Raw Pumpkin Pie!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Since it's pumpkin time, I decided to try a RAW Pumpkin Pie recipe the other day. The verdict? RAVE REVIEWS! Everyone that tried it thought it was really good. HURRAY for healthy dessert recipes!!!! Here it is!




Aren't I smart? I made mini-pies in a muffin pan. You know you're SO going to copy this idea ::smiles:: These were made using half of the recipe listed below. Thank you Raw Foods Witch for the recipe- it's FAB!!

Raw Pumpkin Pie Crust

• 2 cups pecans or walnuts
• 1/2 cup soaked dates
• Dash of sea salt

Blend the crust ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor, then evenly distribute in the bottom of a pie plate.

Raw Pumpkin Pie Filling

• 2 cups shredded pumpkin, butternut squash, or sweet potato flesh
• 1 cup soaked dates
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. freshly diced ginger
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. coconut oil
• Dash of vanilla
• 1/4 cup almond milk or water to help blend

If you donʼt feel like shredding the pumpkin by hand, simply cube and place in a high speed blender or food processor until itʼs nicely chopped.

Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until nice and smooth. You might need to add more liquid to get it to blend well.

Pour into crust, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

OK let me tell you- this was fantastic. Brenton even said "I think this is better than normal pumpkin pie!". I will be making this again, needless to say!

Happy Halloween!!

Bunch 'O Halloween!

Good evening, muah hah hah.

Was that Halloweenie enough? Hehe- well it's right around the corner, so I figured I might as well get into the spirit of things. To be COMPLETELY honest... I don't love Halloween. I don't like things that are scary... I don't like candy that will give you cancer.... I don't like pranks (we were egged last year).... bah humbug!

So, to go along with my bah humbug-ness... here is what will be out on my porch on Thursday evening:





Hehehe- that's right... we're not going to be contributing to the ADHD and Diabetes of children, no sir! No Hydrogenated crapola from this house! This year, I'm handing out (ok... I'm not really 'handing' because I'll be making raw pumpkin and raw apple pies... so they'll be helping themselves) little tricky games where you have to get the 4 little balls in the holes at one time. Just about impossible- you bet I tried it! Hours of fun. HOURS. These little guys were pretty cheap. I got them from Factory Card Outlet, 50 for $4.25.

That said, my student workers (college age) will be 'trick or treating' on Thursday around the office, so for them, I got Trader Joe's Organic Lollipops. 27 lollipops for $2.99.



Look at these ingredients!!! Fantastic!



Soooo much better than the normal candy that's handed out!!! I may (MAY) even be tempted to try one...

Even though I don't LOVE the holiday, I do like decorating the house with cute Halloween things, and we DID carve pumpkins this weekend.



Mine is on the left, and my brother/sister in law's is on the right. We should go into business. I'm even, like I said, will be making a raw pumpkin pie for the first time on Thursday- so I'll be sure to let you know how that goes. I'm a little leery of eating a raw pumpkin, but I'm sure it'll be good.

Speaking of eating, check out ye olde dinner tonight!



So, I was going to make shepherd's pie again, but ran out of time because Brenton had an MBA chat online tonight. So, I made the filling (all I did was cook on the stove some Morning Star Veggie Crumbles, some frozen bagged organic soup veggies, a dash of salt and pepper, some water, and a little bit of tomato sauce, and poured it on top of 1/2 of a small spaghetti squash (cooked in the microwave... shame on me... in 1/2 c water for 9 minutes). VERY TASTY!! I have the other half of the spaghetti squash in the fridge for tomorrow's dinner concoction... which is yet to be determined. You should try it! You'll like it! It gave me tons of energy- and I actually did Jillian's 30 Day Shred, ironed clothes, did the dishes, emptied the dishwasher, AND made lunches for tomorrow, all within 3 hours. I think I deserve an Epsom salt bath!

Yep, I do. Good night everybody!

BBQ Tempeh Sammies!

Good evening everybody! I tried a new recipe tonight- BBQ Tempeh Sandwiches! These were so quick to make (LITERALLY from pan to plate in 15 min), and super good!! Here's my recipe-

Ingredients:

BBQ Sauce
Equal parts Ketchup, Vinegar, Mustard (I used 1/2 C each)
Salt, Pepper, Brown Sugar to taste

1 Package of Trader Joe's 5 Grain Tempeh

*In a small sauce pan, heat BBQ Sauce on medium, until simmering (a minute or two)
*Cut up tempeh into small pieces, and put into pan. Mix with sauce until covered and cook until hot (this particular tempeh is pre-cooked already)
*Make into a sandwich using whatever bread/roll you'd like (I used Trader Joe's Sprouted Wheat, toasted for a minute or two in the toaster oven), cheese, veggies (I used spinach, but onion, pepper, and tomato would also be good), and BBQ tempeh. Serve immediately.

The verdict? Well, Brenton took the first bite and said "this is... funky" (LMAO!.... great...), so I tried it and it tasted (to me) JUST like sloppy joe's! I'll definitely make them again, well, for me anyway. Brenton doesn't LOVE BBQ sauce to begin with, so that's why he was kind of like 'meh...'. But they were definitely a quick, healthy, and filling meal! We didn't even have fruit after dinner for dessert!

Here's a pic of my sammie before I dove in:



Try it, you'll like it (wink wink)

Escopazzo FAB-O!

Good evening, everybody! For those of you from the South Florida area, you probably already know about Escopazzo. If you don't know about this restaurant, ohmygosh, you have to (HAVE TO) check it out. It's so hard to find restaurants that offer raw food (other than salad...bo-ring!), and this restaurant is unique because they lable themselves as an Organic Italian restaurant. There are vegetarian, vegan, and raw dishes available, with none of the CRAP that I always complain about. (Que the heavens opening and angels singing). After reading their website, it appears that Janet Jackson, Harrison Ford, Cameron Diaz, Kevin Spacey, and other very famous people have dined there as well! So, it must be good, right?! Ok, enough is enough, what did I eat?!

First, take a look at the part of the menu I went right to:



Beautiful, isn't it? I was so excited. I ended up getting the Spaghetti of zucchini with sundried tomato and walnut pesto, and Brenton got the Vegetable lasagnetta with pine nut ricotta and pesto. Pure joy. We shared both meals (because I wanted to taste both, of course!). Look how lovely!!

Spaghetti


Lasagnetta


The pine nut ricotta in the vegetable lasagnetta was to DIE for. Brenton ate almost all of it before I had a chance to try it. And then... the truth came out. Brenton said "WOW, this is really good! I feel full, but not stuffed. I've never had raw food that has tasted like this! How come your raw food doesn't taste like this?"

Happy anniversary to you too. Hahahahaha. Ok ok, so my raw food has been trial and error (and mind you, I'VE liked it all). I did argue that he's liked Ani's Raw Apple Pie recipe that I've made, and that was agreed upon... but I will admit that my raw pasta has NOT tasted as good as this did. Not overly seasoned, and VERY fresh.

I wasn't sure if I had room for dessert, but we decided to split their Avocado Ice Cream.



Looks like guac, no? It was a very unique set of flavors. At first, the ice cream tasted like, well, avocado, mixed with hints of basil. Then, a strong citrus flavor came through that made it taste like a dessert, rather than guac! It was so neat! Brenton and I both liked it, and actually, I was surprised at Brenton's reaction. He's typically the guy who likes the double-chocolate-monkey-fudge-cookie-blahblah, but I actually think he surprised himself, too, by liking it! Maybe his tastes are becoming as hippie as mine! No, not hippie- sophisticated (right?).

So my overall reaction to Escopazzo? Out of this world! If you're ever in the Miami Beach/South Beach/Southern Region of Florida- RUN to 1311 Washington Ave.

Veggie Shepherd's Pie- YUM!

Good afternoon everyone! As I type, but Bucks are winning 14-10. Take that Badgers!! I swear, every sports announcer has it out for Ohio State. It's always ''blah blah blah complain complain complain those bucks did this wrong coach made a bad call blahblahblahblahblah''. GEEZ!

So anyway, last night I made a FAB-O vegetarian shepherd's pie!!! I got the recipe from my mother-in-law, and adapted it for us veggie types.



Here's my adaptation recipe...

1 sweet potato, scrubbed
1/4 t pepper
1 c frozen meatless crumbles (Quorn or Morning Star)
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 t dried thyme
1/2 t poultry seasoning
dash red pepper flakes
1/4 c tomato sauce
1/2 c water
1/2 bag frozen veggies (I used peas and a mix of carrots, peas, corn, and green beans)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prick scrubbed sweet potato and cook until tender (I used the microwave... shame on me).
In a skillet on medium high heat, 'cook' meatless crumbles with chopped onion. When hot, stir in water and tomato sauce and simmer for 1 min.
Mix in thyme, poultry seasoning, red pepper flakes, and frozen veggies. Simmer for 4 min.
Scoop out meat of the sweet potato and mash in a bowl. Mix with pepper.
Pour 'meat' mixture into a baking dish and top with mashed sweet potato.
Cook in oven 10 minutes.

It was SO good. Look at the mixture.



It REALLY looks like normal shepherd's pie, and tasted like it too!! Super yum... I'll definitely make it again!

Happy Saturday to you all! T minus a couple days until Miami!

You bet'chyur bucha!

So here it is- my bottled kombucha. The science experiment was a success, and I'm on to round 2!

My brother-in-law has been brewing his own kombucha tea for over a year now, maybe two years, and he passed one of his kombucha mushrooms on to me so I too could brew my own.

For those of you who are wondering what the heck kombucha is, here is what wikipedia says:

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is imbibed for medicinal purposes, although there is currently no specific scientific information supporting any purported benefits.^[1]. However, numerous studies of "pro-biotics" are available. Kombucha is available commercially, but can be made at home by fermenting tea using a visible solid mass of microorganisms called a kombucha culture or mushroom.



There's my mushroom, and round two of my bucha brewing. The little jars on the left is the bottled bucha from the last batch. Generally, I buy my kombucha tea from Bexley Natural Market. My favorites are by GT and Kombucha Bob, but it's great brewing my own now, too! Cheaper, I must say. Each bottle of GT's is in the $3.50 range, but well worth the price.

So what does kombucha taste like? Well, it all depends on how long you 'brew' it. Mine tastes kind of like apple cider vinegar and sweet tea- more bitter than sweet. It's good for my insides and I can really feel a difference when I drink it. When I drink GT's it's almost like a euphoric type feeling. It's really carbonated and almost makes me feel like I have no legs. Ok, yeah, that's kinda weird... but entertaining, no less.

If you haven't tried kombucha before, you should go out and get some! Convert.... convert... come to the bucha dark side... hahahaha.

FAV-O Products!

Hi everyone. Lately I've been asked what supplements I use to stay healthy, so I decided to post them all in one big bloggie blob here!!

My first and foremost FAVORITE product is Amazing Grass Green Superfood. I put this stuff in my green smoothies mostly, but I've been known to add it to oatmeal and plain yogurt, too!

My Probiotics! I use PB8, the veggie capsules (they're vegan). You take two every day and it helps keep your digestive system in line!

Oil of Oregano- this stuff is anti-viral and anti-bacterial. GREAT for cold and flu season!

Vitamin D- also good for immune system support, especially when you can't go outside and get your 10 min a day!!

Ahhhh, Coconut Oil! I use this on my face, hair, hands, feet... everywhere! YUM! An all-natural moisturizer!

Dr. Bronners- MY FAVORITE SOAP!! There is nothing harsh in this soap at ALL.


I hope this gives all of you, my little bloggies, some insight into my every day routine! I'll update you as I find more products, and if you have any favorites, I'd LOVE to hear about them!!

Mmmmm cookies!

Good evening to all! I made some YUM-O cookies tonight! Don't they look scrumptious?!



Ok maybe not the BEST picture in the world, but they are super good!

Ingredients-

1/4 C Walnuts (or more if you like them!)
1/4 C Almonds (also, more if you like them!)
1/2 C Rolled Oats
1 T Cinnamon
1 T Flax Meal
2 T Raisins (I always add more- I LOVE RAISINS!)
1/2 C Honey (you may need more if you think the mix is too dry)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
1- Grind up the walnuts and almonds in the food processor
2- In a bowl, mix ground nuts, rolled oats, cinnamon, flax meal, raisins, and honey until the mixture is sticky and feels like it will hold together
3- Press into cookies and place on a baking sheet (no need to grease it or use parchment)
4- Bake cookies for 12 minutes

As far as how many cookies this recipe makes- it depends on how big you make your cookies. I got 16 cookies out of it when I made it this evening.

Happy baking!

Read, then eat salad

O-M-G people!! The food industry is at it once again- making people think that fruit loops and fudgesicles are healthy choices. It makes me SICK. Read this article, and you'll know what I'm talking about.

I don't understand why the concept of healthy eating is so hard for people. Eat fruit. Eat vegetables. Eat nuts. Eat seeds. Eat beans. Eat free range meat. Eat ocean caught fish. Eat organic milk and eggs. For heaven's sake people, DON'T eat fruit loops and fudgesicles! Unreal.

Why is this so hard to understand!? Who on EARTH thought it was a good idea to put 'smart choice' on a box of FRUIT LOOPS?! I can't believe that someone with their Ph.D would think that's a good idea. Hello... JUST have a bachelor's degree (rolling eyes...)... and I'M SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I don't care how you label it- natural FOOD is what you should be eating, not frankenfood. Disgusting.

Ok, stepping off of my soap box. Read the article.

FINALLY! Raw Peach Cobbler

Hi everyone! I have been wanting to make Ani's Raw Peach Cobbler for for-ev-er... and the day is finally here!! WOOHOO!!

Does this look YUM-O or what?!





I snuck a little taste, and boy oh boy... this is some good stuff. Here's the SUPER EASY recipe-

Crust/Topping:
1/2 C shelled pistachios (I used a mix of almonds and walnuts instead)
1 C pitted dates
1/4 t sea salt

Glaze:
3 T agave nectar
1 vanilla bean (I used 2 cap fulls of vanilla extract)

4 peaches, sliced

In a food processor, process nuts into a fine powder
Add pitted dates a little at a time, until the powder turns more 'doughy'
Mix in sea salt
Put 1/2 to 3/4 of nut mixture into the bottom of a dish
Mix together peaches, agave, and vanilla in a big dish
Pour peach mixture over crust in baking dish, then top with remaining 'crust' nut mixture

I sprinkled on some cinnamon for fun. It's now in my fridge, ready to be devoured tonight! It should last a couple of days in the fridge.

There you have it folks- a SUPER EASY raw peach cobbler. Enjoy!

Tempeh Time!

Happy hump day, everyone! Last night I made Tempeh for the first time EVER.



Talk about a protein and fiber power house, no?! And hardly any sodium, no cholesterol... AND it's fermented, so, good for the insides! When I pulled it out of the package, I gave it a sniff. It kinda smelled like mushrooms and nuts, but not that strongly. It hardly had any smell at all.

Anyway, first, I cut the big patty there into smaller cubes, and steamed it for 10 min (I heard it was supposed to take away any bitterness. It did!)

Then, I boiled it for 10 min in a new sauce from TJ's that I got-



Once it had boiled, I topped some rice and veggies I had prepared with the Tempeh and extra sauce.

Ta-Da!!



And the verdict? Well... Brenton hardly ate any of it. Hahaha. I, on the other hand, liked it pretty well!! I ate almost all of it. Brenton said he would have liked it better with freshly steamed veggies (not frozen), or a different sauce. I agree with the sauce thing- it was good, but not flavorful enough (it needed salt, garlic.... something). These would be really good crumbled up in a BBQ sauce like a sloppy joe. That'll be my next experiment.

Go out and try Tempeh. I'll definitely buy it again, but not prepare it quite this way if I want Brenton to eat it. Oh, and the package was only $1.69 at TJ's. NICE!

Have a happy Wednesday! Namaste.

Raw Meatballs!!!!!

Good morning! Just a quickie good-day to you all... guess what I'm making?! RAW MEATBALLS!!!!!


They'll be done in 6-ish hours.... and I'm so excited to try them!



They look delish, no?! Yeah they're gonna be GOOOOOOD (I tasted the mixture already...)!
Check out the youtube video!!

Check out their website, too-- these two are the funniest happiest people ever.

GO BUCKS! I'm off to teach!

It's Been A While!

Hi everyone! Sorry it has taken me FOR-EV-ER to post! What a busy busy week it's been. Tonight I tried a new made-up-ish recipe- Lentil Pita Tacos!

I cooked lentils as the package directed (1/2 C), and at the end stirred in a heaping T of cumin, few dashes of Franks Red Hot Sauce, Salt, and Garlic Pepper to taste. Then, I stuffed it in a Whole Wheat pita with tomato slices, onion slices, mushroom slices, mashed avocado, salsa, and a little bit of cheese. OMG HOLY YUM BATMAN!! This was SOOOO GOOD!! It sounds weird, but the seasoned lentils really tasted like taco meat! I'll definitely make this again. It was SO EASY.



Tomorrow is almost TGIF day!! Make it a good one! Namaste.

Apple Sandwich

Good evening! I wanted to share a yummy sandwich recipe I made for lunch today!

Apple Sandwich (serves 1)

Ingredients:
1 Small Organic Apple, thinly sliced
1/2 Whole Wheat Pita
2T Almond Butter
1 t Cinnamon
1 t Honey

Cut Pita in half and open into a pocket
Spread Almond Butter on both sides of pita
Layer in thin Apple slices on top of Almond Butter
Sprinkle Apples with Cinnamon and drizzle Honey

I LOVE THIS SANDWICH! IT'S SOOOO GOOD!!!

Where did I forget?

Good evening bloggies. Today was a rough day. Since yesterday I have had this dull stomach ache that comes and goes... and comes more readily when I get stressed about something. And mostly it has been self-induced stress- thinking about the possibility of stressful things, rather than reactive stress. It's amazing what the mind can do to you. I've suffered from anxiety since I was very very young (pre-elementary school), and managing it has always been a challenge. I ended up coming home from work early today on account of un-welcomed...reactions. I did some progressive relaxation, napped, took a hot bath... and all the while I began thinking "where did I forget?" Forget what, you ask? To ask for healing. So, through tears streaming down my face, I asked for help from God, my Angels, and my Spirit Guide. Help, healing, and peace. As I sit here and type this to you, I eat rice and toasted pita with peanut butter. I'm able to eat, and am beginning to feel better.

Where along the way did I forget? What brought around my reminder was a comment on my facebook. A friend of mine said "I'm praying for you". When did I get so self-absorbed that I forgot that I could and should ask for help?

Here's hoping that tomorrow will be a better day. With the encouragement and peace now feel, I'm sure it will be.