Strawberry, Mango, and Mint Deliciousness

 I combined some of the ingredients from a few different smoothies and invented this very tasty treat. :-)

*Strawberries, fresh, 1/2 lbs sliced
*Dannon Greek Vanilla Fat Free Yogurt-24 oz
*Avocado 1/2 medium sliced
*Agave Nector Light 1/2 cup
*4 Tbs. fresh mint,
*Mango, 1 cup, chopped in cubes
* Ice, about 2 handfuls
* Water as needed to make smoothie not so thick

      Directions

Mix all in blender, except water and ice.
Add water as needed to thin out and ice last after everything is blended.
Blend again with the ice and enjoy.

Serving Size: Makes approximately 5- 6  -->  8 oz servings

 

Smoothie time part 2......I LOVE smoothies

So I found some nice smoothie articles thanks to a friend's pin on Pinterest. :-)   

Fist article is for 5 Yummy & Healthy Detox Smoothies to loose belly weight {just click the name is you want to go to the website.  I always like to give credit when due and since I did not invent this smoothie I just added the link for you all :-D}

Below is a picture of the Silky Mango Smoothie......As I try the others I will add photos :-D 

 

Silky Mango

• 1/4 cup mango cubes
• 1/4 cup avocado
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Brain health blueberry dream

• 1 cup of unsweetened frozen blueberries, thawed
• 1 small banana
• 1 tbsp of cold-pressed flaxseed oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Strong bones green almonds smoothie

• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp natural almond butter
• 1 small banana
• 1 small handful of kale leaves

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Healthy heart choco-raspberry smoothie

• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 organic, fair-trade dark chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 cup of fresh organic raspberries

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Healthy dessert in a glass

• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1 small banana
• 2 tbsp of natural hazelnut butter
• 1 tsp of organic, fair –trade cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp of maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Smoothie time part 1.....Can you tell I LOVE smoothies

So I found some nice smoothie articles thanks to a friend's pin on Pinterest. :-)   

Fist article is for Strawberry-Lassi {just click the name is you want to go to the website.  I always like to give credit when due and since I did not invent this smoothie I just added the link for you all :-D}

• 1 pound fresh strawberries, trimmed and halved 
• ½ cup honey I used Agave nectar instead because I didn't have honey 
• pinch of salt 
•  2 cups plain Greek yogurt  I personally used Vanilla Greek Yogurt and it tasted AMAZING  
• 1 cup crushed ice  

 

 

1. The website I got this from suggests combining the strawberries, honey, and salt together first.
2. Add in the Greek yogurt
3. Finally add in ice and enjoy

 

*Note*  

One alteration I may make, depending on my mood is adding in some greens just to make this have some veggie nutrition in it as well. :-)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helpful tips, books, and other faves of mine

I just wanted to let you all know that I added some helpful tips/book links to the top of my page for whoever would like it. :-) 

Just click on the links and it will provide you with some awesome info about becoming raw foodie or just helping you out along the path.  I especially like the 100 snacks link. 

Anywho just thought I would share :-)

Saw these awesome posts!

Saw these awesome posts on my facebook and decided I had to share......oh and FYI in the process of making the banana pops Ideal so when they are complete later this evening I will post pics :-) Can't wait!  YUMMY 

http://kaleuniversity.org/6864-5-great-tasting-juice-recipes?3
  On this page there is a recipe for green lemonade, green life juice, Mexicana green juice, sweet green juice, and mint julep.....(all of the pictures for this are from the website above.)
I put the pictures in order of my list above. :-)

 I haven't tried any of these yet but they all sound delicious so check back regularly and as I try them I will leave my review of how they taste :-D

http://www.fettlevegan.com/4/post/2012/07/frozen-banana-pops.html

here is one picture from the banana pop website, I will put mine up later but don't they just look DELIC! :-)

Here are my banana pops below.....didn't stand up quite as good and since I only had a few toppings they look a little plain compared to the article pics but they still taste great :-)

Thought I would share:
Saw this cool raw snack food book     :-)   Click the link if you would like to try it

It has been a minute....

Sorry all, I know it has been a good minute since I have posted anything.  I have been in a financial tight spot and honestly probably will be that way for the next few months...

so I am going from eating raw 50ish % of the time to eating whatever I have available and since I don't live alone I buy just the basics that I know we will both eat which means very little raw foods

Any-who if you don't see me post for awhile don't worry I will be back just continue checking in.  If I see any recipes that sound good or ones that I managed to squeeze into the budget I will post some pics and a review about it. 

Fuel for Fitness

 Radicchio Salad with Lemon-Herb Grilled Shrimp
http://www.sharecare.com//static/radicchio-salad-shrimp-recipe#cmpid=scnl000

The healthy but not raw shrimp salad recipe.   This sounds delicious and I think I will be making it later in the week.  I will leave comments then for my review of it :-D  {same with the recipe below}

Spicy Asian Slaw
http://www.sharecare.com//static/spicy-asian-slaw-recipe#cmpid=scnl000

My alternative Mojito Smoothie

My alternative Mojito Smoothie

I got this ideal from the original raw Mojito Smoothie that I posted on my blog, but since I didn't have all the ingredients for that I used what I had in the fridge. 

    *Romaine Lettuce, 2 cup, chopped
    *Banana, fresh, 1medium sliced
    *Lactaid Fat Free Milk, 2 cup or if you are doing it as
     a fully raw smoothie use your choice of nut milk
    *Strawberries, fresh, 2 cup, halves
    *Fresh Mint, approximately 18 grams (I used one full
     box of the organic mint herbs you can buy at the
     grocery store in the veggie section)
    *Lime Juice, .25 cup
    *agave Nectar Light 3 tbsp
    *Cucumber (with peel), 1 cucumber sliced and halved

Put all in blender and mix till smooth......
Go slow on the mint and lime juice, I like to have a sweet and sour taste so mine was great but it may be strong for the weak LOL.

Serving Size: 1 cup is 1 serving; makes 5.5 cups

I found these great resources to talk about the benefits of the lime and the mint: 
http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/health-benefits-of-lime.html
http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-mint.html

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms and Raw Ravioli

*These are not my recipes, but I can't remember for the life of me where I found them on the web.....I have them saved to my computer in a word document*  

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms

Served warm out of the dehydrator, these are heavenly! These taste like a soft, breaded, cooked, stuffed mushroom.

• 14 + button mushrooms, washed and stemmed

Stuffing:

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cups basil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. Place mushroom caps top side down on a plate.
2. Blend all stuffing ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
3. Scoop a small amount of stuffing into each mushroom cap.
4. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 5-6 hours or until soft.

 

Raw Ravioli with Sun Dried Tomato Sage Sauce

Raw Ravioli

Yield: 32 raviolis
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Soak Time: 2 hours minimum
Dehydrator Time: 30 minutes (optional)

Ravioli Ingredients

• 2 large turnips, peeled
• 2 TB. olive oil
• 1 cup pine nuts, soaked at least 2+ hours
• 2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked at least 2+ hours
• 1 TB. fresh rosemary, minced
• 4 tsp. fresh parsley, minced
• 4 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
• 2 TB. nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 TB. apple cider vinegar
• [1/2] cup rejuvelac (or filtered water), (as needed)

Ravioli Preparations

1. Using a vegetable peeler or a mandoline, cut turnips into 32 very thin slices. Coat in olive oil and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour. If desired, dehydrate at 110°F for 30- to 45 minutes to soften "noodles.".

2. Rinse pine nuts and macadamia nuts, and drain well for at least 10 minutes. Place in a food processor fitted with the S-shaped blade, and process on high speed for 10 seconds.

3. Add rosemary, parsley, thyme, nutritional yeast, salt, black pepper, and apple cider vinegar. Blend on high speed for about 20 seconds while adding rejuvelac (or water) through the top until a smooth, cheesy consistency is reached.

4. Scoop 1 tablespoon cheese onto each turnip slice, and fold in half. Serve 8 raviolis per plate, and coat with Sun Dried Tomato Sage Sauce, recipe below.

Sun dried Tomato Sage Sauce

Yield: 2 cups
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Soak Time: 30+ minutes minimum

Sun dried Tomato Ingredients

• [1/4] cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 cup filtered water
• 2 cups roma tomatoes, chopped
• [½] cup sun-dried tomato soak water
• 2 TB. beets, shredded
• 2 TB. olive oil
• 1 TB. fresh basil, minced
• 1 TB. fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tsp. nama shoyu (or to taste)
• 1 tsp. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp. fresh oregano
• 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
• Agave nectar to taste

Sun dried Tomato Preparation

1. Soak sun-dried tomatoes in at least 1 cup of filtered water for at least 30 minutes minimum. Strain, reserving liquid.

2. Place sun-dried tomatoes, roma tomatoes, soak water, beets, olive oil, basil, parsley, nama shoyu, nutritional yeast, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and sage in a blender; blend on high for 40 seconds or until desired consistency.

Note: Sun-dried tomatoes come in varying qualities. Be sure to get the organic dried variety that's sweet to the taste. Steer clear of the ones in the jar with oils (and, in most cases, preservatives). Depending upon the flavor of the tomatoes, you may wish to add some agave nectar to sweeten this recipe.

Variations
Alternatives for the turnips in these raviolis are many. Try watermelon radishes, beets, or zucchini. For smaller produce, cut twice as many slices, use one slice for the bottom, put cheese in the middle, and layer another slice on top, press down gently.

Review

I made the above earlier last week I think and the mushrooms were actually pretty good, the raw ravioli went in the trash I REALLY tried to like it but I could not stand it the first few bites were all right but the after taste was horrible.  I had never tried beets or turnips before the ravioli recipe and long story short I think I will stick to raw salads cause I just won't eat if I have another one of the above disaster again.  

My Raw Rainbow Salad

My Raw Rainbow Salad
I got this idea from a raw pad thai salad recipe I found.  I just adjusted it to what I had in my fridge and the colors are so bright it reminded me of a rainbow :-)

*Zucchinis 4-5 small, sliced thinly with peeler

*Mung beans, 2 handfuls chopped or not (your preference)

*Red Bell Pepper, 1/2 large pepper sliced thinly

*4 Green Onions, chopped

*Carrots 2 large shredded

*Olive Oil, 2 tbsp

*Sesame Oil, 2 tbsp

*Sesame Seeds, 3 tbsp

*Pine Nuts 1/2 cup
*Sunflower Seed 1/2 cup

*Lime or Lemon Juice, 1/4 cup

Mix all in large container.
Makes about 4-5 servings