Today's Edibles:
Breakfast:
16 oz. ( of 40 oz.) Green Smoothie containing water, 2 juicing oranges, 6 strawberries, 1 handful of parsley, 1 heaping teaspoon Pure Planet 100% Hawaiian Spirulina, 1 large scoop Warrior Foodtm Vanilla Enhanced Protein Supplement, 1 scoop locally wildcrafted mesquite powder from Rinzai's Market in Sedona, AZ, 2 teaspoons raw honey
Snack:
1 apple, cut up
Lunch:
From The Stand, in Norwalk, CT (Thanks, Carissa!):
Backyard Salad with mixed greens, sunflower sprouts, shredded beets, dried cranberries, a couple of grape tomatoes, 1/2 sliced avocado, 1/2 chunked apple, with raw creamy cashew garlic dressing
1 container raw almond hummus
3 mini Go Raw Live Chocolate cookies
Dinner:
3 slices of Manna sprouted Millet bread
1 small sample-size of Justin's Maple Almond butter - wicked yummy!
1/2 red grapefruit
I am devastated for the people of Japan by their tri-fold disaster; the earthquake, the resulting tsunami and the most destructive of all, the severe injuries to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and ensuing radioactive fallout.
My heart goes out to every woman, man, child, animal and being over there. I feel deep anguish for each of you and send you prayers of healing light, warming sun, healthy, clean water, clear skies, pure air to breathe and extraordinary health permeating every cell of your body. I send an intention for complete and total healing of your country and all of your people.
Here is the link to Len Foley interviewing David Wolfe on Radiation Protection from Nuclear Fallout. This 25 minute interview is the best and most comprehensive piece I've heard on what effects radiation can have on the body and which specific supplements we can take to address the various aspects of radioactive fallout. I recommend listening to it and taking some notes, as I did, so that you can then follow through on whatever measures you choose. Thank you, David, for taking the time to do this.
http://www.thebestdayever.com/news/podcast/podcast-63-dave-wolfe-on-radiation-protection/
In Health,
Hope
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Raw Food on a Budget; An Amazing Offer
Today's Food:
Breakfast:
16 oz. Morning Wake-up Smoothie with 1 orange, 6 large strawberries, 1 kiwi and water; blended and chilled down
Exercise: 15 fast minutes on the Needak rebounder
Lunch:
1 large mango
2 stalks of celery with dulse shake
Snacks:
1/2 large red pepper and 1/2 large carrot with a little Bragg's and stone ground mustard dip
1 apple
1 small box Thompson raisins
Dinner:
Another amazing batch of spinach pate with 1/2 large bunch of flat leaf spinach, 1 teaspoon Red River chickpea miso, 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard, a large sprinkle of Himalayan sea salt
Manna sprouted rye bread - a few slices
Salad with red leaf lettuce, red pepper, alfalfa sprouts, fennel, carrot; with Deep Root Organic Raw Uncultured Beets and Sauerkraut
Jinjee Talifero's post today on "The Daily Raw Inspiration" connects her readers to this upcoming program and its details. After reading Jinjee's "daily" (which I do daily),
-Here is the link to sign up for Jinjee's "Daily" Newsletter, which is a quick read and super inspiring shot of health every day: http://thegardendiet.com/?page_id=11
I so liked what Brandi Rollins, author of "Raw Foods on a Budget", and "Confessions of an East Coast Raw Vegan" is offering...a FREE 2 - 3 month program on how to eat raw on a budget! I also want to pass this on to my readers as well. You can find out all the details to register and also read why Brandi is making this extremely generous offer by clicking on this link below:
http://www.rawfoodsonabudget.com/?page_id=1550
I hope this inspires some of you to step into raw!
In Health,
Hope
Breakfast:
16 oz. Morning Wake-up Smoothie with 1 orange, 6 large strawberries, 1 kiwi and water; blended and chilled down
Exercise: 15 fast minutes on the Needak rebounder
Lunch:
1 large mango
2 stalks of celery with dulse shake
Snacks:
1/2 large red pepper and 1/2 large carrot with a little Bragg's and stone ground mustard dip
1 apple
1 small box Thompson raisins
Dinner:
Another amazing batch of spinach pate with 1/2 large bunch of flat leaf spinach, 1 teaspoon Red River chickpea miso, 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard, a large sprinkle of Himalayan sea salt
Manna sprouted rye bread - a few slices
Salad with red leaf lettuce, red pepper, alfalfa sprouts, fennel, carrot; with Deep Root Organic Raw Uncultured Beets and Sauerkraut
Jinjee Talifero's post today on "The Daily Raw Inspiration" connects her readers to this upcoming program and its details. After reading Jinjee's "daily" (which I do daily),
-Here is the link to sign up for Jinjee's "Daily" Newsletter, which is a quick read and super inspiring shot of health every day: http://thegardendiet.com/?page_id=11
I so liked what Brandi Rollins, author of "Raw Foods on a Budget", and "Confessions of an East Coast Raw Vegan" is offering...a FREE 2 - 3 month program on how to eat raw on a budget! I also want to pass this on to my readers as well. You can find out all the details to register and also read why Brandi is making this extremely generous offer by clicking on this link below:
http://www.rawfoodsonabudget.com/?page_id=1550
I hope this inspires some of you to step into raw!
In Health,
Hope
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
It's Time to Eat From The Farm!
Yesterday's Dinner:
1 small avocado mushed up with large scoops of Deep Root Organic Raw Cultured Beets and Raw Cultured Sauerkraut, with a healthy sprinkling of Dulse seaweed shake - SO YUMMY!
3 Medjool dates
Today:
Exercise:
My own personal triumph - it's been two months that I've been nursing a broken pinky toe. As a result, all my Winter running, which I love dearly, went out the window as I focused my attention on healing my toe.
Today, I ran outside for the first time in two months! It was a beautiful run; slow, breathing deeply the smell of the Long Island Sound, which was to the right of me; being loving to my toe and running gently....but just perfect!
Breakfast/Lunch:
1 luscious mango
2 stalks celery with dulse seaweed shake
Mid-afternoon:
16 oz. Sublime Smoothie with 6 strawberries, 1 orange, 1 kiwi and a handful of parsley; with 2 teaspoons of mesquite powder and 1 teaspoon of Healthforce Nutrition Dark Mint maca (plus water)
More of the smoothie might follow in the later afternoon
Dinner to come:
New recipe that I made up:
1/2 a large bunch of flat leaf spinach (you can use the whole bunch if you like)
1 teaspoon Red River chickpea miso
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
Put it all in a food processor with the "S" chopping blade and process till smooth.
I will have this for dinner on thin slices of Manna sprouted rye bread.
Salad with red leaf lettuce, fennel, carrot and red pepper with lime and a little Himalayan sea salt
As many of my readers know, when we purchase our vegetables, even if they are organic, they have been shipped hundreds to thousands of miles, days and weeks (or months) from when they were picked, handled by many people and creating a large carbon footprint toward global warming by all the steps and miles it takes to get them to market.
Ultimately, growing our own produce that we pick the same day will bring us the highest nutrients while helping to heal the planet.
If that is not possible, I recommend becoming part of a CSA. I've been involved in supporting the local farming process for years, and am a huge advocate of supporting local farmers and eating close to home, both personally and as a wonderful way to connect children to their food source.
Have you ever tasted the difference between a head of organic lettuce from the market vs. one just picked that morning at the farm? not to mention the extended shelf life of fresh picked.
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You become part of the farming community by taking a CSA share for the season. You pay a fee that supports the entire farming cycle. The fees usually ranges between $200 and $600 for a 1o or 12 week season. Each week, the farm delivers the shares to a local drop-off point, where the members pick up. Their are still a number of local, organic farms all over the country; typically, they are up from the city areas in the more rural spots.
Sometimes, two people split a share, if they are not a large family.
We eat from the crop cycle; if this Spring is not a good season for carrots, we don't get carrots. We thrive on what makes the farm thrive each season.
Often the farms offer special events' dinners or gatherings.
Below I offer three links. The first is to the farm with whom I will have my CSA this year; Red Clover Farms in Seymour, CT. This will give you an example of how it all runs. The second is a link the Kim Dulka's blog; she is the owner of Red Clover, a generational family farm. There are some great photos that illustrate what goes on at the farm.
The final link is to Connecticut NOFA; North East Farming Association, which lists all the local farms that offer CSA's. Wherever you are in the country or world, you can google and tap into or hear by word-of-mouth about your own local farms and CSA's.
Some farms allow you to volunteer on the farm and get a feel for local farming.
This year, I will be investing in a Spring CSA, and then a Summer CSA with a fruit add-on, all from Red Clover.
I encourage each of you to tap into the energy and nutrients of local produce and support our organic farmers.
http://redcloverblossom.com/csa.html
http://redcloverfarms.blogspot.com/
http://ctnofa.org/CSAs.htm
In Health,
Hope
1 small avocado mushed up with large scoops of Deep Root Organic Raw Cultured Beets and Raw Cultured Sauerkraut, with a healthy sprinkling of Dulse seaweed shake - SO YUMMY!
3 Medjool dates
Today:
Exercise:
My own personal triumph - it's been two months that I've been nursing a broken pinky toe. As a result, all my Winter running, which I love dearly, went out the window as I focused my attention on healing my toe.
Today, I ran outside for the first time in two months! It was a beautiful run; slow, breathing deeply the smell of the Long Island Sound, which was to the right of me; being loving to my toe and running gently....but just perfect!
Breakfast/Lunch:
1 luscious mango
2 stalks celery with dulse seaweed shake
Mid-afternoon:
16 oz. Sublime Smoothie with 6 strawberries, 1 orange, 1 kiwi and a handful of parsley; with 2 teaspoons of mesquite powder and 1 teaspoon of Healthforce Nutrition Dark Mint maca (plus water)
More of the smoothie might follow in the later afternoon
Dinner to come:
New recipe that I made up:
1/2 a large bunch of flat leaf spinach (you can use the whole bunch if you like)
1 teaspoon Red River chickpea miso
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
Put it all in a food processor with the "S" chopping blade and process till smooth.
I will have this for dinner on thin slices of Manna sprouted rye bread.
Salad with red leaf lettuce, fennel, carrot and red pepper with lime and a little Himalayan sea salt
As many of my readers know, when we purchase our vegetables, even if they are organic, they have been shipped hundreds to thousands of miles, days and weeks (or months) from when they were picked, handled by many people and creating a large carbon footprint toward global warming by all the steps and miles it takes to get them to market.
Ultimately, growing our own produce that we pick the same day will bring us the highest nutrients while helping to heal the planet.
If that is not possible, I recommend becoming part of a CSA. I've been involved in supporting the local farming process for years, and am a huge advocate of supporting local farmers and eating close to home, both personally and as a wonderful way to connect children to their food source.
Have you ever tasted the difference between a head of organic lettuce from the market vs. one just picked that morning at the farm? not to mention the extended shelf life of fresh picked.
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You become part of the farming community by taking a CSA share for the season. You pay a fee that supports the entire farming cycle. The fees usually ranges between $200 and $600 for a 1o or 12 week season. Each week, the farm delivers the shares to a local drop-off point, where the members pick up. Their are still a number of local, organic farms all over the country; typically, they are up from the city areas in the more rural spots.
Sometimes, two people split a share, if they are not a large family.
We eat from the crop cycle; if this Spring is not a good season for carrots, we don't get carrots. We thrive on what makes the farm thrive each season.
Often the farms offer special events' dinners or gatherings.
Below I offer three links. The first is to the farm with whom I will have my CSA this year; Red Clover Farms in Seymour, CT. This will give you an example of how it all runs. The second is a link the Kim Dulka's blog; she is the owner of Red Clover, a generational family farm. There are some great photos that illustrate what goes on at the farm.
The final link is to Connecticut NOFA; North East Farming Association, which lists all the local farms that offer CSA's. Wherever you are in the country or world, you can google and tap into or hear by word-of-mouth about your own local farms and CSA's.
Some farms allow you to volunteer on the farm and get a feel for local farming.
This year, I will be investing in a Spring CSA, and then a Summer CSA with a fruit add-on, all from Red Clover.
I encourage each of you to tap into the energy and nutrients of local produce and support our organic farmers.
http://redcloverblossom.com/csa.html
http://redcloverfarms.blogspot.com/
http://ctnofa.org/CSAs.htm
In Health,
Hope
Monday, March 7, 2011
Get Passionate About What You Believe!
Yesterday's Springtime Elixirs:
Exercise:
15 minutes on the Needak rebounder mini-trampoline: This exercise is the one fully detoxifying form of exercise. It clears out the lymph, blood and organ system.
Breakfast/Lunch:
Smoothie with 2 oranges, 1 kiwi, 6 strawberries and 3 stalks of celery (and water)!
Dinner:
salad with Lacinato kale, red leaf lettuce, fennel, carrot, red pepper, broccoli and alfalfa sprouts
dressing of 1 tablespoon tahini, a little Red River chickpea miso, 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard and some apple cider vinegar
5 Black Sphinx Dates, Mount Grove, Arcadia - from the Phoenix-Sedona area: These dates were recommended and sent to me by my friend (and colleague) Julie out in Sedona. They are small and melt in your mouth like caramel. Julie uses them as the center stuffing of caramel when she makes raw chocolate turtles; YUM!
Today's Menu:
Breakfast:
16 oz. of Springtime Wake up! with 2 apples and a large jumbo handful of spinach (and water)
Exercise:
Fabulous Anusara Yoga Class
Lunch:
32 oz. of Springtime Stay Awake! (same as breakfast)
1 large, luscious mango
I have to share this video with my readers. If you are sad, if you are blue, just watch this video of Storm Talifero speaking about junk food. It's my new tool to make me laugh every day. I just love it, and cannot watch it without saying something out loud. I agree with every word Storm says and love the way he says it all in just over one minute.
If any of you remember the TV show "Sanford & Son," this might make you think of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqRJz0uAV9Y
The thing is, though, what Storm is speaking passionately about is painfully true; make sure you listen to when he talks about the shining light directing Ritalin to children.
"Storm Talifero has been a raw-vegan for over 38 years. He is the author of “The Garden Diet” and producer of “Breakthrough” a raw vegan documentary. He currently lives in the Los Padres National forest north of Los Angeles, where he is working on his next film and still driving to Santa Barbara twice a week to shop at the farmer’s market so he can keep his family supplied with the best raw organic fresh fruits and vegetables available."
Storm and his wife Jinjee, another raw warrior, have a fabulous raw retreat center in California.
http://rawveganwarrior.com/
In health,
Hope
Exercise:
15 minutes on the Needak rebounder mini-trampoline: This exercise is the one fully detoxifying form of exercise. It clears out the lymph, blood and organ system.
Breakfast/Lunch:
Smoothie with 2 oranges, 1 kiwi, 6 strawberries and 3 stalks of celery (and water)!
Dinner:
salad with Lacinato kale, red leaf lettuce, fennel, carrot, red pepper, broccoli and alfalfa sprouts
dressing of 1 tablespoon tahini, a little Red River chickpea miso, 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard and some apple cider vinegar
5 Black Sphinx Dates, Mount Grove, Arcadia - from the Phoenix-Sedona area: These dates were recommended and sent to me by my friend (and colleague) Julie out in Sedona. They are small and melt in your mouth like caramel. Julie uses them as the center stuffing of caramel when she makes raw chocolate turtles; YUM!
Today's Menu:
Breakfast:
16 oz. of Springtime Wake up! with 2 apples and a large jumbo handful of spinach (and water)
Exercise:
Fabulous Anusara Yoga Class
Lunch:
32 oz. of Springtime Stay Awake! (same as breakfast)
1 large, luscious mango
I have to share this video with my readers. If you are sad, if you are blue, just watch this video of Storm Talifero speaking about junk food. It's my new tool to make me laugh every day. I just love it, and cannot watch it without saying something out loud. I agree with every word Storm says and love the way he says it all in just over one minute.
If any of you remember the TV show "Sanford & Son," this might make you think of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqRJz0uAV9Y
The thing is, though, what Storm is speaking passionately about is painfully true; make sure you listen to when he talks about the shining light directing Ritalin to children.
"Storm Talifero has been a raw-vegan for over 38 years. He is the author of “The Garden Diet” and producer of “Breakthrough” a raw vegan documentary. He currently lives in the Los Padres National forest north of Los Angeles, where he is working on his next film and still driving to Santa Barbara twice a week to shop at the farmer’s market so he can keep his family supplied with the best raw organic fresh fruits and vegetables available."
Storm and his wife Jinjee, another raw warrior, have a fabulous raw retreat center in California.
http://rawveganwarrior.com/
In health,
Hope
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
A Tribute to One of My Heroes
Today's Glorious Food:
Breakfast:
Some Raw Jungle Peanuts
Drink: G.T. Dave's Organic Raw Kombucha Botanic No 9
Snack:
A ring of dried apple
Dinner:
Matt Monarch's cucumber yum pot! I couldn't remember his exact concoction, but it looked so yummy on his Utube. I took: 1 large cuke, peeled and 1 avocado, scooped and food prcoessed them together.
Then I put some pieces of dulse seaweed in the bottom of a bowl, poured the mix on top and mixed the dulse through it all.
It was delicious!
Small salad with red leaf, sunchokes, 1/2 tomato, alfalfa sprouts, carrot and nutritional yeast; with olive oil and Bragg's
Dessert:
small bowl of Artisana raw pecan butter (YUM; I love this stuff!) with shredded coconut and a small splash of agave
I want to pay tribute to one of my heroes who just passed away at 96; Jack LaLanne.
I remember, as a child, seeing him on tv in the mornings, along with his white German Shepherd. He was reaching people with his message of movement; that exercise each day was vital to our life force.
I've always held a soft spot of adoration for him. This morning, when reading his obituary on line, I saw that what influenced him and steered him in the direction of health was meeting Paul Bragg. Yes, readers, that is the same Bragg as Bragg's Aminos. Paul was an early advocate in the field of healthy eating of whole foods and waylaying disease in the body. I had no idea that Jack LaLanne met him and that this changed his life. This is when he lost weight and started exercising, subsequently changing the course of exercise with his personal philosophy and brilliant methodology and bringing weight training even to women in those days.
During different decades of his life, Jack undertook outrageous feats of skill, determination and stength, like having his hands and feet shackled and swimming across Alakatraz.
He was always sending a message to the world about what was possible if you took care of your body, mind and spirit.
I feel that his energy was not filled with ego at all; rather, he was passionately committed to reaching people with his message of health and letting them know that anyone could do it.
He was a true advocate for the health of humanity.
A few years ago, I read a great interview with him. As it turns out, he was basically eating all raw food; possibly some meat (I can't remember) but mostly all raw vegetables and fruit and no dairy, sugar or white flour.
He was still, at about 92, working out four hours a day.
I was just blown away by his consistent commitment; his powerful and gentle energy and his understanding of whole health.
He also had a beautiful marriage of 51 years.
His message was so simple, and if I close my eyes, I can hear it coming through the tv set of my childhood, knowing my mother was watching it.
Now she is in her 80's and still working out at the gym and with a trainer every week.
Thank you, Jack LaLanne, for giving life and health to so many people! You will be deeply missed, and I miss you already.
Breakfast:
Some Raw Jungle Peanuts
Drink: G.T. Dave's Organic Raw Kombucha Botanic No 9
Snack:
A ring of dried apple
Dinner:
Matt Monarch's cucumber yum pot! I couldn't remember his exact concoction, but it looked so yummy on his Utube. I took: 1 large cuke, peeled and 1 avocado, scooped and food prcoessed them together.
Then I put some pieces of dulse seaweed in the bottom of a bowl, poured the mix on top and mixed the dulse through it all.
It was delicious!
Small salad with red leaf, sunchokes, 1/2 tomato, alfalfa sprouts, carrot and nutritional yeast; with olive oil and Bragg's
Dessert:
small bowl of Artisana raw pecan butter (YUM; I love this stuff!) with shredded coconut and a small splash of agave
I want to pay tribute to one of my heroes who just passed away at 96; Jack LaLanne.
I remember, as a child, seeing him on tv in the mornings, along with his white German Shepherd. He was reaching people with his message of movement; that exercise each day was vital to our life force.
I've always held a soft spot of adoration for him. This morning, when reading his obituary on line, I saw that what influenced him and steered him in the direction of health was meeting Paul Bragg. Yes, readers, that is the same Bragg as Bragg's Aminos. Paul was an early advocate in the field of healthy eating of whole foods and waylaying disease in the body. I had no idea that Jack LaLanne met him and that this changed his life. This is when he lost weight and started exercising, subsequently changing the course of exercise with his personal philosophy and brilliant methodology and bringing weight training even to women in those days.
During different decades of his life, Jack undertook outrageous feats of skill, determination and stength, like having his hands and feet shackled and swimming across Alakatraz.
He was always sending a message to the world about what was possible if you took care of your body, mind and spirit.
I feel that his energy was not filled with ego at all; rather, he was passionately committed to reaching people with his message of health and letting them know that anyone could do it.
He was a true advocate for the health of humanity.
A few years ago, I read a great interview with him. As it turns out, he was basically eating all raw food; possibly some meat (I can't remember) but mostly all raw vegetables and fruit and no dairy, sugar or white flour.
He was still, at about 92, working out four hours a day.
I was just blown away by his consistent commitment; his powerful and gentle energy and his understanding of whole health.
He also had a beautiful marriage of 51 years.
His message was so simple, and if I close my eyes, I can hear it coming through the tv set of my childhood, knowing my mother was watching it.
Now she is in her 80's and still working out at the gym and with a trainer every week.
Thank you, Jack LaLanne, for giving life and health to so many people! You will be deeply missed, and I miss you already.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Even the Torturous Moments become Embraceable
I wrote the first part of this post on Friday:
Today's Beautiful Food:
Breakfast:
Couldn't resist; warm pieces of my Raw Pecan Sundried Tomato Pies
Rockin' smoothie 32 oz. with fresh young Thai coconut with frozen banana, cacao, shijalit, Rok Caldwell's Green Powder and Vanilla Mint Maca
Exercise:
Deep yoga with Donna & Bruce of Elements Yoga in Darien
Bruce and Donna own Elements, an Anusara-based stuio, and Bruce is the master soundsmith. Today the music included a cut from Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman, Jackson Browne, live version of The Pretender (circa 1978), James Taylor live, ending with Imagine. When I focus on the music, I go deeper in my poses and even the torturous moments become embraceable
Lunch:
3-4 pieces of Raw Pecan Sundried Tomato Pie
I could not get enough of this!!!
it was originally inspired by Zakhah's book, The Joy of Living Live; A Raw Food Journey. I had modified the recipe years ago when I was teaching classes.
Now I changed it again, taking it from loaf pans into Pyrex pie dishes, and dehydrating it overnight. The taste is beyond the beyond. Here's the recipe:
Pecan Loaf with Sundried Tomato Sauce
A hearty main course for Winter meals; great for the holidays, too!
4 cups pecans, soaked overnight or for a few hours
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
½ large red onion, finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked till plump and moist, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons cumin powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups Sundried Tomato Sauce (see below)
Grind pecans in a food processor until fine. In a bowl, mix the pecans with the veges, spices and 1 cup of the Sundried Tomato Sauce. Shape into loaf and spread remaining sauce on top. Decorate with fresh parsley, celery leaves, sliced olives or pecan halves.
Serves 8 raw foodists!
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Sundried Tomato Sauce
2 cups sundried tomatoes, soaked; reserve water to use later
4 Roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 dash sage powder
Blend ingredients with 1 cup of water from soaked tomatoes. Let sauce sit for 30 minutes to allow water to drain from it. You can sit sauce over colander. (water may be saved and used for flavoring other recipes, like a stock for soup).
Makes 3 cups
Adapted from the Joy of Living Live; A Raw Food Journey, By Zakhah
1/2 ruby red grapefruit
Dinner:
Oooo, la la! Let me not forget anything we ate at my friends', Glen Colello and Lisa Storch's four course raw gourmet dinner called, 'A Taste of Asia.' This was held at their raw cafe, Catch a Healthy Habit, in Fairfield, CT, and was cheffed by Frank Giglio, inspired by the two months he recently spent in Bali immersed in its culinary arts.
Today's Beautiful Food:
Breakfast:
Couldn't resist; warm pieces of my Raw Pecan Sundried Tomato Pies
Rockin' smoothie 32 oz. with fresh young Thai coconut with frozen banana, cacao, shijalit, Rok Caldwell's Green Powder and Vanilla Mint Maca
Exercise:
Deep yoga with Donna & Bruce of Elements Yoga in Darien
Bruce and Donna own Elements, an Anusara-based stuio, and Bruce is the master soundsmith. Today the music included a cut from Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman, Jackson Browne, live version of The Pretender (circa 1978), James Taylor live, ending with Imagine. When I focus on the music, I go deeper in my poses and even the torturous moments become embraceable
Lunch:
3-4 pieces of Raw Pecan Sundried Tomato Pie
I could not get enough of this!!!
it was originally inspired by Zakhah's book, The Joy of Living Live; A Raw Food Journey. I had modified the recipe years ago when I was teaching classes.
Now I changed it again, taking it from loaf pans into Pyrex pie dishes, and dehydrating it overnight. The taste is beyond the beyond. Here's the recipe:
Pecan Loaf with Sundried Tomato Sauce
A hearty main course for Winter meals; great for the holidays, too!
4 cups pecans, soaked overnight or for a few hours
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
½ large red onion, finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked till plump and moist, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons cumin powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups Sundried Tomato Sauce (see below)
Grind pecans in a food processor until fine. In a bowl, mix the pecans with the veges, spices and 1 cup of the Sundried Tomato Sauce. Shape into loaf and spread remaining sauce on top. Decorate with fresh parsley, celery leaves, sliced olives or pecan halves.
Serves 8 raw foodists!
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Sundried Tomato Sauce
2 cups sundried tomatoes, soaked; reserve water to use later
4 Roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 dash sage powder
Blend ingredients with 1 cup of water from soaked tomatoes. Let sauce sit for 30 minutes to allow water to drain from it. You can sit sauce over colander. (water may be saved and used for flavoring other recipes, like a stock for soup).
Makes 3 cups
Adapted from the Joy of Living Live; A Raw Food Journey, By Zakhah
1/2 ruby red grapefruit
Dinner:
Oooo, la la! Let me not forget anything we ate at my friends', Glen Colello and Lisa Storch's four course raw gourmet dinner called, 'A Taste of Asia.' This was held at their raw cafe, Catch a Healthy Habit, in Fairfield, CT, and was cheffed by Frank Giglio, inspired by the two months he recently spent in Bali immersed in its culinary arts.
We started with what I will call an 'Amuse Bouche' (amusement for the mouth - a little pre-app tasting served in fine restaurants) of mini vege sushi rolls with a delicious, creamy dressing
Appetizer: Fantastic! kelp noodles in lettuce pouches with a thai "peanut" almond butter sauce - just delicious!!
Entrees: The first was a nut meat creation wrapped in a rice paper pouch that was so yummy in itself, tied with a piece of grass. It was floating in a foamy creme broth made from Chaga and Shitake and reishi mushrooms (all healing mushrooms), some from Frankie's home area of Maine.
The second was an array of shredded vegetables in delicate piles, with mushrooms and sea veges piled up in the center - just gorgeous - on top of sweet parsnip rice
Dessert: This was to-die-for:
We have renamed it Molten Lava (thank you, John), as opposed to Molten Lava Cake, it was just the darkest cacao (my guess directly from the bean) oozing it's chocolate lava, topped by raw ice cream with mandarin infusion and little chips of a caramel-like wafer scattered. This rivaled and topped any version in the best 5-star restaurant!
I may not be getting all of the ingredients correct, because it's been a couple of days since I started this post, but you get the general picture; MAGNIFICENCE!
Oh, and all accompanied by fresh spring water and green tea
Since this is my first post of the New Year, I want to speak about an understanding I came to during the month of December. "Even the Torturous Moments Become Embraceable" is the title of this post. Let me go right to the question we all ask ourselves from time to time; "Why am I Here?" It was many years ago that I understood that we each have a purpose here; mine is to to offer people, through counseling, a new way of being with themselves; to heal their bodies, minds and spirits joyfully. I am clear that is why I was born during this time. But I recently understood the other reason why we exist at all. This reason is directly opposite to how we are taught to deal with the "downs" of the "ups and downs" of life. I believe that we are here to profoundly Be with every moment of our lives; all aspects and all events, in order to witness our own personal evolution and heal our most wounded places. If you believe in lives before this one, that would inclide our karmic wounds from those times as well. We have a profound opportunity to transform the torturous into the embraceable. The mantra "out there" is that life is unfair. Cries of, "Why me?", or, "It's so unfair? Why did this have to happen?" abound. We have lost the point entirely, and our communities of government and religion and healthcare miss the true teachings. Even though you may hear a friend or family member say that something bad that happened to them was really a gift, in general, we expect that life will throw us blows and that those moments cannot compete with the good times. I think we miss the opportunity in being fully present to our own transformations, when we view one moment as less than another. Consider this: Maybe we are here for ALL of it, and it's the ALL that allows for our highest evolution.
I know this may read as very controversial, as some really crappy things happen in our worlds, including death and destitution, but you already know we are not high enough to understand some of those "Why's." Consider that the point may be all of it; maybe it's all related equally to our existence and evolution on this earth.
December was a month for me of healing some of my deepest and oldest emotional wounds of identity and sense of self as intimately related to others. I went down into the mud and rose up again. It hurt so much I felt it in my body. Would I do it again? Definitely, as the enlightenment that has come from the depths of pain has me clear about why I am here, and I shine brightly from having healed an element of my past in my evolution as a human. It's that simple.
Just some food for thought for the day. I would love to hear from you with your own take on it...
With Love & Respect,
Hope & The Holistic Empire
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