The Juicing/Smoothie COLOR CHALLENGE: PURPLE

Hello good people!!! I'm back with another COLOR CHALLENGE update! I'm a little late with posting the latest happenings with the Juicing and Smoothie group....but last week's color challenge was PURPLE! Fruits and vegetables the color of royalty (purple) are packed with anthocyanins which can provide numerous benefits:

Here are the juices and smoothies I made and consumed for the PURPLE challenge!

Red Capple Juice: 1/2 red cabbage, 5 brocooli stalks (didn't want to waste anything), 5 apples, 1 inch of ginger, hibiscus (sorrel) tea

Banana Berry Smoothie: 2 bananas, 1 cup frozen raspberries, 1 cup frozen strawberries, hibiscus  (sorrel) tea, flax and chia seeds,  dash of organic cane sugar

PURPLE Passion smoothie: 2 bananas, 2 cups frozen raspberries, 1 cup frozen blueberries, flax seed milk, hibiscus (sorrel) tea, and  chia seeds

Purple Breeze smoothie: frozen pinapples, 2 D'anjou pears, 1 cup frozen raspberries, 1 cup frozen blueberries, apple juice, chia and flax seeds

 

All of the juices and smoothies were DELICIOUS!!!!  The group is really having fun with the color challenge.  It's been exciting to put different recipes together and to see what others have created!  We're spreading the fruit and veggie love one cup at a time!!  Next color is RED!

What's YOUR favorite purple fruit or vegetable??

Peace and Love

Slamming Smoothie Contest - Jackpot!

Hi Folks!  The SLAMMING SMOOTHIE Contest is here!! 

Three months ago a friend of mine wanted to go on a juice fast for 2 weeks.  I told her I would join her and decided to ask other friends, family and co-workers if they wanted to join.  It's always easier (and more fun) to complete a challenge when you have a support group.  So off we went to make juice for two weeks.  I decided to start a group on face book to have a forum for sharing our recipes and progress.  It was named “The Two Week Juice/Smoothie Challenge” with a goal to simply increase your intake of fruits and veggies by consuming at least one fresh juice or smoothie per day for two weeks.  It started with juice and then included smoothies, because most of the participants didn’t have juicers.  So off we went to increase our fruit and veggie intake.  After the two weeks was over, the group wanted to keep going.  We’ve been going strong for over three months now and in that time membership has increased from 15 to 125 members.  Wow! An unexpected turn of events, but I’m so excited for all the fruit and veggie love roaming around the world (yep…the world….we have people from England in the group – shout out to Carol!!).

The group is full of people sharing their juice and smoothie recipes, success stories on weight loss, improved digestion and hormone balance.   Members are exploring new ingredients (like bee pollen, chia, hemp, and spirulina), learning about various techniques and delicious fruit and veggie combinations.  Most of all it’s fun to see so many great recipes come alive in people’s homes!  So much so, we decided to have a SLAMMING SMOOTHIE Contest where members can showcase their best smoothie recipes.  The prize is a natural beauty care package.

This week you will have a chance to vote on the best picture, and I will be the judge on the best tasting smoothie.  So here are the rules:

1.       Recipe has to be original

2.      Picture has be to original

3.      One submission per person

4.      Once all the submissions are posted a voting poll will be opened up on the blog.  There you will vote for the best picture.

Let’s get started!!!!

The first submission is from Kenya Carl.  She is calling her smoothie: The Jackpot!

The Jackpot Smoothie Recipe:

1/2 cored pineapple (Kroger size container, will need more if using smaller size)
1 container strawberries (16 oz )
1 banana
1 carrot, cut the long way to prevent lumps
1 celery , cut the long way to prevent lumps
1 handful of sweet basil with the stems attached
1-2 handfuls of cilantro with the stems attached

The Jackpot Smoothie by Kenya Carl

Awesome! Thanks Kenya!  I love the way you have involved your children! Clearly someone is enjoying it! 

Stay tuned for more!!!

Peace and Love

Community Supported Agriculture: Summer Fruit Share

Hi Folks - The summer  season is upon us and I've signed up for the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative fruit share.  Last year I signed up for the fall vegetable share and was quite pleased.  This is the third and best week!  Up until now we were just getting two pints of strawberries a week.  Love me some berries, but I was not happy.  This week we received strawberries, blueberries and cherries! YUM YUM YUM!

Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative fruit share box

The bounty from week #3 - blueberries, cherries and strawberries

Nice and juicy!

I've been putting the strawberries in water, smoothies and juice.  I consumed the cherries in record time (didn't even share with the fam!!) and still have the blueberries to eat. 

If you have the opportunity to join a community supported agriculture coop this summer please do!
As the summer progresses we are slated to get melons, peaches and of course more berries! So excited for what's to come!

What's your favorite summer fruit?

Peace and love,
Zee

The Food Journey: Raw and Delicious!

I ate some really delicious RAW food that I want to tell you about.  I attended a dinner at Original Herbal Remedies this past weekend and it was superb! If you are in the NYC area and are interested in exploring raw cuisine please stop by.
 I forgot to take pictures of the appetizer, but see below for the menu and pictures of this scrumptious meal.

Appetizer
Kale and cabbage salad with kale crackers and nut cheese
Mango salad

Entrée:
Cauliflower rice with spicy cheese topping
Stuffed tomatoes with cashew sour cream
Brazil nut sunflower meatballs in tomato sauce
Bulgur cabbage on abed of power greens with avocado

Desert:
Raw carrot cake
Orange and chocolate ice cream
Coconut chocolate macaroons

If it sounds like a lot of food....it was!! :)  I was stuffed to the brim! 



The Entrée



 

Dessert - chocolate and orange ice cream, coconut macaroon and carrot cake

 

What I love most about eating raw food is that it's alive!  All of the nutrients the food has to offer is being added to my body system. None of the nutrients have been degraded by heat making the food more nourishing.  A few months ago I wrote a piece on raw foods after taking my first raw food preparation class.  Here is an excerpt I want to share again (with slight modifications):

1. RAW FOOD = LIVING FOOD
2. When we cook food, the nutrients  are degraded and in some cases totally destroyed.  Leaving the food we eat on a daily basis with little nutrition.  Most of us supplement with vitamins we take orally.  If we eat well we can get all the nutrients we need solely from our food.
3. Raw food is SO FLAVORFUL (if prepared right)! Oftentimes we think of raw, vegan food as gross, cardboard-ish and boring. 
4. Raw food is very FILLING!
5. Start slow.  Pick a recipe and perfect it before moving on to more complicated dishes.
6. You can adapt cooked recipes to a raw version. 
7. Our taste buds are dead and traumatized by all the processed food we eat.  We can revive them by eating better wholesome foods...and when you do , it will be hard to go back.
8. If cooking using conventional means add oils and pepper last.  Oils and peppers can degrade while cooking and interrupt digestion.

After the  30-Day Raw Food Challenge I conquered this summer I felt like a new person.  I believe in raw foods and enjoy making and eating them.  If you've eaten a vegetable or fruit salad then you've had raw food! :)   Explore the concept a little further to really see what raw foodism entails.  I don't think I will ever be 100% raw, but I love the cuisine and encourage you all to eat one full raw meal very soon!

 Peace and blessings!

I'm in Love with BS - Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are in the cabbage family and even look like mini green cabbages.  Due to participating in the CSA this fall I finally (first time in life!) tried  Brussels sprouts.  I am in LOVE!

Why do Brussels sprouts get such a bad rap?  They are packed with nutrition (more protein than any other cabbage) and very tasty when prepared properly.  I used a recipe from a co-worker that turned out to be delicious!

Recipe:
1 bag of fresh Brussels sprouts
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Olive oil
Red pepper flakes
(I didn't really measure any ingredients - just added to taste)

Preparation (sorry no prep pictures - I got too carried away and forgot):
1. Cut sprouts in half
2. Place on baking sheet
3. Season with salt (garlic salt is preferred)
4. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar
5. Follow with olive oil
6. Broil for 10 minutes
7. Add red pepper flakes

Time: 20 minutes (tops!)

Any other Brussels sprout recipe I should try?

Peace and blessings!

The Juice Journey: Citrus Kale Juice

Hey Ya'll!  The sniffles are back in our house! It's not me this time!! Thank God! :)

So I whipped up some powerful living juice to help fight the virus that has invaded our home.  It's a very simple recipe and it took 15 minutes to make. 

Citrus Kale Juice:
4 cups baby Russian kale (CSA treasure)
6 oranges
2 grapefruit
1lemon

Citrus Kale Juice ingredients: baby Russian kale, oranges, grapefruit and lemon

Preparation:
I juiced the citrus components by hand, strained the juice to remove all pulp.  I used our Omega juicer for the kale.  What I've noticed is that the Jack O Lane juicer does not handle leafy greens very well.  So I stick with the Omega for leafy greens. I strained the kale juice and combined it with the citrus blend. 

Also note that the difference between a juice and a smoothie is that pure juice has most of the fibrous components of the fruit/vegetable removed (thus the reason for straining after putting the ingredients through the juicer).  Smoothies contain fiber and are made by putting everything into a blender a creating a puree of sorts. Juicing is good when you are detoxing or trying to heal a sickness.  Because all the fiber is removed the nutrients will go to your blood stream much faster.  Juicing also gives your digestive system a rest.

Yummy!  And so good for your immune system!

Try it and tell me what you think.


Peace and blessings!

The Food Journey: Healthy Vegan Holiday Options

Hi Folks!

Due to participating in my first Fall CSA, I have been laden with awesome produce. About 50% of each shipment has been root vegetables.  Many of which, I've never eaten before such as radishes, turnips and rutabagas.  I have been exploring new recipes and I've come up with a few to share as part of the Healthy Holiday Food Carnival sponsored by Soul Food Therapy.

Check out 3 yummy holiday alternatives I've made using my CSA treasures!

#1 - Root Vegetable Mash (vegan, soy, gluten free)

Root vegetables are full of minerals and are in abundance during the cold weather months.  This is a good alternative to the classic mash potatoes we consume for holiday dinners.  This simple recipe actually calls for some tubers in the form of white and orange sweet potatoes and regular white potatoes. You'll get more minerals with this mashed recipe.

Ingredients:
1 large turnip
1 white sweet potato
1 orange sweet potato
4 white potatoes
hemp seed milk
coconut oil
salt
garlic (fresh)
cilantro (to garnish)

 

 

Preparation:
1. Cut up all vegetables in small pieces
2. Boil until soft
3. Drain water
4. Mash with standard potato masher
5. Add coconut oil, hemp seed milk and other seasonings to desired taste and consistency

You can add any herbs you wish.  Dill would be a great addition to this dish!

Time: 25 minutes





#2 - Curry Lentil Soup (vegan, soy, gluten, free):

Soup is just right for the cold weather season plus it's a good appetizer for the big holiday meal that's coming up.  Here is a twist on the run of the mill lentil soup I make quite often for Caleb. It's filled with carrots, turnips and hearty potatoes.

Ingredients:
2 cups of green lentils (soaked overnight)
1/4 cups of black beans (soaked overnight)
1 onion
1 large turnip
1 potato
1 large carrot
1 small butternut squash
2 cloves (fresh garlic)
2 tsp of curry powder
salt to taste
coconut oil
coriander seed to taste
2 -3 large bay leaves

 

Preparation:
1.  Soak beans and lentils overnight (or quick 2 hour quick soak)
2. Wash beans, lentils, coriander seeds and bay leaves and boil until semi tender (20 minutes).
3. Add onions and cook for 10 minutes
4. Add carrots, turnip, potato, butternut squash and cook until veggies are tender
5. Add curry powder and salt
5. If water level gets low, add more.
6. After all vegetables are tender add garlic and carrots.  Cook for an additional 2- 5 minutes.
7. Lastly add coconut oil.  Stir well and let the soup sit for 15 minutes prior to eating so all the flavors can mingle.

The key to making soup is to start cooking the ingredients that take the longest first.  Then add the other ingredients according to their cooking times.  I add most spices and oils towards the end to retain their medicinal properties.  Heat can remove key nutrients and degrade flavor (like garlic).

Time: 30 - 35 minutes.

 

#3 - Peppery Sautéed Kale (vegan, soy, gluten free)

Kale has been called the Queen of the greens!  It's full of vitamins, minerals and even protein.  I received some Russian baby kale in the latest CSA shipment so I had to figure out what to do with it.  I wasn't in a juicing mood, so I decided to sautee it.  Although raw is the best way to eat leafy greens sauteeing helps retain some vitamins and keeps the minerals on your plate so you don't loose them to the leftover pot liquor. Great alternative to the boiled down greens we typically eat.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of Russian baby kale (although any kale will do)
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil
cumin to taste
banana peppers to taste
salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Wash kale
2. Chop onions and garlic and sautee until tender or brown in coconut oil
3. Add kale and sautee for about 2-5 minutes.  Don't let the kale get too soft or discolored.
4. Add cumin, salt and banana peppers
5. Remove from heat and enjoy!

I encourage you to deviate and free style any recipes in this post and on my blog.  Add any ingredients your taste buds are yearning for to make it your own.

Hope your holiday season is full of yummy healthy alternatives!

Peace and blessings!

 

The Ravishing Radish!

Participating in the CSA this year has opened my eyes and taste buds to a variety of veggies that I have never eaten. I feel a huge responsibility to use every bit of each week's delivery. So off I went figure out what to do with the RADISH.  In looking for what to with my CSA radishes, I've learned that this veggie is a powerhouse for liver and gall bladder function.  Here are 5 reasons why you should eat more of this root veggie.

1. Displays cancer fighting ability by impeding cellular mutations
2. Increases bile production
3. Facilitates gallbladder drainage
4. Helps prevent slow or difficult digestion
5. Helps with sinusitis and bronchitis due to the mucus softening properties

Sounds ravishing to me!! :)

I decided to be adventurous and create a side dish using the daikon radish I got in my CSA box. I searched for recipes online and created a variation of what I found.

Spicy Roasted Daikon Radish

Ingredients:
3 daikon radish
3 large carrots
1 cup of sliced leeks
2 sliced jalapeno peppers
Salt to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
2 TBS of olive oil
Balsamic vinegar to taste

Preparation:
1. Slice all veggies thinly
2. Place on baking sheet
3. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper
4. Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 350F
5. Add balsamic vinegar and bake for an additional 5 minutes.





Prep stages
 



Pre and post baking

 

My next radish dish will be more on the raw side.  Just like with any fruit or vegetable....the raw version gives more of a powerful punch! 

Anyone ever juiced a radish???


Peace and blessings!

Communty Supported Agriculture (CSA) - Week 3

It is week three of our CSA journey.  Everything we've received so far as been awesome!  I will admit, I'm a bit intimidated by some of the veggies....I'm not sure what to do with them! Here is what we got this week:

• white potato
• butternut squash
• unknown yellow squash
• purple kale
• green cabbage
• carrots
• spinach
• mushrooms
• parsnips
• beets
• white cauliflower

CSA pickup #3

This week we've made: vegetable Udon soup, stir fry, pumpkin/split pea soup, and Pumpkin Delight.

Tomorrow morning the juicer is getting fired up!!


Peace and blessings!

The Food Journey: Pumpkin Delight Smoothie

I'm squashing disease  by utilizing my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) pumpkin!  First time making a smoothie out of pumpkin and it was DELICIOUS!  

Pumpkin Delight Smoothie:
2 cups of pumpkin (raw or steamed) - I actually used 1 cup of each
2 cups of hemp seed milk
Honey (sweetened to taste)
1/2 cup coconut butter/manna
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin spice blend
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of ginger powder

Again...please free style this recipe to suit your taste buds. You can use dates instead of honey, almond milk instead of hemp seed milk, etc. 




Pumpkin parts!



Ingredients

 

Pumpkin Delight

Has any one else tried pumpkin in a smoothie?

Peace and blessings

The Food Journey: Squash Disease!

Hi Folks! Another winter treat is abundant now:  SQUASH...AKA...the pumpkin.  This vegetable is so rich in fiber, vitamin A and yummy goodness make sure it's a part of your winter diet.  Just like with most fruits and veggies, there are quite a few types of squash.  Each has a unique, but similar texture and flavor profile.

Squash: Butternut, Queensland Bue, Acorn and Pumpkin

 

Here are 6 facts about the squash:
1.  Squash is extremely low in fat and sodium.  Because of this it's great for your arteries and heart!

2.  The pulp of this colorful veggie can neutralize excess stomach acid because of the abundance of alkalizing mineral salts. So if you are riddled with heartburn...eat some squash!

3. The fiber can help with constipation by acting as a mild laxative. 

4. Because of the high vitamin A content it can help with vision disorders like cataracts.

5. Like most real food squash can help prevent cancer since it's riddled with vitamin C, vitamin A and fiber three of the most effective anti-cancer fighting agents.

6. The seeds are high in zinc, Vitamin E, iron, linoleic acid and protien.  Squash seeds also contain vermifuge which can fight parasites and worms.


Preparing the squash:
Okay...now does this mean eat nothing but pumpkin pie this holiday season???? NO! You can try to roast it, bake it, put it in stews and soups and puree it for smoothies.

Normally I use the acorn, butternut and green pumpkin (not pictured) for soups.  In the near future I'm going to try and make smoothies from the abundance of squash we have right now. In the past I've baked the acorn squash.....but didn't season it well so I'll have to try again.

I'm a sweet potato pie kind of woman, but maybe...just maybe pumpkin pie can be on the menu this Thanksgiving.


Squash/Pumpkin seeds:

I love love love pumpkin seeds  (pepitas)!!  I make milk from them, add them to chia pudding,  put them on salads and in my homemade trail mix.

Since they are so nutritious you can't go wrong with incorporating them into your diet.

Squash/Pumpkin seeds

How do you like to prepare squash/pumpkin?



Peace and blessings!

References for this post:
The Encyclopedia of Foods and Their Healing Power - Volume 2 - Dr. Pamplona -Roger

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!