Happy Foody

This is Matt’s current favorite dressing…it has amazing flavor and when paired with super crisp romaine, it’s so satisfying!

Caesar Dressing
“Living on Live Food” by Alissa Cohen:

3/4 cup pine nuts
1 T flax or olive oil
1 1/2 t sea salt (preferably Himalayan Pink Sea Salt)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 date, pitted and soaked or 1 T agave nectar
1 large clove garlic
2 1/2 T lemon juice (1 large lemon juiced)
2 T water
1/2 T white miso
Sea salt/lemon as needed to taste

1. In a food processor, blend/pulse the pine nuts, 1 T oil, and sea salt until grainy. Do not over blend.
2. Remove from processor and place in small bowl.
3. In a blender, combine 1/3 c olive oil, miso, date/agave, garlic, lemon juice and water and blend until smooth.
4. Remove this mixture and place in the same bowl as the pine nut mixture.
5. Mix well by hand.
6. Serve over a generous portion of crisp romaine lettuce. Add your favorite salad “fixins” It helps to put a plate over your salad bowl and vigorously shake it to spread the dressing around. It’s a thick dressing, and needs a little help coating the salad leaves.

Note: It’s important NOT to “cream” the pine nuts with the other liquid mixture, as you want them to retain a grainy texture. This is what will give it a cheesy taste. If the dressing needs more “bite” add more lemon juice and sea salt.

This is a delicious raw soup from Ani Phyo’s cookbook, Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen. I absolutely love sweet corn…being that I grew up in Iowa, that is practically a requirement This recipe has the perfect blend of flavors…and you can go wild with toppings!  I like to add tomatoes, seeds, nuts, etc. to make it chunkier.
I also like to cut back on the olive oil a bit…and add a little more water. You can also blend the avocado into the soup for a creamier base. Enjoy!

Sweet Corn Chowder
Makes 2 large bowls or 4 small bowls.

Chowder Base:
3 ears sweet corn, cut off the cob
3/4 cup walnuts
3/4 extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 t sea salt
2 cups water

Chowder Toppings:
1 cup corn kernels, set aside from above
1 avocado, diced
1/3 bunch cilantro leaves
1 t cracked black pepper

Blend base ingredients until smooth and top with toppings. Store separately in the fridge for best left overs.

Several of you have emailed me and asked what the main differences are between the 5000 and the 5200 models of the Vita-Mix blender.

I called Vita-Mix directly to find out the details, and found that the most important health related benefit of purchasing the 5200 is that the container no longer contains BPA’s (Bisphenol-A). If you are unaware of why this is important, here is an article from the Green Guide. Here is more information from Vita-Mix’s website:

Vita-Mix Corporation (Olmsted Township, OH, US) recently upgraded the containers of the household blenders ( Professional Series, Vita-Mix 5200 and Turbo Blend 4500) with a new copolyester material that does not have BPA (bisphenol-A) content.  Vita-Mix chose to use the new material because of its superior durability and sound-damping properties, but can now offer a container that is also BPA-free.

The newest Vita-Mix household blender containers are made of Tritan copolyester from Eastman Chemical Company (Kingsport, TN, US).  Vita-Mix is the first company to use the new BPA-free material in a kitchen appliance.  The material is as durable as polycarbonate and also offers improved resistance to chemicals found in cleaning compounds.  This is expected to provide greater durability over time, even with heavy use.   These new containers are available, at a minimal charge, to Vita-Mix owners who choose to upgrade to a BPA-free product.

Please note that last sentence…if you are currently using an older canister, you can call to upgrade. The other new features of the 5200 are quieter motor, better “parts”, and what not

In other news, we now have a DIRECT contact at Vita-Mix who will handle any questions Happy Foody readers have about Vita-Mix’s.

Here is Brenda’s contact information:

Brenda Kilbane
Sales Consultant
Vita Mix Corporation
8615 Usher Rd
Cleveland, OH 44138 11am-7pm EST
1-800-848-2649 Ext 2305
bkilbane@vitamix.com

If you are going to order a machine, please call Brenda directly and give her our affiliate number to get free expedited shipping!

Our affiliate number is: 06-003082

A big thanks to those of you who have already ordered yours! Shoot me an email and let me know how you like it!

Every raw cookbook has a different philosophy on raw foods…but each one offers new wisdom and insight into living foods. Even if I don’t agree with everything the book says, I love getting my hands on any information I can…knowledge is power!

What’s on my shelf?

Raw Food Real World
Living on Live Food
Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods
Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen
I am Grateful: Recipes and Lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude
Green for Life

I use every one of these cookbooks ALL the time…each one has unique and delicious treats.

Cookbooks I would like to own:

RAWvolution
The Raw Food Detox Diet
Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 people

What are your favorite raw cookbooks and why?

When I went raw the first time, Matt did it along with me when he was at home…but he never fully embraced the entire deal He enjoyed the foods I made, but he continued to enjoy his favorites. Those favorites included Dr. Pepper, Snickers, hamburgers, and all kinds of other non-raw stuff He was always a vegetarian at home as well, but ate whatever meat he wanted when he was out.

Fast forward to February. He started to realize that he was gaining more and more weight…and that his diet left much to be desired. So, a few weeks after I went raw…he joined me on his own accord. It started out with a few green smoothies. Then, it was a green smoothie every day…sometimes more than one a day. It didn’t take long before he was sold on the raw lifestyle…and after we came back from our Christmas break, he went for it.

He started to lose weight…easily. Without working out, he lost 16 lbs. in one month. He went from a pants size of almost 40 to a comfortable 36. In 2 months, he has lost 36 pounds and none of his clothes fit him anymore! Wooooo! His cravings subsided. He started waking up refreshed in the mornings…and without much sleep at all. His energy level went up, along with his mental clarity/energy.

When we are out and we choose to eat a cooked meal, he orders TOFU. Now, for those of you who knew pre-raw Matt…you understand that this is a huge step He would always have a little taste of the tofu I made at home, but would never order it for himself. It says a lot about how the raw diet changes your taste buds…and how you look at foods. To even think about putting factory farmed, hormone-laden beef or chicken in your mouth after you’ve been eating so clean…well…it’s gross

The added benefit of having your entire family eating raw, is that you aren’t tempting when you’re cooking their cooked food meals! And one of the best things about eating healthy and clean is that you never have to tell your child “no…you can’t have what mommy and daddy are eating!”. There is no guilt and nothing is off limits.

It’s so exciting when your spouse is on board with raw…and it’s downright sexy when he asks me to make him a big plate of fruit for lunch..hee hee! I know that many of you are on this raw food journey alone, without the support of your spouse. And I would guess that some of you are even having to deal with ridicule and taunting from them as well. BUT…hang in there! I never thought in a million years that Matt would go raw, so miracles do happen! Keep on track with your own eating habits…and don’t worry about his. He will see the positive changes in your life and eventually it will “click”.

I’d love to hear your story!

…is your whole family raw?

…have you had a hard time with a spouse who doesn’t “get it”?

…do you have a spouse success story?

The Green Smoothie Challenge results are in…and it was amazing and life changing! Here are some of the testimonials I received from those of you who participated…feel free to use the comment section of this post to share your own testimonial. How has drinking green smoothies affected your other eating habits? Did anyone else join you in your endeavor? Do share! For continued green smoothie support/ideas…check out the board here.

Hi Sara!
We did the challenge as a family. Here’s what we noticed:

At the end of January, I decided to finally go vegetarian and to cut out dairy. I started green smoothies about two weeks later so my observations must fairly be based on both of those changes.

· I lost 14 pounds.

· Despite losing weight, my milk production definitely increased.

· My toddler happily slurps approximately a pint of green smoothie every day.

· My elimination, which has been really erratic since my children were born, is completely healthy and normal now.

· My skin glows and is completely clear.

· My husband’s dark eye circles are much lighter and his allergies (environmental) haven’t been bothering him.

· My husband reports more energy during his work day without having to rely on caffeine.

· Everyone around us is getting bad colds and flus and we are healthy. Only the baby had the sniffles for a couple of days but it never got worse than that and went away quickly.

· I don’t need nearly as much food to satisfy me as I used to and my cravings for “bad” food are gone. I don’t even think in terms of bad or good anymore. There’s food (whole plant food) and not-food (animal products, packaged junk food, paper, dirt, etc) I would no sooner eat a hamburger than I would a shoe.

· For me, it was the perfect jump start to being “successfully raw”, to take a page from Karen Knowler. For me and my family, that’s around 75% raw.

I just feel so good. I can’t thank you enough for being the impetus to finally DO this. I turn 30 next week and I am so excited to be moving into my best health ever. How’s that? All blessedly true!

-Tara
http://fiddlemama.blogspot.com

Hi Sara,
We have been doing the smoothie challenge for about a month now. I
have to say that this is the best thing we have ever done for our
family. I notice a big difference if I have missed a day or two. I
think in the past month, I have only broken out with ONE pimple, and
that was stress-induced (the in-laws were flying in). Thank you for
introducing the Green Smoothie to our family. Your blogs and pictures
are always so inspiring. I consider you a friend, and I’ve never even
met you! Hopefully one day our paths will cross. Take care, and God
bless you and your family!
Kathi
http://chrysanthemama1.blogspot.com/

Hi Sara!
Has it been 30 days already? I just wanted to thank you for getting me started on green smoothies. I had a rough start (some major detox going on), but this is a habit I plan on keeping. I am AMAZED at how my sugar cravings are kept at bay just by having a green smoothie for breakfast. I strive to eat raw until dinner…some days I do it, some days I don’t, but all in all, the green smoothie at the beginning of my day sets me on a healthier path for the rest of the day.

A few benefits I’ve noticed…

1)f ewer sugar cravings
2) my hair looks much healthier
3) I don’t feel bloated or have digestive issues, and perhaps the most rewarding
4) my husband and my baby are on a green smoothie kick too! We still can’t get our toddler on board, although every now and then he’ll drink a little bit of a “pink green smoothie”.

Anyhow, thanks again for helping my family to start a healthy new habit! I am now exploring more raw foods and, while I’m not yet ready to go 100% raw, I definitely am ready to start incorporating more raw foods into my diet!

Jennifer

One of my favorite documentaries is Go Further, featuring Woody Harreleson and his friends as they bike down the West coast spreading the word about “simple organic living”. Well, actually Woody and a few friends bike it, and the rest of them ride in a sweet bus and eat raw foods. In fact, I do believe that this movie was what got me interested in raw foods initially! If you haven’t seen it, add it to your Netflix TODAY! It’s such a wonderful, quirky look at all things environmental, as well as food related issues. I have the book too, which I love. Check it out…

“GO FURTHER”, the new film by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, explores the idea that the single individual is the key to large-scale transformational change.

The film follows actor Woody Harrelson as he takes a small group of friends on a bio-fuelled bus-ride down the Pacific Coast Highway. Their goal? To show the people they encounter that there are viable alternatives to our habitual, environmentally-destructive behaviors.

The travelers include a yoga-teacher, a raw food chef, a hemp-activist, a junk-food addict, and a college student who suspends her life to impulsively hop aboard. We see the hostility these pilgrims encounter, and watch as their ideas are challenged from within and without.

We meet an entrepreneur who runs a paper company that does not harm trees; an organic farmer who believes Nature is his partner; a man who teaches environmental activists to use humor as a strategic weapon. And throughout, we see Harrelson test his belief that the transformation of our planet begins with the small personal transformations that are within the grasp of each and every one of us, after which… we’ll go further.

Go Further introduced me to Renee Loux Underkoffler for the first time. She goes along for the journey…riding on the bus, and is their personal raw food chef. Yay! She is so enthusiastic and amazing…she is someone you just know you’d love being around!

She has a GREAT cookbook, Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods…it holds the recipe for the Balsamic Vinagriette that everyone loves! The Amazon reviews speak for themselves…it’s just really, really good food. The entire first half of the cookbook is informational…about living foods and also food/nutritional info. There is a little sampling of her recipes on the follow up website to Go Further (Voice Yourself)…it has several of the recipes featured in the film, such as Painted Fruit and Chocolate Mousse of the Gods. Yum!

Here is her website, Euphoric Organics, which has a lot of really useful info. And here is a little video of her making Raspberry Lavender Lemonade. She has two other books, The Balanced Plate and Easy Green Living. You just gotta love Renee!

We have juice! When we stopped in Tampa, Hallie and Chris had a Champion Juicer that they were looking to trade…so we acquired this beautiful beast of a juicer and have been enjoying it. I made a large batch of green lemonade recently, and it just made me soooooo happy. I love the “buzz” I get from green juice (it’s way better than a coffee buzz!). Paired with a big green salad, it’s a very filling meal.

In such a small space, it’s rather messy to clean up the juicer afterward…so we don’t use it every day. But I love having the option. And now I can make Magic Carrot Juice whenever my little heart desires…happiness in a cup!

When you’re eating raw foods, it’s crucial to keep lots and lots of fresh fruit available so that you always have a quick snack available. This is a peek at our fruit baskets…just waiting to be devoured! We found these oranges while we were on Tybee Island…they were 10 for $1.00!! We bought 30. Yum. We don’t normally eat a lot of oranges, but that was too good to pass up! We’ve been juicing them a lot for green smoothies…it adds a great little kick.

Our banana stash was rather low in this photo…we usually have about 6 bunches on hand at a time (and more in the freezer for smoothies), all in different stages of ripeness. The challenge in the RV is where to put all of the fruit! I would have more if I had somewhere to put them. We’re working on making a fruit hammock to hang from under one of our counters…yay!

Oh, and no…the wheat grass is not real It fools everyone who walks into the RV, but it’s just a great replica. Although, I am wanting to start growing herbs in the front window as we drive…it’s so nice and bright up there!

This is quickly becoming my new favorite…it’s incredibly flavorful and is so easy to make. There are LOTS of recipes for raw Pad Thai out there, I’ve kind of tweaked them all to make this one. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can make it as simple or as fancy as you want. You could just do a basic sauce over the zucchini…but I prefer to add as much of the “extras” as I have on hand. The fresh basil, mint, and cilantro really pump up the flavor. Plus, you can make it look really fancy, which is fun if you are serving it to someone else.

I also just received my Spiralo, and I am in love! I have owned a Saladacco Spiralizer as well, but didn’t like it nearly as much. The Spiralo makes these loooooong beautiful spaghetti noodles out of zucchini, squash, carrots…or any other hard vegetable. Bella loves noodles…so this little gadget allows her to enjoy so many more raw dishes. She loves to help too…although there are very sharp blades, so be careful when letting kids help. She loves this Pad Thai, but we’ve also made the noodles with a yummy marinara sauce and that was a hit as well.

Raw food is all about texture and preparation…it’s amazing how much more I love eating this dish with the spaghetti type noodles as opposed to just using my veggie peeler to make flat noodles. They are just like the noodles I had at The Sprout. If you’ve been wanting to add more variety to your raw diet, I would encourage you to get the Spiralo, or something similar. There are so many uses beyond the “noddle” function…making salads look pretty is so much fun too!

Pad Thai
Makes 2 - 3 servings.

3/4 cup raw almond butter
1/2 cup orange juice (freshly juiced!)
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 T nama shoyu (soy sauce)
1 T miso (optional)
1 t minced garlic
2 T honey/agave nectar
1/8 t cayenne pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. For a thicker sauce, add more almond butter…to thin it out, add more juice. Add more nama shoyu or sea salt to taste.

Prepare the “noodles” and then pour the sauce over them to marinate (let them sit for about 10 minutes) and then top them with a mixture of the following:

• Sprouts! Mung bean sprouts are the best…so crunchy and perfect for this dish, but alfalfa sprouts are great too.
• Julienned red and yellow peppers
• Shredded carrots
• Grape tomatoes
• Scallions
• Fresh Cilantro
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Mint

Serve in a bowl and/or on top of a large bed of mixed greens. Yum!!