Coco Jack

New Coconut Tool:

I'm just going to park this here.  This looks like an easier way to open young coconuts:

Coco Jack

Life Happens

A little more than two years ago, my family experienced some setbacks.  These types of things can happen to anyone, whether it is a financial setback, a career setback, health setback, relationship setback, or whatever.  In our case, we experienced a few of them.

I remained in favor of the raw food lifestyle, but it was necessary to put more time and energy into other things, leaving less time and energy for this blog and a daily commitment to the raw food lifestyle.  We still juiced regularly and consumed green smoothies, salads, and energy soups, but I found that gradually, more and more processed foods crept into our diets.

As one might predict, my husband and I experienced health setbacks as a result, which complicated matters further.  But we put our heads down, worked hard toward some goals, and we continue to move forward.

My current food lifestyle goal is 90% plant-based, and 10% random.  The random basically means that if I eat something that isn't plant based, I don't put stress and energy into worrying about it.  Usually this happens in social situations.  I've noticed that often, whenever a person asserts that they are vegan when dining out with friends, someone in the group starts  proclaiming their commitment to eating meat.  To be completely honest, I'm weary of the social pressure.  Society is gradually becoming more accepting and supportive of different food lifestyles, but I still encounter occasional veiled hostility.  Whenever that happens, I don't engage like I used to.  Sometimes I might explain my position if the person is a friend who seems interested, but if I sense hostility, I don't pontificate, and I don't defend.  I just step back.

I've noticed I prefer more raw plant based foods in summer, and more cooked in winter.  Cooked rice, lentils, quinoa sweet potatoes, and beans are favorites in winter.  Salads, cool energy soups and cold green smoothies prevail in summer.

When in a social situation and the food choices are more random, I try to choose more whole and plant-based foods whenever possible.

I've noticed over the years that many people who were exclusively raw have either changed their diets to include cooked or paleo foods, or have stopped blogging altogether.  My goal is to get back into a routine of optimal nutrition.  That may be different for each family member.  Personally, my health is always at its best when my diet is 100% plant based and high raw, as long as I consume enough of the right nutrients, such as healthy fats, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

To follow is a quick list of the raw food blogs that I still like to read on a regular basis.  They are updated regularly and continue to inspire me.

http://nouveauraw.com/
http://www.rawmazing.com/
http://www.rawon10.com/
http://www.therawtarian.com/
http://www.rawguru.com/raw-food-blog/
http://news.therawfoodworld.com/topics/blog/

How To Make Magic Green Smoothie Art

Recently I fell into a way of making little designs on the surface of our green smoothies.

We aren't 100% raw right now.  We've been busy and we are more like 30 to 50% raw.  As a friend said so well recently, things go in cycles sometimes.  Right now I have so many other things going on that it's hard to be high-raw every day.  I'm sure we'll go back to being fully raw for a while sometime, but I like being flexible.  To each his own.

No matter how much raw food we eat, the green smoothie habit has stayed with us.

I've been filling 3 quart jars every morning.  It involves filling 2 Vitamix pitchers at least 3/4 full to make enough smoothie to fill 3 jars.

So I make one pitcher of smoothie of one color, (usually green or purple) and fill all 3 jars about half-full.  Then I make another pitcher of smoothie in a contrasting color and pour it into the center of each jar.  I find that if I get the smoothie just the right consistency, the first color rises up the sides of the jar, while the second color forms a blob in the middle.  If you want a purple smoothie with a green leaf on top, pour the purple first.  If you want a green smoothie with a purple heart on top, pour the green smoothie first.

By pulling the end of a spoon through the "blob" all sorts of interesting patterns can be made.  I've made hearts, leaves, apples, bunches of grapes, and yin-yang symbols.  Just use your imagination to try to see what the blob already sort of looks like, and then see what happens when you pull a table knife or spoon handle through it.

If you don't want your design messed up by bubbles in the smoothie, gently tap the bottom of the jar on a surface and be patient.  Most of the bubbles will dissipate in a minute or two.  Often, we are too thirsty to wait.

Here are the approximate proportions.  You can do it any way you like.  In order to make the designs, you want the right consistency, and two bright, contrasting colors of smoothie.  Basically you want about half of it fresh and half of it frozen, with a good balance of juicy and fleshy fruits.  If it's too thin and runny, it will just mix together when you pour it, and then it will turn out looking like a swirl in the glass, with no center blob to play with.  If it's too thick, which happens sometimes when too much frozen fruit is added in proportion to the fresh fruit, one layer will lay on top of the other, it won't form a "blob" in the center, and the texture will be more like a sorbet than a smoothie.

Green half:

about one half of a fresh pineapple, husk removed
about 3 oranges, peeled, with seeds and most of the pith removed
(or three large peaches, pits removed, or a cucumber)
about 3 cups of frozen baby kale or other greens, (such as spinach, chard, dandelion greens, etc.,) crushed
3 frozen bananas

Chop the fruit and blend it in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy. 

Purple half:

about a pint and a half of of strawberries,  or purple, red or black grapes, or plums with the pits removed.  (Basically you want about a half a blender of chopped purple fruit.)
about 3 cups of frozen baby kale or other greens, crushed
about 3 to 4 cups of frozen blue berries, cherries, and/or raspberries

Chop the fruit and blend in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy

German Chocolate Cake For My Husband's Birthday Dinner

My husband's favorite type of cake is German chocolate, so I made him a raw one for his birthday.  I found the recipe here. 

I didn't use the Irish moss paste, so it didn't come out light and fluffy, but my husband didn't mind.  It was necessary to make a double batch of date paste in order to finish the recipe, and then we had a good amount of date paste left over, which was excellent in oat and nut mylks.

Instead of spring-form, I used a silicone cake pan, which worked just as well for easy un-molding.  Possibly because I didn't use Irish moss, it was a dense cake.  What I found worked was to make the layers by dividing the "cake batter" into three portions, then making each one into a ball, flattening it into a thick, level cake, using the pan as a guide.  Once each layer has been made, it was gently placed in the pan and frosted.  Because the cake batter was so dense, it wouldn't be possible to smash it into a layer shape without pressing too hard on the frosted layer below.  The top layer rose above the lip of the pan, but it didn't matter, because it had been shaped before placing it on the cake.

It was a lot of work but everyone loved it.  I would definitely do it again. 

For his birthday dinner, he also chose this Raw Sesame Vegetable Stir Fry with Celeriac Garlic Rice.  Or you can find it published here.  I'm sorry we didn't take pictures.  We ate it before we could get the camera out.  Celeriac makes an unusual but extremely tasty "rice."  This one will also be a dinnertime staple.

My birthday is coming up, and I'm asking for a raw Indian meal and this cake.


I'll let you know how it goes.

Cook These Vegetables if you have Hypothyroidism

In this article, Debbie Whitaker states that certain vegetables contain a group of chemicals  called goitrogens which may trigger hypothyroidism in certain people.  These chemicals are  partially deactivated by cooking the vegetable.  These vegetables are "Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cassava root, horseradish, kale, millet, mustard, mustard greens, peaches, pears, radishes, rutabagas, soybeans, spinach, and turnips."  Apparently raw peanuts are another culprit.

The author is not saying that eating raw vegetables will cause hypothyroidism.  She's saying that if you have it or are at risk of having it, a specific diet can help.

I wonder if fermenting or pickling would deactivate the goitrogens in these foods?  It seems that while 100% raw  is wonderful for those who benefit from it, each person should customize their optimal diet according to their unique needs.

Energy Soup, Chili Style

A little while ago, I shared a recipe for an Italian-style energy soup.

Recently I was striving to stay 100% raw on juice, smoothies and energy soup, and one of my teenagers was into chili.  I wanted something that tasted like chili without going off my diet, so I made a chili-flavored energy soup, using the aforementioned Italian energy soup as a starting place.  It hit the spot.

Here's the recipe:


12 roma tomatoes
4 cups spinach
1  apple
8 oz sunflower sprouts
1 lb mushrooms
juice of one lemon
1/2 sweet onion,
4 small cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 tbsp cumin2 tsp oregano
2 avocado1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp kelp flakes
4 tbsp lecithin granules

1-2 quarts green juice
made from celery, mixed greens, (spinach, kale, chard) cucumbers, beets with tops, cilantro, parsley, lime, ginger, carrots, apples

Blend all ingredients, adding just enough green juice to reach the desired consistency.  Adjust the seasoning to your taste.

If more texture is wanted,it might be a good idea to stir in some chia seeds and chopped tomato after blending.

Next, how about a curry-flavored energy soup?

Italian Energy Soup

There are several versions of Energy Soup to be found.  The main idea is that it is like a green smoothie, with the exception that it is creamy and savory and eaten like a soup.  Once you know how to make energy soup, it's simple to put together and can be adjusted to suit your individual tastes and needs.

What do you do if you've been cleansing on green juice and smoothies, and you are dying for something savory and satisfying with an Italian flavor?  One option is to blend up a version of Energy Soup with tomatoes, basil and garlic!   It's as flavorful and satisfying as a plate spaghetti, without the pasta.  Note:  Since not everyone can have garlic and onions while on a cleanse, it might be a good idea to ask before serving this.

8 roma tomatoes
1 small shallot
4 small cloves garlic
4 ribs bok choy
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 small apple
4 oz alfalfa sprouts
1 red pepper
1/2 lb button mushrooms
juice of one lemon
2 avocado
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp kelp flakes
4 tbsp lecithin granules

1-2 quarts green juice
made from celery, mixed greens, (spinach, kale, chard) cucumbers, beets with tops, cilantro, parsley, lime, ginger, carrots, apples


Rough chop the first 8 ingredients.  Puree a few of the tomatoes, then add the shallot, sprouts and garlic.  Blend until very smooth.  Next, alternate the tomatoes with the remaining veggies, and continue to liquify.  If more liquid is needed, add some of green juice.  Be careful not to add too many tomatoes or too much liquid all at once, in order to give the blender a chance to liquify the small bits of vegetable matter.  It must be as smooth as possible. 

Next add the lemon, avocado, nutritional yeast, kelp flakes and lecithin granules.  Blend.

Transfer to a large bowl, (I use a two gallon Anchor Hocking jar, which I lovingly refer to as the family juice vat,) then stir in the desired amount of green juice.  Adjust for taste.

I find that if the flavor isn't right, it's easy to pour a few cups of the mixture back into the blender, add additional ingredients, blend, and stir it back into the bowl or container.

A Response To "Don't Throw The Baby Out With The Bathwater"

This article on the Daily Raw Inspiration had me vigorously nodding YES!

You don't have to give up being raw just because you got a little derailed!  More and more raw food personalities are stepping up and saying it's okay if you aren't 100% raw and vegan, 100% of the time.  Some are even admitting that they occasionally eat cooked food.

I feel rather impassioned about this because when I first discovered raw food, I was under the impression that being raw meant being at least "high raw" all the time.  Every day.  Forever. Sort of like a life sentence.  I encounter non-raw people all the time who think that being raw means I eat a weird diet and can't eat with them without the experience being awkward for everyone.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

There are people in the world of raw food who feel that you can't really call yourself a raw food enthusiast unless you live the raw lifestyle 100% of the time, every day.  I disagree with that.  It makes me sad when people who enjoy raw food feel like they have to completely "leave" the movement because they've found they have to make some adjustments to their diet.

For foodies, the obstacle to being 100% raw might be about experiences.  If a new restaurant, recipe, cuisine or food trend  looks intriguing, it might be hard to think that we will never have that experience because it isn't raw or vegan.  Never eat a freshly baked croissant while in a Paris cafe?  Never eat beignets in New Orleans?  For some, this is unthinkable.  True, there are raw adaptations of every type of food, and true, many raw food enthusiasts think that raw gourmet foods rival that of gourmet cooked foods.  Some of us think that raw food tastes far better than cooked food.  Generally speaking, I tend to agree.  Still, for some, the very thought of a food being "off-limits" will make it more appealing.  So, go ahead.  Eat some cooked food if you want to.  You can go back to raw, again and again. 

There is a saying, "When in Rome. . . "  Some raw foodists think it's fine to make an occasional exception and eat the local cuisine while traveling, avoiding only specific foods.  Other raw foodists cannot eat anything that isn't on their diet without severe health consequences.  Each person should decide this for himself.

For some people, family and social occasions can be tricky.  John Kohler, whom I admire, posted a video a while back about how he goes to wedding receptions.  He eats raw, participates in the occasion, and does all this without anyone noticing that he isn't eating exactly the same thing as everyone else.  However, I think most raw people understand that this isn't for everyone.  In my case, it's often not doable.  Sometimes, it's all I can do to make sure my sons leave the house with clean shirts and tied shoes, without packing a cooler of raw food too.  Despite the rumors, I do not have superpowers.  So when I go to wedding receptions, parties and the like, my family and I often eat what is being served, unless we know that the food will cause distress.  Recently, a friend who happens to be an amazing cook said, "I would invite you over and cook for you, but I don't do raw food."  I replied, "That's why we aren't 100% raw!"  Because, seriously, I love my friends and I won't let a little thing like food come between us. 

Time is another thing that can derail raw foodists.  If a person is on a crazily busy schedule, and isn't in circumstances where raw food is easily accessible, it can seem practical to just grab what everyone else is eating.  It's called convenience food for a reason.  Of course, convenience food is usually not healthy, unless it's a piece of fruit or a carrot.

For some it might be challenging to maintain a raw lifestyle for very long without becoming deficient in some type of nutrient.  If they take the time to carefully analyze their nutrition intake and research which foods contain the nutrients they need, they can learn to maintain a raw lifestyle indefinitely.  Being 100% raw and healthy definitely takes time and commitment.  Sorry if this is controversial, but I don't agree with the folks who claim that as long as you eat plenty of fruits and veggies with a small amount of nuts and seeds, you'll naturally get everything you need without having to think about it.  In my opinion, this is true of a short-term raw food lifestyle such as a two or three week cleanse, but in the long term, some nutritional analysis is a safer bet.  And no, the potential concern is not from insufficient protein, but from vitamins B12 and D, minerals zinc, selenium, and iron, and the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA.

During those times when time is tight, if you can, I recommend taking advantage of the support and assistance available from the raw food community.  Eat at your local raw restaurant.  Hire a raw chef.  Sign up for a healthy meal plan, so that all you have to do is shop and prepare, with all of the nutritional research done for you.

Another thing that can derail a raw lifestyle is cost.  Not all of us can afford a raw meal service from a local raw chef.  But there are many things that we can do.  We can join fresh produce co-ops, we can buy certain conventional produce rather than organic when we have to, we can grow some of our own food, and we can skip highly priced gourmet super foods.  It is possible to be raw without eating goji berries and pine nuts.

If you have a weak moment and eat the nachos at a party, or if you just can't bear to say "no" and resist the offer of freshly baked cookies in church, it's okay.  You can be raw one meal a week, or one meal a day, or every day but Saturday, or raw in summer and cooked in winter, or 99% raw with occasional exceptions, or mostly cooked with periodic raw cleanses, or 100% raw with no exceptions for the rest of your life.  Bottom line:  If you want, you can have the best of both worlds, raw and cooked. Whatever works for you.  Go for it!

Remember, it's not healthy to feel guilty and dwell on those non-raw moments.  Just take in the nutrition you need, do your best to avoid the foods that are harmful to your body, love yourself wherever you are in your process, and above all:  BE HEALTHY! 

Raw Tapas!

Raw appetizers can be healthy, appealing and delicious.  The last Raw Food Prep Class at the Go Raw Cafe was all about creating mock versions of well-loved finger foods.  Oranges, mushrooms, zucchini and dates were hollowed and filled.  The oranges were filled with a fruity gazpacho- like cold soup.  The mushrooms were piled high with a savory almond pate.  The zucchini was hollowed and filled with a creamy cashew and tomato cheese sauce.  Dates were stuffed with young Thai coconut flesh which was seasoned with smoked paprika and Bragg's Liquid Aminos, reminiscent of bacon.

clockwise from bottom left:  Cheezy Pate Zucchini Cups,  Chilled Orange Cranberry Zester, Po-Bakinz Stuffed Dates, and Stuffed Bellas

The only thing that wasn't stuffed was dessert.  It was a base of raw chocolate, layered with a delicious vanilla cashew cream and topped with a sweet black cherry.  It might not have been stuffed, but it was so delicious that it literally made my eyes roll back in my head.

Dessert:Dark Chocolate Cherry Cordials

The moral of the story:  If you'd like to make your raw food a bit more festive, stuff it!

How To Be Well-Nourished Without Eating Meat

This raw vegan meal by Chef Areeya at the Go Raw Café contains plenty of protein.

Note:  This contains an edit to the original post.  I had said that there are 12 conditionally essential amino acids.  That was an error.  I meant to say that there are 12 nonessential amino acids that we normally produce in our bodies, 8 of which are conditionally essential, meaning that we don't produce them under certain circumstances such as stress or illness.  I'll write more on that in a future post, because it's important.

People who have been vegan or raw vegan for many years may not be able to relate to this.  But for some people who are striving to live a raw vegan lifestyle, every so often it may be tempting to walk on over to the paleo side and take a bite of flesh.

I don't believe in judging people for their food choices. If it works for you, great.  Each of us make a choice with every bite.  If you recently switched from a meat-centered diet to a mostly high-raw plant based diet, and now you only eat meat once a month when the moon is full, that's still a huge improvement, right?  I think so.   Going from eating meat one to three times daily to eating it rarely, IS an improvement.

But what if you want to be 100% meat-free?  And what if, despite your best efforts, you are struggling?  What if you are genuinely concerned about consuming adequate nutrition on a plant-based diet?

Please keep in mind that I am not an expert, a scientist, a doctor, a nutritionist, or a raw vegan guru, and nothing I write here should be construed as medical advice. But in the interest of improving my own diet, I have looked into this, and I'd like to share what I have found.

First off, why on earth would you want to be meat-free?  If you are reading this blog you probably already know, but let's run over a quick summary of the reasons:

Health benefits:  People who go meat-free live longer and experience fewer incidents of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Environmental benefits:  The production of meat for food is an inefficient use of resources.    Instead of growing food to feed humans, the meat industry has to grow food to feed cows to feed humans.  By eliminating or even decreasing meat consumption, we can decrease our carbon footprint, reduce carbon emissions, reduce water consumption and reduce fossil fuel consumption.

Kindness and compassion:  In the majority of cases, animals which are raised to be sold for food are thought of as property and inventory, and are not thought of as sentient beings with feelings. It would cost a great deal of money to consider their quality of life as they are fattened and their comfort as they die, and this would directly impact profit margins.  For these reasons, animals which are raised for food tend to suffer.  This is a fact.  You don't have to be an animal rights activist to care whether your diet results in suffering, especially when it's unnecessary and high-quality nutrition can come from other sources.

I believe that sometimes when we have a craving for a certain type of food, it's because we need the nutrients found in that food.  This is disputed and many people disagree with this, but in my personal experience this is true.  It could also be a nostalgic or comfort feeling for a type of food, or the feeling of satiation associated with the food.  However, I find that when I consume the necessary nutrition, the craving goes away.  So first, let's take a closer look at the nutrients found in red meat, and which vegan sources contain the same nutrition.

Let's talk about the first obvious nutrient found in meat:  protein.  Here's the truth about protein:  It isn't necessary.  A lot of people dispute this, but it's true.  People think they NEED protein, but the truth is, they do not.  Before you decide I'm completely full of it, let me explain:  Technically, we need amino acids.  To be exact, we need exactly 9 essential amino acids, which are deemed essential because they cannot be manufactured by the body.  We also sometimes need 8 additional conditionally essential amino acids, meaning normally you produce them in your body with the foods you eat, and you only need to consume them in food if you are sick, under stress, or if you are a young person who is still developing.  You may remember learning in school that amino acids are the building blocks of protein.  Here is a fact:  ALL of these essential and conditionally essential amino acids are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds and nuts! 

In infants and toddlers, arginine, glutamine, glycine, proline, taurine and tyrosine are essential because they do not yet make them in their bodies.    Fortunately, an infant can obtain all necessary nutrients from breast milk.  The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to six months of age and breastfeeding with appropriate complimentary foods up to age two and beyond.

When we eat animal protein, it is broken down by the body and turned into amino acids, which is a great deal of extra work.  It is much easier to assimilate the amino acids found in plant based foods.  The trick is to eat them in the right combinations, to get the full range.

One of the amino acids found in meat protein is called creatine.  Muscles are made partly of creatine, which is why it's a popular supplement with body builders.  It's not considered essential or conditionally essential because our bodies manufacture muscle with amino acids.  Seriously, if our body could not manufacture muscle tissue we would be in serious trouble, right?  We make creatine in our bodies, out of glycine, arginine, and methionine.  Glycine and arginine are conditionally essential, and L-methionine is essential.  Avocados, oats, and wheat germ contain glycine.  All nuts, seeds, berries and whole grains contain arginine, as well as all vegetables except celery and turnips.  Eggplant, strawberries, tomatoes, pineapple and coconut also contain this amino acid.  Methionine is found in a wide range of fruits and vegetables, and it is found in all nuts except Brazil nuts and in all grains, especially corn.

Another popular component found in meat, carnosine, is found in muscle tissue.  It's a dipeptide, which means it's a compound made of two linked amino acids, histidine and alanine. Alananine is found in nuts, seeds and whole grains, and histidine is found in beans, nuts and seeds, and in a wide range of  vegetables.  Histidine is essential, and alanine is nonessential.

So, the point is, you don't need protein.  You need amino acids.  Your body is unique, so depending on your lifestyle, stress levels, and other factors your needs may differ.  However, most people can take in adequate amino acids if they simply consume a wide range of fruits and vegetables each day, and a small quantity, perhaps a handful, of nuts and seeds.

Another nutrient we absolutely must have for our bodies to function normally are the Omega 3 (alpha-linolenic acid,) and Omega 6 fatty acids, (linoleic acid.)  We make cholesterol and fat in our bodies, but not these.  To be healthy, we need them to be in balance.  Because Omega 6 tends to be more common in most diets, the one that normally needs supplementation is Omega 3.  Walnuts, hemp, spirulina,  chia seeds, flaxseeds, collards and cabbage  contain alpha-linolenic acid, (ALA) which is an Omega 3 fatty acid that the body can convert to the other Omega 3s, which are also known as EPA and DHA.  EPA and DHA are found in marine life, but our body also makes it from ALA.  If one wishes to maintain a plant based diet, it's important to consume a small quantity of spirulina, hemp, walnuts, flaxseeds, flax oil, chia seeds, or some other food containing ALA each day.  Keep in mind that whole flaxseeds will pass through the body undigested.  Grind them in a high speed blender or coffee grinder before eating them.  Freshly ground flaxseed is delicious on salads, blended into smoothies or nut milks, and it makes delicious crackers, cookies and breads.  Nuts and seeds are a good source of omega 6, but many nuts and seeds tend to contain many times more omega 6 than omega 3.  This is why it's a good idea to eat foods that are higher in Omega 3 than Omega 6, to balance it out. 

In order to convert ALA into EPA and DHA, your body needs to put the ALA through a chemical reaction using the enzyme delta-6 desaturase.  In order for this enzyme to work optimally, your body needs vitamins B6, (pyridoxine) B3, (niacin) C, and the minerals magnesium and zinc.

Vitamin B6 is found in many vegetables, nuts and seeds.  Sunflower seeds, cashews, hazelnuts, spinach, bell peppers, peas and broccoli are especially rich in B6.

Beets, mushrooms, peas, avocado and sunflower seeds are rich in B3, otherwise known as niacin.  Not only do we need niacin to convert ALA into omegas, but it's a nutrient found in red meat, so it's important to get it from other sources if one is on a meat-free diet.

The other vitamins and minerals needed in the body for processing AlA are vitamin C, Magnesium, and zinc.  If you are deficient in these nutrients, your body may not be able to process the ALA from the flax seeds into Omega 3.  Vitamin C, of course is found in citrus fruits, but it's also found in bell peppers, broccoli, strawberries and kale.  Magnesium is in dark green leafy vegetables, cacao, avocado, banana, and nuts and seeds.   Zinc is in cacao, pumpkin seeds, mushrooms and spinach.

A tricky nutrient that omnivores obtain from meat is vitamin B12.  Before people understood B12 deficiency, some people grew very sick and died from it.  Some people claim that indigenous and early people probably got some of their B12 from the bacteria in soil getting into their food, and modern food preparation techniques have changed that.  We don't need much B12, but deficiency can cause serious nervous system damage.  I have seen some claims by people who have been 100% vegan for several years without supplementing this nutrient and without ill effects, but most nutritionists would not recommend it.  There is some speculation that some people may have bacteria in the gut that produces B12, however this bacteria is produced in the ileum and is not absorbed by the body.  Therefore, it's very important that vegans take a B12 supplement.  One terrific source of B12 is nutritional yeast.  Nutritional yeast has a flavor reminiscent of cheese, and is delicious sprinkled on salads, pizzas and casseroles, and adds a delicious flavor to salad dressings, sauces and dips.  About 2 tablespoons per day of fortified nutritional yeast provides an adequate source of B12.  Also, it's an inactive yeast, so those on a yeast-free diet should be able to enjoy it.  Make sure that you check the label when purchasing nutritional yeast to ensure that it contains B12.

Another source of B12 is supplementation in tablet form.   The best type of tablet is said to be sublingual, meaning that it dissolves under the tongue and is more readily absorbed by the body.  Vegans use B12 supplements made from methylcobalamin, which comes from bacteria rather than animal flesh.

My thinking on this is that B12 deficiency can be such a problem that it shouldn't be taken lightly.  I suggest incorporating nutritional yeast in the diet AND supplementing.  A person can't overdose on B12 since the excess is simply flushed out of the body.  It is possible for a vegan to become deficient however, and it's also possible to miss the signs of deficiency until after health consequences are experienced.

I recommend not only supplementing but make sure that your supplement is made by a reputable vitamin manufacturer that regularly has it's product tested for quality and efficacy by a third party testing lab.  Vitamins that are tested by a third party lab will typically have a seal on the label that can be verified by the testing lab.  In other words, don't just buy the lowest priced vitamin B12 supplement you can find, but one made by a company that places a high value on quality.  Because supplements are not regulated by the FDA, as many as 25% of the supplements tested may not actually contain the amount of nutrient stated on the label, and may be adulterated with additional ingredients that you do not want.  For this reason it's important to purchase a reliable, tested brand of vitamin.

While we are on the subject of supplementation, another vitamin to consider is D. The only unprocessed, raw, plant food source of vitamin D that I am aware of is mushrooms, if they are treated with UVB rays.  We do manufacture vitamin D with our bodies when we are exposed to the sun, but you need at least ten minutes a day of strong exposure on the arms and legs.  As everyone knows, too much sunlight can cause skin cancer.  A diet rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients will provide some limited protection to the skin from sun exposure.  However for many raw vegans, it might seem easier to simply take a supplement.  Again, it's a good idea to research the product to ensure that it has been independently lab tested and certified that it contains the ingredients advertized.

Two additional B vitamins which are found in meat are thiamin, which is B1,  and riboflavin which is B2.  Thiamin is found in sesame seeds and tahini, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, pecans, and macadamias.  Riboflavin is found in almonds, spinach, peas and crimini mushrooms.

Another chemical found in meat is called alpha-lipoic acid.  Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant which is produced in the body.  Vegan sources of this nutrient include spinach and broccoli.

The last three nutrients which are found in meat that I would like to mention are iron, zinc, and phosphorus.  Spinach, broccoli, and bok choy are rich in iron.  In a vegan diet, iron absorption is increased by eating iron rich foods with foods containing vitamin C.  Zinc is found in almonds, cashews, pecans and sunflower seeds.  Phosphorus is found in broccoli, sunflower seeds, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews and garlic.

In conclusion, if you are trying to reduce or eliminate your consumption of animal proteins, whatever the reason,  include the following foods in your diet:  a wide range of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, (especially flax, walnuts, chia seeds and hemp,) berries, a wide range of greens, including collards, bok choy,and spinach, spirulina, cacao, pineapple, coconut, eggplant, broccoli, avocado, beets, bell peppers, peas, mushrooms, and corn.  Make sure to include nutritional yeast and/or B12 supplementation and consider taking vitamin D.  Oats are an excellent source of nourishment, and they can be found organic, whole and raw.  If you are gluten intolerant, oats can be found that are certified gluten-free.

For more information regarding which plant foods contain essential amino acids and other nutrients, the book, "Rawsome!" by Brigitte Mars, contains a section in the back that lists the important nutrients and which foods contain them.  The front of the book contains an encyclopedia of plants foods commonly found in a raw diet, and the benefits of each food along with the nutrients each food contains.

For more information on getting enough nutrition as a bodybuilder on a raw vegan diet, look into "How To Build Muscle On A Raw Food Diet" by Peter Ragnar.

A Different Kind of Thanksgiving

Menu from Chef Areeya's Go Raw Holiday Prep Class at the Go Raw Cafe, clockwise from bottom left: Spiced Pumpkin Bisque, Gramm's Pecan Dressing, Cashew Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, Split Vanilla Cheesecake Pumpkin Torte, Savory Sage Drumettes, Cranberries with Pineapple 

In the past, I was a maniac at Thanksgiving.  In my view, a Thanksgiving feast was not a success unless it was spectacular.  One of my rules was that there had to be at least two kinds of everything:  two kinds of roast meat, (like turkey AND ham,) two kinds of potatoes, bread, vegetables, salad, pie, etc.  Each year, there was so much food that the table was arranged carefully to use every square inch of space.  I often did most of work myself.  After the meal, the kitchen cleanup job was huge, and for many years I didn't ask for help with that, either.

Of course, everyone ate until they couldn't eat another bite, and then they spent the rest of the day resting.

Last year, we did things differently.  For the first time, I tried spreading out the feast over several days.  Much of what I served was raw, with a few cooked items to please certain family members.  It seemed to work out pretty well.

This year, we did it that way again.  I recruited family members to help with most of the food prep and cleanup.  We broke up our typical meal routine with more festive holiday dishes.  I asked my son which cooked dishes were essential to making it a "real Thanksgiving" for him, and only cooked those.

Many raw food recipes are best served right away.  Depending on ingredients, often the leftovers will not keep longer than two or three days.  For this reason, we aren't following the pattern of serving one huge meal and then eating the leftovers for the next week.  Instead, we are trying several different seasonal recipes over the four-day family holiday.  For example, for lunch today, we had a raw pumpkin-coconut nog smoothie, made with organic sugar pie pumpkin, young Thai coconuts, dates and pumpkin pie spice.

Another thing I did differently this year was that I didn't start planning several weeks in advance, and I didn't create an ironclad menu.  I just made sure that we had plenty of the ingredients we would need, and a general idea of which recipes we would make.  At one point, when we ran out of a staple ingredient, I considered going out to find a store that was open on Thanksgiving but decided against it.  Instead, we made something that didn't require that ingredient.  It was rather liberating.

So for us, Thanksgiving holiday was simple and easy, and yet, it's lasting the entire four days instead of one.  For some reason, it's easier for me to be thankful when the meal is smaller, lighter and simpler,  and I have more time to enjoy it.  Thanksgiving is really about spending time with family.



It does help to have some raw snacks on hand for Thanksgiving Day.  Clockwise from bottom left:  Pumpkin Pie Cookies, Magical Kale Chips, and Sprouted Buckwheat Bars

I hope that everyone who reads this had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you have a wonderful holiday season.  I'm heading back into the kitchen to whip up some more raw holiday deliciousness.  Raw Green Bean Casserole, anyone?

Here are a few links to some of my favorite holiday recipes:

Marinated Mushrooms and Mashed Rosemary Cauliflower over at Rawmazing

A whole selection of raw holiday recipes at Pretty Smart Raw Food ideas

My husband really loves the poultry seasoning flavor of the Save The Turkey Portobello Mushroom recipe over at Mimi Kirk's Young On Raw Food.

Fully Raw Kristina offers a delicious recipe for Pumpkin Pie Brownies

To keep people happy while the dehydrator is running, some terrific snacks are:  No Bake Pumpkin Pie Cookies, Magical Kale Chips, and Raw Sprouted Buckwheat Bars.

Pumpkin Guts Smoothie and Two Soups

Yesterday, I found myself contemplating a pile of dinner veggies on the kitchen counter.  The goal was to get the veggies into my family in a way that they might enjoy.

Lately when people ask me to explain raw food, I tend to say something like:  Imagine a big bowl or basket of all the healthy veggies, greens, herbs, fruits, seeds and nuts that you know are good for you.  Nothing processed or packaged is in that bowl.  And then imagine eating it - the whole great big bowl of it.  Now, imagine different ways of prepping it, everything from fancy and gourmet to quick and simple.  Imagine sometimes using small amounts of selected enhancements, like spices, healthier sweeteners, fermented flavorings, minimally processed olive or coconut oils and other additives to help pop the flavors and make it taste a bit more like cooked food.  But the mainstay of your diet is fresh, raw, unprocessed plant foods.

For me, that's basically raw food in a nutshell.  And that's how I found myself staring at a pile of veggies on the counter, trying to figure out what to do with them. 

I've been loading TONS of raw food recipes into my Pepperplate account, and going to Chef Areeya's wonderful raw food prep classes every month.  I've started to internalize a few things, because I just put this raw chowder together without a recipe.  Was it inspired by Chef Areeya's "Orleans-style Dirty (cauliflower) Rice," and her "New England style Chowder?"  Probably.  My family loved it.  My husband suggested that it's a keeper, so I wrote it down.

This recipe is very quick.  If you have a food processor, the veggies can be prepped in minutes, not counting dehydrator time.  The cream base is quick, too.  It's one of those rare instances when it took us longer to eat it than it took me to make it.

As always, if you don't like the additives used for flavor, (like the miso or Braggs,) you can probably get by without it or find a substitution that works better for you.

This recipe can be made without any of the recommended equipment such as the dehydrator.  Your veggies just won't be wilted.  Alternately, if you place the veggies in a glass casserole dish with a clear glass lid, and place it in direct sunlight for several hours, that will do the trick.  The cream base can be made with a regular blender.  It just might not be as creamy.  It's also possible to prep all the veggies by hand with a box grater and a good knife, rather than using the food processor. 

Raw Veggie Chowder
6 - 8 generous servings

Ingredients

1/2 head red cabbage 
4 carrots  
1 red bell pepper 
3 cloves garlic 
1 head cauliflower 
3 Roma tomatoes
1/2 tsp marjoram 
1/2 tsp thyme 
2 tbsp Bragg's liquid Aminos 
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 tsp miso paste 
juice of 1/2 lime 
1 cup hemp hearts 
1/3 cup Brazil nuts 
1/3 cup nutritional yeast 
2 tsp smoked paprika 
freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 cups water, almost boiling 

Equipment:  Food processor, dehydrator, Vitamix, knife, cutting board, shallow casserole or baking dish, soup pot or tureen

Instructions

Shred the carrots and cabbage. Use the S blend on the food processor to mince the cauliflower with the garlic until it reaches a rice-like texture. Mince the red pepper. Mix the veggies together and massage with a drizzle of olive oil and Braggs Liquid Aminos and 1 teaspoon of miso paste until wilted. It should be moist but not dripping wet.  If the mixture seems too dry, the recommended amount of Bragg and olive oil can be increased slightly.  Chop the tomatoes and fold in. Add thyme and marjoram to taste and stir.

Place veggies in a shallow casserole dish and spread out in an even layer. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for several hours, until just before serving.  You can do this in in the morning and have dinner waiting when you get home in the evening.

Blend the hemp hearts and Brazil nuts with about a cup of water until smooth and creamy. Blend in the nutritional yeast and smoked paprika with another cup of water and another squirt of Bragg's Liquid Aminos.  Taste and adjust.

Bring the remaining water almost to a boil. Remove the vegetables from the casserole dish and place in a large pot, serving bowl or soup tureen. Stir in the cream sauce, then add some almost-boiling water, stirring, until desired consistency is reached. Taste and adjust flavors.  Garnish with fresh black pepper.   The soup will be warmed-through, but not cooked.

Note: Many other veggies can be used for this. Zucchini, carrot and parsnip can be made into pasta. Corn can be added, and squash. For newcomers to raw food, the texture of the cauliflower might be accepted more easily if it is blended into the nut mixture.

*******************************************************************

Our morning routine is fairly simple.  I prep some type of fruit, maybe pineapple, grapes, or apples and oranges, toss it in the Vita Mix, throw in some freshly washed greens, add a few cups of frozen berries and some bananas, and blend until creamy.  No recipe is needed.  But there's been a pumpkin taking up residence on the kitchen counter, and I've been trying to decide what to do with it. 

In years past, when we made Jack O'lanterns at Halloween, after cutting the top off the pumpkin, the next step was to scoop out the seeds and strings, otherwise known as "pumpkin guts," and toss all that into the trash.  Now of course we know better.  Pumpkin seeds are very nutritious, rich in protein, healthy fat, vitamins and minerals. 

The only thing important to know about this recipe is that when you are grinding up things like pumpkin seeds or dates, use just enough water to get the blender going and barely cover what you are blending.  Start on "slow" and gradually increase the speed.  This helps ensure that the ingredients are broken down as finely as possible.  After it's finely ground, increase the liquid.

The flavor of this smoothie came out rather interesting.  It was like a cross between apple and pumpkin pie with a bit of tangy orange.  To pump up the pumpkin flavor, toss in a few chunks of raw pumpkin when puréeing the apple.

Pumpkin Guts Smoothie 
4 Generous Servings 

Seeds and strings from a fresh pumpkin
About 4 cups pure water
3 Macintosh apples
3 navel oranges
9 pitted dates or to taste
1 /12 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Equipment:  High speed blender, knife, nut milk bag

Pre-prep:  If you want you can soak the dates 20 minutes to overnight in just enough water to cover.  This is a good idea if your dates aren't very soft.

Scoop out the "pumpkin guts"  and toss them in a Vitamix.  I found that a coconut demeater also makes an excellent pumpkin scooper because it cuts the strings from the pumpkin flesh, and the curved blade fits the inside of a pumpkin.  Add just enough water to the blender to cover the pumpkin seeds.  Blend on low speed, gradually increasing speed as the seeds grind, until it's on full speed and the mixture is finely ground.  Add another 2 cups or so of water as the machine runs, until you have a milk-like texture.  Pour the "pumpkin milk" through a fine mesh milk bag, to eliminate the grit from the ground pumpkin shells.  This step is optional but in my opinion makes a nicer smoothie.

Place the dates in the bottom of the blender and pour a bit of the milk over it, again just to cover.  If you soaked the dates, use the soaking water.  Blend until fine. Add the pumpkin pie spice.

Peel the oranges, break them into segments and add them to the blender.  Chop the apples and add them to the blender.  Start the blender on low to break down the apples and the orange, then purée.  

Now add the rest of the pumpkin milk to the top of the blender.  If there is room, you can add water or ice, depending on how thick you want the smoothie and how many people you are serving.

***************************************************************************
For tonight's dinner, we used the other half of the purple cabbage.  Again, I had some veggies and needed to figure out what to do with them.  This time, I decided to make a sort of a broth with noodles.  To make this soup, some of the veggies are divided.  Half are processed and used for mouth feel, and half are juiced to help make the broth.  According to my husband, this one is another keeper. 

Sweet Asian- Inspired Noodle Soup
4 servings

Ingredients:

1- 12 oz bag frozen white organic shoepeg corn, thawed
8 carrots, reserved
1/2 head of purple cabbage, reserved
1 large bunch celery, reserved
5 smallish or 3 medium zucchini, spiralized into noodles or cut into thin fettucine strips
3 tbsp olive oil
 3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp honey, agave nectar, or sweetener of choice
water

optional:  minced ginger, dried pepper flakes 

Equipment:  Food processor, Spiralizer or other spiral tool, juicer, dehydrator

Drain the corn and discard any liquid.  Place the corn in a shallow casserole dish.  Grate half the carrots and purple cabbage, and set the other half of the carrots and purple cabbage aside.   Add the grated carrots and purple cabbage to the corn.  Thinly slice half the celery, and set the other half aside.  Add the sliced celery to the rest of the veggies in the casserole dish, drizzle with the olive oil and massage, mixing together and softening.  Stir in the spiralized zucchini.  At this point you may wish to stir in a bit of minced ginger and some dried red pepper flakes.

Juice the garlic with the reserved carrots, cabbage and celery.  You may decide at this point to juice additional veggies for more broth.  It might be nice to juice a small piece of ginger to add to it.

Add the tamari and sweetener of your choice to the juice and pour it over the veggies in the casserole dish.

Place the casserole dish in the dehydrator on low until warmed through and flavors are intensified, or about 6-8 hours.  Just before serving, add some almost-boiling water until you like the ratio of veggies to broth, and stir.  Taste and adjust.

Arugula Kale Salad with Sweet Tart Banana Vinaigrette by Chef Areeya

clockwise from bottom left:  Herbed Crème of Celery Soup, Parmazan Zucchini Boat with Neat Bruschetta, Arugula Kale Salad with Sweet Tart Banana Vinaigrette, Vanilla Iced Banana Splits, Savory Garlic Cheez Pate with Sweet Crackers

I went home and prepared all of the dishes from the September prep class at the Go Raw Cafe.  The family enjoyed everything but they REALLY approved of the Banana Vinaigrette, and they went crazy over the Vanilla Iced Banana Splits, which were made with a coconut and cashew iced crème base, and toppings made with real fruit, raw cacao, and a coconut whipped crème.   We had the dessert after a salad one evening, and had the leftovers for breakfast several days later.  Banana splits for breakfast, YUM! 

The Vanilla Iced Banana Splits went well with algebra homework

Arugula Kale Salad with Sweet Tart Banana Vinaigrette by Chef Areeya

 

Ingredients

• For Salad

  • 8 oz. arugula
  • 15 oz. chopped kale, massaged
  • 1 cup walnuts, crushed
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced small

• For Dressing

  • 2 small ripe bananas with small brown spots, (add more to taste)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos (more to taste)
  • 1 to 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp. ground vanilla bean
  • sea salt
  • fresh black pepper

---

Instructions

• For Salad

  1. To massage kale, pick it up by the handfuls and squeeze it gently using the pads of your fingertips, letting it drop as you squeeze.  Repeat until it is reduced in volume and has a somewhat wilted appearance.  Toss salad ingredients together and set aside.

For Dressing

1. Blend dressing ingredients until smooth. A high-speed blender is recommended. Taste and adjust for a balance of banana flavor with the salty/savory flavor of the Liquid Aminos.



Chef Areeya

Nothing Cures the "Blah" Like the "Raw"

Chef Areeya's amazing feast at the Go Raw Cafe

Yesterday, I attended Chef Areeya's Go Raw Prep Class, and learned to make Herbed Cream of Celery Soup, Arugula Kale Salad with Sweet Tart Banana Vinaigrette, Savory Garlic Cheez Pate with Sweet Crackers, Parmazan Zucchini Boat with Neat Bruschetta, and Vanilla Ice Banana Split.

It was amazing, yet again.  Chef Areeya has a real talent for raw flavor.  Her next class will be October 27, at the Go Raw Cafe Westside location.  If you are a raw foodist and are in Las Vegas, I highly recommend it.   Eat lightly the morning of the class, because the raw food that Chef Areeya serves is very satisfying.  You will not leave hungry.

Recently, I've been "going off the rails" a bit with my eating habits.  It's not that we haven't been eating raw food, because we've never stopped our morning habit of green smoothies and huge fresh salads.  It's just that life is complicated, and other priorities have led to some relaxing of standards.  Also, my raw diet was a bit off-balance, as I'll describe later, and that made it harder to resist certain temptations.

As a result, I was feeling a bit "blah" and a bit disconnected when I walked into the Go Raw Cafe yesterday.  But I walked out feeling so much better!  Nothing cures the "blah" like the "raw."

Sorry.  Couldn't help it.

Anyway, it's still amazing how eating raw makes you feel better, inside and out, top to toes.

After arriving home, I saw this YouTube video of John Kohler interviewing Dr. Douglas Graham.  Dr. Graham is the author of the book, "The 80/10/10 Diet."  The video contains some very valuable advice.  The biggest thing that I took away from the video is that if half of what you eat in volume is vegetables, you will be healthier.  The video doesn't address the other half, but honestly no matter what a person's eating habits are - raw or cooked, paleo or vegan, whole or  SAD, if half of the diet is vegetables, the person will be more healthy.

As a person who came from years of eating an evening meal that consisted of a main course, a vegetable and a starch, I found this useful.   When trying very hard to transition to a plant based diet, and especially trying to be as raw as possible, that old paradigm doesn't quite work as well.  Lately I've been off-balance, eating way too much fruit in ratio to vegetables, which helped lead to the "going off the rails" problem I described above.  But I can visualize a plate that is half filled with vegetables.  That's easy.

I haven't read Dr. Graham's book yet, but after seeing this video I'd like to.  In the past I've thought that the 80/10/10 diet didn't seem right for me partly because I like to eat sprouted grains, and I read that this diet excludes those foods. However, even if I disagree with some of the opinions in the book, it's worthwhile if some of the information is useful.

Inspired by yesterday's terrific raw experiences, I've decided to set some raw goals for this week.  I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't achieve them, but will do my best.  Here they are, in no particular order:

1.   Stay on budget.

2.  Use everything before it spoils (that will help with #1)

3.  Drink LOTS of water.  (The water bottle will never be empty)

4.  Strive for 50% vegetables by volume in our meals.

5.  Make at least one healthy raw treat for the kids.  Even if it's fudge or cookies and loaded with dates, if it's healthier and they'll eat it, that's a step.

6.  Strive for at least 80% raw and 100% plant based except for local honey.

7.  Include the following dishes in a balanced menu this week:  The creative recipes in the September prep class by Chef Areeya, the Blueberry Ice Cream with Coconut Macaroon Crunch by Heather Pace of Sweetly Raw, the Peach Salsa with Veggie Crackers by Susan at Rawmazing, the Chia Porridge, Chard Pockets, Barbeque, and Froodles and Meatballs, (no meat) by Lisa Viger at Raw on $10 A Day, and the Black Pepper Honey Ginger Chewy Granola by Amie Sue at Nouveau Raw.

8.  Include in the diet all of the healthy components such as:  Lots of fresh leafy greens, brightly colored fruits and vegetables, citrus, brassicas, and smaller amounts of nuts and seeds rich in fatty acids.

Eating to Starve Cancer

This isn't about raw food specifically, but about avoiding and curing disease with diet.  There is a terrific YouTube video here:

It's a Ted Talk called, "Can We Eat To Starve Cancer?"

It's only 24 minutes long and well worth the time.

The speaker, William Li, talks about anti-angiogenic therapy, which is a method that inhibits the growth of the blood vessels which feed cancer cells.  He proposes that by eating certain healthy foods each day, we can inhibit the growth of cancer-feeding blood vessels while keeping healthy blood vessel growth in balance.  A healthy diet may prevent cancer cells from growing to a size where medical intervention is needed.  He doesn't go into this in detail, but lists other diseases that may also be affected by angiogenesis.  He shares a list of foods which contain angiogenesis inhibitors, such as:

strawberries
black berries
raspberries
blueberries
oranges
grapefruit
lemons
apples
pineapples
cherries
red grapes
bok choy
kale
ginseng
maitake mushroom
licorice
turmeric
artichokes
lavender
pumpkin
parsely
garlic
tomato
olive oil
grape seed oil
green tea
soybeans

Our family already eats many of the foods on this list on a daily basis, and we aren't even 100% raw.  This is a wonderful trend - every day, more information is shared about the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. 

Carrot Cake with Apricots

My husband had a birthday fairly recently, but we were on vacation and I didn't have a chance to make his favorite cake.  So last night, we broke up our nightly salad routine and had cake for dinner.  We had some apricots in the freezer from the harvest at the local "pick-your-own" farm, and these added a nice color and flavor.  My husband had juiced earlier, and when I promised him cake, he saved a bowl of carrot pulp that would have normally gone into the compost.  This cake is made with nuts, and a generous slice is equal to a good-sized handful of almonds, macadamias and walnuts.  We have cut back on our nut consumption and are no longer eating nuts as frequently as when we first discovered raw food.  So for us this was fine as an occasional treat.  I did use honey for the frosting, but if you are vegan and do not eat honey, substitute with your favorite sweetener.  This cake is not a diet food, but it's much better for you than the alternative.

Carrot Cake with Apricots (Raw and Plant Based)

 Cake:

1 cup dates
1 cup dried apricots
1 1/4 cups apricots with juice, frozen and thawed, or about 1 cup of fresh apricot puree
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger  (next time I want to try grated fresh ginger)
1/2 tsp sea salt
6-8 cups carrot pulp
1 cup almond flour


Frosting:

1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked and drained
Juice of one lemon
1/2 of one vanilla bean
2 tablespoons honey or sweetener of your choice
20 drops of orange flavored stevia (I used SweetLeaf)
pinch of sea salt
up to one cup of water

Garnish:

1/2 cup walnuts, (optional)

For the cake:  Pulse the first 7 ingredients in a food processor until well-combined.  If you do not have a food processor, chop the dates and dried apricots finely, then mix in the remaining ingredients, using a fork to mash and break the thawed apricots down.

Place the mixture in a large bowl and begin stirring in carrot pulp.  You want enough carrot pulp that the mixture is not too wet, but no so much that the mixture doesn't hold together.  The type of juicer you have may make a difference in the amount of carrot pulp you'll use.  Drier carrot pulp is less dense so you can use more of it.  Just keep stirring it in until it starts to remind you of carrot cake.  Next, stir in the almond flour until well combined.

(Notes:  If you don't have a juicer, you can substitute with grated carrot.  Grated carrot is more dense than carrot pulp, and you'll need about half as much.  You may need to increase the amount of almond flour to compensate for the moisture in the grated carrot.  You can buy almond flour, or you can make it.  I placed raw almonds in the dry container of a high speed blender and ground them finely.  It took about 20 seconds.  Alternately, you can dehydrate the leftover pulp from making nut milk.  Ideally, the nuts should be soaked for 8 hours, rinsed, and dehydrated prior to grinding.)

For the frosting:  Place all of the ingredients except the water in a high speed blender. Blend, gradually adding enough water to achieve a frosting-like consistency.  Taste and adjust for sweetness.

To put it together:  I formed the cake mixture into a large ball, then placed the ball on a plate.  Using my hands, I formed the cake into a traditional round cake shape.  It was kind of fun, like making mud pies as a kid. 

Frost, sprinkle with walnuts, and serve!

We had some leftover frosting.  No worries.  I stirred in a capsule of pro-biotic and set it aside to make a delicious cream cheese-like spread for the raw bagels planned for a breakfast in a the near future!

Yes, this was dinner!

Many thanks to the following amazing bloggers for their carrot cake recipes that were the inspiration for this one.  They make life just a little sweeter.  In no particular order:

Chef Amber Shea's Enlightened Carrot Cake 

Emily von Euw's Raw Carrot Cake With Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting

Laura-Jane The Rawtarian's Raw Carrot Refrigerator Cake

Karen Knowler's Raw Carrot Cake

Russel James's Carrot & Orange Cake

Black Forest Torte

Black Forest Torte

In July, I attended another of Chef Areeya's wonderful raw food prep classes.  The menu included Cucumber Melon Herbed Chiller, (soup), Sliced Tomato and Belgian Endive Salad with Basil Vinaigrette, Baby Swedish Neatballs for the appetizer, and Pasta Primavera with Spinach and Asparagus Alfredo for the main course.  The dessert was Black Forest Torte.

I took pictures, but unfortunately the camera malfunctioned and they were lost.  You'll have to trust me on this one.  It was delicious and raw, putting big smiles on all of our faces, like always.

I went home and made the Black Forest Torte.  Chef Areeya has given permission to share the recipe, so here it is:

Black Forest Torte

Cake/Crumble: 

1 cup pecans soaked and ground to medium-small pearl
1 cup almond flour or soaked almond puree
 1/2 cup cacao powder
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 tsp ground vanilla
pinch of salt

Massage nuts/flour with chocolate, sweetener, pinch of salt and vanilla beans then press into pie tin or individual containers.

Filling:

1 large bag of fresh or frozen organic black cherries
1/4 cup of desired sweetener (agave, honey or coconut crystals are all great)


Topping:

1 cup coconut cream (1 cup young Thai coconut flesh blended into a cream)

Press your crust mix into desired plan, layer with sweetened cherries and drizzle with coconut cream.  Simple, sweet and decadent.  Delish!

Notes:  This is also nice if some of the crumble is reserved and placed between two layers of cherries.  The Black Forest Torte in the photo was made by blending half of the cherries with chia seeds and allowing it to thicken, then stirring the remaining cherries in. I replaced the agave nectar in the crust with date paste, and used honey to sweeten the cherries.  I also added a bit of vanilla powder to the coconut cream, because that's how we like it.

A response to "The undeniable facts about the safety of Diet Coke"

Recently a friend shared this article on Facebook, and I found that I wanted to join the discussion, but comments were closed.  So I'll comment here.


Here's how the article strikes me:  Julie Neidlinger, the author of the blog post, was criticized by her friends for drinking Diet Coke, and it stung.  She pushed back with a blog post which went viral because it stirred up the food controversy.

I sat down at the table with friends, enjoying our get-together at the diner. The waitress took my order for a Diet Coke. She left. A friend spoke up.
“They say that Diet Coke increases your chance of getting diabetes by a factor of seven.”
“I heard people were getting seizures from the aspartame in it.”
“Today the news said a lady died after drinking 10 liters of Coke.”
“That’s nice. Enjoy your glass of city water filled with chemicals like fluoride,” I replied.
Are you kidding me?

First issue in the blog post that I would like to address:  Friends who tell friends what to eat and drink.  That's a tough one. Sometimes people are just uncouth.  Maybe they are socially inept and don't realize that they are uncouth.  We all have choices about what to eat, and we all also have choices about how we interact with people.

For example, when reacting to unsolicited dietary advice, we could choose to write what we really think in a blog and hope the offender reads it.  Or, we could say, "I appreciate your concern about my welfare, and I'll take your advice under consideration," then smile, look them directly in the eye, and take another big swig of Diet Coke followed by an exaggerated sigh of pleasure.  Or, we could call our friend on the phone and say, "Hey, can we talk?  Remember the other day when you told me that Diet Coke will give me cancer?  Well, it made me feel like I was being judged for my personal habits.  It made me feel pretty awful actually, so next time we go out to eat, can you please not lecture me about what I order?  Thanks!"

This last response might give the friend a chance to respond.  They might say, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.  It's just that I care about my friends, and I don't want them to get sick.  And I just started finding out about the toxins in our food, and I've become very passionate and vocal about it.  Next time we eat out, I'll try harder to be considerate of your feelings."

Personally I am thankful for the people who have "lectured" me about what I eat.  No, it didn't always feel good, and some of my friends have better social graces than others.  Sometimes I felt defensive.  I felt like saying that my health habits really aren't so bad.  Sometimes I resisted the urge to point out their flaws and see how they liked it.  I'm human.

Many of my friends, however, have such a high level of respect and grace, that rather than feeling demeaned when we talked about food choices, I felt enlightened and loved.  I wish I knew how they did that.  

Those little conversations rattled around in the back of my head, sometimes for years.  Then one day when I tried raw food and felt energized, nourished, and more alive than I had felt in a long time, I remembered all those comments.  Life experience has led me to the lifestyle choices I make today, but I couldn't have made those choices if I didn't know they existed in the first place.  So yeah, you "granola pushers" or whatever the heck we are calling you these days, bring it on!  I welcome you!  I embrace you!  If it wasn't for you, I'd still be eating Oscar Myer Wieners on Wonderbread and washing it down with red Kool-Aid and a Twinkie.  Okay, I'm exaggerating.  More likely, it would be a microwaved Lean Cuisine with a V-8 and a Centrum tablet, with me thinking I'm all healthy and wondering why it hurts to walk when I  get out of bed in the morning.

Recently, while waiting as my son participated in an event, another parent mentioned that he's a raw foodist.  I was ecstatic.  He was the first real-life raw foodist I've met outside of a raw food meetup or some type of transformational gathering.  What began as a enthusiastic conversation turned into a minefield as he began to tell me that I'm doing it wrong.  Apparently, green smoothies are bad for you because you can't eat fruits and vegetables at the same time.  I said I've been studying nutrition and trying to figure out the best way to get enough nutrition on raw food.  He said that's completely unnecessary - our ancestors didn't worry about what was in the wild foods they ate.  They just ate whatever was available.  I said something like, "How long did those people live?  How did they fight infection and disease?"  My impression is that they lived just long enough to reproduce, and generally not a whole lot longer.   Striving to find a happy note before changing the subject, I smiled and said something like, "There are lots of ways to be raw."  I'm convinced that the gentleman is a nice guy who is simply speaking his truth.  He was not trying to shame me into eating like he does.  I don't know whether he knows or cares how his comments make other people feel.  I'm sure that his approach alienates some people, and I chose to not take it personally.

Of course, it's natural to talk about food when people are eating.  And sometimes, when people are excited about something, like what they've recently learned about food and diet, it's hard to not share.  Trust me, I've made this mistake several times.  We can try to share thoughtfully or apologetically, but what do we do?  Talk about shoes?  Yes, changing the subject is always an option.  My point is that it can be very difficult to not talk about whatever we feel passionate about.  And there's a real risk that we might start talking about vegan shoes, and off we go again!

I am repulsed by the idolatry that my body is so precious that I must find something more healthy and pure, that these non-organic fruits lack enough nutritional value for the little god that is me.

Okay, on to the second point of the blog post that I'd like to address:  precious perfect purity princes and princesses.  These are the people who feel they must eat superior food because they are superior people.  I'm sure they must exist.  I have never met one that I am aware of, though.  Most of the people I know who try to eat better do so because they want to feel better.  Some eat organic food because they want to vote with their paycheck.  They believe, like I do, that everyone, rich and poor alike, has a right to enough high-quality organic food to eat.  And everyone could eat better food, if things were being run a bit differently.  They simply put their hard earned money toward what they wish to support.  It's not fair to accuse all of these people of narcissism.

If everyone decided to boycott Coca-Cola, the Coca Cola Corporation would have to figure out what they need to do to stay alive.  Like, perhaps, bottling a more healthful beverage.  Even the poor would benefit.

I can't always afford organic produce, but when I do buy it, I like to think that maybe someday it will be the norm instead of the exception, and everyone will be able to eat it regardless of income level.  However, that will never happen if local organic farmers aren't supported.  So thank you, all you buyers and growers of organic food.  Maybe you eat better than I do, but thank you, all the same.

When you donate food to the food pantry, do you donate the expensive organic carefully-sourced food that you insist is the only acceptable thing to put in your body and that you feed yourself and your family, or do you get the cheapest canned and boxed food at the store?

I would like to comment on the criticism of organic people donating non-organic food to food banks.  Applying Maslow's Hierarchy of Need to food insecurity, it makes sense that a person suffering from hunger will set aside concerns about things like pesticides and GMOs in food until they are in a better position.  I am grateful to those organic food eaters who donate non-organic food to food pantries.  They are doing what they can, and no one can judge their effort.  I am even more grateful to those who organize community gardens for people with food insecurity so that they can grow their own organic food.  And I have witnessed people donating organic food to food pantries. For all those who help the hungry and the food insecure in large ways and small, bless you.


Here's the thing that makes me angry:  Food insecurity isn't necessary.  There are enough resources to go around.  Here in Las Vegas, everywhere I look in the city I see landscaping.  What if the plants we cultivated for our walkways, schools and parks were fruit-bearing?  What if we created more community gardens?  What if it became a trend in Las Vegas to cultivate an edible landscape in one's front yard?  What if instead of a handful of local farms, we had ten times as many?

Someone might say that edible landscaping requires more water than desert landscaping, and that farms use a lot of water.  My response is that there are ways to garden which are more water-smart, and we already waste a lot of water here that can be better used for helping people.


I believe that it is a myth that we need the food processing industry to make low quality, highly preserved foods with a long shelf life, and the giant agricultural industry to create genetically modified seed and bathe livestock in antibiotics in order to "feed the world."  The myth is perpetuated by the industries to protect their interests.

Out of the fear industry, many things have developed. Like being afraid of our food.

Okay, on to the next point that grabbed my attention.  Fear and fear-mongering.  Fear that if one's child touches corn syrup, all is lost.  Yes, I know what you mean.  I agree, it's a problem.   There are fear mongers spreading nonsense about politics, religion, and civil rights.  Fear mongers say that legalizing marriage between gay people will threaten the institution of marriage.  Some fear mongers said that the price of food would go up with mandatory GMO labeling, which caused California citizens to vote against their interests (in my opinion,) and defeat Prop 37.  There are fear-mongers spreading exaggerations about the Standard American Diet, too.  However, I wouldn't characterize every person who is interested in avoiding processed, convenience and junk foods as a fear monger.   

Then there are people who are almost religious about what is in their food.  However, that's their right.  Instead of eating kosher, they eat "pure."  Are they motivated by fear?  Not necessarily. I believe that many of them are motivated by strong core beliefs.  Let's leave them alone.  After all it's a free country. 

Julie Neidlinger didn't mention outright paranoia, but it seems that exists too, right alongside fear mongering.  There exists out there somewhere a person who believes that the big chemical corporations put red dye in our food because they are in cahoots with the pharmaceutical industry.  They think we are deliberately being fed cancer-causing food so that we will be forced to take drugs to treat cancer. Or that we are being fed the SAD (Standard American Diet) to shorten our lifespans so the government doesn't have to pay out as much Social Security.  Before the memos from the tobacco corporations went public, I would have said that this was baloney.  Now, I don't know.  Honestly, I don't.  Maybe sometime in the future, memos from the agricultural, processed food, and pharmaceutical  industries will come out proving they've been intentionally creating food addictions and health problems.  In the meantime, I'll continue to try to do my best to eat for health, and try to educate people around me without making them feel badly.

I don’t know if you’ve ever bothered to talk to someone who’s really old and had to do some of that live-off-the-land stuff, but you ask them if they want to go back to doing things by hand and they, like my grandma told me once when I asked if she missed the “good old days”, are probably going to come out in favor of automatic dishwashers, cake mixes, and Crisco. It wasn’t an alt-lifestyle option, but the only option, and given modernity, they leapt for it.
It’s called progress, because it is.

Next point:  "Typhus wasn't much fun."  When I read that, I thought, "Huh?"  How can someone connect people who are trying to eat closer to the way our ancestors ate to a complete rejection of modern science?  The blogger writes,  "It’s easy to decry technology and its evils from your comfortable perch in the midst of it."

I think that may be where people started thinking the blogger was referring to GMOs.  She did say in the comments that she was not talking about GMOs, but  a common argument used in favor of GMOS is that a rejection of GMO produce equals a rejection of modern science.  Which of course is a completely fallacious argument.

Perhaps the blogger meant that a  rejection of modern food processing techniques and a rejection of the use of chemical flavoring and preservatives equals a rejection of modern science.  She mentioned people who want to go back to the land.  Here's my impression:  Generally speaking, people who are interested in simplifying their lives, eating whole food, and "going back to the land" are not interested in giving up wi-fi, cell phones, internet access, and trauma centers.  I've never met a raw foodist, whole foodist, or even a wild-food forager who demonizes science, but I have seen them protest some of the ways that science is used or has been used to harm people and the environment.  There are things like saccharin and Agent Orange. 

I think that eating closer to the way we evolved on this planet is actually a useful way to use science to improve human health.  After all, without science it would be more difficult to know for certain what and how our ancestors actually ate, or to measure the effects of diet on our health.

A movement toward environmentally friendly, natural foods and a review of what our ancestors ate and how they grew their food is not a rejection of progress.  It is progress.

Science could, in my opinion be used in better ways.  For example, what if we used science to help subsistence farmers in famine-stricken regions to improve their yields, reduce their labor,  improve sanitation and healthcare, without polluting the land, turning the population into a consumer base for large corporations, or creating an artificial dependence on aid?   To those scientists who are already doing this, a heartfelt thank you.


Finally, the blogger commented that what we put in our heads is just as important as what we put in our bodies.  Well yes, I tend to agree with that, except that I don't think that information about healthier food choices is the culprit here.

It seems to me that there is a general tendency within certain industries to try to keep consumers in the dark about certain things that they buy.  Or even to keep them in the dark about certain things they buy into.  Otherwise, journalists would be allowed to bring cameras into slaughterhouses.  The fact that consumers are sharing information amongst themselves tells me that some people want to know the truth so that they can make informed decisions.  Yes, there is plenty of half truth and misinformation going around, but it isn't just coming from one stereotypical group.

I think that there is much at stake for the giant food processing industries and agribusiness conglomerates.  They benefit from articles that tell people that there is nothing wrong with the SAD (Standard American Diet.)  I think we need to think about the agenda of the authors of the pro-SAD media.  Further, it's important to be responsible about what one puts in other people's heads.  It's important to write according to one's conscience.  It's also important to discuss it.  So, next time someone tells me that something that I'm eating is bad for me, rather than object, I plan to welcome the dialogue and thank them for sharing their thoughts.

I think we need to keep the conversation going.