Ahhh People Making a Positive Difference In The World

St RAW berry Pie

I got this recipe from my “Rawvolution” recipe book by Matt Amsden and was so surprised that it tasted sooo good! Even my mom loved it and she is an Italian woman who is used to very traditional foods. She wants the recipe!!! So, I’m sharing it with you. Super easy, Super healthy and Super delicious! The original recipe called for a 5 inch pie plate so I doubled the recipe mainly because I don’t own a 5 inch plate. :).

I will give you the original recipe but just double it for a 9 inch pie plate.

For the crust:

2 cups of raw almonds, finely ground in a food processor

1/2 cup agave nectar

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups strawberries ( I mixed in blueberries)

1/2 cup agave

To make the crust:

In a mixing bowl, combine the ground almonds and agave nectar, and mix well. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom and sides of a 5 inch pie plate.

To make the filling:

in a food processor, slice the strawberies with the slicing disc. ( I just slice with a knife).

Transfer the sliced beries to a mixing bowl, add the agave nectar, and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the pie crust and serve.

I would make and serve on the same day. The fruit makes a liquid which can make the pie a bit soggy. Otherwise, this was delicious.

Enjoy!

Can We Starve Cancer?????

Alternatives for cows milk are almond, coconut, rice milk

Which Fruits and Vegetables Have The Highest and Lowest Levels of Pesticides

When I go shopping I try to remember which fruits and vegetables have the highest and lowest levels of pesticides. I make sure I buy only the organic fruits and vegetables that have the highest levels and feel ok if I can only buy the conventional type of the fruits and veggies on the lowest levels. Here’s the list:

Highest Levels

Apples

Bell peppers

Celery

Cherries

Grapes (imported)

Lettuce

Nectarines

Peaches

Pears

Potatoes

Spinach

Strawberries

Lowest Levels

Asparagus

Avocado

Bananas

Broccoli

Cabbage

Corn

Eggplant

Kiwis

Mangos

Onions

Peas

Pineapple

Things to remember:

• Organic Standards in the United States differ from those abroad.
• Foods grown with high levels of pesticides are fed to animals we consume.
• Foods that did not make the list for high levels but are often grown with high pesticide levels are; winter squash, green beans, apricots,soybeans, tomatoes, carrots, oranges, rice, imported almonds, sunflower seeds, peanuts and wheat.

We don’t have to get crazy about it but information is always good to have and gives us the ability to make educated choices.

Source: Clean Food by Terry Walters, Published 2009, Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.

This is a recommended resource for great clean food recipes!

Here is a recipe from the book:

Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 bananas, mashed

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup rolled oats

2/3 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened dried coconut

pinch of salt

1/4 cup semi-sweet dark chocolate chips (I like Trader Joe's chocolate chips)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In medium bowl, combine bananas, oil, syrup and vanilla. In separate medium bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, coconut and salt. Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and blend until just combined (do not over stir). Fold in choc chips.

Drop batter by the heaping teaspoon onto the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Place in oven and bake 14 min. or until lightly browned. Remove and cool on wire rack.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen.....Yum!

White Pizza with Broccoli and Mushrooms (and olives)

I’ve been posting a lot of recipes lately and I wouldn’t be able to post them if they weren’t really good and EASY!! If they weren’t easy I wouldn’t have time to post. lol. I’ve been eating raw from breakfast through lunch (just before dinner) but have been trying to eat vegetarian for dinner. It’s been working out great and here is a recipe that I really liked and wanted to share. Enjoy!

In the original recipe they wrote that the key to a crisp crust is preheating the baking pan or pizza stone. I have to say this is the first time I’ve done this and agree with them.

Ingredients:

2 tbs butter, divided

2 cups mushrooms (sliced)

1 tbs flour

1 cup low fat milk

2 tsp garlic (minced)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, divided

1/4 cup grated Parmesan, divided

1 13.8 oz pkg refrigerated pizza dough

I added some halved Kalmetta olives to my pizza

1. Place pizza stone or baking sheet in center of oven and heat to 425 degrees.
2. Melt 1 1/2 tsp butter in skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook 4-7 min or until beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Add broccoli and 1/3 cup water. Cover and steam broccoli in skillet 3-4 min or until tender.
3. Heat remaining 1 1/2 tbs butter in saucepan over med-high heat. Add flour and cook 2 min, or until pale golden, stirring constantly. Stir in milk, garlic, and salt. Cook 3-4 min or until mixture thickens and begins to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/4 cup mozzarella and 2 tbs Parmesan until sauce is smooth and cheese melted.
4. Shape pizza dough according to package directions. Remove pizza stone from oven and place dough on hot stone..... be careful not to burn yourself like I always do. :(
5. Spread white sauce over dough to within 1/2 inch of edge and top with broccoli mixture. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over top. Return to oven, bake 18-20 min or what I use as a measure...until edges of pizza are golden and center is hot and bubbly. Cool slightly before slicing and serving. Viola! My smoke detector only went off once during this recipe and it’s not because I burnt anything it’s because it’s so damn sensitive (which I guess I’m grateful for ;))

275 calories per slice

13 g prot

9 g fat

38 g carbs

7 g sugars

3 g fiber

Source: Vegetarian Times April 2010

Raw Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

1 medium avocado

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup agave

1/3 cup pitted dates

1/4 cup cacao powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Blend up in a blender til smooth and creamy and enjoy! You’ll be surprised how good it is.

Recipe from Sweetly Raw Check out this site. It’s Amazing!!!!!

This recipe is posted especially for one of my awesome daughters, Coreen! Enjoy, love you.

30 Day Raw Food Challenge

I’ve been interested in trying out a raw food diet for a while. I’ve read a lot about it and it seems to have really great benefits. I’ve decided to do this now because:

a) I’ve just read the book “Skinny Bitch” and found it very informative and daunting at the same time. Food, especially chicken and meat, just don’t look the same to me anymore. I’ll do a review on it later and

b) Just found a 30 day Raw Food Diet Challenge from Humbaba Raw Food World . Perfect timing! I’m going to start this on Monday after I do some planning, shopping and Easter. Planning is one of the main ingredients of any successful mission.

From what I’ve read the benefits of a raw food diet are:

*It will increase your energy level as early as 5 days after starting a raw food diet.

*A raw food diet feeds your body vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that are lost by cooking food.

*Raw food helps you lose weight effortlessly and you don’t even have to count calories!

*Raw food helps with anti-aging by feeding your body enzymes, help you think clearer which all helps you feel less stressed.

These are just some of the benefits. I am doing more research and will keep you posted on recipes and benefits and how it’s affecting me. I’m starting on Monday April 5th. I need to plan what I’m going to eat and go food shopping.

I will be Raw all day except dinner. I have to feed the family for dinner and will probably try and incorporate some raw foods into dinner. I may even just have a smoothie for dinner for myself. We’ll see. Wish me luck!

Have you ever tried a raw food diet? Let me know how it went for you!

Beautiful photo: Urban Explorer

Coffee and Vitamin Absorption

My usual quick breakfast routine goes something like this... oatmeal (apple and cinnamon or maybe with blueberries, walnuts and honey) OR maybe an acai shake, then I have my decaf Deans coffee and a multivitamin....then off to work. Well, it used to be that way anyways. I think I need to change that up a bit because according to Mark Moyad, M.D., M.P.H. author of Dr. Moyad's No BS Health Advice

“Coffee is a stimulant so it revs up the gastrointestinal tract and makes things move more quickly through your body"...so in regards to your multivitamin ...basically, the vitamins are on an express train through your body (digestive tract) and won't make any stops.....So, in order to absorb vitamins from your supplement eat breakfast, have your coffee then wait 10-15 minutes and then have your vitamins with water.

Source: Fitness Magazine, January 2010