Giving Thanks

We return thanks to our Mother, the Earth, which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs,
which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and stars,
which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to the sun,
that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in whom is embodied all goodness,
and who directs all things for the good of her children.
~ an Iroquois Thanksgiving Prayer (adapted)

However you celebrate and whatever you choose to eat,
wishing each of you a bountiful and beautiful Thanksgiving.
I certainly count you among my blessings.
Thank you.

Thanksgiving In The Raw: Take Two

photo: evergreen

Anyone else in deep denial that Thanksgiving is next week? I mean, wasn't it just Labor Day?

Ready or not, here we go, the start of another holiday season. Fa la la la la.

Last year marked My First Thanksgiving In The Raw. Trust me when I say, raw on T-Day doesn't have to mean the crudité platter at the end of the buffet. It can be the buffet...and the dessert table...and the leftovers in the fridge too.

If this is your first Thanksgiving sans turkey, like it was mine last year, it can seem a bit daunting. But think about it, in a traditional feast, what's the only non-veg dish on the table? Gobble gobble. All the typical side dishes – mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans – are all vegetarian.

People eat vegetarian and even vegan food (gasp!) every day – they just don't label it that way. So why throw a label of raw or uncooked on a dish? Let the food speak for itself.

BYO

Even Emily Post says it's perfectly okay to supply a dish you can eat, as long as you ask the host ahead of time. So, that's just what I did.

I came armed with four delicious recipes I had prepared. Didn't say a word about raw food to my large Hungarian clan. I simply added my dishes to the buffet table, and bless their bulging waistlines, they ate them.

Two weeks ago, long before I even had Thanksgiving on the brain, my eldest brother called. He wanted to request I bring the Waldorf Salad again. I should point out, this is the very same brother who not all that long ago inquired, Are You Ever Going To Eat "Real" Food Again? Hmm, what a difference a year makes.

I received an email last week from my nephew who wanted to make sure I was bringing "that killer pecan pie" to Thanksgiving dinner this year.

See, good food speaks for itself.

You'll find the recipes for both the Waldorf Salad and the Pecan Pie here, in addition to Garlic Green Beans and Cauliflower L'Orange.

I've been playing with a couple of new recipes that I think I'll bring along as well. Always nice to have a selection. And, like last year, I'll have a large green smoothie before I venture over the river and through the woods to my family.


Sweet Potato Casserole

4 C sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Macintosh apples, cored and sliced
1 C walnuts, ground
1/2 C pecans, chopped
2 orange, juiced
1/2 cup dates, soaked
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp Celtic salt
1/4 C raw honey

Place half of the walnuts, sweet potatoes, apples, orange juice, dates, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a food processor and puree. Pour into a serving dish.

In a separate bowl, toss the remaining walnuts with the pecans, salt, and honey. Scatter over the top of the puree.

If desired, warm in a dehydrator or low oven prior to serving.


Cranberry Cashew Rice Pilaf

2 C basmati rice, soaked
1 C dried cranberries, soaked
1 C cashews, chopped
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp Celtic salt

To soak rice: place two cups rice in two cups filtered water for one day, or until desired softness is reached. Rinse and change water once or twice. Wash, rinse well and drain before making recipe.

Place soaked rice in a large mixing bowl and toss with remaining ingredients. How easy is that?

Again, you may warm this in a dehydrator or low oven prior to serving if desired.


What's on your Thanksgiving Day menu? If you have recipes to share, please leave a link in the comment as this is an "I Follow" blog — leave a comment here and Google will chase you all the way back to your site!

Persimmons 101: Fuyu vs Hachiya

No doubt you've probably noticed bins of what look like small orange tomatoes make a recent appearance in the produce aisle. These cuties are actually not tomatoes at all, but persimmons. And, lucky you, they're in season.

There's hundreds of varieties of persimmon, but the two types you're most likely to encounter are Fuyu and Hachiya.

You can recognize a Fuyu by its squat shape and flat bottom. The Hachiya, on the other hand, is slighty elongated and comes to a point at the bottom. While both are orange in color, they have very distinct tastes and textures.

The Fuyu is firm, crunchy and mildly sweet. You can eat it just like an apple, skin and all.

If you encounter a firm Hachiya – and you likely will because that's how they're picked and shipped – do not bite into it...unless of course, you want to pucker up and gag. The Hachiya is highly astringent until ripe. Best to take them home and place them upside down (point up) on a window sill to ripen. It may take up to a week, but your patience will pay off.

When fully ripe, the Hachiya will turn bright orange-red in color and rather mushy. I should warn you, the jelly-like, slippery texture can be a turnoff, but the taste is incredibly sweet and rich. Once ripe, they don't keep very well. You'll want to eat them right away, or you can spoon out the goopy flesh and store it in an airtight container in the freezer.

Two distinct varieties means two recipes for you. Enjoy!

Fuyu-Pomegranate Salad

3 Fuyu persimmons, cubed
1 Gala apple, cored and cubed
1 Anjou pear, cored and sliced
handful of fresh mint, rough chopped
1/4 C pomegranate seeds

Vinaigrette:
1 orange, juiced
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 Tbsp raw honey
1/4 C cold-pressed olive oil
2 Tbsp champagne vinegar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with vinaigrette to distribute evenly. Serve over a bed of fresh baby spinach or mâche.


Hachiya Autumn Smoothie

3 ripe Hachiya persimmons
1 frozen banana
2 C almond milk
1/4 tsp allspice

Give the persimmons a whirl in the blender. Add the remaining ingredients and blend away. Serve in your prettiest stemware.

The Experts Weigh In On The Optimum Diet

People like to label things and raw foodists are no different. There's a label right there: "raw foodist." How do you get to be one of those? Purists would say you must consume only raw, living foods not heated above 108 degrees. Do that, and you're 100% raw. Or perhaps you're high raw, eating a primarily plant-based diet but still consuming some cooked foods. Are you vegan? Vegetarian? Fruitarian? Do you eat 80-10-10 or 811rv? No salt? Low fat? Mono meals? Superfoods?

It can make your head spin.

Raw food gurus? They're a dime a dozen. Written a book? Welcome to the party, you're a guru.

No gurus here. I'm just the fat chick who traded in her frequent flyer miles at the drive-thru windows for a diet rich in raw living foods and in the process, shed the weight equivalent of another adult female.

Still, I have folks write and ask me all the time, "What am I allowed to eat?"

As someone who developed a very complicated and convoluted relationship with food at a rather young age, and who's spent the better part of the last 16 months Changing My Relationship With Food, I am the last person on the planet who will ever tell you what you are "allowed" to eat.

Don't know where to start? Have a look at the 20 Raw Food Groups. Lots of variety to choose from here. But how to put it all together?

My own journey into the land of raw living foods began with The Raw Food Detox Diet and I can't say enough about nutritionist Natalia Rose or her program. Shopping lists, menu plans, recipes, this book's got it all going on. A Day In The Life gives you a peek at what my own transition looked like.

The best advice I can give out is this: take your cues from your own body. Different bodies have different needs at different times. When it comes to nutrition, there is no one-size-fits-all.

The Experts Weigh In

On January 14, 2006, a group of doctors, educators and raw living food chefs gathered at the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida, for the first International Living Food Summit. Since then, this historic Summit has reconvened twice — on April 28, 2007 and May 2, 2009 — to establish scientifically based common standards for optimum health.

Leaders from eight countries (with a combined total of over 500 years following the raw foods lifestyle) agreed on the following:

The Optimum Diet for Health & Longevity

• Vegan (no animal products of any kind, cooked or raw)
• Organic
• Whole Foods
• At least 80% raw (the remaining to be vegan, whole food, and organic)
• High in nutrition such as vitamins, antioxidants and phytonutrients
• Highly mineralized
• Contains a significant quantity of chlorophyll-rich green foods
• Contains adequate complete protein from plant sources
• Provides excellent hydration with a large proportion of high-water content foods and pure water
• Includes raw vegetable juices
• Contains all essential fatty acids from naturally occurring plant sources
• Has moderate, yet adequate caloric intake
• Contains only low to moderate sugar and exclusively from whole food sources (fruitarianism is strongly discouraged)
• Contains minimal amounts of unprocessed salts, as needed (depending upon your constitution)
• Is nutritionally optimal for both detoxification and rebuilding
  
  

They also agree:

• Eating local, ripe, seasonally-available foods as appropriate is advisable.
• Deficiencies of both Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin D-3 are common issues for mental and physical health, for anyone on any diet. Plant-based supplementation of Vitamin B-12 is imperative. Adequate Vitamin D levels can be maintained with sufficient sun exposure. When exposure is inadequate, take appropriate levels of plant-based Vitamin D-3.
• The addition of enzyme-active superfoods and whole food supplements is also advised but does not take the place of the optimum diet described above.
• Caffeinated and/or addictive substances (even in their raw form), such as cacao/chocolate, coffee, caffeinated teas, and alcohol are highly discouraged.
• This way of eating can be further optimized by tailoring it based on individual needs (within the principles stated).
• Benefits derived by following these principles are proportional to how well they are followed.
• We will remain open-minded, and this information will be updated and expanded upon, if necessary, as new research becomes available.
• Diet is a critical part of a healthy lifestyle, yet not the entire picture. A full-spectrum, health-supportive lifestyle is encouraged. This includes physical exercise, exposure to sunshine, as well as psychological health. Avoiding environmental toxins and toxic products is essential. Paramount is pure water (for consumption and bathing), the use of natural-fiber clothing, and non-toxic personal care products. Also consider healthy options in home furnishings/building materials and related items.

All participating leaders agree that eating according to the International Living Food Summit Guidelines will significantly address the urgent issues of health, environmental sustainability, world hunger, and a compassionate respect for all life.

The following leaders support this Summit Statement:

Fred Bisci, PhD – USA
Tamera Campbell – Vision – USA
Katharine Clark, RN, CMT, CCT – USA
Brenda Cobb – Living Foods Institute – USA
Gabriel Cousens, MD, MD(H) – Diplomat American Board of Holistic Medicine – USA
Anna Maria Clement, CN, NMD, PhD – Hippocrates Health Institute – USA
Brian Clement, CN, NMD, PhD – Hippocrates Health Institute – USA
Karin Dina, DC – RawFoodEducation.com – USA
Rick Dina, DC – RawFoodEducation.com – USA
Dorit – Green Lifestyle Film Festival – USA/Israel
Carole Dougoud – Institute Haute Vitalite – Switzerland
Kare Engstrom – Dietician – Sweden
John Eagle Freedom – Health City – USA
Laura Gonzalez – GWAH Healing Institute – USA
Jane Holmes – Living Foods Institute – USA
Elizabeth Kapadia, DN – GWAH Healing Institute – USA
Viktoras Kulvinskas – “Grandfather” of the Living Foods Movement – USA/Costa Rica
Dan Ladermann – Institute for Vibrant Living – USA
Marie Christine Lhermitte – Chemin du mas Magnuel – France
George Malkmus – Hallelujah Acres – USA
Rhonda Malkmus – Hallelujah Acres – USA
Paul Nison – The Raw Life – USA
David Rainoshek, MA – JuiceFeasting.com – USA
Katrina Rainoshek – JuiceFeasting.com – USA
Claudine Richard, Naturopath – France
Michael Saiber – Vision, E3Live – USA
Jameth Sheridan, ND – HealthForce Nutritionals – USA
Cherie Soria – Living Light Culinary Institute – USA
Diana Store – RawSuperfoods.com – UK/The Netherlands
Jill Swyers – Living Foods For Health – UK/Portugal
Walter J. Urban, PhD – USA/Costa Rica

While the experts have weighed in, I'd be interested in knowing what works for you at this time in your life. Please, share in the comments below.

A Foodie's Best Friend: Recipes Galore!

Recipes, kitchen gadgets and beautiful food photos are a foodie's drug of choice. And this week, I feel like I discovered an opium den.

I had the good fortune Wednesday of being chosen as the Food Blog of the Day on Foodista. If, like me, you've never explored this online "Cooking Encyclopedia," you're in for a real treat.

Deciding to take the Meatless Monday campaign a step further, the Foodista blog just wrapped up a Very Vegan and Vegetarian Week with lots of yummy recipes and links to explore.

A true foodie loves all things culinary and Foodista can keep you busy for hours, whatever your particular passion and interest. Wanna learn about a Fruit Muddle? This is the place. How 'bout Tempranillo Grapes? Or, next time you prepare a citrus dish, try this technique: Suprêming.

You can even upload your own recipes. So, if you've got something fabulous to share with the food-loving community, go on and add it to Foodista!

More Recipes To Explore

Yesterday, In The Raw found itself on the Top 10 Raw Food and Raw-Related Blogs. That the list was compiled by the multi-talented chef, author and restaurateur Sarma Melngailis, someone I deeply admire and respect, makes it all the more meaningful.

I happily found two blogs on the list I was not previously familiar with. Maybe you'll make a new discovery too.

Okay foodies, whether you're into recipes, cookbooks, photography or kitchenware: What's your favorite culinary haunt on the web?

A Virtual Health Retreat Awaits You

Been dreaming of a health retreat at a beautiful resort, but either time or money – or perhaps both – prevent you from going? What if I told you that I know of an amazing place that adapts to your schedule and charges absolutely nothing? For real. I've been there!

A bit overwhelming at first, but the folks at the Hospitality Desk were so kind and helpful that I quickly felt right at home. After grabbing a delicious smoothie in the Liquid Lounge, I began exploring.

The place is huge...a Fitness Room, Wellness Center, Spa. I hooked up with some fellow yoga enthusiasts and discovered a 10,000 Step Walking Club. There's a well-stocked Library of books related to raw living foods, natural health, wellness — even a group that meets regularly to discuss Louise Hay's bestseller You Can Heal Your Life.

You wouldn't believe who I found doing cooking demos in the Culinary Center: Ani Phyo, Philip McCluskey, Jennifer Cornbleet, Karen Knowler, Rawdawg Rory, Victoria Boutenko, and even more culinary wizards from the international raw foods community.

And holy guacamole, the Kitchen! I could spend hours in there, sampling delectable raw desserts, soups, entrees, and a bountiful salad bar.

Did I mention the organic Garden? Oh yeah, and a Greenhouse, overflowing with salad greens, sprouts, and trays of wheatgrass. And listen, that's only a taste of what's available. There's even a special place just for kids to hang out and chill.

Okay, really, you need to experience Raw Food Rehab for yourself. You'll find a wonderful support community as you renew your health with a diet rich in raw and living foods.

Over 550 people have already checked in and are participating in an 11 Week Total Health & Weight Loss Initiative that's now underway through December 31st. But new members can join in anytime and benefit from the ongoing education, resources and support. And I guarantee you, the lovely director, Penni Shelton, will make you feel right at home.

So what are you waiting for? Add some life to your years and years to your life — check into Raw Food Rehab today. See you in the Kitchen!