For the Love of Quinoa
Many of you have been asking for more quinoa recipes…which I am happy to provide 🙂 I’m so glad you’re all feelin’ the quinoa love. It’s such an awesome food. I have not tried all of these first hand, but they look delish:
Heather’s Quinoa: I’ve had this on my “to make” list for a long time. It sounds (and looks) amazing!
Quinoa and Black Beans: I used to get this at Wild Oats all the time…but as a cold salad. Great combination of flavors here.
Delicious Big Bowl: The photo with this recipe gives you an idea of what I like to eat when I have cooked food. I do lots of quinoa with steamed veggies…topped with nama shoyu or lemon juice. Oh, and if you haven’t browsed around Heidi’s site yet, check it out because it’s GREAT!
Raw Cream of Wheat: This is a recipe I posted last year…and it’s rather tasty and easily customized to your tastes!
Traveling Eats…That’s How We Roll
When you switch to eating primarily living/raw foods, it’s more than just a switch in your diet. It’s affects your entire lifestyle. You can no longer just “drive through” on your way to a meeting and grab a burger and fries. You can’t just hope that there will be something for you to eat at your neighbor’s potluck. No, it requires a bit more planning. However…that doesn’t mean that it has to be difficult or hard to “maintain”. It just means you have to think ahead a bit. It’s not a “burden” for me to plan in this way…because I know that I’m taking an active role in the health of my family. I am definitely not perfect and no, I don’t bring food EVERYWHERE we go…but I do the best I can with the resources I have.
In the photo above you can see my “set up”. If I know that I’m going to be at the park all day, or even out running errands for awhile…I will pack up this lovely rolling cooler. I put in the frozen gel packs to keep everything cold, and then I load it with pre-made salads and a little jar of dressing on the side, watermelon chunks, fruit, trail mix, etc. I also have a smaller rectangular soft sided cooler for shorter trips or for Bella to take on outings. Most of the food rides in my stainless steel To-Go Ware and my water is carried in my Klean Kanteen. Oh, and those little baby toes are for nibbling on too. 🙂
This cooler also works well if you are flying (carry on) and want to have food at your hotel when you arrive. You can also take your Vita-Mix with you when you travel…even though it’s large, it’s so worth it. I wouldn’t be caught without it! (A Magic Bullet or a TriBest work well if you want something smaller). When we are at a hotel, I usually head to Whole Foods or another good grocery store and stock up on greens, etc. (it’s smart to seek out a hotel with a mini fridge, but ice in the sink works too). If you aren’t able to do any of that, bring along some Vitamineral Green. In fact, bring it anyway because it’s good!
On a related note, when you are invited to someone’s home for dinner…you need to make a decision as to how freaky you want to be 🙂 This goes for vegetarians, vegans, and raw vegans. No matter what, you will usually need to let the host/hostess know that you like to avoid certain foods. For me, the easiest solution is just to bring whatever food I want to eat…and usually it’s a big communal salad. That way, everyone else can partake with you. If you are one of those types of people who “doesn’t want to offend” by telling them you eat differently than most people…it’s just a choice you have to make. In our family, Matt and Bella usually eat whatever is made (as long as it’s vegetarian) and I will bring something or ask for something vegan. It’s also fun to bring a dish that is raw, but doesn’t scream “RAW!” (desserts, etc).
I’m really blessed in that I have lots of friends and family who are amazing at cooking vegan food! For the most part, people are super gracious and want to accommodate you…and turns out they usually have a lot of questions about eating healthy too. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend that you spout off the benefits of a raw diet while they are cutting up their steak. A more neutral food setting is better 😉
So, as you can see…it’s really easy to eat healthy while on the road or while dining with those who don’t eat the same way as you do. In the beginning as you transition your routines, it can seem like food is taking over your life 🙂 But eventually, it’s just second nature and you don’t think about it at all. Bottom line: Plan ahead and your body will be happy!
Photo credit: Deea Paul (thanks friend!)
What I’m Loving Right Now
- I’m loving the green juice. I make it a game…to see how many greens I can juice and have it still taste yummy 🙂 Yesterday I juiced an entire head of kale and an entire head of romaine + apple + ginger + lemon…and it was soooo addicting. My favorite part of juicing is pushing the food down with the plunger thingy. Apple…WHAM! Kale…WHAM! Lemon…WHAM!! That’s some real fun.
- Here is why I love Jason Mraz: He has a raw food chef making him food on tour. This video totally cracks me up…mostly because Anya Marina (she toured with him) is a total goof ball. Fair warning…she does say a naughty word 🙂 Don’t have the sound up at work or watch this with children. Her entire tour documentary is hilarious.
- I came across another fun site, www.raw.la: Real-time news from Raw Food blogs, forums, and mainstream media. It’s one stop shopping for a ton of raw blogs and other good stuff. I’ve discovered lots of raw blogs that I didn’t know about before. New inspiriation! Love it.
What are you loving right now?
Morning Jing
When we went to Santa Monica and Malibu last summer, I was so excited to check out Euphoria Loves Rawvolution. Well, we enjoyed it so much that we went SEVERAL times while we were there. And each time, I just could not help but to order this drink on their menu called Spring Shake or something of the sort. I loved it so much that I asked how they made it…and it turns out it was a special mix from a phenomenal Chinese herbalist, Rehmannia. After we left there, I just couldn’t stop thinking about that drink! When I drank it…I felt amazing…like I had a natural high.
Fast forward to now. I’m still thinking about that drink. So I racked my brain and all I could remember was “Shaman Shack”. Thankfully we have this wonderful thing called Google and I was able to track it down. And so…my fellow Happy Foodies…I bring you: MORNING JING!! Wooooooooo!! (That’s how I feel after I drink it).
Here is what the Rehmannia says about it on his site:
This product will revolutionize the protein powder market. It is a soy and dairy free great tasting, energizing, and restorative combination of nutritional powders. Morning Jing is a surprisingly tasty quick meal for any time of day. Black bean and black rice together are considered a complete protein- and you don’t get the saturated fat or hormones. Black sesame provides valuable omega 6 essential fatty acids. Ho Sho Wu is a famed longevity herb in China, its name literally means ‘old black hair’ as the herb is tonic to the Kidneys, and has been reported to reverse graying hair and other signs of ageing. The above mentioned foods are all considered ‘black foods’ which contain unique anti-ageing properties such as zinc and molybdenum (a rare antioxidant).
But that’s not all; we add Maca, a great superfood from the Incas which is said to fortify the reproductive potential in men and women, balance hormones and provide endurance and adaptability.
Bee Pollen is considered one of Earth’s greatest superfoods, containing every nutrient necessary for survival, and finally we sweeten Morning Jing with pure cactus honey powder. Great for the whole family!
So, of course…I ordered some so I could enjoy it at home! My favorite way to prepare it is to blend it up in my Vita-Mix … fresh almond milk (chilled) and a big spoonful of raw almond butter and honey. I like it a little on the thicker side, so I add more almond butter and less milk. I started off with just a tablespoon of the Jing, and I may even put a little less next time.
Order your own yumminess here.
Just a little warning/disclaimer: Please check with your herbalist/doctor/midwife/naturopath before drinking. There are some quite potent herbs included in this tonic, including some that could cause an allergic reaction (bee pollen). Use in moderation…chinese herbs affect everyone differently.
Oh, and another disclaimer: Maca has been known to increase your libido/sex drive (due to it’s hormonal balancing characteristics). Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 😉
Q & A with Sara
Thanks for all the great feedback on my first video! 🙂 You asked a lot of questions and I answer them all in this video…it does get a bit long (15 minutes), so I wanted to list everything in order that I answer it so you have the option to fast forward.
Today I’m answering your questions about the following:
- Losing weight on the raw diet after having a baby
- Eating chia while nursing
- Local foods / Raw foods
- Quinoa and chia recipes
- Eating raw without relying on a nut-heavy diet
- Staying “full” on the raw diet
- What Bella eats and raising kids raw
One correction: When I am talking about local and raw foods…I accidentally said that “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” was about raw foods. It IS about raw, but mostly about LOCAL foods 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Quinoa with Pine Nuts & Kalamata Olives
Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”) is one of my favorite foods. It’s so versatile and yummy…and it also has all of the essential amino acids our bodies need, which means it’s naturally a “complete protein”. And let me tell you….this recipe I am about to share will knock your socks off. I LOVE IT. I can’t get enough. Oh my. It’s so easy and can be used as the main dish or as a side dish. It’s also makes great leftovers…warmed up, eaten cold, or you could even top your salad with it!
I love the flavor combination involved…the strength of the olives offset by the creamy goodness of the avocado. Mmmmmm mmmmmm. 🙂 The pine nuts give it just the right amount of crunch and the fresh herbs and lemon juice keep it tasting light and delicious. I chose to add some organic goat cheese to ours and it was perfect! You could also add some big chunks of artichoke hearts, I think they would work nicely as well. A tip…get the highest quality kalamata olives you can find, it’s worth it.
I’m always amazed when people tell me they’ve never tried quinoa. And to that I say: “You’ve never felt the quinoa LOVE?? That’s nonsense”. So for those of you who are clueless when it comes to quinoa, this is a great dish to start with. Let me know what you think!
Quinoa with Pine Nuts & Kalamata Olives
Sunflower Market Recipes (I grabbed this one off of their recipe stand in Boulder, CO)
2 cups quinoa
1 cup pine nuts
1/2 cut pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups veggie broth
1/2 cup fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro (double this if you’re my mom, the “International Ambassador of Cilantro)
2 avocados, diced
2 lemons
Sea salt & ground black pepper
Bring veggie broth to a boil and add quinoa. Cover with a tight lid and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until it fluffs nicely with a fork. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat 1 T olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add pine nuts, shallots, and garlic. Saute util golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a large mixing bowl. Add the sauteed pine nuts, shallots, parsley, cilantro, and avocados. Add the juice of the 2 lemons for dressing. Sea salt and pepper to taste (I didn’t add any more salt because it was already quite salty from the olives and veggie broth…but do what you want!).
Enjoy!
Chia on the Road – A Happy Foody Video!
We have a Happy Foody first today…a video! And there is only one “blooper”…I say road when I meant to say food in the end. hee hee. And, I am working on upgrading this site so I can embed video, but for now just click on the link to Vimeo. So without further ado, check it out…
Dulse Rhymes With Pulse
Here is a little goodie that I try to eat EVERY day. Dulse is packed with all kinds of vitamins and minerals…so good for you. I just recently started using it…before that, I would just cut up nori sheets and use those to get my sea vegetable fix. But dulse has a really different taste and I love it. It’s quite salty…it adds a really nice kick to salads, wraps, soups, sandwiches, and even smoothies! You can even buy dulse granuales and use them to replace the salt in your recipes. The most common way I eat it is cut up in my salad.
The reason I try to eat some kind of sea vegetable every day is because they are so high in iron and low iron runs in my family. But it’s also very high in iodine and B12…along with vegetable protein, potassium, magnesium, chlorophyll, enzymes, A & B Vitamins, and dietary fiber. Bella LOVES seaweed as well…but tends to stick with untoasted nori. I leave the pack low enough in the pantry so she can help herself to it when she wants. She’ll grab 2-3 sheets and a time and snack on them. Yum!
Here is what it looks like up close…it’s soft and chewy. If you don’t like the texture, you can soak it in filtered water to soften it up or throw it in the food processor to chop it into tiny bits for your salad:
Try some dulse today!
Raw Food Happy Mail!
You don’t have to buy a lot of fancy stuff to eat a raw food diet. However, there are some “fancier” items that I LOVE and I can’t buy them locally. That’s when I click on over to Raw Food World. In my opinion, they have the biggest selection of healthy, yummy foods…and the BEST customer service around. They also send lots of little samples and goodies with your order, which is delightful. And Matt Monarch is the owner…he’s just a fun guy in general 🙂
When my first box of goodies arrived…I practically ran out to the UPS truck to help him bring it in. You can see the contents of my box above…sprawled out comfortably on my living room rug. In this shipment, I got:
- Lucuma Powder (I add this tasty sweetener to smoothies and chia porridge)
- Carob Powder (This is for my raw fudge balls and chocolate avocado pudding)
- Raw Nori Sheets (I LOVE raw sushi. I also cut these up in my salads. Bella eats them plain).
- Goji Berries (Love these plain or as little “bursts” of energy in my smoothie)
- Nama Shoyu (Raw soy sauce)
- Sun-dried Coconut (I used that whole bag in my raw macaroon recipe)
- 5 lbs of Chia (Oh how I love thee!)
- Hempshake Variety Pack (Thought Bella might like these. She didn’t).
A few days later, I ordered a dehydrator, teflex sheets, sunflower seeds for sprouting, and a pH test kit. Yay! More on those in future blog posts.
When you click on these links it automatically registers it under my name, so that I receive a little bit of $$ from your sale. So…if you’re going to order it anyway, but sure to use my link! 🙂 You can also link directly to it in the upper right hand corner of my blog. Affiliate or not…I would still order from Matt. This is super high quality food and he knows his stuff. Happy ordering!
Eat More Kale!
I love kale. It’s no secret. So you can imagine my delight when a Facebook friend sent me a link to this. So fun…thanks Josie! 🙂
Happy Foody 