Holy Moly – this salad was so tasty for dinner this evening. Must admit that I’ve been naughty lately and eating a bit too much acidifying food like bread and coffee, so tonight I treated myself to an alkalizing, beautifying salad that was such a delight to eat!
Here’s the delicious recipe…
Black Velvet Salad
Dressing:
1 1/2 tsp Unpasteurized Red Miso Paste
1 1/2 tsp Raw Organic Almond Butter
1 to 2 Tbsp (or to taste) of Raw Organic Yacon Syrup
2 Tbsp Fresh Squeezed Organic Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Organic Cold-Pressed EVOO
extra 2 Tbsp of Yacon Syrup
Combine the ingredients thoroughly with a fork or whisk. Add a little Celtic Sea Salt or extra Yacon syrup if you desire a dressing that is more salty or sweet. I found that this recipe works well because you are going to drizzle the finished salad with pure Yacon syrup.
For the salad:
Baby Arugula, Spinach, Mixed Greens or other greens suitable for a salad
2 – 3 Tbsp Raw Organic Hulled Hempseeds
Pile the greens on a dinner place and sprinkle with the hempseeds. If you’re serving the salad as a side dish this recipe makes enough for 2 or 3 people. Drizzle the greens with the dressing, then drizzle (try a pretty lattice design) with the extra Yacon Syrup.
This is a delicious and nutritious raw salad. Would also be amazing with grilled lean meat, other nuts, a mix of herbs, avocado, olives, dulse, or anything else you can think of. The Yacon syrup is like a balsamic reduction, and it’s sweetness is very nice with the peppery arugula. So elegant – this salad will really impress your guests or a date
These Black Sapote I bought at Sevananda Co-Op in Little Five Points, Atlanta. They were actually grown at Glaser farms (near Miami, FL). This chocolaty fleshed fruit is F*ing incredible with Cacao! Like, duh! It looks just like it! Did the ancient Aztecs or Mayans breed a custard apple with a cacao bean?
Today one of the most delicious chocolate confections I’ve ever eaten was created.
If you look at my last chocolate pudding recipe, you’ll notice that I added a little Raw Apple Cider Vinegar and miso to achieve the fermented quality of high-quality chocolate. The black sapote, with it’s fruity finish of a Fuji Apple Cider, achieves that affect in and of itself. Wow! You’ve got to try this pudding!
Tropical Chocolate Parfait
Pudding:
Delicious Meat of 3 Black Sapote
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil
3 Tbsp Raw Og. Almond Butter (yes, it’s expensive, but you will use it and absolutely love it!)
1 Tsp Unpasteurized Barley Miso
1/4 – 1/2 cup Og. Grade B Maple Syrup (to taste)
1/3 cup gently melted Cacao Paste by Navitas Naturals
**melt using a double boiler method. This means put a pot of water on the stove, heat until warm but you can still touch your fingers to the water, then remove from the heat. Chop the Cacao paste into chips roughly the size of coffee beans and put into a tea cup. Set the tea cup in the water (water shouldn’t go more than halfway up the sides of the cup) and stir (use a non-metallic utensil like chopsticks) until completely melted.
1 Tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids
Juice of Half a Lemon (about 1 or 2 Tbsp, to taste)
1 Tbsp of Pure Synergy Green Powder (go to Sunfood Nutrition to order this amazing Green Powder!)
1 1/2 Tbsp Raw Og. Cacao Nibs
1/2 cup Filtered luke warm water
Blend in a High Speed Blender like the Vitamix. Enjoy with a garnish of Maple Sugar and Cacao Nibs!
I often feel depleted when I get back from the club and sometimes I’d indulge in dark foods for convenience and pacification. I don’t have to do this anymore, because I know how to nourish and medicate myself in a more balanced and positive way. We can indulge and detoxify and even medicate ourselves with the right foods, any time of day or night. At least, this is what I believe and feel.
Tonight I got home after a great night of dancing at MJQ in Atlanta and made this amazing and simple elixir.
After Clubbing Confetti Elixir!
You do need a high power blender like the Vitamix for this elixir. Do yourself a favor and get one. Go to my Basics and Essentials page go through my affiliate code and get yourself free shipping.
Recipe: (serves 2)
1 Lemon, rind removed and pith intact
1 Sweet Orange, much of pith removed
1 1/2 Tbsp Bee Pollen
” ” Cacao Nibs
” ” Maple Syrup (Grade B)
” ” Coconut Oil
” ” E3Live Renew Powder
Pinch of Celtic Sea Salt
2 pinches of MSM Powder
Dash of Cayenne
Enough Pure Water to Cover
Blend and slow increase speed to highest. Take the speed high and low until the Elixir is totally homogenized and smooth. This is so good and so nourishing. You are going to love it! And your body definitely will!
Seaweed is one of the purest foods anyone has ever experienced. If you ever thought that seaweed was only for the Japanese, think again. Seaweed is the perfect food for anyone and everyone on this planet. We’ve been steered in the wrong direction in the West to think that the FDA or Kraft should be responsible for the bulk of what we eat. I now believe that human beings are innately good, because how else could we have been so gullible and led so far astray? We generally believe that we should trust and the media takes advantage of this. I will tell you right now that the food of the Earth, in all its purest forms, is the only food we would ever truly need. Seaweed is a perfect representation of what I mean.
Perhaps the most delicious and now detrimental foods that most of us love is pasta. So sad that your basic pasta, even if it is whole wheat, basically turns to a moldy, gluey mess in your intestines. Do you love pasta like I do, and miss it on the journey toward great health? Before you go running to Kraft begging them the create a healthy pasta, which is impossible in a laboratory, I urge you to consider your healthy and just-as-delicious alternatives already available care of Mother Earth…
I love Zucchini noodles as an alternative, but even more do I love seaweed! At Planet Raw in Santa Monica, California; you can indulge in the “cheeziest” and creamiest Cheezy Kelp Pasta. Kelp pasta is actually a pale yellow/tan color, much like semolina pasta. Another great alternative is Arame. Let dried Arame soak anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours or more. This delicious and hearty seaweed, when soaked, ends up more “al dente” in texture than the Kelp pasta. The dark color of Arame is reminiscent of Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia (Black Squid Ink Pasta), which I find a pleasing color contrast under a creamy blanket of Cashew Alfredo Sauce and raw crunchy cauliflower. Throw some bright green finely chopped parsley and confetti specks of a ground peppercorn blend on top of that, and you’ve got a glorious banquet of textures and taste sensations!
Amiable Arame Alfredo
*Soak enough Arame so that each diner gets at least half a cup. One package of 1.76 Oz. or 50 Grams will give you about 4 -7 servings.
*Break up enough fresh, raw and organic cauliflower so that each serving of arame is topped with a bit over a 1/4 cup. Make sure the pieces are quite small – about half of what you would consider bite-sized.
To make the sauce, blend the following in your blender/Vitamix…
1 cup of soaked raw cashews, or macadamia nuts
1/4 cup of EVOO
1 Tbsp of Miso (I used the Barley Miso for this and it was knock-out!)
1 small garlic clove, rough chopped
Juice of half a lemon
1 1/2 Tbsp of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1/2 cup of pure water
Few pinches of Celtic Sea Salt to taste (savory is good because nothing else in the dish is salted, but do this to your liking and remember that guests can always add more salt if they like)
To plate…
Place a mound of Arame in the middle of your plate. Press the mound down slightly and top with the cauliflower, like eggs in a bird’s nest. Spoon enough of the creamy sauce onto the top so that it rolls onto the sides. Add chopped herbs like parsley, basil, or dill and only fresh ground pepper.
I love this recipe because it is versatile as a pudding or a smoothie. Most great smoothies are. Pears help keep you regular and they are low in sugar. Use them anywhere you would use apple (in green juice, desserts, etc.) Both Apple and Pears soften easily in a delicious combination of: a dash of apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, a pinch of salt or a dash of Braggs Aminos. Add berries or enjoy with a raw cheesecake, or just toss the marinated morsels in your mouth. So good!
Another delicious snack is sliced pears and avocado tossed in fresh lemon juice. Add a pinch of superior salt like Celtic or Himalayan to really bring out the flavors. Eating simply is the best thing you can do for your body and you’ll truly realize how much you actually do like the taste of unadulterated fruits.
Ooh! Can you see how the coconut oil glistens on this pudding. Eat this midday (around 1 p.m.) and give your liver a great gift!
Chocolate Pear Pudding (serves 2-4)
2 Thai Coconut Meats
Water of 1 Thai Coconut (or all the water if you’re making smoothies)
1 Avocado
1 1/2 Tsp Stevia Leaf Powder (should be green, not white)
1 Dessert Spoon of Raw Chocolate Powder
2 Dessert Spoons of Coconut Oil
3 Tbsp Thick Rich Jacon Syrup (No Glycemic Rating – it’s amazing!)
1 Pear
5-7 Brazil Nuts (soaked for 3 hours – soak 2 cups’ worth and you can make milk!)
Pinch of Salt (Celtic or Himalayan)
Blend all the ingredients in a Vitamix. Pour into a bowl and let chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight and it will be ready for breakfast. Top with goji berries, sprouted and dehydrated buckwheat groats, and drizzle with Jacon. The only sugar is in the coconut water and the pear, but it’s so delicious who cares?? All you have to do is Enjoy!
Visit my Basics and Essentials page to get yourself these ingredients and a Vitamix today!
Life is the space where “things happen.” Beauty is a measure of the balance that can be perceived with the senses. We live in a toxic environment and we must nourish ourselves accordingly. Greens serve to cleanse our bodies and our minds. They are also a great source of protein. The food that has the highest percentage of protein in the world is Spirulina (a green food!). I now value the art of smoothie-making as much as any, especially green smoothies. The Vitamix makes “getting your greens” more enjoyable than ever before.
Ray and I went 10 days on the 14-day Nutritional Fast. I’m really proud of him – this was his first cleanse/fast! Today I decided I’m going to go back on Liquids and complete the Liver flushes (we didn’t complete the final 2 liver flushes). The gall bladder flush that I did really opened my eyes to what is inside of me… and all of us if we don’t cleanse regularly and avoid dead food. I actually didn’t regain the urge to eat solid food and I still haven’t regained it, so this is a strong sign to me that I need to keep going.
Here’s the recipe for the smoothie I had today… Sexy Super Green Smoothie
2 cups of cooled Kava Kava Tea (Yogi Tea)
1 small sweet apple
1-2 cups of Dandelion
2 Tbsp Lucuma Powder
1 Tbsp Mesquite Pod Meal
1 Tbsp Billy’s Infinity Greens, Sun Is Shining, or Pure Synergy
1/2 to 1 Tsp Maca Root Powder (start small if you are new to this food)
1 Tbsp Honey (optional – I used Y.S. Organic Farms Super Enriched Honey)
1/2 Stevia Leaf
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Scoop Sunwarrior Protein
1/2 Tbsp Lecithin
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
This would be a great smoothie for breakfast. You do want to have it earlier in the day. Go to my Basics and Essentials Page for information and links about where you can find these ingredients. And of course, you’ll want to blend this smoothie in a Vitamix Blender.
My favorite addition to smoothies these days is Lucuma, a.k.a. egg fruit. Lucuma powder is produced from the tropical Peruvian fruit that is dried and powdered. It gives a “milkshake” flavor and feel to smoothies. Lucuma actually is a popular ice cream flavor.
Here’s an informative video on Lucuma from Navitas Naturals (a popular brand that you can now find at Whole Foods)…
Green Smoothies are a powerful tool for women. If you want to shape up your body, drink mostly green smoothies for a week to a month. You will feel and look better than ever! They also calm the nerves and balance the mind.
I’m going to leave you with one more Green Smoothie Recipe with Chocolate! Greens and chocolate are great together. The calcium in greens combines synergistically with the magnesium in chocolate to create a nutritiously rich shake to start your day!
Chocolate Green Smoothie for Awakened Doing
1 coconut water + meat
1 scoop Sunwarrior Protein
1 Tbsp Dulse Flakes
1 Tbsp Mesquite
1 Tbsp Cacao Powder
1 Cup of Kale or other greens
1 Tbsp High Quality Oil like Walnut, Stone-crushed Olive, or Coconut
7 Cacao Beans with Skins (remove skins if you don’t have a Vitamix)
1 Tsp Spirulina or Superior Green Powder like Sun Is Shining at Sunfood Nutrition
~1/4 Tsp Fresh Grated Nutmeg
This is a such a delicious salad. The fennel and mint makes it refreshing and elegant. The avocado, wakame seaweed and raw goat milk feta add hearty flavor and texture. If you really want to please someone with a light, but satisfying salad, try this one. Anyone is sure to love it!
Ultimate Land and Sea Goddess Salad
Half a head of Chinese Cabbage, washed and julienned
Half a Fennel Bulb, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp freshly chopped Mint Leaves
1 Apple, halved and sliced
1 Avocado, 1/2 inch dice
2 Tbsp Dulse Flakes
1 Tbsp Powered Kelp (or Bragg’s Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning)
1/3 Cup Soaked Wakame Seaweed
Juice of 1 Lemon
4 Tbsp Walnut Oil (or EVOO)
Raw Goat Milk Feta Crumbles (optional, and to your taste)
Sprinkle of Spirulina (1 to 2 Tsp)
Place the cabbage, apple, avocado, fennel, wakame and mint into a salad bowl. Combine the dulse, kelp, lemon juice, oil with a whisk/fork in a separate bowl, then pour over the salad. Toss gently and thoroughly. Mound the salad up in bowls and top with the Goat Cheese and a sprinkling of spirulina.
Have this delicious salad during the day at a time when you can sit back and relax. You’ll want to chew this salad well.
I’ve been a chocolate-liker all of my life, but it wasn’t until 2007 that I finally became a chocolate-lover as I realized the amazing properties of this heavenly food in its RAW FORM.
Somehow chocolate came to be thought of as a “bad” food, but let me remind you NOT to throw the baby out with the bath water. In this case, the bath water is refined sugar, pasteurized and denatured dairy products, lecithin from genetically modified soybeans (which they don’t have to tell you are GMOs), and that’s just the beginning of the scum you could add to this beautiful food (there’s always something a producer can add to enhance the texture, “taste” or shelf-life). Take that baby and rather than abusing it with extreme heat, pressure, and chemicals eat it as it is, or processed with only the gentlest techniques.
Raw and minimally processed chocolate has been one of the most highly praised and revered foods of all time. Theobroma Cacao, chocolate’s scientific name, means “food of the Gods.” Natives of Mexico and Central and South America used the cacao (or cocoa) seeds as currency. Chocolate was eaten and worshipped all across the world. Some chocolate creations were valued so highly and only available for nobility or royalty. Raw chocolate is full of happy brain chemicals like phenylethylamine, the “love” chemical that causes one to feel attraction, euphoria, and excitement. It also contains magnesium, a calming and balancing mineral of which Westerners are generally dangerously deficient.
Cacao did not become the denatured shell of a food that is today until the end of the 19th century. This is when the cocoa press was developed, and when the Swiss began to add milk to the chocolate. Interesting that chocolate has been so highly revered for so long and now, what most people know of it is nothing of what it has been for so many hundreds and hundreds of years.
It’s always great to have decadent and supremely satisfying raw chocolate treats around. I made a chocolate protein pudding that incorporates maca root powder, another amazing superfood that pairs well with chocolate, and Sun Warrior Protein, a highly assimilable protein that is raw, vegan, GMO-free and delicious. The chocolate, maca, and Sunwarrior protein are all excellent sources of protein making this pudding a meal replacement. Try having a serving of this pudding (the size depending on how hungry you are or how active you’ve been) followed by a nice green salad to feel light and energized with some serious horsepower.
Raw Chocolate Power Pudding
3 avocados
meat of 1 young thai coconut
2 tsp apple cidar vinegar
5 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp maca root powder
2 tsp cold pressed walnut oil
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup raw honey or other sweetener like agave
1 tsp miso
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 scoops Sunwarrior Protein
1/4 cup water, or enough for your preferred consistency
Blend all of the ingredient in a food processor or a Vitamix blender. Once it is smooth and free of lumps, pour the pudding into a glass bowl and chill in a glass bowl for a couple of hours or overnite (the longer the pudding sits, the more it will emulsify and the flavors will mingle and become friends). When the pudding is set, serve with shaved cacao butter and/or goji berries as a garnish and enjoy in the morning or after a workout. You deserve it!
This is a very important skill and before I share a certain salad recipe with you, I must make sure that you are a “conscious” chewer.
Very important… eat in calm and pleasant surroundings. Resist the urge to eat when stressed or rushed, like when you’re driving or when you know you have to be at a meeting in 15 minutes.
With each bite, envision the food in your mouth. See it swirling around your tongue and crushing between your teeth. If it is raw food you’re eating, fully experience the burst of flavors, textures, and sensations from all the different living ingredients. Do this until the food has disappeared from your mind’s eye. Try not to consider your next bite until your mouth and your mind are empty.
okay. Here’s the salad. This recipe can be three different dishes depending on the preparation you choose. If you know you may not be serving the salad to conscious chewers, you may want to turn it into a soup or slaw. Presenting different textures, especially if your aren’t working with many ingredients, is also a great way to add excitement to a meal.
Pear and Avocado Soup, Salad, or Slaw (For best results, all ingredients must be organic and/or raw.) 1 Pear 1 Ripe, but Still Firm, Avocado (about same size or slightly larger than the pear) 4 tbsp Flat Leaf Parsley 2 tbsp Coconut Oil (Gently Melted) 1 tbsp Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar few pinches of Celtic Grey Sea Salt to taste (or other high quality, not dried salt)
For Soup: Blend in a Vitamix. Try to use a softer avocado for the soup. Add a bit of water or coconut water to make it easier to blend. Consider leaving the salting up to your guests. Garnish with a bit more parsley and cayenne pepper if you like.
Here’s what the combination looks like as a salad. Pretty, ain’t it?
For Salad: Chop the pear into bite-size pieces. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and use a spoon to scoop out bits of avocado about the same size as your pear pieces. Roughly chop the parsley. Throw the three ingredients into a bowl. Add the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt. Toss and serve.
For Slaw: (You can serve this as a side dish, with chips or crackers, or in a nori roll with a savory seed/nut pate and greens.) Chop the pear and avocado into small bits, or process gently in a food processor. Finely chop the parsley and combine with the pear and avocado. Finish as you would the salad.
This blog post is for anyone, but especially vegetarians and raw foodists. We seem to get so caught up in all of the different foods available. So many different types of fruit and vegetable, supplements, powders, and herbs. And now we have superfoods. Wow! How much there is to choose!
BUT
I MUST emphasize the importance of the basics. If you don’t provide constant cleansing for your body, you will get all clogged up NO MATTER WHAT YOU’RE EATING. If you are on a raw food diet, or any kind of diet, you must get these two basics every day…
1. CHARGED WATER
2. GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES
You can throw all of your superfoods and herbs down the toilet if you do not incorporate these two massively important elements for any healthy lifestyle.
Human beings are identical to plants, and plants need water. When I say charged water, I mean water with structure or electrolytes. Your body cannot do much with water that does not contain electrolytes, and the water will end up taking from you rather than giving. There are many ways to charge water and I’m certainly no expert, but what I usually do is add a pinch of sea salt and/or a squeeze of lemon.
BEFORE I DO ANYTHING IN THE MORNING (and especially eat anything) I have a nice, big glass of clean water with a pinch of sea salt and about a teaspoon of MSM powder. If you’re new to MSM, you can work your way up by starting with a small pinch. It’s quite bitter so if you’ve passed the taste threshold with it just know that you can use a little less and still get great results. At least every other day I’ll squeeze a lemon into the water. Lemon water is great for providing a burst of vitamins and it’s very alkalizing. Helps keep you alkaline for the rest of the day.
It’s best to drink water on an empty stomach and not within 30 minutes of eating. I believe the general rule about how much water to drink is the number of ounces of your body weight divided by 2. So, someone who weighs 100 lbs should drink about 50 ounces of water a day. The more raw food a person eats, the less water one can drink. David Wolfe says that a raw foodist can divide their body weight by 4 to determine the number of ounces of water to drink each day.
(Daniel Vitalis can tell you much more about water. And trust me, you want to know.)
Now, the GREENS.
Perhaps we’re hearing the word “green” so much that people are beginning to block it out. But I have to say that if you never eat maca, chocolate, or hemp seeds again you’ll be right as rain as long as you get your greens.
Victoria Boutenko breaks it down in this interview for Supreme Master TV. (Watch parts 1 and 2)
The first 4 letters of the word HEALTH is HEAL. Health is the process of continuous healing. CHLOROPHYLL IS ESSENTIAL for healing. We are constantly bombarded with destructive free radicals and toxins, so we need chlorophyll to repair the damage and flush these toxins out.
Greens can be hard to eat, so liquify them. I do have a juicer which I use a few times a week. I’ll use it for a burst of nutrition when I don’t want my body to have to work through the fiber (after a workout or in the morning). Unless I’m fasting, I use the juicer sparingly. It’s also great to blend your greens. A wonderful standard recipe for a green smoothie is…
* 1 cup of seed milk or water * Sweeten with fruit like apple or tropical fruits like durian or mamey. A banana works great if it is an organic, farm fresh banana (I do not recommend giant bananas like Chiquita). You could also add agave nectar or raw honey. * 2 cups of greens (dandelion, kale, chard, collards, broccoli, etc.)
It’s great to add tumeric root, ginger root, and cinnamon to any juice or blended green drink. And always remember to chew everything that goes into your mouth. Chew each sip until you taste the sweetness. The act of chewing stimulates your body systems for proper digestion.
You will notice proper bowel regularity, enhanced mood, and a sweet little figure if you eat/drink your greens. Get at least two servings of greens a day. If you’re on the the run, try a green powder like Pure Synergy Powder for one of your servings.
Once your body is working properly at the basic level, then you can really start having fun with superfoods.
Bio: Can you take control of your thoughts, your health, and your actions to create the life you truly want to live in the body that you are proud to let carry you? I say that you can and I'm ready to help you prove it to yourself. Take that step into the unknown and come to know the real YOU - you won't be disappointed. You are the Greatest, the most perfect creation of which you could ever conceive. Harness that Power NOW, the only time that anything is ever possible, and Become Who You Really Are.
My name is Cat Erickson and after accomplishing the impossible a few times over I'd say that you could certainly do it, too. Enjoy!
