Getting started Juicing

Do you want to start juicing but don't know where to start? Juicing is such a great way to get nutrients quickly into your system. The best place to start is with carrot juice. Carrot juice has so many healing properties. An 8 oz glass of juice can contain up to 800% of the rda of vitamin A, in beta carotene. This is great for tissue and bone growth. It is excellent for good vision. Also, an 8oz glass will also provide up to 35 % of rda of vitamin C. Vitamin C has so many benefits including collagen production of the mucous membranes, skin, bones, and teeth. It is also a good source of potassium and calcium. It improves the health of the liver and digestive tract. It contains vitamin E which is known to help in the prevention of cancer.

 Carrot juice has a very sweet taste so it's widely accepted and loved. A nice glass of carrot juice in the morning can give you tons of energy to tackle the day ahead. Do you have picky kids and don't think they'll go for it? My suggestion would be to juice a couple apples to mix with the carrot juice. That will give the kids a "familiar" taste along with the new taste. Plus the apple juice makes it even sweeter. Are they really really really picky? Try a combination with just a little bit of carrot juice and mostly apple juice. Every once in awhile, when they aren't looking, up the amount of carrot juice and lessen the apple juice. Eventually they will be used to the taste and hopefully will eventually take carrot juice on its own. If you're a family with very young kids start them right away! My kids have been getting carrot juice since they've been allowed food other than momma milk. They love it and look forward to it.

A couple times a week we do a veggie juice blend too. I've finally got my 2 year old drinking that! When you hand a kid a glass of puke green juice, they tend to look at you like you are crazy. My older kids just drink it because I say so. I've learned with 2 year olds you need to make them think it was THEIR idea =) It took a couple months of me regularly offering it to her before she would just pick it up and drink it. She often asks for more! The first day she did that my jaw hit the floor as I happily poured her another glass. When I make a veggie juice blend, it always varies what I put in there. I buy whatever organic greens are available and that's what we have that week. This week was a great week for greens for some reason...knock on wood, don't want to jinx it that it was a fluke that the store had such a variety! I was able to get organic kale, red chard, green chard, and spinach. Living where I live, I feel lucky if I can get organic kale! Boy do I miss Cali produce. I remember the health food store I shopped at there would have an entire wall of organic greens, it was beautiful! So back to the juice, I do whatever greens I can get, plus carrots, celery, beets and some apples. Sometimes I put fresh parsley in there too.

Start off with small portions, 4-8 oz of juice for adults, 2-4 for kids, at a time. The best time to start is NOW. Why put it off? Juicing will make you feel so good and full of energy. Your body will thank you =)
Start juicing!

"Sour Cream" and Onion Kale Chips

I love Kale chips, they are strangely addictive...seriously, it makes no sense to me, but they are! Before this recipe, I had just made kale chips with evoo, salt, and pepper, and loved them just fine. Then I tried this recipe from Douglas McNish, head chef of Toronto’s Raw Aura organic and raw food restaurant, but with some changes of course =) These are soo soooo yummy. You must try them!

“Sour Cream” and Onion Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw organic cashews, soaked for 2 to 3 hours**

Juice of one lemon

1 1/2 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste (more can be added after dehydrated)

1 organic onion, chopped

3 cloves organic garlic

1-2 bunches of organic green kale

1/2 cup filtered water

Remove kale from stems. Tear leaves into approximately 2- to 3-inch pieces.

In a blender, combine the soaked cashews, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, onion, salt and 1/2 cup water until creamy and smooth. Sauce should be the consistency of a salad dressing. Add more water if necessary.

Toss the sauce with the kale until thoroughly combined (use your hands) and lay out on dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for approximately 8-10  hours or until crispy.

**I've substituted sunflower seeds for the cashews because they are cheaper. They weren't as good as the ones with the cashews but they were still amazing. At first they had a very strong sunflower seed taste, but after a day I didn't taste it anymore. So if the price of cashews is a concern, try sunflower seeds! 

Raw Onion Energy Crackers

Raw seed crackers are awesome! They are packed with nutrients. Nothing better than raw seed crackers topped with organic raw cheese! You can change up the seasonings to your taste. Play with the recipe and you can have a whole variety of different flavors. The onion in this is awesome. I love dehydrated onion!

Chia is soooo good for you. It is an energy food! It aids in weight-loss/management. It has been a staple crop since Ancient Times. One ounce only has 137 calories, 4.4 grams of protein, Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, 177 mg Calcium, 265 mg phosphorus, 44.8 mg potassium, 10.6 g dietary fiber. Put.it.in.everything.

Can be multiplied very well. This makes one dehydrator sheet full.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup organic raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup organic chia seeds
1/2 cup organic sesame seeds
1 cup water
2 cloves organic garlic, crushed
1 organic onion, diced
1/2-1 ts real salt, or to taste
1/4-1/2 ts organic garlic pepper
A couple shakes kelp flakes

Combine water, garlic, and onion, stir. Let it soak while gathering the other ingredients.  Combine seeds and seasonings well. Pour in water mixture and mix well. Spread onto one dehydrator sheet, 1/4-1/2 inch thick. I use a piece of parchment paper on a regular dehydrator sheet because I don't have the solid sheets and it works well. Dehydrate at 110-115 degrees (you can dehydrate at a higher temp for less time but will no longer be "raw") for a couple hours. Once it's pretty firm but still pliable, pull out to slice. Take a pizza cutter and make slices to the desired size, flip (I slice mine, carefully, on the parchment on the dehydrator sheet, place another dehydrator sheet and holder on top, press the two together and flip. If your parchment paper won't easily peal off, dehydrate for another hour or so.) After flipped, place back in dehydrator for another few hours. Once hard and crispy, they are done! Enjoy topped with some yummy raw cheese!

You could bake these, you lose some nutrients that way, but it would still be better than buying crackers. I'd say bake for 30 min or so before flipping. Then bake another 30+ minutes until desired consistency.

What's in your dehydrator?

This week I am a dehydrating fool. My current kitchen has no counter space so sadly my dehydrator can't sit out all the time. So when I dehydrate, I go on a rampage! I dehydrate everything in sight! Dehydrators are a raw-foodists best friend. Well, maybe their juicers and blender are their best friends, but dehydrators come in closely behind. So far this week, I have done beef jerky (from organic pasture raised cows of course!), apples, bananas, pineapple, and blueberries. Up next....fruit leather! After that, maybe some onions and garlic. Honestly, dehydrated onions are highly addictive! Not only can they be snacked on, but they can easily be thrown into recipes to rehydrate. Dehydrated slices of cucumbers are great for dipping. Does anyone else love using their dehydrator? I'd love to hear about what your favorite things to dehydrate are! Comment below!

Kiwi-Dew Juice

Makes approximately 2-3 cups juice. Very light and refreshing!

1 small honeydew, or half a large
2 kiwi
1 organic apple (green would be best, but any kind will work)

Run fruit through a juicer, minus the skin on kiwi and skin and seeds from honeydew. Pour, serve, and Enjoy!

Make your own butter

I get my cream by letting my raw milk sit and separate from the cream. Then I slowly pour it off the top. To start, you can culture your cream first, or not. Cultured butter does have an excellent taste. But, homemade butter, in my opinion, is great either way! There are many ideas out there on how to culture the cream. I've seen that you can just leave the cream at room temperature for about 12 hours. I've also seen you should stir in 1/3 of a cup of buttermilk or plain yogurt, and then let sit for 12 hours. For me, sometimes it's just easier to let the cream come to room temperature and then have at it. Either way, you want your cream at room temperature when you start.
Then pour cream into a food processor with a dough blade, or in a stand mixer with a dough hook. I like to add a tiny bit of salt, but you don't have to. Turn on. It's going to probably take 10-15 minutes but check it occasionally. Once there are hard chunks floating in the buttermilk, you're probably good. Taste it, does it taste like butter? I then take a fine strainer or cheesecloth, and pour off the liquid. Some people like to rinse the butter at this point. I've rinsed sometimes, and sometimes I don't. I think if you rinse it will last longer, in my experience. Scoop your butter into a covered container, glass or ceramic. You can serve immediately or refrigerate until needed. Serve with some fresh bread, you won't be disappointed!

Herb Balsamic Tomatoes

Yummy, healthy, side dish. appetizer, or snack. My kids gobble these up!
Picture above is one tomato. I personally consider that one serving, but others may not. So I will write the recipe for one tomato/serving. Multiply as needed!

Ingredients:
1 tomato, sliced
A couple fresh basil leaves, chopped
A couple fresh mint leaves, chopped
A couple fresh parsley leaves, chopped
A pinch of fresh dill
Sea salt and ground pepper to taste
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar, organic
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, organic

Lay sliced tomatoes on a plate. Sprinkle with herbs, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with vinegar, and then oil. Enjoy!

Mango Guacamole

A unique take on the standard guacamole. Try it with tortilla chips or just by the spoonful!

Ingredients:
1 mango, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 green onion, chopped
Pinch of sea salt
2 ts evoo
1/2 cumin

Gently toss all ingredients together. That's it...super easy!

Berry lemonade

So what if it's 30 degrees outside and this should be more of a summer drink....drink this and dream of summertime! Super yummy, and good for you too!

Ingredients:
2 whole lemons, peeled
1 cup mixed organic berries, frozen or fresh
2 tb organic raw honey
Water

Place all ingredients in the blender with enough water to cover them. Blend for a minute and enjoy! A nice vitamin packed drink!

Mexican Corn Salad

This is a very light and refreshing salad. The flavors burst in your mouth! Impress your family and friends with this colorful salad.

Ingredients:

4 ears organic corn, cut off the cob (If corn on the cob is not available, organic canned corn can be used)

3 tomatoes, chopped. (Or one package of grape tomatoes, sliced in half)

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 handful cilantro, chopped

2 organic red peppers, chopped (If you can find organic orange peppers that would add another color)

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice of one lime

Juice of one lemon

2 TB chopped cilantro

1 ts parsley

1/4 ts chili powder

1/2-1 ts sea salt (start with less and add more if you think it needs it)

Blend dressing together and pour over salad, toss.

Blended Salad Meets Smoothie

So for the first time, a few weeks ago, I started adding greens to our smoothies. I was scared for a long time to try it, but now I'm so glad I did. You can barely taste it and it adds greens, vitamins,  nutrients, fiber, etc etc, to an already good for you smoothie! So go for it, try it! Oh...and after about a week, my husband wanders into the kitchen sipping on his smoothie, and says "Hmm, it's like blended salad meets smoothie, awesome!" hahaha!

Here's what we do, but you can vary this up a lot.. Different fruits, different greens, different seeds, etc.

In a blender add:
    -1 cup plain yogurt (you can totally use flavored, but I make my own yogurt and it starts out plain, so that's what I use)
    -1-2 cups spinach (I really just grab a huge handful)
    -1-2 cups kale (again, I use a really big handful)
    -1 cup frozen blueberries
    -6 strawberries
    -1 banana
    -2 tb honey
    -2 tb flax seed
    -2 tb hemp seed
    -2 tb chia seed
    -4-8 oz of milk or water to make it "smoothie" consitancy

Blend it up and serve!!! The recipe above makes approximately 3-4 adult size 12 oz servings. For us, we have 2 12 oz adult servings, and 3 kid size cup servings...and a little left over for whoever wants it. Enjoy this for breakfast and start your day off right. Great meal replacement!