Candice's Taco Salad

I enjoyed this meal so much that I decided to write it down:

1 cup frozen corn, defrosted

1 cup cooked pinto or black beans

2 ripe, but firm, tomatoes

2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbs chopped green onions, green part only

1/2 tsp salt, to taste

black pepper

juice of 1 lime

3 Tbs Oil Salad Dressing, homemade

1 pinch to 1/8 tsp chili powder

Mix all together in a medium bowl.  Serve with Salad Greens, diced fried potatoes (fresh), and corn chips.  Basic but delicious.

Quesadillas

1 1/2 cups cooked pinto or black beans

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

pinch chili powder

dash cumin 

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

3 Tbs Olive oil

squeeze of lime juice

a little water for blending

6 very thin Whole wheat tortillas

Place everything except water and tortillas in a blender.  Blend, adding water a little at a time, until smooth, but thick.   Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Spread tortilla with bean spread, cover with another tortilla and heat in skillet until lightly browned.  Flip and brown.  Remove from pan and repeat with remaining tortillas.  Serve with fresh salsa or Ketchup.  If you really like garlic, brush garlic infused oil on both sides of quesadilla before toasting.   I loved these, and Sabrina liked them too, except that I only mashed the beans with a fork, instead of blending, which lended too much texture for her.

Coconut Joys

2 cups unsweetened coconut shavings (dry)

1/4 cup honey gel or plain honey (add a tablespoon at a time)

1/2 recipe Chocolate cake Frosting (use as little water as possible)

Place the coconut in a dry blade blender or food processor and grind until very fine and oily. Pour into a bowl and add the gel or honey a little at a time.  Using a fork, blend together until a very stiff dough is formed.  Break dough into small balls and place on wax paper a waxed serving tray. Press each ball down, until a pit is formed.  Put the frosting in a bag, and squeeze into the coconut pits.  Freeze until set.  Store extras in a freezer safe container.  The girls loved these.

Honey gel:

1/4 cup honey

1 cup cold water

1 Tbs Arrowroot powder

Blend all ingredients in a blender.  Pour into a saucepan and heat over med until mixture thickens.  Cool completely and store in the fridge.  I use this gel as filling in cinnamon rolls and in the place of shortening or butter.  

High Fiber Chocolate Cake

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 cup Soy Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 to 1/2 cup non-alkali Cocoa

1/2 cup Fresh Applesauce

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Cider Vinegar

1 cup Fresh Apple Juice (or water)

1/2 to 1 cup Honey

Mix dry ingredients together.  Add wet ingredients and mix well.  Pour into greased baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  (Check with toothpick)

Frosting:

1 cup Pecans

1 cup pitted dates

1/4 cup honey

1/4 to 3/4 cups water (add a little at a time, according to blenders need)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/8 to 1/4 cup cocoa

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.   Chill cake and frosting before spreading.  We really loved this cake!

Candice

Discouragement

Well, I've decided that it's the yeast in cheese that makes it addictive.  The nacho cheese was good, but it seemed to stimulate a need to eat.  I couldn't stop.  So, I don't recommend using nutritional yeast, I'm pretty sure it's not that nutritious after all. 

Well, I got pretty discouraged this week.  I've been trying not to use any foods with preservatives or any chemicals, but I'm so stinking tired, that it gets really hard to not have any convenient foods.  When Brian came home from school the other day, I started crying, and didn't want to do it anymore,  so he bought me some all natural corn chips, and unsweetened shredded wheat to get me through the crisis.  I also used a can of prepared pizza sauce on my homemade crust. Unfortunately, there was blood in my urine the next morning, and I felt like my intestines would tear open any minute.   I guess the thing that gets frustrating is the perfection part of it: I eat one less desirable thing, and I'm in excruciating pain for hours, sometimes days, and it's very often accompanied by difficulty breathing and bleeding. So I just don't eat...sometimes...and then I throw up.   The upside is that I am learning to prepare completely natural meals for my family.  I know that will be a huge blessing to them.   Another blessing is that it seems like there's someone watching over me, whispering ideas in my ear, and helping me to not stay discouraged for too long.   I'm so grateful for that.

Anyway, those are my musings.  Good luck with healthy living.  

Merry Christmas.  

Candice

Fantastic Nacho Cheese

Here's a recipe from shmooedfood.blogspot.com:

2 cups cold water

1/4 cup raw cashews

1 cup nutritional yeast flakes

2 Tbs cornstarch (I used arrowroot powder)

4 ozs roasted pimentos or red peppers (you could use hot peppers, if you like)

1 Tbs fresh lemon juice (half a lemon)

1 1/2 tsp salt (I recommend 2 tsp)

1/2 tsp onion powder 

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 garlic powder

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until completely smooth.  Pour into a sauce pan and heat on medium high until thickened, stirring constantly.  Serve as dip or use in cheese soups. It is excellent.  

Candice

Rice and Bean Rollups

Brian loved these roll ups.  They taste very fresh, but are quite filling as well.

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice, cooked in salt water

1 cup firm cooked pinto beans, cooked in salt water

1 large tomato, finely chopped

1/2 red pepper, finely chopped

1 avocado, diced

1 cucumber, seeded and finely chopped

1 cup nut mayonnaise

4-8 Leaves greenleaf lettuce

4 to 6 tortillas, depending on size

Warm the tortillas in a preheated oven.  Place all ingredients except lettuce and tortillas in a bowl.  Mix to coat with mayo.  Spread a layer of mixture over each tortilla (I used a large Indian flatbread, cut in half) then top with lettuce leaves.  Roll up the tortillas and serve.  Makes about 4 servings.  If your rice and beans are not salted, you may wish to add some salt and pepper. 

Candice

Delicious Chocolate Milkshake

Hi everyone.  So I've been experimenting with desserts this week.  I had 3 failures that a blended together and made the best every chocolate milkshake.  Here's about what I did, give or take a little:

I ground up some pecans and added about 10 pitted dates, then ground them together.  I rolled that out and tried dehydrating it a bit, but it was to oily, so I squished it together, put it in a plastic bag and threw it in the fridge.  Failure one. 

The next day I put some dried apricots to soak in cold water so that I could make some jam.  I forgot about them and they soaked about 3 hours.  I tossed them in the blender anyway with a few cashews and a little water to make apricot cream.  It was creamy, but had a funky taste, so I put it in a tupperware container and tossed that in the fridge too.  Failure two.

Then I tried to make ice cream with almond milk.  1 cup soaked almonds, 10 pitted dates, 3 Tbs Maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla and 5 cups cold water.  I blended it together and poured it into the ice cream machine.  It froze up nicely, but I had forgotten to strain out the pulp, so it tasted grainy and it wasn't sweet enough. We didn't finish it, so I froze the last two or so cups.  Moderate Failure three.  

A few days later I was cleaning out my fridge and found failures one and two and decided to blend a little of both of them together with 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder, a little more maple syrup, a few more pitted dates, 1/2 tsp almond extract and 3/4 cup water.   Tada!  I very rich chocolate pudding.  Then I remembered the ice cream in the freezer and tossed that in to the blender as well.  I blended just a few seconds, until it was all mixed together, and....Wow!!! The best ever, one of kind, chocolate milkshake.  Unfortunately, I don't think that I'll be able to recreate it; but it sure was fun while it lasted. 

The point: it's not a failure till it rots and smells vile, so keep it around a few days; and, try, try, try again.   

Good luck and keep blending!!

Candice

Keep it up!!

I'm so glad that so many of us are making healthier food choices. I love seeing all your recipes and hearing about successes that you've had.

I just thought I would let you know something that I thought was weird, but also neat. As many of you know, I recently found out that I am pregnant, I have been extremely nauseated and nothing sounds very good to eat. However, I realized last week that the only things that don't make me even more nauseous when I think of eating them are fresh fruits and vegetables!! It is bizarre to me that the sound of a salad seems less nauseating than an order of french fries. I have to say, with my other pregnancies the thought of a salad would have done me in...so I guess that my body must have realized what is actually going to be beneficial :)

I know it's not a huge thing or anything, but I just thought it was interesting enough to share. Keep up the good work everyone!!

Spread it on thick!

I've been trying to eat more raw foods and 100% chemical/preservative free.  In short, I make everything from scratch.  Here are 4 of my favorite (and easiest) spreads:

Chickpea Hummus:

1/2 cup raw cashews

1  1/2 cups chickpeas (soaked 10 hours, boiled for 10 minutes and rinsed in cold water)

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 small clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp sea salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup water

Place all ingredients in a blender in order listed and blend until smooth.  Add more water to achieve desired consistency.   I use this spread on sandwiches and in wraps.  I also use it as a vegetable dip.   Store in covered container in the refrigerator.  

Cashew Mayonnaise:

1/2 cup raw cashews

2 tsp mustard powder

Juice of 2 lemons

5 Tbs cold water

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3/4 - 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Place everything in blender except the oil.  Blend until smooth.  Reduce speed to medium-low and add oil in a fine stream.  This should create a soft, spreadable cream.   I love the taste of this Mayo, and use it on sandwiches and in soups to make chowders.  It keeps very well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  

Date Nut Spread:

1 cup walnuts

1 cup pitted dates

1/2 to 1 cup water

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Place in an airtight container and refrigerate.   Serve chilled with fruit or on bread in the place of peanut butter and jam.   This spread has become a staple in our household.  The girls love it.  I often have a hard time getting Livi to eat the fruit as well as the dip!  This also stores well in the refrigerator.

Apricot Jam:

10 dried apricot halves, cut in half

4 pitted dates, cut in half

1 cup water

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and soak for 1 hour.  Heat over medium heat until boiling.   Boil a few minutes, until fruit is tender.  Pour into a blender and blend until smooth (add more cold water a little at a time, to achieve desired consistency) Place in an airtight container and refrigerate until thick and cold.   Sabrina likes to eat this on skillet bread with date nut spread. 

Keep eating healthy everyone.  It's fun!!

 

My Morning Constitutional

This the the recipe for my morning green drink. I love it.

In the blender I place: 10 ounces of pure water
4 ounces of cleaned spinach
1/2 a red or green bell pepper, washed and seeded
1 small to medium zucchini, washed and the top and bottom cut off
1 cucumber, peeled
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1 apple, washed and seeded

I grind it all really well until it is a thick smoothie. It makes 5 half glasses of smoothie. I fill it the rest of the way up with cold, pure water and stir it well. I drink all 5 glasses throughout the morning. I really like it, but it doesn't fill me up very long. Oh well.

When we were in Hawaii, I made this in the cheapy blender provided with our room. It never did get "smooth" but I was glad to have it anyway. Smooth is better, though.

Another Yummy Recipe

I made another recipe I liked. It was Veggie Enchilada. I made the corn tortillas and the veggie filling and then put them together and dehydrated them a couple of hours longer. They were so yummy, but they stuck to my teeth. I wish I knew how to cure that.

I am trying out recipes for Thanksgiving, but the girls said they are not planning on eating raw, so then I wonder if I should bother. I went to a party the other night and took enchiladas, mock salmon pate and cut up veggies. Lar brought salad with raw dressing. We shared and we both got plenty to eat. Darla ate it all, too. Lar had dehydrated cheeses, too. I haven't tried those, yet.

I have decided I don't like the taste of Braggs Liquid Aminos in recipes. I wonder if Nama Shoyu tastes different. Maybe I'll just substitute salt. I like the taste of salt.

Yummy Recipes

I tried two recipes that I liked:

Mock Salmon Pate. (I would call it Nut and Veggie Pate)

1 cup walnuts
1 stalk celery
1 green onion
1/2 red bell pepper (necessary for the pretty reddish color)
1/2-1 teaspoon sea salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and combined. Serve rolled in a lettuce or cabbage leaf or on crackers. Brad ate his on bread and on crackers. He liked it.

Key Lime Pie

Crust:
1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts (could use cashews)
1 cup soft dates, pitted and soaked
1 ripe banana

Grind macadamia nuts in a food processor. Add banana and blend until smooth. Add dates and blend until smooth. Spoon into a pie pan and spread around.

Filling:

3 whole limes, peeled
2 cups dates, pitted and soaked
2 avocados

In a food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour filling on top of the crust. Refrigerate.

This is much better the next day. It tastes a lot lime-ier. This is a spoon-it-up type of pie. This makes a lot of pie. You could consider halving the recipe. I halved the Pate recipe.

Happy unbaking!

I Juice!

I was blessed to get a juicer this week and have tried it out for the past two days with great success. I am making all sorts of concoctions for Greg that are said to help fight cancer and promote a healthy immune system. I, too, am drinking them and loving the new adventure. I learned that citrus fruits and tomato are not good for osteoarthritis, which I was recently diagnosed with. That news was a bummer, since those are some of my favorite foods.

Here is a website I like for juicing. It has lots of information on the healing properties of different fruits and veggies as well as techniques and recipes for juicing.

www.juicing-for-health.com

Love you all!
Les

News from San Francisco

Wow!!  Good job everyone.  I'm so glad that you are all eating so healthy, it will make such a difference, as you can see already.  I'm not able to eat raw right now, but I am eating a healthy diet with lots of nutritional supplements.  The "fishfood" vitamins are helping a lot, and the baby is growing and seems to be healthy.  

Keep up the good work!!

Really good pasta!

Hi everyone. This is Nathan. I just wanted to let you know that I made a really good "pasta" today. It is the Pesto Pasta in "Living on Live Food" (p. 417). For those of you that don't have the book, here's the recipe. It really is good and bursting with flavor.

Noodles:

2 zucchini (I used 3)
1-2 Summer squash (I used 1)

Slice or spiralize the squash and zucchini and place in a large bowl. Set aside.
I used a mandoline and the noodles turned out kind of like thick fettucine noodles. You can also use a vegetable peeler, try to slice it thick. Or just do it with a knife

Pesto:

1/2 cup pine nuts
4-5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup fresh basil (I used dried cause that's what we had. Not 1/2 cup though)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 Tablespoons Braggs liquid aminos (this is what gives it a great smokyish flavor)
2 cups tomato, chopped

For sauce: put all ingredients, except tomato, into blender or food processor and blend well. Add tomatoes and pulse for a few seconds til blended but not soupy. Pour sauce over noodles and mix.

Enjoy! This is really good.

Raw Strawberry Tart

I have been asked a few times for the recipe of the strawberry tart I made for Candice's birthday party, so I decided that this would be a good place to post it. It is really good and quite rich!! I got it from 'The Joy of Vegan Baking' cookbook by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Crust:

2 C. raw pecans or almonds
3/4 to 1 C. pitted dates, preferably Medjool
1/4 t. salt
Oil for greasing pan

Place the nuts in a food processor, and grind them until they are a coarse meal. Add the dates and salt and process until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into a nonstick or very lightly oiled 8 or 9 inch tart pan or spring form pan. (This crust is good for any fresh fruit, no-bake pie or tart.)


Filling:

4 C. ripe strawberries, sliced
1 C. ripe strawberries, whole
5 pitted dates, soaked 10 minutes in warm water and drained
2 t. fresh lemon juice
1/2 C. fresh blackberries halved

Arrange the sliced strawberries on top of the prepared crust and set aside. In a food processor or blender, combine the whole strawberries with the 5 soaked dates and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Pour this mixture over the sliced strawberries. Arrange the blackberries on top of the sauce and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

I really love this dessert!!

Finally some plants!!

I'm so excited right now because last night Seth brought home some fruit bushes and an apple tree. As some of you know, one of my goals in the whole 'getting healthy' thing is to be able to grow most of my own food. I think that the less I have to rely on someone else for healthy food, the better off I'll be. So, now I'm on my way!! We planted 3 blueberry bushes, 3 grape vines, 3 golden raspberry bushes, and an apple tree last night. I hope to get my green house going soon and then I can grow my herbs and veggies all year round!

By the way, do any of you compost? I was thinking of trying that, but I'm not exactly certain what to do. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks :)

Today I made a good raw dish. I have never had raw corn. It is so good and tastes great by itself, but I like to spice things up a bit.

Corn from 1 Cob
A few cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Cilantro*
Dash of sea salt
a little chili powder

Mix it all together and enjoy. I would have added a little lime juice but we didn't have any.

The cilantro that I used was dried not fresh. We don't alway have fresh herbs on hand. I found some really good dried herbs. The brand is "Litehouse" and they freeze dry the herbs. They seem to have so much more flavor than regular dried herbs.

I am glad to see that everyone is trying to eat healthy. I think that we will all be blessed for it.

Nathan

One Week Shows Improvement

Today is Day 8 of my raw diet. I weighed myself and I have lost 10 pounds! That is amazing. I tested my blood sugars and the monitor read 105. That is amazing! I rarely am below 175 and am very often over 200, so that is a significant improvement. Good things are happening! I am enjoying the new way of eating, but I certainly have much to learn. Well, I have 100 days!

Putting in the work

Well, I started a new diet and exercise program last Monday (the 15th) . My friend, Jen has lost about 25-30 pounds recently so I asked her to share her plan with me. Her eating plan didn't necessarily fit in with me eating mostly vegan, so I modified it slightly. I'm doing a lot better with the whole vegan thing I don't eat dairy or eggs anymore, and I only rarely eat meat. I figure I'm about 90% vegan...I'm getting there :).

Anyway, I digress, I started this workout regime 12 days ago and even though it's been tough, I have really been putting in the hours and sticking to my plan. My body feels great and I have never in my life lost weight so quickly before (except when I did that horrible lemonade fast....yuck!!). So far I've dropped 11 pounds and this week I have a lot more energy than I have had recently. I feel that incorporating so many more fruits and veggies into my diet and working out regularly have really helped clear my head...and body, for that matter.

I'm really glad that so many of you are eating healthier and getting fit. I'm happy to hear that some of you are going raw. I hope to get to that point by next summer. It's really great to have the support. Keep up the awesome work!!!

Sprouting

Yeah! I just went downstairs and checked my sprouts. I finally started them yesterday. I didn't soak them first and was a little afraid they wouldn't work. Every tray has tinsey, tiny sprouts working their way out of the seeds. It is so exciting. I bought the Easy Green Sprouter. It is the same type Candice bought. I am glad it is working.

Day 3 was Scary!

Last night the pain in my stomach left! It had been there since Day 1. My body just sort of adjusted. I thought it would take 2 weeks at least. I didn't go to bed hungry. I didn't wake up hungry. Yeah!

In the early evening I almost fainted! Those of you who know me know I don't faint easily. It really scared me. I thought and thought what I could do and finally I ate some whole wheat bread (not raw) and peanut butter. I felt stronger after a while. My heart really hurt from then on through the evening and night. Jenni said I should be sure to take a Vitamin B12 suppliment.

Tomorrow I will start taking a multi-vitamin and a vitamin C.

In the night, I tested my blood for sugars. Usually it reads 175-190, which, of course, is really high. This time it read 125. Yeah! Good things are happening! I am still RAW even though I ate the bread. 100 days!

Raw is ----different!

On Day 2, I made Mock Tuna Salad from RAWvolutions for our dinner. It was not yummy! There is no nicer way to say it! It did taste better on Day 3, though. The girls and I decided maybe we should just eat the raw food and not make so many recipes. It is nice to try the recipes, though. I decided we needed a treat, so I made Fudge Balls from Living on Live Foods. Jenni said, "Well, this is the best raw food you have made." They were yummy. Jennifer Baker liked them. We all ate several.

Fudge Balls

2 cups dates (pitted and soaked)
2 cups almond butter (I think homemade peanut butter would be good, too and cheaper)
1/2 cup raw carob powder

In a food processor, blend the dates to a smooth paste. Add the remaining ingredients and process until blended and smooth. I had to use my hands for the last little bit of blending. Remove from the food processor and form into small round balls. They are yummy. I used medjool dates, which are large, moist and super sweet! I didn't soak them. By the way, I only made half of the recipe. I only had 1 cup of Almond Butter. I will try making my own Nut Butter next time. It is pretty expensive to buy it.

Quinoa Salad

I was going through some recipes yesterday and came across one that I had forgotten. Every time I have made this my family loves it and eats it right up. I love the unique flavor of quinoa and it really makes this salad, so if you want to make this completely raw I'm sure you could use sprouted quinoa, though I've never tried it that way.

4-5 cups greens (I like green leaf lettuce and Romaine)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/4 tomatoes, diced (I like Roma)
3-4 radishes, diced
1/4 cup cooked or sprouted quinoa
juice from 1 large orange

Combine first six ingredients in a bowl. Use the orange juice as a salad dressing. You may want to add a bit of honey to the orange juice if it isn't very sweet. This is good as a side dish or as a stand alone dish. It's also really pretty garnished with orange slices.

We're Going RAW!!

Monday, September 22, 2008
By Ruth Phelps


Well, Brad is off to Alaska. I figured this is a good time to begin my new eating habits. Last night I whipped up a recipe (3 recipes, actually) of Berry and Nut Bars from the RAWvolution recipe book by Matt Amsden. I borrowed Amy's dehydrator. The bars (biscuits) were dry enough this morning for Jenni and Bonnie to take some with them. I hope the dehydrator isn't too hot. It only felt warm. They are not super yummy, but they are super filling! That is a good thing. I think going RAW is a Good Thing! Here is the recipe:





Berry and Nut Breakfast Bars
2 cups raw almonds
1 cup raw walnuts
3/4 cup raw flax seeds
2 cups fresh strawberries, raspberries and/or blueberries (Iused only strawberries)
1 cup raisins

Using a food processor, grind the almonds and walnuts coursely, and then transfer the nuts to a large mixing bowl. Powder the flax seeds in a high-speed blender (it won't work in the food processor) and place in a small bowl. Liquefy the fresh berries in the blender, then add the flax powder and blend again really well. Add the berries and flax to the ground nuts, along with the raisins, and mix really well (you may have to use your hands to get it really mixed.)

Spread the mixture evenly on a Teflex-lined dehydrator tray to a thickness of approx. 1 inch. Dehydrate at 100 degrees for 12 hours. Flip over, take off the teflex and dehydrate for another 12 hours. Cut into approximately 18 pieces. End

So, I shaped my dough into biscuits 1 1/2 inches across and about 3/4 to 1 inch deep. I got about 20-25 per recipe. I was going to turn them over this morning, but they were done! I am keeping them in the fridge, but they are looking a bit moist. I am going to open the bag. They were warm when I put them in the bag. I think that is why they are moist.

Strenght in Numbers

I think this is a great idea! I think I need all the help and support I can get. I've been trying to change our diet but it has been slow going for us. Luckily, our refrigerator broke down this week and we were forced to throw away everything we had in it. How is that lucky, you may ask. Well, now I have the perfect chance to start over without feeling wasteful. We want to go raw eventually, but for now we are about 50% raw, 40% vegan, and 10% animal. I like to categorize it that way so that I still see that we really are making progress. My goal for now is that by the end of the year we will be 80% raw and 20% other vegan and 0% animal.

We started this a few weeks ago because we (Greg and I) haven't been feeling up to par. We thought we just need to live a little healthier. Well, since, we have learned that there are some pretty serious health issues at the root of it all, so we are glad that we've already gotten a jump on things.

Here is one of our favorite snacks right now:

Fresh Salsa (raw and low-sodium)

4-6 ripe roma tomatoes, finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels straight from the cob, rinsed
1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
1/2 cup sprouted black beans


Whole Wheat Tortilla Chips (vegan and low-sodium):

3 whole wheat tortilla chips, cut into 8 wedges each
Lightly grease baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange wedges on sheet
Lightly spray tops of wedges with cooking spray
Dust with cumin
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, cool

Starting fresh

Hi Everyone,

You're probably thinking, "Why is she sending me another blog invite?," right? Well, apparently I've become obsessed :) This time however, I'm hoping that you all can contribute to this one. I was talking to my Mom (Ruth) today and we were discussing our views on doctors and how they just don't seem to care about, let alone listen to their patients; and how they seem to be guessing at a lot when we've gone to see them.

i.e. I took Shylah in to instacare once for some severe abdominal pain that she'd had for a couple of days (I mean she would writhe on the floor in agony) and the doctor poked at her stomach a bit and told me she was constipated. He recommended I buy some mineral oil to feed her orally and to go home and give her an enima. I did as he suggested (which was not pleasant for Shylah or myself) and she seemed to just get worse. We took her to another doctor a couple days later and from a simple urine test he found that she had a urinary tract infection!! I couldn't believe that the first guy hadn't even done a urine test. She could have been spared two days of horrible pain and I could have had eighty more dollars in my pocket.

This is not the worst thing that I have dealt with from doctors and it is by far not the worst thing my mom and sisters have dealt with. I'm not saying that there are not good doctors, there are; I've had a couple of really good ones. However, they seem to be few and far between from what I've dealt with and from what my family and friends have dealt with. I could go on and on about my frustration with the medical industry, but that really isn't what this blog is about.

I know that a lot of us have started to lean toward eating a more natural, plant-based diet and I thought that if we had a place to go and share what we learn with one another that it would be great. I, myself, have started eating vegetarian (I try to do vegan, buy sometimes I'm not very good) and the difference I feel in my body is amazing. I've heard that a lot of you are going raw and I think that is wonderful. I hope to be able to do that soon, but I won't for a while.

I truly believe that God has given us the means with which to be healthy and pain free. I believe that good food choices have the ability to fill us with health and vitality or even to heal us. I also believe that bad food choices fill our bodies with toxins and illness, and can ultimately take away the quality of our lives. After Kimmy died I read 'Original Fast Foods' and it seems like every page I turned just filled me with more and more insight. After the first few pages I knew that what I was reading was the truth and that this was how we were meant to eat in order to get optimal performance out of our bodies. And let's face it, when we are at optimal performance, our lives are better. On the other hand, when our bodies feel weak, sick, or sluggish the negative effects are felt in every aspect of our lives.

I hope that we all can have fun with this blog and can get some good ideas from eachother. If you received an invitation from me then that means you can post and add to this blog. If there is anyone you want to have contribute to this then please let me know. Or add them yourself if that is possible, I'm still not sure how everything works here. If you haven't read 'Original Fast Foods' I highly recommend it. I love you all, and hope you are well.

-Amy