Raw Chocolate Superfood Energy Balls

Raw Chocolate Superfood Energy Balls

Adorable, good-looking, delicious and healthy: What's not to love about Raw Chocolate Superfood Energy Balls?

Back when winter seemed like a fun-fresh idea, I brought these little gems to a New Year's Day gathering. They were a big hit, and I've been meaning to post the recipe ever since.

Ahem.

Daylight savings time started today and according to my calendar, it's almost Spring. Whoopsie!

I hope you'll agree this is a recipe worth waiting for, and better late than never...

Raw Chocolate Superfood Energy Balls

Ingredients
1.5 cups organic raw almonds
1/4 cup hemp protein powder (or pea protein)
3 Tbs raw cacao powder
2 tsp spirulina powder
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbs Chia seeds
18 Medjool dates, pitted
1 tsp vanilla powder or extract
a few tablespoons of cold water

+ your choice of coating: shredded coconut, cacao nibs, hemp seeds, chopped goji berries (Tip: If using gojis, chop them in your clean food processor before you start making the energy balls!)

Directions
Add almonds, hemp protein powder, raw cacao, spirulina, cinnamon and chia seeds to food processor and pulse repeatedly until well combined. Add vanilla and pitted dates and pulse-process again until mixture starts to bind together. Add cold water by the tablespoon and continue processing until mixture pulls together and you have what looks like a firm, soft ball of dough.

Transfer dough into a clean bowl. In separate smaller bowls, pour out about a half cup each of your chosen coating ingredients. (I used shredded coconut and goji berries.)

Using your fingers or a spoon, pull off a tablespoon-sized chunk of dough and form it into a ball. Roll or toss ball in coating of choice until well-covered; then set aside on a plate. Repeat until all the dough is used up.

Chill finished energy balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least one hour or until firm.

This recipe makes about 16 energy balls. They can be frozen or stored in the fridge for several weeks. For best flavor, eat at room temperature.

NOTE: You can also use this recipe to make energy BARS instead of energy BALLS. To make bars, simply press your dough into a Pyrex baking dish until desired thickness is achieved. About a half-inch thick is ideal. (Don't try to make the bars fill the entire Pyrex dish—getting the thickness you like is what matters, so expect there to be some empty space in the dish! Just square it off as best you can.)

Use the back of a spatula to get the top flat. Then, gently press your shredded coconut or coating of choice into the surface, cover entire dish with plastic wrap (or use a clean, dry produce bag) and refrigerate as above. When firm, slice into bars and, if desired, individually wrap each one using saran wrap, waxed paper or parchment.

Kale Around the Clock—Raw Fusion Style

Freshly harvested, tender spring kale has arrived in Western Massachusetts and I couldn’t be more thrilled! Kale is truly a superstar vegetable. It’s packed with nutrition, tastes great, comes in several colorful varieties and is incredibly versatile in the kitchen.

Kale is a member of the illustrious, cancer-fighting Brassica family and, like its cousins broccoli and daikon radish, has been researched extensively in recent years. Studies suggest that kale may help suppress tumor growth, promote detoxification at the genetic DNA level and support healthy cholesterol levels. Kale is packed with antioxidant flavonoids that fight inflammation and is notably high in lutein, a yellow carotenoid pigment required for healthy vision. It is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K, a good source of manganese, calcium and other bone-building minerals and, best of all... it’s GREEN!

Green foods are beneficial for many reasons, including their exalted status of being the premier alkalizing foods on the planet. Alkaline nutrition is important because the pH of human blood must remain within a very tight, alkaline pH range (between 7.35 and 7.45) and the world we live in has become increasingly acidic, making it tough for the body to maintain. Processed foods, meats, sugars, white flour and most grains (i.e. the modern diet) along with chronic stress (i.e. the modern lifestyle) all promote acidity and threaten our alkaline balance. Ongoing low grade acidic conditions in the body are implicated in a Pandora’s box of health problems from bone loss and premature aging to arthritis, heart disease, cancer...you name it.

Promoting alkalinity is becoming increasingly recognized as critical to healthy physical and metabolic function, so the more alkalizing green vegetables you can eat, the better. Of course, salads and steamed greens are a great place to start. But why stop there? Some leafy greens like KALE are so versatile, they allow you to enjoy greens at every meal—even dessert!

To show you how, I’ll share three delicious and innovative recipes that I’ve adapted from Raw Fusion Recipes by LindaJoy Rose, PhD. LindaJoy is a leader in the field of hypnotherapy and an enthusiastic raw food educator. Her wonderful little recipe book, now in its second printing, is the companion volume to Raw Fusion, an introductory guide to incorporating raw/living foods into a healthy diet. (Visit rawfusionliving.com to order the books or learn more.)

And now…let’s have some fun with Kale Around the Clock!

morning...

Pineapple-Grapefruit Green Smoothie

To bathe your cells in alkalinity on a regular basis, I suggest starting each day with a tall glass of delicious green juice. (My revitalizing Ginger Green Juice is a favorite.) If you don’t have a juicer or simply find yourself in the mood for a more substantial meal, a blended green smoothie—which, unlike juice, retains the fiber of the fruits and veggies it contains—is a fine alternative. Experiment with different fresh leafy greens or green herbs—spinach, kale, parsley, dill—they’re all good. Cilantro really makes the flavors pop in this Pineapple-Grapefruit Green Smoothie. Enjoy for breakfast or lunch.

½ red grapefruit, peeled and pitted
1 cup chopped pineapple
½ lemon, peeled and pitted
4 leaves of kale, chopped
1 cup cilantro, leaves and stems
4 slices fresh ginger root
½ cup water or cooled lemon balm tea

Rough chop all ingredients, add to blender and blend on high until well combined. Add additional liquid or ice to reach desired temperature and consistency. Makes one pint.

Recipe inspired by Green Fairy’s Lemonade in Raw Fusion Recipes by LindaJoy Rose.


afternoon...

Lunar Kale Chips

When I was a kid, people used to say the moon was made of green cheese. These days, everyone knows the moon is made of rocks and dust, but we can still make our own green cheese using sprouted pumpkin seeds and seasonings. The classic approach to making pumpkin seed paté is tweaked here to create a savory Lunar Sauce for these out-of-this-world kale chips.

1 bunch Red Russian kale, or other flat leaf variety
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked 4 hours, drained and rinsed
1 lemon’s juice
½ cup water
1 clove garlic
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp chipotle chili powder
¾ tsp Himalayan pink salt
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast

Rinse kale leaves well and remove stems. Save stems for juice and set leaves aside. To make sauce, put pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, water, and all seasonings except nutritional yeast into blender and blend on medium to high speed until well combined. Pour sauce into a large bowl, add a little more water to the blender and blend quickly to loosen the remaining sauce, then add this to what’s already in the bowl. Stir in the nutritional yeast by hand. Taste and adjust salt or seasonings if desired. Coat each kale leaf on both sides with the Lunar Sauce. Arrange leaves on dehydrator trays lined with Teflex sheets. Avoid overlapping leaves to permit air circulation. (My bunch of kale contained twelve leaves and I needed four trays to lay them all out.) Use up all the sauce—you should have just enough.

Dehydrate kale chips for one hour at 145 degrees, then reduce temperature to just under 110 degrees and continue dehydrating for about four hours. At this point, gently flip chips off of the Teflex and onto the mesh trays, dry sides down. Dehydrate another two to four hours or until desired crispiness is reached. Keeping them slightly moist and flexible is a fun option and keeps the kale a bit more lively, since a plant’s vitality is primarily contained in its water-containing portions.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, you could try making Lunar Kale Chips in a very low-temperature oven, perhaps with the door left slightly open. If using this method, use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and keep an eye on the chips as they dry – they might be crisp within 20 to 30 minutes.

Recipe inspired by Cheezy Chili Chips in Raw Fusion Recipes by LindaJoy Rose.


evening...

Kale Fudge Torte

I was planning on making Kale Brownies with this adapted recipe, but I overdid it on the food processing and things got pretty sticky fast! Luckily, my mistake yielded outstanding results, and a Torte was born. There are two whole cups of chopped kale in this recipe but you really can’t taste them at all, as confirmed by my Sunday Yoga test group. (Maybe once you know it’s there you THINK you can taste the kale, but nobody guessed the secret ingredient.) In fact, this torte may be the most decadent way ever to “sneak” greens into the diet. Consider it a stealth health strategy for people like the mom I met last week at the Greenfield farmer’s market, whose son refuses to eat green veggies. Mom, your secret is safe with me!

1½ cup walnuts or pecans
½ teaspoon sea salt
10 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
2 cups chopped kale leaves, loosely packed (stems removed!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup raw cacao powder, plus 1 teaspoon
1 Tbs coconut butter (not coconut oil)
1 or 2 Tbs maple syrup

In a food processor, pulse nuts and sea salt until finely ground. Add remaining ingredients and process until dough comes together. You may add a tablespoon or two of water to facilitate things if necessary—the dough will be extremely thick.

Place dough on a piece of parchment paper laid flat on the counter and press into a square or round shape, one inch tall. The dough is VERY sticky so moisten your hands with water or use a second piece of parchment paper on top of the dough to help you press and shape the torte. When shaped, wrap in parchment paper and chill until firm, about one hour or longer. Before serving, sprinkle top with additional teaspoon of raw cacao powder by sifting through a fine mesh strainer, such as a tea strainer. (To sift, hold strainer over the torte and “stir” the cacao powder with a spoon or chopstick to sift the cacao onto the surface of the torte, covering the entire surface with fine powder.)

Store Kale Fudge Torte in the fridge and consume within three days—the raw, living kale in the recipe leads to a short shelf life. If you can’t or don’t want to finish the torte in only three days, I suggest freezing individual sized pieces, each tightly wrapped in parchment paper and sealed within a freezer bag. Then, when you feel like a treat, just take out a packet and let it warm up on the counter. Yum!

Recipe inspired by Family Favorite Flourless Chocolate Cake in Raw Fusion Recipes by LindaJoy Rose. Many thanks to LJ for sending me the books and for being so patient while I prepared this post! ♥

Sacred Maple Mounds

It all started with a hankering for something sweet. Then, the loose talk on Facebook about coconut haystacks started up. That directed my mission: to create a natural, high raw and improved version of the old familiar Mounds Bar experience. You know what I mean? That thing that happens inside your mouth after you’ve given your bite of Mounds a few good chews and all the flavors and textures start to meld together on your tongue for a fleeting moment of crunchy-chewy-smooth-chocolatey-coconutty bliss... before you have to start swallowing?!

Well, working off of Matt Amsden’s Carob Coconut Haystacks recipe (from his Rawvolution cookbook) I got what I was looking for. Mounds…but better. WAY better.

The chocolate in my Sacred Maple Mounds is provided in the form of raw cacao powder. The sweetener is pure maple syrup. The main ingredient is organic shredded coconut, macaroon cut. (I get mine from Ultimate Superfoods - sold conveniently at my Community Superfoods discount store!) And the secret ingredient is…. Coconut Butter. Not coconut oil (which sometimes mistakenly is referred to as coconut butter) but REAL, stone ground, raw coconut butter, made from hunks of whole mature coconut. (If you’re not sure what coconut butter is compared to coconut oil, think of the difference between almond butter vs almond oil. Almond butter has all the bits of the original nut, just ground into a paste; almond oil is simply the fatty oil, extracted out. Same thing with coconut, except that coconut oil, rich in healthy saturated fats, is solid at room temperature, like dairy butter.)

My Maple Mounds are Sacred because I make them with Sacred Foods Coconut Butter, an awesome product you can read more about here. Raw, organic, stone ground Sacred Coconut Butter is one of my favorite food indulgences – it’s seriously SO yummy you can’t believe it! And more good news is this: as a nutrient dense whole food, a little Sacred Coconut Butter goes a long way. In other words, yes, I’ll enjoy a teaspoon of this tasty treat plain, on the spoon, as a snack or dessert, but I never feel drawn to eat spoonfull after spoonfull, if you catch my drift ;-).

As for feeling drawn to eat Sacred Maple Mound after mound…well, that’s why we make them bite-sized. Enjoy!


Sacred Maple Mounds

1 ½ cups organic raw shredded coconut, macaroon cut
¼ cup raw cacao powder
1/3 cup Sacred Coconut Butter, softened
¼ cup real maple syrup
pinch Himalayan crystal salt

Ideally in an electric mixing bowl (but use a fork in a pinch!), combine shredded coconut, cacao powder and salt. Add Sacred Coconut Butter and beat on low until well combined - no chunks. Add maple syrup and blend in.

Using clean hands, make tablespoon sized balls and press into your palms to form mounded discs. Place each Mound directly on mesh dehydrator tray. Dry at 105 degrees for six hours and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, enjoy Sacred Maple Mounds wet. Simply freeze or chill molded mounds and eat cold. “Wet” Maple Mounds – a slightly cruder, fudgier and still one hundred percent delectable – version of the elegant dried Sacred Maple Mound must be stored in your fridge or freezer.

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.

Raw Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Are you ever in the mood for something sweet - just a little bite - but there's nothing around to fit the bill? Here's a super-easy, gluten-free cookie recipe that whips up in minutes and really satisfies. Raw almond-based and maple sweetened with the richness of raw cacao, the nourishing green power of spirulina and a starry sky coating of creamy hemp seeds, Raw Chocolate Fudge Cookies are packed with flavor and nutrition: protein, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and all the multidimensional, heart-opening phytochemicals that make us love cacao.

The day I created (you might say channeled) this recipe, I made a tiny batch, using my handy dandy Cuisinart Spice & Nut Grinder to grind up a couple handfuls of raw almonds. I'm crazy about that little Mill but raw foodists take note: friction = heat, so be sure to use cold or frozen almonds and even chill the stainless cup before grinding. (Interesting science fact: when you grind flax or chia seeds in this convenient device, the warming effect is not noticeable. This is because the heat produced from grinding is relative to the size of the original object. Chia and flax seeds, being much smaller than almonds, require far less energy, i.e. heat, to break down.)

Anyway, the old Mill method yielded a small batch of cookies, which was fine for starters but now I was hooked. So the next day (ahem) I made a second batch, this time using more of everything and grinding the almonds in my juicer! Yes, my Omega 8005 juicer has a "blank" attachment that enables perfect (and heat-free) grinding. (The 8003 or 8006 models, as well as Champion juicers also have this attachment.) What I ended up with was almond meal or, what you could call, fresh almond flour. Cool!

The recipe below is given both in measurements and in parts, in case you just want to make a small batch using tablespoons (like I did the first time). The teeny batch approach also ensures that you don't eat too many cookies at once, for anyone out there who might have that problem (ahem again).

If for any reason you'd like to sub raw almond butter for the almond meal in this recipe (Lazy Raw Foodists take note) I'd suggest using only half the maple syrup for starters and adding more from there, to avoid the dough becoming too wet. Raw honey or agave could also be subbed for the maple syrup. If anyone tries these variations, please let me know if results are to your satisfaction. Happy nibbling! XO Diana


Raw Chocolate Fudge Cookies

1 cup (4 parts) freshly ground almond meal (from about 2/3 cups whole raw almonds)
1/2 cup (2 parts) raw cacao powder, sifted to remove lumps
1/4 cup (1 part) spirulina powder
1/2 cup (2 parts) maple syrup
1/4 cup (1 part) hemp seeds or more, as needed for coating

Combine freshly ground almond meal, sifted raw cacao and spirulina. Add maple syrup and stir till well combined. As you like, mix by hand or use the food processor or your Omega 8005 juicer, if you have one, fitted with the blank. (As long as it's already out, why not?)

Pour hemp seeds into a dish or plate. Working with a teaspoon of dough at a time, roll into small balls and press into hemp seeds on top, bottom and sides, to create a thoroughly hemp-encrusted flat cookie about one and a half inches in diameter. Chill to firm and store in the refrigerator, where cool temps along with antioxidants in cacao and spirulina will help keep the liberated almond oils fresh.

Community Superfoods Open Tonight!

Have you heard about Community Superfoods? It's my new, full-service buying group and retail store, welcoming pre-orders and stocking a small inventory. Community Superfoods is only open once a week and tonight's the night!

Community Superfood's doors are open wide just once a week, on Wednesday nights from 4:30 to 7:00 PM, at Montague Integrative Health (432 Greenfield Road, next to the Book Mill). I hope you can stop by.

Store night is a fun opportunity to meet up with your friends and neighbors, taste product samples and enjoy yummy treats that I make like fresh herbal teas and raw goodies. Tonight I'll be serving some sweet, miniature Raw Chocolate Fudge Cookies made with freshly ground almond flour, maple syrup and a trio of raw superfoods: cacao, spirulina and hempseeds. DELICIOUS! (Stay tuned for recipe and pics.)

To learn more about Community Superfoods, click here.

Yours in the Joy & Balancing Light of Fall Equinox,
Diana

Drink Your Greens

Many of you know that drinking green juices and green smoothies is one of the tastiest, easiest and most satisfying ways to help get optimum amounts of mineral-rich, alkalizing LIVING greens into your daily diet.

The word LIVING is capitalized in the previous paragraph (and this one, come to think of it) for an important reason. We need to consume life to generate life. If we consume only lifeless food, we must give up our own life force to turn something dead into something that can support vitality. Of the foodstuffs we consume, only raw living foods provide life force -- as living cells, active enzymes and stored solar energy -- direct to our body.

A new book, Catching Fire, argues that one reason humans started cooking food was to cut down on chewing time (thereby adding more productive tool-inventing, brain-developing hours to the day). Even if this were true, we must admit that just because our ancestral cave-men and -women, in all their primal wisdom (and I mean that), started a trend a million or so years ago doesn’t make that trend the best choice for health.

Yes, chewing pounds of leaves daily can be tedious work. And the hard cell walls of certain plants do inhibit nutrient absorption in some cases. Nevertheless, cooking all of our veggies down to a limp squish is NOT the only alternative! Scientifically, it is well known that cooking leafy greens and other plant foods diminishes or destroys many of their health-giving properties -- from their precious, living vibrational energy force to their proteins, vitamins, delicate phytonutrients and so on.

There must be a solution to the "must I eat these mounds of leafy greens again, Ma?" problem. Enter the BLENDER. Blenders make short work of kale, spinach, chard, parsley and any fresh leafy green you can name. Blending greens yields a product wherein no chewing is required to break down fibers. (It's still a good idea to "chew" your smoothies, to commence digestive action via salivary enzymes.) And JUICERS take the process a step further by removing all fiber from the final product without damaging nutrients or enzymes and enabling almost direct absorption into body cells. Who knows – if cavemen had access to these modern kitchen tools, perhaps they never would have invented cooking in the first place!

I love drinking vegetable juices (what Kristen Suzanne vampirously, and with a wink, calls “plant blood”) for the pure hit of liquid solar energy they provide. And smoothies offer the convenience of a delicious and satisfying meal in a glass – especially filling when they include a handful of goji berries, chia seeds or other whole food soluble fiber source.

Smoothies also provide an ideal vehicle with which to indulge your inner alchemist, as you may add any number of nourishing superfoods and medicinal botanicals to your potion -- think golden berries, green foods, maca, MSM, raw cacao, bee pollen, milk thistle, pau dArco, Reishi mushrooms, and on… and on….

If you are interested in learning more about Green Smoothies, do consider reading Victoria Boutenko’s Green for Life, the book which started it all. For rationale and ideas on juicing, anything by Norman Walker or Natalia Rose’s excellent Raw Food Life Force Energy are sure to inform, inspire and delight.

Very Green Super Chocolate
Hemp Seed Smoothie

1 banana
1 soft pitted date
4 leaves kale
10 raw almonds (small handful)
2 teaspoons hemp seeds*
1 teaspoon chia seeds*
1 Tablespoon raw cacao powder*
1 level teaspoon spirulina powder*
1 scant teaspoon MSM powder (3 grams)*
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or more, to taste
½ teaspoon cinnamon or more, to taste
1 cup leftover herb tea or water
2-4 ice cubes

Add everything to the blender and blend on high speed till well combined. Pour into a glass and drink. Will thicken up as it sits so be sure to add enough liquid at the beginning.

*These items available at a significant savings to clients and local readers by pre-order and in person at my new discount superfood store, Community Superfoods!

Living in the Raw - Wednesday

My new store, Community Superfoods, opened today for the first time, from 4:30-7:00. It will be open just once a week, operating both as a storefront and a full-service discount raw food and superfood buying club for my clients, friends and local community. Thank you to the folks who came tonight, tasted Sacred Chocolate and purchased items! It was a pleasure to serve you!

Opening the store threw my schedule off a bit, as did my two-hour marathon cavity replacement and tooth rebuild at the dentist this morning. Typically I do not eat a big snack of raw halvah at 4:00 in the afternoon - but knowing that dinner would be late...it just happened! Very yummy as a once in a while treat, and quite filling, hence the light supper at 8 PM. (Shhh! Don't tell Paul Nison.)

Here's what my raw repast resembled today:


BREAKFAST
water, herb tea
6 ounces Carrot-Celery-Apple Juice

SNACK
one perfect peach, post dentist

LUNCH
Kelp Noodles (one package) gently warmed together with last night's Creamy Corn-Zucchini-Dill soup leftovers, to make noodles in creamy sauce. Garnished with nutritional yeast and a dash of tamari.
Dried Yacon slices

SNACK
Instant Chocolate Halvah with Goji Berries

Directions: Mix a few spoonfuls of raw tahini with raw cacao, unhulled raw sesame seeds and raw honey or maple syrup until thick and creamy. Add goji berries, stir and prepare for blast off. :-) I ate this in reverie with a spoon, but it would be quite nice to shape the halvah into little balls or bars and roll them in sesame seeds.

DINNER
Green Salad with Grated Carrots, Pink Beets, chopped Tomatoes and Guacamole
Lemon-Dijon-Flaxseed Vinaigrette


EXERCISE
AM 20 minute dog & cat walk
PM crunches, squats and push ups

Would You Like Antioxidants With That?

I'm writing from the hospital where my mother has been in intensive care for the past two-plus weeks. It's a cruel irony that after finally completing a 6-month course of chemotherapy for lymphoma, she is now fighting another issue: widespread lung inflammation due to either complications from the chemo or "radiation relapse" pneumonitis or some pneumonia-type infection - the doctors aren't sure.

As it becomes harder for her to breathe on her own, Mom's treatment has required the addition of oxygen, given via either breathing tube or face mask or nasal canula, with or without assisted pressure.

The paradox here is that oxygen, while necessary for life, is in itself a toxin that can damage the lungs. This is one reason why lung tissues are naturally loaded with antioxidants, particularly glutathione, a sulfur-containing compound made within the body to help protect cells and tissues from oxidative damage. Glutathione levels are low in people with inflamed lungs, beause the body uses up its stores trying to reverse the free radical damage ongoing from whatever is causing the inflammation.

Because oxygen causes inflammation and free radical damage to lung tissue, I thought it would make sense to give Mom antioxidants as part of her treatment. In other words, if you are knowingly creating a situation where oxidation is going to take place, boosting levels of ANTI-oxidants could counteract or prevent the damage.

I found a good deal of research to support this theory and shared it with my mother's doctors. Respectfully, they considered it before deciding for various reasons not to add any glutathione, acetylcysteine (a glutathione precursor), vitamin E or any other antioxidant to her protocol. I am sorry to report that her condition is not improving. I don't know if the antioxidants would have helped. At least I tried - with my mother's blessing, I might add. Sometimes when things get critical, people open to possibility. She was OK with me proposing this alternative idea to her medical caregivers.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to keep my own antioxidant intake high, considering I've been basically living at the hospital (a great place to get sick) since mid-May and am under increased emotional stress during this difficult time. To this end, I thought of bringing a ton of antioxidant supplements down here with me. But then I realized, instead of carrying around multiple bottles of this and that, why not focus on food?

Enter the local fruit stand, around the corner on 68th Street and 1st Avenue. Fresh berries galore are there for the taking; they make a wonderful breakfast with bananas and are one of the highest potency antioxidant foods to be found. I've partaken of golden raspberries, blueberries and strawberries so far.

I'm also trying to get a daily fresh veggie juice - available from the local juice bar or from the hospital cafeteria here at Memorial Sloan Kettering where they serve a tasty pineapple-cucumber-ginger elixir. (Very impressed to find fresh green juice here - overall, their caf is top notch.)

Delicious and affordable Indian food from Tawa, on 68th between 1st and York, provides great taste and protective curry spices. For $4.95 I get two curries of my choice along with rice (unfortunately white rice, something I don't generally eat but am allowing myself to enjoy as comfort food). Honestly, it's the best Indian food I've had since I lived in India back in 1987 - especially the palak paneer (spinach and fresh cultured, enzyme-containing cheese).

Green tea, dark chocolate and raw Sacred Chocolate are also helping me meet my antioxidant needs. I ran out of high ORAC goji berries a while ago...tossed with cashews, bee pollen and raw cacao they made a fabulous free-radical-busting trail mix.

I did bring one antioxidant supplement with me: Supertonic, a wonderful herbal product from Pioneer Nutritional Formulas that's packed with high potency adaptogenic Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs including turmeric, eleuthero, ashwagandha and shizandra.

So far, I am managing to stay healthy during this transition time. I love my mother so much. Bless her spirit and bless all of us, shining in brilliance, careening through the unpredictability, the joy, the pain and the beauty of a precious life on earth.

Simple Super Snack: Cacao-Yacon

I discovered yacon syrup when researching my upcoming booklet on Natural and Healthy Sweeteners (to be published Spring 2009 by Woodland Press). And boy, is it ever good!

Made from the starchy root of the yacon plant, a sunflower relative native to regions of the South American Andes, yacon syrup is low glycemic, low calorie and prebiotic as well as delicious. The taste evokes a light, fruity molasses - tangy and delightful.

Yacon and cacao are a match made in Mayan heaven. True, both are on the pricey side, but if you only eat a little at a time, the cost per serving remains low and your supply will last a while. Here's my new favorite quick snack and natural mood elevator using these two superfood treats.

Cacao-Yacon Bowl
Put a handful of whole raw cacao beans, say 6 - 12 beans, in a little dish. Stir in a teaspoon of yacon syrup to coat. Then, eat the sweetly glistening beans one by one, preferably while thinking about mist rising over the ruins at Machu Picchu.

You can find whole raw cacao beans at many Whole Foods stores, your local health food store (if you're lucky) or online. I got my latest bag at Matt Monarch's RawFoodWorld.com for a great price.

Enjoy!

Ode to Deaf

I know it sounds strange, but I woke up at three o’clock this morning and for some reason, started thinking about this delicious peanut butter I used to love (and I mean LOVE) back in the late 1970's and early ‘80’s when I was first getting into health food. Thing of it was, I couldn’t remember the name of the stuff. What was it called?

For the better part of a pitch black hour I lay awake in bed, watching my mind strive to unfold the knowledge I knew was in there. What was the name of that darn peanut butter? I knew it was somebody’s actual name. Dean something? Not quite, but getting nearer…

Finally, my memory center retrieved a name that sounded close: Deaf Mills. Knowing I was hot on the trail, I left the warmth of covers and hit up Google in the next room. And voila! The answer was revealed: Deaf Smith peanut butter, made by Arrowhead Mills from the finest Valencia peanuts grown West of the Mississippi.

I found links to Wikipedia entries that explained the derivation of the name (the historical man Deaf Smith fought in the Texas Revolution; the county in Texas named after him is famed for its naturally fluorine-rich soil and tasty Valencia peanuts). Another link led to a blog page where for the past four years, people have been stopping by to sing the praises of Deaf Smith peanut butter, and longingly bemoan the fact that it is no longer available. (See here: http://citycomfortsblog.typepad.com/cities/2004/07/deaf_smith_coun.html)

I must agree that Deaf Smith peanut butter was, indeed, something very special... the best ever of all peanut butters, IMHO. Crunchy and salted was my hands down favorite. I actually had a little "problem" with Deaf Smith peanut butter, in that it was so satisfying and delicious I could eat practically a whole jar in one sitting, tablespoon by luscious tablespoon. (This was not a good idea.)

Alas, there is no modern peanut butter to compare (a blessing in disguise no doubt). Instead, I'm now a fan of crunchy raw almond butter, which is not quite the same thing, but comparably tasty in its own sweet wholesome way, and healthier, too. Unlike acidifying peanuts, almonds are widely regarded as the most alkaline Queen of nuts...and they do not harbor the peanut-associated aflatoxin mold, a known carcinogen.

It’s tough today to find domestically grown raw almonds that are truly raw, as an unfortunate 2008 legal action caused all raw almonds to undergo a “pasteurization” process prior to sale. Organic almonds are pasteurized using steam, conventional almonds are gas-treated, so I think the organic are worth the extra cost. Raw organic almond butter is crazy expensive ($15 a jar!) so I buy it rarely and treat it as a precious commodity when I do. This Split Banana recipe uses only one teaspoon per serving, making it a rich and affordable indulgence. Enjoy as a between-meal snack, a quick dessert or a special occasion breakfast like I did this morning, following my wee hours Deaf Smith detective adventure.

Split Bananas with Chocolate Almond Filling

1 teaspoon each: raw almond butter, raw cacao powder, agave syrup
1 ripe banana
cinnamon and/or cayenne (optional)

Mix together the almond butter, cacao and agave until a thick paste forms. Split a banana lengthwise and remove top half. Cover the bottom half with the chocolate-almond paste, distributing evenly. Replace the top banana half and press down gently to seal. Slice into rounds and arrange on a plate; sprinkle with cinnamon and/or cayenne if desired… and eat! (Feel free to substitute regular cocoa or carob powder for the cacao, and honey, maple or yacon syrup for the agave.)

Juice Fast & Raw Fudge

As promised, here is the update on my New Year juice fast, now behind me (making it a fast in the past).

I went with a 3-day rather than a 5-day fast, due to logistical issues. I also have to say 3-days is a good length for a short fast - easy to complete and very rewarding/renewing! Each day I drank up to three tall glasses of fresh-pressed veggie juice with apples and ginger, plus plenty of herb tea (sometimes with raw honey) and plain water. I also had miso soup at dinner time on days 2 and 3.

Fasting is most definitely a natural high. I got a little spacey and the miso soup help ground me. Veggie broth is often "permitted" on a juice fast; this was like instant veggie broth. Miso is a wonder food, providing immune-boosting probiotics in addition to yummy flavor. I like the mellow/sweet white miso from South River Farms best of all.

Breaking the fast is always the challenge. After resting the digestive organs, we don't want to stress them with too much quantity of, or too dense quality of food. Fresh fruit, salad, avocado are recommended, which is what I did, although I must confess some of my homemade Christmas Rosemary Spiced Nut Mix did slip in there... whoops! And truth be told, it gave me a little tummy ache, just to prove that light foods are better than heavy when breaking a fast. (I knew that would happen...!) They are delicious, though - made in the dehydrator with tons of fresh rosemary and just the right amount of cayenne pepper and agave for the hot & sweet effect.

Anyway, other than the nut thing, the fast breaking went really well, and today I am ready to jump into 2009 with a clean body and energized outlook. In fact, I like this feeling so much that I've decided to do a once-weekly fast day for the month of January. If that goes well, I may commit to continuing through to Spring. (You see, rather than making a mammoth New Year resolution, such as "I'm going to fast once a week for the entire year," I'm going with a shorter, "renewable" resolution to up my success potential - a little trick given to me yesterday from my wise mother. Thanks, Mom!)

In honor of eating again. I made a special treat for dessert last night: Raw Cacao Walnut Fudge. OMG - was this ever yummy! And so quick to make, adapted from the brownie recipe in Jennifer Cornbleet's excellent uncook-book, Raw Food Made Easy. I'm planning to experiment with this one, adding coconut to the next batch, or maybe currants or mint extract or goji berries or.... but I digress. Here's the recipe in its pristine purity:

Raw Cacao Walnut Fudge

This almost-instant recipe makes eight squares of rich, chewy, chocolatey inch-high fudge.

1 cup raw walnuts
5 Medjool dates
1/3 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch Himalayan pink salt (or any high quality sea salt)
additional walnuts for topping (optional)

In food processor, pulse 3/4 cups of the walnuts into a fine meal. Pit the dates and add to food processor with salt and vanilla. Process until smooth and transfer to bowl. Finely chop remaining 1/4 cup walnuts and mix by hand into walnut-date blend. Press the fudge into a small rectangular container (about 4"X6") so that fudge is about one inch tall. If desired, press additional chopped walnuts, about 1/8 cup, into top. Or press in 8 small walnut halves, one for each future serving. Refrigerate to help fudge set, then slice into eight squares and enjoy!

Practically Raw! Nutrition Talk Tidbits

Last Wednesday night I had the honor of speaking at Green Fields Market (my local food coop) on the topic of Practically Raw nutrition. We had a terrific turnout (24 enthusiastic, light-filled attendees) and it was so much fun to be together and talk about living the high raw lifestyle.

Following are a selection of Practically Raw ideas we covered in the talk. Try any that sound workable for you!

To begin, let's consider the phrase "Practically Raw!" As you may have guessed, it's intended as a triple entendre:
1) a diet that is made up in large part, but not necessarily entirely, of raw, living foods;
2) a practical approach to eating raw, living foods throughout the day; and
3) slightly cooked food (i.e. lightly steamed broccoli, which may retain a higher nutrient profile than boiled broccoli, as well as some live enzyme activity)

General Suggestions
• Consider eating "light to heavy" throughout the day, with the lightest food in the morning and the largest meal at dinner time. (Helps maintain energy and mental clarity during productive daylight hours; allows for relaxation and release later when needed. For most people, big breakfasts weigh you down!)
• Consider eating "raw till dinner" and have your soothing, cooked "comfort" foods at end of day (when you may need them most)
• Listen to your body! The goal of eating living foods is to optimize health, not get caught up in a food trip. Always be kind and non-judgmental with yourself (and others) around dietary choices.

Practically Raw Breakfast Ideas
• Make breakfast a living liquid meal: ginger-fruit smoothie, green smoothie or freshly pressed vegetable or veggie-fruit blend juice. (please email me for smoothie recipes!)
• During colder weather, eat an ounce or two or raw nuts with bananas and/or dried fruit in the AM to help warm and fulfill the body-mind-spirit complex (may enjoy this 30 minutes or more after juice)

Practically Raw Lunch Ideas
• Enjoy a large raw salad, topped with creamy avocado or a rich seed-based or nut-based cheese, paté or dressing.
• Have a large raw salad with EITHER a cooked protein (such as beans, hard-boiled eggs or sardines) or a cooked starch (such as brown rice or baked potato), or a yummy soup (raw blended veggie soup or cooked lentil, tomato-basil, pureed veggie, miso, etc.)
• Learn to make a great raw dressing using a base of approximately 3 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part lemon juice or Bragg's apple cider vinegar. Add garlic, herbs/spices, kelp powder, sea salt or miso, minced red onion, mustard powder, whatever you fancy!

Practically Raw Snack Ideas
• World's Healthiest Snack: raw veggies! Think baby carrots (great for the car and at work), celery, snow peas, etc. May sprinkle with Spike or Old Bay seasoning, or for a treat, enjoy with raw goat cheese.
• Sweet Treat: a piece or fresh fruit OR a few pieces of dried fruit with a handful raw nuts OR a handful of raw nuts with a cup of herbal tea (Suggestion: eat fresh fruit half hour before meals or several hours after, on an empty stomach.)
• Savory Snack: raw flaxseed crackers (like those from Foods Alive!, which were sampled at the talk - many delicious flavors to choose from) or make your own in the dehydrator. (Once you have a dehydrator, this becomes a very easy and practical thing to make.) May spread with raw nut butter or tahini.

Practically Raw Dinner Ideas
• Feeling adventuresome? Try making a delectable (but still practical!) raw dinner such as beet rawviolis with pine nut ricotta (see Euphoric Organics link at right for recipe). Or wrap anything in a nori sheet for instant sushi! Sea veggies are great for alkalizing your blood and supporting healthy thyroid function, lipid & blood sugar levels and smooth digestion.
• Whip up an easy raw dish such as vegetable spaghetti strands created in the spiralizer from fresh zucchini or sweet potato (this stuff is amazing!). Top with cooked or raw tomato sauce, fresh pesto or a creamy, blended nut-cheese sauce. Raw veggie pasta is a surprisingly easy and quick meal to prepare, and will be different every time depending on the sauce you create and the veggies you use for the pasta.
• Old Standby: Salad + large dish of lightly steamed veggies, topped with flaxseed oil and sea salt, or tomato sauce and raw goat cheese
• Comfort Meal: Baked sweet potatoes (I love Garnet Yams best) with green salad and lightly steamed veggies
• Fish Dinner: enjoy baked or pan-fried wild-caught fish or indoor-farmed fish (e.g. catfish or Australis barramundi) served with large raw salad and/or a generous serving of lightly steamed or roasted veggies, seasoned to taste

Practically Raw Dessert Ideas
• Raw Cacao! Try the whole bean, or make some homemade avocado-cacao pudding or raw chocolate with raw cacao powder + coconut butter + raw honey or agave. You can also purchase real, live raw chocolates (like the amazing hearts from Sacred Chocolate - 19 flavors to choose from!) - a fabulous treat.
• Brown rice cakes or Dr. Krackers (100% spelt crackers) spread with raw nut butter or tahini + raw honey
• 70%+ Dark Chocolate (Divine, Green & Black, etc.). Not raw, but easy enough to come by, and a fine finish to any meal!

Have fun experimenting, and please be in touch with any questions or comments! (P.S. Gourmet chefs: check out http://gliving.tv/greenchefs/recipes/category/raw/ for incredible recipes!)

Yours in health and joyful service,
Diana