Sundaes on Sundays

One of Mitchell's favorite foods is Raw Ice Cream.

And it seems appropriate to have Sundaes

on Sundays.

Here is Raw Banana Ice Cream

 (frozen bananas creamed in the food processor)

Drizzled with Nut/Seed Butter

(peanuts, pumpkin seeds, pecans,

walnuts, flax oil, almonds)

And a Chocolate Sauce

(cocoa powder, honey, hot water)

Savory Oranges

When our eldest daughter returned from a trip to Morocco a few years back, she introduced us to a simple dessert or snack.  We eliminated the sprinkle of brown sugar, and treat our children to this year round but particularly in the summertime.

Today the children were savouring it, and I thought you might want to share it with your loved ones (or yourself) too!

Just slice up some juicey oranges into rounds.  Place on a plate or platter.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.

That's it.  Enjoy!

Homemade Peanut Butter

Not a great picture, but that's all there was to look at.  Put roasted peanuts in a heavy duty blender and blend away.  Add oil if necessary.  This needed some oil, so I added flax oil.  I found it a bit strong so next time I think I'll try walnut oil, I think, or some other lighter healthy oil.

Actually, I keep wanting the family to skip the peanut butter and just use almond butter, but it keeps showing up in the house (I don't purchase most of the groceries!)  I admit to eating my fair share, but I know it isn't healthy for us so I'd rather us be eating other types of nut butters.  I think I'm going to try a blend of different nuts and seeds, as I've tried some at the farmers' markets and really like them, and think they are packed with dense nutrition.

Anybody out there got a good recipe for a mixed nuts/seeds butter spread?   Preferably raw.  I'd love to hear about it.

Lentil Quinoa Stew

Danaka made this Lentil Quinoa Stew  for lunch and it was really wholesome and tasty. I thought Anders might not like it because there were loads of lentils, but he did! It was gobbled up with happy faces and resulted in full tummies.

Give it a try. We doubled the recipe and just cooked it on the stove with our Dutch Oven as we don't own a slow-cooker. It worked just fine, but looked thicker--less broth--than the picture above.

Lisa O's Birthday

I made this yummy Breakfast Pudding for the Birthday Girl.  Simple but beautiful and delicious and filling.  Just blend 2 bananas with 1 avocado in a food processor.  We sprinkled on a bit of cinnamon, and decorated with the flowers. Viola!

And the Birthday Girl got beautiful flowers from the neighbour.  And last night we celebrated with Dream Cake which was a huge success.  Tonight she's off to the Ball (a restaurant, I think) with the family and mother-in-law for more celebrations.

Happy Birthday, my friend.

Thousand Islands

Ever wonder where the name for the salad dressing came from?

In the St. Lawrence River between Maine and Ontario but on the Canadian side are the beautiful Thousand Islands.  The drive we took along this part of Canada from Ontario back to Cape Breton was a highlight for me.  I'd always wanted to see the waterway that played such a big role in the history of this great nation.  And when we drove along the Thousand Island Parkway, a 'green highway' on a sunny summer afternoon, we all decided that this would be a lovely place to return to, and even sail a lifetime (well, maybe just a lifetime of summers) amidst these islands.

Growing up I'd use Thousand Islands Dressing if ever I had to  eat salad.

Now of course, my eating habits are much different.  Thankfully, and healthfully.

I'm not looking for a replacement for that dressing, but I recently did come across a dressing that is named "Thousand Islands" and its Maret's favorite.  So, here it is for you to try.

"Thousand Islands"

2 oranges, peeled and seeded

4 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp raw honey

2 Tbsp nama shoyu or tamari or Bragg's amino acids

1/4 cup raw almond or cashew butter

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice

4 cloves garlic

Make this creamy dressing in your food processor or blender, and enjoy.

I don't recall where I got this recipe from, so I unfortunately can't give credit where it is due.

My Morning Routine

Ok, 'routine' might not be completely accurate as with still having littles at my feet can make it difficult to get everything I hope to do for myself accomplished in an orderly manner consistently first thing in the morning.  But 'routine' is the best word I can think to use that is, well, understandable.

(Sorry, Beatrix, that its taken so long to get around to posting my 'routine', but better late than never, huh?)

~I get out of bed anywhere from 5:30-7am.  I think it should be more consistent, but because we still have Littles my sleep is often disturbed so I allow myself the freedom to stay in bed longer some mornings when the Littles also allow it.  My sleep & quality is really random at this stage in life, and I have to Go With The Flow.  Some mornings, like today, I can successfully sneak out of  bed about 4:30am and go unnoticed by Laars, but many mornings I lay awake in bed meditating/praying so not to disturb sleeping boys. 

~ Potty Break!  Some mornings I do an enema to help my body eliminate from the nights cleansing.  This isn't on any kind of 'schedule'.  I do it as I feel (intuitively) that my body wants/needs it, and as time permits

~Body Scrub (the T-Tapp way) to help with elimination, and improve circulation to skin

~Brush hair with firm brush (or  you could use a wooden comb) to get tangles out, then scrub scalp & clean hair with a Boar Bristle Brush to improve circulation and distribute natural oils for healthy hair.  This needs to be done in small sections, methodically working over my skull.  I have found I can't use the Boar Bristle Brush alone as it would take infinity to work out the knots in my thick hair.  That's why I start with a stiff brush.

~Scrub Face (with a softer brush than a body brush) vigorously to improve circulation, gently exfoliate.  At same time I do some face squints and stretches for toning.

~Spray body, face and hair with homemade blend of essential oils in water.  I just put water in a small spray bottle and add EO's as I like, but usually some blend including  (or even solely) cinnamon as I like a spicy smell versus  flowery.  I often use lavender, or geranium, but never leave out my cinnamon.  Endless possibilities.

~Apply jojoba oil to my face and neck for moisture and sun-protection (SPF 4)

~Do Hoe-Downs

~Drink at least 1 glass (if not 2 glasses) of filtered water

~Putter in the kitchen and help littles with their own morning 'routines'

~Drink a glass of fresh juice (if Chelle or Everette make it), or make myself a glass of water with 1 oz aloe vera gel, juice of one lemon, a tsp or so of unpasteurized honey, maybe a pinch of cayenne pepper

~If I'm feeling ravenous (which isn't often, especially when I've drank enough fluids), I will eat an apple (or Laars' leftover apple cores with lots of flesh still on them) OR our version of Muesli.....  I soak about 1/2 cup of organic rolled oats with hot water, add a couple chopped dates, some goji berries and a few shakes of unsweetened coconut.

~Then its usually time for cuddles with little ones and maybe do some reading with them, or sit & have a discussion with Everette or read aloud with him.  This is our Connection Time, if the littles allow it ;)  or we fit it in some other time of the day.




I'll try and post an Evening Routine later.

Banana Pops

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Dipped Banana Pops

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas
• 1 cup chocolate-chips
• 2 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter

Materials:

• 9 wooden popsicle sticks
• parchment paper

1. Peel bananas and cut into three sections. Gently insert a popsicle stick into the center.
2. Place on a parchment paper lined tray and place in the freezer while you melt your chocolate.
3. Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (power 6-7) until melted. Stir with a spatula until smooth.
4. Pour melted chocolate into a tall, narrow glass or container. Remove bananas from freezer. Dip, one by one, into the chocolate, letting it ooze up the sides of the glass and coat the banana.
5. Place bananas on tray again and sprinkle with nuts, if desired. Freeze until solid.

To enjoy: remove from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for about five minutes. Serve with a napkin.


This recipe comes via Aimee at Simple Bites
Not raw, but might be a wonderful treat for you to try for your littles (or yourself!)

Dipped in Chocolate

The dipping chocolate is cacao, coconut oil & honey.  The coconut oil makes it solidify nicely and makes it satiny smooth.  If you use raw cacao, you can keep these desserts completely raw.  We place the glass jar of coconut oil in a pot of hot water for the oil to melt before stirring the ingredients all together.  Or should I say, Rauchelle does all that!  These desserts are made by her.On the right are what we call Turtles.  We use Medjool dates, halved, stuffed with pecans or walnuts and drizzled with the chocolate sauce.  That's it.  Yummy.  But you really ought to limit it to one piece, although they taste like "Just One More!"

Our family really enjoys chocolate, but I am not convinced that cacao is a superfood.  Within the raw food community, there is division over cacao.  We haven't eliminated it from our diet, yet, but we don't consume it like we used to.  I am saying that these 'treats' are not staples at all.  These are occasional treats.  We still enjoy them, but I can see 'One Day' we might not consume them at all.

I remember back to the days when I thought I couldn't live the rest of my life without Coke.  Especially with pizza.  But I can honestly say, I don't crave it any longer.  We chose to part with cola's about 5 years ago, and although I've had an occasional one since then, it is virtually no longer a part of our lifestyle, and I don't miss it one iota.  

So, I can see a day when cacao/chocolate is no longer a part of our life, too.

For now, its an occasional visitor.  I can live with that.  For now.

Curry Sauce

I made this quick & easy raw Curry Sauce the other day to have with Chinese & red cabbage, and it was sooooo yummy.

Rauchelle said "It's the best thing since sliced bread!"

Curry Sauce over Cabbage Salad
By Iraw

Curry sauce:
1 orange, peeled
1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/3 cup of raisins, soaked 4 hours then drained
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 TB curry powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp fresh ginger
pinch of sea salt


Blend all ingredients until smooth. Adjust seasonings as needed.
This simple cabbage slaw with shredded coconut and red grapes is simply delicious.

*******************************************************

This would be great in a wrap (nori, rice paper, collards, romaine) with or without the cabbage.  Any leftover salad would work, or even just making the curry sauce for a wrap would be good.  Or it could be used as a dip for wraps, too.  Lots of ways to use it.

Island Punch

1 Pineapple (top and skin removed, cut into spears)
1 pint Strawberries (washed and stems removed)
2 large sweet Apples (washed and stems removed)

Juice ingredients and enjoy.  The recipe suggests adding rum to taste, but I omitted it.  It was yummy as is, and the froth topping (naturally occurring) was very creamy.

Pineapple is a great source for bromelain (digestive enzymes), manganese and Vitamin C.  Bromelain is also a potent anti-inflammatory.

In addition to vitamin C, Strawberries also provide an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese, as well as folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.  They also contain significant levels of phytonutrients and antioxidants, which fight free radicals.

Apples provide boron (may help to have healthy bones), cellulose, and pectin.  When juicing the peel, you are retaining the great supply of Vitamin A that the apple carries.

Pink OJ

Since coming home from our 5 day Retrieval Mission trip, I've been drinking lots of juices.  Here's one of my new Fav juices.  Plain and simple. 

Just Oranges and Beets. 

That's it.  

Juice away to a Healthy Body.


What you might not know is that oranges are a natural source of aspirin and boron. Be sure to peel before juicing (I peel all my citrus fruits before juicing as they tend to make the juice taste bitter, and make me feel sick).

Beets are great sources for folic acid,  iron, calcium and potassium.

What's Vinegar and Honey and Oil Got to Do With It?

As part of a recent WISH (Women's International Summit for Health) I heard Janice Cox
sharing about all the wonderful spa treatment ingredients most of us have sitting in our pantry and in the fridge.  Not only are these homemade 'products' cheaper than store-bought, they are less toxic for you, & for the environment (what's going down the drain or packaging to the landfill).

I've started incorporating some of Janice's ideas in the past couple weeks and am happy with the results.  Three of them in particular that I wanted to share.  My favorites.

SOFTER HANDS & STRONGER NAILS
Several of us were starting to get dry skin on the backs of our hands.  But now that I've placed containers with olive oil at each of the sinks in the house we just apply a few drops of oil after each hand-washing, rub it in well not only into the skin but also into the nails.  We all have revived skin.  Any excess we rub into our cheeks and neck.  Voila!  We feel silky.

Janice said that nails become brittle because they lose moisture.  So right after washing them, lock that moisture in with a coating of (organic, preferrably) oil.  Purchasing it from the grocery store will save you money.  Try coconut, olive, almond, etc.  An obvious note: make sure you don't use what you might internally and/or externally be allergic to.

TOOTSIE CARE
Another skin idea is focused on the feet.  This is a 'luxury' I particularly enjoy.
Fill a sink or small tub with warm water.  Pour in some vinegar (white, apple-cider, even old wine).  The acidity will soften your soles.  Rub vigorously or use a scrubber to remove hardened spots.  Then after drying your feet remember to seal in the moisture with your favorite oil & pay attention to massaging oil into your toenails.  It's good to put organic cotton or wool socks on to keep your floors clean from oily footmarks, or if you don't mind wearing socks to bed it will keep your sheets cleaner.

I remember hearing Bernardo LaPallo sharing in a video about his father telling him as a young boy that if he took care of his feet, they would take care of him throughout his life.  He has been massaging them every night ever since with olive oil.  This man iss 108+yrs old and looks absolutely fantastic!  

MANES
Our hair is something that often gets overworked.  A great way to freshen it & clean the build-up out of it is to at least once a month put 1 tsp of baking soda in a cup of water & after you shampoo your hair, (or even add to your shampoo) scrub this into your scalp.  If you don't like to use shampoo, you can go the 'No-poo' route that many do.  Just google for options.  I personally haven't used anything on my hair/scalp for cleaning since, golly, must be last summer/early fall?  And no, its not greasy.  I just scrub warm water over it.  That's it.  Free and easy.

But here's my third Favorite idea (the baking soda idea was an extra!).
I now use liquid honey for hair conditioner.  It might sound sticky but it washes out easily, and I love the feel of my hair.  It's a great moisturizer for all hair types.  Leave on for 15-30 mins before rinsing.

If you are super sensitive to different pollens, you might want to  be careful of the plant source for the honey.  Currently ours is from a blueberry farm, and we love to eat it, soak in it (right in the bath water) and moisturize with it.  Oh, but if it gets in the eyes, it can sting.  May be short lived, but it sure stung my eyes.

Honey is so healthy from head to toe.

How to Peel a Potato Without Using a Peeler

Although we don't eat potatoes any more, I thought this was a cute trivial video.  Just to be In The Know!

Fruit Kebabs

A hit for Breakfast this morning, with a really simple dip.

In a food processor, blend 1 cup soaked cashews, 1/2 c fresh orange juice (or maybe a little more!) and 2 Tbsp vanilla.  That's it.

We didn't have enough strawberries, and somebody ate up all the bananas, but as it was it disappeared quickly so it must have been good.  Going to try a raw 'cream cheese' dip next time.

Seasonal Eating

Everette and I recently finished reading Paul Nison's The Daylight Diet (highly recommended!) in which he says Hippocrates "often mentioned seasonal eating:  Winter foods are heavier and sustain us longer when the days are shorter.  In the warmer months, the food is naturally more cooling to the body and much lighter on the system.  Summer produce has much more liquid than dense, winter produce. "

Food for thought.

If we follow the Daylight Diet, which means only eating during daylight, and always going to sleep at night with a completely empty stomach, eating seasonal would perfectly fit.

For example, here in Canada, it gets dark during winter months at, say, 4 pm.  So eating should be done before 4pm.  If I usually go to bed at 10pm, that's 6 hours I haven't eaten before hitting the sack.  If I've eaten root vegetables (winter foods) it will have taken a bit more time to digest these heavier foods, and they will have sustained me longer in those 6 hours.

During the summer when sunset might not be until about 9 pm, it would be recommended to be eating lighter fruits and veggies which are in season.  If I still go to bed by 10 pm, I shouldn't be eating just before sunset, but it also should be at least 4 hours before I hit the sack.  So I shouldn't be eating any later than 6 pm.

Interesting, that during the hot days, when we are in tune with our bodies, we like to eat lighter meals where the food has high water content which helps hydrate us and cools us down.

I have a problem eating 'in season'.  Much of the foods we like to eat aren't local in this colder climate.(not much different when we are back in BC)  They are what used to be considered 'exotic' but now they are almost staples.  For example, here in Cape Breton people don't grow kiwi, oranges, bananas, pineapple, mangoes, etc.  But they are pretty staple produce here.  They are all very juicy fruits (except the bananas), all grown in hotter climates, all with longer heat seasons than here.  Maybe that would explain why we are cold the majority of the time living here?  Maybe we aren't eating enough heavy produce?  But, I don't know many ways to prepare heavy winter veggies without cooking them.

One reason I was keen on learning to ferment veggies was because they seemed naturally to lean towards the winter veggies like carrots, turnips, cabbage, etc.

We've tried some raw squash recipes, and none of them have been hits with us (yet) except for zucchini 'sghetti.  Oh, Everette does make an awesome 'Massaged Kale Salad' with avocado and lemon which is incredible, but the children don't like it.  I didn't eat much for veggies at their age, so I'm not surprised.  Kale is kind of thick and requires quite a bit of chewing.  But, oh I love it now!  And it's great in juices and green smoothies.

We also use quite a bit of nuts and seeds, which I would consider are 'winter' foods. 

So, if any of you have great suggestions, I'd love to get some help.  I know in alot of places winter is over.  Not so confident about that here, yet ;)   I'm looking forward to summer, because we have no problems with all those summer fruits and veggies.

Maple Sugaring

We made it out to Haveracre Farms on Saturday to see how maple water is processed into maple syrup.  It was a gorgeous day for a family outing.

You can see the blue hoses running through the forest, with branches off to tap into the individual trees.  11,000 of them.  We were able to walk down the little access road to see them.  It was such an incredible day to be out, and Jason, the owner of this business, said the sap was running at high volume for such a warm day.

These blue hoses then connect to a larger pipe that runs down the hill to a few different tanks.  Here's one, where we were able to watch the sap water flowing. 

All of us were surprised at how clear the water looked.

The ground was quite muddy. 

'Washing' our shoes off with the snow before we climbed back into the van.

 After going through reverse osmosis which removes about 75% of the water, it enters these chambers in a boiler, heated by wood, then it goes to another boiler with several chambers but this one is electric which enables the temperature to remain more constant and controlled as the syrup becomes more concentrated. 

This is Jason, the man who runs the show.  After being in the second boiler it will be released into this container in batches where Jason checks to make sure the concentration of sugar to water is correct, along with the temperature.  Then it goes through a filter to eliminate any impurities, then piped over to.......

the bottling station.  It goes in piping hot, sterilizing the bottles.  You can be sure we got the glass bottles vs the plastic.  Can you imagine the toxins that gas off when that boiling sugar water hits it??  Yuck.

And on our way home from Antigonish, we were treated to........

watching what we think was an old barn burn down.  It was spreading to the surrounding grass, and as we drove along the highway, firetrucks were coming from all directions.  We had originally thought it might have been a practice fire for the volunteers, but soon discovered it wasn't.  They must have called trucks in from all the neighbouring communities. 

Okay, so back to the Maple Syrup.

Since we are eating High Raw, and syrup obviously isn't raw, one might ask why we bothered going, and why we bought some of that sugary stuff.  Well, maple syrup is like one of the top symbols of Canada, and somehow we'd managed to miss this event every year we've been out here.  We just had to go see a working farm.  And engaging as many of our senses as possible, we agreed to include our tastebuds.  So we caved and had buckwheat pancakes with syrup for Sunday breakfast.

But the real reason I buy maple syrup is because of this following recipe.......

Garlic Balsamic Dressing

1/3 c olive oil

1/3 c balanced oil (if I don't have any, I use whatever healthy oil I have, like flax, or sesame, etc)

1/3 c balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp dried basil

3 Tbsp maple syrup

3 cloves garlic, pressed

1/2 tsp prepared mustard (I like dijon or homemade)

pinch celtic salt and black pepper (or better yet, use dulse flakes instead)

Whisk together to use for a dressing.  You can whip it to make as a dip.

This is our family's favorite salad dressing, which for some reason we've been affectionately calling it Sludge for years now.

The Tale of Squashes

Danaka made a post here about our successful Zucchini 'Spaghetti' with Marinara Sauce, including the recipe. It was a huge hit this week. I wouldn't claim it to be like a meat sauce, but it was certainly satisfying, and likely would be good with ground mushrooms, especially portabello's.

This week we also tried making 'sgetti' out of butternut squash with a spiralizer, but it was a No-Go with my family. NONE of us liked it.

I ended up using some of the left-over noodles to make a raw 'Pumpkin' pie for supper to try and salvage the raw foods day, and it was gone by end of supper, so that obviously worked! And today I put the rest of the noodles in a casserole dish along with sliced yellow onions, olive oil left-over from sun-dried tomatoes, and salt & pepper and baked the squash for lunch. Yummy. Another hit.

Fermentated Veggies El-Simple!

I gave a try at this simple way of making healthy food even healthier.  Here's a pic of what I made.
The result, for this family who doesn't like fermented foods.........other than Everette who used to eat sauerkraut on his Costco hotdog..........well, the dc haven't tried it yet  :(   and us adults say, its okay.  Not too strong.  It's good in a wrap!

So, I'll try again in the future. 

Hopefully in the future the dc will have sampled it enough times to actually get a taste for it.

We're on a journey.....learning as we go.

Chia Seeds

Pack Your Nutrient Dense Smoothies with Chia Seeds

We eat chia seeds quite a bit around here. We sneak them in smoothies, and we actually make chia pudding....a couple of different ways. If you soak the seeds 5-10 mins (about 1 part seeds to 4 parts liquid) with something to sweeten it, you end up with something that resembles tapioca, but the seeds are a little crunchy. I make it with water or almond milk, then add sliced bananas, chopped walnuts or pecans, and chopped dates.

My favorite way to eat chia seeds is what I call Lucuma Pudding.
I soak the seeds with almond milk and 1/4 c lucuma, blend on high speed until creamy smooth. Then I add whatever I want to add, usually chopped nuts and dates.  Or my other favorite is when I soak the seeds (1/4 c) in 2 cups almond milk.  I let sit for about 10 minutes, stir, then place in fridge till the morning.  This is more like tapioca.  I scoop over top 1/2-1 banana, then sprinkle with chopped walnuts, dates and coconut.  Yummy.  That was this mornings breakfast.  And the chia seems to stick for hours, keeping me full.

When we drove across the country, sitting for long days of driving, I would take a heaping Tablespoon of these seeds, just plain. They get a bit gummy on the teeth, but that provides entertainment while I drive! And it keeps me regular.