Watermelon Green Smoothie Recipe

I must be dreaming of summer during these dark winter days because all I can think about is getting my hands on some ripe watermelon! It has been really cold here...like below zero cold for days in a row. You would think I would be longing for piping hot anything, and sometimes I am, but mostly I long for hot summer days and cool, sticky, sweet, juicy watermelon...how's that for daydreaming?

Anyway, in honor of that summer memory, I thought I would share my favorite watermelon green smoothie recipe. Although the color is a bit drab, it's kind of a brownish, greenish, pinkish color, the flavor is out of this world!

Watermelon Green Smoothie

2-3 cups fresh watermelon (you can include the rind too)
1 large orange
1/2 cucumber
2 stalks celery
juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 scoops Sun Warrior Protein Powder (natural or vanilla flavor)

Throw everything in the blender and blend until smooth. Add ice to make a slushie.

Optionally, you could run everything through a juicer for a refreshing pick-me-up.

Now why would I tell you to use the rind? It's because watermelon rind is an excellent natural diuretic as is cucumber and celery!

Enjoy!

Kale Orange and Pineapple Salad

I've been looking for a new way to eat raw kale. I've grown a little tired of all the recipes I have on hand even though they are delicious. I needed a change.

As I was surfing through some other raw recipes online, I ran across a salad that had potential at Kristen's Raw. Kristen's salad had fennel and I'm just not a fan, but the other ingredients looked really good, so I decided to play with the ingredients  and I came up with a recipe I thought was so delish, I ate almost half of the recipe in one sitting!

Here's my version of Raw Kale, Orange and Pineapple Salad

Kale, Orange And Pineapple Salad
By Rebecca A. of RockyMountainRawFood.com
Yield 2-3 servings

1 medium bunch curly kale
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons raw honey
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon fresh orange zest
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup orange, peeled, seeded & chopped
1/4 cup red onion sliced
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped

Wash and destem the kale. Rip out the hard stems at the bottom of the leaf. You may want to leave the tender portion of the stem at the top of the leaf, but that's totally optional. I tear them out so they are easier to chew. Chop or tear the kale into bite size pieces.


Put the kale into a big bowl and add the lime juice, olive oil, orange zest, and salt. Massage the ingredients with your hands and let the kale sit while you chop the other ingredients.


Chop the oranges and pineapple into bite size pieces. Place the sliced red onion in the bowl with the kale. Then the fruit into the bowl with the kale and sprinkle allspice over the fruit. Next, drizzle the honey over the fruit and toss all together. Last sprinkle the chopped cilantro over the salad and toss again. Enjoy!
 

Hot Pink Smoothie Recipe

I had a surplus of beets in my garden this year and I had to figure out what to do with them once we had eaten our fill of fresh beet salads.

I decided that a beet smoothie would be just the thing! Now, I'm really big on putting greens in my smoothies because they are so good for you, but this one was such a beautiful color, I just didn't have the heart to turn it muddy brown by adding greens.

The really cool thing about this smoothie is that it's such an enticing color that many people turned off by the thought of raw foods are actually willing to give this smoothie a try! I have had several raw veggie haters try this smoothie and like it.

Here's my recipe, but feel free to experiment with what you have on hand.

Serves 2 adults or 4 children

1 scoop vanilla Sun Warrior Protein powder
2 cups coconut water or filtered plain water
10-15 large fresh strawberries (frozen works great too)
1 large frozen banana
1 small lime peeled
1 -2 small beet, peeled
1/3 cup coconut meat (optional)
Agave nectar to taste

Place everything in the blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Beets are wonderful for smoothies but they can be very strong tasting in large amounts, so if you have people in your home sensitive to strong tasting foods, use less fresh beet. This will allow them to adjust to the taste of beets without pushing them into a taste overload that may turn them off beets for a long time.

Best Source of Vitamin B12 for Raw Foodists and Vegans

Many vegans and raw foodists can run into issues with Vitamin B12 deficiencies because they do not eat meat or dairy. Unfortunately, most raw food sources of B12, such as spirulina and fermented foods, are not bioavailable which means the Vitamin B12 in them cannot be easily absorbed and used by the body.

So what's a raw foodist or vegan to do to make sure theya re getting the proper amount of B12 in their diet? Watch this video!

Here's a great source of the RIGHT KIND of Vitamin B12 suggested in the video that I've located for you. I was impressed with the reasonable price too!

The " I Hate Vegetables" Green Smoothie Recipe

Do you have a child or grandchild that hates vegetables? Maybe you or your spouse can't stand them. You know that vegetables, especially leafy dark green kind that kids hate most, are necessary for good health. But trying to get kids to eat their vegetables is usually more difficult than trying to nail jello to a tree.

Rather than turning the dinner table into a battlefield, why not get creative with your veggies? Here's a great way to get lots of nutrition hidden in something most everyone loves...CHOCOLATE!

Green smoothies are a great way to get your kids to eat their greens. Sweet fruit disguises the taste of the greens and most kids think getting to drink something that is green is really fun.

For those children who won't even try a green smoothie because it is green, try putting the smoothie in a cup you can't see through with a lid that is also opaque. This way they can't see what they're drinking. They'll just know that the "chocolate shake" you made for them tastes great!

The " I Hate Vegetables" Green Smoothie Recipe

2 cups chocolate almond milk, chilled
1 to 1 1/2 ripe bananas, frozen
1 scoop Sun Warrior Chocolate Protein Sun Warrior Chocolate Protein
1-2 TBSP. unsweetened raw cacao powder
(raw cacao is best nutritionally speaking but you may also use carob powder or regular unsweetened cocoa powder)
1-2 TBSP. raw honey, or to taste
1-2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 cup ice

Serves 2 adults or 4 children

Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth and frosty. Enjoy the smile on your vegetable hater's faces when you serve them this chocolaty treat!

P.S. Don't tell them it's good for them. ;)

8 Raw Food Travel Tips

Hey Everyone,

I'm back from spending the summer in New York training for my new job as a configuration analyst so I haven't been updating my blog like I should, but I'm back now and ready to go!

What I'd like to talk to you about today how to stick to a raw food diet while traveling away from home. Let me tell you that living in a hotel room for 6 weeks sure does make you appreciate the convenience of being at home!

I didn't have my beloved Blendtec Blender or Excalibur Food Dehydrator with me due to the current suitcase weight restrictions and the fridge in my hotel room was dorm room sized which meant storage space for fresh produce was extremely limited.

Here are some of my own raw food travel tips. I hope you find them useful.

1. Get online and find the health food stores and local grocery stores in the area where you will be staying. You can make a bee-line to one of these places for supplies as soon as you get checked in to your hotel.

2. Check the internet for any raw food restaurants that may be in the area. You can order several dishes at a time and store them in the fridge in your hotel room.

3. I recommend packing at least 1 raw food bar for each day you will be away from home. Raw food bars make tasty, portable meals that don't require refrigeration. (My favorite brand is Raw Revolution Organic Live Food Bars) Other good things to bring would be a container of Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt or Dulse Granules that will go a long way in flavoring your food.

4. A good multi-vitamin such as Garden of Life Living Multivitamin and a green food powder like Greener Grasses can help you get the nutrition your body needs while traveling.

5. Also buy things like a jar of organic raw almond butter to spread on fresh fruit, and a bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on salad. None of these things have to go in the fridge so you can save your precious space for other things like salad greens, tomatoes and other items that require refrigeration.

6. Think portable when buying fruits and veggies. Choose foods such as apples, cucumbers, bananas, avocados, lemons (for salad dressing, and other foods that can be left a room temperature, but don't buy too many at a time or they will go bad before you can get them eaten.

7. A few things to pack from home would be a bag of soaked and dehydrated nuts and seeds and a bag of sprouted dehydrated quinoa and/or buckwheat groats to sprinkle on salads. Try to bring a variety in order to get the most nutritional benefit. You might also bring a few bags of raw dehydrated crackers. I put these items in my carry-on so they don't get crushed.

8. The last thing I would suggest either bringing with you or purchasing when you reach your destination is a Magic Bullet High-Speed Blender. Why this brand in particular and not something cheaper? I bought a cheap personal blender when I got to New York and burned the motor up within a week and a half making very simple green smoothies. Anything less just won't hold up. And while having a small blender like this isn't necessary, it certainly makes life easier when you can just mix up a green smoothie, kick back and relax knowing you are giving your body the very best in nutrition. And don't forget to bring either some Sun Warrior Protein Powder or Living Harvest Hemp Protein Powder for those smoothies so you can get in some good, high quality, plant based protein.

I hope you got some good inspiration for how to stick to a raw food diet while traveling and enjoyed my personal tips and tricks.

Until next time,

Happy Traveling and Eat Raw!

Raw Food Cracker Recipe - Carrot & Flax Crackers

Before I get to the raw food cracker recipe I have for you today, I wanted to talk for a moment about how to satisfy some of the cravings you may have on the raw food diet.

Personally, my biggest craving was for chips and dips. There's something really satisfying about dunking a crispy, crunchy, salty chip into some sort of yummy dip while I'm watching TV or reading a book. For me, that's comfort food eating. When I decided to go raw, it was obvious that I was going to have to find some tasty substitutes for my beloved chips and dips or I just wasn't going to be able to stick with eating raw food long term.

The point I'm trying to make here is that you really need to identify those foods you associate with comfort. Whether it's chips, candy, ice cream, pizza or whatever, make it your goal to either find or create your own raw recipe for the comfort food you like best. Having a raw version of your favorite comfort food on hand will go a long way towards helping you stick with the raw food diet.

Here's my current favorite raw food cracker recipe.

Carrot and Flax Crackers

1 & 1/2 pounds Carrots, grated
1/4 red Onion, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons Celtic gray salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

In a food processor, grate the carrots. Transfer grated carrots to a large bowl and change the blade from the grating blade to the "s" blade. Add the carrots back to the food processor with the water, salt and garlic. Process the carrots until you have smooth puree that is slightly watery. (This could take some time) You may add additional water if necessary to achieve the correct consistency.

Transfer the carrot puree back to the large bowl and stir in the ground flax seed. Adjust seasoning if necessary remembering that the final product will be much stronger in taste due to the dehydration process.

Cover 3 Excalibur dehydrator trays with cling film or use teflex sheets.

Divide your mixture evenly between the 3 trays and spread out evenly on each one, just less than a half inch thick.

Place into Dehydrator and run until dried well on top. Flip onto normal uncovered trays and continue to dehydrate. It’s best to cut it about two hours after you flip. Continue dehydrating until crispy.