Almond Yogurt With Fruit - OMG!

The dairy free yogurts are getting yummy. I love the almond yogurt and the coconut yogurt available now in most natural food stores. The biggest challenge is to find them "PLAIN" with no sugar added. What works for me is to use my own sweetener if needed at all. The best I have found so far is the "Coconut Nectar" Amber by Big Tree Farms. One teaspoon on anything and you can transform an already awesome dish. 

Shown Here:

Almond Yogurt

Strawberries, blueberries, banana and lilikoi (Passion Fruit)

1 tsp Coconut Nectar

This awesome dish is so rich, delicious and satiating! I am going to make my own Mac Nut yogurt since it is local. Then everything but the blue berries will be local. Stay tuned!!

Raw Creamy Mint Dressing

This dressing is to live for. It is full of nutritious power and really refreshing and delicious. You can use it on any raw veggie salad or cooked veggies, grains or whatever sounds good to you.  I find it lasts for about 4-5 days when kept chilled!

Creamy Mint Dressing

½  cup     sunflower seeds (soaked - 3 hours or longer)

⅓  cup     olive oil

½  cup     filtered water

¼  cup     lime juice

2         garlic gloves

¼  cup     fresh mint leaves (use dried mint if fresh is not available)

1 tsp         onion powder (or a chunk of onion – green onions are good)

¼  tsp     celtic sea salt

Blend all ingredients into creamy consistency. I love this dressing. It is awesome with mixed greens, chopped cabbage, sliced cucumbers, and tomatoes.

Keeps when chilled for about 4-5 days.

Hemp Coconut Supreme

OK, so I am not the best photographer. But, I make up for it by making food that is easy and nourishing and tastes good.

My method is often just finding the best products that can be turned into quick and easy meals. Coconut Butter is a must to have in your pantry. If you have not tried it, let me tell you a few things you will want to know about it, and then give you some ideas on how to enjoy it.

1. It is made up of sun dried coconut ground up into a butter. Simple. Just like peanut butter or almond butter.

2. You do not need to refrigerate it after opening, but you must be careful not to contaminate it with any food particles. If you do refrigerate it, it gets as hard as a rock and is not as easy to use.

3. When you first open it, the oils might have separated from the meat, like many nut butters do after sitting for a period of time. Just stir it up with a butter knife or spoon and blend until creamy.

4. Now for the good part. Try eating one teaspoon of this rich yummy on it's own. Amazing, right? For many this is a quick fix for a satiating sweet fatty dessert or bite to give them extra energy or just a thrill.  It works great for anyone wanting to get off sugar as it can substitute for sweet and creamy and is so very satisfying. I dare anyone to eat more than two teaspoons at a time, although you may want to. Take it slow and savor it. 

5. Uses may include spreading on it toast, adding to smoothies or adding some water to make a creamy sauce. I use this ingredient in my cocoa truffles. It is what sets them apart from others. Yum. You can also blend some with water for a sweet sauce over your fruit.

6. In the recipe above, I blended about a cup + of water to a heaping tbsp of coconut butter. I added about 1/4 cup of Hemp Hearts and a a tablespoon of flax meal. The result is a thick and creamy sauce. I pour it over my papaya (shown here with a sliced banana and cinnamon) for pure enjoyment and nourishment. Refrigerate the remaining for the next day or later in the afternoon. Play with these ingredients as they can be turned into a variety of beverages and sauces.

7. The Hemp Hearts can be used alone to make a quick hemp milk for smoothies or just a refreshing drink.

8. The flax seeds can also be used to sprinkle on top of the fruit salad. Remember they create a thickening to whatever liquid you add them to, so be prepared if you store some for a time, because it will be much thicker after it has sat for awhile. This is why I often just sprinkle them on just before I eat my meal.

Try it out, tell me how you like it. What amazing concoction did you come up with?

The Best Way To Eat Carrots

This may just seem so simple and trivial for a post, but, let me tell you that making carrots this way is a huge benefit, particularly for kids. 

When the carrots are grated on the very small (slanted) element of the grater, the carrot pieces fall into nice little pile that kind of sticks together. Put a pile on the side of a bowl of soup, on salads, top on avocado toast, in a wrap, or just on the side of a plate as a garnish. 

Grating it in this way makes the carrot juicy. This is the key. It will juice up a sandwich or wrap with sweet flavor. The reason it works so well with kids, is that the carrots are juicy, which means sweeter. It is also easier for them to chew.

In a salad, you might think that the little pieces will spread around, but they don't. They seem to stick together in a clump. If you use a delicious dressing like the The Golden Elixir, or the Maple Lemon Miso, you will delight in the way that you will get a bite of juicy carrot with the dressing infused in. Try it! 

If you use them on a sandwich, wrap or toast, add a little salt, perhaps some Tamari, olive oil, or any salad dressing you want to top them with for another flavorful dimension. You can also grate a beet in the same way.

If you want more handy hints of how to eat some foods raw, get my Raw Food Basics course. This course it great for learning how to make sauces and dressing, and use nuts and seeds in the most healthy way. Some have called it the best Raw Food Course available.

Visit my Indigogo Campaign if you would love to support my upcoming book, Eating As A Spiritual Practice. Support offers perks for courses, private coaching, and so much more. Go HERE for more info.

Sunflower Cocoa Ashwagandha Smoothie with Barlean's Chocolate Silk

This morning our sunflower milk, made with fresh sunflower seeds soaking over night, was turned into a rich powerhouse of a smoothie with Barlean's Chocolate Silk Greens. Whoa! Many of you know that I am a huge fan of making your own seed milks. They are so simple and provide you with so many nutrients when made fresh. Here is how we brought this smoothie together. Make your own version if you like!

Ingredients

1/2 cup sunflower seeds soaked and rinsed.

1 quart of filtered water

1 scoop of Barleans's Greens (Chocolate Silk flavor). This is Barlean's antioxidant blend of cocoa, fruits and vegetables, probiotics and enzymes to aid in digestion. Can you belief all this in one scoop of delicious flavor. No wonder they call it slik!

2 tbsp of cacao powder

1/2 tsp of Ashwagandha powder

1 tsp Maca

1 tbsp of coconut cream/butter (you could use coconut oil as well)

The above ingredients made a great foundation. From here we added:

1/3 cup of organic cold pressed coffee concentrate (if you don't have concentrate, which I believe is rather scarce now) and you really want caffeine, just cut down on the water and add some strong coffee.

2 dates

sprinkle of cayenne

Blend all of the ingredients. Add ice if you want it thicker and cold.

Basically, the Barlean's Greens will give you the base of flavor and sweetness. We merely wanted to get more decadent, and wished to add the Ashwagandha powder and Maca. Along with the cacao powder, Ashwagandha powder and coffee concentrate, which added extra bitterness, we were able to get away with adding the dates. If you are sugar sensitive you may want to use more stevia or perhaps it will be sweet enough.

Enjoy!!

Easy Chia Pudding With Coconut Milk & Berries

It took me a few yeas to catch on to the Chia Pudding craze. Now, I find it one of the easiest snacks/desserts to serve for almost all diets. Below is a basic example of a large bowl to serve many. There are many variations that can be made from this basic idea. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 can of organic "whole fat" coconut milk + 1 can of water

1/2 cup chia seeds

1 cup + frozen berries or other frozen fruit

sweetener of choice (honey, stevia, maple syrup, coconut sugar, raw sugar). Sweeten to taste.

Options: Protein powders, green powders that may have already been sweetened (like Barlean's Greens), spices like cinnamon, cardamom, clove. Pinch of salt.

Place the coconut milk into the blender and add chia seeds. Blend just enough to break up the chia seeds. This will help it to thicken and create a smoother taste.

Put all ingredients together and blend softly on low speed just enough to blend. Pour into serving dishes or one large dish. Place berries on top and refrigerate until firm.

Note: If you want a richer pudding, then use the coconut milk without water. If you do this, then you should use less Chia Seeds. Chia Seeds thicken, but how they thicken depends on how much they are broken down. You may wish to alter the amount used depending on how firm of a pudding you would like. I personally like it a little more watery than a lot of people who like it very firm. Have fun with it!!

Raw Banana/Mango Pecan Pie

This Raw Banana/Mango Pecan Pie rocks. If you do not have a dehydrator, use your oven. 

Here is the recipe:

Raw Banana Mango Pecan Pie

5 bananas

1 mango sliced

1 cup pecans (soaked in water for 1 hr)

1 1⁄2 cups pecans (not soaked)

6 oz filtered water

5-10 dates, soaked

1 tsp vanilla

1 heaping tsp raw honey (or more to taste)

A dash Tamari or Nama Shoyu

Soak one cup of pecans in water

 

Fruit Crust

In a glass pie pan, arrange one layer of sliced bananas (2 1/2 bananas should do it).

Lay the banana slices in a spiral pattern with one slice slightly overlapping the other until you have covered the entire pie pan.

Put a layer going up the sides of the pie pan as well.

Cut the mango into thin (1/4 inch) slices and layer over the banana. Put another layer of bananas over the mango. Compress the fruit down evenly with your hands. Set aside.

Pecan Cream Filling

Put 1 cup of soaked (drained) pecans, dates, 6 oz. filtered water and vanilla into blender and blend into to a fine cream. Taste the cream, and if it is not sweet enough for your taste, add more dates.

Pour the Pecan Cream Filling over the fruit in the pie pan. Put into dehydrator at 95 F for 3 hours, or your oven at the lowesttemperature possible.

If you are using an oven make sure you keep a good watch on the pie. Depending on the temperature of the oven, it could be that only an hour is need, perhaps even less. The idea is to get the mixture to congeal and NOT cook.

Blend honey with just a little water and a dash of the Tamari orNama Shoyu.

Toss the soaked pecans by tossing gently with the honeyed water to coat the pecans.

When the pie is ready, out of the dehydrator or oven, place one layer of the honeyed pecans on top of the pie. Place them in a circle inside a circle, artistically placed towards the center of the pie.

Chill pie for one hour or longer before serving. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.

 

Apple Beet Celery Salad

Personally, I like a light breakfast and then my heavier meal comes at brunch or lunch time. One of my favorite light breakfasts or afternoon snacks is my Apple Beet Sesame Seed Salad. This salad is made by grating the beet and apple on the very smallest slanted grid on the grater. This grid creates beet slices that are very small and juicy, and the apple comes out almost like applesauce. I add some ground sesame seeds (the white hulled kind) and top with walnuts. Since I hate grating, I don’t make this often, but I must admit that I love, love, love it.

This morning I had these beautiful beets that were of the lighter variety, white with red lines going through them. They are called Di Chioggia Beets. They are sweet like the red variety with a slightly less earthy taste. I grated it along with a half an apple I had in the fridge and added some chopped celery. I topped it with walnuts and enjoyed a most delicious light morning meal just before my coffee.

Ingredients

½     beet – finely grated

½     large apple 

1      celery stalk- chopped fine

Top with rinsed walnuts

Mix all together and enjoy!

Lunch Made Simple

What is all the fuss about healthy eating being too much trouble or too expensive? It just is not true. Today I was so hungry, yet kept putting off eating because I did not want to take the time to make anything at all. Last evening I had done a major shop so I had a stocked pantry and fridge for some good meals. I thought to myself, “Oh, I will just get a bite of cheese and a couple olives from the fridge. Within a few minutes I pulled out a couple leaves of freshly washed Romaine, and an avocado that was ripe and ready. The cutting board and knife were whipped out and before I knew it this beautiful plate became available to me. I don’t think it took more than 5 minutes, including very little clean up.

I got a little carried away because I wanted to take a picture so I put a little more on my plate than I could really eat. The rest is waiting for a dinner appetizer.

So Simple!!

Ingredients

Lettuce leaves of choice

Avocado slices

Goat Cheese (alternative: hard boiled egg)

Walnuts

Olives

Salt, pepper, cayenne.

This is also a great pack and go item. You do not even need to cut the avocado and cheese before you go. Throw them in your pack with a knife and napkins and enjoy them almost anywhere. All it takes is assembling – no cooking!

Coco Berry Chia Pudding

Just recently I discovered Chia seeds and how to use them. I know they have been the rave for some time, but I sampled what a friend made a few times and really didn’t like them very much, so I believed that I did not like Chia seeds. Well, I finally made my own and now I am on a roll.

Seriously, using them is so simple and the truth is that food made with them is so fulfilling. I am in love with the exploration.  This recipe takes about 5 minutes at most and keeps in the fridge for several days to grab anytime I feel like it.

Coco Berry Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

2 tbsp        coconut crème concentrate

1 ½ cups    water (or use coconut milk instead – see below)

1 tbsp        sugar, honey or sugar substitute

½ cup        assorted berries (frozen will do fine)

¼ cup        chia seeds

Directions:

Place all the ingredients with exception of the chia seeds in the blender. You can hold out the berries and add them whole, if you like, after all the other ingredients are blended.

Add the chia seeds and blend gently - just breaking them apart.

Pour mixture into one large bowl or individual bowls and refrigerate for a few hours until firm. Depending on how much the chia seeds were blended, the mixture may need a stir now and then.

Note: If you are using coconut milk instead of coconut concentrate, replace milk with water.

Optional Ingredients:

Colostrum Powder

Lime Juice

Mint

Ginger

Fresh fruits of all kinds!

Luscious Fruit Hemp Pudding or Cereal

Finally the answer to gluten free, dairy free, sugar free and still luscious!

Berry Hemp Pudding with Colostrum & Lecithin

Whoa, does that sound appetizing? Well not really. But, truthfully in this day of gluten free, dairy free, grain free and sugar free, where are we going to get that yummy creamy pudding or morning cereal?

Well, I’ve got a treat for you. This recipe was made after I did a photo shoot for Healthy Living Magazine. I was working with ImmuneTree’s Colostrum6, adding it to smoothies and hot drinks. It is so yummy to be used as a creamer.

The following day I found these exquisite local dark blue/purple berries from up country Kula. They were slightly tart and since I am avoiding sugar, I suddenly had an idea.  I am not crazy about Stevia, but if used properly it can serve the purpose well. Stevia is great with bitter or tart foods, and the trick is to use very little. When you are using citrus or tart berries, it will provide just enough sweet to make it yummy. Then I thought of the Hemp Hearts and lecithin, my latest favorite for green smoothies and all smoothies for that matter.

The recipes below have a powerhouse of nutrients and satisfy the need for rich, sweet, creamy and fulfilling. The hemp seeds provide protein and excellent fats, the lecithin provides inspiration for healthy cell function, and the Colostrum6 provides a boost for a healthy gut, immunity and muscle integrity. The berries are full of antioxidants and great fiber and flavor. Need I say more? Ok, I will. One more thing, all of these foods combined make a rich and smooth texture and deliver the wonderful tastes we so love with rich dairy.

Seriously, it is yummy, and also good with other fruits.

Below two recipes for this fantastic new treat – great for breakfast and/or an afternoon snack.

Berry Hemp Pudding

Ingredients

1 cup               berries

1/3 cup          hemp seeds (also known as Hemp Hearts)

1 tbsp             Lecithin

1 tbsp             Colostrum6 by ImmuneTree

¼ cup              water – more if needed for consistency

                        Juice of fresh lime

                        Sweeten as needed with Stevia, honey or sugar

Blend all these together and add some lime! Top with Barleans' Forti Flax, raisins, walnuts or whatever you fancy.

---

Apple Hemp Pudding

Ingredients

1 apple           chopped  - green apple if you are on a low sugar diet

1/3 cup          hemp seeds (also known as Hemp Hearts)

1 tbsp             Lecithin

1 tbsp             Colostrum6 by ImmuneTree

¼ cup              water – more if needed for consistency

pinches           cinnamon & ginger too if you wish

                        Top with juice of fresh lime and any of the topping mentioned above

Enjoy!

Raw Mango Banana Pecan Pie

Ingredients

5 bananas

1 mango sliced (2 if small)

1 cup pecans (soaked in water for 1 hour)

1 1/2 cups pecans (not soaked)

6 oz filtered water 5-10 dates, soaked

1 tsp vanilla bean 1 heaping tsp raw honey (or more to taste)

dash Tamari or Nama Shoyu

Soak one cup of pecans in water.

Fruit Crust

In a glass pie pan, arrange one layer of sliced bananas (2 1/2 bananas should do it). Lay the banana slices in a spiral pattern with one slice slightly overlapping the other until you have covered the entire pie pan. Put a layer going up the sides of the pie pan as well. Cut the mango into thin (1/4 inch) slices and layer over the banana.

Put another layer of bananas over the mango. Compress the fruit down evenly with your hands. Set aside.

Pecan Cream Filling

Put 1 cup of soaked (drained) pecans, dates, 6 oz. filtered water and vanilla into blender and blend into to a fine cream. Taste the cream, and if it is not sweet enough for your taste, add more dates.

Pour the Pecan Cream Filling over the fruit in the pie pan. Put into dehydrator at 95 F for 3 hours, or your oven at the lowest temperature possible. If you are using an oven make sure you keep a good watch on the pie. Depending on the temperature of the oven, it could be that only an hour is need, perhaps even less. The idea is to get the mixture to congeal and NOT cook.

Topping

Blend the honey with just a little bit of water and a dash of the Tamari or Nama Shoyu. Toss the remaining 1 1/2 cups of pecans by tossing gently with the honeyed water to coat the pecans.

When the pie is ready, out of the dehydrator or oven, place one layer of the honeyed pecans on top of the pie. Place them in a circle inside a circle, artistically placed towards the center of the pie.

Chill pie for one hour or longer before serving. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.

Fruit Fat Smoothies

Yes, you read it right, "Fruit "Fat" Smoothies". For me, the omega rich ingredients from nuts and seeds are what make a smoothie made with frozen and fresh fruits great. The first person to teach me about raw foods was David Jubb in 1991. David and Annie were, and probably still are, masters at recipe creation. David would stand helm at the vita mix, and begin creating blends that were to live for.

The secret to his fruit smoothies was flax oil. When you think about it, what makes ice cream so good? It is the fat mixed with the sweet. The fat from the nut or seed gives a fruit smoothie substance and creaminess, not to mention a powerful nutritional punch! Now that chia and hemp seeds have come onto the scene there is even more creativity to be had in creating fruit smoothies.

For the smoothie in this picture, I threw in some papaya from a friend’s farm; mixed frozen berries, pineapple and banana, then added a full tablespoon of hemp seeds and Barlean's Flax Oil. The richness from this blend is good enough to eat with a spoon. We topped it with flax meal (Forti Flax from Barlean's), grabbed a spoon and enjoyed a cool and refreshing treat after a yoga workout. YUM.

When you make smoothies like this they will be so much more delicious, plus satisfying and healthy!

Raw Cacao Truffles - So Easy!

OMG! These truffles are so easy to make and they will make people swoon over the rich and luscious flavor. I can make a batch in 15 minutes and within another 15 minutes they will cool and be ready to serve.  Keep the recipe as it is below or make flavorful variations. YUM! Mix these ingredients together in following order:

3 tbsp coconut cream (also called coconut spread or Mana, depending on the manufacturer)

2 tbsp Barlean's Coconut Oil

1/2 cup water + more if needed

t tsp vanilla

1/4 cup of maple Syrup

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp sugar (optional if enhanced sweetness desired)

1 cup of Cacao Powder  (unsweetened) - sifted and stirred into wet mixture a little at a time

1/2 cup raw cacao nibs

pinches of salt to taste

Mix all the wet ingredients together and then sift the cacao powder in slowly to desired consistency. Add in nibs and a pinch of salt. Mix well and then roll into little balls. Press slightly if desired. These are great with a dried golden berry pressed in the middle.

Place the truffles on a plate and put them into the freezer for about 15 minutes, or a refrigerator until they are firm. Then they will hold their shape so you can stack them into a container. Keep refrigerated or frozen. Best when served about 15 to 30 minutes after being refrigerated (longer if frozen).

Variations - See below

Essential Oil ‘s like Wild Orange is the bomb with this mixture. It is so delicious in desserts and my morning Mate as well.

You can also use lavender, peppermint, cayenne and/or nuts and dried fruits to flavor or garnish.

If you are not a doTerra distributor you can order under my number which is: 783035.

If you want more info on Essential Oils and doTerra's products please email me at: Susan@ChefTeton.com

A neighbor recently called me and asked if I had any coconut oil because she was frying up corn tortillas for our tacos and was all out.  I said, "Sure", and instructed her where to find the container of Barlean's coconut oil in my cabinet. Later she told me that she could not believe the difference in the look, feel and most importantly, flavor of Barlean's. She said, the minute she spooned out the oil into her bowl she was blown away. Then she tasted it and said, "OMG, what a difference"!

If you have not used coconut oil to fry up your tortilla shells, you are missing something. If you make too many of them, they freeze wonderfully and will warm up in the toaster beautifully.

Raw Cacao Mousse with Avocado

Raw Cacao Mousse is often made with either avocado or bananas. I like it with avocado's! With bananas the mousse will taste like bananas. But with the avocado the mousse tastes like chocolate! Yes! This is a fantastic dish that I do not suggest serving as a dessert, unless the dinner or meal is a very light one. This dish is a meal in itself - great for any chocolate lover, any time, any place. And the best news is that it can be extremely nourishing and sensual all at once.

Ingredients

2 cups Avocados

1⁄2 cups Maple Syrup

2-4 tbsp Organic Sugar (more or less to taste)

2 tsp Coconut Oil (Barlean's is best)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1⁄2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 cup Cacao Powder

I pint Raspberries

Handful of fresh mint

dash of Celtic Sea Salt or Shoyu

In a food processor, blend the avocados, maple syrup, sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, balsamic and salt or Shoyu until smooth and creamy. Note: if the coconut oil is hard, heat slightly, just enough to soften so it will mix easily/

Add cocoa powder slowly and blend until smooth (sifting as you add will alleviate possibility of lumps).

Serve raspberries on top of Mousse as you desire and garnish with mint. Great in champagne classes or anyway at all.

Store in fridge up to one week in airtight container. You can also freeze it up to a month.

Click here to order Barlean’s Coconut Oil @ 20% off (best tasting and highest quality)

Superfood Flax Powders

Recently I had the opportunity to try a new product called "Linwoods, Your Link To Good Food". They are a relatively new brand making yummy flax powder blends, like: flax, sunflower, pumpkin & sesame seeds and goji berries! That is not all. They have other blends too with walnuts, cacao and dried fruits. The flax base is ground just perfectly. You know I am a fan of Barlean's Forti Flax, which is fresh and cut/blended perfectly for that nutty enjoyment. Well, Linwoods is also cut nicely and appears to be very fresh. The nutty flavors with the other ingredients are to live for. YUM! With the use of a fresh ground flax seed you will not only get a good dose of Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids and great taste, but flax powders give you bulk and fiber, which people tell me gives them great poops. Yes, I said it here, "poops". If Oprah can talk about it, I can. We all love regular good poops!

Here is a pic with yogurt and apple. I put the cacao flavored one in my smoothies. Yes, yes, yes!

Soaking & Storing Nuts for a Raw Food Diet

Here is a question from a fellow Essential Cuisine student. My answer is below in PURPLE: Hello Susan,

I purchased your Essential Cuisine DVD's from Food Matters.  I am ABSOLUTELY ENJOYING EVERY MINUTE of watching them. You are a delightful lady and make it so fun and easy.  I love the warmth of your teaching and the people.

I have been on a personal journey for the last several years to become more educated about food and to dramatically change my eating habits. It has been great! I will consider your Makeover Course.  I assume that it is much more than what I have already observed on the DVD's.

Finally, I have watched the soaking nuts segment several times.  Am I correct:  The pecans, walnuts, almonds, and pumpkins seeds are soaked and rinsed, etc, and then if not using them right away, keep them in water and sitting out on the counter covered.  How long can I leave them out like this?  A day or two and then be sure to use them?

Also, in the DVD, you said to soak the sunflower seeds for 5 hours only, but how long do the others soak until they are initially ready if you are going to use them right away?  I assume that it is best to only soak what you are going to use and not more at one time?

Flax seeds are soaked once and then used?  Should not be stored in water?

I guess I should enroll in your course as I have so many questions.

Thank you for your help.

Aloha from Chef Teton,

Thank you for the great compliments. Yeah!!!

After you soak the nuts, have rinsed them and are ready to store them, put then in a container and cover them with water and put them in the REFRIGERATOR. Then you must change the water each day. Now, if you are going to eat them within the day I am sure they are fine to sit out on the counter. Some seeds will begin to sprout (not pecans or walnuts).

As for soaking time. It varies according to the nut and size. Almonds take a good 12 hours. Walnuts take several hours to soak all the way through, but there are times that I have only 15 minutes to soak them. This short time is beneficial and better than nothing because it will wash them and help eliminate mold, enzyme inhibitors or any other particles.

You can also soak sunflower seeds for just a couple hours. They do not take long. Most nuts and seeds are in the 8 hour range. I like to go for overnight. Most all nuts and legumes are soaked enough in the morning. You can rise them and keep them on the counter until ready to use them in the same day. But, if not, then soak them in jars in water and store them in the fridge!

I like to soak enough walnuts to use for a couple days. Sunflower seeds grow their tails fast and will become bitter if you let them go too much. The best things to do is experiment a little at a time. Get a feel for it and see how much you eat.

I hope that helps!

Making every bite count, Chef Teton

Raw Nut Seed Cacao Smoothie

Raw Seed Nut Cacao Smoothie

 OMG, this is so good, and there are so many ways to make it. Here is one of my favorites:

Nut & Seed Ingredients

 Take any combination of 2 or 3 of the ingredients below to make a seed milk. Almonds will do on their own, as well Sunflower and Sesame Seeds. I like combining a few to make a larger amount of milk to last me  a few days while stored in the fridge.

¼ cup         Sunflower Seeds

¼ cup         Pumpkin Seeds (Stryian Pumpkin Seeds are the best-read about them here)

¼ cup         Sesame Seeds (white hulled)

¼ cup         Almonds

¼ cup         Hemp Granules

Any variation of the above will rock. Basically you are making a seed milk. Have flax meal on hand to thicken the shake and add value of EFA’s.

Flax Meal 

Barlean’s makes a great Forti-Flax. And if you purchase their wonderful products here through my website,  you will receive 20% off.

If you do purchase your own flax seeds then you want to make sure they are very fresh, and you will need to grind them into a powder and keep them refrigerated so that they retain their beneficial EFA's (Essential Fatty Acid's). Fresh is best for flax.      

Soak and rinse the nuts or seeds. Then blend in a blender with about 3 cups of water (the amount of water you use depends on how you like the taste, strong or weak. Some people like to strain their seed milks. I don't. It is one more step I don't have to take, and besides I like the whole seed/nut. If they are too thick or intense just add more water.

 Sweetener Ingredients

Honey: raw local honey is best

Dates: soaked and softened so they blend well (my favorite)

Whole raw sugar or coconut sugar

Stevia: I have found that Stevia works well with bitter foods. Cacao is bitter, so Stevia works well with Cacao. Also, please note that many protein powders are flavored/sweetened with Stevia already.

Other Ingredients

Raw or roasted non-sweetened Cacao Powder

Protein Powder: I personally use Whey Protein Powder. I like the vanilla flavored and think there are health benefits to Whey. You can use soy, rice or any vanilla flavored protein powder, or not, if you prefer to enjoy it with a protein powder. I have found that the vanilla flavored adds such a dimension to the drink plus valuable protein.

Let it rip: (my favorite recipe)

8 oz. of choice of milk (for me, almonds, and/or sunflower/pumpkin/hemp

2 dates soak with some of the sweet soaking water

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1-2 tbsp. cocoa powder

1-2 tbsp. of flax meal

Blend the above ingredients and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the flax to thicken the mixture. While it thickens I do my cleanup. Then add about 5 ice cubes and blend thoroughly.

*Caution: Don't add the flax power until you are ready to make it to smoothie to drink right then.  In other words, the other nuts and seeds store well when made into a milk, but if made with the flax seeds, it most likely get to thick. Perhaps you will like it than way, but I don't.

YUM. This will taste like a yummy thick milk shake.

Speaking of milk, you can also use milk, Raw, preferred if you can get it. If so, then you can leave out the seeds.

*Note

 I soak ½ cup of 3 different seeds at once, and then blend with the dates for my base. That way I have the base in the fridge for at least 3 days for making instant smoothies. All I have to add is flax, protein powder and ice.

Love this for an afternoon pick me up!

Raw Apple Beet Salad w Sesame

Beet lovers will love this simple, fulfilling and delicious beet apple salad with sesame powder and walnuts! It is practically a meal in itself and all you need is a grater to prepare it. This salad inspires great digestion and we all know that beets are a great blood purifier. So, get out your grater and make this luscious salad for breakfast!

Ingredients:

1 medium size beet – washed, but no need to peel

1 medium size apple – washed and cored

2 tbsp. of sesame seed powder (ground hulled sesame seeds)

2 tbsp. of walnuts (soaked and rinsed preferably)

Directions:

Soak a small handful of walnuts in a dish of filtered water. Even if they don’t have much time to soak, the effort will at least rinse them clean. Drain and rinse when ready to use.

Grate the beet and the apple on the smallest grate on the grater. Use the side of grate where the holes are slanted. This is important because the beets need to be grated quite fine. The same goes for the apple. When the apple is grated on this small grate it actually turns to applesauce, which makes this dish nice and juicy. If you use the larger slanted grate, the beets will be more like little beet chips. This will not be nearly as juicy.

You might be wondering if you can use a food processor instead. The dish does not work nearly as well because most processors won’t grind veggies like beets and carrots down like you can with a grater.

Think about the sweetness you want to achieve when choosing the size of beet and apple. If the beet is large you will most likely want to use two apples.

Mix grated beet and apple together.

Grind hulled sesame seeds (the white ones that have the hulls removed) in a coffee grinder or Vita Mix. I like to grind enough ahead of time so I always have some powder readily available in the fridge.

Sprinkle the sesame powder on lavishly – don’t be shy. Top with chopped walnuts. Enjoy immediately or chill before serving. The salad keeps fresh if kept cool in the fridge for a few days.

YUM. This salad is alkaline, which makes it go down so easily. It is full of good fats so it is as satisfying and filling as it is yummy!

What Do I Do With Vegetables?

Everyone knows what healthy food is. Ask any 6^th grader and they will say, “fruits and vegetables”. Yet, people come to me often and say, “What do I do with vegetables?”

My next series of blog posts are going to be dedicated to the answer of that question. Here's creating great veggies the simple way.

Let’s start with green smoothies. I can’t emphasize enough how green smoothies can help nourish and refresh you everyday. Keep them simple and you will enjoy them more.

I make one every other day or so, enough so I can store some for the next day. This is my way of getting my veggies with varieties I may not eat otherwise.

My fridge is always lined with a couple of jars full of green power ready to be enjoyed. The first thing I do in the morning is to pull one out of the fridge so it can warm up a bit before drinking. I will drink half a jar, and save the rest for the afternoon when I want something cool and refreshing.  These drinks will alkalize your blood and fill you full of nutrients all at once.

 Here are a few of my favorite combinations:

Parsley – Pear

Apple – Celery – Cucumber

Cucumber – Lemon

Apple – Parsley – Cilantro

Lemon – Ginger – Kale

Apples, lemons and ginger go with everything. Add celery, cucumber, cilantro, parsley, and even lettuce leaves (Romaine is especially nice). If the lemon is too sour, add an apple or pear to sweeten. Keep them kind of watery and they become a light-refreshing beverage.

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