RAW CHOCOLATE CHERRY TART

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Raw Food Packaging Celebrates Earth Day

As I celebrate Earth Day, I think about how easy it is to help the planet by eating whole foods aka raw foods. It’s simple, healthy, compostable and does a complete transition from beginning to end though their own renewable growth.

I wanted you to see this video from Sun Chips to encourage you raw business owners to look at your packaging. No, Sun Chips aren’t raw, but they are trying to set a good example of how a mass produced product can have earth friendly packaging. Your raw company can be environmentally responsible and keep you in integrity with creating your raw product. Simplicity is the key to a raw lifestyle and leaving a burden on the planet is not something I want to support, so from now on when I shop for raw food products, you bet I’ll be checking the packaging to see if it has the ability to be compostable.

I recommend as consumers that we encourage all companies to use these practices. I know it may not be cost effective for the small raw startup, but be mindful of the cradle to cradle practice and strive for excellence as we celebrate our planet.

Peace,

Rawma

 

Sprouting Seeds

There are many different seeds you can sprout. Pick the ones you love and begin to play with your living food. The health benefits are tremendous when you eat sprouts of all kinds. I like to sprout sunflower seeds and lentils. After drying them out, I sprinkle with my favorite seasoning so I can snack on them throughout the day.

Directions to Sprout Sunflower Seeds
Here are the basic steps to sprout sunflower seeds.

Purchase sunflower seeds for sprouting: To make sunflower seed sprouts, you must start with organic, hulled sunflower seeds. The kind you can buy at the grocery store are usually roasted and salted or at the least, just roasted, which kills the enzymes inside the sprout, making them unable to grow. There are plenty of sources for sunflower seeds: Health food stores, grocery chains such as Whole Foods Markets and Fresh Fields, and online sources such as Sprout People.
Cull the bad seeds: After purchasing the seeds, go through the seeds and remove any that are discolored or look funny. Rinse the seeds under cool water. It may be helpful to place the seeds in a fine mesh strainer, rinse, then pour them into your bowl or sprouting jar.
Find a sprouting bowl or jar: Sunflower seeds sprouts can be sprouted in a plain ceramic or glass bowl, or you can use a Mason jar or sprouting jar. Because they soak rather than sprout, you will only need to keep them in water for a few hours before they’re ready to eat.
Pour about 1 cup of seeds into the bowl. If you think that will make too much for you to eat, reduce the amounts but keep the proportion of 1 to 3 (1 portion of seeds to 3 portions of water).
Add 3 cups of cool water.
Soak for two hours.
Drain the water.
Rinse with cool water
Enjoy…they’re ready to eat!
Sunflower seed sprouts should never develop leaves or roots. Look for sprouts that just have a bit peeking out from the seeds. That’s a sign of a good, wholesome, nutritious sprout.

Storage
If you must, you can store sunflower seed sprouts for a few days but they don’t store well. The secret to longer storage is to pat them dry and store them in a cool spot in the fridge. Cover the glass bowl or jar or pour the sprouts into a plastic bag to store them.

Enjoy!

 

30 Day Raw Challenge Update

Well, this is day 6 of my 30 days at high raw of 100%.

I’m feeling great and my digestion is getting better too. Yesterday I was really tired. That was a combination of lack of sleep and detoxing I’ve been enjoying a wide array of raw dishes and trying new recipies each day.

I can’t wait to test what’s in the dehydrator as I plan my week ahead. There are so many great dishes to make. If you have one you’d like to submit, I will post it on RawMa’s Blog

~RawMa

 

Chia Seeds

Chia Seeds are becoming very popular in the Raw food World. Rightfully so, this wonderful little seed has an abundance of nutrients, yet has been neglected by mainstream for years…with the exception of the Chia Pet. I always wanted one of those. Now after eating Chia seeds, I see how they stick to the surface. This is a huge benefit for our digestive system.

Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds. And it has another advantage over flax: chia is so rich in antioxidants that the seeds don’t deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid. And, unlike flax, they do not have to be ground to make their nutrients available to the body. Chia seeds also provide fiber (25 grams give you 6.9 grams of fiber) as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.

Another advantage: when added to water and allowed to sit for 30 minutes, chia forms a gel. Researchers suggest that this reaction also takes place in the stomach, slowing the process by which digestive enzymes break down carbohydrates and convert them into sugar.

 

Raw Protein

If you’ve begun a Raw Food/Living Food lifestyle, it’s normal to get excited about the way you are feeling as your body starts to change. When you become excited, of course you want to share your experience with others. If you’re a vegitarian as well, I have not doubt that nearly all of you have been asked “where do you get your protein?” I’ve heard this question over and over. In the beginning, I just said, I eat a lot of spinach, and it’s in my nuts and seeds, which it is. This “burning” question put me on a quest for a balaced protein that is easily digestable. I almost forgot about this one, but I found it in the back of my cupboard and suprisingly I haven’t opened this box since I went Raw.

My personal top two favorites for getting adequate protein are Hemp Nut Seeds and Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah). The Hemp Nut seeds can be found in health food stores, Whole Foods, Lassens, etc. They are extremely versatile to the Raw Food way of life.

In addition to my number one choice, the lesser known runner up Quinoa is an ancient food that has been cultivated in South American Andes since at least 3,000 B.C. and has been a staple food of millions of native inhabitants.

 The quinoa seed is high in protein, calcium and iron, a relatively good source of vitamin E and several of the B vitamins. It contains an almost perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids needed for tissue development in humans. It is exceptionally high in lysine, cystine and methionine-amino acids typically low in other grains.

 The protein in quinoa is considered to be a complete protein due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids. Some types of wheat come close to matching quinoa’s protein content, but grains such as barley, corn, and rice generally have less than half the protein of quinoa.

To easily add this back into my Raw world, I began rinsing, soaking and sprouting the tiny seeds. They can be tossed on salads, eaten with veggies, or added to a smoothie. Yes, that’s what I said. One the mornings that I’m in a hurry, I add everything to my smoothie. Of course I don’t add a lot of Quinoa because I don’t want a thick smoothie, but you get the point.

Keep it simple and keep it fast so you can get on with your day and stop stressing out. Living, Raw protein works very well for me and it will work for you too. So tell me…where do you get your protein?

 

RawUnion

Please join us at RawUnion this Saturday & Sunday visit www.rawunion.wordpress.com for more information.

 Angel’s Organic Farm in Central Point, Oregon, 20 minutes north of Ashland, hosts the first RawUnion Festival, an Eco Dream Fest celebrating divine love and living foods, June 20 and 21. Featuring the wedding of world–renowned raw food advocates Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes on Summer Solstice Sunday, June 21st, the weekend includes musicians from Los Angeles, San Francisco and parts of Oregon. This passionate pair are throwing the doors open to all and have extended their ‘special day’ into a whole weekend festival celebrating raw food, eco–living, permaculture, healing and divine union. The event has been named ‘Raw Union,’ and the young couple will be wed by another prominent raw food speaker, David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe, who is also an Essene Minister.