Rex Phair Goes Green...smoothie, that is!

Rex Phair...Clueless to the Goodness!

son of Glenn and Allison Phair

New Braunfels, TX  

 

Seriously, though...how cute is this little dude?!

The best "Doritos" for your heart and taste buds

Ingredients:

• 1-2 cup raw cashews
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbs. raw sesame seeds
• 1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbs. Tamari, or soy sauce, or Nama Shoyu
• 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. paprika (smoked paprika if you have it)
• 3/4 - 1 tsp. kosher salt
• dash of onion and garlic powders (optional)
• 1 bunch curly kale

Instructions:
Blend all ingredients (except kale) in the blender.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy.  You can use the raw, or non-raw, versions of all these ingredients according to your food lifestyle.  Also, the spices are "to taste," so measure accordingly.  The nutritional yeast and paprika are imperative for a "cheesy" flavor.  I ran out of paprika on my second batch, and they lacked the cheese flavor, but we're still great.   You can buy nutritional yeast at your local health food store.

You need a LARGE bowl to mix the "cheeze" sauce into the kale.  Make sure you kale has been de-stemmed, washed, and torn into bite size chip-like pieces.  For mixing, I put down a layer of kale, then poured sauce over it, then another layer of kale, then sauce, and etc.  This helps to evenly distribute the sauce.  Thoroughly mix the sauce into the kale pieces, and lay out onto dehydrator sheets.  I have a 4 tray dehydrator, and I had to remove two of the trays due to the fluffy height of the kale.  Dehydrate at 105 degrees for at least 10 hours, or until crispy and dry.  Your house will smell like peanut butter and cheese crackers; oddly neither of those things are in the recipe, nor do the chips taste like peanut butter. 


These kale chips are awesome!  Raw vegan, or not, you will love these!  I can't wait to give some to my father, and Steven liked them, too.  What a great way to eat such a nutritionally dense leafy green!

Thanks Andi for reminding me to make these,
Claire to the Bear

Coconut Lemon Bars

Yum!  These are great, and so easy to make.  Seriously, raw food can be so simple, it's ridiculous.  I got this recipe from Carmella's blog , which she got from Ani Phyo . 

Raw Coconut Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1 1/2 cups pitted dried dates (I used Medjool)
• splash of vanilla extract (or seeds of a vanilla bean if you have one)
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• Zest of one lemon (don't use the white pith)
• 2 1/2 Tbs. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup dried shredded coconut

Assembly:

Before hand, trace the bottom of a 9X9 square baking pan onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper.  Cut out, and place in bottom of pan.  You could also line the pan with plastic wrap.

In a food processor, chop almonds into small pieces.  Next, add the remaining ingredients to the almonds in the processor, and pulse until well combined and forms a moist dough.

Evenly press mixture into 9X9 pan, and chill in the refrigerator/freezer 'till firm, but not frozen.  Loosen edges with a knife, and invert onto cutting board.  Cut into bars.  Should make roughly 12 bars, or so.

Whatcha been smokin', Jill?

Hemp!

(Hemp Seed can be bought at Whole Foods, Central Market, and many other natural food stores.  The picture above is the exact brand hemp seed I bought at CentralMarket)

Protein, protein, protein...it's Ms. Jill's favorite word!  Jill is one of my e-friends I met at Runner's World's online community "The Loop."  As you can imagine, runners love their protein, and it's going to be hard to convince one they don't need as much as traditionally believed.  Who knows, maybe I'm wrong, or maybe they're wrong?  All that matters is...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  Well, you know, take that with a grain of salt in regards to some ideas ;-)  On my run this morning, I noticed my legs muscles were weak.  I started thinking about protein, and if my lack of having as much protein in my diet as of recently was the explanation for this.  Honestly, I don't think it is; I think it's a result of "taking it easiER" the past two weeks by only running flat ground and for short distance due to a hip flexor strain.  My hip flexor is better, so I'm incorporating hills back in my running.  Obviously, my legs muscles atrophied a tad from the lack of hill strength training, so they're feeling a little weak.  Who knows, maybe it's the diet, and maybe it's not.  As of right now, I'm adhering to this perspective on "protein" here .

The point being...lately when I think of the role protein plays in my diet as an active person, I immediately think of Jill since she's been following both my new running and new raw food lives.  Jill hearts protein!  She's been such a sport about about trying out the green smoothies, but noted she's been putting protein powders in them.  So, after my run this morning, I decided to make a post-run "raw" vegan hemp protein shake with Jill in mind.

Hemp seed/nut is an amazing little food.  It is one of the few plant complete proteins, and is dang tasty, too!  What about soy?  Well, soy has a bad reputation for possibly causing thyroid problems, breast cancer, early dementia, and for being a high mucus producer.  As always, you will find a flip side to most every argument, so until they decide hemp's going to kill us, too, I'm gonna to eat it.  Unfortunately, hemp can not be legally grown in the US, but can be imported from certain countries like Cananda.  Now, I'm not sure about this, but I think imported hemp seed must be "treated" before entering the U.S....even though some raw food sites state they have "raw" hemp seed, or "raw" hemp powder, I'm not sure how accurate that affirmation is.  I'll do some more researching on that.  Anyway, here's a tasty post-workout EASY vegan (maybe could be raw?) hemp protein shake just for you, Jill!

 Chocolate Hemp Shake

• 2 Tbs. shelled hemp seed (11g protein, Jill!)
• 1 tsp. dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut (optional, but good)
• 1 cup cold water
• 4 dried dates (you can use Agave, honey, or whatever sweetener you have on hand)
  
• dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 tsp. cocoa powder (raw cacao powder, if you have it)

Procedure:  Throw it all in the blender, and go for it!  Blend on slow, working your way up to the highest setting, and blend for about a minute until all hemp seed and dates are totally combined, creamy, and like milk (fyi, blending hemp seed with water is how you make hemp milk).  At this point, you could add a banana, if you like.  If choosing to add the coconut, you will need to blend on high for little bit longer so those shreds become no more.  Hemp seeds will blend completely with no need for straining, as they are very small and soft.  If you'd like, you could use a little less water, and throw a few ice cubes in the mix.  You can also soak your dates before hand for easier blending, as well).

Hemp is very nutty tasting.  It's also great sprinkled on salads, cereals, and sauteed veggies.  Enjoy! 

There ya go, Jill!  11 grams of complete protein all in a small 1 cup serving.

New Converts!

Jennifer and Reese Barnhart...Changing their names to Jennifer and Reese "GREENheart!"

Dallas, TX

If baby Reese can be a "big girl," so can YOU!

Keep 'em coming, guys!

CC

Better Raw?

Corn is!  I'm so glad I took Natalia Rose's advice, and gave raw corn a try.  It's awesome!  Raw corn is sweet, tender, juicy, and refreshing.  Simply cut the kernels off the cob, sprinkle with salt, and enjoy!  I would have never thought about including this vegetable as a staple in my raw repertoire, thinking it would be extremely hard.  On the contrary, it's so tender.  Raw corn?  Yes, please!

The first thing you need to know about corn is that it is extremely rich in thiamin, which is Vitamin B1. Vitamin B1 is an essential vitamin that is water-soluble. It helps you use your blood glucose for energy as well as your central nervous system health, heart functions, and your muscle. One cup of corn will give you about 25 percent of your daily allowance needed. I'd like to mention that thiamin also plays a role in stronger memory.

The second B vitamin that corn is good for is B5. You need vitamin B5 is known as panthothenic acid. This B vitamin helps your carbohydrates so that they are used for energy, and red blood cell production as well as thiamin.

Folate is another water soluble vitamin on the list which is also found in fresh corn. Folate will help the body with red blood cell numbers, thus, avoiding anemia. Folate also plays a larger role in helping our amino acids essential to health. A daily one cup serving of fresh corn will provide you with 18 percent of your daily allowance.

Another great nutrient found in fresh corn is fiber. Fiber is most essential for roughage and establishes regularity. A cup of corn will provide you with 4 grams of fiber.

Phosphorus is also found in corn. You will get at least 15 percent of this mineral by a serving of corn. You need phosphorus because it is the mineral that is essential to bone health just as calcium is.

Manganese is also part of corn. Managanese is essential for digestion of the essential nutrients your body continually needs,plays a role in your bones staying healthy, helps the thyroid gland to function well, and glucose metabolism. A serving of fresh corn will give you at least 15 percent of manganese.

Give it a try!

There's Nothing Like a Granola Bar!

Finally, my raw vegan granola bar!  This is what I would call a "base recipe" for a chewy granola bar, meaning you can add whatever mix-in's you desire...dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cacao nibs, etc.  

*UPADATE: I'm not sure how I feel about these, now.  There's some tweeking that needs to be done, but I just don't know where, yet.  I'm starting to think I don't like agave nectar dehydrated.  So maybe use all raw honey for the sweetener.  I'll keep you guys posted once I make these again with all honey, and see what that does.*

"Wet" Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
  
• 2 tsp. coconut oil/butter
• 1/4 cup raw agave nectar
• 1/3 cup raw honey
• 2 tsp water

_____________________________________

"Dry" Ingredients:

• 1 cup shredded dry coconut
• 1 cup dehydrated almond meal/pulp (left over from making almond milk)
  
• 1 cup RAW rolled oats
• 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds

Process:

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients.  Stir thoroughly.  Set aside.

Trace the bottom of a 9X9 brownie pan onto a sheet of parchment paper.  Cut out the tracing, and place the square sheet of parchment in the bottom of the pan.  Set aside. 

In a food processor, combine all "wet" ingredients and process to the consistency of a smooth nut butter.  Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients.  Stir thoroughly until wet mixture is evenly distributed, and "dough" comes together.

To shape, turn dough out into the parchment lined pan.  Use plastic wrapped over the top to press the dough evenly, and firmly, into the bottom of the pan.  Put in the fridge or freezer for a little it (approx. 10 min) to allow the oils in the dough to firm.  Once dough has firmed, invert the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper, slide onto your dehydrator tray, cut around the edges of the paper to trim off the excess, and then peel off the original sheet that was once the bottom.

*If you do not have a dehydrator, you can cut into bars at this point, individually wrap in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator.  They are perfectly fine to eat this way, but might not stay put together as well as a dehydrated, or baked (if you wish to go the non-raw route), bar.  They will also be easier to cut at this point the colder they are.* 

Dehydrate for a few hours @ 105 degrees.  At this point, invert onto a cutting board and cut into rectangles.  (I think I got 12 bars out of this.  I cut the big square down the middle both ways, and then cut each of those squares into three rectangles.)  Place cut bars back on the dehdyrator sheet, and dry at least overnight, or until the consistency you desire is reached.

I store almost everything in the fridge to be on the safe side, especially since the bars will not be 100% dehydrated at this thickness....hence the reason they're chewy.

Happy eating,

Claire

I'll show you mine, if you show me your...

...green smoothie, that is!  Send me you green smoothie pics, especially all you virgins out there, to claire.cunningham.83@gmail.com.  Shock the world...I dare you ;)

Holly Kennedy shocking the world!

New Braunfels, TX

(I must admit; I have yet to drink one this green....oh, Holly)

Laurie Krock turning heads!

San Antonio, TX

(don't you envy her bliss right now?!)

Jill Parker Proving Pavlav's Law!

Denver, CO

(That's right; start droolin')

Claire Cunningham (me) Going "Undercover!"

New Braunfels, TX, TX

(Mission: Spread the Green Gross-Out!  Camouflage Preference: Blueberries)

Christina Stock...Stockin' Up The Looks! 

Richardson, TX

(She likes 'em thick)

Thanks, guys!  Keep 'em coming!  I made one for Steven this morning (sans banana); he loved it!  I'll get our pics up here next time....  -CC Blooom

Moooooo-ove over, Dairy!

Nut Mylks!  Yum!  They are so good for you, so easy to make, and soooo not dairy!  As you've probably figured, Vegan Raw Foodists do not consume dairy in any form.  Yes, I know you're thinking about all those horrendous videos surfing around social networks and e-mail forwards regarding animal abuse...but it's not just that.  Yes, animal abuse is terrible, but so is human body abuse, and THAT'S exactly what Vegan Raw Foodists believe dairy (especially cow dairy) is doing to your body.  Contrary to the raw community majority, not all raw foodists despise all dairy; some do consume unpasteurized dairy, especially goat dairy.  To read an excerpt regarding dairy from Natalia Rose's The Raw Food Detox Diet, click here.

Whatever your opinion regarding dairy, you should still give nut mylks a try.  Who knows, you may find you like your chocolate milk better made with almond mylk instead of cows milk.  Or maybe that tropical banana smoothie you love would be even more tropical with a macadamia nut mylk?  At any rate, below is a ridiculously step-by-step visual explanation of how to make a basic nut mylk.  I promise my future recipe posts will not be this anal; I just want to make sure you folks are clear on the steps since making nut mylks and green smoothies probably defy your ideas of conventional food preperation.  Enjoy!

Almond Mylk 

The basic recipe for nut mylk is 1 part nuts to 3 parts water.  According to your preference of richness, you can use less or more water.  If you have a conventional blender, as I do, you might want to start with a small batch; you don't want your blender to overflow!  For example, try a 1/2 cup almonds to 1 1/2 cups water.  Feel fee to use cashews, almonds, brazil nuts, macadamias, etc; just make sure they are raw, not toasted.

Step 1:  Soak the nuts with pure water (this soaking ratio is not important; just make sure the nuts are covered completely with room to swell) at least 1 hour before making your mylk, preferably overnight, at room temperature.  Soaking the nuts not only makes them softer for blending, but also neutralizes their enzyme inhibitors for easier digestion, and so our bodies can access the nut's full nutritional profile.

This is a nut mylk bag.  Basically, it's cheese cloth with a draw string sewn in the top.  You do not have to have one these, but they do make the process easier.  I've seen people use both cheese cloth and fine mesh strainers to achieve the same outcome.

Step 2:  Once your nuts have soaked, drain and rinse a couple of times.  You will see the nuts have released some sediment, and their skins may be trying to peel off.  This is completely normal, but you do not want the original soak water in your nut mylk.  Add them to the blender along with the appropriate amount of water to your ratio.  In the picture above, you can see some bright yellow things floating around in my mixture.  Those are lecithin granules I have added to my batch; but, that is optional and not necessary for the recipe.

Step 3:  Blend!  Slow start, and then work up to a higher speed.  You do NOT want this mixture to be completely homogeneous like a green smoothie's texture.  You want to blend the nuts until they are blended to fine texture, but can still separate from the milk.  See below...

 

Step 4:  Pour the mylk mixture into your nut mylk bag, cheese cloth, strainer, etc.  At this point, you want to separate the almond pulp from the liquid.  If using a nut mylk bag or cheesecloth, you will literally need to squeeze the pulp quite aggressively to get the most liquid out of the pulp.

 

At this point, .you can flavor your almond mylk.  A sort of "standard" is to add a little bit of sweetener, and some vanilla extract.  I add a little pinch of salt to mine to give it some depth.  You can also add cinnamon, any flavor extract of your choice, cocoa or cacao powder, and the list goes on!  Store in the refrigerator, and enjoy just as you would cow's milk.

After "milking," you're left with almond pulp!  Don't throw this away!  If you have a dehydrator, you can dry the pulp, and then pulse in a food processor to make almond flour.  Or, you can turn your oven on the lowest setting, spread the pulp out on a cookie sheet, and dry that way.  If drying in the oven, your pulp with most likely not be raw due to your oven probably not going below 118 degrees F...which I'm sure some of you don't mind.  You can add almond flour to any baked/dehydrated good!  I've added almond flour/pulp to granola bars, breads, muffins, etc.

Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions; I will answer to the best of my ability!

Mmmmm....Fooooood,

Claire

The Green Monster!

Alright, as promised I said I would start posting pics and "how to's" for my cooking/un-cooking creations once I got my camera back. Well, that has not happened, so I borrowed Steven's! This post might seem to be a little overkill on the steps for making a green smoothie, but my dear non-cooking friend needs major details. Here ya go, Holly!

First off, here are the leafy greens I'm using this week...kale and spinach. It's good to mix different greens so you get a broader nutritional profile spectrum (sounds much more fussy than it is). You can either do this by mixing greens in one smoothie, or trade off days of just using one type of green in a smoothie. A good tip is to wash/prepare all your produce as soon as you get home from the grocery store. Here, you can see I've de-stemed and washed the kale and spinach, and have stored them in 1 gal. zip lock bags. I also cut slits in my bags to help the greens breathe. This will help prevent premature spoilage.



Ok, Holly, there are no exact measurements here, but this morning I used approximately a handful of kale, and a handful of spinach. Trust me, it seems like a lot, but it's not. You will not taste the greens in your smoothie!



Here are the fruits I'll be using today. You'll also see ginger in there. I love ginger. It adds a little "fresh spice," as I like to call it, to whatever you're making. It is strong, though, so if you wish to add ginger make sure to peel the outer skin, and then just cut off a little "disk" about the size of a nickle to start.

"Staple fruits" for me are apple and banana. I almost always put strawberries in the mix, as well, because I always have fresh ones on hand (my favorite fruit), but my amount of strawberries will vary depending on whatever other fruits I have on hand. I'm going to use more strawberries today because I need to use these poor little suckers before they go bad!



Another great tip is to freeze fruit! Fruit freezes GREAT, and it's perfect for smoothies because they'll add a creamy consistency, and make your drink nice and cold. I almost always use frozen bananas in my smoothies. When freezing fruit, make sure to wash (as always), and then make sure the fruit is COMPLETELY dry of any wash water before freezing them. Wet fruit will not freeze well!



Ok, so this morning's fruit concoction was kale, spinach, strawberries, frozen banana, half an apple, sliver of ginger, and about 1/4 cup of blueberries. Holly, if you do not use blueberries, or blackberries, DO NOT freak out when your smoothie looks green. Blueberries and blackberries have a huge affect on making your smoothie look "pretty."

*UPDATE*  Three main ingredients that are now staples in my smoothies are lemon, pineapple, and spirulina powder.  These are must have for the tastiest, and most nutritionally packed, smoothie!



Now, BLEND! This part can be tricky, or trying, at first, but be patient. You will need to add either water or fresh squeezed juice ONLY. Do not use a store bought juice (Holly!), as it defeats the purpose of having a wholly raw nutritious smoothie. Store bought juices have added sugar and are pasteurized. The clay pitcher next to my blender has some diluted grape juice I made myself by using my nut mylk bag, but I use water all the time, too. The key to adding liquid to your smoothie is to NOT add too much too fast (this key for any blended drink, by the way).

You can actually start your blender on low with the top off, and start drizzling in your liquid. You will see it can take a while for it to get started. Use a spoon, or something, to press the mixture down into the blades. Add liquid as needed, but be patient; it will come together. Some people prefer to blend in stages. For example, they'll blend the greens with the liquid first, then start adding fruit. This works just fine, as well. I don't feel like I need to do that, but if your blender sucks (Holly!), you might want to go this route.



And, voila! Green smoothie! As you can see, what seemed to be A LOT pre-blended, does not end up being that massive post-blended. It definitely suffices as a meal; I drink mine for breakfast. As you get more acquired to having greens in your smoothies, try adding a larger amount to the mix. Leafy green veggies are amazing for your health, and we don't get enough of them in our daily diet! A green smoothie is better for you than eating a spinach salad. Blending your greens, as opposed to chewing them in your salad, breaks down the cells walls so our bodies can consuming the maximum amount of nutrients possible. When eating a salad, although we chew our spinach, we do not chew it to a total pulp before digesting it. This is essential.



Enjoy your greens smoothies, people! I know this was a way-too-detailed explanation, but I'll do whatever is needed to help a friend (Holly!) along to better nutrition and more home preparing of food.

Tips for a Successful Green Smoothie!

• Freeze your fruit!  Not only will it keep for a long time, but frozen fruit will give your smoothie a cold creamy consistency!   Definitely use frozen fruit over ice cubes.  Ice cubes = watered down smoothie...eeeew.  During blending, the motor of your blender can warm up smoothie.  Double eeeeeew!  I always freeze my bananas, berries, and and grapes.  Freezing fruit also allows you to stock up on yummy seasonal fruits that don't taste so great later in the year, and you can also buy more of whatever fruit might happen to be on sale that day without freaking out about eating it all before it goes bad.'
• Know your "sweet power fruits."  These are fruits like apples, bananas, pineapple, and grapes.  They are almost always sweet year around (especially grapes), and should be used in your smoothie as if you were adding sweetener.  Need to mask a leafy green better, or making a green smoothie for a newbie?  Load that baby up with these sweet fruits.
• Smoothie virgins, don't go too green too fast.  As you drink more smoothies, you will probably start acquiring your taste for more mature greens with less super sweet fruit taste, but until then, take it slow!  The easiest green to start with is spinach.  It blends easy leaving a nice texture, and has a very smooth, and "maskable" flavor.  Start with spinach, and then work up to more advance greens like kale, collards, etc.
• DO NOT BE SCARED of fruit!  Forget calories, and all that other conventional crap we've been listening to.  Your smoothie needs fruit, and a lot of it.  For example, I always put at least 1 whole orange, 1/2 large apple, and 1 whole banana, and then I throw in various small hand fulls of other frozen berries I have.  This is your breakfast; make it count!
  
• If your blender is not a "super man" blender, then blend in batches.  Take a fresh orange and your greens with a tiny splash of water to get moving, and blend those first, then start adding the rest of your fresh fruits, and then finish with the frozen fruits.
• Drink your smoothie out of a straw.  If you have food texture issues, you might feel safer using a straw.  A box of straws is so cheap at the grocery store.  Also, drinking out of a straw reduces possible acid wear on your teeth.  If you wish to be more green, you can buy a reusable glass straw here .   
• Don't add too much water too soon.  Be patient.  Use a spoon to press your mixture down into the blades as an air pocket forms.  Add water a tablespoon at a time.  Pulse your fruit in the beginning while also pushing the mixture down, untill liquid from the fresh fruit starts to release.  Once it gets turning, then you can turn the blender on a steady speed, slowly working your way up to the highest speed.    

Also, being the foodie braggart I am, I have to show you all the most amazing bread I made yesterday. Isn't it beautiful?! It's a multi-grain bread consisting of millet, almond meal, flax seed, flax meal, wheat bran, oats, sprouted wheat berries, and corn meal. I can't wait to make my veggie sandwich for lunch today! I know bread's not raw, but hey, I'm transitioning folks ;)



Happy fooding!
Claire