~ Quote of the Day ~

“... life is moral responsibility. Life is several other things, we do not deny. It is beauty, it is joy, it is tragedy, it is comedy, it is psychical and physical pleasure, it is the interplay of a thousand rude or delicate motions and emotions, it is the grimmest and the merriest motley of phantasmagoria that could appeal to the gravest or the maddest brush ever put to palette; but it is steadily and sturdily and always moral responsibility.” ~ Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

~ Quote of the Day ~

People think a soulmate is your perfect fit& that's what everyone wants. A true soulmate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down walls and smack you awake. A soulmate's purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, break your heart open so new light can get in,make you so out of control that you have to transform your life.

-Elizabeth Gilbert.

My outlook on life...

Life is so much fun....life is what you make it..... life is constantly changing...Life is Life...Life IS.

~ Quote of the Day ~

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson from his "Self Reliance" Essay, Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century

~ Quote of the Day ~

"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being."
— Hafiz

Gluten-free Potato Veggie Egg PIE

This is a complete cooked comfort meal and very filling and satisfying. Simple and practical, a savory pie your family will love!

Crust:

Grate about 2-3 well scrubbed medium sized potatoes with skin on. Put in strainer and with your hands squeeze all excess liquid from the potatoes and discard liquid.

Add 1 large beaten organic range free local egg, 1/2 cup of chopped brown onion, 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, and salt & pepper to taste. Mix well and hand press into an oiled clear glass pie pan, saving a good handful of potato mixture on the side. Place into hot oven of 350f for about 40 minutes or until potatoes start to brown a little. Then take out of oven and add a layer of cheese, then the egg and veggie mix then another layer of cheese then the remaining grated potato mix.

Place into oven for about 45 minutes or until everything is light brown on top.

Filling:

about 2 cups Grated organic Cheese of your choice. - OR - Nutritional Yeast for the Vegans

4 large organic, range free, local eggs from happy chickens

Add fresh or dried herbs of your choice. I put fresh rosemary, thyme, and dried oregano into this one. 

Chop an array of in season veggies like zucchini, onion, broccoli, heirloom tomatoes. Salt and Pepper to taste. I also added a tiny bit of fresh hot chili to give it a little kick. 

Note: the pie in the photo is half with cheese and the other half vegan, using nutritional yeast in place of cheese. Its a great way to compromise with someone with different eating preferences and still both enjoy!

Traditional Hommus

This is a great one to make for guests or parties. It is also very cost efficient and simple to make. You can start by soaking Garbanzo beans for about 10 hours, then leaving them to sprout in a strainer for about 8 hours, rinsing them every hour or two. Then you cook them, boil them in water until soft and starchy. Its important to soak and rinse and sprout. The more you rinse your beans the less gas will occur, as  you will wash away the acid on beans that cause flatulence. And when you sprout them you are bringing the digestive enzymes alive in the beans making them allot easier to digest. And never, ever add salt to the water to which you boil your beans or else you will have very tough and chewy beans. So, when boiling any bean, boil in water and water only, adding salt at the very end after all the spices, etc. Also, reserve the water liquid used to boil beans and add that to the hommus mixture if too dry.

Then you always have the easy route, a can of beans!

2 cups cooked Garbanzo Beans
1/2 cup Tahini
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of one Lemon
1 teaspoon salt (or more for taste)
1/4th teaspoon Cumin Powder

Garnish with lots of Olive Oil, cumin powder, Sumack or Paprika, fresh parsley and Kalamata Olives.

Enjoy!

Gluten-free, Vegan Macaroni & Cheese

Yummmmm! This is childhood comfort food at its best, and healthiest! You can add whichever veggies you'd like or make it super simple and put none at all. This recipe I added sliced kale which pares nicely! KIDS LOVE THIS!

You will first need to buy a bag of Brown Rice Pasta, available at any health food store or Trader Joes.

Boil 2 cups of brown rice pasta in water, adding a few pinches of salt and a dash of olive oil. Boil for the amount of time stated on package or until soft and cooked. Drain out about half of the liquid leaving about 3/4 cup of liquid in the pasta. In the pan while very hot, off the heat, add 1/3 cup of Nutritional Yeast, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (or more if needed), 1/4 teaspoon Smoked Paprika, 1 teaspoon sea salt. Stir together  until creamy sauce develops. Throw in cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced kale, stir gently and serve with freshly ground black pepper on top and Arugula Lemon salad on the side.

Note: Using the water liquid as part of the sauce is very important. If you accidentally drain all the water from the noodles by habit, then add lots of olive oil and some unsweetend almond or rice milk to make creamy.

Raw Vegan "cheezzy" Kale Chips

This is one of my favorites... I always end up eating the whole batch within hours after pulling out of the dehydrator as its so very addictive! Very simple and easy to make. You will need a food processor and a food dehydrator. I have heard of my friends making these kale chips on the lowest temperature in their regular oven. The oven method works, and is allot faster, the only downfall is that most ovens lowest temperature is about 200 degrees, therefore the kale chip is no longer raw using this method. Anything below 118F is considered raw and abundant in vital nutrients and enzymes.

For 2 bunches of Kale,

Throw into your food processor the following:

2 cups of sprouted Sunflower seeds

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

Juice if one small Lemon

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Water

3/4 teaspoon salt

Pour mixture over raw kale and massage into kale with your hands. Evenly distributing the mixture over each kale leaf. Lay each leaf onto the dehydrator and dehydrate at 110f-115f for about 15 hours(more or less). You will know when they are done when they are completely dry and crispy.

Everything, Every time, Everyone....

"Everything you take for granted is a blessing. Everything you fear is a friend in disguise. Everything you want is a part of you. Everything you hate you hate about yourself. Everything you own does not define you. Everything you feel is the only Truth there is to know.

Everything you wish for is already on its way to you. Everything you think creates your life. Everything you seek for you will find. Everything you resist will stick around. Everything you let go of stays if it's supposed to. Everything you need is right where you are.

Every time you bless another your bless yourself. Every time you blame another you lose your power. Every time you think you can, you can. Every time you fall you must get up and try again. Every time you cry you're one tear closer to joy. Every time you ask for forgiveness, all you have to do is forgive yourself.

Everyone you see is your reflection. Everyone you know mirrors you. Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone wants to live in joy. Everyone seeks a higher purpose. Everyone breathes the same breath. Everyone needs love to survive. Everyone has a purpose to fulfill.

Everyone's the same as everyone else. We just get caught up in labels, names, skin color and religion. Everyone's the same as everyone else. No one wants to feel the pain. Everyone's the same as everyone else. Everyone is dying for love to remain."

- Jackson Kiddard, author and polymath.

Raw Energizing Granola

I love Granola with freshly made Hemp or Almond Milk and fresh fruit. This recipe is truly energizing with cacao, maca, Yerba mate and chia seeds! Its super delicious too!

Wet:
2 Tablespoons of Chia Seeds soaked in 4 Tablespoons of water
1 cup sprouted Sunflower Seeds
1 Apple, diced
1 Tablespoon Yerba Mate
2 Tablespoon Apple Juice
1/3 + 1/3 Raw Agave

Dry:
2 Cups of Oats
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract (add this to the above Chia seed mixture)
1/3 Cup Cacao Nibs
1 Tablespoon Maca Powder
1/2 Cup Currants
1 teaspoon Raw Vanilla Powder
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
5 cloves crushed with finger tips, discard the stems
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder

Mix all the wet and dry ingredients separately. Then mix all together very well. Spread on dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 10-12 hours until crispy. I store my granola in airtight mason jars.

Raw Sprouted Vegan Cheesy Sea Salt and Vinegar Sunflower Seeds

These are so good and so simple.... only 4 ingredients! A great snack when on the go!

First you must soak the sunflower seeds. Soak for at least 5 hours, then sprout for another minimum of 5 hours. Especially important to make seeds more easily digestible and soaking and then sprouting brings out all the active digestive enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Then we coat them in some wet yumminess and put them in the dehydrator to make them crunchy and crispy!

1 1/2 Cups Sprouted Sunflower Seeds
1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of high quality Sea Salt
1/2 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of Nutritional Yeast

Mix all together and spread on dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 8 hours or until crispy.

Sunflower Seeds:

A handful of sunflower seeds will take care of your hunger, while also enhancing your health by supplying significant amounts of vitamin E, magnesium and selenium.


the following link shares allot of valuable info about Sunflower Seeds
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=57

Dill Pickles and Tahini ~ Silly but true...

Yes, its one of my favorite combinations!! Come one.....go ahead and try it! So simple, you just grab it from the fridge and eat! Read below and learn how healthy it is for your body!

Pickles:


Dill Pickles are low in calories and fat and high in in dietary fiber and Vitamin K.

• One cup of kosher dill pickles will give you 2 g of dietary fiber. This is 6 percent of your daily recommended amount of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber is good for regularity in the digestive system.

  Kosher dill pickles are a great way to get your daily recommended amount of vitamin K. One serving has 70 percent of your recommended amount of vitamin K. Vitamin K helps to protect the body against osteoporosis.

  
  

  Tahini:

  
  

  Tahini paste is made from crushed sesame seeds and has quite a nutty taste.

  Hulled tahini does not grind the whole sesame seed and because of this it does not contain as much calcium, protein and vitamins as unhulled. Unhulled tahini is made from the whole sesame seed and it the most nutritionally packed type of tahini. Hulled tahini is not as bitter tasting as the unhulled type.

  Raw tahini contains more nutrients than roasted tahini.

  Tahini is a source of calcium, protein and B vitamins. Tahini is a good source of essential fatty acids (EFA), these EFA's are used in helping to maintain healthy skin.

  Tahini is rich in many different vitamins and minerals, but it is particularly full of different B vitamins. In specific, the B vitamins found in tahini include B2, B1, B15, B3 and B5. Each of these vitamins is an important part of the B complex of vitamins. The B complex is necessary for a variety of important bodily functions and processes. Specifically, these vitamins help to promote healthy cell growth and splitting, including for the red blood cells. Having strong red blood cells prevents anemia and many other potentially dangerous conditions. B vitamins are also helpful in regenerating certain parts of your body after injury, and they can aid in the recuperation process and even cut down in the recovery time after certain setbacks.

  A single serving of tahini contains about one third of your necessary daily dose of calcium, and it is much easier for your body to digest than milk.

  Tahini is a source of vitamin E which helps to reduce the rate of ageing in body cells.

  Sesame seeds are also a good source of the amino acid Methionine. Methionine is an important contributor to liver detoxification and helps with the absorption of other amino acids.

  
  

  
  

I love to eat...I love to nurture...and this is why Im here...

I am here to inspire YOU! To remind you that you can eat the most delectable food and lots of it too! Feel great, look great, be your best! I am here to support you and to give you advice on life, love and FOOD! I am here to remind you of the universal laws that we all know but often forget. I am here to love, to nurture and to eat! Please join me and the rest of us in this beautiful mystery we call life........it only gets better and better every moment!