Archive | August, 2010

PB&B Soft Serve

31 Aug

I’ve been on a peanut butter binge (not raw) lately.  Just can’t get enough.  Sunday for breakfast I put one frozen banana and one big spoonful of chunky peanut butter and a dash of sea salt into the food processor and processed away.  Viola!  Peanut Butter Banana soft serve – a ridiculously tasty and seemingly indulgent breakfast.  I felt almost odd eating ‘ice cream’ for breakfast, but it was so good I couldn’t stop.

Who is jealous of the Elmo placemat?

Also, I’m marking this as kid-friendly, even though my kids don’t eat peanut butter.  Odd, I know.  I can’t get enough and they can’t force it down. Maybe someday they’ll soon share my love of the butter de peanuts.  One can hope, right?

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Salt & Pepper Seeds

30 Aug

I made this recipe from Kristen’s Raw Blog.  Very good and very easy.  I nibble on them daily.

Salt-n-Pepper Snacky Seeds
Recipe by Kristen Suzanne of KristensRaw.com
Yield 2 cups

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon sea salt 
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Place the seeds in a bowl with enough filtered water to cover by about an inch. Let them soak like this for 6-8 hours. Drain off the water and give them a quick rinse. Put them back in the bowl and stir in the salt and pepper. Place them on a dehydrator tray and spread them out until the tray is covered (I use an Excalibur dehydrator and I used only one tray). Dehydrate them for one hour at 130-140 degrees F. Reduce the heat to 105-115 degrees F and dehydrate until thoroughly dried (approximately 14-20 hours).

Chia Banana Pudding

26 Aug

I’ve spoken of my fascination and love for chia seeds before.  They bring out the science geek in me. A gel!  Forms right before your eyes!  How cool is that?

I was craving something sweet after dinner and whipped up a little pudding for one dessert.  I hesitate to call this a recipe because it is so simple, but here goes:

  • 1/2 c almond milk
  • 2 Tbsp chia seeds
  • sweetener of choice
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • sliced banana
  • Stir milk, chia, sweetener and vanilla and let chill at least 15 minutes for optimum thickening.  Serve with sliced bananas.

Anyone know how to make raw vanilla wafers?  That’s all it was lacking….

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Breakfast of Champions

25 Aug

from bottom: orange, kale, spinach, frozen bananas, chia seeds

yum

* I also add water, but I can’t add it until the blender is running because of a random leak in the blender.  And I no longer add my fingers….

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Second Chance Choco- Avocado Pudding

23 Aug

I’ve tried the avocado/cocoa blend before and wasn’t too impressed.  But, after reading this post, I decided to give it a try again.  I know, never get a second chance to make a first impression, right?  But, I believe in second chances.  Oh the cliches….  :)

Hooray for second chances.  This was much better!  I’ve had it twice already.  The texture is light and creamy and it’s only slightly sweet, so it’s a great snack.  For a rich dessert, I’d go with this chocolate pudding.  For a nice mid-afternoon snack, this banana/avocado/cocoa blend is perfect.  This week I plan on making it again and letting my kids use it as a dip for fruit and graham crackers.

topped with shredded coconut and cocoa nibs

Here is my modified version:

Chocolate Avocado Banana Pudding

  • 1 avocado
  • 4T rounded cocoa powder
  • 1/4c almond milk
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1-2T honey or 1 packet stevia or sweetener of choice
  1. Combine all in blender (I used the magic bullet)
  2. Process and scrape bowl a few times until thoroughly combined and fluffy.

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Time Commitment of Raw Food

21 Aug

Getting ready to make Buckwheat Crispies and Cranberry Maple Granola.

I get comments about ‘not having time’ for raw foods often.  True, eating raw can involve more planning, but to me it doesn’t take much more hands-on time.

In it’s simplest form, eating raw can be as easy as a quick smoothie, a big salad and snacks of nuts, fruits and vegetables.  Those types of things don’t take much more time than a standard diet.

I’m enjoying taking a raw food diet to another level with my dehydrator.  Using a dehydrator opens the door to foods like granola, ‘breads’, cookies and crackers. They are not necessary for a raw diet, but, for me, they allow for more variety and more experimenting in the kitchen.  As a domestic food scientist (my made-up job title), I love trying and modifying recipes.

As for the time involved, there is more planning.  Nuts and seeds are best when soaked (read this and this), so I have to plan to have 8 hours of soaking time.  Most dehydrator recipes need 8-12 hours of dehydrating, so I have to plan for that.  Hands on time is minimal, but actual time to make a batch of granola is 20-24 hours.  Typically I soak the seeds and nuts overnight, mix the granola in the morning and let it dehydrate all day.

I think a raw diet can take as much time as you want to put into it.  As can a cooked food diet.  I’m having to plan a bit more, but I don’t find myself spending more time in the kitchen.

Breakfast Cereal – Buckwheat Crispies

19 Aug

cocoa buckwheat krispies in almond milk

I made the Buckwheat Krispies (both the maple and cocoa variations) from Raw Food/Real World. They took quite a bit of dehydrator time, but were quick to throw together.  I am eating them both as a cereal and a snack.  They turned out a bit salty for me, so I’ll take down the salt next time.

Here is a very similar recipe.

Recipe from Raw Food, Real World

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Kinda Cute & Kinda Wrong

18 Aug

Insane Kids

I’m betting these are some of Shaun T’s youngest students.  They may be his cutest too.

We are about done with week 3 and are still really enjoying the sweaty workouts.  Yesterday was the day-off and the husband and I both admitted to missing our nightly Shaun T and team.

Thankfully the finger injury hasn’t impacted the workout too much.  I try not to swing that arm as much, but I can do push ups just fine.  Turns out that push ups are one of the few things that don’t use the balls of your fingers.

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I will not fear the blender

17 Aug

I had a really dumb blender accident. As in, I’m really dumb for sticking my fingers in a moving blender.  Really, really dumb.

But, I will not let the inner cringing that now occurs when I use hear the blender  crush the ice keep me from my green smoothies!  Repeat after me: I am not afraid.  I will NOT stick my fingers in a small container with a rapidly moving series of metal blades.

In case you can’t see theobvious bandages that I must wear, and therefore have to tell my story to post office clerks, cashiers and random people out and about, here is a closer picture, courtesy of my 4 yr old.  You can see my 2 yr old’s cute little messy hair too.

Mango Man

17 Aug

Chew toys aren’t only for pets.  They are also great for toddlers who are (I think) getting their 2 yr molars and feel the need to stick absolutely everything in their mouth.  My little guy spent a good 5 minutes gnawing on a mango seed and did an admirable job cleaning off most of the fruit.

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