Archive for the ‘Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, and Seeds’ Category

One of the questions I get asked all the time is what do you do when you have guests over? Especially if your guests are not raw or even aware that you’re into eating more raw food.

Well there’s a simple way to deal with that. It’s all about making food that most people would recognize, except instead of buying it in a can or a box you make it yourself.

With that in mind, I’d love to share with you a recipe that is a huge hit with both raw and non-raw friends and family.

My Wicked Guacamole Recipe

Most people will thank you for serving up such a fresh wholesome snack. With the rampant access to unhealthy snacks, everyone is working hard to make healthy choices. You’re actually making it easy for them to eat right!

If you’re really worried that people will want something that’s not raw – you can pair this guacamole recipe with some organic corn chips or some raw crackers.

The dinner itself can be a more traditional dinner with some cooked options. But you can rest easy knowing that you’ve plied your guests with more than their recommended dose of veggies for the day!

More Raw Snack Recipes Coming Your Way…

On the guacamole video page you’ll notice a sign up box to get more recipes. Once you’re on that list you’ll get access to my upcoming free recipe book.

So go ahead, get on the goodies list – and let’s make some delicious snacks for ourselves!

1. Drink Green Smoothies.

If you’ve been here before, you’ll know how much I love green smoothies. Blend 60% whole fruits, 40% green leafy veggies, add water, and you’ve got yourself the best tasting veggie dish ever.

Fresh zucchini pasta!

2. Use vegetables instead of pasta noodles.

You can get a Spiral Slicer or a Mandolin Slicer at most cooking stores, but failing that just use a vegetable peeler to create fun noodle shapes out of veggies. Try zucchini, spaghetti squash, and eggplant. Top with your favorite pasta sauce.

3. Dehydrate some Kale Chips.

Instead of reaching for those starchy potato or corn chips, why not get your greens in? You can dehydrate your own kale chips with a dehydrator, or alternatively use your oven on the lowest setting. You’ll find the kale chip recipe here.

4. Guzzle some Green Juices.

Green vegetable juice is on equal footing with green smoothies. (Read the juicing vs. blending post.) You’ve got all of those nutritious green minerals and vitamins, and they’re going straight into you without the fiber.

5. Puree vegetables into soup.

You can either use a blender or a juicer to make fresh, yummy veggie soups. Try a mix of carrot and cucumber and add your favorite spices, or give it a little kick with some fresh ginger.

6. Try new vegetables and find creative ways to eat them.

See what’s available in your area and surprise your senses with exciting new vegetables. Why not chop broccoli up into salads? Shred some turnips, or use Bok-Choy as a dipping veggie.

7. Shred carrots, cabbage, and other “tough” veggies into an easy slaw.

With a food processor or by hand, shred those tough “winter veggies” into an easy to enjoy slaw. You can top it with your favorite salad dressings or invent your own. Plus it’s so easy to grab some in a container when you’re on the go.

Photo by Tamara P.

8. Marinate vegetables.

Chop up some of your favorite vegetables and marinate them for a few hours to soften them up and give them that extra taste. I like a mix of olive oil, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. I’ve marinated mushrooms, broccoli, string beans, asparagus, and the list goes on.

9. Make your own pasta sauce, and add chopped or pured veggies.

If you usually buy pasta sauce, why not chop or puree your own fresh vegetables into it to make it that much healthier? Alternatively you can make fresh veggie pasta sauces with your blender.

10. Steam a sweet potato.

This isn’t raw, but then this isn’t about being 100% raw. If you’re craving that warm comforted feeling, reaching for a steamed sweet potato is a healthy non-processed starch way to go.

11. Add a green powder to your drinks.

If you’re on the go and fear not being able to get enough greens in, then green powders are the way to go. I recommend a blue-green algae like Spirulina, and there are tons of other great green powder products. Add them to your water, smoothies, or on top of salads.

12. Make an avocado chocolate pudding.

Check out Erin Huggins’ take on a raw chocolate avocado pudding, rocking the yum. It’s so easy to make and kids will love it!

13. Eat celery sticks and other veggies with almond butter and a drizzle of sweetener.

Turn ordinary vegetables into satisfying sweet, salty, crunchy snacks. Experiment with different nut butters, and your choices of sweetener like raw honey or stevia.

14. Cut up greens & other veggies and add to grain dishes.

It doesn’t matter if you eat cooked or raw quinoa, brown rice, or barley, you can still use this tip. Simply chop up fresh vegetables like spinach, cucumbers, and other veggies and put them into your grain dishes.

15. Drink Raw Gatorade.

Instead of reaching for a sugary drink after a work out, why not embrace the fruit and veggie duo in Raw Gatorade? To make raw gatorade blend water, bananas, and celery.

16. That’s a wrap.

You can make tons of great vegetable rich entrees with wraps. Simply wrap veggies up in a leaf or a gluten free tortilla, and add your favorite sauces or spices. Even the wrap itself can be a vegetable, like a collard leaf, a cabbage leaf, or even a lettuce leaf. Yum!

Photo by Darwin Bell

17. Make veggies available at all meals, and not just as a side dish.

Yes, that means breakfast too! The key to eating more vegetables is to treat them as a central theme to all meals.

18. Make a vegetable sandwich with anything that won’t fall out.

When eating out ask for a vegetable sandwich instead of the extra heavy meaty variety. With a veggie sandwich you could end up with a lovely looking salad, between 2 slices of bread. You can make raw bread in a dehydrator, so don’t discount this option if you’re all raw!

19. Make your own veggie salad dressings & dips.

When you blend your own salad dressings, you can sneak more veggies into the dressing itself too! Try blending avocado, cucumber, as well as sea vegetables and add some spices. Yum.

20. Have sliced veggies on hand at all times, and get yourself a good dip for snacking.

We’re a lot more likely to reach for the veggies instead of the chips if they’re already in snack form. When you get home from a shopping trip, wash and cut your snacking vegetables and store in the fridge for easy access. Then either make your own delicious veggie dips or have a healthy alternative on hand for when the snacking strikes!

21. Eat your salad before your main meal.

This ensures you get your veggies in before you get full. Plus a good salad before a meal will keep you from overeating the foods that aren’t as good for you.

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Photo by Bruce Tuten

If you’re interested in eating healthy, you’ve probably come across the concept of eating organic food. “Organic food” is surprisingly controversial. I decided to put my witch’s (thinking) hat on, and explore the issue from both sides so you can make informed decisions.

The interesting fact is that production of organic food has grown by about 20% every single year since the 1990s. Not only is organic food a hot topic, but it’s one that we are bound to be affected by one way or another in the future.

What Is Organic Food?

The definition of the word organic varies, because each country has its own laws regarding the certification of organic produce.

In general, organic means food grown without non-organic pesticides or herbicides, using natural fertilizers (some non-organic fertilizers are sometimes used). Some laws also go as far as saying food should not be genetically modified, and specify the number of years the soil must have been cultivated organically.

The organic certification process is long, so some farms that use organic techniques might not yet be certified. Smaller farms might not even be able to afford organic certification. That’s why I think it’s important to realize that the word organic is not a final destination.

Is Organic Food Better?

Although organic food has downsides, organic food is better in at least these three aspects:

Benefits of Organic Food Item #1: More Nutrition

Eating produce that has been grown organically has been shown to contain more nutrition than conventionally grown produce.

Think about it this way: land that is well taken care of will be able to supply plants with more nutritional value.

On the other hand, industrialized farming tends to focus more on yield and profits. The quality of the soil is secondary, and thus the quality of the produce suffers.

Benefits of Organic Food Item #2: Better Tasting

Food that has been grown organically tends to taste better than conventionally grown produce.

Taste tests ran in 2001 have shown that organically grown apples tend to be sweeter, have a better texture, and more crunch. I’ve also noticed a difference in taste between organic and non-organic produce, to the point that I’d fly my carrot stick across town for organic produce.

Again this comes back to the idea that organic soil conditions are more conducive to growing strong trees and plants.

Photo by TheBittenWord

Benefits of Organic Food Item #3: Ecosystem Diversity

An organic growing environment allows a wider range of insects, plants, and organisms to coexist naturally.

Conventional agricultural methods eliminate much of the diversity of living organisms that occur naturally in soils. Industrialized farming also focuses on growing one or two types of produce across a field, further reducing the diversity of plant life.

Diversity enables a more balanced sustainable environment over the long haul.

The Downside of Organic Growing

Although there are many benefits for organic food, there are also downsides.

The main downside of organic food is the potential for a smaller yield. Some of the “potential” yield is eaten by bugs, lost to competing plants, or not able to grow without sufficient fertilizers.

Some scientists have argued that if the world were to convert to an entirely organic farming system, the yield of produce would be insufficient to support the world’s population.

Further studies have shown in a comparison of the two agricultural system that organic farming would indeed be able to support the current world population.

If farmers from poor countries were to switch to organic farming, they could actually increase their yields. So what’s stopping them? They don’t always have access to manure to replenish their soils.

I have to keep reminding myself that “conventional” farming methods are actually quite recent in the history of agriculture. Organic farming methods were the norm because we didn’t have pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and synthetic fertilizers.

The Ideal Organic Environment For Your Food

Sharon Mollerus

In an idyllic world, everyone would have a magickal garden big enough to sustain their families year round. If you find such a place, let me know, mm’kay?

Still, I like to believe that having your own garden is one of the best and easiest ways to increase your intake of organic fruits and vegetables.

As a private garden owner, I’ve had to make some choices about using pesticides and fertilizers in my garden.

I’ve chosen to let the bugs take a bite out of my produce because I don’t want the runoff from pesticides to kill fish in the surrounding lakes and rivers. In so doing, I learned some tricks to deter bugs that aren’t harmful to the environment or my family.

What to Do If You Can’t Buy Organic Produce?

If your budget doesn’t allow for organic produce, or organic produce simply isn’t available in your area, here are a few tips.

1. Washing Your Non-Organic Produce

The Jay Kordich recommends washing your produce with lemon juice and salt. You can also buy vegetable and fruit washes and soak your produce for a few minutes before rinsing it off.

2. Peeling Your Non-Organic Produce

Another option is to peel the skin off non-organic produce. This is very common in China, where the use of pesticides is rampant. During our trip to China, My Alchemist Man and I had to peel every apple we ate, or face the wrath of overprotective Chinese relatives.

The downside is that much of the nutrition of a fruit comes from the skin.

3. Be Selective About Your Organic Food

Organic produce can cost between 10 to 40% more, so picking and choosing between organic and conventional produce is a good way to save money.

This list is also known as the Organic Dirty Dozen. It has the 12 items that you should always buy organic. The other 12 items are those that you can buy conventional with minimal effects.

This list is based on the amount of pesticides and residues found on the fruit and is provided by The Environmental Working Group. (They also offer a downloadable pdf to bring shopping with you!)

In general if I need to choose I will pick fruits that are normally peeled as my conventional buys, like bananas, mangos, avocado.

The Organic Food Definition Continues to Evolve

People who were at the forefront of the organic movement are now looking for something that better describes their ideology.

The demand for organic foods has completely transformed the way that organic food is grown. Today a lot of organic food is actually grown on bigger farms, with less diverse crops to maximize output. Does that sound familiar? Big organic farms are starting to resemble conventional farming methods.

One way to get past this commercialization, is to join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. You buy a “share” of the farm’s potential crops, and receive weekly or biweekly boxes of fresh produce.

CSAs allow the consumer to meet the farmers, see the farm, and know exactly how their food is being grown. It also gives smaller farms a cushion if their yields aren’t the same from year to year.

As the laws surrounding the word organic continue to change, how will we as consumers stay informed? It’s something that’s on my mind and probably on your mind too.

I will continue to write about the changes in the organic movement as they develop.

What are your Organic Food Questions?

Have you started eating more organic food? Has it made a difference for you, your taste buds, or your community?

Basketfuls of durian on my trip to Singapore. Yum!

One of the things I’m so grateful for is discovering and trying out new fruits and vegetables. The raw diet has really opened my eyes to the variety and bounty of fruits out there.

This post will focus on one of my favorite fruits in the world. However, a word of caution: not everyone likes Durian. In fact, durian tends to cause a complete polarity between those who love ‘em and those who hate ‘em.

What is Durian Speech

In 2007 I gave a speech about durian to a class of University students, where I explained the pros and cons of durian. If you want to see what this fruit looks like, and why it causes so much controversy watch this video!

If you’re reading this via email, click here to watch the video.

Unfortunately, you won’t get to smell the fruit by watching the video. That’s something that only the audience had the pleasure or in some cases, displeasure of experiencing themselves.

Where to Buy Durian?

If you’re not in South East Asia or another location that grows durians, you should check out Asian markets like Chinatown. Major cities like New York City, Toronto, and Montreal have them in the Chinatown areas.

For places that don’t have concentrated Asian communities, look for big Chinese supermarkets. These may be in a more residential area, depending on the location.

Oh, and good luck with your first try of durian. ;-)

My Recent Experiences with Durian

Since I gave that speech about durian in 2007, a lot has happened. I had recently been converted to a durian lover, but now I’ve taken my love of durian to a whole new level.

In January 2009 I traveled to Singapore, as part of my trip to South East Asia, and tasted my first fresh durian. Singapore is very close to Malaysia and my boyfriend and I were so lucky to be able to buy fresh durians!

Durian lovers out there: the taste and texture of durians really differ depending on where they are grown and if they are fresh or frozen. I was actually surprised by my first taste of fresh durian.

It was also interesting to see that there are so many different types of durians with names like D90 and D10. There are also local nicknames for different variety of durian fruits, like “red prawn” for fruits with a more red interior.

My boyfriend and I have our eyes on living somewhere within closer proximity to durian trees. Only time will tell if our love for durian will have us relocating to Asia.

Which Camp Do You Fall Into?

Do you love durian or do you hate it? What is it that makes you feel that way? Let me know in the comments! I love hearing about, talking about, and of course eating durian!