Inspiration:Life

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your 2008 is going as great as mine. I'm in heaven and I am so excited to finally share with you what I have been up to.

I started another juice feast on Dec. 1 and I'm blogging my experience at Inspiration:Life.

Some of you might know that's how The Daily Raw Cafe started. It was a blog documenting my first juice feast back in May that lasted 28 glorious days.

From there The Daily Raw Cafe took a life of its own with recipes and it was an outlet for my creativity to shine.

I'm so blessed to have it and to have all of you guys be part of it. So thank very much.

And as an added bonus I met some really special people along the way.

My husband has committed to going raw again in 2008 so if you can send him a silent prayer to get him going that would be appreciated.

I have some really good recipes lined up for TDRC and my husband will be preparing many recipes for TDRC in the next few weeks so we have that to look forward to. Believe it or not he is the true talent in the kitchen. I'm lucky his talent just rubbed off on me. And the fact that I love raw food helps, too. ;)

I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year!

Peace and Love,

Terilynn

Garlicy Green juice

makes 1-1.5 quarts

1 pound of your favorite greens

1 cucumber, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon hemp oil

1-2 cups water

1 Place cucumber, greens, garlic clove and carrots in a blender* with the water. Blend until ingredients break down into a thick mixture.

2 Strain the mixture in a nut bag or painter straining bag into a large bowl. Squeeze the bag to get all the juices out of the pulp.

3 Pour juice into a glass and add hemp oil.

Don't forget to compote you pulp or mix with flax seeds to make crackers.

*You can use a juicer instead of a blender. I use a blender because the clean-up is faster for the amount of juices I make. Also, please note if you use greens that are heavier in weight (kale, collards, etc.) a high-speed blender will work better at breaking down the greens.

Viva The Daily Raw Cafe! Viva Raw Foods!

You might have noticed the name change. The Daily Raw is now The Daily Raw Cafe.

Fun, right? The reason? The Daily Raw Cafe is going (dot)commer. How cool is that?

I'll keep you posted on when it's time to type in thedailyrawcafe.com.

The Daily Raw Cafe will continue the tradition of providing tasty raw food dishes with a relaxed vibe.

October 13th is HerbDay and to celebrate The Daily Raw Cafe will post recipes featuring a very popular herb.

Even though it originated in India, this warm, clove-like flavored herb takes center stage in Italian cuisine, especially pesto.

Did you guess, yet? Drum roll please......the herb is basil!

Not only is it one of my favorite herbs, it's starting to flower in my garden, so I have to use it, ASAP. ;)

Viva raw foods!

Terilynn

Basil Limeade
1 bunch sweet basil leaves (about a handful)
3 cups water
1 cup agave nectar
5 limes, juiced

1 In a pitcher, combine water, agave nectar, basil leaves and lime juice. Cover the top of the pitcher with plastic wrap.

2 Place the pitcher outside in the sun for at least an hour.

3 Remove basil before drinking.

Tip #1: Fill an ice cube tray with chopped basil, and then cover with water and freeze. Use the basil ice cubes in your drink.

Tip #2: Instead of sweet basil, try lemon or lime basil.

PEACHES AND CREME

Peaches are a good source of Vitamins A, C and E as well as high in fiber. Fun fact: In Japan and China, brides carry peach blossoms because peaches are a symbol of fertility and of affection.

1 peach, pitted, chopped
1 banana
1 cup young coconut water
1 cup ice cubes
1/4 cup agave nectar

Blend peach, banana, coconut water, and agave nectar until well mixed. Add ice cubes.

Servings: 2

Coconut Milk

meat from 1 Thai Young coconut

1 c coconut water or pure water

1/4 c agave nectar

1 t almond extract

1/2 t nutmeg, plus extra

Blend coconut meat and water in a blender until smooth. Add agave nectar, almond extract and nutmeg. Garnish with extra nutmeg

Author's notes: This milk is a bit thicker in consistency than almond milk and OMG does it taste delicious. (2)

Green Smoothie

This post is dedicated to my mom. She wants to start drinking Green Smoothies and needed a bit of guidance to the way.

So this is for you mom.

The genius that is Victoria Boutenko came up with the idea of a green smoothie. In her book "Green for Life," Boutenko discusses the healing potential of this amazingly tasty drink.

The theory behind Green Smoothies is to get the nutritious greens (spinach, kale, lettuce, etc.) into your body in the most effective way without compromising your taste buds.

The recipe I am providing is pretty basic and it's my favorite. But the possibilities are endless.

Do a Google search and you can find numerous recipes, videos, blogs, etc. showcasing the Green Smoothie.

Green Smoothie (2 quarts)
2 c spinach

2 c water

1 c ice

2 very ripe banana

2 peaches

2 T Agave Nectar, or to taste*

Place spinach and water in blender and blend. I like to add the spinach first to make sure all the spinach is thoroughly blended. I'm not fond of green pieces floating in my drink.

Add the peaches, banana, Agave Nectar and ice.

I add each ingredient at a time, giving them their time in blender spotlight.

*Our family doesn't use the Agave too much in the smoothie anymore because the ripe banana provides all the sweetness we like. I was surprised by this because I have a huge sweet tooth.

If you drink Green Smoothies on a daily basis, eventually you do without the extra sweetener. Your body will just crave the greens and the rest will be fillers.

Here's the Green Smoothie formula

Greens (the leafy stuff) + Your choice of fresh (or frozen) fruit + water + banana + ice = Yummy and very nutritious drink.

Green Smoothie News You Can Use:

Green Smoothies: An Easy Way to Love Greens
By Victoria Boutenko

Green for Life

The Green Smoothie Experiment, Valerie Winters' blog focuses on her amazing six-month green smoothie journey. A must read!

eMaxHealth

Mom, I hope this helps. Have a green smoothie (daily), live healthy and long.

I love you, Terilynn :)

Orangesicle Breakfast Drink

This is my husband's creation. He's a whiz (of the family) in making breakfast drinks.

Orangesicle Breakfast Drink
1 c coconut water
1/4 c agave nectar
1 orange, peeled, quartered
1 t hemp oil
1/2 t vanilla extract
Tray of ice cubes

Combine coconut water, agave nectar, orange quarters, hemp and vanilla in a blender. Add ice cubes a few at a time to create a frothy drink. Serve immediately.

How to make Almond Milk

Almond Milk

1 c soaked almonds
4 c water
1/4 c agave nectar (optional)
Pinch of sea salt

Blend soaked almonds and water until thoroughly blended. Strain the milk through a nut bag into a large bowl.

Rinse the blender cup and put strained milk back in with agave nectar and sea salt. Blend.

Author's notes: I am not a fan of cow's milk. I have never like it, and probably never will. I can't wrap my brain around drinking milk from a cow. Strange to me. I think cow's milk is suppose to be for a cow's baby not humans. But hay, that's just me.

I do love almond milk and as you can see so does Sous Chef D.

Here's a great article on raw nut milks.

"What's best? Soy milk, cow's milk, raw milk and fermented milk (kefir)"
by Mike Adams at News Target.com
http://www.newstarget.com/021986.html

Frozen Treats

Watermelon Slushy (above)

Cantaloupe Granita (middle)

Watermelon Sorbet (below)

My 16-year-old daughter starts school tomorrow and my 7-year-old starts soon after. Summer's almost over! What happen? It seemed like yesterday that summer break began. Any-who. These frozen treats are my way of keeping summer around a bit longer and have something fun for the kids to snack on after school.

Cantaloupe Granita

2 c chopped cantaloupe, approx. 1/2 melon, seeded

1 c ice cubes

1/4 cup agave nectar

Juice of one half lemon juice

Purée ingredients in a blender until smooth, then pour into a metal pan and freeze until mixture becomes a firm slush, at least 1 hour. Scrape with a fork and serve in chilled glasses.

I originally tried putting this recipe in the ice cream maker to create a smoother texture but the ice cream maker wasn't having it. So I let the blender do the grunt work instead. The same ingredients are used for the slushy and sorbet. It's just various freezing processes that make the differences in the two frozen treats.

Watermelon Slushy/Sorbet
4 1/2 c diced watermelon, seeds removed

1/2 cup agave nectar

Juice of one half lemon

1/8 t sea salt

Puree watermelon, agave nectar, lemon juice and sea salt in a blender. Pour mixture into metal container and place in the freezer for about 40 minutes. When it is semi-solid (with liquid beneath the surface), mash it up with a fork. Pour in a chilled glass for a Slushy drink.

To create the sorbet, Instead of pouring into a glass, take the mixture and refreeze again. When frozen, place in a blender and process until smooth. Refreeze until serving time.

RAW NEWS YOU CAN USE- Ode to Raw Almonds

Okay it pays to read you email before you blog. I just got this "Raw News You can Use" sent to thedailyraw@yahoo.com

This is from PRNewswire-USNewswire

The pasteurization of raw almonds have been postponed until March 1, 2008. Follow the link to the story "Controversial Almond Treatment Faces Delay" http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-06-2007/0004639546&EDATE=

"Calif. Almond Growers Seek Delay of Rule"
By Garance Burket, The Associated Press

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/07/AR2007080700330.html

I came across one of the original articles about the raw almond contamination in 2004. The article is by Gary Gentile for The Associated Press. Have a look see. http://www.marlerclark.com/news/almonds7.htm