Christmas Kale Salad with Creamy Hempseed Dressing

 

Christmas Kale Salad is a festive, cleansing raw salad that's perfect for holiday season, when sugary treats and heavy fare abound. I made a double big batch to bring to a potluck dinner tonight, starting with two gigantic bags of winter kale that I bought at the Amherst indoor farmer’s market on Saturday: one curly, one rainbow. 

Tender-sweet winter kale is my favorite kale, and it makes a stellar massaged kale salad, as you will see. I made this salad by feel, using basic massaged kale salad principles. This post includes more precise measurements, but here's what I did today:

After removing stems (which I saved for juicing) and cutting the larger kale leaves into smaller pieces, I was able to fill two large mixing bowls with kale. Over the mounded top of each bowl, I squeezed the juice of one and a half lemons (using 3 lemons total), sprinkled a hefty pinch of Himalayan pink salt, and drizzled on some extra virgin olive oil—not too much, just a light, controlled, spiral pour over the leaves on top.

 

 

Next, with very clean hands and alternating between bowls, I gently massaged the kale until every nook and cranny was thoroughly coated with oil, salt and lemon juice. During this process, the citric acid and salt break down the cell walls and allow the kale to soften and “cook.” While massaging, I removed stray stems and tore some leaves into smaller pieces. After about ten minutes of going back and forth this way between bowls, the total volume was reduced in size by half, and I was able to combine all the kale into one bowl.

To add a splash of color and some textural variety, I added one large, organic red bell pepper, chopped into a bite-sized dice. Isn’t it beautiful?

 After tossing red pepper and kale together with wooden spoons...

it was time to prepare the Creamy Hempseed Dressing. For this, I used a base of Raw Vegan Hemp Boursin with Fine Herbs (the recipe which I shared with you in my last post). 

Turning Hemp Boursin into dressing couldn't be easier. Simply add two tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar and four tablespoons of water to a half cup of Hemp Boursin, and whisk it all together with a fork. Pour over the kale salad...

 ...and toss well. Voila! The Christmas Kale Salad is complete! I can't wait to eat it!

 

  

Merry Christmas everybody! And a joyful end of 2012 to all. 

Love and light, 

Diana

Raw Vegan Hemp Boursin with Garlic & Fine Herbs

If a food could be louche, it would have to be rich, buttery Boursin: the soft, triple-cream, crumbly cheese spread that is so deliciously smooth and flavorful, one might manage to forget it is a heavily processed commercial milk product, just a few degrees of separation away from Philly.

I’ve had a serious crush on Boursin cheese—the garlic and fine herbs variety—since first being introduced in high school by a certain Melba Toast. Of course, we all were forced to part ways decades ago, citing irreconcilable health differences. But I’ve remained true in my long-standing desire to create a raw vegan version of the classic spread.

Undaunted by several false attempts, I’ve finally figured out the elusive ingredient that makes the recipe work: hemp seeds! Creamy, golden hemp seeds (rather than my usual seed cheese suspects: pumpkin, sunflower, cashew, macadamia) are the secret.

Along with a sublime blend of fresh garlic, lemon juice, and herbes de Provence, hemp seeds make my Raw Vegan Hemp Boursin with Garlic & Fine Herbs taste as divinely decadent as the original.

Enjoy Raw Vegan Hemp Boursin on 100% whole grain bread or crackers, sandwiched between spinach leaves, nestled in romaine, or stuffed into crunchy celery ribs. For sweeter pleasures, consider serving as a dip or spread with sliced Honeycrisp apples. Yum.

Raw Vegan Hemp Boursin with Garlic & Fine Herbs

This recipe makes one cup of finished Hemp Boursin.

1 ½ cups organic hulled hemp seeds

1 small clove of garlic, minced

½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt or sea salt

1 Tablespoon Herbes de Provence

1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 to 4 Tablespoons cold water

In a food processor fitted with the S-blade, add hemp seeds, garlic, salt, herbes de Provence and nutritional yeast, and pulse into a crumbly meal. Add lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of water; then process again until the contents begin to form a ball. Use a rubber spatula to scrape what rises up the sides back down into the mixture. Continue adding water one tablespoon at a time, and process the cheese after each addition until you see a color change: from green-gold to ivory white. At this point, only add more water if needed to reach desired, smooth consistency. Be careful not too add too much water at once, or the spread will suddenly turn liquid, in which case it can be used as salad dressing and you’ll have to start again. Store covered Hemp Boursin in refrigerator for up to one week. Freezes well for those who prefer to work in larger batches.

Note: The beautiful 100% whole grain sourdough bread featured in this post was handmade by Dorie Goldman of The Backyard Bakery, who freshly mills her own flour from local and organic grains.

Having purchased my first loaf today at the indoor Amherst Farmers Market, I feel like I won a prize! Moist, chewy and packed with seeds, this dense Danish Rye miraculously manages to be as light as it is hearty. My new favorite bread, hands down.

Pesto-Veggie Wraps with Vegan Hemp Seed Pesto

I’m so excited to be sharing a CSA share this year with my good neighbor Emily! Every Tuesday after work, I drive to the Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland and pick up a big green cardboard box pre-packed with beautiful, fresh-picked vegetables. Emily and I decided on a Deluxe Share which means we also get fruit, from a neighboring farm. The first week, our fruit consisted of two quarts of the sweetest organic strawberries we’d ever tasted. The next it was currants, then blackberries. Today we are getting gooseberries!


Even though I am splitting this CSA share, it's still a challenge to eat everything up in time for the next installment of bounty. So on Monday nights, it's time to make room for the incoming haul. For instance, say I was left with a generous portion of salad greens, radicchio and basil. Sounds like the perfect ingredients with which to make Pesto Veggie Wraps! If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, try this. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!


First, put together a nice raw salad with torn red leaf lettuce and radicchio, diced cucumber and dill.



Next, whip up a single-serving portion of Vegan Hemp Seed Pesto with the basil, garlic, olive oil and hemp seeds, plus some Himalayan pink salt (my favorite!). Spread the pesto inside of two cabbage leaves, layer on heaps of salad and add a generous squirt of fresh lemon juice. From there, it's just a matter of rolling… and voila!


In the absence of pesto fixings, I’d consider making Miso-Tahini Veggie Wraps or Salsa-Avocado Veggie Wraps or Honey-Almond Butter Veggie Wraps. The sweet, supple outer leaves of a freshly picked cabbage lend themselves to all manner of fillings.

One of my favorite things about this meal is the no-fork-required aspect. I absolutely LOVE salads, but let's face it, they can be tedious to plow through! Wrapping it up makes salad fun and easy to eat. Not to mention a mouthwatering delight. Enjoy!


Vegan Hemp Seed Pesto

Makes one serving

1 cup basil leaves, washed
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1.5 to 2 Tbs hemp seeds
1 to 2 Tbs olive oil
up to ¼ tsp sea salt, or to taste

In a food processor fitted with the S-blade, add basil, garlic, hemp seeds and sea salt and pulse until basil is finely chopped. Drizzle in olive oil while the processor is running. I use only enough oil to get the pesto to hold together and form a paste, stopping frequently and using a rubber spatula to bring everything down into the base. Taste and adjust seasonings. This would be good with a little crushed red pepper in it, too. Or some sundried tomatoes. Or a squeeze of lime juice. Or…!

Autumn Empress Salad with Currried Hemp Seed Dressing

It’s been more than a month since I posted my last blog from the beaches of Florida...and suddenly, its twenty degrees outside and Thanksgiving Day! How did that happen? And what better occasion to share a delicious harvest recipe featuring a cornucopial favorite: winter squash.

But first, a brief explanation for my absence. No—I didn’t run away with a pod of dolphins (sigh). I’ve been home in Western Massachusetts, witnessing the emergence of bare branches and absorbing, activating and working with Reiki, the healing energy system transmitted and taught to me in Florida last month by Reiki master, psychic healer and author Diane Stein. After intensive practice and further attunement, I am pleased to begin offering Reiki healings and energy balancing as an adjunct to nutritional counseling for my clients.

Of course during these many weeks of inner transformation, I have still been eating and preparing food! I’ve had a lot of new "raw materials" to work with as well, lol, brought to market by the wonderful organic farmers of the Pioneer Valley. I’m astounded at the variety of never-before-seen fruits and vegetables our farmers introduce to the locally-grown table each year… new and unusual shapes and colors of peppers, heirloom tomatoes, baby potatoes, squashes, apples, pears and more. Amazing!

My latest vegetable crush is on Orange Sunshine kabocha. This hefty baby is the red/orange-skinned version of my beloved "buttercup" squash, formerly the sweetest, most velvety winter squash I had tasted. That is to say, before my new squash crush changed things forever.

Orange Sunshine’s bumpy, scarlet-tinged outer skin hides richly hued, orange-gold flesh within. When baked at 400 degrees, cut side down in a pan of water, the flesh of this beauty becomes soft, smooth and sugary enough to give garnet yams a run for their money. Eaten raw, it is surprisingly crisp, juicy and, yes, super sweet! Who knew?

The raw winter squash raw-velation came to me while preparing my first Orange Sunshine for the oven. Once I started crunching on thin slivers of fresh squash and realized how DELICIOUS it was in its natural state, I couldn’t bring myself to bake the whole thing! Setting some hunks aside, snugly wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge, I came up with this recipe the following day.

Combining gorgeous Orange Sunshine kabocha with royal Purple Cabbage creates a magnificent color combination, a visual feast fit for a queen. In my Autumn Empress Salad, this imperial vegetable duo is topped with an exotic savory dressing, spiced with curry and rich in protein and healthy omega-3 fatty acids from golden hemp and thickening chia seeds. For a hotter version, double the curry powder and add cayenne pepper to taste.

Enjoy Autumn Empress Salad as a main meal or simple side. For a regal presentation, spoon into pale green butter lettuce boats and imagine them as crunchy royal barges, floating straight down your plate in the direction of your happy mouth and belly. ☺


Autumn Empress Salad with Curried Hemp Seed Dressing

Salad Ingredients
1½ - 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
1½ - 2 cups grated Orange Sunshine kabocha squash

Dressing Ingredients
¼ cup hemp seeds
1 Tbs white chia seeds
½ lemon, peeled and pitted
1 lime’s juice
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp each curry powder, turmeric powder
1 tsp raw honey or agave, or 3 drops liquid stevia extract
1 cup cold water

Serving Suggestion Ingredients
2 butter lettuce leaves per person
4 slices honeycrisp apple per plate

Directions
Shred or finely chop purple cabbage leaves after removing the thick inner stem. Grate kabocha squash in hunks, by first cutting off a slice and removing any seeds clinging to the center, then cutting a wedge that will grate easily. Hold the skin side of the squash towards your palm and grate only the inner flesh. The remaining strip of skin may be eaten by you, composted or given to the dog. (My dog is crazy for squash!) Place shredded cabbage and grated squash in a large bowl and toss gently to combine.

Add all dressing ingredients to a high speed blender and blend on high until creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Spoon into butter lettuce leaves if desired and garnish plates with crisp, sweet apple slices. Apples combine well with this beautiful raw salad, provided no starches, cooked veggies or animal proteins are eaten at the same meal.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!
With grateful ♥, Diana

Vanilla Hemp-Milk Shake with Goji Berries

August ends tomorrow, and back to school season will be upon us. But for now, a week of ninety degree weather is keeping the summer love alive. Here’s a refreshing meal-in-a-glass, perfect for breakfast on these last hot days of summer.

This shake is packed with protein and healthy essential fatty acids from fresh hemp seeds, and gets an added cell-saving antioxidant boost from high ORAC goji berries.

The Oxygen Radical Absorbence Capacity, or ORAC scale measures the antioxidant potential of different foods. Goji berries are one of the highest ORAC fruits, surpassed only by black raspberries and acai. Raw cacao tops them all – but that would be a different shake! Goji berries also contain all eight essential amino acids, making them a complete protein in a cherry-plum tasting package.

In this raw vegan version of the old childhood favorite, the Strawberry Milkshake, hemp seeds make the milk and goji berries stand in for strawberries.

Goji berries are a first-class thickening agent, so lots of water and ice are required, making this shake terrifically hydrating as well as delicious. Powdered vanilla bean provides a deep flavor experience but vanilla extract would also do. Tip: I always peel, bag and freeze my too-ripe bananas so I’m sure to have a stash of frozen bananas on hand.

Vanilla Hemp-Milk Shake with Goji Berries

Ingredients
4 Tablespoons goji berries
1 ½ cups filtered water
1/3 cup hemp seeds
2 frozen organic bananas
¼ teaspoon vanilla powder
4 ice cubes

Directions
Place goji berries, water and hemp seeds in blender container and allow to soak for five minutes or so while you gather the other ingredients. Blend well to make your goji hemp milk, then add bananas, vanilla powder and ice and blend again till nice and frothy.

The Rose Cleanse - Day 2

It's a hot summer day and I'm deep into day two of The Rose Cleanse here. All going well. I got some nice beets at the coop to make my rooty juice today, which ended up being a sweet beet-carrot-ginger-lemon-apple-celery-cuke combo. My green juice was the same as yesterday. So far, I've consumed about 32 ounces of fresh juice.

It's late afternoon and I find myself feeling both a little tired and...a little empty! I was thinking earlier how easy it is to turn empty into full. There's really no harm in sitting with emptiness once in a while. Nothing bad will happen to you if you don't eat the second you experience hunger.

I sure am looking forward to dinner at six, though! Tonight's menu includes a leafy green salad, baked buttercup squash and more of the tasty dish I made for last night's potluck dinner, pictured above and below. I had planned on making Cheezy Cauliflower, but since the farm stand did not have any cauliflower, I changed course and purchased some beautiful organic broccoli instead, which I used to create a nice Rainbow Salad with Creamy Lemon-Hempseed Dressing.


To make this salad, start with a nice big bunch, say, a pound and a half of fresh green broccoli, chopped small and drizzled with lemon juice, tamari, olive oil and a sprinkle of Himalayan crystal salt. Toss and let that marinate while you dice one large or two small sweet red bell peppers and thinly slice a nice big (is there any other kind?) white daikon radish after quartering it lengthwise. Throw in some halved sungold cherry tomatoes and mix all your colorful veggies together. Then... pour on a cup of Creamy Lemon-Hempseed Dressing, which is basically Kristen Suzanne's Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce with extra lemon juice, one or two tablespoons of clear agave nectar and a handful of fresh chopped oregano added. Sprinkle with cayenne if desired, stir well and eat. Very yummy!

If you still haven't tried making Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce for some reason, maybe this video of Kristen Suzanne making her signature dish will inspire you:



Doesn't that look good?!

Meanwhile back at the potluck last night, I was glad to find some raw baby carrots to munch on, along with basil pesto and raw peanuts to complement my crunchy Rainbow Salad. I also enjoyed a few cooked veggies from an amazing, spicy Chinese dish made by our multitalented host, Cai Silver. Cai is an incredible painter, artist and chef who operates the C.X. Silver Gallery in Brattleboro with her husband Adam. The potluck was held at the gallery, which showcases Cai's oil paintings plus features a variety of Asian and Tibetan arts. All this meant we guests were treated to some luscious visuals and a private tour on top of all the good food and company. What a delight!

When I got home, I still felt a little hungry so I ate a few blueberries and baby peaches. Technically one wouldn't put fruit on top of cooked veggies, but since most of my dinner was in the raw veggie or seed/nut category, the fruit settled fine. And it made me feel happy. Which is what really matters, don't you agree?

My potluck experience shows that it is possible to "have a life" and cleanse at the same time. I might not plan a detox during a week that I had a wedding to go to, mind you! But for everyday outings, The Rose Cleanse program is super doable.

Chilled Cream of Corn and Cucumber Bisque with Fresh Thyme

No one can say we didn't get a real summer this year. Unlike last year's Summer That Never Was (one of the wettest on record), the summer of 2010 has been hot, hot, hot! And sunny, sunny, sunny! I'm all about heat and sun, but I admit the urge to spend time in the kitchen prepping food is strongly diminished by uncomfortable levels of humidity.

Once again, thank goodness for blenders! In this weather, the Vita-Mix has to be my top used kitchen tool. Not only can it whip up a colorful and refreshing smoothie - also known as "breakfast of champions" - in record time, it's unbeatable for creating quick and easy raw blended soups that really hit the spot when you're hungry and hot.

Here’s a delicious, sun-golden summertime soup that makes a perfect light lunch or a sweet prelude to dinner on even the steamiest of days.

The recipe owes its ultra-creamy taste and texture to a special addition: Kristen Suzanne’s Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce, one of my favorite all-time delicacies. (link below) I happened to have some left over from a previous meal, (cheezy spiralized zucchini & summer squash noodles). Here, it supplies a savory cream base to a sweet chilled soup. Juicy cucumber provides the liquid and fresh thyme adds unexpected depth with a peppery bite. I hope you like it!

Chilled Cream of Corn and Cucumber Bisque with Fresh Thyme
Makes two appetizer bowls or one meal-sized bowl of soup.

Ingredients
1-2 large organic cucumbers, peeled and diced - yielding 2 1/2 cups
1 ear organic sweet corn, kernels removed
½ cup Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce (click here for recipe)
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Directions
Add cucumbers, Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce and corn kernels to a high speed blender and puree on high speed. Add thyme and repeat briefly. Transfer soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with cayenne, if desired. Bon appetit!

Hemp n' Half Update - Grinding Tip

This morning I made a fresh batch of hemp 'n half and, for the first time, tried pre-grinding the hemp seeds and chia seeds. (I used my beloved Cuisinart Nut and Spice Grinder for this purpose, but a regular coffee grinder would do.)

After just a quick buzz in the grinder, I added the ground seeds to my Vita Mix and proceeded as described in the last post.

WOW! The results are sooo creamy! Honestly, I have to say: maté latte never tasted better!

I plan to use pre-grinding method again – if not always, at least from time to time. Although Hemp 'n Half comes out fantastic without pre-grinding (which does add an extra step) the results might just be a little bit more ultimate in the smooth and rich department.

A votre sante! ♥ Diana

Diana's Amazing Hemp 'N Half

For many years, and I mean many, I’ve experienced an off and on dilemma about what to put in my tea. Black tea, that is. A drink to which I have a longstanding allegiance.

I was introduced to tea as a child. My dad used to make me a tea drink he’d call “Concoction” – tea with lemon, honey and sugar. Very tasty. I later got hooked on sweet creamy milk tea (chai) during the ten months I lived in India in the 1980’s. In India, chai is practically a religion and I was a fervent worshipper. Once home, my conversion appeared official. What coffee is to many Americans, tea became to me. Sweet tea. With cream. For a while, it was practically my reason to get up in the morning.

Needless to say, I was thrilled when studies started coming out attesting to the health benefits of tea drinking. (For starters, it's high in antioxidant flavonoids that help support vascular health.) Even so, I'm not one to like being dependent on any substance, no matter how good it is for me. So I decided to take periodic black tea breaks – just to be sure it was me who was actually steering the ship, lol.

Today, I frequently switch up my AM beverages – at times partaking of various herbal teas, yerba maté, hot lemon water, etc. following my tall glass of pure water or lemon water. But most mornings, I enjoy a cup of black tea – either an organic bulk tea from the local tea shop or a high quality bagged tea such as Yorkshire Gold, a current favorite. Always with a spoonful of raw honey and, frequently, a "creamer."

The cream is the problem.

There just aren’t any excellent creams out there. Regular half-and-half tastes and feels pretty good in the mouth but it’s nasty stuff: ultra-pasteurized and oozing with growth hormones, antibiotics and all the other chemicals fed to conventional cows.

Organic half-and-half is a step up but it’s still ultra-pasteurized, i.e. not only dead but potentially harmful to blood vessels and brain cells due to heat-damaged protein and fat molecules.

Raw cow’s milk will do but doesn’t provide the creaminess I’m looking for, plus after a few days, my tummy just says “no” to raw milk.

As for Silk Soy Creamer, well that was an option when I still used processed soy products, thinking them a fabulous meat/dairy substitute. Hah! I now avoid “soy foods” like the plague… for a multitude of reasons, such as: phytates (block mineral absorption), enzyme inhibitors (impair digestion), phyto-estrogens (helpful in menopause and other certain cases, but otherwise problematic in excess; linked to cancer, reproductive issues, etc), GMO’s (artificial DNA sequences; effects unknown), etc. Not to mention my general tendency to avoid highly processed fake foods. (Note: the only soy I currently consume or recommend is traditionally fermented soy – miso, tempeh, tamari – and the occasional tofu or edamame.)

So, soy milk’s out. Rice milk is too thin. Almond milk curdles in tea. Oat milk kind of works, but it’s still a highly processed product made in a factory, the original oat stripped of all energetic wholeness. What’s a tea drinker to do?

Enter my new invention. Hemp ‘n Half.


I came up with this the other day on a whim, and it worked! Thick, smooth, tasty – you name it! And so… I am very excited to share this recipe with you.

What’s to love about Hemp ‘n Half:

1. Fabulous taste – light, creamy and delicious; very similar to dairy half-and-half.
2. Mixes well into hot drinks: tea, yerba maté, coffee, Pero, mineral mochaccino, etc.
3. Contains chia seed: the world’s richest known source of omega-3 fatty acids and an excellent source of protein, calcium and fiber.
4. Contains hemp seed: protein-rich balanced source of omega fatty acids, high in minerals and fiber.
5. Non-dairy, lactose free, gluten-free, hypo-allergenic, vegan.


Please be advised, this recipe owes it’s smooth consistency to tiny chia seed, an up and coming superfood for the 21st century. Without the chia, the cream would separate into particles in the tea.

You can read all about chia seed in my recent booklet, Chia Seed (Woodland Publishing, 2010).

Chia Seed describes the fascinating history of this ancient Aztec power food, provides a comprehensive nutritional profile, benefits and delicious recipes – from sweet nut milks to velvety soup, savory raw crackers and the Mexican lemonade drink, Chia Fresca. Find Chia Seed at health food stores, community superfoods and online. Click here to order from Amazon.

Now, I present to you, my amazing…

Hemp ‘n Half
You will be elated at how well this thick, seed-based cream blends into hot drinks and tastes surprisingly like dairy half and half.

¼ cup raw hemp seeds
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
1 pinch sea salt
1 cup warm, filtered water

Add all ingredients to blender container. Allow seeds to soak for fifteen minutes. Blend on high for a few minutes until thoroughly homogenized. If desired, add optional one quarter teaspoon raw honey or agave nectar (I leave this out since I prefer to sweeten my tea separately). Store Hemp ‘n Half in a tightly closed glass jar in refrigerator. Keeps very nicely for 5-7 days.


Confession: as much as I love chai, an inviting cup of Mate Latte with Hemp 'n Half gives black tea a run for it's money!

Shilajit & Diana's Mineral Mochaccino

It's a NEW YEAR - 2010. Wow. Coming to terms with this strange sci-fi fact (2010? Impossible: that's the future!), I can't think of a better reason to introduce you to something really, really OLD! I'm talking about ancient minerals. Earthen minerals. Life-born minerals, concentrated into the form of a highly revered, Ayurvedic power herb/superfood/supplement, Shilajit.

Shilajit comes to us from the sacred Himalayan mountains, 10,000 to 12,000 feet above sea level. The substance is said to contain all known minerals and trace minerals in bioavailable ionic form. Yes, you read that right: ALL known minerals. In our world of demineralized soil, demineralized food and acidic bodies, its outstanding mineral content alone gives Shilajit incredible potential for health.

The origins of Shilajit are fascinating. Two hundred million years ago, during the time of drifting tectonic plates, the Indian subcontinent collided with the landmass of Eurasia. This impact not only created the Himalayan mountains, it caused entire rain forests to crumple and become trapped between and below the two land masses. Buried under the massive, newly formed Himalayas and subjected to millions of tons of pressure, the lost rainforests–once teeming with plant and animal life forms–became transformed over time into the nutrient-rich substance we call Shilajit.

Shilajit escapes from it’s deep, dark abode during the hot Indian summer months, when in molten form, the ancient substance rises to the surface and literally oozes through cracks in the stone face of the Himalayan mountains. Appearing first as a thick, sticky goo, liquid Shilajit quickly dries and can be collected, powdered and purified for use as a human medicine and food supplement. Compressed over millions of years, composed of fully stabilized, broken down organic plant matter, traces of fossilized life forms, rock dust and stardust, Shilajit represents a uniquely energetically complete and balancing substance.

The minerals in Shilajit are carried by fulvic acid, a natural electrolyte also found in humus. Fulvic acid forms complexes with the elemental minerals in Shilajit and holds them in the ionic form that supports their bioavailability. As such, fulvic acid is considered the primary "active ingredient" in Shilajit. It can help restore and maintain critical electrical balance in cells and also offers antioxidant and detoxification support, as the ionic minerals it carries serve as cofactors for several vitamins and enzymes involved in free radical scavenging and detoxification.

Long famed in Ayurvedic medicine, Shilajit is best known as a superior mineralizer with adaptogenic (stress-balancing) and immuno-modulating qualities. The herb is said to support memory and cognition, boost detox and enzyme activity, and offer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

That's all very interesting, you may be thinking, but how does it taste?! Well, in a word, earthy. Bitter. A cross between coffee and, well, soil.

O-Kay, you respond. So how do I consume this earthy powder and enjoy it? Easy! You use it sparingly, like any true superfood powder, in servings of one-half to one teaspoon at a time. You can take it straight: simply stir one serving into a cup of hot water for a coffee-like beverage. Or mix it up: blend Shilajit into smoothies or puddings, especially those containing raw cacao.

On that note, you may like to try my amazing Mineral Mochaccino! It’s basically a warm, sweet nutmilk beverage blended with raw cacao and Shilajit. (Reminder: chocolate + coffee = mocha.)

For a quick, simple version, simply combine one cup of warm almond milk with ½ to 1 teaspoon of Shilajit, 1 Tablespoon raw cacao powder and 1 teaspoon of raw honey or agave. That’s yummy, but if you have the time, I suggest the official, scrumdillyicious version below, made with freshly blended hemp and chia seed milk and soft dates for sweetness. It is SOOOO good, you won’t believe your tongue!

Diana’s Mineral Mochaccino
Makes 2 servings

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup hemp seeds
2 Tablespoons chia seed
3 soft dates
2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons raw cacao powder
1-2 teaspoons Shilajit
½ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch Himalayan pink salt

DIRECTIONS
In a high speed blender, soak hemp seeds, chia seeds and dates in warm water for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and blend well, until frothy. Continue blending until desired temperature is reached OR pour into saucepan, set on stove and heat gently to a comforting 100 degrees Farenheit.* Pour warm Mineral Mochaccino into two mugs and sprinkle with additional cinnamon. Then, sit back, sip and enjoy the New Year!

*Your Vitamix or other high speed blender will heat up raw blended foods. However, it does so rather “violently” as far as the food molecules are concerned, so many prefer to gently heat their raw foods in a more traditional way–on the stove or in a dehydrator.

A HOT RAW NOTE: Some age-old traditional dietary systems, notably Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine, assert that eating raw food is not appropriate in the winter. The presumed reason for this is that because raw food is cold, its digestion will draw warm energy from your body and make your body cold and weak in the process. However, there is a hole in this assertion. Namely, it is a false belief that raw food = cold food. My friends, raw food does not have to be eaten cold! In fact, technically, most raw foods can be heated to anywhere between 110 and 120 degrees (depending on the structure of the particular food - some can withstand even more heat) and still remain alive, with enzyme activity preserved. Therefore, in winter, please make your juices and salads with room temperature vegetables and fruits! Also, feel free to heat up raw soups, sauces, other foods and drinks to a temperature of, say, 100 degrees F, which is distinctly hot to the touch AND well below the 110-120 degree span that most raw foodists recognize as the killing zone for enzymes and life force in our food. In this way, you will promote warmth in your body AND continue to derive the wonderful physical and spiritual benefits of consuming natural, living foods.