Summer Eats

Here are a few pictures of some dishes that I made last week. I have been on a cacao fix lately so I have been experimenting with some new recipes.




My two little ones are just getting over a cold, so this weekend has been pretty hectic and busy. It just so happened that my husband had to work some very long days over the weekend. On a regular night I am usually up pretty late watching my son who has special needs. When he gets a little cold, it makes his sleeping even more compromised so my husband and I were up a lot later. Both children are fine now, but needless to say that my husband and I are recovering from very little sleep this weekend after pulling some late nights. If you haven't had a chance to meet my son you can find more about him on my other blog.


So I will leave you with some photo's of some summer eats that I made the week before


Raw Chocolate Crackers made with hemp and flax seeds. Lovely on their own, but even better with fresh strawberries!



Homemade Raw Cereal made with pumpkin seeds, almonds with fresh raspberries and blueberries. You know I love my fresh homemade granola. You know exactly what you are eating, not like a lot of boxed cereals.





Garden salad with some fresh chives and lettuce from our backyard. This made for one great green salad.





That is all for now. I hope you enjoy !

Raw Food Meet Up @ Thrive Juice Bar

One of the simplest pleasures in life is to go out for a meal with some great people and spend time eating and talking. Last night our Kitchener-Waterloo Raw Meet-Up selected Thrive Juice Bar for an evening of fun.



When I started the raw food meet up, I really just wanted an avenue to help people learn about raw food. I also wanted to have the opportunity to meet with like minded people in our community. To get together and create a feeling of community for people who want to eat healthy, but also go out and have fun too.




Our evening out was a huge success. Thrive Juice Bar provided us with the best service and the food tasted amazing. I want to send a big shout out to Jonnie the owner and thank him for his great hospitality. I must say this about Jonnie, he is passionate about food and health and this reflects in the food that he provides to his customers. The food is full of flavour, highly creative and the best part of all, it is highly nutritious. You will leave feeling energized, happy and just plain good about yourself and yes the prices are really affordable.

We started off with some drinks. We all got different things but one of the popular choices was the Coconut Cashew Medjoal Date Smoothie. Others tried the Thai Avocado Smoothie that incorporated the flavours of lemongrass, avocado and coconut water.

I opted for the Big Green Smoothie. (Yes I love my Greens) This is full of nutrients and flavour. It is jam packed with all things green including E3 Live, Wheat grass and fresh greens.




Then we proceeded to the BEST Raw Soup ever. A melody or carrot, curry & coconut blended to perfection.



For the main meal I choose a fantastic raw Pad Thai dish filled with vegetables such as cabbage, bok choy, carrots, snap peas & daikon to name a few. The veggies are mixed in a creamy cashew sauce and flavoured with chili, cilantro and mint. For all of you health seekers out there, this dish is a nutritional home run. I can't say more about a dish filled with my favourite daikon and cabbage.



And last but most definitely not least.... the desserts.

Here is a rich raw chocolate brownie plate that I enjoyed.




Other's went for a fresh mango marinated carpaccio with coconut ice cream.



So if you have not been to Thrive Juice Bar, go check it out.

Big thank you to all of the meet up members that came out to this event and to those also who helped promote it. I want to give a shout out to Mary, a fellow blogger from This is Vegan, who came out to this event and posted about our night as well. Stay tuned for our upcoming raw meet up events.....

For those of you that don't live in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, do you have local support or raw groups in your community?

Easy Raw Chipolte Taco's

Now that the warm weather is upon us, it is a great time to incorporate raw food into your diet. Raw food is full of nutrients and enzymes. As we age our enzyme stores in our body decrease, so eating raw food is an excellent way to incorporate more enzymes into your diet.


I really love eating fresh foods, straight from the garden. If you don't have space for a garden you can always join a local CSA. They are amazing and they provide you with the opportunity to eat the bounty of food that comes directly from your community. This is also an amazing way to make connections and new friends in your community. I am always amazed at how many new stores, farms and projects that you can learn about just by talking with people.

Speaking of fresh foods. Here is a quick easy raw food wrap that you can make. You can fill it with whatever fresh ingredients you have. I love the simplicity of quick meals as it allows me to spend more time with my family, instead of spending time in the kitchen.

Raw Chipolte Taco's

Process some walnuts in your food processor. You can really make this any flavour that you like. I usually use cumin as the main seasoning for the walnuts. This time I opted for chipolte for a little change. Feel free to add in some onions, garlic and any other seasoning. A sprinkle of tamari works well. Pulse for a few seconds. Please don't pulse to long or all of the oils from the walnuts will come out and it will be rather mushy. The browny red colour is from the chipolte seasoning. If you use cumin, you will get a different shade.



I find walnuts to be the best for the mok taco meat. They are also a source of OMEGA 3 oils so this is an added bonus.

Next step...assemble your tacos.

Find your base. I used romaine lettuce. You could also use any other green leaf that you like. Collards work well too. Then just start layering your taco like you would do a not raw one.

Ingredients:
chopped tomatoes
some raw corn
avocado
scallion
sunflower seed cheese


As always the sky is the limit and you can really bring out your creativity here. Cilantro, chives and other herbs from the garden work well.



Make sure to have fun making your taco's and get your family involved.



You can roll them up or leave them open. Either way they are yummy!



Hope you enjoy!

If you haven't yet, make sure to join my FACEBOOK group and follow me on Twitter. I'd love to see you there.

David Wolfe on Cacao: Real or Not Real?

Hello Foodies:

Just sharing an interesting link to an interview with David Wolfe and Len Foley on Cacao. Many of you who have been into raw food for a while may already know about this. However if you are new to raw food this maybe news to you.

Raw Cheesecake with Cacao




Real Cacao or Not Real?

Have you heard any of the buzz about cacao and it being hybridized? This is something that you should look into if you are eating raw cacao. I have just listened to a David Wolfe Video that is informative on this topic. You may have heard this already however as always it is presented very clearly on this call. Really it is talking about the fact that a lot of the raw cacao that we are getting is hybridized and called CCN-51 . I don't know about you but I really don't care to eat anything that is called CCN-51 . As you can imagine this is a complex issue that can not be fixed in a quick minute. As a consumer of any type of food, it is important to do some research on what you are getting. A lot of food in our world it is being tampered with, genetically modified and not in it's natural state. When this happens, the food no longer carries the same qualities. The main reason that this information is important is that you maybe thinking that you are getting the best product and in reality you are not. "CCN-51" does not have the same nutritional values of a superfood that most people are looking for when they buy cacao. It is not rich in antioxidants, minerals or have a high ORAC value.

What you should be looking for in your Cacao? Well in the interview they discuss that you should look for a species that is a native-born Ecuadorian species named "Arriba Nacional-Fino de Aroma". You can obviously find these products on David's site, however you can also find the products in selected health food stores. Another interesting point brought up in the video is that cacao paste could be a better choice that the powder.

Love to hear what your thoughts are on all of this. I do eat Cacao and use the above mentioned species. However I do have it in moderation and I don't go crazy with it. What are your thoughts on this? Are you buying the right cacao? Do you avoid cacao and use carob instead? Can't wait to hear what you have to say....