle on some Sun Fire Salt, maybe sprinkle on some  Fiesta Mole Powder, mash it up a little with my spoon, mix well and enjoy.  Really, I'll eat this straight up.  Or maybe put it with some raw crackers when they're handy.
• Chia Pudding
• This may seem like a dessert to you, but I will eat it all day long.  It's a very filling, tapioca-like pudding that you can customize in many ways.  The less sweetener you use, the more savory it will taste.  Visit this upgraded chia pudding blog posting where I show some other ways to play with the recipe.
• Chocolate Bliss Kisses
• These are great for a chewy version of Chocolate Bliss, to satisfy a candy craving, for traveling, or just because.  The original recipe calls for many individual ingredients or you can simply use your Chocolate Bliss Powder.  Here's the bliss kisses recipe posting with my comments on how to adjust the recipe for travel (i.e. use cacao butter instead of coconut oil).
• Trail Mix of Nuts, Goji Berries, Cacao Nibs
• I'm not a big trail mix fan, but if I were, this would be my favorite.  Simply make a bag of your favorite nuts, some goji berries (very tart and chewy) and some cacao nibs (like dark chocolate).
• The messy version of this is to pour some Vanilla Agave Nectar over the goji berries and cacao nibs.  It's a great tasting combination and fun if you like to lick your fingers. :)

Smoothies

• Hemp Milk straight up or in a smoothie
• Hemp milk is really filling (and high in protein).  Our hemp milk recipe tastes like a chai milk and way better than the hemp milk in a carton I bought at the store.  I drink it straight or mix it into a fruit smoothie for a really filling smoothie that lasts a long time.  When we put hemp milk into a smoothie we don't add any sweetener because the fruit of the smoothie is sweet enough.
• Green Is Good Smoothie
• This is one of my standards and favorites.  I really like the way Vitamineral Green tastes in this and I always have very regular, smooth bowel movements when I include this in my diet.  Simple and yummy!
• Green Smoothies (Boutenko style)
• Wow, I didn't have a post for this yet!  Stay tuned for a video soon.  In the meantime, here's the very simple recipe:  2 Cups water, 2 pieces of fruit (e.g. 1 apple and 1 pear), a handful of green leaves (e.g. lettuce, spinach, kale, chard, collard, cilantro, celery tops, etc).  Blend well in a Vitamix or other high-powered blender.  This will keep 3 days in the fridge.
• This version of a green smoothie amazingly tastes like the fruit in the smoothie and not like the bitter greens.  Stay tuned for more details on why this version is so great (and even better for you and easier than juicing).
• Juicing
• We have a juicer that we don't use very often.  It takes too much effort to clean (and needs to be cleaned pretty quickly after juicing).  I prefer Green Smoothies instead.  If I were out in the world more, I might buy the Odwalla or Naked Juices, but I get a bit tired of those pasteurized flavors too.
• When I do juice, I really like this combo: 1 apple, 2 celery sticks, 3 kale leaves and half a lemon freshly squeezed.
• Fruit and Flax seeds or the kitchen sink variety
• Grab a banana, some frozen fruit, some almond milk (store-bought), a couple tablespoons of flax seeds (for digestion regulation) and whatever other superfoods look like fun.  Blend away!
• Goji Lemonade
• This is more of a drink than a smoothie, but it's packed full of superfoods and extremely satisfying.  It's a very hydrating drink which speaks to the important point that hunger is often really just your body saying it needs more hydration. Next time you feel hungry, drink some pure water first (or some Goji Lemonade).
• Elixir Craft
• Since I learned elixir craft from Daniel Vitalis in the winter, this is more my cold-weather version of a superfood smoothie.  I'm fascinated by super herbs so I expect you'll learn more from me in this area soon. In the meantime, you can try this one elixir recipe I've posted.  It takes a bit of work, but it is really filling and I've easily kept mine in the fridge for a week.

Wraps
Wraps are a great replacement for sandwiches.  They're chewy, packed full of flavors, filling, and don't require any bread. :)  Oh, and you'll notice that I don't list salads in our "day in the life".  I like salads, but I don't like making them (unless somebody else has already sliced and diced and prepared all the ingredients).  These wraps and their fillings are lots easier!

• Nori sheets wrapped around avocado, almond spinach dip, or nut pates
• Nori sheets are an easy wrapper if you are going to eat your wrap immediately (otherwise they get soggy from the fillings).  I like making little sushi-like rolls by spreading a pate or dip on the nori sheet, adding some lettuce, sprouts, avocado, tomato or other fillings, rolling the nori and then slicing it.
• Here are links to some of my favorite fillings:  Yemiah's Creamy Almond Spinach Dip, Pumpkin Seed Pate, Mock Tuna Salad
• Leaves (lettuce, swiss chard, collard greens, kale) wrapped around nut pates, taco eat, thai veggie wraps
• Having a variety of leafy greens in your diet is good.  You're getting a good variety of vitamins and minerals and you're not getting too much of one kind of bitter alkaloid (so don't keep eating only one kind of green).
• Depending on the strength of the leaf, you could make these wraps in advance.  They're often easier to eat than Nori since the leaves are easy to bite through.  Here are my favorite spreads for this kind of wrap:  Taco Nut Meat, Thai Veggie Wraps, and Pumpkin Seed Pate.
• I should mention that the Taco Eat recipe makes a LOT of taco meat filling.  I keep some frozen and on hand.  The Thai Veggie Wrap cabbage filling also freezes well which is good because a head of cabbage can make a lot of filling!

Soups
There's a lot you can do with raw soups and I'm only just beginning to explore this area.  Stay tuned for more.  The nice thing about raw soups is you can heat them by blending them, put them on the stove on low until warm to the touch, or simply enjoy them cold (which I do often).

• Fiesta Mole soup
• The Fiesta Mole Powder makes a really yummy gazpacho style soup. I particularly like it with chunks of avocado in it.  We've also made it with chunks of tomato, bell peppers, corn niblets, and/or hemp seeds.  I tried it with edamame (shelled soybeans) in it, but they were too chewy for me.
• Celery Sunflower soup
• This soup is really warming and packed full of superfoods.  And it tastes really good too! Go figure.
• Thai Bliss soup
• You'll have to stay tuned for this recipe.  I got it from The Raw Food Detox Diet book by Natalia Rose and it's awesome!  Coming soon!

Desserts
I make a dessert to keep in the fridge or freezer about once a week or two.  Typically I don't crave sweets as much since I have Chocolate Bliss available, but sometimes I crave a sweet non-chocolate-bliss munchy at night and regular desserts just don't taste as good to me anymore.

• Raw Cheesecake
• So many variations based on the toppings you choose!  We keep this in the freezer so we can eat it like an ice cream or if we're patient enough, leave it cut on our plates until it defrosts to a more room-temperature cheesecake experience.  I'm not often that patient because it tastes great frozen.
• Raw Apple Pie
• This recipe is so quick and easy!  Keeps in the fridge for about a week.
• Chocolate Bliss Kisses
• As mentioned above, these are great chewy snacks.  I can eat about 5 of them non-stop at night and still get to sleep just fine.
• Chocolate Cake
• I craved chocolate cake one night and knew I wouldn't like any of the wheat-based options available at the store.  So my friend googled raw Chocolate Cake recipes for me, we altered it for what I had on hand, and came up with this.  It stays in my freezer for whenever I have another craving.  Tastes especially yummy in a bowl of coconut milk (instead of ice cream).
• We've made many different kinds of desserts and there are a lot of great raw options.  If you have a sweet tooth, check out the other raw recipes at Loving Superfoods or simply search the internet for the raw recipe of the dessert you crave.

Get Started!

Wow, if you're still reading this extremely long blog post, I think it's time you go find something yummy to eat!  I learned a lot about raw foods and superfoods and some great recipes simply by playing around in the kitchen and looking things up on the internet.  Go have fun!  And call or email me if you have questions or specific cravings you would like some help figuring out how to upgrade.

Stay tuned for the additional parts of this Day In The Life diatribe:

Part 2:  Cooked Foods and Cooked / Raw Combinations We Eat

Part 3:  How Do You Transition To More Raw Foods?

Part 4:  What Tools of the Trade Do You Start With?

Enjoy your journey!

With lots of Love,

Melissa

(with Dan's stamp of approval that, yep, it's a day in his life too) :)

Diet Staples of Rick The Health Sleuth

Thanks to Rick the Health Sleuth for this guest posting about his use of Chocolate Bliss as a High Raw, Vegan Diet Staple. It's nice to know there are many of us in cyber-land and the real world putting our minds, hearts, buying power and mouths into action to create healthy lives and a healthier planet. Read on for Rick's story of how he found Bliss in his transition to a raw food diet. And be sure to subscribe to his Health Sleuth Blog for frequent awesome posts about the truth behind our nutrition, food supplies and even more health-related topics. Rick Rawks! (so say Melissa & Dan)

For the most part, not a single day goes by without someone asking me “What does a high-raw foodist eat besides salads?” I always appreciate that question when it’s coming from someone who is truly curious and open-minded. However, when the question is posed in a condescending or ignorant tone, it’s hard to respond in a courteous way. It is truly a shame that the ignorance levels about nutrition/health/wellness in this country have reached these astronomical proportions. The disinformation campaigns launched by the megacorporations over the years have led to a completely uneducated populous regarding what they are truly ingesting on a daily basis.

Luckily for me, both my immediate family and my best friends are fully supportive of my lifestyle changes over the past year or so. They ask questions with open-minds and give feedback when they can. They allow me to teach them about certain subjects about which they’d never even heard of previously. Topics like dehydrating, blended salads, raw cacao and pure water are commonplace at my friends and family gatherings. Without a support group such as this, I may not have been able to fully transition into my current lifestyle. I am thankful for all of the love and support they send my way.

With that said, I’m going to spend some time each day this week talking about staples in my diet. Feedback and questions are always appreciated!

Staple for Daily Liquid Superfood Nourishment:
Chocolate Bliss by SunFire Super Foods



Transitioning to a raw diet is difficult to say the least, especially for those who are used to eating 80%-100% cooked foods (as I was just a year ago). Getting optimum nutrition seems like a daunting task at first, but luckily for us some products exist that eliminate that problem. Some people find it especially tricky to get enough calories into their diet to keep their energy at a peak level. They don’t understand that once the body adjusts to a more nutrient-dense diet, it needs less overall calories (energy) to accomplish the same things.

In my research that led to the transition away from bodybuilding diet/supplements and into high-quality diet/supplements, I stumbled upon Premier Research Labs – possibly the best supplement company in the world (more on them in a later post). While perusing their website, I first noticed Chocolate Bliss. It was not a product formulated by Premier, but they sold it nonetheless. It intrigued me, and once I read the write-up on the product I immediately purchased it from them. Since then it has become a daily staple for me as I am somewhat addicted to its chocolate-y goodness. Since I am a huge advocate of supporting small business entrepreneurs, Nowadays I've been ordering my Chocolate Bliss from Loving Superfoods, since they have tons of additional raw products that work synergistically with the Bliss to increase my energy, mood, health, beauty, radiance and longevity!

David Favor of Radical Health formulated Chocolate Bliss for those wanting an all-in-one superfood drink to jumpstart the raw lifestyle. This amazing concoction is full of raw sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids (EFA’s). It’s fair trade, sustainable, and certified pristine, which is a grade actually above organic. The ingredients list is a veritable who’s-who among superfoods: cacao, hemp, coconut, maca, MSM, red salt, vanilla, carob, tocotrienols, CoQ10, camu camu, and more!

Every afternoon I have a shake with Chocolate Bliss and a few other random ingredients – lately it’s been a vegan protein, agave nectar, spring water, and yerba matte. Since I exercise after work at about 5pm, this shake powers me through the afternoon at work and on through my workout. Since I started these shakes, I have not lost any strength in the gym although my daily calories, protein, fat and carbs are all significantly decreased. Its micronutrient profile provides my body with all the nourishment it needs to accomplish personal goals in and out of the gym.

From the Premier write-up about the product:

Chocolate Bliss contains 23 super foods and adaptogens. It is designed to promote multi-stage dilation and mood/energy/immune stabilization. Dilation (expansion) begins with Cacao Powder's high magnesium level which expands colon tissue, continues with components which increase cell permeability and nutrient uptake, and completes with Camu Camu increasing blood flow to brain and eye tissue. Rhodiola Rosea, Maca & Hemp promote optimal sugar metabolism balance and peak mood/energy/immune function. The smooth, rich chocolate flavor is enjoyable and provides continuous peak mood, energy and beauty. Because of it's purity many people find they also enjoy this as their primary food in smoothie form.

Another awesome benefit of this product is that it can be mixed up early in the morning and sipped on all day…I personally prefer it as an afternoon meal replacement, but it can and probably should be sipped on all day – the chocolate lovers will have no problem with that I’m sure :)

And of course a small disclaimer: in no way am I financially affiliated with this company. I find a product I believe in, and I talk about it. With the raw foods market being extremely small and competitive, I believe the best products deserve recognition. This product belongs in that list of the best.