Kind Love

Hello Longevity Seekers!

How are you today?  Long Living? Living Long?

The week is easing into SUNSHINE and I am easing into the week pretty nicely.  What about you?  What is the weather like today?

Have you meditated? Visualized?  Even just 5 min – Do it!  It will help immensely!

This Weekend in L.A…

SATURDAY

My taste testers kids were in town this weekend!

One of them – the youngest – performed at the California Metal Fest!

Pretty cool for a kid that is only 14 years old!  EXTREMELY cool to be a ROCK STAR at 14! GO IZZY!

What made it even better was his older brother graced us with the pleasure of spending the night!

This is always nice!  I get to cook veggie food for kids and feed a wonderful appetite – healthfully and mindfully!

Ever since these kids were born my taste tester made sure to put instruments in their hands.  They both seem to be quite successful at keeping music in their lives.  Positive things, positive things!

We have made plenty of “Late Night Craigslist missions” for these guys!  I am happy to see that it is all paying off! Drum pedals, amps, bass cases, etc.  you name it – we have probably gotten it!

Growing up with a supportive parent is one of THE KEY TO SUCCESS! Don’t you think?

So that was Saturday and when Sunday arrived it was time for him to go!  Always seems – just a blink of an eye and the kids are gone…but we will see them soon.  I am hoping they will come and experience a race with us!

Although I planned on attending the Claremont Red Cross 10k – that thought was quickly out of my mind once I saw the rain! Heavy Rains!

Since I didn’t attend the race it gave me the opportunity to cook for “Nitro Roc” one last time.

SUNDAY

RAW Smoothie attack!!!

Here is my RAW date strawberry banana RAINY SUNDAY smoothie prior to blending!

2 bananas

2 tbl RAW almond butter

8 dates

6 strawberries

1 bottle OXYGIZER water

Directions: Blend ALL INGREDIENTS until smooth!

Why OXYGIZER?

OXYGIZER improves measurably performance during periods of high physical stress and the resulting regeneration phase. Univ. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Marktl (Head of Science at the Institute of Medical Physiology at Vienna University) and his research team have completed their scientific ergometry tests. Using a randomised double-blind study, these tests have proven the effective infl uence and effect of OXYGIZER on the body’s performance capability.

Additionally, Sunday was the Los Angeles Marathon!

CHEERS ETHIOPIA!

Ethiopia dominated the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday!

WINNERS

Men’s Division

Markos Geneti ran the 26.2 miles in 2hrs 6mins 35 seconds!

Coming in shortly after Geneti was Nicholas Kamakaya in 2hrs 9min 26sec!

Womens Division

Buzunesh Deba ran the marathon in 2hrs 26mins 34 secs.

Coming in shortly after Deba was Amy Hastings from the USA.  This was her debut in the marathon. She completed the marathon in 2hrs 27min 3sec!

Great going ladies! YOU RULE!

Those are CRAZY times! The male winner also broke the LA Marathon record!

There were a total of 19,626 finishers on Sunday.  11,896 were men and 7,730 were women.

UPDATE MARCH 24, 2011: 19866 Finishers – 12045 M / 7821 F

Exciting stuff!

Depending on the weather I may run a 10k Sunday.  We’ll see.  I will monitor the weather and figure it out by Saturday evening.

Stay tuned for more Musical Meditations, Race Reviews and Recipes!

I thought I would leave you with this image…

 

Kind Love ~ Love Kind!

Love and Light!

Namaste!

A Race & International Vegan Pizza Day!

Hello Longevity Seekers!

How are you? It has been over a week since I last posted! Hard to believe it has taken me 4 days to finish this 1 post!

This will be a post full of pictures, happiness and love!

I had mentioned in my last posting HERE I was having a Vegan Event in honor of International Vegan Pizza Day – January 29, 2011!  I think I also mentioned what a fast pace the week had been taking on ~ An energy unto itself so to speak…

So…I will begin with Thursday.

THURSDAY

Since my taste tester and I were hosting the first (of many – fingers crossed) Veg888 Blog Event, we wanted an area which was inviting, calm and most of all relaxing!

We decided we would host the event outside in the patio area of the shop.

We had an entire week to prepare for absolutely EVERYTHING!  In the middle of my crazy week – I received an email from the race I was planning to do in January.  Guess which day?  January 29, 2011! :/

So, once I broke this news to my wonderful taste tester, we knew there was SO MUCH WE NEEDED TO DO! Whew!

I called to have chairs delivered, a porta potty, and a dj were the main elements we wanted to ensure before anything else was done.  The rest-as they say- was UP TO US!

About a year ago we wanted an awning for the back patio area.  We called around.  ALL of the quotes we received were going to cost us $1,300 – $2,500.  At the time we felt that was WAY TOO MUCH to pay. So what does any business person do?  Look for one on CRAIGSLIST!

We found an awning the same measurements we wanted for only $100. Woo Hoo!  Sure it said some random name on it…but that’s okay.  I thought it would add to the charm.  The tables we have acquired are ALL different, so I thought sure – why not?

I had attempted to hire people to hang the awning prior to now, however something always fell through! We were really pressed for time so we put some energy out there and voila!  A customer said he could hang the awning!

We arrived at the store about 10am…the awning was up by 11 am! YES!!! The awning took a large part of the patio away from us being able to move things around, tend plants, etc.  I am really glad we were able to find some help for my taste tester and get that awning up! LOVE PROGRESS!

Wall before the Awning goes up!

Here we are half way through it…

And finally ready for the BIG DAY!

Throughout the day on Thursday we talked about all of the things we needed to have done by Saturday afternoon!  And let me tell you THERE WAS A PLETHORA!

We just kept going over our guest list, plates, glasses, water, salad, chairs, tables, etc.  I figured if we talked about it daily, there would not be any last minute problems!

FRIDAY

By Friday evening we were pretty much set as far as the particulars, but there was still LOTS to do to fix the patio area!  Move a BUNCH of plants, sweep, figure out the configuration, etc…

Here is the patio area prior to any movement…

I still had to tend the store and get ready for race day.  I decided I would make a RAW dinner for us the evening before the race!

I decided on an OLDY but GOODY!  MARINATED KALE  SALAD with mushrooms and tomatoes! YUM!  Besides, my wonderful customers have been giving me lots of lemons and Avocados! Perfect for a PRE RACE MEAL!

Marinated Kale Salad

1 Bunch Lacinto Kale

1/2 cup Crimini Mushrooms, sliced

2 Medium Organic Tomatoes

1/4 Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

1 clove garlic, minced

3 splashes Sesame Seed Oil

Spike to taste..

Directions: Mix liquid ingredients together in a SMALL bowl and whisk together.  In a LARGE bowl add the entire bunch of chopped kale.  While you are chopping the Kale, add the mushrooms and tomatoes to the “dressing” and allow to sit for 30 minutes, plus.  (Overnight has a nice heightened flavor) Add the dressing, mushrooms and tomatoes on top of the Kale and massage everything with your hands!  Allow to sit for 15 minutes and enjoy!!!

We were in bed by 12 midnight! Which is REALLY early for us!

Saturday

We woke up at 5:00am that morning.  I meditated after I woke up.  I wanted a CALM day, although I knew it was going to be ACTION PACKED until about 2 am – which was about the time I thought people would start leaving the event we were hosting.

The Race

Pepperdine University Coastal 5k/10K Run-Walk – Dockweiler State Beach – Playa Del Ray, California

We arrived at Dockweiler State Beach about 7:45am and checked in.  My taste tester decided he would run the race with me that morning, which again, I would say was an INSPIRATIONAL moment for me!  He amazes me all of the time! Which NOW that I think about it he has amazed me everyday for the last 10 years!

At approximately 8:00 am I checked in, picked up my number and Long Sleeve T-Shirt.

I found the environment to be really calm that day.  Although there were more people attending the Venice Christmas run, I felt people were nicer and calmer at this event.  There were also MANY MORE PICTURES of this event.  Everyone was included in the pictures – not just the beautiful, elite runner, etc!

We headed to the START LINE and waited for our “kick off”.

View from the Start Line!!!

I wondered if I would finish tired?  Would I still be running?  Would I be walking? I went in knowing I hadn’t realistically EVER run 6 miles prior to this race.  Sure I wanted to BUT I never did.

Up until the day of the race, the longest run I had done was 4.25 miles on Thursday prior to the race.   I felt good, so I thought why not do the 10k! And so I did!

Race Time!

I began the race thinking “slow and easy” missy.  I felt good. I had been taking in Rejuvelac and E3 Live ALL WEEK and knew this would help.  I also took in a few other goodies that morning.  Some Goji Berries, Gooseberries, Raw Cacao, a Banana and some dates.

By mile 3 I felt good.  Still running “slow and easy” and I was able to keep my time.  We decided we would use the Essentia water throughout the race.  NOTE TO SELF: Find a better water transport system the next time.  I didn’t like holding the bottle AT ALL!  I switched hands a few times during the race, but all in all it ended up alright.

By mile 4 and 5 I felt good as well!  The only negative part of the race quite honestly was the putrid smell that came from the waste stations we ran by during miles 3 and 4.  The last mile from 5.2 – 6.2 was LONG! Maybe it seemed long since it was at the end of the race, or maybe it was the visual of the pink tape and cones.  By mile 5.98 I was thinking…this is still going on?  Not that further but I can’t see the finish line?  Oh there it is – Oh I’m past it – Where’s my taste tester?  I finished!  OH HIT THE GARMIN and STOP THE TIME!  BEEP – 1hr 20 minutes! What? 10 minutes sooner than you thought? YES!  You did it! You made it!  You started with a goal and made it!!!!

Finishing the 10k in 1 hr 20 min.  actually surprised me!  I thought for sure I would have been at a hour and half or more! So that was pretty good!  My pace was 13:04.  Although 1 min slower than my last pace time at the December Christmas Venice Run I ran a longer distance!

I would like to get to a faster pace, but I know it will take time, perseverance and strength training!

Just then a THOUGHT – Oh hurry! Gotta get to the house and shower!!!

Our snack right after the race consisted of more bananas, more dates, mineral rich crusts, rejuvelac with E3 live and pH10 Essence water.

We got home, showered, and ventured off to the store! The minute we got to the store I opened the store and my taste tester got to work outside.

I decided to close 2 hrs early on Saturday.  I wanted to help my taste tester set up the tables.  We also needed to get our pizzas, set up the plates, and other necessities we would need for the event. Whew!

By 8:30 pm we were done with everything!  The chairs had been delivered at 6pm, the porta pottie came at 4pm and the DJ arrived about 8pm.  Tables were in place, pH water was chilled, and even the Champagne was ready!

Here is the menu for the event…

The back patio has a kiosk.  The kiosk is complete with a fridge, espresso machine, and various other amenities.  You can see the inside here…

Here is an outside look of the kiosk after all of the plants had been moved and before we set up the tables!!!

Here were are later in the evening ready with umbrellas and tables!!!

We had planned for the event to begin at 9:00 pm and end at 2am.  Now, usually when I would be invited to a party I would have arrived about 10 or so.  People were at the shop right at 9pm!  That was exciting.  It told me the environment of health and relaxation IS NEEDED in this area!

As you see on the menu above we had various kinds of Vegan Pizzas!

Armagarden…

Just Vegan Cheese…

Pesto with Spinach & Tomatoes…

Mushroom and Fresh Tomatoes…Somehow I didn’t get a picture of this one???

A HUGE THANKS TO PURGATORY PIZZA FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF THIS EVENT!!!

We also served Champagne, pH Water and/or Coconut Juice!  Here are the glasses we used!

Everyone seemed to enjoy the fact they were glass, rather than plastic!  I thought it was stylish!!!

Here is the DJ rockin it with one of the guests!

All in all is was a very successful day!!! I am pleased people showed up for the occasion.  There was lots of love in the air that night and we were able to relax with many of the guests!

Our next event will be a Vegan Taco Night and I think I will invite more than 20 guests.  It was the first event held in the patio area of the store and I needed to see what it would be like.  How it would flow – but most of all what would it look like with 20 people in the patio??? Crowded? Was 20 to many?  Those types of things!

I will update when that happens!

We went home after a very long day and went right to bed!!!! Interestingly enough we woke up at 10am Sunday!

We went on a drive and came home to rest and relax the rest of day.

I will leave you with this wonderful image of this guy we saw as we drove up to our house!

What a proud guy this was!!! I love the fact that there are peacocks  near our home!!!

Thanks for reading!

Love & Light!

Namaste!

Stir the UN-FRY!

Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids.  All important stuff!  I am on a quest for wellness and hope you come along with me!

Last night I made another Un-Stir Fry.  The last Un-Stir Fry you can see here.  It was paired with the Sesame Nut Balls.  I made the RAW RICE with cauliflower and peas.  This time, I made my RAW RICE with PARSNIPS!   YUM!  I am wondering if this would make the RAW MASHED POTATOES taste better than they did before. :/  That was not a good food experience! The cauliflower left little to be desired!!

Here is the Parsnip Rice before I added anything to it…

The vegetables about to be marinated…

The list of veggies used is as follows:

1. Broccoli – (1/2 Cup) -
2. Parsnips – (1 Cup) -
3. Peas – (1 Cup)
4. Snow Peas-(1 Cup)
5. Portobello Mushrooms- (1 1/2 Cups)
6. Sesame Seeds -(Handful, Raw
7. Mushroom Marinade – (3/4 cup Nama Shoyu, 1/4 cup sesame oil, juice of 1 organic lemon)

Since I wanted that Dehydrated-Marinated Flavor (another words a bit warm) I placed the veggies in the Dehydrator for 2 hrs @ 115.  After that I added the peas and parsnip rice to the mix.  The final result is here…

And here we have a wondorful Raw Meal.  Quite delightful in the stomach I might add!  Broccoli and Peas are high in Vitamin C and Phosphorus.  A fair amount of Selenium as well.  (Minerals I will be speaking about soon!)

So this was a definite hit.  I finally was tired of just eating an avocado and salad.  It was time for some more RAW CULINARY adventures!

Special thanks to RAWMAZING!

Day 26 of 30 – 4 to go!

When I woke up I was really excited because my Raw Eggplant Bacon was ready.  I carefully peeled it off the non stick  dehydrator sheet.

Here is a side view…

There is some garlic on the top of it which I would have to say was DIVINE!  There were also a few mushrooms I put on top of some of the bacon slices to see if they would add flavor!

Here is a picture of the plate of  “Raw Eggplant Bacon”…

The recipe I followed for this bacon was as follows:

RAW Eggplant Bacon

1/4 cup Nama Shoyu

1/4 cup Raw Agave

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 small cremini mushroom, sliced

Preparation: Put all ingreditents in a glass dish.   Place slices of eggplant in marinade for 1 hour or more.  Place in Dehydrator @ 115 degrees for 3 hours.  Check them and flip them.  Continue to Dehydrate for 3 more hours or until crisp!

NOTE: I used the Cai Bao to slice the bacon very thin.

I then made the following…

Pecan Sausage

Posted by Raw Priestess on RFT

1 ½ cups pecans (un-soaked)
½ cup white onion (minced)
½ cup sweet apples (peeled, cored & seeded)
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (ground)
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons sage (rubbed)
2 teaspoons thyme (minced)

Blend in food processor until well blended.

Preparation: Place sausage on teflex sheet by pinching dabs and dropping them onto the sheet, you want this to resemble crumbled sausage when done. Dehydrate until firm enough to pick up, approximately 1 hour.

PLEASE NOTE: I used 10 fresh sage leaves and I also traded anise for fennel.  I couldn’t find any fennel at all in my cupboard, so I did the next best I could.

This was especially good.  I would like to make a RAW version of a BLT.  I am determined to make the Essene Bread recipe from Juliano’s RAW Uncook Book.  After I do so I will make the BLT and maybe even a RAW Club with Raw Eggplant Bacon.

Since I used my handy new tool “Cai Bao”, I would slice and turn, slice and turn.  When I saw seeds, I stopped.   The eggplant was pretty large so I had a rather large “core” left to the eggplant.  I then sliced the core with a knife and marinated it in the following:

Eggplant Marinade

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup Agave

1/4 cup Nama Shoyu

4 T Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Cloves of Garlic

2 T fresh oregano, chopped

Preparation: Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.  Place the Eggplant in the marinade for 6 hours or more.  I left the eggplant in the marinade for 12 hours.  I then placed the slices on a non stick dehydrator sheet and dehydrated then @ 110 for 4 hours.  I wanted them warm and juicy!

While the eggplant and Pecan Meat were in the Dehydrator I made another RAW Marinara Sauce.

Raw Putanesca

1/2 cup soaked sun dried tomatoes

1/8 cup chopped green olives and kalmata olives

1 T cayenne (I like it hot, you can reduce if you would like!)

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 T Basil, Dried

4 Fresh Basil Leaves

1 T Oregano Fresh

2 Roma Tomatoes

Preparation:  Place all ingredients in the Food Processor and blend until smooth!

With all of these components I put together a RAW Eggplant Lasagna.

Here it is…

Layer One – Eggplant out of the Dehydrator.

Layer Two – Pecan Sausage

Layer Three – Raw Marinara

Layer Four – 2 Pieces of Raw Bacon

Repeat Once!

This was a truly savory dish.  I think I will put the layers in a mold/baking ring the next time and make a fancier looking dish.

My mind is starting to click with recipes I would like to try.  I think I will give RAW rice another go.  Maybe make a spanish rice version or something.  Just like I think I am ready to try Raw Mashed “Potatoes” with Gravy!

Thank you for reading!

Namaste!

Pecan Sausage

Posted by Raw Priestess on RFT

1 ½ cups pecans (un-soaked)
½ cup white onion (minced)
½ cup sweet apples (peeled, cored & seeded)
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (ground)
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons sage (rubbed)
2 teaspoons thyme (minced)

Blend in food processor until well blended.

Preparation: Place sausage on teflex sheet by pinching dabs and dropping them onto the sheet, you want this to resemble crumbled sausage when done. Dehydrate until firm enough to pick up, approximately 1 hour.

PLEASE NOTE: I used 10 fresh sage leaves and I also traded anise for fennel.  I couldn’t find any fennel at all in my cupboard, so I did the next best I could.  It was BOMB! I also marinated some vegetables to eat with the pecan sausage.

Day 25 of 30 – 5 to go!

Sunday was a beautiful day!  The sun was out shining her beautiful face on Southern California.  I had the house to myslef! I was able to do laundry and meditate a lot

Meditation is another essential part of manifestation!  It was in meditation I first began this quest.  I had to make the decision in the depths of my mind in order to dedicate the energy to my body.  It has really helped me get through some of the most difficult moments in the first two weeks.

The most difficult part was in the beginning when I was vomiting and suffering from the headaches.  Once that stopped, I have been really enjoying new foods and great experiences.

Sunday Evening I made RAW CHILE RELLENOS!

As mentioned on Day 24 of 30, I started thinking about all of the fresh chiles in the store.  The Ancho Chile is the biggest one at the market these days, and I wanted to make a Chile Relleno Raw stylie.  Usually this dish is made with egg, cheese and green sauce.  Mine was made with the Ancho Chile, Cashew Nut cheese, and Marinated Mushrooms.  It was a tasty meal.  Here is the recipe!

RAW CHILE RELLENOS

1 Ancho Chile

2 cups cashew nuts, soaked

2 T Nutritional Yeast

2 Vegan Probiotic Capsules

2 T Fresh Oregano

2 T Fresh Cilantro

2 Garlic Cloves

1 T Olive Oil

Marinated Mushrooms – (Recipe is as follows)

2 Portobello mushrooms

1/4 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos

1/4 cup olive oil

1/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

3 Crushed Garlic Cloves

Preparation: 1 Day Ahead-Rinse soaked cashews and process in the Food Processor until chuncky.  Add Oregano, Cilantro Garlic, Nutritional Yeast and Probiotic Pills.  Process again until smooth.  Set aside in a bowl on the counter covered.  This gives the nut cheese time to “sour” a bit with the probiotic capsules.  The cashew cheese will be ready the next day.  (NOTE: I usually let the cheese sit for 24 full hours.)  Mix the marinade for the mushrooms.  Slice the Portobellos and marinate for 1 full day.  (NOTE: I usually do the mushrooms the same day I do the nut cheese.) Cut the Ancho chile in half.  Take out all the seeds and de-vein the pepper.  Mix in the Tablespoon of Olive Oil into the nut cheese to smoothen it a bit.  Take the nut cheese and pack the inside of each pepper half with cheese.  Add the mushrooms on top.  Place the chiles in the Dehydrator for 4-5 Hours @ 115 degrees.

This was a really good.  I think I will develop a tomatillo sauce for this dish.  I will also try to think of some kind of breading or coating for the chile itself.  Usually a Chile Relleno is the full chile stuffed.  You could do that, but I felt it would be too much food.  We also enjoyed it with a salad and fresh avocado! Delicious!

Thanks for visiting!

Namaste!

Day 24 of 30 – 6 to go!

I had been wanting something cool and light in my stomach.  Although I was hungry on Saturday evening, I just didn’t want anything to heavy.

I made an appetizer of Guacamole and Flax Crackers.

Guacamole

2 large avocados

1 Medium Tomato

1/4 cup white onion

1 Serrano Chile

Juice of 1 Lime

Juice of 1 Lemon

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 cup cilantro

Preparation: Dice tomato, white onion, serrano chile, and garlic cloves.  Chop Cilantro.  Put all diced vegetables (EXCEPT CILANTRO) in a bowl and add the juice of the lemon and the lime.  Peel and roughly chop avocados.  Add this to the bowl.  Start mixing and mashing until desired consistency is acheived.  Add cilanto. Mix again.

I was at Whole Foods Saturday evening and found these great crackers!  They had flax, hemp and rosemary!  Yum.  Really good with Gucuamole and Salsa!  The Raw version of chips and salsa is GREAT!  No sinful fried chips! Marvelous!

For the main course I made a Mock Chicken Salad.  I got the recipe from a wonderful website I found earlier that day.  You can go to the website here.

I put the chicken salad on 1/2 of a large red bell pepper and salad.  This was really refreshing to my palate.  The crisp sweet bell pepper was really accented with the nut meat.  Yummy! This was also a very quick recipe.  It made dinner fast and easy.  It also made me wonder what a RAW Chile Relleno would be like.  I figured there are so many different kinds of peppers, why not?  No eggs, no cheese just straight RAW food for my body! More on that later….

Mock Chicken Salad by the RAW table

1/4 C sunflower seeds
1 C cashews
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded and cut into chunks
2 green onions, cut into smaller pieces
1 cup of pecans
1 celery stick, cut into chunks
1 tsp. dried dill
1/4 tsp. curry powder
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Preparation: Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse chop until everything is chopped medium to fine. Enjoy!

So that was my Saturday!  I feel good.  I feel positive!  I feel happy!

Namaste!

Day 21 of 30 – 9 to go!

It’s been raining like crazy here in the LA area and I am happily enjoying it.  The cold weather excites me.  It is ORANGE season and this can only mean sweet and juicy satisfaction to come!

For the past two days I have been enjoying Chocolate Banana Nut Milk! Yum!  It isn’t very sweet but nice and soothing on my tummy.

Chocolate Banana Nut Milk

2 T RAW Almond Butter

3 Cups Purified Water

2 Frozen Bananas

2 T RAW Cocoa Powder

Preparation: Slice bananas and place in freezer overnight.  When ready, put Bananas, Almond Butter, Water and Cocoa in the Blender.  Blend until smooth!

Dinner last night was quite delicious.  I made a RAW Pumpkin Seed Pesto Stuffed Marinated Portobellos!

RAW Pumpkin Seed Pest

1 1/2 cups Raw Pumpkin Seeds, not soaked

3 Cloves Garlic

1/2 bunch Coriander/Cilantro

5 T Olive Oil

Preparation: Place pumpkin seeds in food processor and pulse until chopped.  Add all other ingredients and process.  While it is processing add olive oil.  (You may want to add more if you would like more of a paste.)  Scrape sides and process again.  It should have the consistency to make a nut ball.

Marinated Portobellos

4 Medium Sized Portobellos

Thyme

Olive Oil

Bragg Liquid Aminos/Nama Shoyu

Garlic Cloves

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Preparation: Score the bottom of the mushrooms with an X carefully.  Put all other ingredients into a glass dish/bowl.  Mix ingredients with your hands.  Place mushrooms cap side down into marinade.  Puncture small holes into mushroom facing up.  (Carefull not to break mushroom in half.)  Push mushrooms into marinade or use a spoon to cover the mushrooms in marinade.  Since the muchrooms are a bit like a little cup they will hold some liquid.  I marinated mine for 8 hrs.  Once mushrooms are marinated and have changed color, Place pesto inside of mushrooms.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 2 hours or until warmed all the way through.

Here you can see it served with a salad and the last bit of pecan sausage…

Day 8 of 30 – 22 to go!

When you enjoy each second of your existence, you have achieved the state of self-realization.

This morning I woke up quite rested.  It had been some time since I was able to really acheive a restful sleep.  This is due to the die off of the parasites. Ick!

I wanted to take a moment to talk to you about something.  It is called Sankalpa.

This powerful sanskirt word means resolve.

“The purpose of Sankalpa: Influence and Transform the whole life pattern, not only the body, but also the mind, the emotions, and the spiritual forces. These forces are normally dissipated by inner conflicts, or confusion, or by various external demands and responsibilities of life. Sankalpa is a tool to focus the energy, the Prana – the life force, so that it becomes like a laser beam.” Dr. Rita Khanna

This was a really powerful hit to my ego recently.  If you think about it, that is what is keeping us from all kinds of things in life.  Whatever struggles we go through in life.  The ego is our biggest barrier.  We decide to make the decision rather than listen to what our inner self tell us. We think we want something because it feels good or tastes good or looks good.  But is it?

I encourage you to find a quiet space and close your eyes.  Focus on your heartbeat and your breathe.  Begin to visualize what you are struggling with and what changes you would like to make.  Be still and know you are loved and you are beautiful. Decide what it is you are willing to do to meet your goal.

For me?  My goal is wellness.  To feed my body live food.  This began as a Raw for 30 days mission.  For all I know I will be Raw from this point forward.  I am learning and I am loving.  Thank you for reading this blog.

Today’s Smoothie was adapted from Gone Raw a wonderful resource that I found!

2 bananas

1/2 cup fresh cranberries

A few Almonds

Handful of Hemp Seed

1 Head of Romaine

Oxygen Water

This smoothie is pretty good!  Sorry no picture.  I ran out of charge! ;(

Last night I had a salad topped with a salsa recipe I really liked and a beautiful avocado!

SALSA

1 Jalepeno Pepper

2 Tomatoes

1/2 of a brown onion

2 cloves garlic

2 handfuls of Cilantro/Fresh Coriander

Preparation: Place all ingredients in the food processor and process until chunky.  CAUTION-DO NOT PROCESS UNTIL IT LIQUIFIES! THIS WILL HAPPEN PRETTY QUICKLY IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL!

I also began to prepare a falaffel recipe and a wrap!  I will post pictures tomorrow so you can see the final plating.  It is Dehydrating at the moment at 105 for the next 8 hrs.

Updates tomorrow!

Namaste!

Day 4 of 30 – 26 to Go!

Day 4 was a very postive day for me!  I felt 100% better when I woke and relaxed in my bed for a bit after my eyes opened.

I must say that I feel a lot calmer these days.  I also am losing the pain in my left knee.  It was really bothering me before the cleanse and now it is a bit better.

So I had a smoothie in the morning.

Raw 4 of 30 Special Smoothie

1/2 pineapple

1 cup coconut meat

2 cups coconut water

2 small  avocados

1 mango

5 Dark Green Dinosaur Kale

This smoothie was really good.  I decided to give up on making a plan on my smoothies, since this cleanse threw me for a loop the other day.  I will just stock good organic fruit and vegetables and make a different combo each day.

As the day progressed I made a Celeraic Apple Soup from the Raw Food Real World UnCook Book by Matthew Kenney.  I didn’t follow the recipe at all.  Just the ingredients.

This was my recipe:

1 celery root

2 green apples

15 Macadamia Nuts, soaked 3 hours

1/3 cup Olive Oil with Bergamot Essential Oil

Black Truffle Oil

Fresh Basil

Preparation: Chop the apples and the celery root.  Place both in the blender and add 1 bottle oxygen water.  Process until smooth.  Put the soup through a strainer and set pulp aside.  Put the soup back into the blender and added the Macadamia Nuts, olive oil and a bit more water.  I strained the soup again and served it into the bowls.  Topped with fresh cut basil, marinated mushrooms and a nice drizzle of Black Truffle Oil! MMMMmmm!

Here is the celery root…

the green apple…

both in the blender after the initial straining, with the nuts and other ingredients…

Here we are served in a bowl!

The soup was really nice.  Light, Creamy and extremly healing!

I would follow this RAW SOUP with a  wonderful living lasagna!  I had made this meal before with a few variations this time!  You can see the original posting for my initial attempt at the living lasagna here.  You can also see the recipes I used for the Pine Nut Ricotta & Living Marinara Sauce at that same link!

So the new additions I did was:

Pumpkin Seed Pesto – since the pumpkin seeds were raw and anti-parasitic I thought they would be absolutly perfect

Pine Nut Ricotta – I added basil and raw olives to this meal

Raw Marinara – I added fresh garlic, lemon juice and raw olives

Marinated Mushrooms – This was a new addition.

1 Portobello mushroom, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 1 Lemon

4 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

2 tbs Olive Oil

1 tbs hemp oil

Mix all together and allow to marinate for 1 hr.

I just put layers of each filling with 3 different kinds of Heirloom tomatoes.  They each had different contrast.  Firm, Juicy and Medium.  Layered into love.  Living Lasagna!

These were the raw meals for the 4th day of the cleanse.  More to come tomorrow!  I’ll post tonights dinner and tomorrows smoothies.

Namaste!

I feel good actually!  Thankful for my life and yoga practice.  I have practiced each day so with the exception of New Years Eve.  Squeezing my organs in various asanas.  It feels so good.  The asanas seem easier to meet and stay in.