How To Make Raw Food EASY!

I'm often asked how I make my Raw Vegan lifestyle seem so easy. Here are some tips for doing just that:

1) Keep is simple!
Don't make a bunch of different recipes with different sides and different desserts, etc. Simply pick out 3-5 recipes you'll make for the week. For example, this week I'm making zucchini pasta with my famous marinara. This will be our dinner for 2-3 nights. When I went food shopping today, I also bought ingredients for my Harvest Soup so we'll have this for 2-3 days (lunch) served alongside a fresh salad. I'll make a quick and easy salad dressing (like this, Fat Free Strawberry Ginger or Olive Vinaigrette or Deviled Mango), which will last for about 3 days worth of lunch salads. Making and eating Raw Vegan food in this fashion saves you so much time!

Salads are easy...get the prewashed lettuce (give it a quick rinse anyway), dice up cucumbers and carrots (use different veggies next week to get balanced variety), toss some raisins or dried cranberries in and top with delicious dressing.

Go shopping twice a week to make life easy and have the freshest food on hand.

Don't worry about eating the same thing for a few days in a row, it's so delicious, you'll look forward to the third meal of zucchini pasta marinara, for example, as much as you did for the first meal. By having a few different recipes for the second half of the week, you'll get plenty of variety.

2) Keep things on hand!
I always have raw crackers, desserts (cookies, ice cream, mousse, cheesecake), milks, cheese dip and pate in the freezer. So, all I have to do the night before we're going to eat it is take it out and thaw. Pick one or two days a month to make these recipes and freeze them. Think you don't have room in your freezer? Think again...use a Food Saver and maximize your use of the space.

Keep some bags of frozen fruit on hand for those times you run out of fresh produce.

3) Liquids are high energy and easy!
I can't say enough about how healthy, easy and high energy liquids can be in your diet. I start every single day with either Plant Blood or a smoothie (it's usually green). Often (and very often) I stick with liquids for most of the day. This ensures I have extra energy and it's so healthy because it gives your digestive system a break. So, one of the best tips for making the Raw Vegan lifestyle easy and extra healthy, drink many of your meals. Smoothies only take minutes to make. Depending on your juicer, Plant Blood can take a little longer, but still, it's quite fast. Want a meal to keep you filled up for hours that is still smoothie style? You should try this great stuff, The Ultimate Meal.

4) Eat good ol' deliciously ripe fruit (sweet and non-sweet)!
Another smart and extra easy plan is to have plain fruit for a whole meal or even just a snack, sweet and/or non sweet. You all know I love my summer time watermelon, and could eat it all day long. Other examples: I often nosh on just cucumbers for a light lunch (sometimes I sprinkle a little Himalayan crystal salt and/or dried herbs - so refreshing) and to make it more substantial, I'll add 1/2 a diced avocado. Or, for more richness, I'll dive into a phytonutrient, tropical bounty of mango, bananas, and pineapple. It truly doesn't get easier than that.

For other great tips on living the Raw Vegan lifestyle with ease, check out my ebook, Kristen's Raw: The EASY Way to Get Started & Succeed With Raw Food.

A Quiet Day

We're home and even though we've only been gone a handful of days, it seems like much longer. I don't know why, but I just can't seem to jump back into things straight away. I feel the need to just take my time, do things naturally, and try to get back into the work groove tomorrow (I have to prepare for my upcoming Raw Chocolate class). I cleaned today, researched more healthy products online for my face and body, and did laundry. I don't feel like doing much more than that.

Today's food:
1 cup tea made from freshly ground, organic milk thistle seeds (gotta clean my liver!)
Mega shake (The Ultimate Meal, blueberries, Vitamineral Green, Hemp Protein Powder, ground milk thistle seeds, Raw carob - see? Told ya it was mega)
1/2 cucumber with pinch Himalayan crystal salt

Tonight we're going to dinner with my boyfriend's mom to one of my favorite Middle Eastern restaurants so I'll enjoy lentil soup, hummus and some sprouted organic bread of my own that I'll bring. But before that, we're going to the gym (biceps and triceps today). And, since I just received my Animal Times magazine from PETA, I'm stoked about reading that while walking on the treadmill.

Daily Conversation Question:
Is there only one soul mate for each person?

My answer? After having met my boyfriend....emphatically yes. And, for those of you out there dating right now...don't settle. Keep searching for the person who makes you feel like you're an absolute super star, gives you true peace in your heart, and makes you weak in the knees well after the first couple dates (like FOREVER!).

Synthetic Vitamins In My Pre-Natals? Damn!

Okay, so here I am trying to have the healthiest body as possible in preparation of conceiving. Even though I eat a very healthy diet, with tons of fresh, organic, raw foods, I will need extra nutrients when I get pregnant. To make sure I'm getting them, I thought I'd take pre-natal vitamins. In my quest for the perfect pre-natals, I thought back to the many studies I read years ago showing how harmful synthetic vitamins could be. I learned that you should be able to read and comprehend the ingredients without needing a PhD in chemistry. So, I was on the hunt for a completely whole-food, non-synthetic multi, pre-natal vitamin.

I went to Whole Foods and asked for a recommendation for pre-natal vitamins, because once I was there, I saw some bottles labeled as having some organic aspects (but not all...hhhhmmm) as well as some labels claiming they were food-based. I was recommended this brand, Super Nutrition, which I bought because I saw the words "food-based" on the label and figured I'd trust the "oh so sure these are the best you can buy sales girl."

I started taking them for a couple weeks. I had a stomach ache a few times because I didn't take them with enough food, although they claim to not upset your stomach (uh-oh - this got me rethinking my choice). Plus, my pee was very yellow, let's be honest, it glowed in the dark. I mean, think about it, my pee isn't neon yellow no matter how many bananas or greens or fruit I eat. So, neon pee after taking a supplement...Double uh-oh.

I immediately became curious and put on my detective hat. For starters, I emailed the Super Nutrition Vitamin company that I had been taking to inquire as to whether they had any synthetic ingredients. Here is their response:

Dear Kristen,

Thank you for your interest in SuperNutrition. Our PreNatal multi-vitamins use USP nutrients, in a food-based tablet.

By law, all vitamins manufactured in the United States, including SuperNutrition's, are made with U.S.P. (United States Pharmacopoeia) grade nutrients, the majority of which (with only one or two nutrients excepted) are always synthetic in every company, no matter the subsequent processing of the tablet or the terms used to describe the processing.

U.S.P. nutrients are bioidentical to the vitamins found in food, and have been shown by over 200,000 published, independent, and peer reviewed scientific studies to be well-absorbed and beneficial for the body.

Our vegetarian, hypoallergenic, food-based tablets are made up of plant vegetable fibers and green foods such as, alfalfa, chlorella, dulce and spirulina. These plant fibers aid in disintegration of the tablet and the green food blend, contain various, and valuable micronutrients. We use no artificial fillers or binders in any of our products, everything in our tablets contribute to the nutritional whole of the product. Please contact us with any other questions.

WTF? U.S.P.? By law? Pharmacopoeia? I don't even like those words! I was immediately skeptical since I knew from past research that there were whole food-based vitamins out there. By law, my ass. The problem was that it had been a long time since I researched vitamin supplements because I never felt the need to supplement with how great my diet was. And, I figured the label was enough if it claimed they were food-based. And their reply with over 200,00 studies, well, it only takes one study showing me a link with dangerous problems resulting from synthetic vitamins to get me scared (examples on that below). Plus, I knew there had to be totally food-based vitamins out there, so the option was available, meaning, to me, that there was a reason they were available. I just had to find them.

Needless to say, I'm a little fired up. You always have to do double research and get recommendations from people you trust, not just someone who works in a reputed health food store, even when you ask if they're whole food based.

I was pretty upset when I realized I'd been taking synthetics, knowing how harmful they can be. Just because they contained some organic greens (and such) doesn't mean squat if they also have synthetics. For example, Synthetic Vitamin C linked to the thickening of the arterial walls of the heart by as much as 2.5 times. Synthetic Vitamin A linked to birth defects in pregnant women who took it. Synthetic Vitamin E linked to lung cancer.

Therefore, I will be returning the vitamins I bought (I had stocked up and bought 2 bottles).

Update 12/1/08:
I have been looking at New Chapter PreNatals and it looks like those might be the answer.

It's So Fun At Mom's & A Special Thank You

We've been spending the week at my mom's house and it's so much fun. I know I've written before about times such as these, but I can't help but share again. She only lives about 40 minutes away, but I swear, we feel like we're at a retreat when we're here. We bring our laptops, books, dvds, dog, tennis shoes for long walks, swimsuits for late night swimming under the stars, and mom provides the rest...

She stocks up her refrigerator with our favorite foods and we all just relax, hang out, and graze on yummy food all day. I especially love spending time in her backyard because it's very zen...with wind chimes, shady trees, flowers, bunnies and birds (they love eating up her organic scraps), big fluffy cushioned chairs, and warm sunshine. I feel like I'm transported away to a special garden with only the sounds of nature floating around me.

Most of you know that my mom and I are very close. So, you can imagine her excitement with all of my baby talk. Let's just say...huge! It's going to be such a beautiful time in my life to share with my mom, just like she shared with her mom when I was born.

This week we made some refreshing and phyto-nutrient packed coleslaw. We made a gigantic batch of it and have been eating it for a few days now. We've also been drinking lots of Plant Blood and smoothies made from The Ultimate Meal. But, that's not all, of course...we've also had our share of fun treats (we are, after all, at mom's).

I want to say a special thank you to everyone who has been posting comments on my blog with respect to my plans for pregnancy. All of you are saying how great of a mom I'm going to be and it feels so lovely, warm, and encouraging to read those. Y'all are just like family and I love it. Thank you again and again for all of your support. I'm sending you a huge right now...feel it? Nice and big!

My Midwife Interview Today

Today was our first midwife interview (yippee!). I immediately liked her, and of course, it makes me even more excited about getting pregnant. I've been researching other midwives and although I haven't interviewed others, I'm very excited about the prospect of hiring the midwife we interviewed today.

She is impressed with my diet and daily habits, and she gave me a little gift packet with great information about nutrition, co-sleeping and other pregnancy topics. I asked her about things to facilitate fertility (in addition to B-vitamins for healthy mucus, folic acid, etc), and she recommended: Pine's Wheat Grass Tablets and Chlorofresh Liquid Chlorophyll (both of which I found at Sprouts, a local health food store). I'm cool with taking those to ensure I get extra chlorophyll, even though I usually have green smoothies and/or green juice daily, because I'm eager to make sure I have all my bases covered.

One area of concern I have with consuming so much Raw produce during pregnancy is the potential of it being contaminated (thinking about the tomatoes and spinach issues in the recent past have me thoughtful). As an adult, I can tolerate these challenges without much worry, but when I'm pregnant, it's a different story. As a result, I'm planning on not eating Raw foods at restaurants (salads, etc) to prevent the possibility of eating something either contaminated from the meat being served there and touching the cutting board or knives, etc, or from the produce simply not being thoroughly washed. I also will not have juice from any juice bars, even if it's organic. It's just not a risk I'm willing to take. When I'm at home preparing food, I will be extra diligent about thoroughly cleaning all of my produce. It's kind of a tough place to find myself....knowing all of the delicious benefits of fresh, raw, whole vegan foods, but concerned about contamination. I mean, after all, this should be the healthiest food to pass my lips, rights? Everything is different when planning to become pregnant.

The liver is an extremely important organ throughout pregnancy and I want to make sure my liver is in top shape. Prior to embracing Raw and Vegan, I took many prescriptions for headaches, birth control, over-the-counter stimulants for body building, etc and I hope my liver isn't still cleaning out those toxins. As a precautionary measure, I'm adding milk thistle seeds to my diet. I bought some through Natural Zing and I'm going to grind them and add them to my smoothies, or make a tea out of them. Plus, milk thistle is in the new shake mix I'm drinking, The Ultimate Meal.

It's such an exciting time in my life; I can hardly explain it. Up until some months ago (before I was considering getting pregnant), my life was fun, happy, and full of joy. Now, with the hope of pregnancy on the horizon, my life has taken on new meaning and it feels...well...so beautifully wholesome, pure, feminine, and empowering.

The Ultimate Meal - Nutrients, Weight Loss, Energy

After reading many times about how great this meal replacement powder is, I decided to give it a go. It's 100% Vegan, Mostly Organic, and High Raw. I recommend reading through the entire website about it (Check out the FAQ, too). But if you choose to buy it, get it from Amazon since it's less expensive. Here is the list of ingredients.


I was attracted to it for a number of reasons:

1. Loaded with nutrients - Even though I get plenty of vitamin and minerals throughout my week by trying to rotate foods and such, I'm still interested in making sure I have as many bases covered as possible. Additionally, The Ultimate Meal has a number of things that I would like more of in my diet.

2. The reviews are great - Like I wrote earlier, I've read a number of reviews about this product over the years, I just hadn't tried it until now. People are very happy with the product, including the famous Vegan Ultimate Fighting Champion, Mac Danzig. Check out the blog article on him here (this is one of my favorite blogs to follow). Once you're done reading that, you can check out an "in-depth look" here about his diet specifics (for the in-depth look, scroll down to #6). If you want me to cut to the chase, here is this super-mega star's review of it:

I swear by this stuff, it's a whole meal and has made up a huge part of my diet for 3 years now. It's a bit of an acquired taste, but I truly notice myself feeling better when I use it daily. Remember to follow the directions and add the apple and banana. (This is not your normal "add powder to water" supplement.)

3. Great for weight loss - The Ultimate Meal is great for helping people lose weight because it's reputed for helping people stay "full" up to 6-hours after drinking it. Many people enjoy this for breakfast and lunch or breakfast and dinner, or some have it for all of their meals some days. But, it's not all about just weight loss because...

4. Excellent pre-natal nutrition - Since I'm not trying to lose weight and will be looking for ways to add more nutrient dense calories to my diet once I'm pregnant, this will be a great choice. I won't use it to replace meals, rather, I'll enjoy this as mid-morning/afternoon snack(s). As you can see, it's up to you how you use this. It can be helpful with losing weight, maintaining weight, or gaining healthy weight.

5. Great pre/post workout shake - This is where my boyfriend comes in. He loves having a shake before or after a heavy duty workout in the gym, so this is perfect for that. It's filled with carbs from the fruit, protein, and nutrients, to fuel his big muscles. So, all you ladies out there with men who want a shake with some more "oompf!" here it is!

6. Convenient and travel worthy - It's fast and easy to make. I love that I can take this when traveling, too. It's important to make sure I'm still packing my body with nutrients when I'm not at home. Yes, you need a blender for this, but that's not a problem since I travel with this great travel blender.

So, how does it taste? It's good. I'm not jumping up and down, licking my lips and wanting to lick the glass to get every last drop of it, but I'm also not grimacing and making icky faces either. It's very likable. I've read in the reviews that you need to make it according to the instructions which includes a banana and half-apple or peach or some other fruit for the best flavor. And, if you're avoiding fruit for some reason, then you can make it with a raw nut/seed milk (hemp would be great) and add a sweetener such as stevia.

So far, I've had it as recommended on the container. I've also made it and added maca, carob and hemp powder. Another time I added milk thistle seeds and a teaspoon of Vitamineral Green Powder. Overall, we really like it and will continue to use this. If you get some, let me know what you think :)

Pure Delight Smoothie & Vegan, Organic Beauty

Here is a new staple smoothie recipe for the summer. It's so simple, delicious, delightful, light, refreshing, nourishing, beautiful, and vibrant. And, guess what? That's how you'll feel after only one sip (or gulp, in my case!).

Pure Delight
1 cup water
2 med. bananas
2 med. lacinato kale leaves
1 cucumber, chopped

Give this energy filled lusciousness a whirl in your blender and enjoy with delight.

It's beauty time girls! In my quest for healthy body care products, I came upon an amazing company. Oh my, let me just tell you, their stuff is exquisite. If you're looking for organic, vegan and living skin care (my kind of stuff!), then hop on over to Raw Gaia. They use only the most natural, pure, and unadulterated ingredients to make products that are truly healthy for your skin. I'm madly in love with their Sun-dried Green Clay Face Pack - It's a must have.

Vegan Organic Farming...Another Step To Healthier Food

Did you realize that there is a difference between organic farming and vegan organic farming? Who knew?! It seems to be an emerging trend, so be on the lookout for this to become more popular, like it is in England and Europe (of course).

What exactly is vegan organic farming (a.k.a. veganic farming)? It's farming without any animal fertilizers or byproducts, which takes healthy farming to the next level. Here is a great article about it (click here to read)

Just Another Fun Day...

It's been a fun day so far. I'm filled with so much energy and happiness :)

I'm not doing anything in particular, and sometimes those days are just the best. I've been instant messaging a ton with my bud, Malynda, as well as eating lots of Raw Vegan purple cabbage slaw (cabbage is filled with vitamins and phytonutrients!), drinking green smoothies (gotta get my chlorophyll), dancing around my dining room like no one is watching (to some old school Janet Jackson), and working online. Oh yes, I also played with some more chocolate recipes.

Later today, I'll be going to the gym of course:
Strength Training: Triceps
bench dips, v-bar pushdown, tricep kick backs
heavy weight, low reps, 4 straight sets

Cardio: Treadmill

Daily Conversation Question:
What are the most important qualities you look for in friends?

Womanly Green Smoothie

In honor of women and our amazing birthing abilities, I'm drinking a Womanly Green Smoothie. As many of you know, I'm going to be "working" on becoming a mom in the (near) future. As a result, I'm starting early in taking excellent care of myself by paying extra close attention to everything that passes my lips and touches my body. I'm making a healthy and fertile playground of my body with conception on the horizon.

I love what Henry G. Bieler, M.D. wrote in his book Food Is Your Best Medicine:
"'Doctor, is my baby all right?' is the first question of almost every woman when her child is born. I myself have heard the question thousands of times. If every mother's greatest wish is to have a truly healthy baby, why (in most cases) does she take such poor care of herself before the baby is born? And why does she feed her child from infancy to adulthood so improperly that illness inevitably results?"

Womanly Green Smoothie
1 cup Women's Balancing Tea (brewed, cooled to room temperature)
6 organic strawberries
1 handful organic spinach

Blend it up and enjoy.

Raw Vegan Dessert - Summer Strawberry Cobbler!

I am a fool for Raw Vegan cobblers because they're satiating, nutritious, and extra easy to make. They remind me of traditional cooked cobblers, but when I'm done eating the Raw vegan version, I'm filled with energy, excitement and happiness :)

My recipe for Summer Strawberry Cobbler hits the spot and delivers everything I promised a cobbler would above. The delicious recipe is available in both my print book and ebook, Kristen Suzanne's EASY Raw Vegan Desserts (but I'm also sharing it with you here!). It's a refreshing recipe with flavors that keep playing in your mouth, well after you've swallowed a bite.

I chose strawberries for this cobbler because it's summertime and they're in season. And, buying organic food in season is just one of many ways to buy organic on a budget.

Strawberries are loaded with tremendous health benefits:

~ Help protect against a variety of cancers

~ Rich in folate, fiber, vitamin C and potassium

~ Heart-disease fighting phytonutrients

~ Compounds may help strengthen short term memory (nice!)

You'll also see that I've included prunes in the recipe when you buy the book. I love using prunes because they have a wonderful, soft texture and they're not as sweet as most other dried fruits. And, they're seriously LOADED with antioxidants.


Summer Strawberry Cobbler
Kristen Suzanne of Kristen's Raw
Yield one 8x8 glass-baking dish

I am a fool for Raw vegan cobblers because they're satiating, super easy to prepare, and nutritious. Here's a fun, delicious recipe for exactly that, Summer Strawberry Cobbler. It's refreshing with flavors that keep playing in your mouth, well after you've swallowed a bite.

The Crumble
2 cups raw pecans or walnuts
3/4 cup dried coconut, shredded & unsweetened
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup currants
1/3 cup prunes, chopped

The Strawberry Filling
25 oz fresh strawberries, destemmed (or use frozen and thaw them)
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
8 soft dates, pitted
2 tablespoons raw agave nectar

The Crumble
Place the nuts, coconut, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor, fitted with the S-blade, and process until coarsely ground. Add the currants and prunes, and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and holds together when gently pressed between two fingers. Set aside.

The Filling
Take about 15-16 ounces (approximately two-thirds) of the strawberries, chop them and set aside in a large bowl. Then, place the rest of the strawberries along with the orange juice, dates, and agave in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into the bowl with the chopped strawberries and stir.

The Assembly
Pour half of the crumble in the bottom of the glass-baking dish and give it a firm but gentle press. Spread the strawberry filling on top. Sprinkle the remaining cobbler crumble on top of the strawberry filling, allowing some of the beautiful strawberry filling to show through. Serve at room temperature, or warm in a dehydrator for up to an hour at 130 degrees for extra deliciousness. Covered, Summer Strawberry Cobbler will keep for up to three days in the refrigerator.

Today's Fun Work: I'm listening to the audio soundtrack to What The Bleep Do We Know and working away on my laptop. If you haven't seen this documentary, I highly recommend it. I liked it much better than The Secret. And, the soundtrack is very cool.

Today's Fun Exercise: I'm hitting the gym later for cardio and chest strength training. Tonight, I'll take my dog for a nice long walk when it cools down.

Today's Raw Vegan Food (in this order):

3 cups Watermelon

1/4 cup Summer Strawberry Cobbler

1 cup Truly Chopped Salad

2 cups Green Smoothie (strawberries, spinach)

2 cups Women's Balancing Tea

2 1/2 cups Truly Chopped Salad plus an avocado

3 cups Green Smoothie (banana, kale)

1/2 cup Summer Strawberry Cobbler

The Truly Chopped Salad

I craved a big, fresh, organic salad today, but I wanted to put a different twist on it for some extra fun and added health benefits.

My inspiration was to make something that was easy on digestion, and since chewing is such an important part for healthy digestion (breaking down the food into small enough pieces), I decided to make my big, fresh salad truly chopped to facilitate that.

Basically, I used my food processor to chop all the different components of the my salad into tiny pieces (carrots, red bell pepper, avocado, cucumber, parsley, romaine lettuce). Using my food process, fitted with the "S" blade, I processed the different produce one-by-one until it was in tiny pieces and then transferred it to a bowl. (I didn't throw everything into the food processor all at once because the foods have differing water contents, and if you, for example, chop up cucumber with carrot, the carrot takes longer to chop, thereby turning the cucumber to mush by the time the carrot gets small enough).

Then, I added dried cranberries to the bowl of chopped goodies, and tossed in a simple dressing (hemp oil, lemon juice, salt, agave nectar). Voila... Truly Chopped Salad. Great for digestion, fun to eat, and delicious. Just imagine all of the other possibilities... fennel, olives, herbs, cilantro, spinach, pineapple, zucchini, beets, prunes, currants, celery, etc. Yum!

My Organic Raw Food Intake (so far):

Peach

Green Smoothie (apple, orange, spinach)

2 large servings Truly Chopped Salad

Summer Strawberry Cobbler (recipe will be posted by tomorrow)

Today's Workout:

20 minutes on the treadmill (walk/run)

Back strength training (wide-grip pull down, close grip row, hyperextensions)

Jumping jacks between weight lifting sets

Daily Conversation Question

How will our culture change in the next 100 years?

Friday the 13th & Dog Carrying Produce

It's been a busy Friday so far. I played in the kitchen with new raw vegan chocolate recipes and right now I'm catching up on business, emails, etc. I still have to get to the gym and get a solid workout. I think I really need it...feeling the need to pound it out on the treadmill or something.

Is there a full moon coming in the next few days? Is it me or is everyone feeling a little weird-ish today. Oh wait! Maybe it has something to do with Fri/13th? Hhhmmm....That has to be it (and it explains a lot - haha).

Isn't this dog adorable? If only I could train my dog to carry my organic produce - yeah, that'll be the day - haha :)

Thanks to everyone for all the love after receiving my latest email newsletter (sign up here). I love hearing from you.

Daily Conversation Question (doing a twofer today):

What's the most significant problem facing the world?

What does your perfect day look like?

Green Smoothie Popsicles! Cool & Fun!

With summer fast approaching, I was in search of yet another way to enjoy green smoothies, so I decided to make Green Smoothie Popsicles. The extra cool thing about these is that kids LOVE them! They're so easy, cute, and refreshing...just what we need in hot temperatures. And, the varieties are endless...making watermelon popsicles with a touch of rind is on tomorrow's menu for me. They're going to be so pretty - I'm such a girl! I'm going to call those Princess Popsicles. Here are the ingredients for the Green Smoothie Popsicles featured in the picture:

Cinna-Spinach Man

water

splash lemon juice

spinach

mango

cinnamon

Blueberry Ginger Affair

water

spinach

splash lemon juice

blueberries

ginger

Simply blend the ingredients together for the recipe you choose and pour into popsicle molds and freeze. If you don't have popsicle molds, then you can freeze them in an ice cube tray and have Green Smoothie Popsicle Bites.

I'll be at Whole Foods this Saturday featuring my recipe for Summer Strawberry Cobbler. With Father's Day coming up, this is the PERFECT dessert to take (or to any summer party). I promise...people will be begging you for the recipe :) If you're interested in trying it, stop by Whole Foods (Raintree/101 location) between 11am-1pm.

Ten-hut! Sweet Army Green Smoothie Here

Ten-hut (the full version: a-ten-hut) is the abbreviated military term for "Come to attention!" And, that's exactly what this smoothie does...gets my attention! It's sweetly delicious, reminds me of the army green color, and attention getting with great nutrition. Can you imagine if we fed our military with green smoothies? (They deserve the best after-all!)

I had it for lunch today (I love drinking smoothies and juices for breakfast and lunch because they're easy to make, loaded with superior nutrition, fill me with unstoppable energy, and taste so dang great).

Sweet Army Green Smoothie
Yield 1 quart

1 1/2 cups water
3 frozen bananas
2 medium leaves lacinato kale
big handful cilantro
1 tablespoon Vitamineral Green Powder (y'all know this is my fave!)

Blend it up and feel your body ten-hut!

PS...Oprah update. She's still rockin' it out vegan style - boohyah!

Herbin' Ranch Dip - You Must Try!

I'm getting together the goods for my next email newsletter (sign up here), and one of the featured recipes is this delicious dip (or it can be used as a salad dressing like I did here). I promise...the next time you're jonesing for a ranch style dip or dressing that is so satisfying and keeps you coming back for more, make this! It's amazing.

Today

It was a great day. We ran errands, food shopped (scored delicious organic peaches and apricots), worked out at the gym, drank energizing smoothies, ate fresh salads, watched The Next Food Network Star, and read What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations.

Kristen's Raw - Twitter Style

I've been having a lot of fun using Twitter to stay connected and meet new people around the world. Follow along with me here.

Green Slurpee...What a Joy!

I was born and raised in Michigan and the humid summertime in Michigan (as a kid) just wasn't the same if you didn't indulge in a slurpee from a 7-Eleven convenience store. Well, today I was taking a stroll down memory lane as I slurped on a delicious concoction that transported me back to childhood days. Granted, it certainly didn't look or taste exactly like the all-too-sugary-sweet experience of the past. But! The texture was the same and with my transformed vegan crudivore taste buds and desires, I loved the "green, raw, organic" version so much more. It was so great that I'm headed back to the kitchen to make another one when I finish this post. I can tell this is going to be a staple all summer long here in the dry Arizona desert heat. I can't wait to make a bunch of other combinations...just frozen fruit and green powder...that's the trick to making it just like a slurpee's texture!

Green Slurpee
Yield 3 cups

1 cup water
1 cup frozen organic mango
1 cup frozen organic peaches
1 heaping spoonful Vitamineral Green Powder (this stuff kicks butt and takes names!)

Give it all a whirl in your blender and enjoy fresh, pure energy when your body's cells jump for joy as they swim in nutrition.

Daily Conversation Question:
What one question would you ask a psychic about the future?

New Word: Crudivore

For those of us eating a Raw diet, did you know there is a term used to describe our eating behavior that goes beyond the typical "Raw" which is so commonly used? There is! We're called crudivores (pronounced like crude, as in unrefined, unprocessed). Throw that term around at the next party you attend. Check out more here (it's really cool!). More specifically, for my purposes and most others living the Raw lifestyle (who omit animal products and by-products), we should call ourselves vegan crudivores.

If you google crudivore, you'll see that there are about 6,000 results which is very low. Even lower are the results you get when googling vegan crudivore (about 800). To put that into perspective, herbivore yields about 1.4 million results.

Fast Food Goes Organic

Times are changing and it's exciting. Check out this article about some fast food chains going organic. As a High Raw All Vegan (HRAV), I love knowing that our nation is starting to desire healthier food choices, which, in my book, means more people learning about Raw in the long run. We have to start somewhere and fresh organic food is a great place.

Organic and eating locally grown foods are both "hot" trends for chefs right now, and this means more organic options at restaurants. Yippee! How great would it be to enjoy gobbling up fresh salads and dishes made from organic ingredients when you dine out?

My HRAV Food Today
Organic coconut black tea
1 quart Blueberry Power Packed Green Smoothie (recipe below)
1/4 cup Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seeds
that's it so far...

Blueberry Power Packed Smoothie
Yield 1 quart

2 cups water
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup Manitoba Harvest Hemp Protein Powder (the best available)
1 tablespoon Vitamineral Green Powder (my favorite!)
1 tablespoon chia seeds (these are so fun!)
3 handfuls spinach
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Blend this power packin' goodness up and enjoy some mega energy and fulfillment!

Daily Conversation Question
If you could have front row seats to any concert, who would you like to see?

A Perfect Monday

Today has been nice and easy (perfect for a Monday), which is the result of my recent purging/cleaning of "stuff." I love my new "decluttered and super clean" home. I have more space with fewer things and it makes it much more airy, light feeling, organized and healthy. It feels so wonderful, simple and easy...just the way I want my life to be.

My Food Intake (so far): I polished off some watermelon (shocker, I know - haha) and now I'm having a Green Smoothie w/ spinach, blueberries and hemp protein powder. This will keep me fueled for a while. Can I just say how much I love fresh Raw vegan food? YUM!

Today's exercise: We'll be going for an epic walk later in the evening when it's cooler. My dog has been begging us to take him on a long walk, and today is our day off from the gym, so it's perfect timing.

Daily Conversation Question:
What life experience has strengthened you the most?