Day 2 plus a review of Brad's Raw Chips!

 

Day 2 and I’m loving it already!! I do miss my day off in the kitchen though, but gotta make that money SOME how!

Breakfast: Young and Raw is seriously pulling out some amazingly delicious smoothies!!!

 

Day 5: Lemon Lime Detox Smoothie

• 1 Frozen banana
• 1 lime peeled
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 oranges, juiced
• 2 handfuls of kale, spinach or other green
• Aloe vera leaf (optional)
• Ice (optional)

Snacks: A cooled down green tea with raw honey, a yummy Double Ginger Kombucha from MTO, bananards, raw almond butter, and the rest of Brad’s Naked Raw Kale Chips.

PRODUCT REVIEW

Brad’s Raw Chips

I was GOING to save the BEST for last but after having yet another skidaddle with my daughter over Brad’s delicious kale chips – which excites me that my belief to lead by example is finally showing through my daughter’s healthy choices – I decided a review is necessary, like, NOW!

My little kale chip monster!

I think anyone who has transitioned to an alternate diet can agree that the first things we find are prepared snacks that fit into that diet in an effort to prevent total starvation (because fruit and veggies as a snack is absolutely ridiculous!).  Kale and kale chips were sweeping the FaceBook nation so I knew I had to grab me some and see what the fuss was all about. Brad’s catchy kale chip names caught my eye and it was love at first sight..and bite! Crunchy, cheesy and loaded with serious flavor! I couldn’t believe raw kale chips could taste so flippin’ good! My husband’s curiosity finally got the best of him and the Nasty Hots became a new routine grocery item. However, with our budget, we can only afford one each week or two so what do you think happens when there’s only one box and two of us are craving? WE FIGHT! Buying another flavor usually guarantees me full rights….that was until my daughter fell in love too. It’s a bit harder to deny her, but I do sneak into the closet and grab a few when no one’s looking :) Yes, they are that good.

Brad’s sells a variety of Kale Chips, from Naked Cheese, to the spicy Nasty Hots to yes, sweet and juicy Pina Kale-ada…and yes, them babies are so so good! If you think pineapple, coconut and greens do not mix? Think again.

Brad’s also sells a variety of raw chips, which I have only tried a few of. The one’s I have tried, Hot Red Bell Pepper and Sweet Potato, have been satisfying thus far. I love using them to dip into raw chili, salsa and of course, guacamole! They are a perfect substitute for tortilla chips.

I JUST learned not too long ago that they just produced and will be selling soon Raw Onion Rings!!! I am drooling just thinking about how tasty they are!!! I can’t wait to get my hands on them!

So if you are looking for a healthy, raw, fulfilling snack or just really curious to know what kale chips taste like, then ignore the price, grab a box of Brad’s raw kale chips and fall in love. Trust me, it’s worth it. Just an FYI, I am not responsible for the increase in your grocery budget… just saying. ;)

Lunch: My family and I are always craving sushi. We seriously could eat it every day. But let’s be honest, that ish is expensive and it barely fills you up! So I started making sushi at home. I haven’t perfected the texture and flavor quite yet, but I’m working on it. I didn’t have the rolling down either…until I made raw sushi and bamm perfection! Go figure…

This raw sushi is so satisfying and will curb all your cravings for sushi…especially when served with some tamari, pickled ginger, wasabi and/or sirachi.

Raw Sushi

Adapted from Young and Raw

Maked 2 rolls, 16 slices, 1 serving

Raw Sushi Rolls

• Raw nori sheets
• 1 carrot, julienned
• ¼ bell pepper, julienned
• ¼ cucumber, julienned
• 1 green onion, julienned
• ¼ avocado, thinly sliced
• Mixed greens
• Sprouts

Raw Cauli Rice

• 1 plus cups of cauliflower florets
• Handful of cilantro
• ¼ large avocado
• ¼ lime, juiced
• Salt
• Dulse flakes
• Chilli Powder (optional)

1. Place cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until it resembles rice. Add cilantro and pulse again until finely chopped. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, add avocado, lime juice, salt to taste, dulse flakes and chipotle powder. Mash well with a fork.
3. Add the cauli rice into the bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside until ready to use.

To prepare the sushi roll, I recommend watching this video. It’s a lot easier than writing up instructions and in all honesty, it takes practice.

Once your sushi rolls are complete, slice and serve with tamari, wasabi, siracha and/or pickled ginger (note, not all of these condiments are raw).

I know, yumm!

Dinner: Diced mango sprinkled with flax seeds and some dessert :)

Dessert: Raw Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream

I am currently on a mission to perfect a raw coconut ice cream recipe. I’m using a recipe from The Rawesome Life but I have been making a few tweaks to it. The first batch I made came out amazing! I had used only one sweetener, honey, and I added raw cacao nibs. This time, I used a combo of sweeteners and added pineapple and it turned out, well, not so fab. The texture was off due to the alternate sweeteners, the flavor was lacking due to the crappy pineapple whose lack in sweetness and tartness didn’t counter the sweet and creamy taste of the coconut ice cream, and well…I just hated it. As a perfectionist, if something is slightly off, I toss it and start over and that is exactly what I did! Hopefully I’ll have a recipe by the end of the week. For now, enjoy the pics.

Workout:  2 minute run, 2 minute walk. I'm trying to retrain my body to run again. I did pretty good. No stopping. I did go at a slower pace but hey at least I didn't stop! I did have some help from the Fresh Beat Band..."It's just another perfect day!"

- BETH

Day 1 of Brad's 7 Day Raw Challenge plus a review on MTO Kombucha!

Today (or,well, yesterday since my computer crashed before bed time) is Day 1 of Brad’s 7 Day Raw Challenge! It’s also Day 4 of Young and Raw’s 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge! In addition, I will be providing a product review of some of my favorite raw food products and the amazing companies behind the making of them. So here we go!

Breakfast: The fabulous couple behind Young and Raw are currently hosting a 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge. All you have to do is prepare and drink one smoothie a day! They provide the shopping list, daily recipes and an awesome community where you can share information, ask questions, and best of all, win prizes…and it’s free!  So if you are interested in incorporating a smoothie into your daily diet and healthy lifestyle, then I recommend giving this challenge a try! They do one every month!

Today’s smoothie was called the Warming Blueberry Ginger Smoothie. It included banana, blueberry, kale, ginger and raw almond milk. DELISH!

Young and Raw's Warming Blueberry Ginger Mylkshake!

Lunch: It was busy day for my daughter and I so I kept myself satisfied with a raw Lime-Basil kombucha by MTO and some Naked Kale Chips from Brad’s!

PRODUCT REVIEW:

MTO Kombucha

Everyone know’s I LOVE kombucha! The moment I tasted GT’s Multi-Green flavor I became an addict; learning about the wonderful health benefits kombucha provides did help a bit too: detoxification, joint care, and digestion aid and gut health due to the probiotics just to name a few. 

 Soon enough I was buying them by the case, drinking them daily, brewing my own batch (which was growing scoby beautifully until somehow gnats got in and destroyed the entire batch! Arrr!) and taste testing every single brand out there. Nothing compared to GT’s until I began tasting some local brews. Little to no carbonation but the flavor was out of this world! The acidic flavor of the tea shined through in a whole different way. Not unbearable, but sippable (not gulpable, which was a good thing) and sweet in its own way. I was in love, but there was only one thing. It was in DC; too far away for me. And then I discovered MTO aka Made-to-Order kombucha. Local all throughout VA (I buy mine from Eden's Natural in Gainesville) and deliverable if needed! YES! Finally, a local kombucha brewer near me! 

MTO Kombucha makes a wide variety of different flavored kombuchas. From Original to Lemon-Rosemary to yes, Vanilla, each one is well balanced in acidity, sweetness and flavoring. The natural essence of kombucha is allowed to shine through each and every one…well except for maybe vanilla…I’ll admit that’s the only flavor I’m not a fan of. I find the vanilla too strong. If you are looking for a kombucha that has little carbonation and really presents the true flavor of true, home-brewed kombucha, then I recommend checking out MTO. They are located in several natural food markets throughout VA and they even deliver! I recommend trying the strawberry and blueberry first…unless you like ginger than grab a Double Ginger. I promise you will NOT be disappointed! 

As for those health benefits, I will say that I rarely ever have any digestive issues now – no gas, bloating, abnormal bowel movements, etc. I rarely get sick and I’m always full of energy, maybe a little too much. Here are a few sites that may provide you with more information.

http://www.kombuchakamp.com/health-benefits-of-kombucha

http://www.foodrenegade.com/kombucha-health-benefits/

 

P.S. I still grab a few GT’s to add to my weekly batch. It’s a great sub for those trying to kick the soda habit. Sweet, fizzy and still oh so good for you :)

Dinner: Yesterday I came across a recipe by a wonderful vegan chef/blogger, Kathy, from Healthy. Happy. Life. The recipe was a Veggie Loaded. avocado-white bean salad on toast topped with harissa. Now, for me, pictures speak more than words. One look and I was immediately drooling. It looked fresh, creamy and oh so fulfilling. I checked out the recipe and realized it could easily be rawified and went to work! Here are the tweaks I made.

VeggieLoaded. Avocado-white bean salad. On Toast. Harissa on Top.

by Healthy. Happy. Life.

(Modified to be raw and to serve one)

·       

• 1 16 oz. can white beans (cannellini) - drained, rinsed   
• Instead of beans, I used 2 teaspoons of raw tahini
• 1/3 small avocado, diced
• 2 tbsp sweet  green onion, diced
• 1/2 small carrot, chopped
• 3 tbsp of spinach kale, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp shredded red cabbage (my added veggie)
• 6+ grape tomatoes, sliced in quarters (my added veggie)
• 1/3 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 lemon, juiced
• 2/3 tsp unpasteurized, white miso paste
• 1 fresh tangerine or 1-2 Tbsp of orange juice + pinch of zest
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp hemp seeds or sunflower seeds
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• salt + pepper to taste

Toppings:

• harissa  red pepper flakes or chopped jalapeno
• + fresh chives
• sunflower seeds
• sprouts

Toast:

• toasted bread (I used sprouted grain English muffins)
• Giant Portobello Cap, peeled and cleaned of gills

Note: Obviously your can greatly tweak the ingredients in this recipe by trying different veggies, seeds, beans and even seasonings. Here are some ideas she listed:

Tweak ingredient ideas:

• chipotle powder
• jalapeno, diced
• radish, diced
• kale, finely chopped
• parsley or herbs, chopped
• chopped nuts
• omit the miso and just use salt to 'salt'
• tsp of tahini

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mash the avocado and raw tahini together until well blended; yes, it will be quite thick, but that’s okay, trust me
2. Add all the veggies (green onions to tomatoes) and toss in avocado dressing/paste until well coated
3. Whisk together the cider, lemon juice, miso and tangerine juice and pour over the veggie mix. Toss until the creamy dressing begins to loosen up and the veggies are well coated and dressed.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add in the nooch and hemp seeds and give it one more quick toss.

To prepare:

1. Layer a plate with some mixed greens. Turn the portobello mushroom upside down, place it on top of the greens, and fill the bottom of the cap with alfalfa (or similar) sprouts.
2. Pile the avocado-veggie mix on top of the sprouts as full and as high as you can get it J
3. Sprinkle the top with red pepper flakes and raw sunflower seeds before serving.

As Kathy stated, it’s best served immediately.

Dessert: I spent the rest of my evening processing, mixing and testing my raw coconut pineapple ice cream. It should be good to devour tomorrow :)

Workout: It was my day off! Day off = kitchen time! I know horrible excuse..

- Beth