Spring Cleaning

 A peaceful spring intention walk.

As my son just informed me, spring has officially been here for four hours.  And yes, they've actually been as glorious as I was hoping for.  It is just about 5 o'clock, the sun is shining, fluffy white clouds are scattered in the sky and it is 53 degrees out.  We spent a wonderful day with friends exploring at a labyrinth, setting intentions and releasing them into the new season.

Spring is a time for detox and cleansing.  Are you feeling it yet?  I'm itching to purge the house, scrub the floors, drink green juice, dive into a cleanse.

I'm sure that you've noticed that an influx on sickness happens in the spring and in the fall.  These are the seasons that encourage our bodies to release toxins.  While our immune system is busy working to release the junk in our bodies, it manifests in the colds that we tend to associate with this time of the year. If we do a bit of work to aid in the detoxification, do a cleanse, bring more alkalinizing food into our diet, drink green juice, exercise, rest, up our water intake, we cut back on the time that our body needs to detox and repair through inflammation, runny noses, diarrhea, and vomiting. Think about it, these are all ways to get the nastiness out. What are you willing to do to help your body spring clean?  Head on over to my Facebook page and let me know what you are committing to do for your body this spring.

 Our Spring Offerings at the labyrinth.

This afternoon I needed a power boost, I knew protein, spirulina and maca were my combo.  I've strayed away quite a bitfrom using much for sweeteners in my smoothies. Sometimes, however, you just have to do it.  I'm having a hard time adding spirulina back into my diet, I know it is so good for me, high in digestible protein, and so many micronutrients and great for the spring detox, so I cheated a bit, but got a full tablespoon down with the love of some local honey and a banana.  Surprisingly, it was really enjoyable, so I thought I'd share.  Let me know what you think.

Green Banana

Recipe Type: Smoothie

Cuisine: Raw Food

Author: Gina Law

Prep time: 2 mins
Total time: 2 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 2 C of Your Favorite Milk (I love almond~coconut)
• 1 Tbsp Maca
• 1/2 - 1 Tbsp Spirulina
• 1 Scoop of your favorite protein powder
• 1 Banana
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 Capsules Alphay's Medicinal Mushroom Balance Formula.

Instructions

1. Add ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.
2. And Enjoy

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Cultured Veggies

Cultures and Ferments go back to the earliest civilizations.  Every "culture" has their own cultured foods. Wine, sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, relish, mead, kefir, beers, kvass and the list goes on.

Originally a mode of preservation, the process of fermenting your food cultivates an irreplaceable ingredient of a healthy diet, probiotics.

Probiotics are the good bacteria, supporting and protecting our body from disease and illness.  According to Donna Gates in "The Body Ecology Diet", probiotics "are essential to a wide range of bodily functions.  They help white blood cells fight disease, control putrefactive bacteria in the intestines, provide important nutrients for building the blood, assist digestion, protect the intestinal mucosa, prevent diarrhea and constipation, and contribute to bowel elimination. They also manufacture important B vitamins and are the most abundant source of vitamin B-12."

Taking care to include a source of cultured food in your diet on a daily basis will arm your immune system against the everyday bombardment of bacteria and viruses that we are exposed to.  I personally, feel stronger and have superior digestion when I am consistent with consuming fermented foods.  There is such wide variety of ferments that something can be found for everyone's tastes. You can find fermented foods at your local health food store, or you can make them yourself.  If you do decide to purchase your ferments, be sure that they are in the refridgerated section of the store, and state that they are not pasteurized and that they contain live cultured enzymes.  A few of my favorite brands are "Real Pickles", which carry an assortment of cultured vegetables, "InnerEco" brand coconut kefir, and "GT" Kombucha.  There are many resources for doing it yourself. My teachers have been Sandor Katz, Donna Gates and Sally Fallon, all authors of wonderful books.

There are two main schools of thought when it comes to fermenting foods.  Wild fermentation, as is taught by Sandor Katz, and culturing, described by Donna Gates.  Essentially, wild fermentation collects wild bacteria from the air as each type of bacteria is attracted to a certain food.  Whether you are fermenting cabbage, sugar or honey, they have their own bacteria and yeast that are attracted to them.  Keep your equipment clean and sterilized, and there is no need to worry about harmful bacteria being introduced.  Donna Gates brings a closed culture style to the table, adding the preferred probiotics to the food and sealing it in a closed container to allow the cultures to proliferate in a controlled environment.

Whichever is best for you is your own choosing, I will show you both methods.  I recommend trying out both and going with whichever compliments your body.  Our four fermented staples are cultured veggies, coconut kefir, coconut yogurt and kombucha.  This will be a three part series starting with...

Cultured Vegetables

One of the most popular forms of cultured veggies is sauerkraut. In our home we keep a large batch in the fridge at all times.  The whole family enjoys homemade cultured veggies mixed with fresh ground tahini, a little salad dressing, as a side dish to help digest a protein such as eggs, or straight up, in a bowl, with a pair of chopsticks.  This week we harvested a delicious garlic kraut.  Every  month we pick a new variety of veggies to ferment.  This week we plan to bottle up a big bowl of radishes from the garden.

As I mentioned before, there are two basic routes with fermenting.  The first, traditional, ferment is wild fermenting.  Our friend, Franky Giglio, from Three Lily Farm has a few recipes on his family farm blog.  Instead of making my own video, I asked Franky if it was ok to share.  He does a wonderful job explaining the process.

Click Here for Franky's Video Blog 

Next is a Video with Donna Gates, herself explaining her technique of a closed system culture.  Visit this link for the Renegade Health Show Fermentation Blog.

Both Franky G and Renegade Health have published books on the subject, that I recommend checking out.

Next week we will visit making coconut kefir!

Happy Culturing!

Frosty Orange-Mango-Kefir Soda

After the family spent some serious time on a hot and humid Fourth of July weeding the garden, we needed a serious reward, and I was happy to oblige.

Frosty Electrolyte Mango Soda
2 oranges, juiced
The meat of one mango
1/4-1/2 C coconut water kefir
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp MSM powder (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tray ice

Blend together and Enjoy!

Opening A Young Coconut

There are loads of videos online on how to open a young coconut.  I figured I would put together a simple picture showing the tricks that I use every week while making my coconut kefir*.

If you are interested in a printable version, let me know and I'm happy to email you the pdf version.

ginamlaw@gmail.com

**click on the image to make it bigger.

SeaTreat Pate

To make this dish with speed and agility, it is time to pull out your food processor.  For the raw food chef, this machine turns a lot of cutting and dicing into a simple push of the button. 

Sea Treat Pate

Ingredients:

1 red onion

1 C snow peas, tops removed

1 1/2C sunflower seeds, soaked 2 hrs

3 garlic cloves

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4-1/2C water, just enough to make a creamy consistency

1/2C soaked Dulse (10 min)

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2C soaked Arame (10 min)

 

Process separately and then place in a medium sized bowl.

• 1 red onion, pulsed in food processor 


• 1 C snow peas, pulsed in food processor

Process Together and then add to above veggies:

• 3 garlic cloves


• 1 1/2C sunflower seeds, soaked 2 hrs


• 2 tbsp lemon


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 2 tbsp olive oil


• 1/4-1/2C water, just enough to make a creamy consistency


• At the very end, pulse in 1/2 c soaked dulse (a 10 min soak should do)

 

Finally Mix in Arame and lemon zest, stir well and enjoy!

 

Immuno Latte

I love my morning coffee.  Really Love coffee. 

MAYBE the only thing I like better is a latte.  

Unfortunately, it's not good for me and my constitution.  There are lots of good substitutes, but really when it gets down to it you need something full bodied, warm and deeply satisfying.

In comes my reishi, chaga latte.  

Tree mushroom are an amazing medicine.  I'm going to keep my explanation short, as you could literally write a book on them (and there are plenty of books regarding the subject) I suggest looking in it further if this entices you.  What I will tell you are the basics.  They are immunomodulators.  What does this mean exactly?  They strengthen your immune system.  Over time it will build, however I feel the effects in the beginning myself.  Please don't get this confused with immune stimulators.  Herbs in the echinacea family, for example, are immune stimulants.  These are great if you feel a sickness coming on, however overstimulating your immune system is not healthy if it is not fighting against an oncoming cold or flu.  You will overtax and burn it out.  Also, good to note, these immunostimulators should not be taken if you have an autoimmune disorder. In this case your system is already overstimulated and attacking itself.  This is where immunomodulators come into play.  If your immune system is low it will bring it up, if it is high it will bring it down.  Reishi, "The Mushroom of Immortality" and Chaga, "King of Medicinal Mushrooms", are two of my very favorite mushrooms.  When I am consistently consuming them I feel stronger, healthier and tend to ward off sickness easier.  

Tree mushrooms are very woody and cannot be eaten as a ground mushroom.  They are best used in tea, soups and powders. When making a tea from a medicinal mushroom you need to decoct it. Which is cooking at a slow simmer for about 2 hours (other herbs that require decoction can generally be simmered for 45 minutes).  Strain the herb, and if you'd like, take the strained herb and tincture it to further pull out medicinal qualities, such as immunomodulating polysaccharides. For this recipe, all that you need is the tea.  I make a large pot of tea and use it for the family over the course of the next few days.  Mushrooms go a long way for the price and as far as bang for your buck, here it is.

In this recipe I've added Maca for its hormone balancing qualities, cacao for antioxidant and as a delivery system for the medicine (Cacao helps to deliver nutrients into your blood.  Take it with medicine verses low quality milk and refined sugar to optimize the medicinal benefits). Coconut oil and butter for the multitude of coconut oil as well as slowing the release of the latte into my system and making it into more of a meal (Don't be afraid of fats as we need these for proper brain function and believe it or not, in order to lose weight!) A sprinkling of cinnamon helps balance your blood sugar.

Try it out and let me know how you like it!  

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And without further ado...

 

Reishi Chaga Latte

2C warm Chaga Reishi Mushroom Tea (Decoct (simmer) mushrooms 1- 2+ hrs and strain)

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp coconut butter

10 drops vanilla sweetleaf stevia

3 tbsp cacao nibs

1 good tbsp of your favorite honey

1 tsp-1tbsp maca

Twist of your best salt

Blend Well

Top with a dash of cinnamon and enjoy!

Raw and Spicy Noodles

A friend and I have decided to do a 90 day, 100%,  raw food cleanse.  

Most days it is a raw, organic cake walk.  

Some days, after I make the family a delicious, homemade meal

or we go to a party,

Not so easy.  

I've assembled this recipe for those moments.  

When I just need something filling, grounding and completely satisfying.

 

For those of you who have never experienced kelp noodles, they are a great alternative to a wheat or rice noodle.  They are raw, a sea vegetable, and fill the belly in a delicious sort of way.  

You can use them in soups, mac and cheese, stir-frys or with a marinara.  Use with raw sauces or cooked toppings, they are a wonderful and mineral rich substitute.  I have been enjoying the "Sea Tangle" brand.  

 

A side note about kelp noodle preparation:

I recommend rinsing them well, and then emptying the bag into a bowl and immersing them in hot water for at least 30 minutes. 

I also prefer, when possible, to put my dressing on them and let them marinate at room temperature for a while before eating, to soften them up further. If not, they can have a funny crunchy texture, which can be ok, too.

 

If you don't have access to kelp noodles, homemade zucchini noodles from a spiralizer or veggie peeler work great for this recipe too!

 

And on to the Raw and Spicy Noodles!

 

Noodles

1 lb Kelp Noodles

1 cup shredded carrot

1 cup chopped scallion

1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper

3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

3 Tbsp chopped Parsley

 

SAUCE

1/3 cup smooth, raw almond butter

1/4 cup soy sauce (Tamari, nama shoyu, coconut aminos, braggs liquid aminos)

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 dates, soaked 30 min

2 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

 

sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

 

After preparing kelp noodles, toss noodle ingredients into a large bowl.  

 

Blend sauce ingredients well.

 

Pour sauce onto noodles and mix well.  

Top with optional sesame seeds.

 

Let sit 1 hour at room temp to further soften noodles.

Enjoy warm or cold.

 

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Matcha Milkshakes

One of my favorite memories of my time in Patagonia, AZ, was when I would sit in the shade with my Cafe Sisters on a hot Arizona day, and sip on a tall glass of Matcha Milkshake.  It was always wonderful, and by midway through our drink we would all have smiles spreading  from ear to ear.  If you can get your hands on some of the scrumptious DoMatcha brand Matcha, I can't recommend it enough. 

For those of you new to the concept of Matcha, Matcha is a powdered green tea originating in China by Zen Buddhists, and brought to Japan in the year 1191 where it continued to be important within the Zen monasteries.  Matcha is prepared in a different manner than traditional green tea.  Weeks before the plant is harvested, the plant is placed under shade, removing it from direct sunlight and forcing the it to take up more nutrients and minerals from the soil, resulting in the formation of amino acids.  The finest buds are hand-picked, laid flat to dry and then ground into a fine powder.  When consuming Matcha, the powder is added directly to the drink, where all of the nutrients are taken into the body, verses steeping the leaves and discarding the leaf.  The resulting product leading to a blissful, peaceful, awakened state.  


Traditionally, Matcha is consumed in a ceremony, however, living in the west, and not being exposed to the sacredness of this tea, I learned to drink Matcha as a blissful, summertime drink.  All of my ladies have their own rendition of the drink, I will provide you with my favorite recipe, but please, the fun is in experimenting and finding the combination that most tickles YOUR taste buds.


And if my Cafe Sisters are reading this, I love you and can't wait for our next Matcha break!!!

Matcha Milkshake

Tools:

Blender

Ingredients:

2C Nutmilk

6 dates, pitted

1/2 tsp vanilla powder

3/4 tsp matcha powder (or substitute in cacao, lucuma, mesquite or other superfood powder of choice)

twist of himalayan pink salt

1 tray ice cubes

Blend nutmilk, dates, vanilla, matcha and salt until smooth.

Add ice and continue blending.

Pour into two pint glasses and share with someone you love.

 

Salad Smiles

How can you say "no" to a four year old that comes inside asking for you to make salad dressing? Brother and sister, outside for their second night straight, with a pair of scissors and a bowl. Tearing into the first green pepper of the year, finely dicing chives, plucking nasturtium petals. As he waits he thumbs through the newest issue of "Get Fresh" Magazine (A raw food mag out of the UK) He declares that he will be the taste-tester. Waiting for dressing for their masterpiece. How could you say no to whipping up a fresh batch of tahini dressing, even when you are on hands and knees mopping up 16 ounces of bright red, freshly pressed veggie juice and a pile of broken glass? Did I mention the baby and I are covered in carrot pulp...

A VERY simple and yummy dressing that the kids seem to love:
1 pt tahini
1 pt apple cider vinegar
and just a splash of maple syrup

Raw Mama Trick #1

I'm always on the hunt for new tricks so I can incorporate an added nutritional boosts into my kids diets. What's been working for us the past couple of days?
Let me step back a bit. My husband decided about a week and a half or so ago to throw some wheat grass seeds into the garden. A brilliant idea! SO easy to take care of, we put them at the end of a row and tossed on a bit of row cover to protect the seeds from being scorched. Once we got them rolling, mother nature took care of the rest. (confession: we didn't even really take care of them much, we thought we had scorched them!)
So we've been throwing them in the blender with some water, straining the wheat grass juice and using that as the base of our smoothies.
What's been working for the kiddos??

Hidden Greens Pudding:
I take 2 cups of that wheatgrass water, add 2 handfuls of brazil nuts, a handful of soaked dates, 5 or so figs that I soaked for about 2 hours, a few heaping tbsp of carob, a twist of himalayan sea salt, blend it up and Viola! They LOVE it!
Try it out. Take their favorite raw recipe and sub in some green water, what ever you have on hand, you may have to compensate a bit, but what another great way to boost our babies!

Last nights baby food:
Papaya Pudding
1/4 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded
1/2 small papaya
1 avocado

Chop everything into large cubes and throw in the blender. She loved it! I'm thinking it should keep for a couple of days.. we'll see.