Time Sensitive Offer: Hurom Slow Juicer

Just a quickie. I had to show you what Santa done bring me.

A Hurom Slow Juicer! Shiny shiny. Pretty pretty. And, an oxymoron if ever I heard one. Trust me, there's nothing slow about this baby!

You've heard me extol the virtues of juicing before — here, here, and here — for starters. And you know how much I loooooove my Breville. But, friends, this lil' guy has rawked my world. I've been juicing up a storm since Christmas Day.

The lovely Kristen Suzanne recently did a comparison video(s) of the Green Star vs Breville vs Hurom, which I'd highly recommend watching. Kristen's a joy and she'll give you the lowdown — pros and cons — on all three popular brands. Spoiler alert: the Hurom wins as her pick, hands down.

I had to laugh today when I saw this tweet from rawfoodbliss on Twitter:

You Know You're a Raw Foodist When…your blender costs more than your car (and has a better warranty). 

To be honest, the Hurom Juicer is a substantial investment. But hey, think of it as health insurance. It also comes with a 10-year warranty. Has your insurance provider ever given you one of those?

Okay, so I didn't just want to show you what was under my Christmas tree. I also wanted to let you know about an unbelievable offer from the folks (aka Mr. & Mrs. Matt Monarch) at The Raw Food World.

There's only 48 hours left to take advantage of this amazing 17.5% OFF Holiday Coupon Code, as it expires at Midnight (PST), December 31st. 

It's good on any size order at The Raw Food World, simply by entering the coupon code HOLIDAY18, so go ahead and stock up on your favorite raw goodies...chia seeds, hemp oil, cacao nibs, almond butter, kelp noodles, etc.

The coupon code EXCLUDES all electrical appliances...EXCEPT...you guessed it, the Hurom Juicer!

By the way, the Monarch's also did a comparison video of the Hurom vs the Greenstar. Can you guess which was their favorite?

I hope you enjoy making use of this amazing offer — and also become the happy owner of a Hurom Slow Juicer in the new year!

Here's to your health. Cheers!

Season's Eatings: Holiday Recipe Roundup

As is tradition, my Hungarian clan – all 18 of us  –  will sit down together for Christmas Eve dinner. It's a diverse group of eaters — carnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, raw foodist, flextarian, gluten intolerant. And while there are some staunch vegetarians in the world who can't stand to be around meat, and some meat eaters who equate veg heads with the food police, my family's pretty laid back about it all. More choices means more food. And in my clan, it's all about the food – and lots of it!

Granted, my eating raw at first seemed drastic to them. Last year's holiday dinner felt to me more like a food intervention than a celebration, but we've come a long way since then. Mom no longer sees it as a personal affront if I don't eat her chicken paprikash, and everyone has become quite accustomed to the various dishes I've shared at family gatherings throughout the year. Some have even requested recipes. Imagine.

So we'll gather. And we'll feast. We'll tell stories and reminisce about Christmases past. Undoubtedly someone will raise a glass and toast Dad, who's been gone four Christmases now, and offer a blessing on the baby that's growing inside my niece. We'll eat too much and laugh too hard. The stuffed cabbage, chicken paprikash and kolbasz will share the table with winter kale salad and raw pumpkin pie. Carnivore and vegan will sit elbow to elbow, and at least for this one night, all will be right with the world.

Holiday Recipes In The Raw

Still don't know what to serve at your family gathering or bring to the neighbor's Holiday Open House? Well, have a look at this collection of raw eats. Something's bound to catch your eye (or your palette!). Merry Merry!

✵ Earth Mother's famous Holiday Sugar Plums. I dare you to eat just one!

✵ The Smells of the Season: Thumbprint Cookies, Fruity Peppermint Patties, Christmas Balls, Persimmon Nog, Cranberry Wine

✵ Sweet Potato Casserole & Cranberry Cashew Rice Pilaf: These were big hits at Thanksgiving. I've since made the pilaf with wild rice, rather than basmati, and I like it even better!

✵ Behold, the eighth wonder of the world: Ruby Red Grapefruit & Avocado Salad (inspired by my BFF Gwyneth Paltrow!)

✵ What's Christmas without Pumpkin Pie? This one's the bomb! I betcha no one suspects it's raw.

✵ Rawmazing, what an appropriate name: Walnut Cranberry Crackers with Cranberry Orange Spread from the oh so talented Susan Powers.

✵ I flipped when I discovered this gorgeous Winter Kale Salad with Cranberry Poppyseed Dressing. Then again, I have that reaction to most everything Diana Stobo creates.

✵ Chilled Holiday Nog: So creamy! No one would ever guess this is dairy free. I substitute out the maple syrup for local raw honey.

✵ Those pure2raw twins have done it again! I'm crazy for their Candy Cane Macaroons.

✵ Still stumped? Then get yourself a copy of Penni Shelton's Raw For The Holidays. Over 80 recipes! Downloads immediately.

What's on your menu this festive holiday season?

I'm Dreaming Of A Green Christmas

My Twitter pal DeepakChopra (we once sat next to each other on a cross-country flight) was recently asked, "What is the meaning of Christmas?"

His lovely answer: "A return to innocence as the Holy Child in all of us."

Beautiful. And yet, during this season that's supposed to be joyous, I encounter way too many people with a serious case of the crankies, bemoaning the traffic jams they face as well as the long lines at the mall. Count me among them. In year's past, I've strayed well beyond the path and lost sight of the holiday spirit as it was intended.

Not this year. I thought long and hard about how I could simplify my holiday "To Do" list and create a wondrous, twinkley season sans the commercialized packaging.

Give Green Gifts

✵ Plant a fruit tree for a healthier planet. The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) plants orchards at places such as public schools, city parks, low-income neighborhoods, Native American reservations, international hunger relief sites, and animal sanctuaries. FTPF has lovely certificates and organic apple tree grow kits that make wonderful gifts for friends and family.

✵ Giving a Gift of Fairness and Fair Trade from TransFair changes the world by changing the opportunities for farming families and the environment around the world. Starting at just $20, you can give pesticides a pink slip or a honey bee a hive. Cute!

✵ Seva (say-va) is a Sanskrit word for service. Seva Foundation was formed by Ram Dass in 1978 with a mission to alleviate suffering caused by disease and poverty. Giving a Gift of Service is a lovely way to honor friends, family and colleagues. I love these two in particular: sponsor a cataract operation and restore sight to a blind person, or provide seeds for a one-acre community garden on a Native American reservation.

✵ Provide a safe haven for tropical wildlife and slow global warming when you plant a rainforest tree in honor of a friend or family member. For each $10 you give, the National Resources Defense Council will plant a sapling in a newly rejuvenated rainforest in Costa Rica.

✵ The lovely Sarma Melngailis is running a very generous promotion until midnight, December 20th. Hurry! Purchase a One Lucky Duck Gift Card online, and you'll receive one for FREE. The bigger your gift card amount, the more your free gift is worth. The best part? Gift cards can be used toward raw goodies at the online store, at both One Lucky Duck locations (Gramercy and Chelsea Market), and at Pure Food and Wine for dinner. Gift cards can be redeemed anytime, with no expiration date.

✵ Email a personalized Amazon Gift Card that can be redeemed for a b'zillion items online, no joke. No fees and no expiration either.

✵ Check out Tree Hugger's Green Gift Guide. You'll find even more creative eco-friendly ideas for the foodies, techies or fashionistas in your life.

✵ Another alternative for a green gift is to trade favors rather than purchasing store-bought gifts. Make a nice gift card and offer a night of babysitting, a home-cooked meal, or some gardening help come spring.

How are you simplifying and greening your holiday this year?

Nature's Prozac: Hot Chocolate In The Raw

Oh baby, it's cold outside. Didn't break 20 degrees here today. And with the wind chill factored in, well, let's not even go there.

Cutest thing I heard this week: Aimee (aka A Bitt of Raw) said it was so cold in Seattle, she turned on her self-cleaning oven to warm up the house. That's one way for a raw foodist to make use of her oven! Usually, the only time it gets turned on is when making dog biscuits. Her poor pooches gathered round, thinking they were getting homemade treats. No such luck.

My fur kid and I went hiking in this frigid weather today. Crazy? Yes, but you'll recall that I have a Siberian husky and she's over the moon when the temperature drops like this. Me, not so much. Once home, I threw another log on the fire and immediately set to work on warming my innards.

Hot Chocolate In The Raw

A raw cacao bean contains over 300 identifiable chemical compounds, making it one of the most  complex food substances on Earth. Here's just a small sampling of the goodies:

• Anandamide, a neurotransmitter known as "the bliss chemical"
• Arginine, nature's aphrodisiac
• Magnesium for healthy heart function
• Serotonin, anti-stress neurotransmitter
• Tryptophan, anti-depressant amino acid
• Phenylethylamine, controls the ability to focus attention and stay alert
• Polyphenols, antioxidants

Suffer from seasonal affective disorder, or the winter blues? Start drinking your Hot Chocolate, in the raw!

4 C almond milk*
4 ounces raw cacao beans
1/2 C raw honey
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1/4 tsp nutmeg

*Instructables: How to Milk an Almond

Blend ingredients on high speed until smooth and creamy. If you have a high-powered blender, you can continue blending until the mixture begins to heat up. Or, you can warm your hot chocolate using one of the methods I mentioned here — either using a double boiler or a mason jar submerged in hot water.

Pour into your favorite (pre-warmed) mug and enjoy! Wanna really warm your tum-tum? Make like a Mayan and sprinkle in a wee bit of cayenne pepper before serving. Fire down below!

How 'bout a little somethin' somethin' to go with your hot chocolate? You might sample my Holiday Sugar Plums or nosh on these beauties.

Thumbprint Cookies
Yields two dozen cookies

Dough:
1 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
2 C almond meal
1/4 C raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 C raw nuts, finely chopped

Filling:
1/2 C raspberries (thawed, frozen raspberries can be used)
1/4 C raw honey

To make the dough: In a food processor, blend zucchini until pureed. Add almond meal and pulse until mixed. Transfer into a large bowl, add the honey, vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, salt and mix well by hand. Chill dough in freezer for 20-30 minutes.

Shape into small balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. Roll each ball in chopped nuts and place on a dehydrator tray lined with a ParaFlexx sheet. Using your thumb, make an indentation into the center of each ball.

Dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 4 hours. Remove the ParaFlexx sheet. Dehydrate another 2-3 hours. Climate, temperature and humidity all affect dehydrating time. The cookies should be crispy on the outside and still moist inside.

To make the filling: Blend together raspberries and honey to make a jam. Fill the center of each cookie as it comes out of the dehydrator.


What do you have planned for this winter weekend? Snuggle up to someone you love and stay warm!

How To Stay Warm & Raw This Winter

A wicked winter storm is blanketing the country in rain, ice and snow as it makes its way eastward. We're expected to see gale-force winds here today. Batten down the hatches!

It's no wonder I've been barraged with emails this week from folks asking, Hey, how do you eat raw food and stay warm in the winter?

I think there's a real misconception that raw food means cold food. Granted, my food doesn't arrive steaming hot at the table. But, even when it used to, I always had to wait for it to cool down a bit, lest I get a nasty tongue burn. Generally, I heat my food between 105-115 degrees to retain its life-giving nutritional value. It doesn't scald my mouth and it's a very pleasant warm temperature at which to serve food.

Perhaps the best way to address the issue of staying warm while eating raw is to dust off an article I wrote last year.

— Originally published 22 November 2008 —

Yes, he's back. I was kinda hoping Jack Frost would just forget about us this year, but lo, I awoke to a winter wonderland yesterday – a good six inches covering the ground and another five since then. With the change in seasons and plummeting temperatures, you wouldn't believe the number of people that have asked, "Won't you be cold eating raw food in the winter?" Funny thing, I never once had anyone ask in years past, "Aren't you hot eating cooked food in the summer?"

I have to admit though, back in September, even I started to question How am I going to do this in the winter? When the seasons turn, there's nothing I love more than a bowl of homemade soup to warm my innards. The good news: raw soup does not have to mean cold soup.

Make friends with a double boiler. It's great for warming foods slowly. You'll want to stir often and not let the soup boil – if you can stick your finger in without getting scalded, you're good to go. Don't have a double boiler? Pour your soup into a glass mason jar with a lid and submerge the jar in a bath of hot water to warm it up. I also like to pre-warm my soup bowl.

Another way to stoke your inner fire is to spice up your food with warming herbs like garlic, ginger, anise, cayenne, curry, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, and peppercorns. "That'll get your blood moving!" as my Dad used to say. 

Actually, the reason why many people cannot tolerate cold temperatures is due to poor capillary circulation and weakened adrenals. More good news: the longer you maintain a diet of raw living foods, your circulation improves naturally and your adrenals strengthen, so you should be able to tolerate the cold better than ever before.

In a recent newsletter, raw food chef and author Cherie Soria of the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute included some additional tips for eating raw in colder climates:

• For breakfast or an afternoon snack, have raw almond butter with apples or bananas. If you're brave, sprinkle a generous dose of cayenne on top for an extra kick.
• Use hot water instead of cold water in your smoothies and blended soups.
• Wash your refrigerated produce in warm water or put it in a warm water bath for a few minutes before using it.
• Pour nearly boiling water over your refrigerated broccoli or cauliflower and let it rest for a few minutes to warm it up before using it in salads, pates, or other dishes that will be consumed immediately.
• Make a warm soup of finely julienned vegetables and hot water. Add mushroom powder, tamari, and grated fresh ginger to boost the flavor.
• Drink a cup of warm ginger tea sweetened with a little agave syrup or stevia before bedtime. It will help you warm those cold sheets.

If you're like me and love a good soup on a winter's day, here's two seasonal delights that will have you singing, Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Curried Coconut Soup

meat and water from one young coconut
3 C carrots, grated
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp grated ginger root
cayenne to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Creamy Tomato Soup

4 tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 avocado
1/2 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp agave
salt and minced hot peppers to taste

Combine ingredients in a blender and pulse until the desired consistency is reached – creamy or slightly chunky, as you prefer.

What's your favorite winter weather food?

A Feast For The Eyes: Smoothie à la Français

Sometimes, looking is enough.

And, sometimes, you just have to give in to temptation.

Friday Food Porn

Parlez-vous français? Not I. Here's the extent of my French: 

Mon nom est mère de terre. (My name is Earth Mother.)
Fermez la fenêtre s'il vous plaît. (Close the window please.)
Je ne comprends pas. (I do not understand.)

I may not be able to hold a conversation with you, but say anything to me in French, and I'll swoon. Recite the Yellow Pages to me with a French accent, and I get weak in the knees. Mmm, talk about a Romance language!

Imagine my sheer delight when I discovered Croqué Cru, a raw food website in French. Oo la la, just look at this creamy smoothie à la courge musquée. Allow me to translate: butternut squash smoothie (although pumpkin-pie-in-a-glass might be more accurate). Squash, almond milk, dates, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, ginger — a lovely nog for an autumn day, ne convenez-vous pas?

Why not visit Geneveive and feed your own inner voyeur? She has très sexy raw vegan recipes. Of course, if your command of the French language is as good as mine, you might want to stop by Google Translate too.

Live a little. It's the weekend.

Have You Had Your Plant Blood Today?

So have you recovered from the gluttonous feast known as Thanksgiving Dinner? Is it just my Hungarian clan or can your family turn a holiday (emphasis on day) into a weekend eat-a-thon too? Lordy! And to think I used to partake in the spree. Yikes, my insides hurt just thinking about all the calories and cholesterol.

While I no longer gorge myself on the traditional T-Day fare, I do partake in foods much richer than I'm accustomed to eating — walnuts, pecans, almonds, dates, raw honey. I typically eat very simple meals of fresh fruits, veggies or sea vegetables, and my first meal of the day is always freshly extracted juice.

I noticed a difference in how I felt as soon as I opened my eyes on Friday morning. Heavy. Sluggish. A little bit fuzzy in my thinking. I didn't like it. Crazy to think that I used to feel that way all.the.time. Ick!

When I learned that Sunday was International Juice Feasting Day, I was all, "Count me in!" As I said, my first meal of the day is always a quart of juice, but sometimes I like to give my body a break and juice all my meals. After all, digestion is hard work. A periodic juice fast, or extended feast, is a wonderful practice to adopt.

People from 16 different countries joined Dave the Raw Food Trucker on Sunday for the first International Juice Feasting Day. If you don't know Dave, do yourself a favor and watch some of his YouTube videos. Here's a recent one I particularly love. Dave's been juice feasting for 120 days and has dropped over 200 pounds. He has experienced an astounding transformation physically, emotionally and spiritually.

But one needn't juice feast for 120 days to benefit. My friend Kristen Suzanne calls fresh vegetable juice "plant blood" and I think it's fitting for something that's loaded with organic water, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.

A juicer will separate the juice from the fiber, leaving you with only pure organic hydration. That's water derived from plant sources, folks, and it's essential for encouraging and nourishing healthy cells.

By removing the fiber, our digestive systems get a break and that nutrient-rich plant blood can pass directly into our bloodstream and start going to work on a cellular level. It's a terrific way to supercharge your immune system and purge loads of toxins from your body.

On International Juice Feasting Day, I enjoyed a quart of Beetific Elixir and a couple quarts of this Green Lemonade:

1 bunch Romaine
2 stalks celery
1 cucumber
1 handful dulse
2 Gala apples
1 lemon
1 inch fresh ginger root

Would you ever consider doing an extended juice feast like Dave?