Chard from our garden

I’ve mentioned before how blessed I feel that M. is an avid gardener.  She’s planted a patch of chard which acts perennial.  No matter how many leaves I cut off of it, it continues to grow more.  This morning I made an awesome green smoothie with freshly picked red chard.  It had soymilk, strawberries, banana, maca, DHA, Irish moss gel probiotics, bee pollen, and a wee touch of stevia.   It was about time that one of my concoctions tasted fabulous. Lately my smoothie combos have all been “plug & chug” (meaning you hold your nose just to get it down).

Cherry Extract

I made SUCH the kick-ass smoothie this morning. I was feeling sad about the scale. I’ve had so many slip-ups lately that there are virtual skid marks on my shoes. I couldn’t face another green smoothie so I treated myself to some super food: raw cacao! (my favorite is Navitas Naturals) . I threw in some frozen cherries and to intensify the cherry buzz I added some cherry extract. It was so fabulous I drank the whole thing even though it could have fed two people. It kept me full through a busy morning.   I’m picking up some more frozen cherries on the way home.  This one is a keeper.

Chocolate Cherry Buzz Smoothie
serves 2 (or 1 very hungry person)

2 cups almond milk
2 frozen bananas, medium sized
1 cup frozen cherries
5 Tbsp raw cacao powder (I like a LOT of chocolate, you can adjust to taste)
1 tsp cherry extract

Blend.  Serve with love!

Strawberry Beet Green Smoothie

Sometimes green smoothies are not green!

I made this baby today and it was more than fabulous.  The color was so vibrant I almost needed to put on my sunglasses.  I don’t know how the color will render on your computer screen.  It was the color of Pepto-Bismol in real life.  Not that you need Pepto (honey, if your body needs to eliminate, let it eliminate whatever toxin it has to get rid of!).  The color was so intense, that it reminded me of Rage Against the Machine.  Hence the name.  Plus, I like me some puns. Even when they’re bad puns.

Rage Against the Green Smoothie

1 cup almond milk (or soy milk)
1 cup chopped beet green stalks
1 cup strawberries
1 cup frozen raspberries
Supplements (I like MSM, bee pollen, acidophilus, and a source of Omega fatty acids like flaxmeal, chia, or hemp seed)

Blend.  Serve with love.

Today I used ground flax (aka flax meal) as my source of omega fatty acids.  I tend to use it the most because it’s cheap, it’s easy to grind fresh, it doesn’t leave a taste like hemp seed does and it doesn’t make things as thick as chia seed.   I’m going to be getting two types of beets today in my 1st CSA box from South Central Farmers’ Co-op. I can’t wait!!!   Prepare yourselves for a lot of beet and kale recipes in the very near future.

I’m feeling better already.  My skin is starting to do that glow thing.  My mood is much better. Not being weepy at the slightest thing rules! My energy level is up.  I got my exercise in today, walking 3 miles with my buddies (and Keen-O!).  And, I’m eating like a rock star.  Today I loved:

Breakfast

• 2 fl oz shots of E3 Live
• Almond milk with coffee
• Green smoothie
  • 2 cups coconut water (fresh!)
  • 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup pineapple
  • 1 1/4 cup chopped collard stems (leftover from making marinated collards)
  • 2 tablespoons ground flax seed a.k.a flax meal
  • 3 capsules acidophilus (I have Country Life Power-dophilus on hand)
  • 1 tablespoon bee pollen (yeah, I’m not an ethical vegan)
  • 1 teaspoon raw agave powder
  • 3 scoops MSM

Spicy sweet potato chips

Lunch

• Marinated collards served on top of a:
• Monster salad
  • Mixed baby greens
  • Broccoli sprouts
  • Shredded carrots
  • Broccoli slaw
  • Fat free balsamic vinegar dressing
• Spicy sweet potato chips (crumbled on top of the collards & salad…OMG soooo good)
• Apple

Snack

• 3 clementines
• Coconut water (canned, but still good. Gotta heart Amy & Brian’s Coconut Juice)

Dinner

• Romaine lettuce wraps filled with
  • “Stuffing fantasy” patties, warm from the dehydrator
  • Cranberry relish
• Raw agave gelato from Organic Nectars — this time cherry chocolate

I am grateful for the spousal support.  I am grateful for tasty eats.  I am grateful for lovely friends and walking buddies. May it continue to go so smoothly.

My wife’n'kid were having bean’n'cheese burritos.  The smell when I came in the house after work was inspiring!  So I got creative.  I made a batch of Cherie Soria’s Fresh Corn Tortillas back in July.  Since I had a dozen, I froze a bunch of them.  Five months later they’re still good.  I warmed them up in the dehydrator while I got busy making the Stuffing Fantasy I was supposed to make on Saturday (I do want my Thanksgiving eats this week at some point).   I also had some portobello mushrooms and some cherry tomatoes so I warmed massaged those in a little olive oil and salt and put those into the dehydrator to soften up. Finally, I threw some of the salsa the wife’n'kid were having into the dehydrator too.  It’s chilly!  I like my raw food warmed up!

Forty-five minutes later, after I’d finished the stuffing, I had a beautiful set of ingredients with which to make tostadas.

Fresh corn tortilla with portobello mushroom cherry tomato ragout

Fresh Corn Tortillas

• 4 cups chopped yellow bell peppers
• 3 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1 cup peeled chopped zucchini
• 1.5 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• .5 teaspoon salt
• 1 ripe avocado, coarsely cut into chunks
• 3 tablespoons psyllium powder or ground flax seeds

1. Combine the bell peppers, corn, zucchini, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt in a blender and process until smooth.  Add the avocado and process until well combined.  With the blender running, add psyllium powder and process for a few seconds longer until well blended.

2. Using 1/2 cup of the mixture for each tortilla, use a small metal spatula of flat rubber spatula to quickly form 4 flat disks on a dehydrator tray lined with a nonstick sheet.  Each disk should be about 7 inches in diameter, with a little space between each one.  Work quickly or the mixture will thicken and become difficult to spread.  Continue to work in this fashion until all of the mixture is used.

3. Dehydrate at 105 F for 4 hours, or until the tortillas can be easily remoed from the nonstick sheets.

4. Turn the tortillas over onto mesh dehydrator trays.  Place an additional mesh screen on top of each tray; this will make the tortillas flatter and easier to store. Dehydrate for 3-4 hours longer until the tortillas are dry but still flexible.

5. Stored in an airtight container, will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Portabello mushroom and cherry tomato ragout

• Portobello mushrooms, chopped
• Cherry tomatoes, chopped
• Olive oil, to taste
• Sea salt, to taste

Mix mushrooms and tomatoes with olive oil and salt, using your hands to massage oil into the vegetables.  Put veggies in the dehydrator until they become soft and reduce in size a bit.

Tostadas

• 2 fresh corn tortillas
• portobello mushroom and cherry tomato ragout
• shredded carrots
• pico de gallo salsa
• mixed greens

Spread salsa on the tortillas.  Layer the greens, mushroom ragout, salsa, and shredded carrots on top.  Serve with love!

I ate like royalty today, day 2 of my 30 day raw food challenge.  I had

Breakfast

• 1 shot of E3 Live
• Tropical fruit salad (no coconut today): pineapple, mandarin orange, and banana

Lunch

• marinated collard greens mixed with
• leftover monster salad from yesterday
• apple

Snack

• banana

Dinner

• my awesome tostadas
• some raw tortilla chips with salsa
• and some awesome vanilla fudge raw agave gelato from Organic Nectars with a little bit of “You-Must-be-Kidding Chocolate Sauce” from Natalia Rose’s Raw Food Detox Diet

Sometimes it’s really really really easy to be raw.   It’s all in the pre-prep baby.  I had several things available to me today which made my life easy’n'tasty.  I had tortillas, tortilla chips, store-bought salsa, store-bought gelato, and chocolate sauce.   I also had leftover collards from this weekend’s prep session.   I only spent 30 minutes doing food prep today.   It took me longer to do the dishes after the family ate!

I didn’t exercise, unfortunately.  All that eating and dish doing has left me a bit done in.  Only half-hour until bedtime.  I’m going to read a novel in bed cuddling with my doggies.

Pizza Flax Crackers

Pizza Flax Crackers by Cherie Soria
Yields 5 trays of 32 crackers = 160 crackers
20 servings of 8 cracker sized crackers

1.5 cups sun-dried tomato powder
1 cup purified water plus additional water to thin as needed
3 cups carrot pulp or chopped red pepper or zucchini (or a mixture, or use whatever leftover veggie bits you’ve got on hand)
.5 cup chopped onion
2.5 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
4 cloves garlic crushed
.5 cup minced fresh herbs (basil, parsley, dill weed, or oregano)
2 cups flaxseed ground
2 cups flaxseed soaked 8-12 hours in 4 cups purified water (do not rinse or drain)

1. Combine the sun-dried tomato powder and the water, and stir to form a paste.

2. Combine the veggie pulp, onion, salt, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and garlic in a high powered blender or food processor outfitted with an S blade.

3. Blend or process the vegetable mixture to a large mixing bowl, add the flaxseeds and flax meal, and stir well to combine.

4. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large bowl, add the flaxseeds ad flax meal, and stir well to combine.

5. Spread about 3 cups of the batter evenly on a dehydrator tray lined with a nonstick sheet.

6. Score the crackers into squares.  Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 12 hours, until they are completely dry and crisp.

7. Flip the crackers onto mesh dehydrator screens, and continue to dehydrate for 24 hours, or until they are completely dry and crisp.

8. Allow the crackers to cool completely, then store them in sealed glass jars for up to three months at room temperature.  The crckers may also be stored in the refrigerator or freezer for up to six months.

Sun dried tomato powder

Very dry sun dried tomatoes.

Grind sun dried tomatoes in a coffee or spice grinder or a high speed blender such as a Vitamix or Blendtec.

Take the green smoothie I made this morning.  I had a bunch of oranges about to go, so I figured I’d juice them.  I used the freshly squeezed juice as a base for a green smoothie.  I added a couple of frozen bananas, some parsley, and a tablespoon of Vitamineral Green.

I blended.

I tasted.

It was way too greeny.

So I added another banana.

I blended.

I tasted.

And it was waaaaaay too sweet.  I couldn’t taste my wonderful OJ at all.  I suffered through drinking a cup or so.  I didn’t want to adjust anything else because I’m being mindful of my caloric intake during my 30 day 100% raw challenge.   After 1 cup, however, I just couldn’t take the sweetness anymore.  My toes were curling.   So I modified.

I added a cup of pomegranate juice to the remaining 3 cups of smoothie I had left.  Ah ha!  That did the trick.  It’s still pretty sweet, but now it’s not cloying.  I get a bit of tart and I get the benefits of all those anti-oxidants in the pomegranate juice.

Voila! I saved the green smoothie! No need to waste food and toss it.  My willingness to be flexible and creative let me keep my smoothie.  The moral of the story is that improvisation is a good thing.

Saved Green Smoothie
Yield: 5 cups  Servings: 2-3

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
3 frozen bananas
1/2 bunch parsley
1 Tbsp Vitamineral Green
1 cup 100% pomegranate juice

Blend.  Serve with love.

I added MSM to the mix to help my chronically sore tendons and joints.   I split my smoothie into two servings and had some with breakfast and with lunch.   Mmm, mmm, good.

Golden Tortilla Chips

Golden Tortilla Chips

1 3/4 cups flax meal
4 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 1/3 cups water
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin
3/4 small red onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 tablespoon sea salt + more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon lime juice
Pinch cayenne
2 teaspoons chili powder

Place flax meal in a large bowl. Blend all remaining ingredients except chili powder in a Vita-Mix or high-speed blender until smooth. Stir in flax meal and chili powder. Spread one cup of batter over the entire Teflex sheet to no more than 1/8 inch thickness and place in dehydrator. Approximately 30 minutes later the chips will be ready to be removed and marked with a paring knife into the size and shape you desire. Sprinkle with salt and dehydrate 12-24 hours, until completely crispy. Yields 4 trays.

Serve with love!

Coconapple Collard Kefir Smoothie
2 cups coconut milk kefir (I use one by So Delicious)
2 cups pineapple chunks
2 bananas
all the stems leftover from a bunch of collard greens I used for salad yesterday (about 1/3  – 1/2 cup broken into little pieces)
1 fl oz shot of E3 Live

Blend in high speed mixer.  Serve with love.