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Here are the pictures from my first Raw Thanksgiving. Karen Ranzi is the lady who hosted the party. She is writing a book about how to raise your kids Raw. This was an amazing event. It was one of the most loving environments I had ever been in with lots of little kids running around with fruits and vegetables crammed into their mouths. There was no alcohol, no soda, no cooked food. The energy there was very uplifting. The people were great. The food was out of this world. I am so inspired by this experience.

Marinated Beet Salad Again. The Raw Foodies loved it!

Marcio, my new friend. He was my vegetable chopper while making the beet salad. His hands were red from cutting beets.

Apple Strudel. This dish was a hit!

Raw Food Potluck

My new Brazilian friend Marcio and my new Brazillian Raw Food Chef, Bruno. Bruno is a Raw Food Chef from Brazil studying English here in NYC. Marcio and Bruno spoke Porteguese all night long. Marcio is from Brazil also and has lived in this are for over 20 years. He is into raw food and yoga and does computer programming for work. Bruno is going to teach me how to prepare some Raw Brazillian recipes and Marcio is going to translate for me.

Marcio and Bruno

This desert came out amazing. I should be a raw chef. Here are the ingredients.

3 organic apples of choice. I used pink ladies.
1/4 c raw organic walnuts ground
1/2 c raw organic walnut pieces
1/8 tsp cinnamon
3 tbls raw organic agave nectar

Crust
1 c of Lydia’s Grainless Apple Cereal
1/4 c water

Icing
3 tbls of raw organic macadamia butter with cashews
1 tbls raw organic agave nectar

Peel apples and shred in food processor with shredding blade turned up. Place shredded apples in mixing bowl. Add cinnamon, crushed walnuts, and agave nectar. Stir well. Place cereal mix in the bottom of a 9×9 glass dish. Rehydrate cereal with water. Place apple mixture evenly on top of crust. Add walnut pieces. For icing, mix macadamia butter and agave nectar till smooth. Place in a pastry tool or plastic bag and squeeze on top of tart.

Skin is the largest organ. It pays to put the highest quality, natural, organic ingredients on our skin. Dr. Mercola’s Natural Body Butter amazing. One of the few 100% certified organic body care products on the market. I also like Dr. Mercola very much. I think that he really cares about his customers. He has an amazing customer service philosophy. I love my body butter. I am currently using the lavender scent. There is an orange scent available also. Dr. Mercola gives great discounts for purchasing in quantity.

I also use the Krill Oil supplement with Evening Primrose Oil. This product is great for your skin and lubricating your system. I also purchased this product in quantity and received a great discount.

Lemon Cranberry Acorn Squash Tart

3 c organic acorn squash
1 c organic cranberries
2 tbls grated organic ginger
1 tbls grated organic lemon peel
1 organic lemon juiced
1/4 c raw organic agave nectar
2 tbls raw organic virgin coconut oil
1/4 c raw organic coconut flakes

Peel squash and cut into bite size pieces. Mix all of the ingredients and place in a ziploc bag to marinate for 2 hours. Place mix into square baking dish, top with more coconut and bake at 350 degrees for around 45 minutes or until soft. This dish is very tart but good in small servings like a warm relish.

For those of you who are in transition including myself. Here is a recipe that is half cooked and half raw. I like to start with one simple cooked ingredient and everything else in the recipe is raw.

Cooked Ingredients
2 c cooked organic brown rice

Raw Ingredients
2 organic plum tomatoes
1/4 c organic cilantro
1/4 c organic italian parsley
1/4 c organic red onion
1/4 c organic green onions
2 tbls raw organic tahini
1 tbls organic olive oil
1 tbls organic flax oil

Seasoning
1 tbls organic sesame oil
1 tbls organic tamari soy sauce
Celtic Sea Salt
Pepper

Cook rice to desired tenderness. Chop vegetables into small pieces. Mix ingredients together. The Tahini gives the rice its sauce and great flavor. You could make this dish completely raw by replacing the rice with soaked wheat berries or soaked bulgar wheat.

Yes, this is Raw Food. Raw Soul, a raw food restaurant in Harlem, presented their cuisine in a lecture at Whole Foods Market last Sunday in Edgewater, NJ. I met the most interesting people and of course, tasted the most fabulous “Raw”, yes Raw food. I bought their recipe book and picked up some flyers. I also got invited to a raw food thanksgiving called a “Thanksliving”. How cool is that? I will continue to post information about what I learned there. You are looking at Sweet and Sour “Neetballs”, a green bean something or other, and pilaf. Here is a list of ingredients that they shared. I did not get the ingredients for the raw brownie, but it was scrumdillyicious.

Green Beans
green beans, olive oil, garlic, cumin, chili powder, sea salt, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar

Pilaf
sprouted wheat berries, bulgar wheat soaked, tumeric, olives, sea salt, chili powder, corriander

Neetballs
pecans, sprouted sunflower seeds, walnuts, chinese 5-spice, corriander, cilantro

Sweet & Sour Sauce
sundried tomato, red bell pepper, beets, apple cider vinegar, dates, mustard, cayenne pepper

Here are some pics of the Chefs, Lillian and Eddie and the party.

Raw Soul Chefs and Owners

Raw Food Party

The Spread

Artichoke Sandwich Spread

3 organic artichokes
3 cloves raw organic garlic
1/4 c raw organic pine nuts
1/4 c raw organic sunflower seeds
1/4 c organic water cured kalmata olives
Celtic Sea Salt
1 tbls. organic extra virgin olive oil

Sandwich Fixins
2 slices of Rubschlager Sunflower Seed Bread
2 tbls Vegenaise
1/2 c alfalfa sprouts

Steam artichokes until tender. Cool, then peel off leaves and scrape off the meat. You will get about 1 1/2 c of meat with 3 artichokes. Scrape the heart and stem clean and mash all of the artichoke meat in a bowl, add crushed garlic, chopped olives, nuts, seeds, and olive oil. Mixture should be relatively thick enough to sit on bread without falling off.

6 organic eggs
1 c of organic alfalfa sprouts
3 organic scallions
¼ c of crumbled goat cheese
¼ c of organic, water cured kalmata olives
¼ tsp of organic olive oil

Mix all of the ingredients together and heat up a flat skillet with the olive oil. Pour mixture into skillet and cook on low to medium heat. The trick is to cook slowly. After about 10-15 minutes drizzle some water around the edge of the skillet to loosen the egg mixture. Cook till water absorbs and then repeat. Eventually your fritatta will fluff up and get brown on the bottom. Slide out of skillet and let cool. Slice into triangle shapes and enjoy. This is a great food if you are on the go and if you are still eating eggs and cheese.

I do not know what this blog is going to turn into. But here is another recipe.

Sunny Fruit Parfait

1 small organic banana
1 small organic pear
1 small organic mango
1 organic lemon
1/2 c sheep yogurt
1/4″ cup raw sprouted buckwheat groats
cinnamon

Cut fruit into bite size pieces and cover with fresh lemon juice, stir. Layer the yogurt first in parfait cup, then the groats, then the fruit mix. Chill, then enjoy.

Chakra Salad

2 organic beets
3 organic green onions
3-4 stalks of organic celery
2-3 cloves of organic garlic
1 tbls Barleans Flax Oil
1/4 c of organic Veganaise
Celtic Sea Salt
Ground Pepper

Wash vegetables and chop in whatever way pleases you. I used my food processor to slice the beets, and I used a flax seed grinder to chop the garlic. Add spices and Veganaise, then mix. Observe the fuschia color and take note that this salad promotes the 1st and 7th chakras.

1st Chakra – Red: Earth Element

Location: Base of the spine
Emotionally: Red is associated with courage, physical and emotional survival, grounding and security. Red is thought to help with depression, anger, frustration and anxiety.
Physically: Red is associated with the kidneys, spinal column, legs, hips, adrenal system and feet. It is also thought to help blood and circulation issues.

7th Chakra – Violet: Thought Element

Location: Top of the head
Emotionally: Violet is associated with emotions, self-knowledge, over intellectualizing and meditation. 
Physically: Violet is physically associated with top of the spinal cord, brain stem and pineal gland, and is used to relax muscles, calm the nervous system and sooth organs. Violet is also used for treating the lymphatic system and spleen.