INSPIRATION #5 Thanks and Giving

Thanks and Giving

For this weeks INSPIRATION I wanted to acknowledge you on you health path and the amazing job you are doing in your life in general. Thank You for your awareness and effort towards yourself and your whole well-ness. Take time to Thank or Appreciate yourself. 

Giving may feel like effort when you are empty, tired, and possibly feeling bad about yourself, thinking your not doing enough or any other negative thoughts that can sneak in when we are down. Life can be overwhelming at times (especially during the hustle of the holidays) and in these times we can be less then affectionate towards our self and others. 

STOP: Take a moment to play the Appreciation Game. 

Start by thinking or writing down everything you appreciate and/or do well in your life. 

Example: "I love that I can hear music"

"I love how my hair has a natural curl"

"I love that I woke up and made myself a fruit smoothie"

"I love cuddling up to my children at night and reading to them."

"I love how my husband calls me just to tell me he loves me."

All the sudden you start to feel light and open. Your cup of life fills and giving becomes second nature. 

Thanksgiving Cheeze Ball

By Darlene

2 to 4 cups of 2 combinations of soaked nuts and/or seeds (example: walnuts/sunflower seeds, pecans/cashews, pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds)
Blend nuts in a good blender add a little water at a time until smooth.
Place mixture in a milk bag, cheese cloth or sprout bag and twist tight. Making a cheese press place cheeze mix in bag on top of a strainer turned upside down or a plate turned upside down. Second place a second plate on top of the cheeze bag. Last put a weight on top (a water bottle, or anything heavy and stable). The idea is to press out the water with in the cheeze. Leave cheeze out overnight or at least 8 hours.

Now add any spices, red pepper, onion, jalapeno, parsley, etc to cheeze. For a final touch you can roll in crushed nuts and leave in frig for a while to allow the seasonings to soak in. The cheese ball will taste better with time. I love to serve it with flax crackers or crackers made with flax seeds, almond pulp and salt.

ENJOY and have a Thanks and Giving Day everyday!

Healthy Holiday Raw Treats

"Pumpkin" (Butternut Squash) PIE
By Darlene Navarre
Makes 2 pies

1 butternut squash chopped and the seeds taken out
2 meats of 2 young coconuts
Juice of 2 oranges
1 1/4 cup raisins
1 cup dates
1 TB orange rind
1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tea garam masala spice or pumpkin pie spice
Young Coconut juice or water to blend

Blend in a blender until smooth. Pour into a Crust.

Sweet Crumble Nut Crust
makes 1 pie crust

1 Cup Nuts
1 Cup shredded coconut
6 Dates
1 tea cinnamon
Process in a food processor until processed.
For nut-free topping top with shredded coconut.

Whip Cashew Cream

2 cups cashews or macadamia nuts, soaked for 1/2 to 1 hour
2-3 dates or 2 TB Agave to taste

Blend in a blender until creamy and Top on dessert.
For Nut-Free Whip Cream use dry young coconut meat and very little liquid and blend



RAW CHOCOLATE FONDUE

By Darlene
Make around 2 cups

1Cup of dates
soaked and blended with young coconut water until creamy

Meat of 1 young coconut

4TB Raw chocolate (start with half and increase to taste)

2 TB Raw Carob (start with half and increase to taste)

optional: Agave to taste

¼ Cup coconut oil/butter

Young coconut water to blend

Make sure dates are blended smooth with y. coconut water, add rest of ingredients except coconut oil/butter and blend smooth. Lastly add coconut oil/butter, blend and taste. Consistency should be just thick enough to stick to your fruit. Serve with your favorite fruit, on top of a raw food cheese cake, or freeze it for chocolate bars.
ENJOY

INSPIRATION #4 FIRST FOODS

QUESTION FROM THE AUDIENCE:

"I WANT TO FEED MY BABY FRESH FOODS, WHAT DO I FEED THEM"

I love to help and share. First I will answer from a place of knowledge-information and second from experience, what we learned along the way when feeding our raw children from birth.

What is ALWAYS best for any baby is mothers milk when ever possible and as long as possible (world average child-led weening is 7 yrs). Yes, around 5 month or so babies will start to put everything in their mouths this is how they learn (taste, touch, hear, see, feelings) this does not mean they are ready to sit up and eat. The more you nurse and the more you eat a healthy diet your baby with be getting all the nutrition he/she will need. What I have also learned and experienced is babies develop their taste buds between the ages of 9 to 18 months of age. So what your feeding your baby between these ages will influence their palate for taste, keep in mind breast milk is very sweet and perfect in digestion depending on what the mother is eating. As humans when come into this world we are born with a knowing how to suckle for nursing (if at all possible) this is our natural instinct. As we grow and begin to get teeth we also develop skills of chopping or up and down chewing motion. For what I have observed this chewing motion develops after 1 year.

My grandson is 9 months and my daughter is choosing to start him on other foods. One day as I was feeding him banana ice cream I observed that when I put the food in his mouth he was confused at first then he started to suckle not chop or chew. When Mitchel and Carter, our 8 and 6 year old, we babies they did not really start on any foods until 14 to 18 months of age, as their chopping/chewing skills become developed and they had more and more teeth to chew with. Perhaps a little banana or avocado here and there and mostly both their diets consisted of mothers milk for at least 18 months. I feel because we fed these little men green smoothies and all fresh foods during the first 9 to 18 months of their life, now that they are older they still love and want to continue eating their living/raw food diet (and we take life a day at a time).

Now you have information about to answer the question:
For first foods I recommend starting with SOFT SWEET FRESH FOODS:
bananas, avocado, mango, green smoothies, watermelon (in very tiny pieces), young coconuts.
I would wait until at least until 2 years of age to start them on any citrus, berries, or nuts. Even though they are fresh they can be harder on a growing digestion.

Ultimately you are the parent and what we have found to be most important and influential is what your eating. Your little one will see what you, as parents, are eating and that will be the biggest influence in their lives.

If you are a parent of older children and you would love them to eat healthier and they are not wanting that for themselves now, I recommend you keep on inspiring them with your actions and perhaps some new stories and inspiring information to help them come to a decision on their own. Their current palate may be accustomed to what they are eating now. Later it may change, I was raised on a very SAD (Standard American Diet) with maybe 10% fresh in my growing years and NOW I am and have been eating 100% live vegan foods for 5 years because I made the decision. We are all changing and growing I know with a little faith, understanding, love and inspiration anything is possible.

I was able to inspire our whole family of 7 including 5 children (ages 12, 10, 6, 2. and baby) and husband to eat a 100% living/raw diet for 4 years. It took 1 year of integrating more and more delicious living foods in our lifestyle along with compassion, understanding and story telling and it was all worth it. Even though the 3 older children make different choices now they still have a fresh living foods foundation of knowledge they may choose someday. Still I hear comments like "those were the best times" "mom, you make the best raw foods" "mom we only like the foods you make" "mom, now that I am gone I miss all the fruits and vegetables we use to eat".

Our Babies Favorite Food:

Grinch Pudding:

3 Bananas
1 handful spinach
1/4 avocado

Blend and Enjoy!


Life is for fun enjoy the journey!!

Fresh Living News November 2008

FRESH LIVING NEWS

1. Live/Raw Food Demo at Whole Foods Market in Las Vegas, NV

For those of you close or living in Las Vegas, NV I am currently working with Whole Foods Market to bring weekly live food demo's to those interested in quick fun DELICIOUS recipes in minutes. The first demo will be Sunday November 23 from 11am to 3pm pst. If you are unable to attend I will have a quick video available here for you too along with the recipes I will be demonstrating.


2. New books coming soon

I, Darlene (fruity green momma) have been writing 3 children's books which include, living foods, peaceful parenting, cooperation, problem solving and more. I have hired children artists to create the pictures as soon as they are available you will know.

I am currently also writing a book entitled "Leaning into a Living Foods Lifestyle" complete with more of Our Fruity Green INSPIRATIONS and simple recipes for adding more and more whole fresh living fruits and veggies into your life and/or for going all the way into a whole fresh living foods lifestyle.

3. Vita Mix to purchase on Site

In our experience a Vita Mix (blenders) is a wonderful living foods prep tool and can assist you in creating many living foods recipes and daily green smoothies! It makes everything from frozen fruit ice cream, soups, dressings, dips, to breaking up greens in smoothies for the best nutritional absorption (We use ours personally at least 20 times or more a day). Soon you will be able to currently working with the Vita Mix company to have them available to purchase right from this site and shipped straight to your door. YEA!!!

4. INSPIRATIONAL Living Foods Family Videos

We love seeing how to do things so our family has decided to add a fun short Fruity Green Family Video every month with the amazing Darlene (fruity green mother) and many times even with fruity green kids of all ages creating fun foods. Check out our monthly videos for fun and INSPIRATION to help get more fresh into your life.

5. From You

Please feel free to email for questions or ideas you would like to see within this blog. We are also students and love to be inspired from you! fruitandvegfamily@yahoo.com

THANKS AND HAVE A LOVING LIVE DAY!

INSPIRATION #3 COMPLETE WELL-NESS

FINDING THE GOOD IN ALL

WELL-NESS Thinking and Eating!

I believe every situation no matter how wrong or bad it may seem at the moment always has good within it. My father was very ill during my youth and died at 50 years. He was in pain most of the time and seemed angry. In the past I would look back on my memories of him and in my perspective he was short tempered and unhappy. Now with my new perspective and new found appreciation for the contrast my father showed me, when I started getting similar symptoms of illness I intentionally decided I would choose health and happiness over pain and agony. I set out intentions to seek and find health and happiness, I choose to eat differently and make a conscious effort to see WELL-NESS in LIFE everyday! My attention switched from a negative past in pain to focusing my attention on the good in it. I began to remember my fathers wonderful talents in computers and many other memories when he taught me to cook surfaced. The memory shifted and I physically felt better inside and out.

I have found eating a living foods life style is a fun way to bring out the creative side in yourself. I love the challenge of taking an unhealthy recipe I once loved and turning it into a new amazing healthy recipe.

I have wonderful memories of my grandfathers homemade apple pie so during the fall I love to make my version of fresh live apple pie!


Past Apple Pie:



INGREDIENTS

1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
5 cups apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons butter


Presently Healthy Apple Pie (raw/live)

INGREDIENTS

9 inch Pie Crust:

1 Cups of nuts (your favorite)

1 Cup of shredded coconut or for a nut-free crust 2 cups of coconut and leave out the nuts

1/2 cup dates

a touch of cinnamon or 1 TB carob (gives it a delightful extra flavor)

Chop in a food processor until crumble consistancy

Press into a glass pie dish saving 1/4 cup for top

Apple Filling:

5 cups apples, peeled and cored (reserve 1 cup for the blender) slice the rest

1/2 cup dates (or to taste)

(I love to replace sugar with dates especially in the pie toping it thickens it.)

1/4-3/4 teaspoon cinnamon or more to taste

Pinch of nutmeg

(I always start with less seasoning and add more, when heat is applied to food it cooks out some of the seasoning)

1/4 cup raisins

(I think raisins go well with apples and brings another "sugar" taste)

1 TB orange juice

(OJ keeps the apples from discoloring)

Place 1 cup of apples, raisins, dates, cinnamon, nutmeg and OJ in a blender (I recommend a Vita Mix if you have one). Blend until smooth and taste. Very important to taste for the 5 major tastes for a totally delicious balanced taste (sweet-dates and raisins, sour-apples and OJ, salty-this taste is less in an apple pie and would be in the apples, spicy-cinnamon, bitter-apples).

Pour blended mix over sliced apples and let side out for the day (I like to warm the pie mix in the sun or in a dehydrator on 100 degrees for 2 hours or so). Put pie crust in fridge for 1 hour after making. Right before serving pie put the apple mix into crust and top with 1/4 cup of pie crumbles. I love to serve with frozen banana Ice Cream or homemade Vanilla Almond Ice Cream (recipes in INSPIRATION future).

Get out those unhealthy heated recipes and use your imagination!

Enjoy Your Health Apple Pie best served with MANY FRIENDS and LOVED ONES!!!!

INSPIRATION #2- STEPPING INTO A NEW LIFESTYLE

LEANING INTO YOUR LIVING FOOD LIFESTYLE EXPERIENCE:

SAYING GOODBYE TO AN UNHEALTHY FRIEND AND HELLO TO COCO-NUTS

20 years ago I hung around a group of friends whom I had a great time with. We surfed on the roof of cars, stayed up all hours of the night, and did as many daring things that we could think up. It was fun for the time and 10 years later I would hear from many of those friends and they were still doing many of the same things and asking me to come along. I was a mom and shopping with 3 kids was as daring as my world was anymore. Without judgement on those friends I simply just said a final no thank you and "good-bye" to them. I still smile when I remember the crazy fun times I had with them and I know that is not apart of my present moments.

I left the friendship with in a peaceful way and kept my happy memories in my heart and mind!

This is how I decided to approach the inevitable FOOD CRAVINGS!

I used to love french fries and for years I would give in and eat them. After I ate them I would feel sick. One day I decided to stop and take a moment to think of the french fries and my modivation to eat them even though I would always feel sick after??? I remembered the fun times going out with family and friends and my french fry friends were always there. I decided to think of them as friends that were no longer fitting into my healthy lifestyle without judgement or angst, just a simple "good-bye" and thank you for all the fun times I had with you. All the sudden not eating those french fries did not feel like deprivation I felt light and easy about not eating them.

A NEW recipe to create and make NEW memories!

Coconut Creme Pie

3 Young coconuts, opened and the juice reserved and meat taken out. (Thai or Young coconuts are white husked and can be found in Asian markets)

1/4-1/2 cup dates, pitted

1 very ripe banana

Blend the inside of the meat with the dates, and banana using the coconut water until think and smooth. I love slicing bananas like a crust in the bottom of a glass pie dish and then pouring half of the custard on top of the sliced bananas and then slicing more bananas in the middle placing the rest of the custard on top. You can then top your pie with shredded coconut or berries, get creative and enjoy creating those new memories!!

Inspiration #1- Start your day with a Sweet and Smooth YYYY!

#1 INSPIRATION: start your day with a sweet YYYY!

Awake and Inspire you taste buds by starting your day with a sweet SMOOTHie and throw in a few green leaves (spinach, kale, Romain, or any other delicious greens) like blooming green trees in the Spring they complete your day.

Start with 4 sweet spotted organic banana's

1/2 cup organic blueberries (frozen are fine, due to season) or any other berries or

fruits you or your family enjoys

1-2 celery sticks or handful of spinach

blend with a bit of water and a few ice cubes

YYY: YummY to Your tummY!

Welcome- Inspiration Ahead!

Welcome to the first of many post’s and INSPIRATIONS on living a lifestyle eating fresh raw living fruits, vegetables, and greens or for just adding more fresh uncooked fruits, veggies, and greens into your world and perhaps your families world in a easy loving way. Please remember how long it took your home to be built and even your body took 9 months to fully grow and develop so be kind to yourself.
Let it start with the idea, “I would love to eat live, fresh foods!” Second your brain starts to think "how", "do I have time, money", the list of thoughts might become overwhelming. Of course we all want to eat more fresh tasty foods and eating live foods can be fun, quick and delicious all at the same time. YES, you can have it all! Lets start slow one moment at a time one thought at a time.
Lets start NOW, living in the moment.

AWAKE INSPIRATION: There are many POSSIBILITIES in beginning the day fresh. Your body has been fasting all night so start in the morning relax sink into your health give yourself a sweet fresh fruit treat for breakfast and then allow the rest of the day to be. Live in your moment and the rest will work itself out perfectly…..