Showing posts with label raw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raw. Show all posts
Monday, February 6, 2012
Stepping Up Wellness: Raw Cheese
Hello Everyone! Just wanted to share my progress so far on the production of a raw vegan almond cheese that's in the works. This almond puree will sit out for 12 hours before straining, hanging to dry, and seasoning. I'm envisioning raw lasagna later this week, possibly with some italian rawsage!
Also went to Whole Foods in Milford for the first time today. I was accustomed to shopping in their flagship store in Austin, TX, so Milford is a step or two down the ladder, but still a great store!
Stepping Up Wellness: Day 2
Superbowl Sunday! Like many of you, I'm tired of being treated like a social pariah for not liking football, and my general response when asked which team I'd like to win is either, "I only wish both teams could lose," or "I'd be asleep by the end of the first inning." As a pseudo-joke I offer a special discount on massages to individuals who wish to book during "the game." But all kidding aside, I made an exception and watched this year, since of course, the real winner was Madonna's halftime performance. Go Madge!
Getting back on task, yesterday began with a green veggie smoothie, roughly consisting of celery, zucchini, carrot, tomato, cucumber, red bell pepper, and parsley. I threw in some protein powder to keep myself going, and let the Vitamix rip. The end result was a very thick, creamy, if not lukewarm vegetable drink which resembled V8 in flavor, without all the added salt. Would I make it again? Yes, but chances are this is a recipe I will adapt. Also, if you want to try this one, use ICE and not water, because you'll it's definitely a dish best served cold.
Later in the day, it was time for italian style "rawsage." Lettuce and pumpkin seeds comprised the bulk of the "meat," with several spices added in(caraway seeds, basil, etc.) The recipe suggests dehydrating until the edged of the patties become slighty crispy, but if you don't have a dehydrator, you can put them in the oven on very low heat with the door open. If, like me, your oven doesn't heat to temperature below 170F, which is about 50 degrees (or more by some standards) too high to still be considered raw, you can cheat. I turned the heat to 170 just until the oven preheated, turned off the heat, put in my rawsages, and let them stay in there until the oven cooled. Repeat this process a few times, and you'll get the same effect. Fortunately the rawsages don't take a long time to dry out, this would not be a practical method to employ with most dehydration recipes.
Two recipes on tap for today: Simple Cantaloupe smoothie, and raw Gazpacho. I'll be making a pilgrimage to Whole Foods this afternoon for a few essentials, (please guys, can you open up a store in Madison, CT? We're all rich, and ready to spend money in your store, trust me.)
In other news, I've dropped another pound since being back on solid foods, my energy level is way up, and I feel ready to really kick my yoga practice back into gear. Part of that will involve some core training, more on that later.
Getting back on task, yesterday began with a green veggie smoothie, roughly consisting of celery, zucchini, carrot, tomato, cucumber, red bell pepper, and parsley. I threw in some protein powder to keep myself going, and let the Vitamix rip. The end result was a very thick, creamy, if not lukewarm vegetable drink which resembled V8 in flavor, without all the added salt. Would I make it again? Yes, but chances are this is a recipe I will adapt. Also, if you want to try this one, use ICE and not water, because you'll it's definitely a dish best served cold.
Later in the day, it was time for italian style "rawsage." Lettuce and pumpkin seeds comprised the bulk of the "meat," with several spices added in(caraway seeds, basil, etc.) The recipe suggests dehydrating until the edged of the patties become slighty crispy, but if you don't have a dehydrator, you can put them in the oven on very low heat with the door open. If, like me, your oven doesn't heat to temperature below 170F, which is about 50 degrees (or more by some standards) too high to still be considered raw, you can cheat. I turned the heat to 170 just until the oven preheated, turned off the heat, put in my rawsages, and let them stay in there until the oven cooled. Repeat this process a few times, and you'll get the same effect. Fortunately the rawsages don't take a long time to dry out, this would not be a practical method to employ with most dehydration recipes.
Two recipes on tap for today: Simple Cantaloupe smoothie, and raw Gazpacho. I'll be making a pilgrimage to Whole Foods this afternoon for a few essentials, (please guys, can you open up a store in Madison, CT? We're all rich, and ready to spend money in your store, trust me.)
In other news, I've dropped another pound since being back on solid foods, my energy level is way up, and I feel ready to really kick my yoga practice back into gear. Part of that will involve some core training, more on that later.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Stepping up Wellness in 2012!
Pretty self-explanatory. As a holistic practitioner, I find not only is my life more productive when I am mindful about my personal well-being, but so is my business. Sure, I might spend a few dollars to participate in a five day cleanse, but if I get a new client out of it, it's paid for itself by year's end. My focus in this post is really toward the personal end of things. Having just finished a day cleanse via my dear friend Kai Hersher and her company, Nourishing Habits LLC, I'm feeling great, detoxed, 10 pounds lighter, and ready to hit the ground running.
In the spirit of wellness, I dusted off my greenstar 3000 juicer (highly recommended for serious juicers, or would-be serious juicers such as myself.) and purchased a Vitamix blender. If you're interested in raw or vegan cuisine, these are two must-have items. Not inexpensive but well worth the investment. Essentially, you can juice and leafy greens, grass, or vegetable in the Greenstar, and if it's too soft to juice, you can liquify it in the Vitamix. Incidentally, the Vitamix will liquify just about anything. Your garden-variety blender operates at about 11 miles/hour, the Vitamix operates somewhere around 250 miles/hour. You do the math. Also, I highly recommend the Turboblend VS package, it's mechanically no different from the 5200 model, but come with a fantastic raw/vegan cookbook, and a nut milk bag.
So the first goal is small but will still present a challenge. Prepare one healthy recipe each day that I've never tried before. No other rules. Yesterday it was raw key-lime pie (incidentally the best I've ever tasted.) Today, a green veggie smoothie, later on, spicy Italian rawsage. I don't really believe that vegetarian and vegan foods need to aspire to imitate meats or dairy, nor should they, but I'm not opposed to something that sounds delicious and has simple ingredients.
The second goal, and admittedly the more challenging of the two, is to blog regularly about this process over the next 30 days. In a perfect world, I will begin by reviewing the previous days culinary endeavors, describe the current days agenda, and provide recipes and suggestions of either of you are interested.
Also, look for more posts here regarding pop culture, art, things I'm either infatuated with or sickened by, and general musings/rantings on the state of the world.
Happy and Healthy 2012!
www,nourishinghabits.com
www.vitamix.com
www,greenstar.com
In the spirit of wellness, I dusted off my greenstar 3000 juicer (highly recommended for serious juicers, or would-be serious juicers such as myself.) and purchased a Vitamix blender. If you're interested in raw or vegan cuisine, these are two must-have items. Not inexpensive but well worth the investment. Essentially, you can juice and leafy greens, grass, or vegetable in the Greenstar, and if it's too soft to juice, you can liquify it in the Vitamix. Incidentally, the Vitamix will liquify just about anything. Your garden-variety blender operates at about 11 miles/hour, the Vitamix operates somewhere around 250 miles/hour. You do the math. Also, I highly recommend the Turboblend VS package, it's mechanically no different from the 5200 model, but come with a fantastic raw/vegan cookbook, and a nut milk bag.
So the first goal is small but will still present a challenge. Prepare one healthy recipe each day that I've never tried before. No other rules. Yesterday it was raw key-lime pie (incidentally the best I've ever tasted.) Today, a green veggie smoothie, later on, spicy Italian rawsage. I don't really believe that vegetarian and vegan foods need to aspire to imitate meats or dairy, nor should they, but I'm not opposed to something that sounds delicious and has simple ingredients.
The second goal, and admittedly the more challenging of the two, is to blog regularly about this process over the next 30 days. In a perfect world, I will begin by reviewing the previous days culinary endeavors, describe the current days agenda, and provide recipes and suggestions of either of you are interested.
Also, look for more posts here regarding pop culture, art, things I'm either infatuated with or sickened by, and general musings/rantings on the state of the world.
Happy and Healthy 2012!
www,nourishinghabits.com
www.vitamix.com
www,greenstar.com
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