Posts from — September 2009

What do my husband (yes, we got married two weeks ago!) and I do when we are short on cash but need a weekend getaway? We go San Francisco; it’s only an hour away from where we live, but it’s definitely a world away as far as sights, sounds, and flavors. Our San Francisco escapes have become a ritual for us and they usually follow a basic pattern. First, we force ourselves to get up early on a Saturday and we catch the ferry from Larkspur to S.F. If you’ve never taken the ferry before it’s a real treat. Not only do you get to enjoy the fresh sea breeze, a view of the ocean, but it’s the only time I know of where you can get a great view of the Bay Bridge, Richmond Bridge, and the Golden Gate Bridge all at the same time! 

The ferry conveniently drops us off at the Ferry Building, which has an amazing farmer’s market on Saturdays from 8-2p.m The farmer’s market it the perfect place to eat breakfast with a great view of the water. A cool tidbit about the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market: all the packaging used is biodegradable and compostable. Darrell goes straight for the tamale booth and enjoys a vegetarian tamale plate with beans. I prefer raw fare for breakfast and head to the Alive Restaurant booth where I enjoy one of their agua frescas. (means fresh water in Spanish and is usually a watered down sweet fruit juice) So far I’ve tried the watermelon, kiwi, and berry, all very light and refreshing. The Alive booth also has raw salads, wraps, and desserts if you want something heartier. Then I pick out the most ripe seasonal fruit I can, to snack on while we walk. This last weekend it was red grapes and fresh purple figs. Mmmmmmmm! The neat thing about the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market is that it has just about any type of food to please any palette, so it makes it a great place to take family and friends.

After we’ve enjoyed the market we usually walk to China Town, but this last Saturday we explored an Organic Café called The Plant Cafe  that just opened up a 2nd location on Pier 3. I wasn’t sure what the menu would be like, but I was pleasantly surprised that it had a few raw options and many vegan options, even though it is not an exclusively vegetarian restaurant. The coolest thing was that it had a raw organic juice bar; we ordered two brightly colored veggie juices and off we walked to China Town.

In China Town Darrell stocks up on the best green tea he can find. It is a ceremonial experience as we sit down at the tea bar and he tastes tea after tea until he chooses the best one. I order an herbal tea to not feel left out:) I always travel with stevia liquid in my purse so that I can sweeten tea or sparkling mineral water when I travel. When my husband and I were first going out, he was avid coffee drinker a he let me know very clearly that he was never going to give it up. Oneday I gifted him some green tea leaves and honestly I haven’t seen him drink coffee much since.

After China Town we discuss dinner options. For an all raw meal Alive and Café Gratitude  are our only choices. Don’t get me wrong, they are great restaurants and I’ve been to both, but honestly sometimes Darrell and I get tired of going to the same raw restaurants over and over. Sound familiar? So lately we’ve been going to vegan friendly restaurants where I can eat at least some raw with cooked vegan and he gets to enjoy a change of menu and scenery. Last time we were in the City we dined at Millennium Restaurant and were pleasantly surprised. It’s a high end all vegan restaurant, and you definitely need reservations. They always have one raw salad on the menu and one raw drink (kombucha), and if you ask them a week ahead of time they will specially prepare you a raw meal. I’ve had them prepare a three course raw dinner for two and it was excellent. It’s a little pricey, but definitely worth it. This last weekend we decided to go back to The Plant Café on Pier 3 for dinner. The prices are reasonable, the view can’t be beat, the restaurant is solar powered, and almost everything is organic. As far as raw, they have one raw salad, a raw cheesecake, and as I mentioned earlier the raw fresh juices. I had the raw salad and a cooked quinoa vegetable miso plate. Both were lovely.

After dinner we try to do something fun like dancing, a comedy club, walking down pier 14, or just head back to our hotel and relax for the night. The next morning we feel refreshed like we’ve really gotten away, even though we didn’t travel far. Then it’s off to the Plant Cafe for more juice and to catch our Ferry. I hope you are inspired to take a little weekend getaway and if possible come down and explore San Francisco.

♥,
C

Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market
http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/farmers_market.php
HOURS
Tuesday: 10am–2pm
Thursday: 10 am – 2pm
Saturday: 8am-2pm
Phone: 415-291-3276

The Plant Cafe
http://www.theplantcafe.com/
3352 Steiner @ Chestnut
and
Suite 108, Pier 3, The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA

Alive Restaurant
http://www.aliveveggie.com/
1972 Lombard St.
San Francisco, CA
Phone: 415-923-1052
email: aliveveggie@sbcglobal.net

Cafe Gratitude
http://www.cafegratitude.com/
2400 Harrison Street (@20th Street)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: 415-830-3014
Fax: 415-695-1989
Hours: 10 am to 10 pm

Millennium Restaurant
http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/
580 Geary Street 
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: 415-345-3900
Fax: 415-345-3941

The words green juice get thrown around a lot in the raw food arena and through my raw food phone consultations I get many questions about what a green juice actually is and how it differs from a green smoothie and a green soup.

Both a green smoothies, a green  juice, and a green soups are super important nutritious health promoting drinks.  If all you did was add either a green juice, a green smoothie, or a green soup to your diet, and change nothing else, you would notice a difference in your health.  (If you added all three, wow!)

It’s almost common knowledge that we should be consuming large amounts of green leafy vegetables, about 3-5 servings a day to be exact. This is due to their high vitamin and mineral content.

Green juices, smoothies, and soups are important because they allow us to easily absorb the nutrients from green leafy vegetables that are otherwise tough to break down and digest. Juicing and blending will help you to “pre-digest” the vegetables so you will receive most of their nutrition.  You would literally have to chew your green leafy vegetables into a creamy paste to get the same benefits as a green juice, smoothie, or soup.

Some of the many benefits of green leafy vegetables:

• Trace minerals: including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins
  (I’ve never been anemic since being vegan and I attribute this to my daily intake of green drinks)
• Good Source of Vegetable Protein
  (Some green vegetables have more protein per pound than meat!)
• Alkalizing abilities
• Not to mention Enzymes, Chlorophyl, and a host of Antioxidants including Beta-Carotene, Lutein, and Zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage.
• Dark green leaves even contain small amounts of Omega-3 fats.

What is a Green Juice?

A green juice is usually a non sweet juice (it usually does not contain much fruit, if any) that is usually composed of:

Celery
Cucumber
and your choice of leafy greens such as:
Spinach
Chard
Kale
Collards
Parsley
Cilantro
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Sprouts. . . (etc.)

Some extras to add to the green juice if desired:

Lemon
Lime
Fennel
Jicama
Zucchini
and pretty much any non starchy veggie of choice

For extra sweetness it is permissible to add small quantities of:
apples
carrots
beets
or pretty much any starchy vegetable of choice

Some people even like to add stevia leaves to their juice for added sweetness.

A green juice differs from a green smoothie because the fiber is taken out through juicing with a juicer or with a high speed blender or a sprout bag .

This removes most of the plant cellulose and makes the juice very easy to digest.  Juicing is great for people with compromised digestive systems. Green juices don’t typically have a lot of calories or fiber so they are not meant as a meal replacement but rather as a fresh raw drinkable multivitamin!

I usually drink my green juice first thing in the morning and then wait a few hours and then eat my normal breakfast. Juicing can be time consuming, so if I don’t have time during the week I reserve my weekend mornings specifically for juicing.

The best juicers to use with leafy greens are twin gear or single auger models that crush the juice out of the leaves. If you have a centrifugal juicer you can still juice your leafy greens by blending the greens in a blender with water and then pouring the green mixture through the mouth of your centrifugal juicer.

Don’t have a juicer? No problem. My favorite way to make juice is to blend everything in a powerful blender with a little water, and then pour the blended mixture through a sprout bag over a big bowl and voila, fresh juice!

The juice pulp can be made into dehydrated patties, mixed into a salad, mixed into your dog’s food, or composted.

Here is a great green juice recipe that includes some apples for sweetness but you can omit them if you want.

Apple Lemon Green Juice

5 ribs celery
1 large English cucumber
1/2 lemon
5 Swiss Chard Leaves (wash thoroughly)
2 apples (optional)

Put all the ingredients through a juicer. If you don’t have a juicer an alternative would be to chop the cucumber, apple, and celery and place it in a blender (cucumber first) with the Swiss Chard, peeled lemon, and a little water. Blend on high for about thirty seconds and then pour and squeeze the mixture through a sprout bag over a big bowl.

What is a Green Smoothie?

A green smoothie is simply a smoothie with about 60% fresh ripe organic fruit (sweet or non sweet fruit) and 40% fresh organic leafy greens blended in a blender with water. Anne Wigmore and more recently Victoria Boutenko have popularized these nutritious drinks.

Green smoothies are blended instead of juiced, so all the fiber remains intact. Because of the addition of the extra calories from fruit and the fiber in green smoothies, they can be considered a meal. Actually a green smoothie is my breakfast of choice and sometimes my lunch too!

Acoording to www.ehealthmd.com fiber does not raise blood glucose levels and is important for so many things including: preventing colon cancer, heart disease, diabetes, gall bladder and kidney stones, avoiding and relieving constipation, and keeping your weight under control.

Here’s a yummy green smoothie recipe. If you don’t have coconut water just use regular water and a pinch of stevia for extra sweetness.

Apple Strawberry Spinach Green Smoothie

1 cup strawberries
1 apple
1-2 bananas
3-5 ounces of spinach
½ vanilla bean chopped into small pieces
or 1 vanilla bean seeds scooped out
Water from 1 young coconut (about one and half cups)

Blend all ingredients in the blender and enjoy! The sweetness of the fruit masks the taste of the spinach. You will be surprised how delicious it tastes.

What is a Green Soup?

A green soup, sometimes known as energy soup, is blended in a blender like a green smoothie except for it usually does not contain sweet fruit but might contain vegetables, non sweet fruit, and greens. An example of some ingredients in a green soup:  avocado, cucumber, bell pepper, celery, carrot, greens, sprouts, raw unsalted sauerkraut, and other vegetables. It can be seasoned with herbs and spices and is great for those that are limiting their intake of fruit.

Here’s a Simple Green Soup Recipe

Tomato Parsley Basil Green Soup

3 large tomatoes
small bunch parsley (no stems)
handful of basil
handful of dulse seaweed
2 green onions
1/2 small avocado
pinch cayenne
little water to thin

Blend  all ingredients together and eat this as a soup with chopped green onion, avocado, Dulse or seaweed flakes, parsley, and raw unsalted sauerkraut.

Well I hoped this cleared up a few things! Whether you juice or blend your greens you will notice a positive difference in your health and energy. Some of the positie changes I have noticed in my health by regulary consuming green drinks are: increased energy, improved digestion, diminished cravings for unhealthy food, clear and soft skin, and a skin tab I was born with on my forehead shrank considerably! Cool.

For More Green Smoothie Recipes Please Check Out My Green Smoothie Challenge E-Book.

Enjoy Your Greens!

♥,
C

Many people don’t realize that most of the mangoes in the grocery store are hot water treated (PDF) before they arrive to the U.S. Even Though the temperature of the water is not enough to “cook” the mango, I notice that mangoes imported to the U.S. are less vibrant looking and fresh in flavor. I didn’t know mangoes could taste so vibrant until I traveled to Hawaii and tasted their locally grown mangoes. They were amazing, full of so much juice and flavor. They had tanginess to them that I really missed upon returning home. I thought I would have to return to Hawaii for really great mangos until my friend John  told me about the Keitt mango. Not to be confused with the more commonly available Kent mango, the Keitt Mango is grown in California and available in supermarkets from late August to September. In my opinion it is the most fragrant, juicy, tangy, and delicious mango available in the States! Most people pass up Keitt mangoes because they think they are unripe due to their green skins. 

The skin of the Keitt mango stays green even when it’s fully ripe! Choosing a Keitt mango is like choosing an avocado, it should yield to gentle pressure but not be too mushy. Here are some other things you should know about the Keitt mango:

• It is usually twice the size on a regular mango,  if a recipe calls for 1 mango use half of a Keitt
• The Keitt is less stringy that most common varieties of mango
• The Keitt is available organic
• The Keitt mangoes only come around once a year, so stock up and enjoy!
  They are great for freezing and can be used at another date.

For more information about the Keitt, here are two great articles:
My Favorite Mango: The California Keitt
Produce Oasis: Facts about the Keitt Mango

We were experiencing a heat wave a week ago and this recipe was a refreshing treat:

Keitt Mango Kefir Smoothie

½ Keitt mango cubed (or 1 regular mango cubed)
1 cup coconut kefir
1 pinch of white stevia powder or sweetener of choice
handful of ice

Blend in the blender until smooth! Enjoy!

Delicious!

♥,

C