Sunshine-Delicious Winter Recipes

I had reached the point of no return. Winter and I were through. I had enough, thank you very much, and was about to throw myself off the highest snow drift when my salvation arrived on the back of a UPS truck.

Citrus from Florida. A case load. Sunshine in a box.

My mother sends one to each of us kids, every year, in the dead of winter. She's been doing this since, well, since we all still lived under her roof. That's the great thing about Moms – no matter your age, you'll always be her child.

So, for the past week, I've been in citrus heaven feasting on honeybells, temple oranges and ruby red grapefruit.

Honeybell oranges have a sweet honey flavor and a unique bell shape. It's mind boggling how much juice these possess.

Temple oranges are known as the Queen of the Crop. Peel one, let it melt in your mouth, and you'll understand why she gets the honor of wearing the tiara.

Not a grapefruit lover? I bet you've never tried a plump Ruby Red. These seedless beauties are blushing red and dripping with sweetness.

Full of bioflavonoids and carotenoids which fight off cancer, fresh oranges and grapefruit also contain disease-fighting phytochemicals which help to combat heart disease. What's not to love?

Here are two out-of-this-world, sunshine-delicious recipes I can't get enough of.
Purple Cabbage Salad
from Elana's Pantry

½ head purple cabbage
1 orange, peeled and sliced into ½ inch segments
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
dash chili powder

Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible and place in a large bowl. Add the orange segments. Toss with olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice, then sprinkle with chili powder.

This gorgeous dish tastes even better the next day after the flavors have marinated and blended together.

Mixed Greens, Fennel & Orange Salad

1 head leaf lettuce
1 head radicchio
2 heads Belgian endive, sliced
2 bulbs fennel, sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 oranges, peeled and segmented
1/4 C almond slivers

Dressing:
2 tsp fresh ginger root, finely grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp orange zest
2 Tbsp orange juice
3 Tbsp ruby red grapefruit juice
1 tsp raw honey
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

The crisp, licorice-flavored fennel, sweet orange and onions balance the slightly bitter tastes of endive and radicchio. Drizzle on the dressing and, sweet mercy, the symphony of flavors!

What's been your source of culinary sunshine this winter?

Just Be On Your Mat

photo: shaletann

Yoga teaches you how to listen to your body.
~ Mariel Hemingway

I have a friend who's been chronicling her first 100-day foray into the Land of Raw Foods on YouTube. It's been a joy to witness the very visible physical and emotional transformation in her as she's fully engaged in a 100% raw, living foods diet. Her public sharing has been a source of inspiration to many who've watched her shed forty excess pounds and emerge a vibrant and vital young woman.

Long about Day 75 a troll showed up in the comments: "Stop fooling everyone into thinking you eat only raw foods. You're too fat and you're giving the whole raw foods movement a bad name..."

Mr. Troll (read: toe jam, ignoramus, jerk) had much more to say before he was forcibly vaporized from cyberspace, but not before my own hackles went up. You see, I know that berating voice of the troll all too well – it's taken up residence in my own head longer than I care to admit.

For years, I had a desire to do yoga. But I never acted upon the desire. Why? Because the voice in my head told me I couldn't possibly do yoga. I do not have a yoga body (translate: very thin, lithe body). I don't look like someone who does yoga is supposed to look. I have boobs. Hips. A belly. Can't wear a unitard or one of those midriff-exposing, little spaghetti-strap numbers.

Despite my size, I do have a very flexible body. I am still able to do the splits. And if I didn't have something resembling a small buddha belly that gets in the way, I could probably still take my right foot and place it upon my left shoulder. Really. Somewhere around my own Day 75, I discovered Mega Yoga™ – the first yoga program for curvy women – developed by plus-size model Megan Garcia. I got a mat and began the daily practice of hatha yoga in the confines of my own living room. My body loved it!

After moving down the insurance charts from "morbidly obese" to "obese" (hey, I'm fast approaching just plain ole "overweight" and you can bet we're gonna have a party about it!), I kicked that freakin' troll to the curb along with a good 85 pounds of fat and declared I'm taking a yoga class! Screw the image of the perfect body I'm supposed to have. It's all an illusion anyway. Some crazy preconceived notion I've come up with to prevent me from doing 101 things because of the way I look (and feel).

I know all about the Mind-Body Connection. How you feel physically, determines how you feel mentally. How you feel mentally, determines how you feel physically. But my internal radar is waaaaaay off kilter. Whacked. Off the Richter scale.

So. I quelled the inner demons and signed up. Eight weeks. Yoga. With other people in the room.

photo: myyogaonline.com

I had totally prepared myself beforehand for the fact that I would most likely be the largest person in the room. My mantra the whole time I was driving there: Just be on your mat.

What I was NOT prepared for were the mirrors. Mirrors. Everywhere. What cruel and unusual punishment is this? Oh, the horror.

Panic. Breathe. Just be on your mat.

I stayed. I didn't go running out of the room.

Mountain pose. Upward Salute. Standing Forward Bend. Lunge. Plank. Staff. Upward Facing Dog. Downward Facing Dog. Lunge. Standing Forward Bend. Upward Salute. Mountain. Put them all together and you get a Sun Salutation. Flow through this sequence six times and you sweat like a pig. Not so pretty. BUT, I gotta tell you, it sure feels good. My body really likes this stuff.

The more I'm able to practice and just be on my mat without the harsh self-judgments, the deeper and more intimate connection I have with my own body. Ninety whole minutes free from my mind wandering, planning, scheming, wishing, dreaming. There's a Sanskrit term, Samadhi, that essentially means an ecstatic state of expanded awareness and complete freedom from suffering. A diet of raw, living foods and yoga is going to be my path toward experiencing Samadhi. I just know it.

Maya doesn't have a yoga body either. But that doesn't stop her.

Do you have a troll that takes up residence in your head? What does it say you can't do?

The Winner Of The Cookbook Giveaway Is...

According to Mr. Random Number Generator, the winner of Fresh: The Ultimate Live-Food Cookbook by Sergei and Valya Boutenko is Sarah from Living The Fruity Life.

Here's how Sarah responded to the question What's your favorite fresh fruit and vegetable?

My favorite fresh fruit would be a Mango :o) My favorite veggie would be Celery. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!!! Sergei and Valya's experience is so inspirational. They were one of the first raw testimonies I ever heard about. I'd love to have their book!

I find the story of Sarah and her own raw family to be quite inspirational. If you've never been to her blog, I'd encourage a visit. You can read about her own journey into Raw Food Land and how she brought her husband and two children along for the ride. Ever wonder how to feed a family of four on raw, living foods? Take a tour of Sarah's kitchen!

I'd like to thank everyone who participated in my first giveaway. It was so much fun, I just might have to do another. And I would encourage anyone – raw foodist or not – who wants to add more fresh fruit and veggies and less processed foods into their diet, to pick up a copy of Fresh: The Ultimate Live-Food Cookbook.

A Fresh Review And Giveaway

I so thoroughly enjoyed Fresh: The Ultimate Live-Food Cookbook by Sergei and Valya Boutenko that I devoured it, cover to cover, in one sitting. To say it is just a cookbook, would be selling it far short. Sure it contains more than 250 raw, vegan recipes, but the real meat of the book is found within its first 50+ pages where Sergei and Valya cover such topics as:

• social situations where everyone is eating differently than you
• encouraging kids to try new foods and embrace healthy eating habits
• traveling raw
• benefits of green leafy vegetables
• foraging for wild edibles.

While many raw foodists can come across as preaching or even fanatical, Sergei and Valya are anything but. In fact, I found their playful approach to food preparation, a breath of fresh air. I also had to marvel at the apparent wisdom they possess, far beyond their years.

For those who are not familiar with this dynamic duo, their own story is a compelling one. The two siblings from the Raw Family, have been eating living foods for 15 years. Their parents had a host of serious medical conditions – the father suffered from severe hyperthyroid and rheumatoid arthritis, and the mother was morbidly obese and had developed arrhythmia – but it wasn't until Sergei was diagnosed with Type I (juvenile) diabetes at the age of nine, that their journey toward health and healing began. Determined that her son would not spend the rest of his life on insulin and endure the debilitating effects of juvenile diabetes, Victoria searched for a natural way to manage Sergei's disease.

As the medical doctors threatened to contact social services and have the children removed from the home, Victoria put her whole family on a raw diet. Eight-year-old Valya, who had suffered nightly asthma attacks, would never experience another one from that day forward. Slowly, the rest of the family began to regain their health and reverse chronic life-threatening conditions. Sergei's diabetes vanished without a trace.
Both developed a real passion for raw, living foods and went on to train at the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute. The recipes contained in Fresh span appetizers through desserts and for the most part are clear, concise, easy to follow and prepare (although at times, vague in preparation techniques). Most ingredients are readily available at traditional grocery stores or a whole foods market. If something can only be found in an ethnic or farmer's market, they tell you AND how to properly select and clean it (example: tropical or Asian fruits).

Despite their formal culinary training, it's evident these two have been playing with food since they were kids. They really encourage creativity, experimenting with different ingredients and improvising recipes.

Do you have to be a raw foodist to enjoy or benefit from this book? Absolutely not. If you are experiencing a health challenge, I would strongly suggest you take a look at this book. I'd also recommend it to anyone who wants to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables and less processed foods in their diet.

I am giving away a new copy of Fresh. All you have to do to enter is answer the question below in the Comments of this post. You have until midnight EST, Sunday, February 15. I'll use a random number generator to select a winner to be announced on Monday.

Question: What's your favorite fresh fruit and vegetable?