~Ladybugs on a Log ~

When I was growing up moms would give their kids cheeze whiz on celery sticks as a nutritious snack. Sometimes to make them more edible raisins would be added. I came up with the idea of putting Goji berries on top of Raw almond butter . The almond butter would replace the cheese whiz. In addition to this I garnish the dish with loads of celery leaves.

Celery leaves are one of my most favorite greens...I usually give a handful of cut up celery to my son and eat the leaves that are left over.

Goji berries are the healthiest berry on the planet and we are thrilled to be able to use those insead of raisins.....

~ Shakaya Leone ~

Presenting Shakaya Leone !!

"These photos belong to Shakaya "

One of the most influential and significant women in the raw food world and in my life has been Shakaya Breeze. She has been living the raw food lifestyle for eight years now and has a lot of experience in what works and what doesn't.

Being comfortable in your own skin and staying vibrant whether your in your thirties, mid forties or even in your seventies is more than possible. I am touched by her vision and what she has accomplished by writing a book called, " Naked Beauty". This book is revolutionary and I believe it is going to change women's health and how they feel about themselves and their approach to taking care of themselves. Adopting her advice is very exciting !! You can find a copy of "Naked Beauty "at : http://earthempress.com/nakedbeauty/



Shakaya's elegance and beauty is something I aspire to. I am still quite new to this lifestyle. She is seasoned by experience which has transformed her life and body into a natural, vibrant beauty. She is on a mission. She is passionate about replacing the predominant "milk mustache" with a green one. The future model for health is in living, green foods....


I have been able to relate to Shakaya the last couple of years watching her and seeing her love and passion for foraging for wild edibles as she calls it. What once seemed like just weeds has become food. I get excited to go outside and see all the food that is out there. Mind you, what you see outside is not necessarily edible unless it is clean and pesticide free. I enjoyed finding raw berries, dandelion greens and loads of clover.



Edible weeds, herbs and leafy greens is my passion and just love all her photos.



I was really touched by her blog article describing how a homeless man led her to a natural spring. His serendipitous appearance blessed her whole family with a wealth of natural bounty. I wondered if perhaps he was a messenger sent by God to help her find her way. I mentioned to her that "You never know when you are entertaining an angel". The thought of it just gave me goose bumps.

Be one of the fortunate people who can learn from her wisdom and begin to enjoy life to it's fullest by following in her bare foot steps and Naked Beauty.

~ Coconut Water ~

Getting fresh young coconuts are not so easy where I live. I still want to get the essence from this amazing water so I try to open these hard old coconuts. It does not contain the same amount of electrolytes as a younger coconut, but a much better option than regular water. My husband just loves eating the coconut meat. I shave this type of coconut and put in in my raw chocolate pies for my son.

Once I get the approval I plan to do a ten day water fast using this type of coconut water to keep me going. I am hoping that the fast will put me in remission.

I have not been blogging for several months due to illness. I am in hopes of recovery. I had a fall and tore ligaments in my left ankle. Due to laying on my back for months I may have developed a very unusual disorder called POTS. Laying in the same position for too long is not good for body rhythms and has set my heart into a postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. I would strongly recommend to anyone who has injury to NEVER lay in the same position for months at a time. At this point I don't have a definite diagnosis, but it is looking like this may be the case. Typical medicine does not have answers, but will encourage further degeneration. The best chance I have is a living food diet, lots of fresh air, sunshine, living water, supplement that supports the heart and nervous system new found faith and this amazing guided mindful awareness I have been learning about to reset my nervous system.

Tantalizing and Detoxing Truffles

I have been slowly working on my second e-book. I have had to delay my second project due to continued issues with torn tendons and ligaments in my left ankle. I have decided to publish here on my blog one of my featured desserts in my next book Raw Soups and Living Salads. The book will be focusing mainly on cleansing salads and soups, but will have at the end a few very special desserts.

I miss blogging and want to offer something for my viewers as I take this time to mend.

Sesame seeds are very high in calcium and great for you. These were so good I was so delighted to come up with something that satisfied the sweet tooth, but was low in sugar and had ingredients which will encourage healing.

Recipe:

1 cup apricots
1 inch ginger root grated
1 cup almonds
¼ cup walnuts
¼ cup pecans
¼ cup flax meal
3 tsp honey
1 T almond milk
dash of sea salt
2 T cacao powder
¼ cup sesame seeds

Process nuts until ground the add the apricots and ginger.
Add all the remaining ingredients. Shape in the balls and roll them in white sesame seeds.
Store them in the freezer in a sealed container for up to three weeks.

These will last up to three weeks in the freezer and if I had a craving for something sweet I will take one out and it satisfies that need. Sometimes I make a cup of herbal tea to go with it for a snack either mid morning or before bed.

Remember the more green you eat the more clean you become !! ~ Xo

~ Cucumber Celery Juice ~

I have taken these photos months ago and have been so busy I have not be able to until now to add this post. I published my first e-book and have had lots of fun with this new experience. I have been wanting to continue to publish more material, but have had a fall and have been out of commission for weeks. It is still going to take some time to get back to normal. I have been drinking my green juice daily which is very important for boosting my immune system. I have a favorite green juice I drink daily my Cucumber Celery Juice....




I have been drinking this most days since I have started eating raw/vegan. Sometimes I make variations, but mostly it is three ingredients.

My two main ingredients are as you see here celery and cucumber....

There are days if I have some wheat grass will add to this juice. Freeze-dried is the best if you cannot drink fresh wheat grass shots. I usually add a tbsp to my juice to up the pH of my juice.

If I don't use wheat grass I use a handful of parsley. If you use parsley make sure you don't use to much it can be too intense for the system. A handful is plenty to give you the nourishment you need. As I have mentioned before parsley is similar to a multivitamin.

Green juice is the best food on the planet because as Jay Kordich says," it's the juice of the fiber that feeds you." The potent packed juice does not need to digest to go directly into your cells. Green juice is predigested food which is the best thing you can add to your diet for those who suffer with any kind of illness.

Other benefits of green juice are it's hydrating potential. When you feel really thirsty it will quench that thirst and it will also clean your body and help rid it of unwanted toxins....

~ Snow Pea Shoots~

This was my first time trying to grow snow pea shoots. I bought a little starter kit which had a container and some dirt pellets. The container had a plastic cover that looked a little bit like a mini green house.

First I soaked my seeds for eight hours then rinsed them very well. I added them to these mini dirt pellets which swelled when I added water over them. Out of twelve seeds seven grew and developed into these beautiful green sprouts.

I transferred these snow pea shoots to my pretty blue tea pot and let them continue to grow. They grew to be at least seven inches before I cut them to try. All three of us tried them and what a delight they were. My son said they were the best tasting sprout he has ever eaten.

I am now planning on buying them in bulk to grow them regularly. I don't need to have a garden outside to grow these. They grow just fine on your windowsill. Just make sure the soil remains a little damp.

They make a beautiful garnish that is attractive and is very delicious. They taste so much better than regular snow peas. I have discovered that the greens of most veggies are more nutrient dense and are so much more satisfying.

A little tip I have learned from listening to David Wolfe a couple of weeks ago is that Horsetail Tea is an awesome tea which is good for treating candida as well as a good spray for your plants which will prevent mold from growing because it is a powerful anti-fungal agent.

~ Raw Fruit Punch~

This was a fun experiment and a huge hit with my family. I wanted to try a raw fruit punch. it is still high in sugar because it is fruit juice, but it is all natural. I used raspberry and grapefruit juice as the base.

I wanted to use some alkaline juice with it so I added fresh lime and lemon juice to it will at least a dozen ice cubes.

I used two lemons and two limes in addition as garnishes in my fruit punch. I thinly sliced them and cut them in half to add more colour to my punch.

I used about a cup and a half of frozen raspberries in this and dropped them on top to make it look pretty.

I then lastly I added fresh mint leaves inside the punch and on top to decorate this treat.

Even though it was sweet I could taste the flavour of the lemon and lime which made me feel clean after drinking three glasses of it. :)
For my next special occasion I will definitely be making this instead of the traditional punch which has orange juice and soda pop.

~ Raw Pineapple Flowers ~

This recipe I had found from a Martha Stewart magazine years ago. It is amazing at how much pineapple could look so much like a flower. This recipe, however was not cooked, but dehydrated for several hours.


I peeled the pineapple and used a small melon ball tool to take out the brown corns which left little holes. This is what caused the pineapple to look as if it had petals.

I thinly sliced the pineapple and placed the pieces on the dehydrator tray.

I dehydrated these for about five hours at 105 degrees then flipped them for the same amount of time. As they became dry the edges curled up like real petals. I also noticed that the edges turned a deeper yellow.

These would make a wonderful garnish on a raw dessert or salad which I have done in my book which comes out next Month, March 2010.

These taste just like sour pineapple gummies. That are sooooooooo deeeeelishous!!

ENJOY!!