Good Karma Cafe Grand Opening Announcement & 30 Day Challenge Day 18

I am very excited to share that a new plant based cafe has opened in Exeter NH and I am the vegan baker and raw food dessert designer on staff! I am so honored to be involved with the evolution of Chef Brett Aylward's Good Karma Cafe, he is a master raw food chef filled with inspiring ideas. Designer Anna Hardy-Evans of In-Home in Exeter has created a beautiful welcoming comforting atmosphere. I know that this beautiful place will inspire peace and wellness for each soul that enters it's doors.

The cafe offers a vegan menu with raw selections, a bakery counter with %100 coconut nectar sweetened baked and raw treats, organic coffee and healthy food shop. In the future Good Karma will offer classes and events, juice cleanses, Reiki and sauna use. This place is the new health mecca of the east coast! I went in there last week just excited that a new healthy option was opening close by and hoping to join the team. I had no idea that the chef was a raw foodist and I am blown away by how this opportunity manifested for me! I am so greatful, excited and in the passion flow!

I'd love to see you there on Saturday May 5th for the Grand Opening festivities! Come by and try some of my creations and enjoy great food, fun music, and wonderful people!

Day 18 Smoothie:

Green Tea Dream

1 C Hemp Seed Milk

1/2 tsp. Chai Green Tea (I purchase this mix from my local herb shop The Mustard Seed)

Meat of 1 Young Coconut

1 tsp. Raw Honey

A handful baby mixed greens

Fresh Ground Nutmeg and Cinnamon

Chai Green Tea Blend

Blend the milk, tea, coconut, honey and greens in a high speed blender. You can blend for a few minutes for a warm drink or add ice for a chilled version.  Pour into a glass and top with fresh nutmeg and cinnamon to taste.

30 Day Challenge Days 14-17 Celebrations The Divine Decedent Raw Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Reveal!

 Still here going strong in the challenge, I've just had an extremely busy last few days that left me with no time to post. My days have been filled with celebrations and raw food magic. Though I've stuck to mostly juice and smoothies I've been very tempted because there have been events to create for.
One was my daughter's 10th birthday bash with her closest friends at an arcade. She requested my famous Divine Decedent RAW Chocolate Peanut butter Cake. I have to say that this cake has been so requested by family and friends that I'm a little tired of making it and looking forward to moving on to the next decedent dessert! Therefore I'm sharing the recipe here today, write it down because it will be removed soon to go into my book! The cake is creamy cheesecake like or can be eaten frozen like an ice cream cake.  Topped with a hard chocolate coating, cashew cream and raw peanut butter cups, it looks almost as good as it tastes!
This past weekend I also shared a great half-way there hike and lunch with a couple of friends from my challenge group! My Sunday creative session included a mixed greens salad with spicy mustad dressing, bok choy seaweed salad, onion bread, and Thai Coconut Curry Soup (find the soup in my raw iron chef post)and a chocolate cookie for dessert. It was such a joy to share my raw creations and conversation with fellow 30-day challengers.

Divine Decedent RAW Chocolate Peanut butter Cake

Brownie Bottom:
1/2 C Dates (soaked)
1 1/2 C Walnuts
1/4 C Cacao
Pinch of Sea Salt

Using a food processor grind the walnuts into crumbs. Add the dates, cacao, and sea salt and pulse to combine. Press this into the bottom and just up the sides about 1/8th of an inch of a 9" spring form pan.

Peanut Butter Cream Layer:
1 C Soaked Cashews
1 C Almond Butter or Raw Peanut Butter

1/4 C Raw Honey or Pure Maple Syrup (not raw, but high in minerals)

1/4 C Coconut Oil (melted in dehydrator or double boiler)
1/2 C Pure Water (a bit more may be added if needed)

Blend all ingredients in a Vitamix using the tamper if needed. Pour this over the bottom layer and let set in the freezer while you make the next layer.

Chocolate Cream Layer:
1 C Soaked Cashews
1/3 C Raw Cacao Powder
1/4 C Raw Honey, Pure Maple Syrup, or Coconut Nectar
1/4 C Melted Coconut Oil
1/4 C Pure Water

Blend and pour over the peanut butter layer smoothing out to fill sides. Set in the freezer while you make the next layer.

Vanilla Cream Layer:
1 1/2 C Soaked Cashews
1/3 C Raw Honey, Pure Maple Syrup, or Coconut Nectar
1/3C Melted Coconut Oil
1 Vanilla Bean Scraped or 2 Tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 C Pure Water

Blend and reserve about 1/2 C of the cream for decorating the top. Pour and smooth the rest over the chocolate layer. Place the cake in the freezer and reserve the 1/2 C of cream in a decorators bag in the refrigerator.

Raw Chocolate P.B. Cups

1 C Raw Cacao Butter

1/2 C Raw Cacao Powder

1/2 C Coconut Nectar

Shred the cacao butter and melt it in the dehydrator or on a double boiler. Add the cacao power and nectar to the melted cacao butter and mix well. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners (or use plastic or silicone molds). Fill the bottom of the cups with the melted chocolate and place in the freezer.

Peanut Butter Filling

Mix:
1/2 C Almond Butter or Raw Peanut Butter with
3 Tbl. Coconut Nectar or Raw Honey
1 Tbl. Nutritional Yeast

When the chocolate has hardened to the touch top with a dollop of peanut butter filling and cover with more melted chocolate. These go in the freezer once more to harden. Use the rest of the melted chocolate to coat the vanilla cream layer of the cake and replace in the freezer to harden.
Using the cream in the decorator bag add cream rosettes on top of hardened chocolate. Be creative and place peanut butter cups in halves or quarters on top of the cream rosettes.
Place the whole beautiful thing back in the freezer for a few hours. It may be sliced and served frozen like an ice cream cake or thawed and served as a creamy dreamy decedent dessert.

Raw Chocolate Cookie
1 C Walnuts
1C Cashews
3/4 C Soaked Dates
1 tbl. coconut oil
1 tbl. Vanilla
1/2 C Raw Cacao
Pinch of Sea Salt

Grind the nuts into a flour in your food processor. Add the dates, oil, vanilla, cacao, and salt and blend well. You will have a chocolate "dough". Scoop by rounds onto the mesh sheet of a dehydrator and flatten with your palm. Dehydrate at 105 for 8 hours. Alternatively they may be made into balls and eaten as cookie bites with out dehydration.

30 Day Challenge Day 13 Passion

Continuing to have a clear mind and stay in a place of allowing has brought me opportunities to fulfill my passions in surprising ways in the past few days. These gifts from the universe have reminded me of how important it is to share my passion for the macro-raw vegan life. I have recently received so many stories and compliments of how I have inspired others to change their health and that just blows me away! These people have no idea of the joy they bring to my heart and living in that space of joy has me receiving more than I ever thought possible. I feel immense gratitude for you!

Today I did a lot of hard physical work and had no time or need for formal exercise. I did however go for a short walk in the rain with my daughter. She was excited to find a field of violets in a neighbors yard. She picked many for a vase, many to eat on the walk, and some more to make violet tea. A few were left over to top our banana blueberry ice cream that we created together tonight!

I felt well sustained on juice and smoothies today even though I expended so many calories. I did have a Mindnight Maca this afternoon that helped to give me that little lift. I continue to apply fresh aloe to my skin everyday and have noticed great improvement.

Day 13 Juice:

Purple Passion 

5 Carrots

5 Stalks of Celery

2 Green Apples

1 Large Beet

My smoothie recipe calls for a bit less, but I filled my Vitamix right to the top with these lovely fresh mustard greens!

Day 13 Smoothie:               

Super Green Munster

4 C Mustard Greens

1/2 Red Bell Pepper

1 Tbl. Dulse2 Tbl. Flax Seeds

1" Piece Aloe

3 Sun dried Tomatoes

1/2 Lemon Peeled

2 Stalks Celery

1 Tbl. Sesame Seeds

2 Bananas

4 Dates

This is not the smoothie for the "new to green smoothies" person. If you are, you might want to add a few more dates. It's much more of a blended salad taste, which I love, but it's taken me years to find that love for blended salads!

The wonderful dulse in this drink contains at least trace amounts of every known mineral! Dulse also contains an essential enzyme that aids the body in producing energy from sugars. The seaweed is a staple in many of my macrobiotic meals and it's a comfort for me to add it in raw food smoothies and dishes.                                                         

Zelda's Frozen Banana Blueberry Ice Cream

4 Frozen Bananas

1 C Frozen Wild Blueberries

1/4 C Hemp(or other nut or seed) Seed Milk

1 Tbl. Raw Honey

Place all ingredients in Vitamix and blend on high. You will need to use the tamper liberally.

Chocolate Sauce is:

Melted Coconut Oil

Raw Cacao

Coconut Nectar

30 Day Challenge Day 12 Power

I sure am feeling the power today!  My mind is open and clear and I've been needing just a few hours of sleep. Exciting things are starting to happen not only with my body and energy, but also in manifesting my desires. A few pursuits that have been moving slowly are all of a sudden right within my grasp. This raw energy has got me running down the path of my dreams at supercharged speed!

Another surprising sunny day had me out for an exhilarating run. I'm pretty sure it was the farthest I've ever gone. After my run I planned on doing a yoga video, but I was called to Pilates. Around ten years ago I had been keeping up a daily practice of Pilates and was in the best shape. I loved what it did for my core strength. For whatever reason I fell out of the practice and had not even thought about going back since. Today I tried a new Pilates video and couldn't believe how easy it was. My muscles just fell back into the positions as if getting back on a bike after the winter. I'm looking forward to keeping it up everyday!

Day 12 Juice:
Beta C Fusion
2 Small Turnips
10 Carrots
1 C Pineapple Chunks

2 Oranges Peeled

This orange juice has high amounts of Beta-Carotene which is transformed into Vitamin A by your liver giving your cells protection and the ability to slow the aging process down. Vitamin A also plays an important roll in the formation of bones and teeth, hair growth, and of course vision.
Turnips in this juice give a huge dose of Vitamin C as does the oranges. The turnip also adds potassium, B6, copper, and folate.
Pouring the juice into a pretty glass makes me feel special and reminds me to be proud to take good care of my cells!

Day 12 Smoothie:

Blue Hawaiian

2 C Water

1 C Frozen Wild Blueberries

2 C Pineapple

1 C Baby Spinach

1 C Baby Romaine

Add ingredients to a high speed blender and blend on high. I try to always use fresh organic fruit in my smoothies, but when it comes to wild blueberries, I think they are great to buy frozen when out of season. Being "wild" there is no need to worry about them not being organic. Wild is always better than farm grown organics.

I found this sticker on my banana today and it made me smile!

30 Day Challenge Day 11 Kickin' It Up

I'm feeling much gratitude for sunshine today. After a few cloudy rainy days, today was cool but superbly sunny. I spent many hours this morning working in my garden and cleaning out my chicken coop. I know how ironic it is that our vegan family has hens, but they are lovely pets. We love their silly antics plus they eat bugs including ticks out of the yard. We gladly give the eggs away to friends and neighbors. I drank plenty of lemon water all morning while working outside, but never felt hungry until my hard work was done in the afternoon. Then I made a juice, and later in the evening a smoothie. I feel quite well and highly energized tonight! Somehow I also got in a 2 mile run and an hour of yoga. The super raw girl has arrived!

Day 11 Juice:

 

Kick It Up

5 Stalks Celery

5 Carrots

2" Piece of Ginger

1 Lemon Peeled

1" Fresh Turmeric (or 1 tsp. powdered)

2 Green Apples

Beet Greens from about 3 Beets

Dash of Cayenne

This spicy juice kicks up digestion and adds warming energy.

Ginger and it's cousin Turmeric are helpful to increase the activity of digestive enzymes and stimulate bile flow. Cayenne stimulates blood flow allowing for oxygen to and nutrients to reach cells and heal and beautify skin. New science shows that this cool pepper resets your metabolism to work at a higher temperature causing your body to burn more calories in the hours after eating it.

Day 11 Smoothie:

Dreamy Green

Water from 1 Young Coconut

1 Bunch Mustard Greens

1 Orange Peeled

1 Pear Seeds Removed

3 Dates Pits Removed

2 Tbl. Raw Golden Flax Seeds

1 Tbl. Chia Seeds

1 tsp. Freshly Ground Nutmeg

30 Day Challenge Day 10 Shifting

Once you've lived on raw foods for a period of time you begin to shift into a new vibrational existence. The mind clears and allows for new ideas and emotions. This can be so freeing and uplifting on many levels. For me this sort of emotional awakening has brought on such joy and opportunities, but at the same time separation and anxiety. The difficult part is that I open and change so fast that much of my family and friends can not join me or understand my views and feelings. Leading to strained relations and confusing feelings.

I am grateful for the few in my life (you know who you are) that are in this same space and there to share in my growth. Today was a whirlwind of joy! I spent time with dear friends in great discussion. We were in one room pondering the future and discussing our ideas and preparedness for a possible impending shift in the universe for 2012. Our insightful children in another room were implementing a great imaginary scheme of life for community living. After an interesting conversation about if any of us would ever really have the skills to live off the grid and without common commodities, my friends and I checked in on what our children had been up to. The kids had created this immense "eco-village" out of cardboard in the next room, complete with gardens and bartering systems. I was in awe and appreciated that little sign from the universe that the knowledge I may seek is often right in the next room.

Today I did very well on drinking plenty of water, but never fit in the time for exercise. My body is craving a run and I look forward to fulfilling it in the morning. I've yet to run in the rain and it's been rainy here with no signs of clearing for the next few days, so tomorrow I'll give it a try.

I've always had an aversion to the taste of maca. I still throw a scoop of the beneficial Peruvian root powder into a smoothie once in a while, but never enjoyed the odd flavor it adds. This all changed today! Today I found my love for maca. Is it that my super raw clean palate has accepted it or that I have found the way closer to that of our ancient ancestors to prepare it, warm? Two or three articles and recipes about warm maca came across my desk in the past couple of days. Then tonight I chatted with a very interesting raw food chef and he mentioned a warm drink that he makes in the Vitamix. I came home and finally made a warm maca concoction of my own and fell in love with this superfood!

Day 10 Warm Smoothie:

Midnight Maca

2 C Hemp Milk

1 Tbl. Maca

2 Tbl. Raw Cacao

2 Dates

1 Banana

1 tsp. Dried Nettles

1 tsp. Astragalus (potent Chinese antioxidant herb for immune and skin health)

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend for several minutes to heat. Pour into a large mug and get excited about all the froth! Sprinkle with cinnamon and bask in the benefits!

If you have not tried maca before here are some of the amazing benefits to encourage you.

*Increases energy levels and stamina

*Is an adaptogen

*Improves physical endurance

*Enhances fertility

*Increases oxygen in the blood

*Regulates hormones

*Increases neurotransmitter production

*Reduces adrenal stress

*Improves mood

*Enhances memory and improves learning ability

*An anitcarcinogenic and antioxidant

*Reduces the effects of aging and creates skin glow

*Rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sulfur, sodium, iron, zinc, iodine, copper, selenium, bismuth, manganese, tin, silicon, B1, B2, C, and E.

If one was having trouble getting rid of an addiction to coffee, my Midnight Maca is a super substitute! It gives that satisfying warm feeling with so many benefits instead of adrenal stress caused by caffeine.

30 Day Challenge Day 9 Flow

Things have turned around and I am feeling back in the flow. In part due to my "Feel the Flow Smoothie" that I created this morning! Today I also began to miss my raw food creativity. Sure I've been having fun coming up with new juice and smoothie combinations, but I still feel the need to play with more of my chef skills. Therefore, I decided that for the rest of the Sundays during the 30 Day Challenge I will create one or more new raw dishes. Even so these new dishes will still be nut and fractured food free and keep within my goals for the challenge.

Today the northeast has slipped into a rainy spell. I am glad for my garden, but hurt for my love of outdoor activity. To stay active today I utilized my favorite pilates and yoga videos on Hulu and Netflix. They are a great resource when I can't get out, and keep things interesting with so many workouts to choose from.

Day 9 Smoothie:
Pineapple is super great for digestion and loaded with enzymes. Specifically bromelain which

banishes inflammation as effectively as drugs, reduces swelling, helps against sore throat, treats arthritis and gout, and speeds digestion of proteins. New research is even showing pineapple to be highly effective at cancer prevention and treatment. Pineapple also supplies a super source of Vitamin C to fight free radical damage, boost the immune system, and increase oral health. This special tropical fruit is also known to aid in the implantation of embryos because of the bromelain's ability to break up proteins that may inhibit implantation. All of my surrogacy sisters know to eat up some pineapple before IVF transfers!

Mustard greens contain phytonutrients called glucosinolates that can help activate detoxification. At least three key glucosinolates have been identified in mustard greens: sinigrin, gluconasturtiian, and glucotropaeolin. They provide an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and manganese. Hydroxycinnamic acid, quercetin, isorhamnetin, and kaempferol are among the key antioxidant phytonutrients provided by mustard greens. These leafy greens are also an excellent source of vitamin K and a smaller but reliable source of omega-3 fatty acids. 

Flax, Psyllium, Chia, and Aloe are all unbelievable digestive aids that bind to toxins and build up in our system and aid expulsion. 

Feel the Flow Smoothie

Fruit from 1/2 of a Pineapple
2 Oranges Peeled
1 Bunch Mustard Greens
1 Handful of Parsley
1 Tbl. Raw Golden Flax Seeds
2 Tbl. Psyllium Husk Powder
1 Tbl. Chia Seeds
1/4" Piece of Aloe Vera

1 C Water

1 C Ice
Blend all of the ingredients in a high speed and be ready to feel the flow!

Day 9 Sunday Creative Raw Meal:

Seed Burger on Tomato Basil Onion Bread with Hipster Mayo with a side of Rutabaga Fries

Seed Burger

1 Large Beet

1 Carrot

1 C Alfalfa Sprouts

1/4 C Chopped Parsley

1 Clove Garlic

1/4 C Hemp Seeds

1/4 C Flax Seeds

1/2 C Soaked Sunflower Seeds

With the grating blade on a food processor grate the beet and carrot. Switch to the S-blade and add the sprouts, parsley, garlic, hemp, flax and sunflower seeds. Process well. Form into patties and place on the mesh sheets of a dehydrator and warm at 105 for 1 hour. I dressed my burger with lettuce, Hipster Mayo, soaked sun dried tomatoes and sprouts.

The onion bread was adapted from Matt Amsden's in Rawvolution. I added sun dried tomatoes, basil and garlic to his basic recipe.

Hipster Mayo

1 C Hemp Seeds

1/4 C Pure Water

Juice of 1 Lemon

1/4 tsp. Cumin

1/4 tsp. Oregano

1/4 tsp. Hungarian Paprika

Dash Coriander

Dash Cloves

Dash Allspice

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and whip for 2 minutes. This is a great dip or spread for burger or any sandwich. I dipped my fires in it too!

Rutabaga Fries

2 Good Sized Rutabagas Peeled

1 tsp.Sea Salt

2 tsp.Paprika

Slice the rutabaga into shoestring size fries and toss with the sea salt and paprika. They may be warmed at 105 in a dehydrator for one hour. Alternatively these may be made with khol rabi or jicima in place of rutabega. I am not a big fan of cooked rutabega, but I was surprised to find that I enjoyed their subtle sweetness prepared raw in this way.