The Food Journey: Pleasant Plantain Chips

Hi Folks -

Since I am in detox mode I have to find snacks that will satisfy my snackaholic ways and nourish my body.  Plus, Caleb cannot eat processed/packaged foods and the little guy loves to snack too (wonder where that trait came from!).  So I made some raw plantain chips.  You can usually find this snack food in a bodega or corner store.  It's usually fried in vegetable oil and seasoned with salt.  My rendition is similar except no hot oil touched these plantains...I used the dehydrator!

This snack is EXTREMELY simple to make.  I thinly sliced one ripe plantain, put the slices on the dehydrator tray, set the temperature to 135F, sprinkled salt and coconut oil on the plantain slices and let it dehydrate for about 18 hours.

Chip preparation (thinly sliced plantain, pink Himalayan salt, touch of coconut oil (not shown))

Plantain slices on dehydrator tray

Nesco dehydrator (set to 135 F)

Final result! Pleasant Plantain Chips!

Plantains are naturally very sweet and once in dehydrated form they were even sweeter! However...I think 18 hours was a little too long.  The chips were really hard, but so tasty.  For the next batch I make I will decrease the drying time, add more salt and cut the slices a wee bit thinner. 

If you don't have a dehydrator try doing this in an oven with very low heat.

FYI...This snack is Caleb approved! :) He had a hard time biting them at first...but he adjusted and tore up those chips!

Any suggestions for other healthy snacks I can make?

Peace and blessings!

The Food Journey: Kale Ginger Ale

Hi Folks! 

Smoothies are a great way to have a raw...yes raw meal and to provide your body with fresh unaltered nutrients.  If you are a good smoothie mixologist, you won't even realize that you are drinking raw food! :)

Here is another simple smoothie recipe you should try called Kale Ginger Ale.

Recipe:
1 1/2 inch of fresh ginger root
4 - 5 leaves of kale (any type will do)
1 cup pineapple (not shown)
1/2 cup hemp seeds
H20 for desired consistency

Put everything in the blender and whirl away!

Remember to free style this recipe...tweak the amounts I provided to suit your taste buds.

Remember: kale is the Queen of the Greens! It's packed with so many vitamins and minerals  and even contains protein.  Ginger is good for digestion and  promotes good circulation. Hemp seeds are packed with protein and calcium so you are getting a power punch of energy to fuel your day.

Kale Ginger Ale (kale, ginger, hemp seeds (not shown) and pineapple (not shown)

Try it and tell me what you think!

Peace and blessings!

Detoxification: Liver, Onions and Divas!

Hi Folks!

It's time for another detox experience.  This year I did a dry brush and a raw food detox.  Both left me in good shape.  I was sharper, leaner, stronger, softer (skin wise) and focused. 

One of the things I've been wanting to do is a liver cleanse/detox.  The liver is the powerhouse of our bodies.  It helps our digestive system, filters out toxins and secrets hormones that we need to keep living.  It often gets overlooked and ignored, but without it we would not be alive. 

So...I want to give my liver a BIG hug and KISS!

The Power House

To do this I will be drinking teas and cleaning up my diet.  This liver cleanse is sponsored by Herbal Bush House.  I have coupled this liver detox with another program called Detox For a Diva  sponsored by Soul Food Therapy. 

The Liver Cleanse:
The liver cleanse I'm doing consists of 4 weeks of preparation.  The prep work consists of  drinking a series of teas, taking a product called Gut Buster Pro and cleaning up my diet.  This is where Detox for a Diva comes in.  The recipes provided are nutritious and most of all DELICIOUS!

After 4 weeks of prep the 5th week will consist of all raw food (including juices, smoothies and fasting).

Detox For a Diva:
To help me get ready for the 5th week of the liver cleanse, I've been a part of the Detox for a Diva program.  Along with the great recipes/food, the regimen consists of dry brushing, drinking lemon water every morning, and taking nice cleansing baths.  So far I'm behind the rest of the ladies but I'm hanging in there! 

I'm also doing well with drinking my teas.  I've just completed week #1.

More to come!!!  Mr. Detox and I have gotten reacquainted! Whew! I was on a slippery sweet, salty slope these last few weeks.  Time to put on my big girl panties and get it together!! :)

I will say it did not take me long to get in swing of both programs (Liver cleanse and Detox For a Diva) due the progress in self control and commitment I've made by finishing the raw food detox challenge (Raw Food Diet is Over!).  Plus...I LOVE doing the right thing for my health.  It supersedes any cravings for munchkins  I may get! :)

Stay tuned.........

Peace and blessings!

The Food Journey: Berry Blizzard

Hi Folks!

I've been on the run these last few weeks...so much so, that I've been making TONS of smoothies and quick meals to prevent myself from eating things I shouldn't and to keep my engines revved up!

Here is a simple but absolutely YUMMY smoothie recipe I've made about 6 times in the last few weeks! I call it the Berry Blizzard smoothie.  This smoothie is full of vitamin C and antioxidants and is so TASTY! Oh...and Caleb approved! :)


Berry Blizzard Recipe:
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 - 1/2 cup fresh red grapes
1 cup goji berries (dried)
1/2 cup cranberries (dried)
water (add to reach desired consistency)

Optional:  hemp and chia seeds

Add all ingredients to blender and whirl away!

Berries in VitaMix

Cranberry (dark purple), Goji berry (bright red), Strawberry and Red Grapes

Berry Blizzard!

 

Happy smoothie making!

Peace and blessings!

Caleb's Corner: Gardening with a Toddler

It's important for children to know where their food comes from.  We are teaching Caleb to compost and how to garden.  Yes...He's only 2 years old but as we all know, toddlers are sponges and can learn just about anything you put in front of them.  So off we go to the garden!

In the garden
 

This year Caleb assisted in harvesting jalepeno peppers, basil and kale, planting herbs and was keen on watering all things...even the pavement! Recently he's started tearing leaves off of the house plants.....not ideal, but I like to think he's in "harvest" mode.  LOL! Yeah right!

Picking peppers

Picking peppers

Picking peppers

Watering the drooping tomato plants

He's even been on Dad's riding lawn mower! Have mercy!

On the riding mower!

It's important for children to spend time in the sunshine and vegetation. In this day and age of increasing technology you have to expose them to another side of life.  Living green things!  Caleb is also well versed in "shooing" away mosquitoes. 

If you have a garden, make sure your children partake in caring for it.  It will build an appreciation for good food and love for the environment!

 

Raking??

 

Get out in the fall weather and enjoy!


Peace and blessings!

 

 

The Food Journey: Falling for Apples!

Hi Folks! We spent two entire months dedicated to hair on The Natural Journey For Life...now that fall has arrived and the fruit and vegetable season is changing I want to talk about my favorite fall fruit! The APPLE!  We've all heard the saying: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away".  Let's see how:

Golden Delicious apple

Four reasons why we should eat apples:
1. The apple is packed with enzymes that are good for digestion.
2. It's a fruit low in saturated fat and filled with fiber (0% and 12% of Daily Values (DV)).
3. The peeling is packed with antioxidants that help quench free radicals roaming around in our bodies namely Vitamin C (10% of DV)
4. The apple is packed with magnesium and phosphorus (2 and 4% of DV respectively).

Why I love to eat apples:
Along with the 4 reasons I listed above, my favorite part about the apple is that you can make so many scrumptious food items with it and don't forget the thousands of varieties that exist.  You can make: sauce, juice, cider, cake, crisps, pies, chutney, salsa, fried apples, and apple butter!  Remember: adding an apple to your fresh green juice rounds out the flavor profile and provides a mild sweetness.  Mmmmm mmm! Of course the best way is to eat an apple is in it's natural raw state.  That way you are getting all the vitamins, minerals and available enzymes.  But I'm a sucker for a good apple crisp...

The Orchard
This past weekend we took a trip to a nearby apple orchard.  It was my first time at an orchard and I left with a HEAP of apples....I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all of them, but I am looking forward to exploring the possibilities! We picked and tasted apples for hours. 

The Orchard

We picked: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Empire and McIntosh apples. 

 

 And tasted........

 

Tasting the Golden Delicious apple

 

And tasted......

Tasting the Red Delicious apple

 

 

 And tasted.....

Tasting the Empire apple

If you can get to an orchard to pick your own apples, please do! It's a great experience!  Plus it's an all you can eat affair.  I loved tasting the apples before I put them in my bag.  It was a wonderful rustic treat!

 

 

What is your favorite apple dish?

 

 

Peace and blessings!