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 54-57

Orange and Apple Soup

Fruit soups were on tap for three days. If you are not feeling well, that's a sign that you need to drink more fluids. These fruit soups are much like smoothies, but meant to be slurped with a spoon, rather than drank out of a cup. They are lighter, and leave you feeling cleansed. I truly enjoyed making them all. I can't say I had a favorite, because they were all winners to me. If I want to make it again, then that's a winner!

Apple and Date Soup

I also made:

Banana and Orange Soup

Apricot and Banana Soup

Fruit Soup

Pineapple Avocado Soup

Orange Soup

Peach Soup

Banana Fruit Soup

Tropical Fruit Soup

Dried Fruit Soup

Dayas Ashram Fruit Soup

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 38-53

Dulse and Tomato Soup

My focus was on the vegetable soups this time from pages 41 to 43. Soups are an under appreciated art form in cooked and raw food. They are so simple, that they are easily overlooked. All you need is a good knife and a blender.

The above photo is of Dulse and Tomato Soup.

1 tablespoon olive oil

3/4 cup onion

3 tomatoes

3/4 cup dulse

1/4 cup chives

Blend everything except the chives (which I did by mistake...it still tasted good :-)

Cream of Broccoli Soup

1 cup broccoli
1/2 avocado
1 clove garlic
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp. sea kelp
1/2 to 1 cup water or rejuvelac (I used 1 cup of rejuvelac)
blend, add the avocado last.

Sweet Potato Soup

1 sweet potato

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup carrot juice
pinch of nutmeg, kelp, cayenne
Put the sweet potato in a glass jar and place in hot water until it softens the starch into sugar. Cut, peel and blend with other ingredients.

Okay, I had no idea when the starch would soften into sugar. I kept my potato in hot water (replacing a few times a day) for 2 days. Then I made the soup. It is a light, and lively soup that digests easily.

I also made:
avocado chowder
corn chowder
sweet corn chowder
cream of soups
cream of artichokes
cream of spinach
pea soup
asparagus soup
cucumber soup
veggie soup
quick soup
sprouted bean soup
string bean soup
celery soup
oh my God soup
gazpacho orange
gazpacho rainbow
simple tomato
avocado soup
chlorophyll soup

I think I've lost 5 pounds just eating all this soup! Up next are the fruit soups and salads.

Love,
Althea ◦

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 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

My Unconventional Thanksgiving

Shanelle and Ayoluwa at The Yabba Pot

For Thanksgiving last year, I made six entrees and two desserts, all from scratch (what was I thinking?). You can read all about it here:
http://therawmochaangel.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-i-made-for-thanksgiving-dinner.html

This year, I had NO desire to make a Thanksgiving meal from scratch. I do want to do a raw Christmas, and I'm planning that dinner now. But I was not feeling cooking, raw or not, on Turkey Day. Instead, I ordered a platter from the Yabba Pot in Baltimore. My family got to enjoy:

Vegan Turkee with Mushroom Gravy
Cornbread Stuffing Queens Greens
Mashed Sweet Potatoes…with crushed Pineapples and Coconut milk
Orange Mint Cranberry Sauce – from scratch!
Vegan Mac and Cheese
String Beans Almondine

And Ayoluwa and Shanelle looked so pretty that I had to take a picture of them. They were kind enough to say "cheese" even while the place was busy! Thanks, ladies!

This is Raymond at the restaurant with me. He could not WAIT to eat, so I let him try the food before we left to come back home.

Cilantro Sparkle and Basic Balance from Green Smoothie Revolution

So what did I eat? I mostly drank during the day. I wanted to keep my body light. I've been drinking smoothies from Green Smoothie Revolution. I asked Victoria Boutenko if it was okay to blog about my working through that book, as I am doing with Light Eating for Survival. She said "sure." But unlike LEFS, I won't be posting the recipes. I'll be sharing my experiences in terms of how I'm feeling, weight loss, etc., as I drink the smoothies. My favorite so far is Cilantro Sparkle. It's supposed to be a green pudding of cilantro, mango, and orange. Mine was more like a smoothie and it was fan-tas-tic. I like anything with cilantro in it anyway. Another hit is the Applesauce. I got Raymond to eat it, and that's his new breakfast.

One thing I've noticed is that I crave green drinks. Even if a smoothie or juice does not call for greens, I'll drop a few in there anyway.

Vegetable Elixir, Green Glow, and Waldorf Salad from Light Eating for Survival

Here's the recipes: (just put all the veggies and fruits through your juicer)

Vegetable Elixir
4 oz carrot
2 oz celery
1 oz beet
1 oz wheatgrass

Green Glow
4 oz comfrey leaves, parsley, spinach, celery
6 oz apple
mint to taste

Waldorf Salad
2 stalks celery
2 apples

More awesome, beautiful juices

I made more the next day. Rom's favorite was the Alfalfa-Pineapple Juice. He asked me for more, twice, and then said, "You got a future in juice." Alfalfa sprouts and pineapple juice may not sound tasty, but it is. I'd also thrown in a handful of romaine-parsley-cilantro-beet greens into the juicer. It's a refreshing, light drink that leaves you wanting more.

Simple Alfalfa Sprout Cocktail
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 1/2 cups pineapple juice

High Iron Smoothie
2 cups apple juice
2 bananas
1/2 cup raisins soaked in apple juice
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lecithin (optional)
1/2 sesame seeds (optional)
Blend in a blender!

Alfalfa Smoothie
1 cup alfalfa sprouts1

1/2 cups pineapple juice
1 banana
Blend in a blender!

Liquid Light
1 part carrot
1 part apple
1/4 part beet
1/8 part wheatgrass
3 comfrey leaves

Green Blood
1 quart carrot juice
8 oz any green juice
1 oz celery
1 fresh tomato
handful of parsley
kelp and cayenne to taste (optional)

Rejuvenator
2 oz wheatgrass
2 oz rejuvelac

Sweet Grass
1 oz wheatgrass
3 oz pineapple

Up next: the winner of Easy Raw Holidays!

Love,
Althea

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My Unconventional Thanksgiving

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 16 and 17

Are these beautiful or what?

Perhaps this is why I only had flu-symptoms for two days! I'm feeling GREAT!


Kale-Apple (my own favorite creation)
2 apples
2 handful of kale leaves


Fruit Punch
6 oz apples
1 oz beet
2 oz cucumber
1 oz green peppers


Complexion Cocktail
3 oz carrot
2 oz cucumber
2 oz apple
1 oz beet


Simple Punch
3 oz carrot
3 oz apple
2 oz beet
It was dark and raining when I took this photo. I couldn't get good light, but they were pretty looking in person :-).


Cooling Carrot
4 oz carrot
2 oz celery


Powerhouse
3 oz carrot
2 oz celery
1 oz parsley


Made Anew
2 oz spinach
2 oz beet
4 oz carrot


Quick Lunch
1 oz wheatgrass
3 oz carrot juice


Rebirth
1 oz wheatgrass
1 oz beet
2 z carrot
1 oz apple
1-3 garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

(Not for the fainthearted. WHOOOSAH)

Love,
Althea ◦

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.
Day 15

Vegetable Nut Loaf turned Veggie Burger topped with Creamy Port Cheese

I didn't have enough nuts to hold the nut loaf together, so I improvised. The original recipe is
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup tomatoes
1 cup grated celery
1/2 chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated green bell pepper
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
enough ground nuts to hold it together
Mold into oiled serving dish and garnish

I had 1/2 cup of ground almonds on hand, and that was not enough. I had some cashews, which I was saving to make "cheese" with, which I wound up using in this dish. I threw the cashews into the food processor and it did help. I learned to process the veggies until it was nearly a pate. That's how it held together.

The cheese is from Recipes Made with Love by Jodi Allen. I cut the recipe in half. Below is the original recipe.
3 1/2 cups soaked (for at least 6 hrs) cashews
1 cup diced onions
almond milk (enough to moisten)
splash of apple cider vinegar
sea salt to taste
Blend in food processor until creamy

Where else can you get 14 tomatoes for $5.00? At your local farm or farmer's market. I'm a huge fan of seconds (overripe produce). When you catch tomatoes at the perfect time, they are fantastic. And local produce tastes much better than anything you get at the grocery store. So of course I made a tomato salad :-).

Tomato Salad

3 large ripe tomatoes

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove pressed garlic

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon kelp

I only had dulse on hand, instead of kelp. This is a very simple, lightly seasoned salad. The ripe, flavorful tomatoes make this a wonderful dish.

Love,

Althea

◦

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

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.

Day 7.

Today, I've got three drinks for you. Two are from Light Eating, and one is from Victoria Boutenko.

Spinach Mango Smoothie
1 peeled and chopped mango
1 handful or more spinach
water to taste
Blend
I can't remember which book by the Boutenkos I saw this, but this green smoothie is not for beginners, unless you like bitter smoothies. If you want it sweeter, add another mango, or perhaps an orange. But I enjoyed it. Perhaps my palate is getting used to green bitters.

Green Mint
8 oz. orange or carrot juice
1/2 cup fresh comfrey or mint leaves, or 1/2 cup mint tea
I used carrot juice and mint leaves. I am blessed to have mint growing in my backyard. This was a refreshing, easy drink.

Banana Ape
8 oz. orange juice
1 banana
2 apples
Blend.

I used one apple and added a little bit of water. WOW. This is fantastic. A true party in your mouth. Loved it.

I also made an green smoothie on the fly today. It was 1 apple, 2 bananas, and 3 handfuls of spinach. Add enough water to make it thin. Rom and I split it, and Raymond had mine. He actually liked it, and kept asking me to make him apple juice (to which I add spinach juice). I'm seeing that as long as the smoothie or juice is still sweet to him, he'll drink it.

Until next time!

Love,
Althea ◦

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 4, 5, and 6.

I have overworked myself the past two weeks, so I'm battling off a cold. That's what happens when you work too hard without enough sleep! But I'm in good spirits, so I'll be fine soon. I've been focused on juices that I've taken out of Light Eating for Survival. Here's what I've made:

Juices:

Waldorf Salad:
2 apples
2 celery ribs

Autumn:
2 apples
1 pear

Delicious Cocktail:
1 apple
4 oz. grape juice

Nectar:
2 apples
1 peach or nectarine (I used a peach)

Grape Delight:
4 oz. grape juice
1 pear

Summers Day:
2 apples
6 strawberries
(Fantastic!!!)

Orange Apple Soup:
1 orange
1 apple
lemon
Blend, and drink!

Hot Carob Milk
1/2 cup ground sesame seeds
3 cups water
1 tablespoon raw carob powder
Heat, and strain in a nut bag. Drink. Tastes like tea :-).

Carob Fudge
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup carob powder
1/2 cup nuts

Cream everything, except nuts, in a blender. Pour into a flat pan. Add the nuts, if using. Stir. I put this in the freezer for a few hours, then cut it in squares.

I have a love/hate relationship with coconut oil. I love it as a moisturizer for my skin and body. I love it ice cream. But I don't like it in chocolate or fudge recipes. It's used all over the place in many books, but I just don't care for it. The marble-looking thing in the fudge? That's coconut oil. I will make this again, with either cashew butter or cacao butter. It had a great fudge consistency.

Love,
Althea
◦

Light Eating For Survival Blog Project

Light Eating for Survival

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

1 Year. 481 Recipes. 1 ambitious mama.

Days 1, 2, and 3.

I've been saying for months that I need to eat more green, healing food. I've been downing salads and green juice, which has been good. The problem is that I've lacked focus on what to make. I have so many raw food books that sometimes it gets overwhelming. I'd said before I would focus on my favorite foods. I quickly realized that I am a foodie. I love trying new food. Sticking with the same stuff all the time was boring me.

When the movie Julie and Julia came out last week (I will see it soon), I was inspired. I thought, "huh, sticking with one book will keep my focus. I have a hundred things to do everyday. Maybe this will make preparing my raw meals easier." Rather than make all the recipes in a current raw food book, I was drawn to an undeservedly obscure and out-of-print book called Light Eating for Survival which I have owned for over a year.

Written by a then 21-year-old Marcia Madhuri Acciardo, in 1977, this is a true classic. With cover art and inside the book art by Peter Max, a book that originally sold for $6.00, now goes for $144.47 (the highest price I found) on Amazon.com.

I tracked down Marcia to get her permission to do this, and she graciously said yes.

I want this book to get more publicity. I don't know if it was the first raw vegan recipe book published, but it has to be one of the first. In the era of celebrity raw food chefs who push the most outrageously expensive ingredients and appliances, this book is unpretentious. No Vita-Mixes, no dehydrators, no drama. The ingredients that you can't find at your local grocery store: nutritional yeast, miso, slippery elm, comfrey, and other herbs, you can find in a health food store.

With 481 recipes packed into a slim, spiral bound 105 pages, I thought, "I'm up for a challenge. Why not? Life is good (way good). Let's make it better."

Presenting the first three days of my Light Eating for Survival Project: Lemonade

1 lemon juiced (I used 2)
3-4 cups of water (I used 3)
honey to taste (I didn't measure, but used enough until it was sweet to me)

I put everything in a mason jar and shook it. The only thing I did wrong was that I juiced the lemons with the rind on. Duh! It tasted great, but the longer it sat, I could feel the bitterness rising. Perhaps I should peel the lemons first! :-)

Heaven and Earth
1/2 carrot
1/2 apple
Juice

I juiced 2 carrots and 2 apples. I've always loved this combination. Sweet and simple.

Kid Friendly Smoothies:
Raymond loved these. When your child says, "Can I have some more?" you know it tastes good.

Date Shake
1 cup apple juice
1 banana
1/4 cup pitted dates
Blend

Carob Date Shake
1 cup apple juice
1 banana
1/4 cup soaked pitted dates or raisins
1 oz. soaked walnuts
1 tablespoon carob powder
Blend
I already had soaked dates in the fridge. Soak them until they are soft. I soaked the walnuts for an hour.

Pie Crust #4
2 cups mashed pitted dates

1 cup ground walnuts

1/4 shredded coconut

I mixed everything in my food processor until it formed a ball. Then I pressed it into a pie plate. Apple Pie Filling

8 grated Pipin or Cortland apples

2 chopped apples

1 tablespoon Cinnamon

2 tablespoon chopped walnuts (optional. I did use them)

1 lemon sliced

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoon

coconut

Mix everything together. Spread on the crust. Sprinkle coconut on the top. Refrigerate.

I completely forgot to put shredded coconut on this pie! That is my bad. The only change I made was that I juiced one lemon and added it to the mix to my taste. I also ate it with a cashew cream sauce (2 cups cashews, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, agave to taste. Add water, just to the top. Blend.) This was melt in your mouth good. Me and my husband fought over the last piece. We like apple anything in my house, so making this was a no-brainer.

Until next time!

love,

Althea

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Light Eating for Survival