Tag: raw food

Bowl of greens: Raw food made simple

Aynaria 5 Comments

Recently, I’ve been craving a lot of raw dark green vegetables; which is a great, since they are loaded with nutrients like calcium, iron, and an entire host of other nutrients. Since they’re packed with fiber, they can help keep you regular, which I must say is welcome any day to constipation. Who wants that?

Bowl of greens 05 21 12 1

Today’s a special day, it being my daughters ninth birthday. After dropping her off at school, I returned home to get things ready for the small celebration we’re having.

About thirty minutes ago, I took a break and prepared a meal for myself. Since I’ve been craving dark leafy greens I went into our garden and picked collards, fennel, kale, and spinach, and tossing everything into a bowl… and promptly ate them. Well, I did make a homemade salad dressing; cherry tomatoes, ground raw cashews, balsamic vinegar, and some raw honey. It was delicious, and I thought I’d share the above picture on my site. Admittedly, the picture was prompted by a few emails I’ve received over the past several weeks…

Although Celebrate Life site is small, I do receive a lot of email from users; new and old.

Some remembered me from my old personal site; Vegan Momma, and wandered if I’m still Vegan. I am. Others asked whether I still eat a high amount of raw food. I do. Well, why aren’t you sharing them on your site? Good question…

In my mind, I think most people won’t be interested in what I eat. My meals are very simple. But, I guess I shouldn’t feel that way, since Celebrate Life’s search stats tell a different story…

People do land on my site in search of raw food info. Yeah, there’s not too much information here at the moment. A huge change from my old site, where posting a variety of healthy meals was common. Eventually, I moved my food postings to their own site which focused on raw and cooked foods.

A lot of the extras you see in today’s foods, are a bit too strong for me. The past several years, I’ve been following a whole food lifestyle, so my taste buds can taste all the extra crap that’s tossed in over processed foods, and my taste buds reject it. But you know, making a conscious effort to eat healthy has its benefits… I don’t appear to be 41, many think I’m a lot younger. My skin glows, and I do have a ton of energy. I don’t need pick me stimulants, such as caffeinated drinks to jump start my day. I don’t need it; I have a lot of natural energy.

Over the years, my weight hasn’t changed a lot. A lot of that is because I stayed active, even the years I couldn’t get  in the gym. These days, I am more muscular. I’m five feet and weigh 115 pounds. Not too much fat, but a lot of muscle. I work out several times weekly.

Moving forward, I’ll try to do better and post brief snapshots of my raw food meals. But… I have to warn you, my meals are simple, nothing fancy here. But, I promise in the future; I’ll do a nice presentation with a few of my meals before I show them on Celebrate Life. And I’ll add a few raw food recipes too.

Peach & Banana fruit pudding; Simple, delicious, & nutritious

Aynaria 5 Comments

peachesnbananas.06.30.10.jpgDesserts don’t have to be elaborate to taste good. I like the simple things in life so it’s no surprise that it applies to my food too.

Take my vegan food photos, I usually don’t go out of my way to arrange the food before I snap the shot. It’s more of a here this is what I made kind of thing, no bells or whistles, lol. However I do know that some really do enjoy seeing those type of things, so you might see me do a little bit now and again.

Anyway back to simplistic desserts (that are anything but that in the way they taste.) My daughter was asking for something to eat last night, and so I let her choose her dessert. She eagerly reached for two peaches and a banana and said, “Mommy, can you make me some of that yummy fruit pudding?” So here’s it is…

Peach and Banana Fruit pudding

  • 2 peaches
  • 1 Banana

Directions

  • Place ingredients in food processor
  • Blend until smooth

That’s it, serve and enjoy!

I only made enough for my daughter; I did spoon the remaining batter out of the food processor before I washed it. Yum, it was delicious. It’s a perfect, not to mention a healthy treat, anytime, and it’s good for you too. How’s that for simple, nutritous, but delicious?

Homemade fruit bars/popsicles

Here’s an idea, if you want something different you can make homemade fruit bars too. Why make them when you can purchase them from the store? I’ve been making homemade popsicles and fruit bars for years. Let me tell you something, they taste a lot better than the store bought variety.

Benefits of making homemade fruit bars

  1. Cheaper than store bought fruit bars
  2. They’re preservative free
  3. Only thing in them is raw fruit
  4. Freshly made, so you’re getting the maximum nutrition
  5. You know exactly what’s going into the fruit bars

Where can I purchase popsicle molds?

You can purchase them at many discount stores. I’ve even seen them at grocery stores. You can always find popsicle molds online too. The ones I have are similar to these popsicle molds. If you cannot find them, or don’t want to purchase the molds. You could use paper cups. You could scoop out the frozen dessert with a spoon or add Popsicle sticks (available at most craft stores.)

The beauty of making your homemade popsicles/fruit pops, is that you have a large variety of fruits to choose from. Yes you can sneak vegetables in the homemade fruit pops also! You can come up with the ones you like the best.

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Raw food, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food, Moondancer, New Tag, Raw food, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food, Fruit pudding

Raw Vegan: Savory Green Smoothie

Aynaria 4 Comments

green-smoothie.06.29.10.jpgI really love vegetables! At times, making that simple statement gets me odd looks. Since I know there are people who don’t share my veggie love. I can think of friends and family members that would turn up their noses at seeing an abundance of vegetables on their plate.

More on ways you can incorporate vegetables into the vegetable haters meal, after I post the savory green smoothie recipe.

About an hour ago, I made a delcious savory vegetable green smoothie. I’m a savory girl, always have been and so the savory green smoothie was delicious. You do realize that green smoothies don’t have to be sweet, to taste good right?

Raw Vegan: Savory Green Smoothie

  • 3 large tomatoes
  • 3 stalks celery
  • 2 cups baby carrots
  • 3 large collard leaves
  • 5 Romaine lettuce leaves
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 2 cups of water (add more if desired.)
  • *Pinch of Sea salt (optional)

That’s it, serve and enjoy!

Soon after making this, I poured myself a large stainless steel cup of the savory green smoothie. I enjoyed drinking this savory, delicious, and nutritious treat.

Introducing vegetables into a ‘vegetable haters’ diet can be challenging. I’ve met people that wanted to include more vegetables in their diet but were unsure of how to do so. Developing a taste for something you normally don’t eat can take some time to get used to. For example, in my early twenties I didn’t like eating raw collards or kale. Now, I happily munch on them daily. In time, I developed a taste for them. For those of you who are a little skeptical about grazing on a big bowl of raw dark greens I’ve included a few ways you can add more vegetables into your daily routine.

Creative ways to add vegetables into a daily routine

  1. Naturally sweet (raw) smoothies/juices can be a delicious way to sneak vegetables a meal
  2. Add vegetable juices into your sauces/gravies
  3. Make frozen fruit pops with your fruit/vegetable smoothies
  4. Mix vegetable pasta in with the regular pasta
  5. Incorporate finely chopped vegetables into stuffed dishes; peppers, lasagna, potato boats

The key is to introduce things slowly, although some people can do a complete change overnight, others take time to transition to a healthier way of eating. Of course, you don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to eat healthy, but you do have to make healthy decisions about the types of foods you, or your family does eat. I’ve met some vegans and vegetarians that weren’t healthy because of the bad choices they made. Their selections were highly processed vegan foods, and very little whole foods.

The bottom line is taking care of your body. We cannot turn it in because we’ve abused it. It’s the only body we’re given. Knowing that, it’s important to think about our food choices. That’s where it gets tricky, we usually don’t see the direct effects of bad food choices until weeks, months, or even years after eating a certain way. It’s important to be mindful of the food choices we make. Don’t blindly accept what anyone tells you, do the research, and take note of the effects when you add healthier options into your daily lifestyle.

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Moondancer, Raw food, Recipes, Smoothies, Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food

Vegan: Curried Zucchini Noodles w/Steamed Vegetables (Gluten-free)

Aynaria Leave a comment

World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer.jpgDuring the warmer months, one of my favorite go to vegan dishes is a simple pasta. They are simple, delicious, and a unique way to introduce vegetables at your meal.

I’ve never been a fan of the traditional pasta. Way too much flour for myself, but I’ve always loved the vegetables pastas. Naturally, since you are using vegetables in place of the traditional pasta, your pasta is gluten-free.

I’ve been using vegetables, in place of the traditional pastas for several years. However, it wasn’t until about four years ago that I purchased a machine to make my ‘angel hair’ pastas. In order to make the pasta I use a spiral vegetable slicer.

I’ve tried the Saladacco, but didn’t like it at all. The spiral vegetable slicer I use is the World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer. Thanks to this slicer, I can make vegetable pasta in seconds.

It’s a hot day in Maryland, and I thought I would share one of my raw & cooked dishes. Although we’ve made a raw & cooked version before. Today my daughter and I ate this dish raw. Enjoy!

Curried Zucchini Noodles w/Steamed Vegetables

  • 2 cups of zucchini noodles
  • 1 tsp curry
  • 1/2 cup sweet peas
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion
  • 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup mushrooms
  • Pinch of salt(optional)

Directions

  1. Put noodles & tomatoes in a bowl. Set aside.
  2. Add a few tbsp of water or vegetable broth
  3. Add remaining ingredients stir for a few minutes
  4. Remove from heat
  5. Combine with noodles and tomatoes
  6. Serve & Enjoy!

 

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Raw food, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food

Swapping themes and blogging update

Aynaria 4 Comments

For my few readers out there /waves you can see I’ve swapped themes again.

I’m simply not happy with the limited WP themes I have hosting my blog under WordPress so I know it’s only a matter of time before Not your Ordinary Momma moves to a hosted provider. I’ve used Lunar Pages for over eight years. I’m sure that’s where I’ll eventually move this site.

A little about my Vegetarian ways…
I swapped to Vegetarianism in 1992, moved onto Veganism not too soon afterwards. The transition wasn’t ‘hard’ for myself. I’d always been raised around a lot of vegetables (I’m fortunate, I know) and meat was mainly a side dish. With my family, animal products didn’t take over our entire meal. Strange I know since my parents raised chickens, turkeys, goats, etc., It just wasn’t done that way. In most cases, animal products were treated as a side dish. You know what? There were quite a few meals where animals didn’t even make an appearance. Ok, I take that back they did, but only to wind their flexible bodies around our feet at mealtime, meowing for a little treat or to place a well placed kick on our ankle (our rabbit.)

I learned to cook at an early age (four.) My mother saw my interest in cooking, and actually encouraged it. Naturally the meals I prepared at that age was limited, and heavily supervised but that began my love affair with cooking (or uncooking.) 🙂

About three years ago, I swapped to a raw food lifestyle. My eating intake has always been high raw. Although I don’t get into % when it comes to things such as that I’ll do so now, to give you an idea. On average, I was eating about 80% raw foods. I’d been eating that way for years, and although I had a high amount of energy (I think that is due in part to the way I eat — whole foods) I did notice even more of an improvement when I went 100% raw. I stayed 100% raw, for over a year. These days I’m upping my intake of raw foods again, so moving past my 80% raw intake.

Remember when I talked about my green cravings? Odd since I already eat a high amount of greens but I didn’t really question it, I just upped my intake. If we listen, our bodies can tell us what we need. Anyway my increase in raw foods happened about the same time as those cravings. These days, I’m up to around 98%.

Similar to when I went to 100% raw foods, the results are the same. I’m having more energy than I already have (which is great because my activities have increased recently) and I feel even better. Initially, when I went to raw, I found that shocking. Wait, you mean I can actually feel better than I normally do? I’ve always felt great, Menstruation was never something I had to worry about after swapping to vegetarianism.

My diet was whole foods (close to the source as possible) and ‘unnatural sugars’ and junk food’ just didn’t fit my lifestyle. I knew the impact of putting unhealthy foods into my body. I’ll try to get into a habit of posting more recipes on this site related to cooking and just simple environmentally friendly household, gardening, and skin care products you can use. I make and use them at home.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been following the Waist Whittling Wordsmith. The Wordsmith, is documenting her weight loss and has been incorporating healthier meals into her daily routine. I’m always inspired when I encounter people who are working to make improvements in their lives. Along with reading her blog in my RSS feed, I’ve tweeted with @WaistWhittler. Watching her progress, is serving as a positive reinforcement for myself, to keep working on the goals that I’m trying to achieve. If you get a chance, stop by and visit the Waist Whittling Wordmsith’s virtual home. She’s also thinking about switching to vegetarianism so if you’re veg pop by and give her some tips.

Regarding those goals…
Recently, I’ve been wanting to do more when it comes to helping others. It’s something I’ve always done (and it’s something I enjoy) but over the past few years I’ve eased up. Sure I still volunteer at homeless shelters and animal shelters too, but it’s not as it used to be, and so I’m changing that.

One of the first things that were cut was video games. I love games and although I never spent hours playing a game, I felt I needed a break and I took one. Guess what? I don’t miss it at all. Sure I’ll go back to playing computer and console games at some point but at the moment there are more important aspects in my life.

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Raw food

Raw Recipe: Almond butter

Aynaria Leave a comment

Almonds.06.05.10.jpgWow, what a busy week. Gardening, volunteering, cleaning, and of course hanging out with my lovely daughter are a few things I’ve done this week. My daughter is officially out of school for the summer, and I’m enjoying having her around.

Plenty of simple, nutritious, and delicious vegan meals have been prepared although finding the time to post them hasn’t been happening. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to post some of them this weekend.

A few days ago I made one of my favorite dishes Dhal with brown rice. It had the three qualities I enjoy; simple, nutritious, and delicious. Yesterday I made roasted root vegetables. They had those three qualities too. My daughter devoured both dishes.

Yesterday, I decided to make a nut butter. I have an overabundance of raw Almonds so that was what I made. Nuts are a healthy fat, and many are good for you. I decided to include some of almonds benefits below.

Almond Benefits

    1. Heart Healthy

Numerous studies have been done on the health benefits of nuts the British Journal of Nutrition published a study linking consumption of nuts with a lower risk of heart disease.

    1. High in antioxidants.
    2. Whole almonds provide the most heart healthy benefits

The Journal of Nutrition published a study showing that 20 flavonoids can be found in the skin of the almond.

    1. Almonds may help you lose weight

International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders conducted a study with 65 obese adults. Those on the almond rich, low calorie diet lost more weight than those on the low calorie, high carbohydrate diet…

Those eating almonds experienced a 62% greater reduction in their weight/BMI (body mass index), 50% greater reduction in waist circumference, and 56% greater reduction in body fat compared to those on the low calorie high carbohydrate diet

As you can see, nuts can be extremely healthy. I don’t tend to gorge myself when I do eat them (even though some of them are quite delicious.) Yesterday as I was preparing the roasted root vegetables I decided to make some raw almond butter but I decided to add a few seasonings; I’m including the recipe below.

Raw Almond Butter

    1. 2 cups of Raw Almonds
    2. Olive or coconut oil

-use as needed

Seasonings (optional)

  • teaspoon of natural sweetener; honey, stevia, etc.,)
  • dash of sea salt

Directions

    1. Grind nuts in a grinder
      I use a coffe grinder, when I’ve used larger amounts of nuts I’ve used a blender (I used my Vita-Mix)

*If you use your Vita-Mix, make sure you don’t blend too long, since it will heat the nuts.

    1. Transfer ground mixture to food processor

*You can keep keep in the grinder, it just takes a but longer.

  1. Gradually add oil (one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.)
  • Refrigerate, and enjoy!

Makes about 10 ounces.

*You’re almond butter will need to be refrigerated since no preservatives have been added. Although it can last a month this way, my butters never lasted more than a few weeks. Enjoy

My daughter and I enjoy nut butters, and we enjoy eating it on a variety of foods such as dips and sandwiches. Yesterday I made I added garlic instead of the seasonings I mentioned above. It was strong, but we still enjoyed it; next time I think I’ll roast the garlic, which will add some sweetness to the butter. Of course, my nut butter will no longer be raw but it still will be delicious.

 

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Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, vegetarian, whole food, Nut Butter

 

Vegan: Flavorful Veggie Sandwich

Aynaria 6 Comments
veggie-sandwich-05-29-101111
Veggie sandwich

 

I really love color, and enjoy seeing it displayed in the various cuisines I prepare. Naturally, I was extremely pleased with this colorful vegan sandwich. Although the cooked meals I prepare are usually ready within fifteen minutes there are times when I don’t feel like cooking. In those instances, I’ll choose something such as the veggie sandwich above.

My daughter and I can choose to eat a salad, or wrap the filling into a wrap. Today we decided to make sandwiches and so our wrap of choice was rye bread.

I’ve been vegetarian since 1992 (turned vegan a few years later.) You want to know something? I wasn’t always fond of salads. I chalk it up to the tasteless salads I encountered as a child. It was obvious that no thought was put into them. I was expected to eat them because they were a salad. You’re supposed to eat your veggies, right? Although I ate them, I didn’t enjoy the bland vegetables that were put out before me. Fast forward years later, and now I enjoy my salads and realized that they can be extremely flavorful, imagine that! 😉

What’s in this sandwich?

  • Grated carrots
  • Spinach
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Collard greens
  • Raw sunflower seeds
  • Yellow onion
  • Raisins
  • Black olives
  • homemade mayonnaise

Within the next few days, I’ll come back to this post and include the exact measurements used for creating this salad.

The beauty of salads is that you can make them as simple or complex as you want them to be. This ‘salad on bread’ was bursting with flavor. My daughter enjoyed eating it a lot. I tend to make large batches of these types of salads so we can snack on throughout the day. There are so many different options that can be done with this sandwich, at times I use collard or kale leaves to make this a 100% raw meal. Regardless of what path you choose, it’s still delicious.

I really enjoy the weekends. If the weather is nice, it gives me a chance to hang outside with my daughter for the majority of the day. The sky was overcast for a good portion of the morning, however, the clouds eventually, rolled away to reveal the glorious sun.

Earlier today, I started the grill and grilled some homemade bean burgers. Yes, their vegan and no they didn’t fall apart. I’ll be posting the recipe for those burgers and a few other dishes sometime next week.

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Recipe, Vegan, vegetarian, Vegetarian, whole food