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How To Make Kombucha

Published on: October 18, 2011 · 2 Comments

Kombucha tea made from Rooibos (Red Bush tea)

Kombucha is a tart and refreshing fermented beverage with a taste reminiscent of apple cider. It is loaded with beneficial yeast and bacteria that will help re-establish your healthy gut bacteria. In fact the weird, gel-like kombucha culture that resembles a jellyfish, is called a SCOBY. That’s an acronym for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. Kombucha is an ancient, home-made folk remedy. It was very popular in Russia and Eastern Asia. It was reportedly used by the Chinese 2,000 years ago. In the early 1950s Russian scientists did quite a bit of research into the beneficial properties of kombucha with respect to treating cancer after finding that there was an extremely low incidence of cancer among the people of certain regions, even though pollution and environmental toxins in those regions were so bad the trees and fish were dying. The scientists were doing a really thorough study of the food that was consumed and other reasonable habits these people [...] Read more »

Categories: All Recipes, Beverages, Dairy Free, Fermented Foods, Fermented Foods Recipes, Gluten Free, Raw Foods Recipes, Superfoods, Wheat Free

How To Make Sesame Tahini – Take 2

Published on: October 16, 2011 · 7 Comments

I think this is a better way to make raw sesame tahini than my previous raw tahini recipe. It is very close, in both taste, texture and consistency, to ‘normal’ tahini, and it will keep for much longer too. It takes a longer to make, but only requires a bit more effort since most of that extra time is dehydrating the sesame seeds. Considering you can make a larger batch at a time, because it will keep for longer, I think it’s well worth the extra effort. Sesame seeds are very high in calcium, but the problem with eating them whole is they often pass right through your digestive tract without being assimilated at all. Tahini (ground sesame paste) is a great way to consume sesame seeds because it’s so much easier to digest and assimilate. Normally the sesame tahini you find in stores is not raw. The sesame seeds have been toasted prior to making the tahini. I’ve found [...] Read more »

Categories: All Recipes, Dairy Free, Dehydrator Recipes, Gluten Free, Raw Foods Recipes, Vegan, Wheat Free - Tags: coconut oil, sesame seeds

Apple Juice Apple Cider Vinegar Tonic

Published on: August 22, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Apple cider vinegar is so good for you, and has so many health benefits (read more about the benefits of apple cider vinegar) that I recommend everyone incorporate it into their daily routine. It’s one of the quickest, simplest things you can do, but the results can be tremendous. There are entire books written on the benefits of ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar), it seems to help with nearly everything that ails us human beings. But if, like me, you don’t particularly like the smell and/or taste of vinegar, or you want something that even kids will like, try this ACV tonic. The cider vinegar makes the apple juice just slightly more tart, it’s barely noticeable. I’ve got a very acute sense of smell, I hate the smell of vinegar and I didn’t even detect it. Freshly squeezed organic apple juice is the best, of course. But if you don’t have access to a juicer, or fresh juice, be sure to [...] Read more »

Categories: All Recipes, Beverages, Dairy Free, Fermented Foods, Raw Foods Recipes, Sugar Free, Vegan, Wheat Free - Tags: apple cider vinegar, apple juice

Banana Maple Walnut Non Dairy Ice Cream

Published on: August 21, 2011 · 3 Comments

Raw Vegan Ice Cream: Banana Maple Walnut

Who doesn’t love ice cream? But with all the sugar, and additives and pasteurized milk, it’s not the healthiest of desserts, unless… you make your own non dairy, non soy, raw vegan ice cream. It’s healthy, delicious, and it only takes 10 or 15 minutes to make. A great way to deal with ripe bananas is to peel them and freeze them. I just put them into freezer bags, about 4 bananas per bag, tie the end shut and put them in the freezer so they lie flat. When I find bananas on sale I buy lots, or I order a whole box from the organic wholesalers. They will always get ripe faster than I can use them, but as they do, it’s easy to freeze them. Then you always have them on hand to use in smoothies or quick non dairy vegan ice cream any time you want. Read more »

Categories: All Recipes, Dairy Free, Desserts, Raw Foods Recipes, Raw Vegan Desserts, Raw Vegan Ice Cream Recipe, Vegan, Wheat Free - Tags: agave syrup, bananas, cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla

Roasted Sweet Potato, Rosemary & Orange

Published on: August 8, 2011 · 1 Comment

Roasted Sweet Potato with Rosemary & Orange

Roasting sweet potatoes really brings out their natural sweetness and almost caramelizes them and the addition of orange juice, mandarin slices and fresh rosemary works with the flavor of the sweet potatoes to create a subtle but very tasty dish. It’s great served warm or cold the next day. It’s really filling too, I’ll often have just this and a big salad. In New Zealand, sweet potatoes are commonly called kumara, and they were brought here by the first settlers, the Maori for whom they were an important staple crop. They come in a variety of different colors, which all have slightly different flavors, but any kind can be used for this recipe. Read more »

Categories: All Recipes, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan, Wheat Free - Tags: agave, cinnamon, garlic, honey, kumara, mandarin, orange, rosemary, sweet potato, walnuts

Blueberry Orange Smoothie with Acai Berry

Published on: August 7, 2011 · Leave a Comment

When it comes to quick and simple recipes with high nutritional benefits, smoothies are at the top of my list. In an almost unbelievable stroke of good fortune I happened to be looking in a part of the freezer section of my local supermarket that I usually ignore. The supermarket has recently moved everything around, and in my hunt for my favorite organic frozen blueberries I happened to see a few boxes of frozen acai berry puree for less than a quarter of their normal retail price. What!? True. I bought 3 boxes, but I wish now, after having come up with this awesomely delicious smoothie, that I had grabbed all of them. Even though this is yet another blueberry smoothie recipe (and I put blueberries in almost all my smoothies), the fresh, tart flavor of the freshly squeezed orange juice and acai berry make this my favorite so far. In case you’re one of the dozen or so people [...] Read more »

Categories: All Recipes, Beverages, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Raw Foods Recipes, Smoothies, Superfoods, Vegan, Wheat Free - Tags: acai berry, banana, blueberries, orange

Carob Mint Superfood Smoothie

Published on: June 17, 2011 · Leave a Comment

This carob superfood smoothie has become my latest addiction. They are so good I sometimes have them twice a day. And I don’t mean, have a glassful, I’m talking the whole blenderful! Kids would love this smoothie! They are great cold, like a thick non-dairy milkshake, if you use frozen bananas and let the mint tea cool before making the smoothie. But they are equally nice if you use fresh (not frozen) bananas and make it while the mint tea is still warm (not too hot though). It’s winter here in New Zealand, and it’s just turned really cold. I always find it hard to stick to a predominantly raw food diet when the weather turns cold, and amazingly just having these warm smoothies in the morning, and warm tea at night is making it really easy. Read more »

Categories: All Recipes, Beverages, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Raw Foods Recipes, Smoothies, Sugar Free, Superfoods - Tags: banana, carob, chia, honey, lucuma, maca, mesquite, mint