Pretty Plates from Days Five and Six

Kale Caesar Salad, with Anchovies, Rosemary Croutons, and Parmesan Cheese. I found this to be a rich salad with many complex flavors. It's tangy, crunchy, and salty.

Tuber Hand Roll with Mango Chutney. Not the prettiest plate. I had a very hard time rolling the nori.

Sesame Noodles with Tamari Almonds. The two things I do not like to eat are yogurt and zucchini noodles. I loved the sauce, but I can't get past the texture of zucchini. I gave this one to one of roommates who ate all of it.

Pineapple-mango smoothie with Cashew Milk. This was my first original recipe. I had no idea there was a science to smoothies. Based on that science, I made a smoothie I was happy with. Since it's an original, I can share it with you all.

Tropical Colada Smoothie

1 cup cashew milk (made from scratch, but you can buy it from the store)
2 frozen bananas
1 cup diced pineapple
1 diced mango
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon agave
pinch o salt

Blend, and enjoy!

Love,
Althea

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Pretty Plates from Days Five and Six

Day Three and Four

Day Three ended with fermentation. From left to right: pickled ginger, pickles, and kimchi.

Day Four began with knife skills. I am getting better! I used a ruler and took my time. My teacher said she could see the improvement.

This is a Pumpkin Spice Smoothie, in a bowl. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was better than I though it would be. We are learning how to "build" smoothies. This had carrot juice in it, which I enjoy but not in smoothies. But this was really yummy.

Zucchini Tartare. As WOW as it looks. My roommates lost their minds over this dish. They asked me to make it everyday. That's how much they enjoyed it. It's a clean, simple, and bright appetizer. The purpose of this was to focus on small dice cuts and plating.

Finally, Kale Chips. I had never made them before. They smelled wonderful in the dehydrator. The yellow/orange coating is a cashew-nutritional yeast blend with spices. I added garlic and cilantro to my mix. Addictively good. 

So I am still fighting a cold. I pushed through Day 4, probably to my detriment. I spent most of my birthday in bed (my birthday was Saturday). I did get some rest and slept through the night Sunday. I just happen to be off work today. The plan is to finish Day 5 and shop for Week 2. Wish me luck :-).

Love,

A

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Day Three and Four

My First "Thickie"

No, a Thickie is not a sex toy. A Thickie is a smoothie that's thick, and meant to be a meal replacer. It's the brainchild of Katherine Natalia of GreenThickies.com. I found this by chance. I was reading an old email from Heather Pace of Sweetly Raw about her Caramel Apple Cheesecake, and at the very bottom she says, "I'm doing a 7 day Green Thickie Challenge."

I was like, "What the heck is a Green Thickie?" So off I went to explore this intriguing concept. Katherine's site is dedicated to both Green Smoothies and Green Thickies. Her personal story is here: How I lost 56 pounds on a Green Smoothie Diet.  

Finding this site was right on time. I'm in the middle of a modified fast. Liquid for breakfast and dinner, and a solid lunch. I'm juicing and doing smoothies and feeling great. I'll decide on Sunday if I'll do an all-liquid fast for a short period. I was worried if I could a fast again. I haven't been able to successfully fast since 2009. And then into my life comes Green Thickies.

I made Katherine's Healthy Apple Pie Thickie. This is considered a Dessert Thickie. Dessert or not, I had all the ingredients in my kitchen, so that's what I made! The picture above shows all ingredients except the raisins. The only thing I added were pre-soaked chia seeds. The recipe serves 2. I drank it all. Let me tell you, I am very full. And it was tasty. Like a pureed oatmeal and fruit breakfast.

I plan on making more Thickies, and sharing my experiences with you all. In the meantime, try this one, and show Katherine some love!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Non Dairy Milk (oat, rice, soya, almond, hemp, coconut drink or raw nut or seed milk)
• 1 Banana
• 2 Apples
• ¼ Cup Pecans
• ½ Cup dates (or any other dried fruit)
• 1 Cup Oats (use raw oat groats if following a raw food diet or oatmeal if you don’t have a powerful blender)
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon Allspice/Mixed Spice

Instructions

1. Blend the ingredients in the order listed.
2. Blend the ingredients a few at a time so that your blender can cope with the work, unless you’ve got a high powered blender, then you might be able to add them all in at once.
3. If it gets too thick, add more water as necessary.
4. If your blender has made the smoothie too warm, you can either cool it down in the fridge or freezer, or add some ice cubes or frozen fruit to it (You may need to add more water as this will thicken it further).

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My First "Thickie"

The Easiest Smoothie in the World

2 peeled oranges, 2 peeled bananas, 2 cups of water, put them all in a blender. Blend until smoothie. Drink and enjoy.

Cute kid not included :-).

Love,
Althea

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The Easiest Smoothie in the World

Light Eating for Survival Blog Project

"Light Eating for Survival" Blog Project a la the movie Julie & Julia.
1 Year. 481 Recipes. 1 ambitious mama.
Days 18-37

Out of 481 recipes, I have officially made 61! That leaves 420 to go! This photo is a cashew salad with Apple Dream Dressing.

Here's a closer look.



This lentil soup. Reallllyy good.

1 cup sprouted lentils
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup parsley
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 tsp. basil
2 cups water
kelp to taste.
Blend!
I added salt to mine because I didn't have kelp. This is a tasty light soup.

I'm not sure which drink this is, but when I saw the beet juice float to the bottom and the apple and celery float to the top I had to take a picture :-).

I've made almost all of the vegetable juices. I haven't done the tomato juices yet, because I'm chicken. I never liked "V8" juice, and I'm scared I won't like the tomato juice, but I did like Green Blood. But I like tomato soup so...hmmm. I've made two-thirds of the fruit juices. Here's the juices I have made so far:

Green Leaf: celery greens, beet greens, turnip greens, watercress

Beet Treat: orange, beet, papaya

Cranberry Punch: cranberries, apple, orange

Cranapple: apple, cranberry, celery

Garden Cleanser: carrot, cucumber, beet

Constipation Blue: carrot, spinach

Potassium Juice: spinach, parsley, celery, carrot

Simple Punch: carrot, apple, beet

Alkalizing: cabbage, celery

Comforting: carrot, apple, comfrey

I've also made a fruit salad with cashew cream that was a hit. I have to make it again, because we ate it too fast! That will be next time!

Love,

Althea

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Light Eating for Survival Blog Project

Light Eating for Survival Blog Project

"Light Eating for Survival" Blog Project a la the movie Julie & Julia.

1 Year. 481 Recipes. 1 ambitious mama.

Days 12, 13, and 14.

I'm scrolling through the comments posted on my blog, and what do I see? Marcia Acciardo, the AUTHOR of Light Eating for Survival left me the sweetest comment. I'm in tears!

I finally got to see Julia and Julie last night, Althea. It was doubly sweet because of your terrific blog on my book, and because I had met Julia and her husband when we both appeared on a live television show in NYC. Meryl Streep has done an amazingly accurate portrayal of one of the most gracious and unpretentious of people, whom absolutely adored all kinds of foods and cooking, and kindly requested a copy of Light Eating For Survival.

Thank you, Marcia for being so kind and generous enough to let me spread the message about your book to the world.

Let's get to the food! Today I bring you frozen treats and smoothies! Banana Split

When you have a hankerin' for ice cream, whipping up a banana split is easy, if you already have frozen bananas in your freezer. Wait until the bananas have black spots before freezing. I put mine in the freezer with the peels on, but you can peel and put them in a storage bag. I run my bananas under hot water until the peel comes off easily. For this recipe, all you need are:

3 frozen bananas
½ cup ground almonds
Water to whip
1 tablespoon currants or strawberries

Run the bananas through a juicer (like a Champion juicer. I used a food processor). Whip the almonds and a little water to make a topping for the ice cream. Top with fruit. Delicious!

Papaya Sherbert

½ papaya
½ banana
1 slice pineapple
1-2 oranges juiced
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Mix in the blender until smooth. Pour into a tray and chill in the freezer until hard. Luscious.

Frozen Sherbert

Mix peaches, strawberries, pears, and seedless grapes, enough apple juice to blend together in a blender, and freeze. For creamier ice cream, blend again. Freeze.

I followed the directions to the letter. It tastes phenomenal. The only thing I would do different is acerate it (stir it) every 1-2 hours to keep it from being block-like. But the taste…Raymond asked for this for breakfast. Ice cream to him. Frozen fruit to me. Of course he could have it for breakfast!

Orange Smoothie

8 oz. orange juice
1 banana
½ cup blueberries, strawberries or peaches
I used peaches, and it tasted great.

Apple Smoothie

8 oz. apple juice
1 banana
½ cup blueberries, strawberries or peaches
I used strawberries. Again, another simple, easy drink that anyone would love.

Love,

Althea

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Light Eating for Survival Blog Project

Wigmore Home Study Program and Inspiration

Dr. Ann Wigmore (1909-1994)

Good news! I earned a partial scholarship toward purchasing the Ann Wigmore Home Study Program. I have the other half, but the money is allocated for utility bills. (Need to keep the water and electricity on. :-) I need to manifest the money above and beyond the bills I am paying. I know I can do it, so send me good energy to do so. If you don't know who this Godmother of the American Raw Food Movement is, click here for information.

Here's a couple of easy, simple recipes:

Raw Oatmeal

Oatmeal:
Soak 1 cup of oatmeal (quick cooking type is fine) for 30 minutes. Pour the water off. Add 1 cut up banana, apple, ¼ cup raisins, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix well. Add maple syrup and non-dairy milk if you'd like. -- adapted from The Joy of Living Live by Zakhah.

Apple-Banana Smoothie

Smoothie:
2 bananas
1 cut up apple, no need to peel
1 cup of water
Blend.
Enjoy!

Deepak Chopra

Just wanted to share a couple of inspirational links. This one is from The Chopra Institute.

http://chopra.com/namaste/intention

It's about how to set intentions and how to make them come true.

Tyler Perry

And this one is from Tyler Perry, who is now the first African-American to own a major film studio. I swear I cried when I read this.

http://tylerperry.com/specialMessage/2008-10-07.html

He is SO inspirational. From being abused and molested as a child, to homeless in Atlanta, to now being on track to becoming a billionaire and one of the most influential men of his time. It's just beautiful. Enjoy reading.

Love,

Althea

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Wigmore Home Study Program and Inspiration