Angelic Monkey

Gluten-Free Coconut Cupcake (with Coconut Frosting)

2012-01-23T07:23:00.001-05:00

~~I think I might be obsessed with coconut.~~ I am definitely obsessed with coconut! These gluten-free, vegan cupcakes are a coconut lover's dream. Hot from the oven these little gems are sure to keep you warm on those cold winter nights.
Now no more chit chat, here's the recipe:
for the cupcakes -

1 1/2 cups coconut flour
1 cup raw evaporated cane sugar (would be lovely to substitute coconut sugar if you can)
1/2 cup shredded dried coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup almond milk (hemp milk might be nice too)
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the frosting -

1 cup coconut oil
agave, honey or coconut nectar (to taste)
shredded dried coconut (for garnish)

Combine all the dry ingredients for the cupcakes in a bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients. Slowly add the wet to the dry and mix until well combined. Pour into a muffin tin and bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.
When the cupcakes are cooled, whip together the coconut oil and sweetener. Give each one a generous dollop of frosting and then sprinkle with more shredded coconut.

It really can't get any more coconutty than this!

What could be better ... um ... how 'bout chocolate gluten-free coconut cupcakes with chocolate coconut frosting!!

I just couldn't resist trying out a chocolate version. Simply add a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to the batter (chocolate chips in there might be nice too) and add some cocoa powder to the coconut oil frosting.

The Law of Least Effort: It Doesn't Have To Be That Hard

2012-01-03T07:26:00.002-05:00

It doesn't matter if you believe in them, or even realize that they exist, but everything and everyone in the universe acts in accordance with certain laws. There's laws of gravity, laws of cause and effect and laws of attraction (made famous by the highly criticized movie, The Secret). In Deepak Chopra's book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success he briefly discusses another law, one that turned my life upside down, the law of least effort.

Life is an up hill struggle and nothing worth while comes easily. No pain, no gain. Makes sense, right? It used to make perfect sense to me until a few years ago when I started studying yoga. Now I'm just starting to realize that it really doesn't have to be that difficult. When you are living authentically the life that you were created to live, things easily and effortlessly become available to you. It's The Law! Nature (as is often the case) is the best example of this. Deepak Chopra explains:

"Grass doesn't try to grow, it just grows. Fish don't try to swim, they just swim. Flowers don't try to bloom, they bloom. Birds don't try to fly, they fly. This is their intrinsic nature. The earth doesn't try to spin on its own axis; it is the nature of the earth to spin with dizzying speed and to hurtle through space. It is the nature of babies to be in bliss. It is the nature of the sun to shine. It is the nature of the stars to glitter and sparkle. And it is human nature to make our dreams manifest into physical form, easily and effortlessly."

Wherever you're going in this life, whatever your dreams and heart's desires, achieving them doesn't have to be an uphill battle. It's only when we struggle against our nature, against the laws of the universe that things become difficult. You wouldn't expect to defy the laws of gravity by throwing an apple in the air and having it stay suspended there while you fold laundry. Likewise you must also live according to the law of least effort. One of the most powerful pieces of advice one of my yoga teachers said to me was to practice letting go and letting be. Let that be your mantra from now on. Putting aside expectations, anxieties and past life baggage to allow your unique divine path unfold naturally, effortlessly and with ease.

The Bhagavad Gita describes this state of effortlessness as the action in inaction. The Bhagvad Gita, a sacred text in India, chronicles the story of Arjuna, a warrior on the battlefield who is conflicted about his involvement in the war. Lord Krishna guides Arjuna in his journey and discovery of right and wrong action. One of the most profound verses is Chapter 4, verse 18, where Krishna explains how one can do very little, yet accomplish huge tasks. In Swami Sivananda's translation the verse reads:

"He who seeth inaction in action and action in inaction, he is wise among men; he is a Yogi and performer of all actions".

My interpretation of this verse is you can physically appear to be doing nothing (effortlessness), but using the law of least effort also be hard at work making your deepest desires come true. This verse shows us that although the physical body remains still (inaction), the higher self can still be busy at work (action). On the other hand, we all know people who run themselves ragged following their every impulse and material whim (action). But since these actions are not in accordance with their authentic selves, they are really going nowhere and doing nothing to grow and mature (inaction).

When we studied the Bhagavad Gita in my yoga teacher's training course, intellectually I understood this verse and could explain it's meaning in detail (it was one of the exam questions!). But that was just cerebral. I couldn't really understand it practically or see it's importance in my own life. It made sense, but how could I living in this world put all this theory into practice? I'm not Arjuna on the battlefield.

Actually we are all Arjuna on the battlefield. But it's not a battlefield, it's your life and you can chose whether it's spent in conflict, war, anxiety and doubt or bliss (ananada in Sanskrit). Like anything in life, integrating the law of least effort into your life takes time, patience and lots of faith. I still have days where I feel like Sisyphus rolling that boulder up hill. But when I slow down, breathe and try to see beyond the temporary chaos, I always find an answer to help me through. To help you integrate the law of least effort into your life, Deepak Chopera lists 3 techniques:

Acceptance - Accepting people, situations and everything that occurs. If you believe that every challenge is present in your life to teach you and help guide you, you will realize your "difficulties" are really blessings.
Responsibility - Taking responsibility for everything that happens to you and how you chose to react to the difficult situations. Whatever happens, ultimately you are the one that is allowing it to happen that way.
Defenselessness - Sounds similar to helplessness, but it doesn't have to be. Don't waste energy on fighting it, just surrender and let whatever comes, come. Because believe me, life's difficult situations are going to come, whether you like it or not. So why get on the defensive? Instead see the lesson in the chaos and move on.

Wishing all of you an effortless journey forward this new year.

Pre-Flight Green Smoothie

2011-10-06T22:45:00.029-04:00

The last green smoothie ... well for a while at least.

As you read this pre-scheduled post, I am sitting in a tiny airplane seat taking off for a land I've only dreamed of. The length of my entire trip from my door in Canada to the door of the resort where I'll be teaching in Thailand is probably 48 hours. YIKES! Of course I need something in my belly that will be easy to digest, nutritionally dense and give me a little energy.

When I'm home I drink a large green smoothie every morning, but alas, a quick search of my blog revealed that the last time I posted a green smoothie recipe was over a year ago!! Here's what I tossed into the blender this morning ...

Pre-Flight Green Smoothie

2 cups fresh spinach (or another leafy green)
1/2 avocado
1 banana, frozen
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
water, enough to make everything go 'round

I like my smoothies to taste green, so you may need to add more fruit if a cuppa grass ain't your style. Try raspberries or mango.

I love the creamy decadence that the avocado brings to this drink, and the banana adds just a touch of sweetness. Being my third winter now, travelling to the east, this just may be the start of an old tradition of mine - the annual pre-flight green smoothie.

Thailand, Here I Come!

2011-09-29T07:01:00.002-04:00

Did the picture in my previous post tip you off? That's right yoga fans, I'm off to Thailand in just one week's time. Somewhat of a detour on my way to India, I'll be helping with a yoga teacher training in beautiful Chiang Rai, Thailand. I've never visited Thailand before, so as you can imagine, I'm super excited and nervous all at the same time. My itinerary this winter is Thailand for one month and then straight to south India, where I'll spend some time and then take an advanced yoga teacher training course in February. I should be back in Canada earlier this year, mid-April. What's the plan after that? Only the outcome of my time in Thailand & India will determine that ...

Yoga Shows the Way ...

2011-09-26T18:34:00.001-04:00

Super exciting announcement about where I'll be going next ... stay tuned!

(can you guess by the picture??)

My Secret Ingredient for Raw Carrot Cake

2011-09-17T07:09:00.002-04:00

I've made raw carrot cake in the past. It was good, but it didn't exactly knock my raw socks off (or anyone else's socks). So I decided to experiment and create my own. When I started out on my raw food journey I didn't have much experience and I wasn't confident enough to create my own recipes. I relied heavily on recipes I found in uncook books and websites like goneraw.com.

Oh how times have changed. This time I couldn't wait to get out my food processor and play!

I've made a few raw carrot cakes these past few weeks and I've been carefully refining my recipe. In an effort to use up some produce that I had on my counter, this secret ingredient was born. Here's what I did:

Secret Ingredient Raw Carrot Cake

Grind 3/4 cup of raw sunflower seeds in a food processor. Keep processing until the seeds are ground into a powder.

Then run one large carrot through a juice extractor and scoop out the pulp. This is raw cake gold! I always scoop out the pulp and run it through a second time. It gets the maximum amount of juice out and also a drier pulp is good for making raw cakes (especially if you're dehydrator free like me).

But wait, before you run off to liquefy your carrots, there's one more thing - the super secret ingredient. Are you ready?

Along with the carrot, juice one apple too. Easy peasy, right? It will give your cake an extra kick of sweetness and the apple compliments the carrot so well.

Mix the carrot-apple pulp with the ground sunflower seeds and 2-3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon. With the processor running add some soaked raisins until the mixture begins to form balls in the food processor.

Spread the cake "batter" into a pan and place in the fridge to harden. Really pack the batter in tightly to make a nice dense cake. I hate when raw cakes don't cut well and then fall apart when you try to serve individual slices. This cake is not like that at all. It cuts beautifully.

For a super simple raw frosting I used coconut oil mixed with a touch of honey. Spread on the cake and place in the fridge for a few hours to harden.

Beautiful isn't it?

Even my mom, who usually stays away from my raw dessert experiments, kept asking me if she could have a piece. She liked this version infinitely more than my non-secret ingredient raw carrot cake.

Now my mind is turning .... what else can I make with this secret ingredient? To be continued ...

I Like Her Style: Lauren Bush

2011-09-11T07:59:00.003-04:00

This girl's got style. Fashion with a message is something I whole-heartily support. Let's face it, all us girls need to carry a purse or bag of some sort. Your bag can either be something mindlessly bought at the mall or you can express yourself with your fashion choices. I choose the latter and I hope you will too.

What I admire about Lauren Bush (yes, that Bush family) is that whether she's causally shopping or hitting up a star studded Hollywood movie premiere, she's always sporting a Feed Bag.

Feed is a non-profit organization co-founded by Lauren to help address the world's growing problem of starvation and malnutrition. Ingeniously using the concept of a burlap animal feed bag, in 2006 Lauren designed a tote bag that could be sold as a fundraiser for the United Nations world food program. Originally bearing the logo "Feed 1" the profits from each bag was said to feed one child in school for one year.

Feed now offers several different bags, t-shirts, scarfs and many other accessories, each bearing the number of people that will be fed with the purchase of the product.

Of course all the bags are also made from environmentally friendly materials using fair and ethical labour practices. What's the use of feeding starving children if the bag's production exploits people and the environment, right?

I adore this clutch Lauren carried to a Unicef event:

She's even convinced her Ralph Lauren heir boyfriend, David Lauren to wear one - a man feed bag!

I can't wait to see what this humanitarian will do next ...

The Lost Photos From India

2011-08-24T05:05:00.001-04:00

In case you missed it, here's the story of what happened to the original first blog post I did when I got back from India in May.

When Blogger "restored" the post, most of the photos were gone and ALL the text (that took me hours to write about all the lessons I learned and how much I grew spiritually during this time) was erased. But hey I'm not bitter or anything ;)

Here's some of those lost photos:

One of the yoga teacher training courses in session. An army of yoga teachers - gotta love it!

Pranayama (breathing exercises) in progress. inhaaaaaaale ...

A photo from Sivarti. Prayers started at 7:30 that night. We stayed up until 4:30 AM chanting, drumming, dancing and eating sweet prasad (blessed food). Good times!

The famous loooooooooong chai pour. Helps to mix the tea with sugar, cool it down and also makes the tea taste so much better for some reason.

Sujith, a ~~human pretzel~~ yoga teacher, shows off his moves on stage.

Shortly after I arrived in India, a fellow teacher announced she was getting married! They had a traditional, simple, small wedding (not the big flashy kind of wedding you see in Bollywood movies. And no the groom didn't ride in on an elephant). BTW, see those cascading white things in front on either side? They're coconut flowers!

Travel Sewing Kit UPDATE

2011-08-16T07:09:00.005-04:00

I know you've all been kept up at night wondering how I decorated the cover of my travel sewing kit that I made a few months ago for my trip to India. So here is the final reveal:

I had an afternoon off from teaching, so I grabbed my sewing kit, a needle and some embroidery thread, and headed for my favourite mango tree (it was my favourite because there were 2 hammocks hanging there). Darn I should have taken a picture of it!

I used a straight stitch with gaps to give it that sewing kind of look. I brought a lot of embroidery thread with me on that trip, but unfortunately this was the only embroidery I did. Not enough hours in the day ...

If you missed my tutorial on how to make your own sewing kit, check it out here.

It's much easier to make than you may think, and allows you to have all your crafty supplies with you when you travel. I'm sure glad that I had this kit with me because shortly after arriving at the airport the zipper pull came off my carry on bag. It just zzzzzzzzzzipped right off the end of the zipper. I used the big safety pin in this kit to secure the end of the zipper, so it wouldn't fall off for the rest of my 30+ hour journey to India (layover in Abu Dhabi).

This would make a cute gift too for that world traveller in your life.

5 Pinteresting Links

2011-08-10T06:49:00.004-04:00

Are you on Pinterest? It's a cyber cornucopia of craft ideas, eco inspiration and beautifully shot photography. It's also incredibly addictive, more so than Facebook I'd say.

Anyhow you can judge for yourself. Here are some of my favourite things I've seen on Pinterest lately:

1. Upcycled spool side table

When I was growing up we used to have dozens of these wooden spools in our backyard. I love this idea of bringing them inside to use as a side table/book storage. All you need are a few strategically placed dowels, wheels and a coat of paint.

2. DIY alphabet stones

These are just adorable and seem so simple to make. I think my favourite part of this craft will be hunting for the stones. I'm going to walk down to the lake as soon as I hit 'publish' on this post.

3. Non spiralizer technique for making zucchini noodles

Must try this tonight ...

4. Raw vegan ice "cream" bars

Raw vegan ice cream bars, need I say more?

5. Eco-friendly business card idea

This pin reminded me of a fellow yoga teacher I met last summer. Before he went back home to New Zealand he told me he had to give me is business card. Wow, I thought, he has a business card? He reached into his pocket and pulled out a torn piece of cardboard with his name and email address written on it! This stamp makes his idea so much more classy.

Honestly I could find 10+ things on this site everyday that interests me. Genius!. Are you on Pinterest?

Yogi Raw Food Workshop #2

2011-08-08T07:39:00.002-04:00

Remember the two fabulous yogis I told you about who conducted a raw food workshop a few weeks ago? I was hoping and hoping they would do another one, and they did!

Our raw food teachers, Lakita & Murali, work so well together. I love seeing them in the kitchen. The energy changes immediately. When you see them in action, you can just tell that they had their own restaurant. It's no wonder they are such a wealth of knowledge, they have been following a raw food lifestyle for 14 years now!!

There was less food to sample in this workshop, but I learned A LOT more, which is more important anyhow.

First Lakita showed us how to make rejuvelac. Remember my post from the first workshop, where they showed us sprouted wheat berries, and I said I wouldn't know what to make with them?

Problem solved! Lakita gave us a recipe for rejuvelac that uses sprouted wheat berries.

The only problem is that it takes a few days for the drink to ferment, so we didn't get to sample it. I've actually never tried rejuvelac before, so I'm interested to see how it would taste. Since it's fermented, it's not sattvic, but since it's full of good bacteria Lakita explained there are many benefits of this drink.

We did, however get to sample another drink - green lemonade! Lakita said this was their most popular drink at their restaurant, and I can see why! It was a cup of green-y delight. It was so fresh and lemony, but not too lemony (very important).

Like last time I didn't get the exact recipe, but the main ingredients that went into the juicer were: romaine lettuce (lots), apple, and lemon.

Jack Lalane juicer, very cool!

My juicer at home doesn't really see much action. As most of you know, when I'm at home I have a green smoothie every morning. Green juices never really interested me before, but now I'm looking at them with completely new eyes! Don't get me wrong, nothing could ever replace my beloved green smoothie, but green juices are definitely going to be consumed from now on too. I think they would be especially good in the summer, since they're so refreshing!

Next up was a raw soup. Murali made us a basic soup base and then showed us how we could add in a variety of spices and/or herbs to customize it. The possibilities are endless really.

Green lemonade and green soup. I was in raw green heaven!

Lastly Murali whipped up an apple pie. He made it so fast. No one could believe how easy it was. First was the crust, soaked and then dehydrated walnuts combined with dates.

The filling was chopped apple with a cashew cream. The cashew cream was used to hold it all together. He made it by combining cashews with water and agave in the blender. Then Murali combined the cashew cream with the chopped apple and spread it onto the walnut crust.

Then the remaining crust was added on top. Big ol' pile of raw pie crust, yummy!

The finished apple pie:

There was way more pie than students, so everyone got a large piece!

It was absolutely delicious. The crust was crunchy and the apple-cashew filling inside was sweet. It would have been divine a la mode (with the raw coconut ice cream from the first workshop). There was even a space on the plate for it.

Hey a girl can dream, can't she? I'm also dreaming and hoping that Lakita & Murali will host another raw workshop ;) They make a raw kale dish that I am dying to learn. Somehow they marinade the kale leaves and they soften up like they've been cooked, but it's completely raw.

Of course I'll be sure to share the technique on my blog ... once I've discovered it.

Raw Vegan Blueberry Pie Ice Cream

2011-08-01T07:10:00.010-04:00

It's blueberry season! Let's celebrate with a frosty bowl of blueberry ~~soft~~ raw serve, shall we?

If you missed my raw serve highlight post, check it out for tons of variations on raw, vegan & sattvic ice cream like treats.

Raw Blueberry Pie Ice Cream

1 banana, cut up into small pieces and then frozen
1 pint blueberries, frozen (reserve some fresh berries for garnish)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom (optional)

Whiz the frozen fruit (& cardamom) in a food processor until it resembles ice cream. Scoop into a chilled dish and top with the fresh blueberries.

The frozen blueberries didn't combine as well as the frozen strawberries in my strawberry version, but the dish is still absolutely heavenly. I love cardamon, especially with blueberries, so I might have put more like 3/4 teaspoon in mine. Use it to suit your tastes. Cinnamon would also be lovely I think.

Is your heart crying out for more blueberry recipes? Try my Raw Vegan Sattvic Blueberry Cardamom Pudding or if a smoothie is more your scene, my Banana Blueberry Mint Raw Smoothie.

I'm having such a great summer this year, teaching yoga, enjoying nature, meeting new people and learning all the lessons I was destined to learn (some lessons are harder to learn than others, but I'm still smiling). I hope you all are enjoying your summer too!

Wild Raspberry Raw Pie

2011-07-30T06:49:00.000-04:00

What I did today:

Walked outside & picked some wild raspberries, no pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers.

& then made a pie with them!

I love days like these. Shouldn't all food be this simple? Here's the recipe:

Wild Raspberry Raw Pie

CRUST -

1 cup raw nuts (I used a mix of almonds and sunflower seeds)
soaked raisins

PIE FILLING -

1 cup raspberries (it's nice if their wild, but I know this isn't possible for everyone)
1 cup raw cashews, soaked until soft & then rinsed
1/4 cup coconut oil
Raw sweetener (honey, agave, stevia), added as desired
2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed

First make the pie crust by grinding the raw nuts into a powder using a food processor. With the food processor running add the raisins slowly until the mixture begins to form a ball. You may need to occasionally stop the machine to scrap down the sides. Press the crust into a cake pan and put in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

It almost seemed a shame to mash up these little ruby spheres of raspberry goodness. Nothing like the ones you get in the grocery store.

But ya can't make wild raspberry raw pie without breaking some raspberries.

Okay so for the filling, simply blend everything in a blender until creamy & smooth. If you don't have a high speed blender (as I don't), you'll have to do a bit more work. Add a little bit of fresh water to the blender and add the cashews one handful at a time. You will have to keep stopping the blender and stirring quite frequently. If you add more water it will blend faster, but then you will have a less dense pie that falls apart when it's cut. So try to add as little water as you can - it's worth it in the end. Once the cashews are blended well, add the rest of the ingredients.

Pour the filling into the crust and leave in the fridge for a few hours to set up.

I've heard rumours that there's blackberries around these parts too. Mmmmm wild blackberry raw pie! Possibly a future post (unless I find something else creative to do with them).

But for now I'm enjoying the wild raspberry raw pie goodness ...

Who wants the last piece?

As I mentioned before, I don't have a high speed blender (Bullet budget, Vita-Mix dreams), so I had to slowly add the cashews and stop the blender constantly to stir. But it was completely worth it, when I cut that first dense, decadent piece.

I bet those wild raspberries would be good in my raspberry raw serve too.

Have you ever scavenged in your backyard for edibles? This was my first time using wild raspberries, but definitely not my last.

Chinatown Chic Refashion

2011-07-27T07:56:00.009-04:00

Here's my current situation: I have a cute pink chinois top that I don't really wear anymore (it's backless ... a relic from my previous life where I went out to lots of parties).

... AND a bamboo handle purse in a pattern I hate.

Hmmmm ...

Hey, why don't I combine the two to make a cute Chinese-style bamboo handled purse? Well that's exactly what I did.

The whole thing was super easy and took me probably no longer than 30 minutes. First I removed the collar from the top. I love the Chinese style button. I have to think of something fun to do with it.

Then I cut off the two long straps on each side. The fabric comes to a point here where the straps were attached. I decided to use these points for attaching the handles. With right sides together, I folded the fabric into a rectangular shape and stitched the sides together leaving the pointed ends open.

Then I turned right sides out. Folded each of the pointed ends over a bamboo handle and hand stitched them to secure.

Super easy, uber chic and 100% recycled/reused materials. I love it!

I would love to do this with some old sari material and the square wooden handles they use in South India. Future project for sure. But for now I'm happy with my Chinese-Bamboo bag.

Happy re-fashioning!

Raw Sattvic Chai Cookies

2011-07-21T07:03:00.039-04:00

Remember my raw, vegan & sattvic chai spiced chia pudding? I promised to provide you with another Indian spiced recipe, and here it is (a promise is a promise after all)!

In India they have masala cookies, not raw, probably not vegan and definitely not sattvic (lots of hot spices, onion & garlic). But I tried them anyway :) They pack quite a punch, but so do my raw version and I like them better anyway.

Inspired by my trip to India, when I got back home I decided to experiment in the kitchen and see what I could whip up. I'm getting a lot more adventurous now, but unfortunately I don't remember any of the measurements I used (sorry!). Like all the recipes I feature on my site these cookies are super easy to make and use only simple ingredients. You'll need a food processor for this one.

Raw Sattvic Chai Cookies

uncooked oats (not the quick cooking kind)
raisins, soaked until plump
freshly ground spices : cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, star anise

In the food processor blend some oats until it becomes a fine powder. Scrap the sides and add in the spices. If you have a spice grinder, freshly ground spices will make these cookies taste divine. If not, pre-ground spices will work too. Pulse to combine the spices with the oats. Then with the food processor running, add the raisins until the mixture begins to form balls. The dough should stick together when you squeeze it in your hand.

The raisins are enough sweetener for me, but at this point you can taste the dough and if you'd like it more sweet you can add in some raw sweetener such as agave, stevia or honey. This was definitely a sampling kind of recipe for me. I kept tasting the dough as I went along and adding what I thought it needed to taste nice. I used much more cinnamon than the other spices. I used just a little of the nutmeg.

When you're happy with the dough, roll into balls and they are ready to consume. Store in the fridge ... but I'm sure you already knew that. This isn't rocket science, it's raw cookie balls!

Kind of reminds me of the raw pecan pie cookies I made a few years ago (Ani Phyo's recipe). My raw chai cookies are nut free. Oats are also less expensive than pecans, which is nice if you're making a big batch.

And of course the plethora of raw vegan & sattvic donut holes too! Lots of good recipes and photos to drool over in that post!!

Now get out your food processor and make some raw cookies!

Raw Cashews: Are They Really Really Raw?

2011-07-17T07:17:00.002-04:00

There's a controversy about raw cashews in the raw food community. The majority of cashews packaged and labelled as raw are in fact not raw when using the definition of heating below 116°C. In order to get that little piece of heaven known as a cashew out of it's thick, hard shell, the entire nut must be heated. Also the raw oil inside the cashew shell can burn your skin if you're unlucky enough to come in contact with it.
SoooOooo what's a raw food girl to do?

... well go to India of course and pick that cashew right off the tree & eat it raw!

Okay so you don't have to go to India, there are lots of other countries that grow cashews too, but this is my story of truly 100% RAW cashews.

The picture above are some of the cashews I picked. The place where I was teaching had lots of trees with edibles growing on them - cashews, almond, mango, coconut, chikoo (sapodilla) and guava. I didn't even realize what was growing on this tree until a local told me and showed me how to get the cashew out.

The large red-yellowish fruit is what they call a cashew apple. It's sweet, juicy and astringent tasting, meaning it hits the back of your throat with a dry taste. The apple was okay, but I lived for the flavourful cashews inside the shells. I found lots of cashew nuts on the ground around the cashew trees. Monkeys often eat the cashew apples and then throw away the nut. Crazy monkeys!

Once the cashew's hard shell turns grey it can't be consumed raw. It will have to be heated over a fire and then cracked open (we did that one night too!). The green ones, however have a softer shell and can be split open with a knife.

As I mentioned before the oil inside the cashews can burn, so being completely new to opening up cashew shells, I wasn't about to get out my knife and go at it. Another yoga teacher, a local to the area, did it for me. He was always careful to wrap a cloth rag around the hand that was holding the cashew to make sure once the shell was open the raw oil wouldn't get onto his skin. He removed the unripe cashew apple and sliced the nut right down the middle.

Isn't it just so cute? Then using the tip of the knife, he carefully removed the cashew from the shell and placed it inside a napkin to remove the oil. Once the oil was all soaked up we could eat the nut.

When my friend first handed me a raw cashew to eat I didn't chow it down immediately. I was a bit apprehensive because of the raw oil that he said could burn my skin and because the nuts still had a slightly greenish tinge (I know weird, me not wanting to eat something green). But I decided to be adventurous. So I took a deep yogic breath and popped it in my mouth.

I liked the fresh taste immediately. It was softer than the "raw" cashews you buy here in the stores and had a slightly sweet taste. It tasted fresh and abundant with living energy. I realized that what I previously considered a raw cashew was absolutely not raw, at least not as alive as this cashew.

I would have loooooOooooooved to make a raw dish with these nuts. Maybe a raw sattvic sauce to drench zuke noodles in or a raw mango cheesecake. But alas that just wasn't possible. It would have been too labour intensive to hand split enough cashews. But also I didn't have access to a blender or food processor. This was rural India!

After my raw cashew experience I got a lot more adventurous with picking things off the tree and eating it. If it's good enough for the monkeys ...

No pesticides, no artificial fertilizers, just living raw goodness!

This is an unripe green mango. Love these! You can even eat the skin. I didn't even bother to wash it first LOL! It has a much more tart taste than the ripe mangoes. These green mangoes are used a lot in India to make hot sauce, called pickle. I ate quite a bit of that too ;)

Now that I'm back home in Canada there will be no more truly raw cashews (or green mangoes for that matter), but I'm okay with that. After all I'm a yogi, which means I'm flexible.

Yogi Raw Food Workshop

2011-07-15T07:25:00.016-04:00

Hello my lovelies! I'm blogging from Quebec, Canada where I'm living and teaching yoga. I'll be here in the beautiful mountains for the entire summer. But guess who else is here?? Two yogis/raw food chefs! And they were gracious enough to host a raw food workshop for us last week. I love the synchronicity of life ...

Meet Lakita & Murali (their yogi names), our raw food gurus:

Lakita and Murali owned and operated a very popular raw food restaurant in New York, Raw Soul. However recently they decided to leave the restaurant biz and create a new path, a yogic one. I first met these lovely raw souls in India, where I was teaching yoga. They came for a yoga teacher training course in February. Fast forward to June where we met again and are now staff at the same yoga centre. Small world. Actually it happens all the time here.

I didn't know they were raw foodies when I met them in India, let alone that they had a raw restaurant. But I was super excited when they announced this workshop. I hope it won't be the last ...

First they explained the importance of soaking raw nuts and how to sprout raw seeds using a strainer.

Sprouted sunflower seeds. Soaked for 4 hours and then sprouted 1 day. Use quickly because the nutritional value diminishes as times goes on. Recently I've been busy sprouting my own seeds too. Using the strainer method & in soil.

Sprouted wheat berries. I've never seen wheat berries before. Must try at home. Although they didn't make anything with it, so I'll need to find a recipe (hint, hint: if anyone out there has one, let me know).

First up, we made a raw sattvic soup. No garlic, onions or vinegar here.

They didn't give us copies of the recipes, but I made a mental note of the ingredients for this one. Lots of tomatoes, some avocados, red bell pepper, squeeze of agave and a pinch of salt. Toss in a blender with fresh water. Combine well and then pulse in some dill. We used dried today, but I bet they used fresh in their restaurant. We're yogis, we're flexible like that ;)

Of course they gave us all some to sample. It was a great starter and crowd pleaser. I love how shocked some people are when they taste raw food for the first time, and they like it. Murali explained to us that food should make you want to ...

jump up and dance, do the splits and not be able to get up, James Brown style. Yes, this soup made us want to do exactly that, although no one (except Murali) actually did, as seen in the picture above!

They also talked to us in great detail about being connected to your food (i.e. mixing with your hands or taking to your sprouts), the importance of your mental state while cooking, and making food with love, respect and gratitude. The spirituality of uncooking, Amen!

Next up was a mock tuna burrito.

I didn't catch all the ingredients that went into the food processor for this one, but the main ones were almonds, celery, lemon, pickles and something I'd never seen before, a seaweed mix:

Gives it that ocean flavour! Here's a shot of the finished product wrapped up using a romaine lettuce leaf:

I went back for seconds of this one. Easy to make, simple ingredients & sooooOooo good!

Then it was time for dessert, which was raw coconut ice cream!! Again didn't get the exact recipe (hey, I was busy taking all these photos), but here's a before shot of the blender:

Looks like it was dried shredded coconut (again they said they would have used fresh if it was available), cashews, agave, vanilla extract and coconut oil. Murali blended it up and then let us sample the unfrozen mixture. Of course we sampled the pre-frozen ice cream too.

I liked the coconut-y taste, and it was a nice treat, but I have to say that I prefer my banana based raw serves (raw soft serve type ice cream). It's easier (less ingredients) and I think takes less time than this raw ice cream. Although this did give me an idea to try for a coconut raw serve ...

We all had so much fun and I could tell that everyone learned a lot during the workshop. Being fairly familiar with raw food and it's preparation, I can't say that I really learned anything new from the workshop, but I did have a fabulous time.

Lahkita & Murali gave out so much love and positive energy. They ~~could~~ should have called the workshop The Yoga of Food, because that's exactly what it was. They showed us how to prepare healthy food that reduces environmental degradation in a way that spiritually connects us with what we eat and how we prepare it.

*OM*

Mint Chocolate Chia

2011-07-12T07:28:00.002-04:00

This invigorating chia seed pudding is reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream, but better! A few weeks ago I first tried soaking a tea bag in some raw nut milk to make a chai chia pudding. The results were amazing, and it got me thinking about all the millions of other possibilities - there's a lot of teas out there.

I know some raw food makers use extracts, but that's just not my style. With the exception of vanilla extract, they are hard to find and expen$sive, especially if you're making something raw and sattvic and therefore need an extract that is alcohol free.

So tea is the way for me!

Mint Chocolate ~~Chip~~ Chia

First decide on the "milk" you will use. I used a raw almond milk that was made by combining a few tablespoons of raw almond butter with water in the blender. You could also make a sweet milk by combining a banana with water in the blender (then you don't need to add sweetener later).

I like a somewhat thick chia pudding, so I used 1 cup of liquid with 1/3 cup chia seeds. Measure out the liquid and let two mint tea bags soak in the liquid for a few hours. Store in the fridge. When the liquid is good and minty remove the tea bags and add the chia seeds. For the chocolate flavour you can use raw cacao powder, but that's not sattvic. For a caffeine-free version use a few tablespoons of carob powder instead (or you can mix both carob & chocolate powder). Sweeten as desired with either honey, stevia or agave. Stir everything together well and put back in the fridge to thicken up. I like to leave it in the fridge overnight.

The next morning when I got up this minty chocolatey bowl was waiting for me ...

I couldn't believe how good it was ... so minty with a creamy chocolately taste.

You could also add some raw cacao nibs for a real mint chocolate chip experience.

I didn't have cacao nibs, so I added a banana instead.

It was mint chocolate bliss!!

Next up for my tea soaking adventures? I think I'll try something with a fruity tea ...

Canada Organic Logo: Spreading Wide & Far

2011-07-10T07:57:00.000-04:00

Remember my obsession with the Canada Organic logo and finding it on products in stores? I remember years ago when I first heard about the plans to create this logo. A few years later it was launched, and I couldn't wait to find the first one in my hometown. Slowly, slowly I began seeing the logo on more and more products.

I was pleasantly surprised when I returned home from my trip to find that this logo is now everywhere! I've seen it on everything from organic soymilk, chips, juice, snack bars, cereals and more. No, I won't bore you with photos of the logo on all these products ;)

I also discovered that I'm not the only organic nerd that loves finding this logo. This website created for Organic Week in Canada (which is October 15-22, 2011), apparently also loves finding that little green, white and red logo. They've even created a Google map of places where it's been seen! I can't wait to add all my sightings - I have LOTS!

With many companies green washing and tricking customers into believing their products are healthier than they really are, I'm so glad to see the organic logo proliferating. When shoppers see this logo on food they know the product is 100% certified organic by a third party using Canadian standards. In other words it makes your shopping an easy no-brainer.

Back to the new website I found .... I didn't realize that there was an Organic Week in Canada, but now that I do, I'll be sure to join in on the festivities. I don't see anything in my hometown listed under the activities, but it's still a few months away. Or maybe I could organize something myself ....

Sprouts From the Earth

2011-07-04T07:58:00.001-04:00

I love fresh crunchy sprouts. They're good to toss in a green smoothie, or salad or tomato-avocado sandwich. But what's the fun in buying them when you can grow your own at home. It only takes a few days. I've been growing my own sprouts using a strainer for years now. It's an easy and inexpensive way to grow your own sprouts, but you need to rinse the sprouts frequently with fresh water and pay careful attention to them to make sure they don't dry out.

But then last summer I saw a woman sprouting sunflower seeds in soil. They grew very quickly, required little water and minimal supervision. I wanna try!

I found an old shallow tin tray, dug up some soil from my mom's garden (sorry mom!) and planted some seeds. I placed the tray next to a window and watered.

The next day there was a tiny little sprout trying to pop out of the dirt to see the sun ...

And then before I knew it all the sprouts were popping their little heads out of the ~~sand~~ dirt.

Over the next 2-3 days the sprouts got taller ...

And taller ...

I love the little "caps" on the sprouts from the sunflower shell.

When I was ready to eat, I simply took some kitchen scissors and snipped off the sprouts just above the soil. Rinse under cold water and they are ready to be blended or added to soups and salads.

Next up is wheatgrass ...

Raw Vegan Sattvic Dinner (with dessert too!)

2011-06-27T07:07:00.002-04:00

Here's a simple, but absolutely delicious dinner menu for tonight.

First start making the dessert:

Raw Blackberry Parfait

Yes, we're starting with dessert. Not eating it first, but blending it and putting it into the fridge to chill and set up so it's ready to eat after dinner. You can even do this the night before. Into the blender goes:

1 pint of blackberries
1 banana
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
pinch of cinnamon

The perfect light summer berry dessert. Aren't luscious berries the best part of spring turning into summer??

Next up is a raw, vegan, sattvic salad dressing to drizzle on your favourite salad. A lot of salad dressings use vinegar, which is fermented and a no-no if you're following the yogic way of eating. This vinegar free dressing is easy to make with just a knife and a citrus juicer.

Sattvic Lemon Poppy seed Dressing

In a jar with a lid combine:

2 lemons, freshly squeezed, no seeds plz!
1/3 cup olive oil, cold pressed
drizzle of honey or agave, to taste
1 teaspoon of poppy seeds

Secure the lid on tightly and shaky-shaky-shake until well combined.

This dressing was so good I almost forgot to take a picture before the whole jar was used up.

I put this lemony dressing on a high raw salad with fresh greens, carrots, cucumbers, 1/2 an avocado, tomatoes, broccoli and lightly stemmed brussel sprouts. Ooooh how I love brussel sprouts, but not raw.

I hope you all enjoyed the sneak peak at my dinner tonight.

India Spiced Chia Pudding

2011-06-21T07:53:00.007-04:00

The word chai isn't used a lot in raw, vegan & sattvic conversations. Chai, meaning tea in India, is usually cow's milk mixed with water heated on the stove and then mixed with hot black tea - not raw, not vegan and since it's caffeinated, not sattvic either. In the south they add LOTS of white sugar too. You can't even walk a few feet without seeing a small chai shop. They're everywhere, and you can get a freshly made steaming hot cup of chai for 5 rupees (roughly 11 cents in US dollars).

But hey, no one reading this blog wants to hear about that kind of chai. I'm talking about the raw, vegan sattvic kind today. Yep, that's right it's chai spiced chia pudding. All you need is some chia seeds, a liquid, a tea bag and sweetener (if desired). Here's the recipe:

Sattvic India Spiced Chia Pudding

Start by flavouring the liquid you will soak your chia seeds in. I used a homemade raw almond milk. You could also use water or banana "milk" which is a banana liquefied with some water in the blender. The ratio I use is one cup of liquid for 1/3 cup chia seeds. Now grab your favourite non-caffeinated tea bag and let it soak in the milk for a few hours. I received a free sample of Four O'Clock's rooibos chai with a magazine, so I decided to try it out. Four O'Clock's tea is not only organic, but also fair trade certified and they have lots of naturally caffeine-free varieties. It's also a Canada company, which I love ;)

After the milk is flavoured you can stir in the chia seeds and sweetener (if desired). Mix everything well. Keep in the refrigerator for a few hours to thicken up. Keep checking on the mixture occasionally and stirring to make sure lumps of seeds don't form. No one likes a lumpy pudding.

I finished my pudding off with a sprinkling of dried shredded coconut reminiscent of my time in South India. Coconut trees were everywhere in the part of India I was in. So I couldn't go a single day without eating something with fresh coconut in it. But hey I'm not complaining.

As you can see there are lots of possibilities of different combinations using different tea. I'm thinking a peppermint flavoured one would be lovely. Four O'Clock also has a chocolate spice tea that uses carob, not chocolate, so it's caffeine free (can you tell I'm in love with this company now?).

Stay tuned for another India spiced recipe, cookie balls ....

Flashback to 2009, Juice Recipe & Food Definitions

2011-06-20T07:00:00.002-04:00

Way back in 2009 (it seems like just yesterday) I posted this list called "The Vegan One Hundred". It's a list of 100 food items and you mark the ones that you've tried. I think I've been fairly adventurous in my eating sampling over the years. There was a good number of items on that list that I've had. But there was also several things that I hadn't tried ... or even heard of!

Today when I was looking over this list I realized I have everything to make #49: Apple-Lemon-Ginger-Cayenne fresh pressed juice ... with Extra Ginger. It's so simple and easy! Why didn't I make this way back in 2009??!!

Ah well, the past is done. Now is the present and it's time for Apple-Lemon-Ginger juice!! Here's what went into the juice extractor:

1 granny smith apple
1/2 lemon
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled

To get the maximum amount of juice I scoop out the pulp and run it through the juicer a second time. Then pour 1/2 cup of water through the juicer. Yes, this juice is that good. I need to get every last drop ;)

Stir in a pinch of cayenne and consume! Don't let your freshly extracted juice sit around too long. It will start to oxidize fairly quickly and start to turn brown, not to mention that the vitamins and nutrients diminish the longer you wait to gulp it down.

After I had my juice I felt energized, so I decided to do a quick Blackle search and find out what some of those unfamiliar items are. Here's what I discovered:

#2 Nopales - also known as prickly pear, this pink-ish fruit grows on the cactus plant. Hey I have tried this, but I think my mom called it "ugly fruit".
#7 Arepas - mini corn cakes made with large kernel cornmeal.
#12 Umeboshi - Japanese pickled plum. Since it's pickled, it's not considered sattvic, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't try it at least once. Often sold as a type of vinegar too.
#26 Scotch Bonnet - an extremely hot (but very cute looking) chile pepper. I love that whoever made the list put the qualifier "raw" in front. I've had lots of cooked hot peppers, but not raw. I'll have to try to make a raw sauce with this one day.
#46 Fuyu - hey I've had this too! I sure am learning a lot. It's a type of persimmon that's hard when eaten. The other type of persimmon, hacheeya is soft when ripe.
#54 Ramps - otherwise known as wild onion or wild leeks. It's said to have a strong flavour of garlic and onion ... another one I think I'll stay away from.
#60 Poi - I crossed it out because for some reason I thought it was fish, but then I realized it's a vegan list. A quick search revealed that poi is actually a Hawaiian pudding-like dish made from the stem of taro. Poi is also a type of fire dance (I haven't tried that either)
#70 Mache - a dark lefty green! Oooh I have to try this in a green smoothie!!
#79 Lapsang Souchong - Chinese tea with a smoky flavour. I'm not really a fan of the smoky taste.
#93 Harissa - another hot & spicy one. A hot sauce made from chiles, garlic, cumin and caraway seeds.

Wow, I really learned a lot. Hopefully all my dear readers have found this research helpful too. Have you done the Vegan 100?

Get Crafty For Charity

2011-06-18T07:04:00.002-04:00

I wanted to have this post published a few weeks ago, so anyone interested could also donate a bracelet to the charity, but I've still been having problems with Blogger. Since I've been away, there was quite a few changes to the way posts are created and how to insert pictures. But I think I have gotten the hang of it now, so look out for lots of new posts from now on :)

For quite a while now I have wanted to create something for Craft Hope. This crafty website combines handmade items and helping others in need. The idea is to gather as many handmade items and then the website distributes them to different charities and non-profit organizations. The first project sent pillowcase dresses to impoverished children in Brazil. Another project made sock monkeys for child burn victims in California.

Project 12 is making friendship bracelets for an orphanage in Russia. For a long time I have wanted to donate something, but I either missed the deadline, didn't have the time or the project was something I've never made (project 5 was quilts). When I saw this friendship bracelet, I knew it had to do it!

The bracelet is easy (and of course) environmentally friendly. I used an old shirt and ribbon remnants. Here's what I did:

I have a shirt in a pretty colour that didn't fit right anymore ...

So I cut it up! Into 3 long strips.

And then braided them ...

Then using a sewing machine I stitched the ends together (you could probably do this by hand as well). Trim away the excess fabric. To make sure the ends don't fray I used a little bit of fabric glue. Now you should have a long braided loop (kinda like a necklace). Wrap it around your wrist a few times. The number of wraps will depend on how long your loop is and how big your wrists are.

I have freakishly small wrists, so I made this bracelet to fit me because I know it will also fit children at that size.

Now you just need something to cover the seam. I used a small piece of leftover ribbon I had in a matching colour. A contrasting colour would also look nice. Or you could use a big decorative button and hand sew it on.

Wrap the ribbon (right sides facing) around the bracelet over the seam. Stitch, trim ends and then turn right side out.

Easy peasy, right? I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I mailed it out to Craft Hope the next day. In a recycled paper box of course.

I hope this bracelet brings a smile to the child in Russia who receives it.

Have you ever participated in a Craft Hope project? If not, make something today! The deadline for this project has already passed. But the next project (security blankets for tornado survivors) is in full swing.

Raw Vegan Sattvic Summer Strawberry Recipes

2011-06-16T07:35:00.011-04:00

It's strawberry season, and I love a fresh, ruby red strawberry picked right off the plant. There's lots of "pick-your-own" farms around here.

I have lots of fond memories from my childhood of strawberry picking with my dad (now deceased). We used to make our own homemade jam with the strawberries we collected on the weekends. We even made our own labels for the jam and distributed it out to family and friends as gifts.

I can't make jam with my father anymore, but I can make these healthy, raw, vegan desserts in honour of his memory. It just so happens that father's day is during peak strawberry season ;)

Here are some of the strawberry recipes featured on my blog.

Raw Strawberry Pie

When I first started my raw journey I was famous for just making the pie filling (sans crust) and calling it a pudding. This was my first attempt at an actual pie back in 2009. It's a super quick and easy raw pie with a few basic ingredients and appliances. I got hooked on making pies after that! Get the recipe here.

Raw Strawberries & Dream

An equally easy and delicious recipe that can be whipped up in no time (pun intended). Get the recipe here.

Double Strawberry Raw Serve

I recently had some strawberry flavoured ice cream while taking care of my nieces, and let me tell you, it tasted nothing like actual strawberries! This quick "soft serve" type ice cream does. Get the recipe here.

So like any good auntie I made them a pink princess strawberry smoothie. As you can see from the picture they opted to eat it with a spoon.

Strawberry Mandarin Spinach Salad

All the ingredients are pretty much in the name of this one, but if you want see my original post for this salad back in 2009 which includes a raw salad dressing to pour on top, click here.

Strawberry Post Yoga Snack

Here's one for the coconut lovers! I called it my post yoga snack because it's not too heavy, but absolutely delicious. I ate loooOooots of coconut in India when I was there teaching yoga. Everything from coconut in curry, chutney, rice pudding and of course fresh coconut water. Get the recipe here.

Raw Strawberry "Cheese" Parfait

HA HA This is a strawberry "cheesecake" where I neglected making the crust and called it a parfait. Despite my laziness, it's amazing and one of my all time favourite raw vegan recipes. Get the recipe here.

Pretty in Pink Smoothie

Wow I had no idea how many strawberry recipes I have on my blog until just now! This last one is near and dear to my heart. I posted this back in 2009 before I went hard core with my green smoothies, but I also like non green smoothies occasionally for a quick snack. This smoothie uses strawberries and mango, one of my favourite fruit combinations. Get the recipe here.

I hope you enjoy my strawberry highlights post. I really enjoyed putting it together. I will have to do another one soon for another ingredient (suggestions?). If you are celebrating father's day this Sunday, have a great time with your dad and dad-type people in your life.

I'M BACK: But why no pictures or stories??

2011-05-26T11:04:00.000-04:00

(sun) Salutation bloggie friends. I'm back from my journey to India. What an amazing experience I had teaching, meeting new friends and diving in head first to adventures I never dreamed of. I'd love to tell you all about it ... well actually I already did!

Last week I wrote a lengthy post detailing all the adventures, lessons and spiritual growth I encountered during my trip. It was easily the most revealing post I've ever published on my blog. There were lots of pictures and my own personal reflections on how much I've grown and matured since I left.

And then ... Blogger deleted it!!

There was some glitch and lot of other blogs experienced the same thing. The next day Blogger Status reported that most of the deleted posts were recovered. Unfortunately for me, the post was only recovered in a very early draft, which hardly contained any of my thoughts at all. I've already contacted Blogger to see if they can access the final post that was published, but I haven't heard back from them. I guess they're pretty busy with the more popular blogs ;)

Anyhow I guess the blogosphere just wasn't meant to hear this story ... well not yet. So instead of trying to re-write the post I'm just letting go & letting be. My journey will just have to remain somewhat a mystery.

The good news is that I have lots of other new posts in the works right now, including:

Truly raw cashews (picked off the tree myself)

Eco crafts for charity

Update on the Canada Organic logo (it's everywhere now!)

And more raw, vegan and sattvic recipes

Several new people are following the blog since I've returned. WELCOME!Thanks for joining me and I hope you enjoy my musings, recipes and eco craft creations.

Angelic Monkey is in India for the Winter

2011-01-01T00:23:00.001-05:00

I'll be back in May!

Gluten-Free Gift Ideas

2010-12-12T07:17:00.003-05:00

Here's a great gift for the holidays for that gluten avoider in your life. I made this last year for my sister-in-law who avoids gluten like Superman & cryptonite :)

First find a great gluten-free recipe. I used a recipe for a baked macaroni & "cheese" from the Gluten Free Goddess blog (lots of great recipes there). Find something that suites the recipient. Type up the recipe and print it out on fun paper or a cute recipe card.

Collect a few ingredients from the recipe and assemble them together in a baking dish or something relevant to the recipe (use a cake pan for a cake recipe, a salad bowl for a salad recipe ... you get the idea).

It's actually quite fun to hunt for things. I found this gluten-free mustard in my local health food store. I don't know if regular mustard has gluten in it, but this one sure doesn't! I also added a few other cooking related things (there's some pot holders, a matching dish towel and a pot scrapper in there).

Then just wrap it up and tie a pretty ribbon around the whole thing. A thoughtful, personalized gluten-free gift that the recipient is sure to enjoy ... or you could just give them a fruit cake.

2010 Holiday Green Gifts Guide

2010-12-05T07:28:00.001-05:00

It's time again for Angelic Monkey's green gifts guide (the third year in a row I might add. Check out the lists from 2009 & 2008, lots of good stuff that's still available). Without further ado, here's this years list:

PlanToys Recycling Truck Set

Eco minded kids will love this little recycling set that comes with the truck, driver and sorting bins for recycling, compost and garbage. Children that grow up with toys like this are destined save this planet when they grow up! All of PlanToys (& they have a lot!) are made from rubber trees that no longer produce rubber. The wood is dyed with water-based non toxic dyes and eco friendly glue (E-Zero glue).

Jane Goodall My Natural Plush Toys

The list goes on & on why these toys by animal lover, Jane Goodall are good for you, your child, the environment and the people who make the toys. Each plush animal is made from non-toxic cotton that hasn't been bleached or doused with harsh chemicals. Low eco impact dyes are used from natural minerals and soy. In addition the workers who make these toys are paid a fair wage, and enjoy the ethics and equality that most of us take for granted in the first world (as an aside, I couldn't find exactly where these toys are made). And of course the proceeds from the sale of each toy will go to the Jane Goodall Institute to support her research.

Bedol Water Clock

I love, love love this clock (I also posted it on my Facebook profile). No batteries required. This niffy clock runs on tap water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (the lemony water needs to be replaced every 8-12 weeks). Perfect for camping, travelling or just all around general tree hugging-ness!

UPDATE: Bedol has just launched a line of similar clocks that DO NOT need lemon added. Eco friendly time keeping just got easier.

Navitas Natural Cacao Lip Balm

Made from pure, cold-pressed cacao bean oil, I first found out about this chocolaty lip balm from Averie over at Love Veggies and Yoga. The balm is made from raw, vegan & certified organic cacao butter. It really leaves your smackers soft and velvety.

Plantable Holiday Greeting Cards from Botanical PaperWorks

I NEVER send out greeting cards because I think it's a waste of paper and a waste of resources to ship them ... but I know the majority of people out there do send cards for the holidays, and these plantable ones seem like a great alternative. The receiver of your holiday greeting can plant the card in soil, water and in a few short weeks watch it bloom. There's lots of designs to choose from, but the yogi in me is partial to this peace (in Sanskrit: om) design.

Rawganique Eco Slumber Masks (in hemp or organic cotton)

Don't you just hate those polyester slumber masks they give you on an airplane? Not very relaxing. Give the gift of natural rest & rejuvenation with these slumber masks made of natural fibres like hemp & organic cotton.

Dr. Alkaitis Travel Kit

Dr. Alkaitis' motto is "if you can't eat it, don't put it on your skin". Makes sense to me! Every one of these products are made with fresh ingredients that are raw, organic and plant derived. No trans-fats, no harsh chemicals and never tested on animals. The products also don't contain water (often used as a filler in lower quality products), so a little goes a long way. This travel kit contains: day creme, night creme, eye creme, facial cleanser, nourishing treatment oil, soothing gel, herbal toner and a mask. Don't eat it all at once ... I mean use it all at once :p The kit should last for 7-12 days.

Infrared Sauna

Okay, this one is a bit of a splurge (almost $1000), but if you can afford it, it's completely worth it! The place where I was teaching yoga this summer has a similar infrared sauna, and it was heaven (although hot as hell!!). Research shows that infrared saunas are good for cleaning out toxins, increasing circulation, speedy recovery from injuries, weight loss, improving the immune system and it's also incredibly relaxing! Great after a long day of karma yoga.

Sweet Sesame Sattvic Smoothie

2010-12-03T07:06:00.001-05:00

Created this one late night when I had soaked a lot of dates and I just couldn't bring myself to dump the date soak water down the drain ...

Sweet Sesame Smoothie

1 handful of dates, soaked for a few hours in 1 cup of fresh filtered water
1/2 cup raw tahini (make sure there is only one ingredient listed on the label: sesame seeds)
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Combine everything (including the date soak water) in the blender and mix until frothy. Add more/less dates depending on the sweetness you like.

A Few Things I Think Are Just Great ...

2010-12-01T07:06:00.001-05:00

- playing with my niece & nephew (usually yoga related) -

- trees - all kinds, everywhere, always -

- thrift stores -

- strawberry picking with my dad (& then we make jam) -

- long silent walks @ 6 AM -

- Martha Stewart crafts -

- (raw) honey facials -

- big glass of greenie goodness (but you already knew that) -

Ah simple pleasures ...

Solar Powered Art

2010-11-30T06:36:00.001-05:00

Bonjour art aficionados! I recently spotted this unique solar panel in London, Ontario Canada. The "solar tree" as it's called, is designed to mimic the city's logo (seen below), and provides energy to power the local tourist information centre ... okay well with the help of 3 larger panels behind the tree. But there's even more good news; this eco-art structure cost the city's taxpayers a grand total of $0. The provincial power authority provided a loan and the city is using the GREEN that they're saving (pun totally intended!) to pay for the contact. Here's some more info on the solar tree:

The "tree" is 23 feet high with 27 power generating "leaves"
All the solar panels together generate 10,000 kWh's per year
When the sun is shining the amount of powered generated by the entire system is enough to power 7 homes!
It is estimated that the city will save over $165,000 over a twenty year period
Up to 10 tonnes of CO2 will be offset each year

I can't wait to see what other eco ideas this city has in store ...

Carob, Carob & Carob: 3 Recipes

2010-11-27T06:58:00.003-05:00

I love carob! Not everyone does, but I do. It has a sharper taste than chocolate, but isn't as bitter. Most importantly it's naturally caffeine-free, which makes it a great sattvic substitute for chocolate! Here are some ways to enjoy carob:

Carob Chip Ice "Cream"

Another one of my raw serve concoctions. This time topped with a sprinkling of carob chips.

Carob Clusters

Using a double boiler, heat some carob until melted & gooey. Toss in a few nuts (I used peanuts in this picture). You could also use dried fruit or a combination of nuts & fruit. I also made almond raisin clusters. Mix everything in the double boiler until everything is coated in the melted carob. Spoon the mixture onto parchment paper and let sit until the carob hardens.

Here's a cross section of one of the peanut carob clusters ...

Carob PB Cups

This is my second attempt at making my own peanut butter cups. The recipe is from Averie's Love Veggies and Yoga blog (fabulous blog by the way. Check it out for TONS of vegan recipes, lots are raw).
The recipe is super quick & easy! Simply melt the carob chips in a double boiler. Pour half the melted carob into paper muffin cups. Wait a few minutes for the carob to harden. Mix a few tablespoons of peanut butter (make sure there is only ONE ingredient on the label: peanuts) with 1 teaspoon of nutritional yeast. Spoon the PB nutritional yeast mixture into the muffin cup. Then top with the rest of the melted carob. Let sit until completely hardened.

If you don't have (or don't like) nutritional yeast, you can skip that ingredient, but the PB might be too gooey. In my first attempt I skipped the nutritional yeast and used the thicker PB at the bottom of the jar and that worked just fine.

DIY # 9: Travel Sewing Kit

2010-11-21T07:40:00.001-05:00

Salutations crafting critters! Are you ready for another quick & easy craft using my new favourite medium, felt? This summer I made a present for my niece with pink felt. Felt is so easy to work with (& inexpensive too!). I've been a busy bee packing for my trip and figuring out what I need and what I want to take with me. Well I definitely need to pack some crafting supplies, so I whipped up this little travel sewing kit booklet. Isn't it cute?

I was inspired by a charming sewing kit featured on Nini Makes that I first saw years ago. I love how customizable this is, and you can use scrap felt that you already have. Here's how I made it:

Cut the felt into a rectangular shape. Turn the bottom long edge up 2-3 inches to create a pocket. Pin in place and sew (I sewed around the felt creating 2 squares shapes in a contrasting thread colour for a decorative effect. This will be the back & front of the booklet).

Cut another rectangular piece of felt that is 1-1.5 inches smaller than the first piece. This will be the pages of the booklet. I only put 2 pages in my book because it's for travelling and I didn't want it to be too thick (& take up too much space in my suitcase), but you can add as many pages as you'd like. Centre the pages in the cover piece and sew down the centre.

And that's pretty much it! The rest is up to you to embellish and fill your booklet with all your sewing goodies. I tucked this paper measuring tape (the ones they have at Ikea) into the front pocket ...

Okay, it looks extremely plain jane now, but I plan on embroidering and decorating the kit when I'm gone. Here is the before shot of the front cover:

I'm thinking of embroidering the words 'sewing kit' onto the front. This will be one of my projects while I'm away. I can't wait to reveal the after shots!! Do you like to craft things for your travels? I like being able to personalize things, so I often end up making what ever I need. Here are some other travel crafts that I've used in the past:

Shoe storage bags from Martha Stewart
Scarf bags from Martha Stewart
Travel candle from Design*Sponge
Make-up brush carrier from still dottie
Yoga bag from Amy Butler Design
Traveler's scarf knitting pattern by Big Sky Mountain
Earbuds holder by modernJax

And check out some of my other pre-flight crafts & goodies from last year's trip ...

If you're planning a trip this winter, may your journey be blissful & safe ...

Raw Vegan Flax Yum Porridge

2010-11-16T07:37:00.003-05:00

When I asked my friend and fellow yoga teacher: "What raw dish can you make with ground flax?" She told me to make a raw porridge! Why didn't I think of that? Here's the simple & easy recipe (of course it's sattvic too).

Flax Yum Porridge

2-3 tablespoons ground flax
handful of raisins
handful of dates, pitted
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of walnuts, chopped (or other raw nut/seed)
1 tablespoon of dried, unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon of tahini (or other raw nut butter)
1 banana, sliced

Combine everything in a bowl & mix well. Next add some warm water and continue mixing. The water will help mix all the ingredients and soften the raisins. Add as much water for the consistency you desire.

After my friend suggested it to me, I think I ate this porridge for breakfast everyday in August!! Yes, it's that good.

In case you're wondering, here's some FAQ's from the Flax Council of Canada ... yes, there's a council in Canada especially for FLAX.

Flax seeds are high in fibre and contain more than 50% alpha-linolenic acid, which is an Omega-3 fatty acid.
Ground flax is more nutritious than whole flax seeds. The outer shell of flax seeds are very tough and it's hard to crack them with your teeth when chewing. Grinding up the seeds makes them easier to digest and thus easier for the body absorb the nutrients. Whole seeds may pass through the body undigested.
Whole flax seeds can be kept for up to one year at room temperature. Ground flax, on the other hand must be kept in the fridge in an airtight container. Ground flax will keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.
There are no nutritional differences between brown or golden flax seeds.

Fall Fotos

2010-11-14T07:41:00.003-05:00

Here's a little eye candy to brighten up your day. Sometimes I'm less than thrilled to be living somewhere so cold (hence my winter trips to India). But there's also a lot of beauty in the changing of the seasons, and Summer becoming Fall is my favourite.

These photos were all taken where I've been teaching yoga these past few months. How would you like to get your downward dog on in this beautiful yoga shala??

*om*

Organic Canada Logo Spotted Once More

2010-11-10T23:05:00.006-05:00

Remember my obsession with finding the new Canada Organic logo?? Well I've fallen back on my old ways, and the obsession has begun again (LOL! Good thing I'm leaving for India soon). This time the logo was spotted on Natur-a organic soy milk individual drink boxes. I'm so incredibly happy to see this logo proliferating, and helping consumers identify products that are genuinely organic. In case you missed this post, there's lots of fakers out there pretending to be organic and using their marketing cons to make your believe their product is organic. To learn more about organics read my previous posts on the Canada Organic logo, or visit the Canadian Organic Grower's (COG) website.

See more products that I've spotted the new logo on:

So Nice organic soymilk unsweetened
Salba Smart organic white corn tortilla chips
Kiju organic fruit juices
And many more to come!

'Til next time organic fans (or maybe I'm the only organic nerd who loves this stuff??)

Yet Another Raw Serve Variation

2010-11-06T08:02:00.001-04:00

Enjoy this simple, nutritious, raw, vegan & sattvic snack ...

Peaches 'n (ice) "Cream"

1 banana, peeled, cut up into small pieces & frozen
1 peach, half fresh, half frozen

Combine the frozen fruit in a food processor until it looks like soft serve ice cream (don't blend too long or it will melt). Spoon the mixture into a chilled bowl and top with the fresh peaches.

YUM!

What's New This Winter for Angelic Monkey

2010-11-02T07:00:00.003-04:00

Each day another leaf falls off the tree in my front yard. The once warm air is becoming cool and crisp. Soon there will be icicles hanging from the roof and we'll be able to see our breath in the cold icy air. What does all this mean? That I'm going to India of course!!

This will be my second winter in India. Last year I left in January. This year I'm getting a head start on escaping the harsh Canadian winter and leaving in November. I have a few posts already written and scheduled to release after I'm gone, so don't think this is the last you've heard from me in a while.

I'll be going to the same place in southern India that I went last year. I'll be teaching yoga and basking in the warm Indian sunshine for 6 whole months. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for having this opportunity present itself into my life. I am blessed. I plan on enjoying every single second in India, working, teaching, learning and growing spiritually.

*om*

Check Out My New Pages

2010-11-01T07:35:00.000-04:00

Hello Bloggy Friends (& anonymous lurkers!). I've added 4 new pages to the blog - located on the right. Now you'll have super quick access to links of my favourite vegan recipes (mostly raw), raw vegan green smoothie recipes, crafts and of course yoga (did you know I'm a certified yoga instructor?).

Happy surfin' ...

Raw Vegan Sattvic Sauce Recipe

2010-10-29T07:22:00.000-04:00

1 cup cashews, soaked, drained & rinsed
1/2 cup cold-pressed olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano, dried
Fresh, filtered water (enough to allow the mixture to blend)

This is the first time I've experimented with nutritional yeast, and it turned out fantastic! I poured this cheezy sauce over zucchini noodles with julienned carrots and 1/2 avocado. Garnished with freshly ground black pepper.

Raw Vegan Donut Hole Recipes

2010-10-28T07:45:00.000-04:00

These donut holes are sooOoo super easy to make I can't believe I haven't done it sooner! For any of you Canadians out there ... don't they look like Timbits??

The basic recipe is raw nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, etc ...) ground up into a flour and then mixed with dates (or raisins) that have been soaked and drained. Combine everything well in the food processor until the 'dough' begins to form a ball (add the dates slowly with the processor running). Roll into balls and refrigerate. Here are some variations on this basic recipe:

Almond Orange Donut Holes

1 cup raw almonds, ground
1 cup dates, soaked and drained
1 orange, zested then juiced
raw sweetener (if desired)

Grind the almonds in the food processor. Add the orange zest and juice (and sweetener if using) and combine well. Then begin to add the soaked dates. You should see the mixture begin to take form. If needed you can also add a bit of the date soak water.

Some of them I also rolled in shredded, dried coconut!

Cardamom Spice Donut Holes

1 cup almonds, ground
1 cup dates, soaked & drained
1 tablespoon cardamom, ground
raw sweetener (if desired, I think I put 1 tablespoon of raw honey in these)

You can roll a few of them in coconut for some variety (& it looks pretty too).

Chocolate Carob Donut Holes

1 cup almonds, ground
1 cup dates, soaked & drained
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
1 tablespoon raw carob powder
1 tablespoon raw honey or agave

It makes a very sticky "dough", but it is delicious!!

Middle Eastern Tahini Balls

1 cup raw sesame seeds, ground in the blender
1/2 cup dates, soaked & drained
1/2 cup raw tahini
2-3 tablespoons raw honey or agave
dash of vanilla extract (alcohol-free)

In a bowl mix the tahini, honey & vanilla. In the food processor combine the ground sesame seeds with the tahini mixture. Blend well and then start adding in the dates. Tahini can be quite bitter, so taste and add more honey if desired. Roll in whole sesame seeds.

I also made a batch of Ani Phyo's oatmeal raisin cookies, but I guess I didn't take a picture. The recipe is super simple and can made into balls or formed into the more traditional cookie shape.

1/2 cup raw oats
1/4 cup dates, soaked & drained
1/4 raisins
1 tablespoon cinnamon
dash of vanilla extract (alcohol-free)

Blend the oats in a food processor. Add the dates and combine well. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend. If the mixture is too dry add some of the date soak water.

The possibilities here are endless really. I mostly used almonds as the base because that's what we had, but you can also experiment with seeds like flax and pumpkin. Other add-ins I might play around with in the future are fresh, grated ginger, fresh cherries, lime zest and other spices like nutmeg!

I made these treats for the guests (& staff) where I have been teaching yoga. The majority of these people don't eat raw, and probably didn't even realize they were raw, but enjoyed them anyway. I received lots of compliments.

Unsmoothie'd

2010-10-27T16:27:00.004-04:00

Recently Kristen of Kristen's Raw posted a simple, quick raw salad: bananas & romaine lettuce. At first it seemed so weird ... but then I thought, hey! I eat that everyday - blended up in a smoothie!! Isn't it strange that I find the unblended version so unappealing, but the blended one good enough to eat on a regular basis?

Kristen mentioned that she likes to eat a banana wrapped in a romaine lettuce leaf, so I decided to try it out. Pure heaven! I love the crunch of the romaine and the sweet filling that is the banana. I'm thinking this would also be good with some raw almond butter and cinnamon sprinkled on top. I used an organic, fair trade banana (which makes the snack even sweeter in my opinion).

This Post is 100% Biodegradable

2010-10-12T17:01:00.011-04:00

I've been searching the internet for hours, and I still don't know what the term "biodegradable" really means. There is no legal definition and no laws or governing bodies to control the use of the term (yikes!). Needless to say, the term has been increasingly appearing on soaps, coffee cups, paints and even yoga mats (I have a biodegradable yoga mat, by the way, whatever that means ...)

Most people would agree that biodegradable material should break down into simpler organic components such as water, carbon dioxide and other organic matter. However, using that definition, even rubber tires would be considered biodegradable! Everything decomposes over time, the question is how long will the decomposition take, and what conditions might effect the breakdown of matter. For instance, a disposable spoon made out of corn might be labelled "biodegradable" because it breaks down faster than a conventional plastic spoon. But if that spoon is buried in a landfill and deprived of sunlight, water and air (the main prerequisites for decomposition) it might take significantly longer to decompose. Are you beginning to see how tricky this word is?

No one seems to have a definitive answer, including me. Each week I am seeing more and more products (especially soap) with "biodegradable" tacked onto the label. The validity of these claims are yet to be verified, but I suspect the majority of them are false and derived from profit seeking companies trying to cash in on the newest and hottest trend.

Don't be fooled into thinking that products labelled "biodegradable" are better for the environment, more natural or safer to use. Biodegradable is something completely different from organic; please don't confuse the two. Certified organic products will have the organic certifier's logo on the label (see my previous post about identifying organic products).

So the question still remains, at least for me, what to make of this "biodegradable" word. Simply seeing the term on a product definitely won't influence me to purchase it, or make me feel better about buying a tea in a "100% biodegradable" cup.

UPDATE: Looks like the FTC in the US is working on rectifying this issue right now. Ahem, Canada .... hope you're working on it too!

Quick Recipe & Update

2010-09-30T10:04:00.006-04:00

Hello veggie vixens & raw food lovers! Remember my previous post where I announced I'd be away for two weeks taking a yoga course? Well it's been 3 months and I'm still here!! Hence it's been a long time since I've posted a raw vegan sattvic recipe. Here's a quick & easy recipe that one of the yoga teachers here makes.

Raw Vegan Sattvic Carrot Salad

Carrots, peeled & grated
Coconut, freshly grated (you can use unsweetened shredded coconut, but fresh is tastier)
Raisins (or fresh dates, chopped)

Combine everything in a large bowl until well mixed. The raisins add just a touch of sweetness (I like to toss in a few chopped up dates too).

I've recently discovered a source of fresh sprouts (sunflower, peas and wheatgrass), which I'm blending into a super duper green smoothie every afternoon. Will post recipes and photos soon.

Have you ever spontanously wrote a poem?

2010-09-24T09:02:00.005-04:00

A poem I wrote in India on top of Kalipara mountain:

I stood atop a mountain,
And Mother India sang to me.
In the blissful hush of sunrise,
A song of Immortality ...

Sweet Heart Hanger Craft

2010-06-27T07:45:00.001-04:00

I made this adorable door hanger a few weeks ago for my niece's baptism, which is today! I was inspired by a similar hanger featured on Nini Makes.

It's very simple and if you're the crafty type, you can probably use materials that you already have lying around - that's what I did. I didn't have to buy a single thing for this project. The whole thing took me approximately 3 hours, but that's because I kept re-doing the embroidery, ripping out the stitches and it took me a while to figure out what I was going to do for the hanger. Here's what you need:

felt, at least 2 colours
embroidery thread & needle
ribbon, string or beads for the hanger
filling (optional)
decorative buttons for embellishments

Start by cutting two large pieces for the hanger. You can't see it in the picture, but the back is actually made out of the beige felt. Embellish the front piece with flowers, shapes, words, anything you'd like. I was inspired by Little Birdie Secrets' felt needle books for the flower and butterfly that I made (BTW I really want to make a needle book too - great for travelling). I used a vintage button for the centre of the flower.

As I mentioned above, it took me a while to decide what to do about the hanger part of the project. The original project used ribbon, but I didn't have any that I liked with this craft. I thought about using faux suede strips or decorative rope, but I didn't like those either. I decided to go through my beads and I found these blush pink little hearts. Perfect-o! I strung them on crotchet string and pin it to the top of the heart.

Now you can either use a decorative stitch to sew both hearts together, or place right sides together and stitch on the machine. I chose to machine stitch, leaving a 3 inch gap to turn right side out. I stuffed the finished piece with filling and then hand stitched the gap closed.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I think my niece (who's only a few months old) will really appreciate it when she gets older.

Raw Vegan Sattvic Ice "Cream"

2010-06-21T06:52:00.008-04:00

Celebrate the summer solstice today with a bowl of raw vegan sattvic ice "cream" (or as I call it raw serve, since it resembles soft serve ice cream). The basic recipe is so simple, quick and easy and makes a delicious, smooth dessert. Simply puree one frozen banana in the food processor.

Here's a snap shot of my very first raw serve:

There's tons of variations on this basic recipe. The sky is the limit! Remember my pistachio raw serve? I added one cut up pistachio flavoured Lärabar (apparently this flavour is no longer sold).

Walnut Cinny Raw Serve

Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and blend in the food processor. Top with raw walnut pieces.

Make sure you get some nuts in every spoonful:

Fresh Raspberry Raw Serve

Double Strawberry Raw Serve

This one is my new favourite raw ice cream. Toss 1 frozen banana and a large handful of frozen strawberries in the food processor. Blend until well combined. Scoop out the raw serve and place in a chilled bowl (to prevent it from melting too fast) and top with fresh strawberries. Absolutely to live for!

Now get out there and enjoy the first day of summer!

Raw Vegan Sattvic Recipes Galore!

2010-06-13T07:00:00.013-04:00

Hello raw food lovers! Here's what I've been chowing on for the past few days. Photos and recipes for 3 salads, 2 mains and 2 desserts. Enjoy!

Simple Diced Salad

1 avocado, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, julienned (odd one out!)
sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves
dash of sea salt (if desired)

Combine everything in a large bowl and toss with cold-pressed olive oil. Crunchy raw goodness!

Simple Shaved Salad Pretty much the same as above, but the carrot and cucumber are shaved. I love cutting up fresh raw veggies in different shapes, the different textures help break up the monotony of eating the same veggies everyday.

Raw Vegan Sattvic Cherry-Apple Salad

hearts of romaine lettuce, torn
large handful of cherries, pitted and halved
1 apple (I used royal gala), cored and chopped
1/2 lime

Combine everything in a large bowl. Give the lime a good squeeze over everything and serve. Great refreshing summer salad.

Raw Vegan Sattvic Thai Noodles (sauce recipe adapted from Love Veggies and Yoga blog)

I've been wanting to try this one for a while, and since I was almost finished my jar of MaraNatha raw almond butter (delicious raw nut butter by the way), I decided to try it out.

I only made one serving and didn't measure, so this recipe isn't exact - it's more of a guideline.

raw almond butter (a little bit left in the bottom of the jar is easiest)
freshly squeezed orange juice
maple syrup
cold-pressed sesame oil
pinch of ground ginger

Combine everything in the nut butter jar and stir until well combined.

I served the sauce over julienned zucchini, cucumber and carrot. To be honest I could have just eaten the sauce by itself. Yes, it's that good!! Definitely making this one again (& again!).

Raw Vegan Sattvic Chili (recipe adapted from gone raw)

1 large tomato (or 2 small ones)
1 avocado
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked until soft
handful of cilantro
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
splash of lime juice
1 small bell pepper, diced
1 cob of corn, kernels shaved off

In a food processor, combine the tomato, half the avocado, sun dried tomatoes, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, salt, olive oil and lime. Blend until smooth and creamy. In a large bowl mix the diced bell pepper and corn (diced celery might be nice here too). Add the tomato puree to the bowl and mix well. Top with the other half of the avocado.

This recipe got rave reviews on gone raw, so I decided to see how it would taste if I made it sattvic (omitted the onion and decreased the chili powder). I like corn in my chili so I also added some fresh raw corn cut from the cob. The verdict? Sattvic heaven! The sauce was creamy with just a hint of spice and the corn gave it a yummy crunch. Check out this scrumptious spoonful:

Ani's Summer Berry Cobbler (recipe from Ani Phyo's Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

This book never fails. I haven't been disappointed yet. For the recipe, check out page 214 of Ani's book. The recipe suggests using blueberries. I used strawberries for the syrup and whole fresh raspberries for the topping. The cobbler is made with a mixture of pumpkin seeds and almonds. This picture is just a single serving I made with some extra cobbler I had leftover. The recipe makes a full sized dessert.

Sweet Potato Dream Pudding (recipe from Spark Recipes)

1 sweet potato, peeled and grated
few drops of vanilla extract
dash cinnamon
1 tablespoons coconut oil
3-4 handfuls of raisins or dates

Peel and grate the sweet potato. Combine everything in the food processor and blend well. For a smoother texture transfer to the blender and mix. Chill in the fridge for a few hours. To make it look pretty I sprinkled some shredded coconut on top and added a cherry.

This one is okay, but I definitely won't be making it again. Mine didn't look anything like the pudding in the picture. It tasted okay, but for all the effort in peeling and grating the sweet potato and then having to use both my food processor and blender, the end result just wasn't worth it. The pudding was sweet, but 2 tablespoons of coconut oil was way too much, and the coconut taste was overpowering.

If you've made it to the end of this post, thanks for stopping by my blog and happy uncooking ...

More Raw Vegan Sattvic Recipes

2010-06-06T07:55:00.003-04:00

No chit-chat today, just raw vegan sattvic recipes. Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather and pranic sunshine! :)

Raw Vegan Sattvic Green Monster Smoothie

1 bunch of kale
2-3 leaves of romaine lettuce
handful of fresh cilantro
2 bananas
1-2 handfuls of frozen fruit
1 cup of water (to make everything blend)

Whiz everything together in the blender until smooth. I was hesitant to use cilantro in my smoothies ... until now. It gave the smoothie a pleasant flavour.

Raw Vegan Sattvic Breakfast Cookie (adapted from Love Veggies and Yoga's recipe)

1 banana, mashed
1/3 cup dry oats
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine everything in a covered bowl and refrigerate overnight. I've made this recipe before with chocolate brown rice protein powder (therefore not sattvic as it's processed, not to mention the chocolate). But I like this version even more. It tastes more pure and I didn't even need any sweetener this time - the banana was sweet enough. YUM!

Raw Vegan Sattvic Peachy Chia Seed Puddin'

Remember the raw nut "milk" I made for my Crunch n' Munch cereal? Well this recipe uses that same "milk" to soak the chia seeds (looooOoove that "milk"). Here is the recipe again if you missed that post:

Soak a handful of raisins in 1 cup filtered water. Let soak for a few hours or until the raisins are plump. In a blender combine the soaking water with 2 teaspoons of raw nut butter (I used almond butter). Blend until well combined. Strain if necessary.

1 cup raw nut "milk"
1/3 cup chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
few dashes of vanilla extract (alcohol free of course!)
fresh peaches, sliced

Combine everything (except the peaches) in a large bowl and mix until all the chia seeds are incorporated. Store in the fridge. After about 10 minutes stir again, making sure the chia seeds didn't lump together. If the mixture seems too thick for your liking, you can add some water to thin it out. Refrigerate for another 2-3 hours or overnight. When ready to eat stir in the peaches. So refreshing and filling!!

Raw Vegan Sattvic Blueberry Cardamom Pudding

1 banana
1 pint of blueberries
4-5 dates, chopped
1 tablespoon of ground cardamom
water (if needed to blend)

Combine everything in a food processor and blend. Save a few blueberries for garnish. Irresistible, quick and easy!

Raw Vegan Sattvic Lemon Chiffon Pudding (recipe from Choosing Raw)

Yes, another pudding recipe! This one looks suspiciously like the key lime pudding I've made before, but it's actually lemon - the avocado gives it it's greenish colour).

1 avocado
1 lemon, juiced
honey (sweeten to taste)

You can either combine everything by hand (which is what I did - came out a little lumpy though) or use a food processor or blender. Choosing Raw suggests to let the pudding chill & thicken in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Oops! I didn't see that until just now.

More raw vegan & sattvic recipes to come ...

Sattvic Food: The Yogic Way of Eating

2010-06-05T11:51:00.019-04:00

Since this blog is now committed to sattvic recipes, I thought I'd better explain what exactly sattvic food is.

Often called the yogic diet (although it's not a diet per se, but rather a lifestyle), yogis believe that everything and everyone is made up of 3 qualities (also called the 3 gunas). One of these 3 gunas will be predominant. The 3 gunas are:

Sattva, which is purity (example: an apple)
Raja, which is activity (example: applesauce)
Tamas, which is inactivity (example: apple cider vinegar)

Sattvic food is considered the most pure and wholesome food. Yogis (and by "yogis" I mean those that practice any form of yoga, be it hatha, karma, bhakti or jnana yoga) can benefit greatly by consuming mostly sattvic food. It calms the mind and nourishes the body making it strong. Sattvic food gives the body maximum energy, reducing fatigue and increasing strength. It also allows the vital energy to flow more freely.

Types of sattvic foods include:

Fresh fruits
Dried fruits
Fresh fruit juices
Fresh vegetables (best eaten raw or lightly steamed)
Legumes
Pulses, nuts and seeds
Honey, molasses & maple syrup (used as sweeteners)
Herbal teas
Grains (such as corn, barley, wheat, rice, oats, millet & quinoa)
Wholegrain breads
Milk, butter, cheese & yogurt (not considered sattvic by me, but the texts do advise to use them in moderation and only organic forms)
Food should be eaten in as natural state as possible, which means no pre-packaged foods, canned food and no preservatives or artificial colourings.
The texts encourage food to be eaten raw (YAY!), steamed or lightly cooked

Rajasic foods, on the other hand, are spicy, bitter, sour or salty. This kind of food overstimulates the mind, what is often referred to as "monkey mind". It makes body & mind over active, restless and unable to focus in concentration. Eating rajasic food will disturb the mind-body balance.

Types of rajasic foods includes:

Onions
Garlic
Radishes
Hot spices
Pungent herbs
Coffee and caffeinated teas
Chocolate
Salty foods
White sugar
Soft drinks (sodas)
Prepared mustards
Eating sattvic food in a hurry is also considered rajasic

Lastly, tamasic food withdraws the body's energy, leaving the body inactive, lazy and dull. The mind is clouded and a general sense of inertia is experienced.

Types of tamasic foods include:

Mushrooms
Meat, fish & eggs
Fermented foods (such as vinegar)
Alcohol, tobacco & drugs
Stale, overripe or unclean foods
Food that has been burned, fried, barbecued or reheated
Canned, processed and pre-packaged foods
Eating too much sattvic food is also considered tamasic

It's important to remember that each individual must find their own balance of sattva, rajas and tamas. I'm taking a course next week, so I've chosen to eat only sattvic food to prepare for my spiritual journey in June. If you eat a mushroom here or there or BBQ up some fresh veggies for a family gathering, don't sweat it! When your diet is balanced, you'll soon find your body and mind follow.

Any questions ...?

Travel Photos

2010-06-02T12:08:00.011-04:00

Don't worry I'm not going to bore you with all 600 of my photos from my trip to India. Here are a select few of my trip.

This is where I was staying for the duration of my 5 months abroad. Paradise! I miss it already.

Every Thursday there was a cultural program. Here we were treated to a veena concert. Other nights we were entertained with traditional Indian dance, music or martial arts. See it's not all yoga.

Of course I couldn't show you my photos without including a monkey. This was from my trip to Agra. I saw this little baby monkey when I was walking up the path to the Taj Mahal. So precious.

Kids camp! This little girl was one of the most flexible kids at the camp, and more flexible than most of her teachers too!

Once a week there was a silent walk to a nearby lake. Meditation and chanting while watching the sunrise over the mountains. Pure bliss.

When I was planning my trip to Northern India and I couldn't wait to see the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately when I finally got there it felt like a meaningless tourist trap, and to be honest a huge disappointment. But I made the most of it by doing what any yoga teacher would do - sirsasana (headstand)!

Okay slide show over. I sure hope you enjoyed it.

Stay tuned for more raw vegan sattvic recipes ...

Return of the Yogi & Raw Vegan Sattvic Recipes

2010-05-30T18:24:00.021-04:00

I'M BACK!

After 5 short months in southern rural India, I am finally home. What a whirl-wind trip it was. The first month I did a yoga teacher's training, and I loved it so much I stayed there for 4 more months!! I did spontaneously fly to Delhi in March, but that's another story for another blog ...

The best part about being back? GREEN SMOOTHIES! Oh, how I missed my morning green cup o' goodness!! Since where I was staying the food was prepared for us, my raw food intake was cut way back. The food (although delicious and I am grateful for it) was overcooked and heavily salted. The food was vegan-ish, meaning there was milk in the chai and butter in some dishes. But there was always lots of fresh local raw fruit available (coconuts, red & yellow bananas, papayas, mangoes, and jackfruit). And I ate more than my share of them all.

I noticed that in my absence a few more followers signed up. To all the newbies - WELCOME and thank you for your interest in my blog!! I hope to inspire and delight you with the few posts that I can squeeze in until my next departure.

In mid June I'll be leaving (again!) for another yoga course (HA HA HA can you tell the spark has been ignited?). So until then I'm following a rather strict yoga diet (along with my own raw vegan preferences). That means only sattvic foods - no onions, garlic, radishes, mushrooms or chocolate. Why, you might ask. I'll blog about the yogic diet later ...

Until then here are some of the goodies I've been feasting on since my return:

Raw Vegan Sattvic Chana Masala (recipe inspired by Raw Gastronomy)

I made this Indian inspired recipe before my trip to India. Back then I was eating onions, so I had to modify the original recipe slightly (I just left the onions out). The sauce turned out so creamy and tangy. Delicious!

1 cup sprouted chickpeas (1/2 cup dried)
1/2 avocado
1/4 cup cold-pressed olive oil
1 fresh tomato
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
handful of coriander leaves (or 2 tsp dried)
pinch of sea salt

Combine everything (except the chickpeas of course!) in a food processor and blend until smooth, creamy and fragrant. Oooh this smells heavenly. Mix the sauce with the sprouted beans.

To sprout the chickpeas (chana), soak them in filtered water overnight. In the morning drain and rinse. Place the chickpeas in a strainer and rinse every few hours (just make sure they don't dry out). The next afternoon you should see little tails sprouting out. Mix up your sauce and enjoy for lunch. Don't sprout chickpeas too long or they will get bitter. For more info on sprouting read my previous post.

Raw Vegan Sattvic Crunch & Munch

This yummy cereal is so versatile and easy to make. Simply whip up a fresh cup of raw nut "milk" and then pour over fresh raw fruits, nuts and seeds. I've made versions of this before with a diced LÄRABAR , but I like this version better, and its much simpler.

For the nut "milk" soak a handful of raisins in 1 cup filtered water. Let soak for a few hours or until the raisins are plump. In a blender combine the soaking water with 2 teaspoons of raw nut butter (I used almond butter). Blend until well combined. Strain if necessary.

For the cereal I used fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. I also added dried unsweetened shredded coconut, chia seeds, raw walnut pieces, 2 chopped dates and the raisins I soaked. Sublime!

Raw Vegan Sattvic Avo-Corn Salad

Quick, easy and simple salad that's filling and tasty. What more could you ask for?

1 cob of corn, kernels cut off
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
handful of cilantro, chopped
sprinkle of sea salt (if desired)

Combine everything in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

So there really is life after raw chocolate!! :P

Stay tuned for more raw vegan sattvic recipes, baby crafts (a new nephew was born while I was away) and YOGA!

Monkeyin' Around in India

2010-01-02T10:42:00.003-05:00

I'll be back in March!

Raw & Healthy Travel Goodies

2009-12-21T08:24:00.003-05:00

I love to see what other raw foodies take with them on extended travels, so I thought I'd share some of the things I'm taking with me ...

First up, Lonely Planet's guide to South India. These guides really do help when you're travelling. It's packed with info, maps, phone numbers and Hindi phrases. There's also a bag of Pure Fun's organic ginger spice hard candies. These candies aren't raw, but after almost 19 hours of travel (including 1 stop in Abu Dhabi) and inhaling all that recycled airplane air, the chances of me getting a cold are pretty high. So I'm bringing these candies along to help soothe my potential sore throat. There's also my revamped passport wallet hiding in the back.

I also made several baggies of raw trail mix. Normally I HATE these plastic, disposable, landfill loving baggies, and would opt for a reusable container instead. But since there's a weight limit for my luggage (not to mention a limited amount of space) and the heavier it is, the more fuel needed to propel the plane, I decided the best option was to use these light weight baggies. Once I eat the contents I plan on washing the baggies and re-using them, so there's hope for the planet yet!

The trail mix contains:

raw almonds
raw pumpkin seeds
raw walnut pieces
raw cashews
dried goji berries
dried cranberries
dried cherries
dried blueberries
dried apricots
dried & unsweetened dessicated coconut

Like most things these days, the trail mix is pretty much me trying to use up things I have in my cupboard. Although I did purchase some of the dried fruit specifically for this trip. I used a straw to try to suck out as much of the air as I could from each bag to help them stay fresh.

Of course I'm also taking my Diva Cup, a girl's best friend if you ask me (it's the small purple bag, top middle). I'm so glad I don't have to waste space in my suitcase with pads, tampons, liners, etc. If you haven't switched to a Diva Cup, do it today and you won't be sorry!

I'll also be stocking my suitcase with raw bars. These bars can be a little expensive, but if you choose your bar carefully, it can be a great quick & healthy snack. My usual bar has been LÄRAbar, but I've recently discovered a new raw bar, Perfect 10 that are made in Canada (see the little Canadian flag in the bottom left corner?).

Since the average temperature in the part of India I'll be in is 30 degrees Celsius, I'll need something to protect my Canadian skin from all those rays. I looked up the least toxic sunscreens on EWG's Skin Deep. I ended up purchasing Badger's SPF 30 because it scored the coveted 0 on Skin Deep's scale and is reasonably priced. Some of the reviews said the cream doesn't absorb into the skin easily and leaves a white film on the skin, which I admit is true. But I still prefer that over using some chemical cocktail Coppertone.

Lastly is my rose quartz mala. A mala, or prayer beads are used to keep count for those lengthy 108 chants. I'm sure I'll be making good use of the necklace (there's also Lonely Planet's The Travel Book in the picture. I'm not taking it with me. I just needed another item for the picture that could add height and I thought this book worked).

Before I head off to India, I'll be spending the holidays with my family. A new niece or nephew is due any day now. Hope everyone has a peaceful bliss filled season!

Raw Vegan Cookies, Teeccino & Soba Noodles

2009-12-19T07:04:00.002-05:00

First up is a raw vegan salad ... and then I'll get to the raw cookies!

Raw Broccoli Slaw Salad

This is a simple easy one for when you're away from home. I used 1 bag of pre-cut broccoli slaw (broccoli stems, carrots and red cabbage) + 1 chopped cuke. Then dress it up with some cold-pressed sesame oil, a splash of Bragg's and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Now on to the cookies ...

Raw Cashew Cacao Chip Cookie

raw cashew butter
raw cacao powder
raw sweetener (agave or honey)

Combine everything in a bowl until well mixed. Sorry I don't have exact measurements, I pretty much just winged it on this one. I like dark chocolate so I added quite a bit of cacao, but you can make it to suit your tastes.

Form small balls with the dough and flatten into rounds. To keep the cookie 100% raw, use cacao nibs or chopped raw nuts (I used carob chips because that's what I had). Refrigerate until firm.

Raw Gingerbread Sandwich Cookie

This was one of those things where everything goes wrong, but you love it anyway! My initial goal was to make a raw mock whipped cream using cashews. I've successfully done this several times in the past using whole cashews. But for some reason today I decided to experiment with cashew butter. I should have stayed with the whole cashews! The cashew mixture was tasty, but not whipped cream-like at all. It was just basically sweetened cashew butter. But I went ahead with my cookie idea anyhow.

I combined raw cashew butter with raw honey in the food processor (again sorry no exact measurements). Then cut a ginger snap flavoured LÄRABAR in half (if you're a purist you can make your own). Form the LÄRABAR into two balls and then flatten into a cookie shape. Layer on the sweetened cashew butter on one cookie and place the other on top to create a sandwich. Refrigerate until firm.

The end result was creamy with a hint of gingery deliciousness, even if it wasn't what I was aiming for. Ah, life! :)

"Coffee" with Sweetened Cashew Butter

Yup, you guessed it. I tossed some of that raw sweetened cashew butter in a warm mug of Teeccino herbal "coffee". Teeccino is a great option for late at night if you're hankering for a coffee, but want something that's caffeine free so you won't be up until 3 AM (like I was last night thanks to an invigorating late yoga class).

Cold Soba Noodles with Wasabi Sauce

The wasabi sauce added just enough kick to these buckwheat soba noodles without over powering it with too much spice.

I'm still having my daily green smoothie first thing in the morning. The recipe is pretty simple (greens + fruit + water), so I didn't post one today.

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season and making some time for healthy raw vegan food (well at least a little bit).

New Canada Organic Logo Sighting # 3

2009-12-17T08:54:00.009-05:00

They're all coming out of the woodwork now. Yes, it's another new Canada Organic logo (I know the picture is a bit blurry and the logo is small, but trust me it's the Canada Organic logo).

This one was found on the 355 mL glass bottles of Kiju organic juice. The one in the picture is their new flavour, pomegranate cherry, but the logo was on the bottles of all 5 flavours. The day I took this picture I purchased a mango orange juice and it was delicious!!

To read about why this new logo is so important, read my previous posts on this topic here and here.

& happy logo hunting (although I'm probably the only one hunting for these logos)!

Simple Vegan Recipes

2009-12-15T08:30:00.004-05:00

Here are a few of the vegan dishes I've been eating. Most are raw, but there's one cooked dish sneaked in there too ;)

Raw Carrot (cup)Cake (recipe from Ani Phyo's Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

Remember the raw carrot soup I made last week? Well I made Ani's carrot cake with the leftover pulp. Since I didn't make a lot of soup, I cut the recipe by 3/4 and just made two small carrot cupcakes. The result was a light, but filling dessert (my favourite part was the creamy frosting that was surprisingly reminiscent of real cream cheese frosting!). Ani doesn't have the recipe on her website or YouTube, so you'll have to purchase her book for this one.

Raw Cranberry Zinger (recipe from Hamilton Beach)

I love this raw, healthy alternative to wine for holiday gatherings (or any other time of the year). The lemon also gives it just a touch of zing that will make your mouth sing!

1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1 lemon
2 apples (I used honey crisp)

Toss everything in your juicer and enjoy the cranberry goodness that seeps out!

Raw Chocolate Fudge (recipe from gone raw)

4 tablespoon raw cacao powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon raw cashew butter
1 tablespoon raw almond butter (I omitted this and used 2 tablespoons of cashew butter)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 dash salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix everything in a bowl until well combined.

I moulded the entire batch into a square, set it in the fridge overnight and cut it into four pieces the next day. Here's my first bite - rich, decadent and oh so fudgey!

Stuffed Roasted Turban Squash (inspired by Big Raw Vegan Blog)

When my mother received an organic turban squash grown by a friend, she asked me, "what am I going to do with it?" I remembered seeing a post on the Big Raw Vegan blog about stuffed squash, so I decided to try it out.

I simply cut off the top turban part (or cut an acorn or butternut squash in half), scooped out the seeds, coated the inside & outside with olive oil and stuffed the cavity with a vegan stuffing (ideally the stuffing would have been homemade, but I just used a vegan boxed one).

Toss in a 350 oven and bake for 1 hour or until tender. The turban needed more like 1 and a half, but I think that's because it was whole.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin (it should just slide right off now), and flip it so the stuffing side is down. The slice and serve. In the picture you can see a cross section of the yummy squash with stuffing.

DIY # 8: Eco Meditation Cushion

2009-12-13T08:07:00.004-05:00

Have you seen the prices for a meditation cushion lately?! They're certainly not very zen ;) That's why I was super excited when I found this tutorial on how to make my own. I kept the cost nil by using leftover fabric both for the cushion itself and the stuffing. Traditionally hulled buckwheat is used for the filling, but I couldn't find a supplier for the buckwheat near me. So instead I used up my entire supply of fabric scraps filling the cushion. These scraps were too small, stained or faded to use in sewing, so I was glad to use them up without adding to the landfills. That means this project is made 100% from recycled materials and cost absolutely nothing!!

Start to finish this project took about 2 hours, but it's well worth the effort. Here's what you'll need:

59 inches of heavy fabric
measuring tape
straight pins
Filling (fabric, buckwheat or other filling)

Start off by cutting 3 (or 4 if you want a handle) pieces of fabric. I used a heavy linen because that's what I had on hand, but any heavy fabric will do.

1 long strip - 59 inches long, 6-9 inches wide (this will determine the height of your cushion)
2 circles - 11-13 inches in diameter (this will determine the size of your cushion)
1 rectangular strip - 10 inches long & 3 inches wide (this is the handle) OPTIONAL

Steam iron all the pieces. Then begin making the pleats on the long strip. Starting 6 inches from the edge, make 3 marks on the fabric that are 3/4 inch away from each other (See diagram). Measure 3 inches from the last mark and make another set of 3 marks that are 3/4 inch away from each other. Continue in this pattern until you have 14 sets of pleats. Pin the pleats so they are all facing the same way and steam iron them in place.

Next you'll need to sew the edges of the pleated strip together to form the cushion. Fold it in half with the pleats in the inside and match up the raw edges. I chose to leave a space here in this seam for stuffing, so I didn't completely sew the entire seam. You can choose any seam to leave open though.

Then take 1 round piece and begin pinning it to the pleated strip right sides facing each other. By now your cushion should be taking shape. You can also choose to leave an opening here for the stuffing if you wish. If you are including a handle on your cushion you'll need to attach it here. Simply sew the long edges of the small rectangular piece you cut and turn inside out. Steam iron flat with the seam in the middle.

If you're really particular you can embroider the handle now, so the wrong side of the stitches will be hidden inside the handle. I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to embroider, so I left this part until the end.

I chose to use a handle to "mask" my hand-stitched seam, so I inserted over the open seam in the pleated strip. Pin in the inside of the cushion with right sides together (so if you pulled the handle out the side with the seam should be facing you). Pin the handle in place.

Stitch on both circles and turn inside out using the seam you've left open. Stuff with filling. Hand stitch the opening closed.

If you can find hulled buckwheat it's the ideal filling for a meditation cushion. Aside from being natural (as opposed to the acrylic stuffing you buy in a plastic bag at the craft store) it also naturally repels dust mites and other critters that may be lurking in your cushions. It's allergy friendly and keeps its shape well, even after years of use.

Another New Canada Organic Logo Sighting

2009-12-11T09:14:00.001-05:00

Hurray! The new Canada Organic logo is steadily proliferating among Canadian organic products. This one was seen on a bag of Salba Smart Organic White Corn Tortilla Chips. I almost missed it because the logo is in black and white. The red, white and green one is definitely more eye catching, but I guess it's up to the company as to whether they use the logo in colour or not.

I'm particularly happy to see this logo on tortilla chips, as I've seen chips sold in this same store labelled "organic" only to find when I read the ingredients on the back that only one or two ingredients are actually certified organic. This does not an organic chip make.

Remember when you see the Canada Organic logo you can rest assured that the product is 100% certified organic by a third party certifier (& at least 95% organic for non food products). To read more about this exciting new logo, read my post explaining the logo, or my post on Nature's Baby products, a company that is trying to fool customers into believing all their products are organic.

I wonder if anyone else in this world loves hunting for organic logos like I do ;)

**Don't forget to vote in my first web poll **

(located on the right).

Raw Food Recipes

2009-12-09T08:42:00.001-05:00

I'll get right to the good stuff ... the recipes!

Fine & Dandelion Green Smoothie

Continuing with the raw green smoothies, I tried dandelion greens this week.

1 bunch dandelion greens, leaves & stems
1 banana
2 handfuls mixed frozen fruit
1 cup water

Combine everything in the blender until green and delicious!

Raw Cinny Pudding

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
1/4 cup coconut oil
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
agave or raw honey (to taste) I used 2 tablespoons
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
water (to make it blend to your desired consistency)

Combine everything in the blender until smooth. I topped it with 3 fresh blueberries.

I'm finally getting a bit more creative in the raw kitchen and coming up with my own recipes! My pudding creation came out so thick & creamy with just a hint of cinnamony flavour. I absolutely loved it! At first whiff it really reminded me of a spiced rice pudding (even though there's not a grain of rice in it).

Raw Creamy Carrot Soup

I really wanted to make a raw carrot cake, which required the pulp from juicing carrots, so I whipped up this creamy soup with the juice and a few other ingredients.

1 cup fresh carrot juice
1 avocado
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
dash of fresh thyme leaves
splash of olive oil (cold-pressed)
sea salt (to taste) I added 1/2 teaspoon

Combine everything in a blender until smooth.

If you have a high speed blender you probably won't need to juice the carrots first, they can go right into the blender. Last summer I tried to make a carrot soup without juicing the carrots and it didn't turn out well. This method (juicing) works best for me.

Averie's Peanut Butter Cups (recipe from Love Veggies and Yoga blog)

I instantly fell in love with these quick and easy peanut butter cups when I read the recipe on Averie's blog. If you want to make them raw you can use the chocolate recipe I posted previously with a raw nut butter filling. I had some carob chips leftover that I wanted to use up before my trip, so I went with that. I also didn't have any nutritional yeast as is used in the original recipe, so I used the thicker peanut butter at the bottom of my jar. This recipe makes 2 desserts. CAUTION: Carob has a distinctively bolder taste than dark chocolate, which not everyone enjoys. You can easily sub in a dark vegan chocolate chips instead. So many possibilities with this recipe!!

1 cup carob chips
2 teaspoons nut butter
2 paper muffin liners

Heat half the carob chips in a double boiler (or microwave). Be careful not to burn! When the carob is liquefied, pour a layer into the bottom of the muffin cups and spread evenly. Set aside for a few minutes to harden. Then spoon the nut butter into the middle. Heat the other half of the carob and pour into the muffin cups on top of the nut butter. Spread the carob evenly. Set aside for about half an hour to harden completely. I put mine in the fridge, but I think that made it too hard. When you're ready to eat, simply peel off the paper cup and consume. Looks surprisingly like the candy you buy in the store, but tastes a lot better!

Passport Wallet Revamp

2009-12-07T08:24:00.002-05:00

I'm getting ready for my trip to India. Dusting off my luggage, hunting for a paraben free sunblock and revamping my passport wallet! I bought this a few years ago, but I'm not diggin' the pale purple colour anymore. Instead of buying a new one I tried to figure out a way to make-over this one.

I went to the craft store and found this non-toxic & water based paint. I was skeptical that a water based paint would stick to the mock leather wallet, but it worked beautifully!

BEFORE (well almost before - I started painting and then remembered I needed to take a before pic).

AFTER - a beautiful deep purple (achieved after 2 coats of paint). I love it!

Raw Food Nation Post

2009-12-05T07:58:00.003-05:00

This afternoon I was browsing the Raw Food Nation website, when suddenly I see a very familiar looking raw vegan Thanksgiving plate - mine!! The kind folks there posted a pic and a link back here to my site in their Raw Thanksgiving Round Up. Thanks raw friends xoxo.

If you aren't familiar with the Raw Food Nation site, head over there now and check out their raw recipes page (the raw tacos look yummy!), inspirational stories, and other great info.

5 Eco-Friendly Toys

2009-12-03T08:46:00.011-05:00

Remember when we were young and toy trucks were metal and dolls were made out of cotton? If you have kids or visit friends with kids, it doesn't take long to realize that most children's toys today are made out of plastic and come from China. Why not give the kiddos a BPA-free holiday this year and buy them a toy that makes a difference in this world? Here are some suggestions ...

HaPe Bamboo Race Car - My nephew was given this car last December and it was a hit! The metal handles on top are great for allowing little fingers to give this car a push, and the ergonomic design helps put the petal to the metal. And since it's made from a quick growing plant, the bamboo used to make this toy will probably grow back faster than your child out grows it.

Under the Nile Organic Cotton Toys - With so many beautiful certified organic cotton toys to choose from, you'll want to just buy them all. My personal favourites are the fruits and veggies. What better way to teach your kids early about the importance of good eating habits, than have them chew on an organic green bean when they're teething. Although I'm partial to the monkey too of course!

Plan Toys Ring Set - Remember ring towers? Kids must place the largest ring on the tower and then continue with the next largest ring and so on until all the rings are on. When is the last time you saw one that wasn't plastic? Not only does this toy teach your child about sizes and colours, but its also made of recycled rubber tree wood. All of their toys use soy and water based biodegradable ink. As an added bonus the tower is collapsible in case anyone happens to fall on it. Of course your kids never fall ;) [I also love the fruit and veggies that your child can "cut" and serve].

Yellow Label Kids Teapot - Your children are probably too young to play with a ceramic tea set, but you definitely don't want them playing with (& maybe drinking out of) a plastic set either. So buy them this darling hand crocheted 5 piece tea set. The women who knit each of Yellow Label's toys are paid a fair wage, so there's no detail overlooked. Of course there's also some fruit and veggie crochet rattles that are adorable too.
I saved the best and most thoughtful gift idea for last. Make your own! Get out your knitting needles, crochet hook, sewing machine or bottle of glue and get crafty. There are fabulous organic cotton and bamboo knitting yarns available at most craft stores. Or use some leftover fabric and sew up a storm. Last year I made my niece and nephew toys made from socks. Sure it was more work than going to a store and picking something off the shelf, but they're worth it and I bet your kids are too.

**Don't forget to vote in my first web poll ** (located on the right).

Yoga Asana of the Month (December)

2009-12-01T07:59:00.001-05:00

I'm shaking it up this month with a video of acroyoga (part acrobatics & part yoga asanas). See if you can pick out the yoga poses in this incredible video ...

Voting Now Open

2009-11-30T08:45:00.005-05:00

In honour of my super exciting announcement last week, I've decided to launch my first web poll. Here's the question du jour:

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Please place your vote in the box on the right.

Bonus Homework Assignment: What barriers are keeping you from realizing this dream, and how can you tear them down?

Happy Travellin'

Super Exciting Announcement ...

2009-11-27T08:23:00.003-05:00

I'M GOING TO INDIA!!!!!

After over seven years of practising (& loving) yoga, I've decided to take the plunge and become a certified yoga teacher (CYT). There are lots of yoga teacher training programs right here in Canada, but when I decide to go for something, I go BIG. Plus I love to travel and I've never been to India before.

In early January I'll be flying to south India to live and study in an ashram for over 1 month. My daily schedule will consists of:

5:20 AM - Wake up
6:00 AM - Satsang (meditation, chanting or lecture)
8:00 AM - Asana
10:00 AM - Brunch
11:00 AM - Karma yoga (selfless service)
12:00 PM - Bhagavad Gita lecture or chanting class
2:00 PM - Main lecture
4: 00 PM - Asana, pranayama class
6: 00 PM - Dinner
8:00 PM - Satsang
10:00 PM - Bedtime

Definitely a lot different from my life now, but I'm super excited and looking forward to my trip. All the food served in the ashram is vegetarian, although not necessarily vegan (some food may contain cheese and the tea is usually served with milk). I'll have to take a break from my beloved green smoothies, but as any traveler knows, you have to be flexible.

There is internet access, but I doubt I'll have time to blog about my experiences. So that means I'll be taking a mini break from the blog-o-sphere as well. I think it will be a nice change to disconnect from my computer for a while and plug in more spiritually.

Do I sound like a yogi yet? :)

DIY # 7: Bath & Body Products

2009-11-25T08:44:00.000-05:00

Over the years I've cut back on the number of lotions and potions that I buy commercially. The unpronounceable ingredients and questionable preservatives irritate my skin, my planet and my wallet! While I still buy products like shampoo and conditioners at my health food store, other things like moisturizers, body sprays, bath salts and exfoliators are quick, easy and inexpensive to make myself - so I do. Here are some of my own personal recipes:

Bath Salts

So simple and easy you'll wonder why you ever went to Lush (which uses the dreaded SLS by the way). Combine 1 cup of Epsom salts with 4-5 drops of pure essential oil. Mix well. You can add dried rose petals or lavender flowers if you have some. Add a few tablespoons of these salts to your next relaxing bath.

Moisturizing Winter Face Mask

The next time you're cutting into an avocado, don't throw out the peel, use it as a moisturizer instead. After scooping out the avocado, turn the peel inside out and rub the inside of the peel on your face and neck. Leave it on for 5 minutes and then rinse with warm water. You should feel the results immediately. This is great for those loooong Canadian winters.

Anti-Bacterial Moisturizing Face Mask

Did you know that honey is naturally anti-bacterial? That's why this face mask is especially good if you have acne. It's also incredibly moisturizing too. Honey isn't vegan, so use your own discretion on this one. I buy raw honey from a local biodynamic farm, which for me is a better choice than buying a chemical laden lotion probably made in China. For this mask, simply spread the honey on your face and neck and leave it on for 10-20 minutes. Rinse off with warm water. You feel noticeably softer skin immediately.

Dry Lip Scrub

Here's another one especially good for those living in cold climates. When your lips are dry and chapped mix a pinch of sea salt with a bit of olive oil. I mix them in the palm of my hand, but you can use a bowl. You only need a tiny bit. Spread the mixture on your lips and rub them together gently. The salt will help remove the dry flakes and the olive oil moisturizes and soothes your chapped lips. Rinse with warm water.

Vegan Lip Balm

Many commerically available "all natural" lip products contain beeswax. If you'd like to avoid this, use organic coconut oil instead. Coconut oil (sometimes referred to as coconut butter as it's solid) glides on smooth just like store bought lip balm. The oily nature helps to moisturize your lips and if you're into raw food, you probably have some in your cupboard anyway. You can even scoop a bit out and put it in an oil lip balm jar to keep in your purse or at the office. Careful in the summer though. This stuff will liquefy in the summer heat, so you probably don't want to carry it in your purse.

Wound Cleaner

As a kid my parents used Ozinal on us when we got minor cuts, but have you ever read the ingredients in that thing? A few years ago I saw Dr. Oz on Oprah recommending salt water. So I gave it a try and it really works. Simply mix warm water with a pinch of sea salt (don't make it over salty or it will sting). Apply to wound and let dry. Cover wound with a band-aid and re-apply as needed.

Other beautifying products/techniques that I use:

Organic Tip # 5: Shady Coffee Farms Are A Good Thing

2009-11-23T08:24:00.002-05:00

Recently I have been seeing more and more coffees labelled as organic, fair trade and shade grown. Most people understand the first two of these three distinct (although often interconnected) processes, but what exactly is shade grown coffee?

When coffee was first introduced to the West, it was not grown in an open field as most crops are, but grown in the shade provided by a diverse species of native shade trees. These trees protect the coffee plants growing beneath them from rain and sun, help maintain soil quality, reduce the need for weeding, and aid in pest control by fostering or attracting predators such as songbirds. This was how coffee was grown for more than 200 years. In fact original coffee plants were quite intolerant of the sun and direct sunlight would burn the leaves.

Unfortunately as is the case with virtually all crops, farmers looked for ways to increase the coffee plant's yields and make harvesting the beans easier, quicker and more cost effective. About 30 years ago sun resistant coffee plants were developed. Of course these sun grown plants required more chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides than their shade grown counterparts. Not to mention all the birds and small animals that lost their homes to make way for a monoculture coffee farm.

Shady coffee farms (and I mean that in a good way) provide habitat for a great number of migratory and resident birds, reptiles, friendly insects, butterflies, bats, plants and other organisms. Focusing solely on birds, shade coffee fields shelter up to two-thirds of the bird species found in natural pristine forests in the same geographic areas. In contrast, sun coffee fields shelter less than one-tenth of bird species. Among transformed land, shade-grown coffee is most likely the crop that supports the highest diversity of migratory birds, native flora and fauna (source: Perfecto et. al. 1996, Greenberg et. al. 1997).

Not all organic coffee is shade grown, and just because it's shade grown doesn't mean its organic. However shade grown coffee uses far less chemicals than sun grown coffee, so be sure to read your labels people.

And now the obvious question ... where can I get it?

Fair trade organic coffee is everywhere now. Add shade grown to the mix and it's a little harder, but definitely not impossible. Here's a few to get you started:

Bridgehead - An Ottawa based company that offers a line of organic, fair trade & shade grown coffee and tea. Available to order online.

Pura Vida Coffee - Online shop offering organic, fair trade shade grown coffee.

Starbucks - offers an organic shade grown medium roast from Mexico. I'm glad to see shade grown going mainstream.

You can also ask your local coffee hang-out if they serve shade grown coffee. If not, ask them to start!

5 Links, Articles & Videos From 'Round the Web

2009-11-20T07:43:00.007-05:00

I have a secret to confess ... I've never opened a young Thai coconut. I'm afraid of accidentally chopping off my hand! But this video, which shows an experienced raw chef opening one, and then a newbie trying it herself, helps to calm my fears. I love how excited she is when she actually opens the coconut. Very inspiring.

A Salad in Motion Remains in Motion by Natalia Rose via Crazy Sexy Life. This wonderfully written article details the importance of eating raw living foods, how it helps kick start our digestive system, and why some raw newbies mistakenly believe the excess gas and bloating they may feel in the beginning is a sign that raw food doesn't agree with them. This is one of my favs from this site.

Greenpeace's StopGreenWash.org. Phenomenal site to learn about greenwashing (which is when a company uses buzz words and fancy ad campaigns to look like they're offering an environmentally friendly product, when in fact they are not). You can also comment on and upload your own greenwashing product finds.

Bad, Bad Baby Carrots by Girlie Girl Army. I've been hearing a lot of conflicting evidence about whether baby carrots are rinsed with chlorine or not. This article offers a few other reasons to avoid those little orange sticks (with some humorous antidotes along the way). It also makes me wonder if pre-package lettuce is treated with chlorine as well. Either way, I'm steering clear of all pre-packaged veggies.

Pimp My Swine Flu Mask photo gallery. I generally don't like the use of the word pimp because it's misogynistic. But I do like creative non vaccine preventions of the flu. Plus this is totally hilarious!

Vegetables Are All Your Body Needs

2009-11-18T19:30:00.006-05:00

... well you probably need some nuts and sea veggies in there too, but isn't this ad from the International Vegetarian Union awesome? I wish I had a poster sized version.

Meatless Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday & FOREVER

2009-11-16T07:32:00.009-05:00

Okay, I'm not making fun of the Meatless Monday campaign, because I think it has introduced a lot of people to vegetarianism that otherwise wouldn't have tried it. But why stop at just Monday? You know it's always meatless on this blog ;)

I've still been drinking my green smoothies every morning - and LOVING it! I had some leftover cranberries from my raw vegan cranberry sauce, so I've been adding it to my morning greeny goodness (sorry no picture).

2 large handfuls swiss chard (or any other green)
1 banana
2 handfuls of cranberries
1 cup of coconut water (or water)

Raw Chocolate Cashew Stuffed Dates

This quick and easy dessert will change the meaning of "once you pop, you can't stop". Combine 1 tablespoon of Artisana raw organic cashew butter (or other nut butter of course) with 1 teaspoon of cacao powder (I pretty much just winged it, so the measurements aren't exact). Then slice a few dates half way through and remove the seed. Holding the date length-wise, pinch it gently to allow the date to open up and create a cavity. Fill the cavity with the chocolate cashew mixture.

Don't try to take a bite out of these tiny treasures, just pop the whole thing in your mouth and enjoy.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger, Basil & Coconut (recipe from ascent magazine)

1 large butternut squash, cut in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2-3 inch piece ginger, minced
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch dried red chili flakes
6 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1 lime, juiced
5-6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
1 cup coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Brush the cut sides with olive oil and place them cut-side down on an oiled baking sheet. Bake until soft, approximately 40 minutes.

Scoop the squash from the skins once cool enough to handle. Heat the remaining olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and ginger and stir while cooking until they are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and chili flakes, and cook for another 2 minutes, continuing to stir.

Add the squash, along with the vegetable stock or water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10–15 minutes. Add the lime juice, herbs and coconut milk. Ladle into bowls and garnish with extra coconut milk, more herbs, or anything else that inspires you.

Averie's Breakfast Cookie - Chocolate Version (recipe from Love Veggies and Yoga blog)

1 banana, mashed
1/3 cup dry oats
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 packet chocolate brown rice protein powder (or your fav)
few swirls of agave or honey

Combine everything in a bowl with a cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning uncover your "cookie" and devour.

I don't usually do the protein powder thang, but when I received a free sample of this chocolate brown rice vegan protein powder, I decided to try out Averie's recipe. Reading her daily posts have become part of my morning routine, so I saw it as fitting to make a breakfast recipe from her blog.

Raw Chana Masala (recipe from Raw Gastronomy)

1 cup sprouted chickpeas (about 1/2 cup dried chickpeas)
1/2 avocado
1/4 cup olive oil (cold-pressed)
1/4 red onion
1 fresh tomato, diced
1-inch piece of fresh ginger
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
sea salt and pepper, to taste

Soak raw chickpeas overnight (use lots of water). Sprout the chickpeas for a few days until tiny tails start to appear. See my previous post on making your own sprouts. If you sprout chickpeas too long, the beans will get too bitter. These beans were sprouted a little too long - 3 days. I'll probably only sprout them for a day and a half next time I make this recipe.

Combine all the other ingredients in the food processor until well combined. Mix the sauce with the chickpeas sprouts. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.

Rawdorable Chocolate N'ice Cream (recipe from Rawdorable blog)

1 banana, frozen
1 teaspoon cacao powder
pinch of sea salt
drizzle of olive oil (cold-pressed)

I've wanted to try this unusual recipe for awhile. Since the winter weather is unusually delayed this year, I figured this might be my last chance for raw ice "cream" for awhile (it's too cold for me to eat when it starts getting colder). Today was an unseasonably warm 13 degrees. In mid-November - it's crazy.

Combine the first two ingredients in a food processor until it resembles ice cream. Scoop into a chilled bowl and top with a sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil.

I know, I know it seems weird. But it's actually quite good ... well if you enjoy olive oil that is ;)

Yoga Asana of the Month (November)

2009-11-04T08:11:00.001-05:00

It's a brand new month and a brand new yoga pose to help you strengthen your body and stay healthy. The weather is starting to cool off, so why not step up your practice with a more vigorous posture that makes you break a sweat? This month's asana is dolphin pose, named for the bobbing motion in the posture that mimics dolphins as they swim, poking their noses in and out of the water. If you can't initially do the bobbing motion, don't worry. After a few weeks of practicing your body will get stronger. Do as many reps as you can comfortably, then rest in child's pose for several breaths.

Note: The above video is provided by YouTube. I have no control over the ads within this video. I am not affiliated with these advertisers, and do not endorse their products.

Green Smoothies, Raw Recipes & The World's Best Brussel Sprouts

2009-11-03T09:20:00.001-05:00

I recently read some of The Boutenkos' books, and since then have been chuggin' lots of GREEN smoothies. Personally I find the 7+ ingredient smoothie recipes out there to be way to labour intensive and time consuming. You can easily get the same amount of healthy, nutritious, chlorophyll rich and alkaline greeny goodness from a few simple ingredients. Just remember to mix it up a little (don't eat the same greens everyday). And if the thought of a green smoothie turns your stomach, just try one - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Raw Vegan Green Smoothie:

2 handfuls of greens
1 cup of filtered water
1 handful of fresh or frozen fruit

Simple, eh? Throw it all in a blender and mix until smooth and creamy. Here are some of the greens I like to use:

Spinach
Kale
Parsley
Bok Choy
Arugula (rocket)
Dandelion greens
Romaine lettuce

There's rumours that eating raw green smoothies regularly can reverse grey hair (which have been popping up on my head since I was 16), so I'll report back in a few months and let you know if that's true.

Here's what else I've been chowing on:

Raw To-Go Lunch

This quick and easy lunch is 1 carrot, 1 parsnip and 1/2 cucumber cut with my julienne peeler. The dressing is a splash of cold-pressed sesame oil, Bragg's and sea salt. I washed it all down with a tetra pack of O.N.E. coconut water (yum!)

Raw Cinny Cereal

I've blogged about this raw cereal before, but this one is made with banana cinnamon "milk" instead of a nut based one. Simply toss a banana, some water and a dash of ground cinnamon in the blender. The cereal is a cut up LARAbar, fresh strawberries and pumpkin seeds.

4 Ingredients Raw Chocolate Candies

I was soooOooo excited when I found this recipe for raw candies on Raw Goddess Heathy's blog. I had seen Ani Phyo (and others) making raw candies using raw cacao butter. I've never seen raw cacao sold anywhere near here, and to my dismay there don't ship Ani's raw chocolate making kits to Canada. But this recipe doesn't require cacao butter at all!

1/2 cup coconut oil, gently melted in a double boiler
1/2 cup cacao powder
2-4 tablespoons agave (or maple syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (alcohol-free of course)

Using a double boiler, gently heat the coconut oil until melted. Add in the rest of the ingredients and whisk until combined. Transfer the mixture into a measuring cup with a spout. Pour the liquid into candy moulds (or alternatively you can also dip fruit into the chocolate). Put in the fridge for 4-5 hours or until firm. The candies will pop right out of the moulds and into your mouth!

OPTIONAL ADD-INS: raw nuts, dried fruits or other alcohol-free extracts (mint might be nice).

Lastly, I recently tried a non-raw recipe by Jennifer McCann that was unbelievable! I just had to share. Jennifer is the author of Vegan Lunch Box and Vegan Lunch Box Around the World. I used a fresh branch of brussels sprouts that I picked up at my local farmer's market (see photo below). The freshness of the sprouts definitely takes this dish from great to "world's best".

The World's Best Brussels

1 lb. fresh Brussels sprouts, cleaned, trimmed
2 TB olive oil
salt to taste
¾ cup vegetable stock or water
2 TB brown sugar
2 TB apple cider vinegar
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a sauté pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the Brussels sprouts and sprinkle with salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts are turning golden, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add ½ cup of the stock or water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered with a lid left slightly ajar, until the Brussels sprouts are almost completely tender and the stock or water has been cooked away, about 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the last ¼ cup of stock or water, the sugar, and the apple cider vinegar. Cook at a lively simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to a syrup, about 5 minutes. Taste for salt and season with pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Beautiful Canadian Autumn

2009-10-29T07:56:00.002-04:00

It's Fall and those famous Canadian maple leaves are turning colours and falling. Here are few of my photos from this fabulous season ...

I hope you're having a fabulous Fall - wherever you are in this world. More raw vegan recipes coming up next week. Until then ...