Posted by Alex on March 2, 2010 at 8:56 am
Drinking your vegetables is a convenient and energizing way to eat while cleansing your body from the Standard American Diet. Blending a bunch of veggies together means you’ll eat more heal-giving ingredients in a sitting, and your body will digest them easier. Why is that?
Your teeth have to do a lot of work to chew vegetables well enough to get all the available nutrition out of raw vegetables. By blending the ingredients first, your body will be able to access all those lovely vitamins and minerals more easily.
I love this recipe because the avocado is high in essential fatty acids and you can easily change the flavor by mixing up the herbs and spices mentioned or by alternating between lemon and lime. This also makes a great breakfast! Just trust me – starting your day with raw vegetables instead of a sugary refined carbohydrate will change your energy in a major way.
Ingredients:
1 ripe Haas avocado, pitted and scooped
2 scallions, diced green and white parts
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cucumber, peeled if waxy
2 handfuls of spinach
1 small clove garlic
1 teaspoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
Optional: fresh parsley, basil leaves, cilantro, cayenne powder, almonds soaked overnight in water and drained, etc.
Blend all the ingredients together until creamy – enjoy!
Posted by Alex on February 16, 2010 at 10:09 am
I often hear clients say that giving up cheese is the hardest step towards living a dairy-free life. Creamy and savory, with a whopping dose of fat, cheese causes many people digestive problems. Along with constipation, gas, and diarrhea, dairy also delivers fat-soluble toxins, massive amounts of cholesterol and lactose. So many women have reported incredible benefits from avoiding dairy that I’m always on the search for new ways to include a cheesy substitute easily to the modern diet.
Try this simple, satisfying cashew cheese recipe and vive la difference!
1 cup cashews, soaked overnight and drained
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)
juice from 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
Put all in a food processor and pulse for 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides and blend for 20 seconds. Scrape the sides down again and blend until smooth and creamy. **Tastes great with gluten free Mary’s Gone Crackers!
Posted by Alex on February 1, 2010 at 7:47 pm
I love vegetables in all forms. Steamed, raw, baked, naked and smothered in vegan mushroom gravy. I also love a huge heaping glass of fresh vegetable juice. Nothing makes my body light up with energy like the easy healing from concentrated vitamins, enzymes and phytonutrients!
While having a juicer is necessary to make this recipe, you might consider finally buying one! I’ve had my Juiceman Jr.($85) for 8 years and it shows no signs of slowing. We make fresh “green juices” at least a few times a week. I often make a double batch and stir in a teaspoon of vitamin C powder to the half I won’t drink fresh. The vitamin C protects the stored juice (kept in an air-tight glass container, of course) from losing it’s potency. This way I can have fresh, powerful juice for a couple of days and save time.
Here’s my current favorite juice recipe:
5 big leaves of kale
2 stalks celery
1 small or 1/2 of a large cucumber (peeled if you can’t find it unwaxed)
1-2 apples (Honeycrisp are my absolute favorite)
1 lemon, yellow rind cut away, but as much as the white pith still in tact, as this is where the majority of the bioflavonoids hang out
1/2 organic red bell pepper
Just wait – you will love this!
Posted by Alex on January 25, 2010 at 10:03 am
Daikon radishes have been used in traditional Japanese and Macrobiotic cooking to heal the body and to help it discharge fat, excess fluids and old animal foods lingering in the intestines. This “really big radish” has huge amounts of digestive enzymes which help the body easily deal with fats and proteins. Also used as a diuretic and decongestant, daikon can help ease the work of the kidneys by discharging more water and fluid retention.
Japanese researchers have found that daikon radish eaten with smoked or grilled animal protein increases the elimination of cancer-causing compounds. But why eat those carcinogenic foods in the first place?
So how can you use this powerful, peppery radish to help cleanse your body? Here are a few simple ideas:
- Grate 2 tablespoons of daikon daily and eat with a few drops of naturally brewed soy sauce (shoyu, tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos) to help the body discharge old animal protein and fats.
- Make a simple broth to eliminate excess diary products: Heat 1 cup water, 1/2 cup diced daikon, 1 inch piece of kombu sea vegetable. Simmer for 15 minutes, drink warm.
- Reduce fever or “food hangover” symptoms with a tea made from 1/4 cup sliced daikon, 2 shittake mushrooms and 1 inch piece of kombu sea vegetable.
Eating out at a Japanese or Korean spot? Ask for a side of daikon along with your meal for extra detox points!
Your teeth have to do a lot of work to chew vegetables well enough to get all the available nutrition out of raw vegetables. By blending the ingredients first, your body will be able to access all those lovely vitamins and minerals more easily. 
