The Raw Food Solution

Photo courtesy of Sweetbeetandgreenbean

Here’s a simple and yummy sweet treat you can make REALLY quickly and that will stand you in good stead for those times where you just want something sweet to much on that’s not fruit or raw chocolate…

Ingredients:

* 1 cup tahini
* 1 cup raisins
* ½ teaspoon of vanilla essence OR small piece of vanilla bean

Directions:

1) Simply process all ingredients together to create a thick, lump free mass that you can shape as you desire. If the mixture is a little too dry, you can always add a small amount of water to get it going again.

2) When you’re happy with it, shape into squares or roll into balls.

RAW COACH’S TOP TIPS:

* For a different flavour add some raw carob powder to the mixture.

* These will last if you keep them in air airtight container in the fridge for a few days.

© Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach 2009, www.TheRawFoodCoach.com

Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes “Successfully Raw” - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you’re ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

Click here for more raw food recipes.

Photo courtesy of AshleyAull

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa!

I’ve been visiting here for about a month as my husband has been teaching shamanic movement workshops. Here in Cape Town there is a small but thriving raw food community that has only recently become established.

Up until several years ago raw foods were virtually unheard of in South Africa. This is a culture with food traditions deeply rooted in meat and potatoes with fresh raw fruit and salads playing a very small part in the traditional cuisine.

All of this started to change several years ago when Peter and Beryn Daniel returned to Cape Town after living abroad where they started eating a raw food diet. They were stunned to realize that no one in South Africa had any real knowledge of a raw food diet so they started teaching raw food workshops. They now also operate a thriving superfood business.

Their workshops are very popular and due to demand from participants they have now released their first book of raw food recipes. My husband and I were fortunate to be invited to their home to share a raw food dinner with Peter and Beryn and it was one of the most delightful meals we have enjoyed.

Firstly we were taken of a tour of the gardens around where they live, which contains an abundance of local plants as well as a large veggie garden. One of the plant species of note is the Cape gooseberry (pictured above), which is also known as the Incan berry, and is highly regarded as an antioxidant rich superfood.

After this we returned to the house where we enjoyed a blue drink made from coconut water and anthocyanin, which is the blue component of spirulina. Apparently it is very expensive but extremely potent for boosting immunity but mostly it was just fun for the novelty factor because it looked so pretty.

Following this Beryn prepared the most delicious soup I have ever tasted in my life, raw or cooked. It consisted of a base of coconut cream with lemongrass, kaffir lime, onion and miso and she served it warm straight out of the Vitamix. So rich and nourishing yet very subtle in flavor. I think I might have to ask her if she is willing to share the recipe because it was absolutely fantastic.

We then all realized that the soup was quite filling yet we didn’t’ want to miss out on enjoying the main course so digestive enzymes were in order. After a short break we then enjoyed a butternut lasagna with marinated mushrooms, spinach and macadamia cheese. Beryn made the cheese with Irish moss, which made it delightfully light; very unusual for a nut-based cheese.

We were then feeling very satisfied yet there was still dessert! After a short break to digest a little more we then indulged in a key lime pie served with fresh figs, raspberries and a vanilla coconut crème. The crust was delightfully light and based on coconut while the filling was a classic creamy avocado but with the addition of anthocynanin to give a blue-green color.

Due to the sweetness of dessert, Peter then decided that some bitter raw chocolate would be the perfect counterbalance. He brought out some special raw chocolate called Pacari that is made from 100% cacao. Knowing that I am a little bit sensitive to cacao and can’t sleep if I have it in the evening, I just had the tiniest piece; the smallest nibble you can imagine.

Wow! This stuff is potent. With this smallest amount I felt an instant buzz, as if I had a couple of tablespoons of cacao nibs. I asked Peter why it is so potent and he said it is because they start with the highest quality cacao beans and then process it for three days to remove all the moisture. What is left is an extremely intense raw chocolate that would impress the most dedicated chocoholic and apparently this chocolate has won prizes for its very high quality.

My friend Kirsten explained to me that the stimulation would only last a moment since I had such a small amount and that what I was experiencing was more the feeling of the energy of the plant. I found this was to be true and after a few minutes I felt more grounded again.

As an antidote to the cacao we then ended the meal with a nice relaxing chamomile tea. What a beautiful meal. Great raw food and great company!

As we were leaving Peter generously gave me a copy of their raw recipe book, Rawlicious, which I hope to review for you as soon as I have had a chance to digest the contents and try a few of the recipes. On first glance it looks fantastic.

In a few days I am off to Costa Rica for some more raw adventures!

Photo courtesy of JoeM500

One of the hottest super fruits that have been found to be beneficial to improve our life and health are “pomegranates,” those unusual looking fruits with a brown leathery skin yet inside, packed with little red jewels.

It was the seeds that gave rise to the pomegranates common name, from the French grenade because they looked like the filling of a hand grenade known in Persia since ancient times. Some researchers actually believe that it may have been the pomegranate that Eve ate instead of the apple and it as been revered in many different cultures since then, both as a symbol and as a medicine.

Now the anti-oxidant searchlight has hit the pomegranate and the research is coming in fast and furious, although it must be noted that some research is being funded by the producers of pomegranate juice. Although the initial results are impressive there is still a lot more to be done before the verdict is absolutely conclusive. For example, it is said that the main ingredient of the pressed juice is ellagic acid which is unable to be assimilated by the body. There are others that say it is not known if there is a substance within the juice that is the magic bullet or if there are other constituents that cause the amazing effects.

We do know that pomegranates are rich in flavonoids and polyphenols, higher than tomatoes, green tea or red wine and absolutely bursting with vitamin C as well as other important vitamins.

So far there is evidence from the University of California that drinking 8 ounces of pomegranate juice per day significantly cuts down the effects of prostate cancer in men. It is not known if there was a control of men drinking 8 ounces of any other juice, but the pomegranate drinkers did display very good beneficial effects.

From Israel comes the research that a daily glass of pomegranate juice can reduce the levels of LDL which is the “bad” cholesterol whose fat clogs up the arteries which then leads to hart disease.

From Case Western Reserve University comes the news that pomegranates have had a significant effect on interleukin-1b which is an inflammatory chemical associated with arthritis. It also had a beneficial counter effect on certain enzymes that are responsible for the destruction of cartilage in the body, which is the material vital for allowing the bones to interact with each other. Although this is a preliminary study and has only been carried out on materials in a laboratory and not on an actual person, indications are promising.

All in all it would appear that a daily dose of pomegranate juice is going to be beneficial to your health. Some people must think so as sales in one supermarket chain in England have jumped by 300% and unless you have a particular medical condition where you are taking prescribed medication, it may be better to swap it for your orange juice in the morning.

There are other ways to enjoy pomegranates, such as sprinkling fresh pomegranate on your breakfast cereal or using in a salad. Although it sounds good and tastes great, taking pomegranate vodka or tequila is not really a health option!

Photo courtesy of Anushruti RK

It’s in the newspaper, on TV and over the Internet: if you want to reduce your risk of developing various diseases, you need to eat more raw food. You know you should, but your conception of raw food is a bunch of lettuce and maybe a carrot stick, and you would like to have a little more taste to your meals than that.

Today, let me help you change that conception. Most raw foods pack a lot flavor and nutrients. And incorporating them into your eating routine is simple. To get you started on discovering the joy of eating raw food, try some of the following ideas.

1. Drink a green smoothie for breakfast (or anytime). You know what a smoothie is-fresh and frozen fruit blended together to make a sweet, tasty drink. A green smoothie is the same, only with a handful of raw greens added to it. Start by trying spinach or leaf lettuce, as they are the more mild-tasting greens (spinach will actually make your smoothie sweeter). The more bitter greens such as romaine lettuce and kale require either more sweet fruit added to the smoothie, or an acquired taste.

2. Snack on celery sticks or cucumber slices with raw nut butter. The vegetables take little time to wash and cut up. You can make your own raw nut butter by whirling raw nuts in a food processor, or buy raw nut butter online or at your local health food store.

3. Eat raw fruit for dessert. If you’re addicted to having something sweet after a meal, try some grapes, berries, or dates instead of the usual processed sweets. You could even get real adventurous and try some papaya, which will aid in the digestion process.

4. Eat a large, colorful salad once a day. Make it with at least two cups of lettuce, some chopped non-green bell pepper, and other raw veggies that you enjoy. Top it with your favorite healthy salad dressing.

5. Serve sauerkraut with red meat. I don’t mean the conventional kind of sauerkraut that consists of cooked cabbage soaked in vinegar. I mean sauerkraut made of raw cabbage that was fermented at room temperature using salt and/or whey. If you have time, you can make your own. Otherwise, health food stores (and some conventional grocery stores in the health food refrigerated section) carry lacto-fermented sauerkraut in the refrigerated section, near the dairy products. The only ingredients on the label should be cabbage and salt, and perhaps whey.

6. Top your vegetables with sprouts. Growing your own sprouts in a jar is easy and takes little time. Seeds from alfalfa, clover, and broccoli are ready to be eaten in six or seven days, and add nutrition as well as enzymes to a meal. Put a handful on your steamed vegetables or a salad, add some dressing, and dig in!

7. Replace cheese made from pasteurized milk with cheese made from raw milk. The raw milk cheese is healthier and can be found at any grocery store. Similarly, you may consider replacing one cooked meat meal a week with sushi.

Now you have a good starting place to begin to incorporate more raw foods into your diet without sacrificing taste. Bon appetit!

Photo courtesy of Christaface

If you’re looking for a good hummus recipe and especially a healthy hummus recipe that also has no beans then this raw recipes fits the bill. Hummus as we know it usually contains cooked ingredients and includes beans but you can easily make the best hummus, without the beans or cooking it.

I’ve fixed and served this hummus many times and brought it to potlucks either as a dip or to be served on the side. You can also spread it on raw crackers or tortillas and top with salsa, tomatoes, avocados, cilantro or other herbs and veggies. I often make it and just keep it in the refrigerator for a few days ready to use.

For this raw recipe you’ll need 2 medium zucchini or cut a huge one down, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2-3 garlic cloves, sea salt, 1 large or 2 small lemons for juice, sesame seeds, tahini (comes in a jar or in bulk at food coops), ground paprika and ground cumin.

When you prepare this hummus recipe make sure to consider how spicy you want it to be. I prefer mine on the mild side. I have tried it with 4 cloves of garlic and it was too many. You can also cut down on the paprika and cumin, so start with a little and check by taste.

Here are the recipe ingredients: 2 medium zucchini, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2-3 garlic cloves, 2 tsp. sun-dried sea salt, 1/2 cup of freshly extracted lemon juice, 3/4 cup black or white sesame seeds, 3/4 cup tahini, 1/2 tsp. paprika and 1/2 tsp. cumin.

Cut up the unpeeled zucchini and place in a food processor along with the olive oil and 2 cloves of garlic and process until gently mixed. Add the sea salt, lemon juice, sesame seeds, tahini, paprika and cumin and process until mixed.

Refrigerate up to 3-4 days.

That’s it. An easy raw food recipe that takes only minutes to make. So much better than the store brands, which also include cooked ingredients. Only raw ingredients go into this hummus recipe. You can market and sell it it’s so good. You’ll want to adjust it to your taste. Just make sure not to make it too spicy because many people don’t like hot or spicy foods or can’t tolerate them. Raw foods don’t have to be hot and spicy to be good.

Photo courtesy of Mandolin Davis

Raw food detox diet involves eating food in its uncooked form, referring to anything that occurs naturally. There are immense benefits to be derived from a diet consisting primarily or sole of raw organic vegan food. Eating raw foods gives you 100 percent of the available nutrition. But you can lose up to 85 percent of the original nutritional value when you cook the same food.

Raw food detox diet also provides enzymes that help digest your food. Living foods not exposed to temperatures above 116 degrees Fahrenheit keep their enzymes intact; otherwise, the enzymes break up and your body has to work harder to digest your meals. Enzyme-rich foods give you a more realistic and efficient energy source. They rapidly break down in our stomach and immediately begin to provide energy and nutrition.

One of the most life enhancing benefits from eating a raw food detox diet is the abundant amount of energy that is available to you. Energy that is usually use to digest cooked food is freed up for you to spend for other things, when eating raw. You will find that when eating raw foods you will need to sleep less to feel rested.

Many athletes have found that light raw meals give a more sustainable form of energy and improve their performance. Students find that raw food detox diet gives them a more stable blood sugar level, helping them to think more clearly and stay more focused. Eating raw food is also known to enhance your beauty. Most of all, when you eat well you feel good - and feeling good is the essence of life.

To start your raw food detox diet, increase the amount of fresh foods in your cooked food diet. The cleansing process begins and helps flush out old toxins. Greens and fresh fruits are especially effective in pushing debris out of your cells and colon. These two primary raw food sources attune your body to eating more and more raw food.

As you feel fuller and more nourished from the increased quantities of raw food, you may consider trying to let go of cooked food. Cultured foods (like tofu) help initiate beneficial flora. Dried foods assist your transition by giving a raw food way to satisfy a cooked food craving for something heavy. The goal in a raw food detox diet is to achieve the ideal balanced diet of 60 per cent fresh foods, 20 per cent sprouted foods, 10 per cent dried foods, and 10 per cent cultured foods. Try to achieve that to make the most of healthy, energy and culinary enjoyment!

Sandra Kim Leong recommends adopting a detox diet program to help remove accumulated toxins from the body. She strongly believes in the importance of digestive health. For free research, please sign up to her newsletter at http://www.Detox-Cleansing-Diet.com

Photo courtesy of Dave

Greens get you clean and many Raw Food Vegans know the importance of getting your greens. However, many people including Raw Food Vegans hate green food and it is because we have not developed a taste for them.

Getting your greens are very important to your overall health. Studies support the well established, health-enhancing effects of green foods. These benefits include elimination of toxins (such as heavy metals), metabolizing of fats, regulating levels of good bacteria (such as Lactobacilli) and boosting immunity.

So, let’s take a look at some ways you can increase your intake of greens. Here we will also explore some great recipes for getting your greens:

1. Green Smoothies:

Teaspoon of Wheatgrass powder or 1/4 cup of fresh wheat grass juice

2 Frozen chopped peaches (freeze fresh chopped peaches)

¼ cup of blueberries

3 tablespoons of Grade A maple syrup

½ cup of orange juice (fresh squeezed)

Put all ingredients in a high quality blender and blend.

2. Juicing Greens (great for energy)

With a juicer you can enjoy the following:

1 cups of juiced collard greens

2 golden apples

1 carrot

1 stalk of celery

Juice with a high quality juicer and serve.

3. Green Spirulina Shakes:

1/2 Frozen Banana

1 cup of Strawberries

1/2 Blackberries

1 Tablespoon of Spirulina

1 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice

Put all ingredients in a high quality blender and blend.

4. Green Nut Loaf:

2 cups of raw soaked walnuts (drained)

1 teaspoon of spirulina powder

1 clove of garlic

¼ cup chopped bell pepper

¼ cup of green onions

¼ cup of soaked Sun-dried tomatoes

¼ teaspoon Chili powder

¼ teaspoon Cumin

Sea salt

1 tablespoon Nama shoya or Liquid Amino

(The Loaf) Blend in a food processor with S-blade nuts, spirulina powder, garlic, Nama shoya or liquid amino, half of a garlic glove, bell pepper, onion, cumin, and chili powder until all is combined.

(The Sauce) Soak sun dried tomatoes until soft but kind of chewy. Blend in a food processor blender, 1 tablespoon of Nama Shoya or liquid amino with garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Sea Salt to taste.

(Making the loaf) Form the loaf to your desired shape (easy to form), put sauce on top of nut loaf. Place nut loaf in dehydrator and dehydrate overnight.

Now that’s a great way to get your greens. Remember, greens are high in chlorophyll and chlorophyll has a molecular structure similar to human blood. The life of your cells depends on you getting your greens. So if you have a family, one or more of the above recipes may be beneficial to you and the ones you love.

About the author:

Carmellita M. Brown, a Wellness and Success Coach, is the instructor for the online courses: Abundance Training 101 located at http://universalclass.com and Lose Weight While Becoming a Wellness Coach Located at http://universalclass.com

Also the publisher of [http://www.headlinearticles.com]http://www.headlinearticles.com, Carmellita’s main goal is to help others live well, live wealthy, live wise.

Photo courtesy of Emrank

Royal Jelly is the wonderful product of the humble bumble bee! It has many beneficial qualities. This article will cover the natural medicinal properties that assist in healing bacterial and viral infections.

Royal jelly offers several benefits for bacterial and viral infections. Unlike other medications that are on the market, royal jelly is a completely natural dietary supplement that can offer many health benefits. You will see that these non pharmaceutical remedies are more beneficial to you than simple medications as they will work with your immune system, strengthening it and allowing you to have more ability to fight off the effects of bacteria and viral infections.

Royal jelly offers several key benefits to your health. As you will see in the royal jelly composition breakdown that is listed below, there are many nutrients within it. These nutrients give your body the necessary fuel that it needs to power through the healing process. Of course, keeping your immune system up and running well also helps to minimize the effects that an illness, bacteria or other condition will have on you. In other words, because of the nutrients within royal jelly, you face fewer infections because of your strong immune system.

What’s In It?

Understanding what is in royal jelly will help you to see the health benefits it can provide to you. You could say that it is a natural dietary supplement as it is quite full of nutrients that your body needs. So, what is in this natural dietary supplement? It offers proteins that your body needs as well as many vitamins including vitamins A, C, D, and E and some of the B complex vitamins. In addition, you will find amino acids, zinc, iron, manganese, and calcium. For a bit of help in the anti aging department, you will find collagen, lecithin and folic acid. As you can see, there are plenty of nutrients in royal jelly.

Protect Your Immune System

Royal jelly can protect your immune system. Because it offers your body many of the nutrients that your immune system needs in order to fight off bacterial and viral infections, it actually strengthens your system. When a virus or a bacterial infection enters the body, your body can react in a much more beneficial way. It can effectively fight off the infection before it becomes a real life threatening or sickening condition. Overall, this allows for your immune system to continue strengthening. Just as giving your automobile the fuel that it needs to allow it to move through the streets, giving your body the necessary nutrients that are found in royal jelly allows it to do its job the best possible way.

There are many benefits to using non pharmaceutical remedies for improving your health as well as fighting off infection. If you are looking for a method of healing that will not give you with the side effects that many chemical based medicines that do, then the non pharmaceutical option of royal jelly may be one of the best things to consider.

Royal jelly’s health benefits are disputed and there is no guarantee that it will heal all types of infections. Yet, many people have found solid benefits when they use royal jelly as opposed to using traditional medicines. The simple fact that royal jelly is packed with nutrients that your body needs for its health and well being, means that there are many things that it can help you with including fighting off bacterial and viral infections of many types.

The health benefits of Royal Jelly are many. To find out more about this amazing product; its benefits, side effects, research and composition visit http://www.aboutroyaljelly.com

Photo courtesy of Jason Gulledge

If you feel in need of a little treat as you prepare to shed some clothes and skip into spring, then what could be better than these super-simple cookies that will put a smile on your face and evoke a song from your soul?

Makes 10 cookies, approx. 7cm diameter, 1cm deep.

Ingredients:

* 4 bananas

* 200g fresh coconut, sliced or grated (use coconut chips if you can’t get fresh coconut)

* 125g almonds

* 125g raisins OR finely chopped dates

Directions

1) Process almonds into a fine powder, either in a good food processor, nut mill or dry jug of a Vita-Mix blender.

2) Pour into a food processor and add the bananas, coconut and raisins/dates to create a smooth mixture.

3) Make circles of the mixture on a dehydrator sheet to your preferred size.

4) Dehydrate until dry and chewy (about 18 hours).

RAW COACH’S TOP TIPS:

* Try different nuts, such as macadamias for a creamier, richer taste - but allow longer to dehydrate as they are much more oily.

© Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach 2009, www.TheRawFoodCoach.com

Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes “Successfully Raw” - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you’re ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

Click here for more raw food recipes.

For every diet there are going to be experts. There are going to be people who write books, and make instructional DVD’s to emphasis the finer points of eating. When it comes to raw dishes, this is no different. One book that has become quite popular is Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People. This book can help you find recipes, as well as learn the benefits and dangers of eating in the raw.

Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People is an easy read that does not bog you down with fancy words or complicated recipes. It is relatively straightforward and offers some pretty good advice. It’s very easy reading, in fact!

Of course, this is not the only place that you should look for for advice. Chef Juliano is another one of today’s top expert. He offers classes, and is the owner of a world class restaurant that specializes in raw food.

You have many places that you can turn to for information. If you are looking for simple recipes, Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People can be a great source. The first part of the book deals with preparation and shows you different chopping methods. It can also show you the amount of fruits and vegetables you will need to make raw meal staples like smoothies.

The book moves on to dips, pates, and then to soups. Just flipping through the book you will be amazed by the many different recipes and things that you can make using only raw foods.

Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People also does a good job of pointing out the nutritional value for certain foods. Avocados, for instance, they say are full of nutritional value and are a great addition to any meal.

If you are looking for some beginning advice to get you started on your way to a healthier life, or if you have run out of raw recipes, and are looking for a fresh take, this book could shed some light on your problem. It is not an intimidating book like some educational books. Instead, it is conversational, and most of the recipes are fairly easy. If you want to learn how to cook raw meals, you might consider picking up this book. There are many books out there that you can learn from, but this one is also worth checking out.

DJ Jimenez is a writer, nutritionist, and an expert on raw food made easy. Click this link to read more tips on health and fitness at his website: Eating Raw Food.