Category — How To

Do you like those raw energy bars you can get at the grocery store? I love them, especially when I’m traveling or too busy to prepare something, having one on hand gives me a little energy boost. When I was traveling in Southern California recently, a typical breakfast for me was a non sweet green juice from a local juice bar and a yummy raw bar. Talk about a breakfast on the go:)

Making your own raw energy bars can be just as satisfying as buying them because you get to control exactly what ingredients to include and make them taste exactly how you want!

To make them you’re going to need a food processor and a blender (a high speed blender is best ) or a spice/coffee grinder that will grind seeds.

The basis of a raw bar is dried fruits and nuts or seeds but you can also add your favorite super foods such as spirulina, carob, maca . . . and your favorite spices such as cinnamon and vanilla. You can use one nut or seed or a combination of different nuts and seeds. I like to grind my seeds first in the blender and if I’m using nuts I like to food process them in the food processor with the S blade until they reach a coarse flour like consistency.

Here is a recipe I came up with recently and you can use it as the basis for making your own raw bars.

Lemon Omega Bars

1 well packed cup of soft medjool dates chopped really fine
2 cups raw dehydrated coconut
1/2 cup ground chia seeds*
1/2 cup ground sesame seeds*
2 tablespoons lemon zest (I like mine really “zingy” but you can use less zest if you don’t, I used the zest of about 6 lemons)
10 drops lemon stevia (optional)

First grind the chia seeds and sesame seeds in a blender or a grinder until fine. Then add all the ingredients to the food processor with the S blade on and process them until they are well incoporated. Then press the “dough” firmly into a small glass pan greased with coconut oil (optional), 8 X 8 works well. Cut them into bars or squares and then freeze them in the freezer at least overnight. Pop one out any time you need a boost. Makes 16 squares and 8 bars.

*I used chia and sesame seeds because I wanted to get my omega fatty acids and I find them easier to digest than nuts but for a richer (better tasting) bar I recommend using 1 cup ground almonds or 1 cup ground brazil nuts ground in the food processor with the S blade.

Fun!

This is another one of those everyday recipes I wanted to share with you. Speaking of everyday raw recipes my friend Shea Lynn Baird came up with 2 incredible e-books called, What Raw Chef’s Really Eat.

In the E-books you will find out how 15 raw chef’s eat everyday and their favorite everyday raw recipes. Both e-books contain over 80 everday raw recipes from top raw food chef’s including Matt Samuelson, Melissa Mango, Abeba Wright, Chaya-Ryvka, Cherie Soria, and many more including yours truly:) Click Here to learn more about the What Raw Chef’s Really Eat E-books.

 ♥,
C

Announcing the winner of the *Raw Glow Blog Free Nylon Sprout Bag Giveaway*

Iceblueyes

please e-mail me your shipping address at glowingraw-info@yahoo.com.

Thank you for all who entered I appreciated your answers they were all inspiring!

Here is a short video of how to make crispy raw sweet potato chips:

Click here if you can’t see the video above

Raw Dehydrated Sweet Potato Chips Recipe

1 large sweet potato
Few sprinkles of sea salt
Drizzle of olive oil

 Slice the sweet potato thinly with the adjustable ceramic mandoline on the thin setting (0.5 mm) using the handguard, and put the slices into a large bowl. Drizzle the sweet potato slices with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt until well covered. Dehydrate the chips in the dehydrator on at least 115 degrees for 24 hrs or until crispy. Makes about 2 dehydrator trays of chips. They start to get soggy soon after they are taken out of the dehydrator, so put them in an air tight container and consume them within a few days.

•  If the chips are not crispy perhaps you did not use sufficient olive oil or perhaps you did not dehydrate the chips long enough.
• Please do not try to make raw potato chips.  Potatoes are part of the nightshade family and have natural toxins when consumned raw.

 Click here for more info on the adjustable ceramic mandoline slicer

 Click here for more info about dehydrator sheets

Thanks to Carol Bundock for this recipe

 Happy Creating!

♥,
C

Here’s a short video of me making a yummy green juice without a juicer. Juicing without a juicer is easy! If you don’t own a juicer you can still make delicious juices as long as you have a powerful blender such as a Vitamix and a trusty sprout bag.

 My body has been craving juices lately, perhaps it’s wanting to cleanse to get ready for  Spring. I also was inspired by Daniel Vitalis’ talk at Monday Night Live about eating dandelion greens.  Enjoy!

 Click here if you can’t see the video above 

 Click here for more info about juicing with  nylon sprout bags

*Raw Glow Blog Free Nylon Sprout Bag Giveaway*

Raw Glow is giving away one 12 by 12 sturdy nylon sprout bag as shown in the video. To enter all you have to do is answer this question in the comments section and I will choose a winner from the comments entered. The contest ends Mar. 10^th, 2010.

•  Question: What are some of the things you do in your everyday life to stay healthy? (Doesn’t just have to be limited to food)

Look forward to the answers!

Love,
C

A sweet raw treat just in time for Valentine’s Day!

My absolutely favorite raw food treat is actually one of the most simple to make. Take some young coconut meat and dehydrate it in a dehydrator at 115 degrees for 24 to 48 hrs. At 24 hrs it’s still chewy and at 48 hrs it’s nice and crispy, both taste great and fill your house with the sweet aroma of coconuts!

If you can’t see the video below click here

Happy Valentines Day!

 ♥,
C

Disclaimer: this post is for educational purposes only and is about pooping. Read at your own discretion.

As you might know from a recent post my husband just had his appendix removed, and this has lead me to wonder why appendixes get infected in the first place. With a  little research I learned that appendicitis is a disease of the western world and was virtually non existent until the invention of the porcelain sitting toilet 150 years ago. Throughout history human beings have always squatted for bodily functions and 2 thirds of adults in the world continue to use squat toilets all of their lives.

According to Jonathan Isbit from Nature’s Platform when humans don’t squat there can be possible complications caused by fecal stagnation due to incomplete evacuation. He believes a polluted colon can be prone to cancer, diverticulosis, appendicitis, colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome.

I would also assume that a high fiber diet full of lots of fruits and vegetables would also help with elimination and avoiding this problem as well.

Although I would tend to agree that squatting is the healthiest way, living in today’s modern western society makes it a difficult task. The easiest and safest solution I have seen so far is the health step which is a step you can put under your toilet to help mimic the squat position and assist in elimination. It’s discreet, won’t break your toilet seat, and there is no danger of falling or loosing balance like I have seen with some other methods.

Just thought I would put the information out there!

♥,
C

Further Reading:
http://www.healthstep.com/
http://www.naturesplatform.com/