Breakfast Smoothie

I just love the farmer's market! Where else (besides your own yard) can you get fresh fruit without pesticides and icky stuff? I felt very good about paying a somewhat astronomical amount of money for blueberries this past weekend! The money went to a family I actually know in real life! I know exactly how the berries were grown. And, I have been on their "farm" and seen their bushes. Yeah, I feel good about these berries!

Here is my morning concoction:

Makes about 5 cups

Ingredients:

2 apples (I used one fuji, one golden delicious) 

1 orange (I used a Valencia) 

3 frozen bananas 

1 cup fresh blueberries chilled

1-2 cups fresh strawberries chilled

1) I juiced the apples and orange 

2) I poured the juice into my blender.

3) I put the fresh berries and the frozen bananas into the blender with the juice.

4) I blended until the drink was as smooth as desired. 

Snacktime?

I love juicing!

Earlier this week I was craving cucumber and tomato, so I made this concoction with the produce I had on hand. It was a beautiful color and had a decent taste. I could taste all of the different fruits/veggies, but none was overpowering.

One cucumber
3 carrots
one tomato
one celery stalk
3 apples

Do I HAVE to buy organic veggies?

I found this article to be very helpful. 

It tells which fruits and veggies are the most caked in dangerous pesticides. 

There is also a list of least sprayed produce (the "clean list").

Here is ANOTHER fascinating (yet, kind of awful) site.

Hope this helps you all too!

Don't try this one at home . . .

I was craving a green juice after my nap. 

My body just feels so sluggish and depressed today. 

Friday was a cook out. 

Saturday was a graduation party. 

And, there was a potluck at church yesterday. 

I made some poor food choices.

I am out of spinach and cucumbers. 

But, I bought a small bag of arugula at the farmers' market this past weekend. 

This was my concoction (do not try this at home, unless you actually like arugula):

- one handful arugula

- one large pear

- 2 granny smith apples

- one little lime

- one celery stalk

Without the arugula it would have been delicious. 

But, wow... I had to choke this healthy drink down. 

It had a lot of *kick* to it. 

Paul drank his too. 

But, the kiddoes were not to fond of this juice.

I do not plan to make this juice again.

Watch this Video

You want to know why I switched to eating a diet of 75% raw foods? (Besides losing a lot of weight?!)

Watch this video!

What's For Breakfast?

"Raw" porridge for breakfast? Yep!

Buckwheat is gluten free. It is high in fiber and protein. It has the second highest amount of protein among grains.  (3.5 ounces of whole buckwheat, almost a half cup, has four grams of protein). Be sure to use whole buckwheat!

This was my first attempt at soaking buckwheat. I soaked 1 cup over night. Here is what I wish someone would have told me in advance...
1 - When a recipe calls for 1/2 cup soaked buckwheat, I think they mean measure it after it has been soaked! Silly me, I measured it then soaked it... so my recipe was very heavy in buckwheat.
2 - When rinsing and straining buckwheat it looks similar to dividing and egg... with egg white oozing out the bottom. I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed...


So, here is what I did, which is not quite what the recipe called for.
1 - I soaked 1 cup of  whole buckwheat over night and rinsed it. Then, I put it in the blender with a little water until it looked like smooth oatmeal.
2 - I added one apple and one pear, cut into small chunks.
3 - Added two fresh dates to the blender. (Remember, dates have a pit!)
4 - I added cinnamon to taste.

How does it taste? Well, as I said, I think I was supposed to measure out 1 cup of pre-soaked buckwheat. So, it was very strong on the buckwheat flavor. The texture was kind of like a smooth, gritty oatmeal. I ate one bowl without complaining. And, I will make it again measuring buckwheat the right way! The three youngest children (who have had the least amount of processed foods in their lifetime) all enjoyed it - eating mutliple bowls. Nelson forced it down, but did not like it. Rebecca (who was introduced to fast food from breast milk on...) could not eat it. I would like to try it with a frozen banana added to it to make it colder and sweeter. I think soaking is supposed to be done at room temperature (correct me if I am wrong?). That makes for tepid food if you eat it right away.


If you plan to try this at home it makes one large serving:
1/2 cup pre-soaked whole buckwheat
1 apple, cut up
1 fresh date (not a vacuum sealed date that you have since you made Grandma's fruitcake for Christmas 2009...)
cinnamon to taste


Let me know how you like it!

What's For Lunch?

I am still greatly struggling to feed myself with all my new dietary restrictions (some I put in place, some were recommended by my naturopath who wants to see me lose a lot of weight). But, a few of you have asked what a "day in the life" looks like.

Well - it varies. Greatly.

We have started using organic produce that we usually buy at Natural Grocers. Rule one - buy what is on sale!!! After I hit the sale items I look around the corner at the "discount" produce. These items range from ripe to overripe and bruised. Each bag is $1. I have been known to buy $15 worth of dollar bags and nothing else. It can be an interesting way to try new foods! (The other day Paul was a bit surprised when he peeled a Cara cara thinking it was one of our typical Valencia oranges that I buy for juicing.)

Also, this week we are out of both produce and money, so I cooked bread. (I do the best with what we have. But, I have to feed my family!)

I also drink 2-3 quarts of water a day.

That said:

Breakfast - I LOVE to drink juice for breakfast. Every morning I wake up craving my apple, carrot, celery juice. This, however, is not my full meal (most days...). My naturopath wants me to eat 20 grams of protein in every meal. So, I try to choke down a hard boiled egg or a few cooked eggs. I don't really like eggs anymore. Seriously. The more raw foods I eat, the more raw foods I want! I used to eat whole grains cereal with bananas and milk... but that was before the doc took away my flour/grains. I have also been experimenting with some fruit/veggie "porridge." I am trying new recipes from raw foods cookbooks. Yoghurt is good with fruit... if you can eat dairy.

Mid-morning - Nuts. I like to snack on nuts. Sometimes I might eat a banana. It depends how much fruit I eat with breakfast. I plant to make a raw granola or muesli recipe next week to snack on as well. I have been snacking on cauliflower, because it was in a dollar bag last week!

Lunch - Salad. Lettuce is in season right now. I top it with whatever I have on hand - any combination of: sunflower seeds, avacado, guacamole, tomato, cucumber, green pepper, alfalfa sprouts, cashews, beans, corn, cheese, raw garlic/green pepper/onion "relish"or anything else that sounds good. I am actually getting burnt out on salad... so I need to broaden my horizons soon. I used to eat tri-color pasta twice a week... but, alas, no more pasta!

Afternoon Snack - Nuts. Fruits. Veggies.

Dinner  - This varies more than any other meal. We eat beans or lentils just about daily. I am going to try sprouting lentils soon and eating them raw. Lentils are high in protein... and they are yummy! If we have meat it is usually with dinner. I made chicken salad last week with some organic mayonnaise. I ate the salad using a lettuce leaf "bun." I still like beef with homemade taco seasoning. This past Saturday I bought a grass-fed, grass-finished chuck roast at the farmer's market. I added onion and salt and it was delicious! Even when we do eat meat we usually eat salad and veggies first! You could do frozen or canned veggies (cooked, or without cooking them). Applesauce is a good side dish too.

After dinner snack - Nuts. Juice (I like apple-pear). Paul makes some fanTAStic smoothies: oranges through the juicer, apples through the juicer, pour those in a blender with a frozen banana and some ice.

Added: Don't forget about green smoothies! You can eat them as a meal or as a snack!

For more ideas and INSPIRATION read raw cookbooks. I especially like Raw Foods, by Erica Palmcrantz because it has gorgeous photographs alongside the recipes! I will let you know any other books and blogs that I find especially useful.   

Breakfast Experimentation

I tried something new this morning for breakfast... and let me tell you, it's got some kick to it!

I juiced:
- a bunch of carrots (you can use the tops if you have them)
- one cucumber
- 2 inches of ginger root
- one lemon

My first reflex was puckering so tightly that it might have looked like lockjaw.

But, when sipped slowly, it was kind of good.

I poured it into 2 year old Josiah's cup and he drank it right down! Rebecca and I liked it. I will make it again!