Time to Play

Someone told me this morning that I have been working too hard and that I should enjoy a day of play.

Hmmm. Let me think about that for a moment.




Check
and
Check

Can I just say. Check, CHECK, check, CHECKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!

Not really complaining! Life is good. I have been working on some great projects. I have a new website in the works, along with some raw food cooking classes and Health & Raw food coaching. As many of you know I have been studying nutrition and raw food for a while. I am so excited to be putting everything together in some fun ways.

Sometimes it is just important to take a BREAK. I think it is great to stop while you are in the midst of a project and just allow yourself to relax, play and have fun.

So today after dropping my daughter off to school and my son off to preschool for a few hours I took a trip to Chapter's. I had fun checking out the raw food and the vegan sections and also the nutrition area. I ended up picking up a new book and a journal for an upcoming trip.

Then into the kitchen to have some fun playing with food.

My husband and daughter made zucinni and squash noodles.



I used a tomato sauce. This one is from the book RAWvolution by Matt Amsden. This is one of my favourite raw books. I added some shitake mushrooms, fresh basil, black olives and a little bit of kale. Can't forget the kale.



Then I made a cashew/ macadamia nut cheese. I think this one is my best yet.

Cheese Recipe

I cup raw cashews
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
pinch of salt
lemon
paprika
onion
nutritional yeast
agave

Raw Play= Yum!!



So I am suggesting that you find some time for play, to relax and just have fun with whatever it is that you enjoy. For me it is often food related.

I would love to here what you are going to do to nourish your sense of play?

Make sure to join my FB page on the right so we can stay connected.

Raw Banana Coconut Cream Pie

I was craving something sweet today. I had cashews in the fridge that had already been soaked overnight and drained and just sitting there waiting for me to do something.




If you know me I am kind of crazy in the kitchen. I just get on these whims and throw some of this and that together and see if it works. For my family this worked great today. Either they have been lacking some sweet treats or this hit the spot.

When I ate cooked desserts I never really choose a banana cream pie. I was always and apple pie kind of girl, blueberry girl second. However I thought of this raw Banana Coconut Cream Pie.


Simple Yummy Crust:

2 cups of macadamia nuts
4 tbs of ground flax seed
10 Pitted dates

Put nuts in the food processor and grind until fine. Start adding dates and process until a ball starts to form. Add 2 tbs of ground flax seed and gently pulse into mixture. Scrape out the mixture and place in a spring form pan or tart tins. You can sprinkle the bottom if needed.





Press mixture into a pie crust formation. I use a bottle to help smooth it down. However you can also just use your hands. (see all my bottle marks-just smooth that out with your hands)



Pie Filling Ingredients:

I cup of processed raw cashews that have been soaked overnight
1 cup coconut water
2 Frozen or fresh bananas
2 tbs of agave
pinch of sea salt
2.5 tbs of extra virgin coconut oil
nutmeg to taste ( I went a bit heavier on the nutmeg)

Flavoured stevia is a nice addition to this recipe. I used a little bit of hazelnut Stevia in the crust. You can make any flavour combo that you want. Cacao banana would be great and you could do this by adding cacao powder to the crust layer.

Blend the cashews in the food processor and make sure to use 1 cup blended. Then add in the coconut water and oil. Proceed to add in the bananas. Then lastly add in salt, agave and nutmeg. Pour into pie crust.

Decorate with sliced bananas and grated nutmeg. Add sprinkle of cacao nibs for a nice crunch. Put in freezer for about an hour or until you are ready to serve. This is a light and fluffy texture so I enjoyed it not frozen and at room temperature.


This is my daughters which she devoured= happy mama




This is my husbands with more bananas, creams, and nibs! Let's just call it LAYERED





As always have fun in the kitchen and ENJOY your healthy treats! Make sure to jump on over and LIKE my facebook page.

Summer Fun, Road Trips and Raw Eats!

The summer has been really fun and it has also flown by so quickly. As I am starting to get the house and children ready for school I can't help reflect on the summer. I am really proud that as a family we ate pretty good. Raw food and lots of coolers were packed with yummy treats and eats on all of our trips. I think "road trips" are going to be a big part of our future. Here is a little recap of our adventures. A trip to several beaches, a whirlwind tour of Niagara Falls, lots of indoor parks and many fun car rides. Chance to go to Blue Mountain and relax in the natural springs. Listened to David Wolfe in Barrie and went on a car ride to collect some SPRING WATER. If you have never tried it you don't know what you are missing. Coolers full of raw bars, juices, smoothies and sprouts. Traveling raw was a little bit of a challenge on our first road trip. However I LEARNED my lesson and packed better for the future road trips.


Here are some photos of raw granola, chocolate elixirs that I bought at the David Wolfe event, some raw bread that I also bought and a bottle of spring water that we collected. I also threw in two of my favourite photos of the children having fun. Coolers full of raw bars, juices, smoothies and sprouts. Traveling raw was a little bit of a challenge on our first road trip. However I LEARNED my lesson and packed better for the future road trips. It also helped that the 2nd last day I was able to refuel by shopping at the David Wolfe event in Barrie.

Enjoy!!

What is your INTENTION?

This past weekend my husband and I celebrated our 6 year Wedding Anniversary. Yeah!! If you know our story well, you will realize that this is a great day for us. Don't get me wrong, it is not that we are having problems. It is just that the amount of things that we have had to deal with and withstand in the last couple of years ranks pretty high on the stress level. Want to read more: My story is the 3rd one down.

This weekend turned out really great. We took a road trip into the country and had a raw picnic which of course included fresh fruit and cashew cream:). We also had a chance to look at some amazing paintings and jewelry while touring an art gallery. My daughter was away at my Aunt's house for the weekend, while my son stayed with us.

Even though life can be CHAOTIC and busy and crazy sometimes or a lot of the time. Setting your intentions for the day, week or even year can add focus, clarity and purpose to your days. So I new this weekend that even though it maybe busy and hectic that if I set the INTENTION to value our weekend and all of the time and effort that we have put into our marriage and family over the years that the outcome would be good.

Intention is defined as being a GOAL, a PLAN, an AIM or OBJECTIVE. It is a conscious thought or goal put into place in efforts to reach a desired outcome or experience.

You are probably wondering why I am talking about this on a raw food blog? To be honest I like sharing a little bit about myself and my family so that you get to know me a little better. However the main reason is that I think that to be healthy you need to take a holistic approach. Yes food is really important, but so is our thoughts and actions.

Intentions are POWERFUL and they can help you along your journey to better health and wellness. They can help align you in a direction that you desire. It just takes a few minutes at the start of the day to sit and write out your intention, or just to simply think of it before you jump out of bed to start your day.


So what is your INTENTION?

Is it to make a juice today?




Go to the local market and buy some fresh produce?



Or maybe make a fun new salad?



Maybe it is something even bigger than this. Whatever your goals and dreams are, start with your intention and you might be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Take action now and set your intention for the week. I would love to hear from you. Share what you have set into motion for yourself this week.

Peaches and Cashew Cream

I just love fresh fruit in the summer. This is dish is so yummy and easy that you will be surprised. Right now in my community there are a lot of fresh local peaches on hand. We have been going through peach after peach after peach. However this would also work with strawberries too.



This dish provides you with a healthy cream to dip the peaches into. My daughter and husband had this eaten up in record time. I won’t tell you how fast, but I bet you can use your imagination. The great thing is that my daughter didn’t care what the cream was made of, she just loved it. To my daughters I add a sprinkle of ground flax and hemp seeds to give her some fibre and protein. The flax seed mixes in nicely with the cashew cream.


Here are the ingredients that you will need to make the cream:
1 cup raw cashews (soaked for 4-6 hours in water)
2 tbs and 1 tsp of Extra virgin coconut oil
2-3 tbs of sweetener (agave, maple syrup, yacon or raw honey can be used. Or any combination)
3 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla powder
3-4 tbs water (more if needed to make it fluffy)
ground flax (optional for added fibre sprinkled on top)

First prepare cashews by soaking them in water for 4-6 hours.



Rinse and drain cashews and put them in food processor and blend well. Add the rest of the ingredients. You can choose the sweetener of your choice. I used a combination of agave and maple syrup. Maple syrup is not raw however often used by raw foodies for it’s flavour. You could also use raw honey if you wanted.

I prefer mine on the slightly less sweet side and with a heavier vanilla flavour. So you can adjust yours accordingly. Blend and blend until cream is fluffy and add to your peaches. This stores nicely in fridge, however it won’t last long!



Enjoy!!


Just a note if you have not voted yet. Please go and "Like My Sunwarrior Raw Smoothie" . First you must "Like" the SunWarrior Page, then like my smoothie pictured below.


Contest ends August 18th.

Thank you.