$5 Yoga

You may donate any amount you wish.

Green Smoothie Magic

Roll out of bed to breakfast magic within 30 seconds!

Quicker and healthier than Cheerios and it will wake you up and sustain you until lunch.

What I do is buy green bags (the ones for veggies)and I buy all my leafy greens and put a handful of each per bag. This makes it so me or my groggy husband can crawl to the blender to wake up my giant 11 year old and us with deliciousness.

One large box of pre-washed organic spinach
One large box of pre-washed organic cut kale
One bunch of organic parsley
One bunch of organic mint (or two small boxes)
One box of organic alfalfa or clover sprouts
pineapple juice and/or water
ice or frozen apples

So first I get out 7 or 8 bags and divide the boxes of kale and spinach equally in all the bags. Usually a handful or two of each. Next, I fill the clean, plugged, sink with water and put my parsley and mint in it and swish it around. I spin one at a time in my salad spinner. I equally divide the mint into the bags, and equally divide the parsley into the bags. If you don't have a vita-mix or blend-tec, remove the stems of the mint and parsley first. Next I rinse the sprouts in a strainer, and then put them in a salad spinner (but first put down a paper towel so they don't shoot through the spinner.) Then I divide the sprouts into equal parts into the bags.

In the morning (or whenever I want one) I fill the blender with about a cup of water per person. I recommend if you're a beginner to use pineapple juice instead of water. You can use half pineapple and half water when you get more used to the greens. After you add the one cup of pineapple juice per person, drop the contents of the pre-made green juice bag and blend.

If you have a conventional blender, wait until all the greens are tiny specs and not little leaf bits. Once it is smooth (maybe 3 or 4 minutes)add a cup of ice and a spoon full of honey or other sweetener if you wish. Then blend the ice and honey with the greens and pineapple.

If you have a high power blender, just put the juice, greens from pre-made bag, ice, and honey and blend for 30 seconds (or until smooth.)Even the whole stems will be obliterated and smooth as a juice rather than a creamy smoothie.

My family uses water with 9 drops of stevia and quartered, cored, granny smith apples that we have pre-frozen in a zip lock bag. It's important to add the frozen apples or ice to the top of the greens in a vita-mix, and not add them first near the blade. It won't blend on the bottom.

I also add a scoop of Bob's Redmill hemp protein to my husband's or he gets hungry before lunch. I'm full with the juice alone.

Anyway, new friends: email me and tell me what you think of this recipe.

I will make a video soon.
-

The Art of Raw Living Food by Doreen Virtue and Jenny Ross

It would take the genius Jenny Ross, the owner and executive chef of the living-foods restaurant 118 Degrees and her psychic friend and author Doreen Virtue to come up with such a complete and easy to use un-cookbook.

Filled with full color photos and all the info you need to get started, if you only had one raw book, this would be the one to get. I happen to have a shelf full, but this is one of my favorites.

Her raw ice cream recipe doesn't need an ice cream maker. It is so good, any word to attempt to describe the euphoria defiles the holiness that is her raw "Vanilla Gelato."

Here is an excerpt:

This naturally alkaline-forming cheese is flavorful and saves for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

1 1/2 cups water
4 Tbsp. cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp. Himalayan salt
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cups almonds (soaked 8 hours)

Rinse and drain almonds. In a high-powered blender, combine all ingredients and blend well. Makes 2 cups.


Tell me what you think when you try it.

If you don't have a high powered blender, I'd add the pulp from your almond milk at the end instead of whole almonds. It won't be as smooth, but it will be yummy still:)

Cashew Cheese

1/4 Chardonnay or water
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Cup Cultured Vegetables
2 Tbsp Miso
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Dry Mustard (the spice, not the condiment)
1 Cup Cashews (soak for 30 minutes, then drain)

Put water or wine in the blender. Add the rest of the ingredients in order and blend. Add extra water to desired thickness. Let it sit on counter overnight to cultivate cultures.

The original recipe is called "Chardonnay Cheese" by Chef Tanya of Native Foods. I don't find the wine necessary (and it kills cultures...) but it does bring a yummy funk. She also asks for 1 tsp of prepared Dijon mustard, but because I don't buy packaged foods in general, I replaced it with mustard powder and apple cider vinegar. She also asks you to use sauerkraut, but I make my own "cultured vegetables" Donna Gates style (no salt or vinegar: just cabbage, carrots, garlic, and ginger shredded with culture starter in a huge jar for a week.)The recipe still isn't quite "Body Ecology" because there are cashews in it.

Sometimes I use different seeds or nuts like almonds, pepitas, etc.

AND I usually double the recipe because we love it so much. We usually eat some right away because it's too yummy to wait for and leave the rest in jars on the counter top for one night. I use mason type jars I label with a dry erase marker, "Yummy Cheezy Awesomeness" or some other cute name depending on my mood. It's lovely to have in the fridge for a quick snack. Thinned out, it makes a yummy dressing and really counters the bitterness in a green salad. I make quesadillas and other various sandwich spread uses, but it's best with carrots and celery or baked blue chips.

Dane’s Onion Pizza

This recipe is originally from the Body Ecology Diet and called “Heidi’s Onion Pie.” This is my twist on it especially for Dane.

In Small Pot with Lid
½ cup Amaranth
1 cup Water

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered for approximately 15-20 minutes (until the liquid is absorbed.)

In Your Cast Iron Skillet
1 Tbsp. organic, unrefined coconut oil
4-6 large onions, thinly sliced into ½ inch rounds (food processor)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Italian blend or oregano, parsley, rosemary, basil, and celery seed
½ tsp. basil
Pinch of red pepper flakes
½ red bell pepper, minced or sliced
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced in rounds

Sauté onion, garlic, herbs, and pepper flakes in coconut oil. Reduce heat and cook until onions are tender, approximately 15 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees at this point.

In Your Food Processor
2 cups amaranth flour
1 tsp. sea salt
4 Tbsp. organic, unrefined coconut oil
Approximately ½ cup water

Using dough blade, place in flour, sea salt, and coconut oil. Pulse until crumbly, gradually adding water until dough begins to form a ball. Remove from bowl and press into a round pizza pan. Crimp up edges.

For Your Oven
Bake crust for ten minutes (optional.) Mix the amaranth and the seasoned onions and place on the crust. Sprinkle with Herbamare, garlic powder, and/or pepper flakes if desired. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

This recipe was redesigned for you to start the amaranth, then the onions while the amaranth is cooking, then the crust. The original recipe asks you to do these three steps in a strange order separately that doesn’t make sense, but I know you’re into time efficiency (and so should everyone.) I also use a handful of fresh herbs from my garden instead of dried. You’re going to rock out this recipe, and soon you’ll want to replace every crust: whether sweet potato pie, empanada, or pizza crust with this high protein and gluten free alternative. It’s also unbelievably quick. Bon appétit!

Stuff I Eat: Restaurant Review

Be swept away to another time period on Market Street in Inglewood, California. And while your at it, get thrown into the future of delicious and healthy culinary bliss at Stuff I Eat.

The very first time I ate at Stuff I Eat, a lovely young gentleman tried to impress his vegan date by taking me to this out of the way restaurant. Right when we walked in, we realized that they were already closed. The two people working there insisted that we stay, and made us both custom meals that were delicious! This kind of customer service really is above and beyond, and they won me over by both their kindness and their food.

Since that first day, every time I've been there they've impressed me a little more. They serve very fresh organic greens along side a wide variety of grains with a main dish of good ol' fashioned American comfort food: all while being top of the line vegan. They give generous portions at more than reasonable prices in a large space filled with ultra-hip ambiance.

I feel completely comfortable bringing any friend, vegan or not, and feel confident that they'll be impressed by both the ambiance as well as any item they choose on the menu.

And don't forget dessert. I had the most beautiful raw "cheesecake" like slice of something called Funky Chunky. It was rich, creamy, and decadent in a way that you'll definitely feel like you're being naughty when your actually being pretty nice to your body.

The Sexy Vegan: A Review

Sick of not being able to pig out on fastfood without killing animals and the environment? The Sexy Vegan has the answer for you: http://www.thesexyvegan.moonfruit.com/


Fried in peanut oil, I made this very fishy sandwich very fantastic without hurting any fishies.