Summer Fun Fruity Ice Pops
Ice pops are quick and easy treats that everybody loves – especially kids. Puree and freeze any fruit or vegetable or even turn your favorite shake into a summertime treat! The combinations are endless! Sometimes we go nuts with flavors here because we have a lot of things growing on the farm and why not get inventive? Never turn up your nose at the basics though, because they’re delicious, too. We have children here so we use those silly ice pop molds, but you can use ice trays instead. Just pop in the blender and liquify for a delicious frozen smoothie when you’re in the mood. Keep in mind that…
Chocolate Lemon Bark with Lavender and Goji
Chocolate makes the world go ‘round. I don’t know about you but for me, chocolate fixes everything. This whole recipe began as an experiment. Raw chocolate is known to have a relatively low melting point due to the high coconut oil content. So, this recipe was more of a search to find the key to a strong raw bark. I think I nailed it! If ever there was an antioxidant bank, this chocolate would be its currency! But antioxidants are not nearly all this tasty treat has to offer. In addition to cacao being a recognized aphrodisiac due to its ability to increase your body’s serotonin and dopamine production, cacao…
Orange Cheesecake In the Raw
I know that a raw vegan cheesecake sounds oxymoronic, The first question that people ask when I tell them about this dish is, “How is it cheesecake?” Well, strictly speaking, it’s not. However, in my humble opinion, it is far better! I originally was given a lemon version of this recipe when I was training as the raw food dessert chef at the cafe my mother used to own. I was about fourteen years old, and was psyched to be doing something other than spilling drinks and trying to unlock the secret of dairy free cappuccinos. It became an orange cheesecake, simply because we ran out of lemons one day.…
Broccoli Carrot Slaw With Sweet and Spicy Tahini
Broccoli is an anti-oxidant rich powerhouse that supports healthy cells throughout the body. Plus it tastes good and it’s one of those healthy veggies that even most kids don’t turn up their noses at. That makes it a go-to in my house at all times! Broccoli at the Fairgrounds… The very first time I really made this recipe was years ago when I joined forces with three other raw afficionados to set up a booth for a fair in Santa Fe, NM, where I live. I honestly don’t know where our heads were. Somehow we believed that we could successfully bring raw food into the fairground! As if…! The moment…
Jammy Fruit Salad with Arugula
My son loves fruit but when it comes to condiments, he’s really not much of a fan. He never even liked sauces, never mind salad dressings. From the beginning that became a challenge. Because, let’s face it, salad dressing is kind of like ‘clothes for greens’. (I guess that’s why they call it ‘dressing’ in the first place). It gives it that little extra ‘oomph’ that takes it over the top and helps to accentuate the flavor of everything that touches it. I mean, even I don’t think it’s that much of a thrill to eat a bunch of lettuce completely dry. And salad is -hands down – my favorite…
Pineapple Pepper Raw Chia Jam
Chia makes it so easy to make jam, it’s ridiculous! No cooking, not a bunch of pots to clean gooey messes off of – barely any labor expressed on your part in any way, shape or form. And for barely lifting a finger, you get one hell of a delicious jam! Now, we used ground chia seeds to make this because they really seem to thicken better but the grey color of the seeds does mute the vibrancy of the fruit a bit. OK. More than a bit. It bothered us at first. Melissa was trying to figure out how to make it more yellow naturally. Turmeric seemed like the…
Melon Ball Summer Stew
Don’t be intimidated by the nifty little melon ball-er. Using one is easy and fun and it’s somehow so rewarding to see those little melon balls falling into a bowl to form vibrant mounds! Even if there not perfectly round, they’re still perfect; each one a burst of fresh sweetness! This is the kind of food that actually makes you want to play with it – even if you’ve got your mother in the back of your mind telling you not to! Now, mind you, you don’t have to make melon balls for this to be good. Cutting the melons into large dice would work just as well. It probably…
Almond Ginger Chia Pudding
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia! Whenever I prepare food or smoothies with these tiny seeds, I can’t help but remember all those commercials for Chia Pets. And -let’s not forget – the famous Chia Head (scary and ridiculous)! I, myself, succumbed to the lure of the miraculous Chia Pet when I received one of the kits for my birthday. That was a long time ago. As I recall it was a hedgehog that actually looked pretty damn cute when it began to sprout green chia quills! But, never, at that time, did I ever anticipate a day that I would actually be eating those little seeds. And – even more miraculous – that I…
Guacamole and Avocado ‘Toast’
You can’t go anywhere now-a-days without running into avocado toast and, I’ve gotta’ admit, there’s something to it. Avocado is only just one of the worlds best fats – not to mention all the other nutritional benefits packed into these little green gems. And even if we still want to keep our fat intake on the down low, anyone would be doing themselves a favor to choose avocado toast over bacon and eggs any day of the week. For me, this fashionable feast gets dialed up a notch. The toast gets tossed, of course, in favor of some raw multiple O bread. And even though you could, technically, just smash…
Green Grape and Cucumber Minted Soup
Late spring and summer is such a wonderful time to be raw! And that means it’s prime time to begin incorporating more raw food into your diet! During this time of the year it takes barely any energy at all to create satisfying raw dishes that will completely steal the spotlight away from cooked foods. It’s just not what our bodies crave in the heat! Me, I love to whip things together in the kitchen but it’s just too warm to spend a lot of time doing it, so my summer fall-backs are incredible soups and smoothies that I toss together in a blender in a matter of minutes. This…
