Craving Soft Serve Ice Cream

Today my daughter and I were craving something filling and decadent.  I found a recipe posted on Raw Food Recipes for Birthday Breakfast Banana Split.  One of the items in the banana split is an Almond Butter Ginger Cookie (raw of course) . They are delicious in the ice cream or standing alone as a power snack.  Together my daughter and I assembled and made this recipe in less 15 mins... .  She made the chocolate cashew sauce while I made the cookies & ice cream...I added sliced strawberries & blackberries to them.

Follow this link for a picture and recipe or for a quick soft serve try this:

Cacao Nib Soft Serve

2 frozen bananas

fresh raw almond milk(only use enough to make it blend-able)

vanilla

small handful of cacao nibs

Blend  bananas and almond milk in Vita-Mix or food processor until smooth then add nibs

serve as is or place in freezer to eat later

Okra Corn Salad

This week in our CSA share we received OKRA.


Many of us have only heard of deep fried okra but there are many other ways to use okra.   Usually I dry mine in the dehydrator to use in minestrone soup during the winter.
This week I decided to try it RAW and I was pleasantly surprised.  I received sweet corn from one of my CSA shares so I thought I'd sweeten the okra up a bit by adding the corn to it and here is what I came up with.

Okra Corn Salad

1-2 cups of tender okra sliced in 1/2 inch rounds
2 ears of sweet corn cut from cob
1 tomato diced
1 small sweet bell pepper diced
1 small onion diced
small handful of cilantro
lime juice
dash of sea salt (optional)

Mix together and marinate.

This salad is delightfully refreshing and delicious!  
I have a picture I hope to post later.


Here is a little nutritional info on Okra and a recipe.
This link has an enormous amount of recipes but I cannot recommend that they are healthy...but you can get some idea's and modify to make them low fat and healthy.  You can also find health benefits of eating this unusual vegetable.

I have found OKRA to be a very beneficial food to add for good digestive health.

other ideas~


*add to stir fry
*add to soups
*dehydrate and add as a crunchy salad topping (season to taste before drying)
*add to (raw) green salads 
*add to smoothies

Zucchini Chips and Beet Salad

For several weeks we have been receiving beets & zucchini in our CSA boxes.  God has surely blessed us with abundance even in this dry weather.

Many of you may not be sure what to do with all of the extra's you cannot consume.

Here are a few idea's from my side of the kitchen. 

*make the recipes below

*shred and freeze your zucchini for later use

*slice and dehydrate to add to soups this winter (zuch. is great in minestrone)

*add 1/4-1/2 of a beet to 2 quarts of smoothie

*add a 1/2 of a medium or 1 small zucchini to your morning smoothie (they are very bland so you do not really taste them.  Don't peel them..just cut off the stem stub

*cut zucchini in chunks and freeze to add to smoothies later.

*add zucchini when juicing...thanks go to my friend Teri Hawkins-Fox of Natural Rejuvenation for this idea that she shared with me a few years ago.


*make zucchini noodles with a spiralizer or potato peeler...add fresh pesto or marinara


*add beets when juicing...just be cautious as they are very detoxifying. Start with a small amount, ex. 1/4  beet per quart.  


*add to stir fry or lightly steam 


*share your extra's with a neighbor, friend or co-worker & give them a recipe card so they know what to do with them

 
                                                BEET SALAD

2 bunches of red beets~shredded

5-10 garlic cloves

( used 10 because they were not very big)

1/4 to 1/3c. of extra virgin olive oil

1/4-1/3 c. of 100% pure lemon juice

(no preservatives-look in the health section at Kroger)

Himalayn Salt or sea salt/real salt to taste

clove powder~taste often as this is very strong (optional)

Mix together and let marinate for a little while..if you can wait, if not~ it is still delcious.

Save the beet tops ~wash and drain~ and shred them~layered on a plate and top with the beet salad

sometimes I add dulse flakes and/or raw sunflower seeds

Click here for the health benefits of beets

I have found that consuming RAW beets daily in addition with adequate amounts of high water content fruits and veggies ,and sufficient filtered drinking water keep my digestion in optimal condition.

What works for me is to have at least 2-4 Tablespoons with each meal.  Sometimes I eat more, because they are sooo good.

  

 ZUCCHINI CHIPS

2 Zuchinni's , sliced thin with peeler or mandolin
Olive oil or coconut oil spray  ( I found a  refillable pump spray bottle at one of the discount stores) 
1 teaspoon Crushed garlic
1 teaspoon Sea Salt (optional.  I do not use this if I am using Mrs. Dash)
½ teaspoon paprika or any of Mrs. Dash's seasonings.  I especially like the Southwest Chipotle from Mrs. Dash

Slice zucchini into strips or rounds and place in a bowl and lightly spray with olive or coconut oil and add crushed garlic and mix & marinate for about 10 minutes.  Spread the mixture out on a dehydrator tray and sprinkle with seasonings of choice. Remember that the flavor will intensify since you are dehydrating. Dehydrate on around 105 for about 8 hours or so.

You could also dry these on very low temperature in the oven.

To your health~
Kathy

Watermelon Ginger Juice

It is HOT here in the Midwest.  We have been enjoying temperatures in the upper 90's & 100's.
I am about to make some Watermelon Ginger Juice and thought you might enjoy making some of your own.
This juice will help to keep you hydrated and the ginger helps with inflammation & digestion.


A few weeks ago I  messed up the plug in for my memory card on the computer so I have not been able to post any pictures of the great recipes I have been making with the produce from my CSA.
I hope to get back to posting some of my own pictures again soon....until then I'll re-post some old pic's and some helpful video's.