juice fast: day 5

you cannot deny the refreshing nature of this juice. the peppermint pairs surprisingly well with beets; the fresh personality of the mint compliments the earthy tones of the beets perfectly. make sure to serve this with ice and in cute little glasses - it makes it taste better.

sweet beet peppermint juice: makes three cups

large handful of fresh mint leaves
3 apples
1 orange
1 red bell pepper
1/2 cucumber
4 beets
2 carrots

prep the fruits and roots - juice 'em and drink! mmm...

some sad news: my partner in juice fasting decided to go back to solid food today... i am alone once again. i guess doing the rest of this by myself will make me stronger? i don't know. i was really enjoying doing it with someone else. you both can share how you're feeling, mentally and physically. it's great and i really recommend it for anyone wanting to fast. unless you adore solidarity and isolation. 

okay... i do. but it's still hard to fast alone. 

nevertheless - feeling okay today, better than this morning. oh, and i have some GOODS NEWS too: i am buying a new camera today! excellent deal on craigslist (bless you, internet deities). i am so excited about this since it's been quite irritating dealing with the little auto point-and-shoot camera since my good one was stolen (curse you, vancouver island thieves!) PLUS this camera is even better than my previous one. 

i will be busy the rest of the day; having a bath, buying that camera, making more juice, and helping my boyfriend settle more into his new apartment. (i had some strained miso soup today, by the way. i'm fine with drinking that on a "juice fast" because it is a strained liquid, free of fiber - also the salt is wonderful).

xox, em

juice fast: day 4

juice fast still going strong. although today is definitely my most intense detox day so far. i have a pretty bad headache, feel light-headed and all my muscles are sore. similar to what i've been feeling, but more concentrated. i am supposed to work tonight but i might just take it off to rest. good thing i don't have class on tuesdays.

today's post is actually about yesterday so i'll keep it short because later today i will also be posting about my day... today. confusing, i know. time warp. yesterday's juices were green and delicious. the first one was mostly parsley carrot orange with apple, tomato and a bit of spinach.

skin cleanser: serves one or two

1 cup spinach
1 cup parsley
2 apples
1 orange
4 carrots
2 tomatoes

wash. peel. juice. drink. 

i was also pretty physically involved yesterday. i vacuumed the house then carried crates of wine downstairs, and later later helped my boyfriend move into his new place. i carried his stuff up six flights of stairs. i got a bit light-headed at times but i did it. i can be kind of stubborn.

my second juice of yesterday was similar to the first. lots of parsley, apple and orange. i wasn't sure if i'd like the parsley but i LOVED it! it adds a sensational savoury tone to the juice that fills you up and highlights particular flavours.

green juice goddess: serves one or two

1 cup parsley
2 apples
4 carrots
2 oranges
1/2 cucumber 

wash. peel. juice. drink. <3

my dinner juice was this recipe. current fave!

then i got my parents to watch a documentary about juice. fat, sick & nearly dead. you can find it for free online if you try. i watched it during my previous fast and was inspired! there should be more docs about juice fasting, and fasting in general!

at this point, the fast seems to be flying by and i'm not craving any food yet. right now i feel i can go for another 16 days. especially since i'm experiencing detox today - good sign! i had trouble falling asleep last night but once i DID get asleep, i slumbered pretty deeply. was FINALLY able to sleep in.

i dreamt of kittens.

i am craving some juice right now (haven't had any today yet) so i will talk to you guys soon! going to take it easy today, have a bath, and let my body do it's thang.

juice fast: day 3

today was busy but i am still feeling really good, mentally. physically, all my muscles are sore and feel tired, as if i had a hard workout but then didn't eat enough afterwards. i am also having a bit of trouble sleeping, slight headaches, and an occasional light-headed feeling. oh, detox... what a love-hate relationship we share.

i've had three delicious juices today: a simple carrot and apple based one for breakfast; a replica of my current fave juice for lunch; then a delicious beet pink juice for dinner. i'll have some tea later and maybe some prune juice (the soak water from prunes).

admire the lovely bouquet my mother made from our garden plants in celebration of the fall season. oooh boy do i love the colours of fall. the trees in our city are just mesmerizing and i cannot help stopping what i am doing and taking a breath (and moment) to appreciate the glorious and elegant universe we are blessed to live in. PLUS i have the best juicer ever. what more can a girl ask for?

i spent most of today driving around with la copine and all his belongings, helping him move into his new place. exciting! then i had to watch my whole family eat sushi - GRR. oh well. i was PERFECTLY satisfied drinking my beet juice... yum? 

but seriously, it wasn't that bad. yes, my brain was telling me to dig into those heavier calories but my mind knew i didn't need to and that in the long run continuing on this juice fast will be best. it's all about remembering the big picture. if you do - fasting is easy! especially when you get to drink delicious and luscious beet juice on a daily basis...

 earthy tones beet juice: serves one or two

4 beets
3 carrots
1 apple
1 orange
1/2 cucumber
1 bell pepper
4 pineapple slices

peel, slice and cut as needed. juice it up and drink it down. 

juice fast: day 2

today was farmer's market day! it was (tragically) the last one of the season for our neighborhood. BUT - and what an important "but" - there are three winter farm markets in our city area so i don't have to go without local, organic, love-filled produce all through the chilly season. PHEW.

today i'm feeling great. last night i had sore muscles which is a sign of mild detox. yahoo! i had a tasty carrot-apple-orange juice with my parents for breakfast, fed a butterfly that has been finding comfort and safety in my room (until my cat attacked it today!) during the rainy weather, then went to the market.

we loaded up on EVERYTHING. when you're on a juice fast you are actually getting more nutrients then you normally would because you can without feeling full. the fiber is mainly what produces that full feeling and when you juice - you take that out! so although i wouldn't normally eat 4 apples and 2 cucumbers in one sitting, i can with juice. thus i bought a ton of veggies and greens today for the next few weeks of juice fasting; i know i will be able to consume it all.

when we got back i made THE MOST DELICIOUS REFRESHING AMAZING AWESOME JUICE EVER! seriously. this is in my top three fave juice recipes now. i bought some peppermint with the idea that it might make interesting juice, especially if i mixed it with citrus.

i was right. 

pineapple peppermint love: serves one or two

4 small carrots
1 apple
1 orange
4-5 pineapple slices
handful fresh mint leaves
1/2 cucumber 

cut, slice and peel as needed. then juice it. hurry up and JUICE IT.
be prepared to have your mind blown (as well as your taste buds).

the plans for the rest of my saturday are pretty great. my juice fast partner-in-health (get it? instead of "in crime"... okay fine i'm not funny) is heading over soon and we're going to make some savoury juice for dinner. the boyfriend is coming over later too and it's also my friend's 19th so we might go out to dinner to celebrate.

i DO need to get some school work done at some point... hm.

juice fast: day 1

first juice of the day was rather late. i thought i would be home earlier so unfortunately my energy was running pretty low. i am feeling better now though and warming up too (got pretty chilly sitting outside reading for two hours). plan for my friday afternoon? watch a movie with my juice-fasting buddy and generally just be cozy.

last night i went to see cadence weapon at fortune sound club and it was really fun. i went with all my favourite people (my boyfriend even came out!) and danced until 2 am. then drove to the naam for tea (and food for some). i had a great time, but sweating the whole night then passing out at 4 am probably isn't the smartest way to start a long fast... lesson learned. woke up today and had a headache and sore muscles.

my feelings are mostly excitement right now. for the past several days i've been looking forward to this. i am very ready to let juice and other liquids (tea, broth, strained nut milks, lemon water, etc.) become my diet for the next little while. as i've said - i'm not giving this a pre-decided time span but i'd like to go for three weeks or so. we shall see.

pink dream juice: serves one or two

1 beet
2 carrots
2 apples
1 orange
3-4 pineapple slices
1 cucumber

wash, cut, peel and slice as needed. then juice 'em up! mmm so sweet. i would have added spinach but i couldn't lose that gorgeous colour from the beets so i left it as is. 

pumpkin seed & garlic pasta

the possibilities for zucchini pasta are endless; much like salad and smoothie recipes. this time i used pumpkin seeds and garlic for the base of the sauce. of course - the noodles are just zucchini! i topped it off with raisins, chives and spiced almonds.

i usually make 2 small zucchinis for myself. one of the many aspects of raw food i love is the huge amount of food you can eat. veggies and greens are so low calorie it's pretty much impossible to get adequate calories from them alone. so most of my diet ends up being fruit. then of course i have nuts and seeds in my desserts, and sometimes some whole cooked grains to balance out my omega-3's.

as joel fuhrman explains - the higher ratio of nutrient to calorie in a food, the better it is for you! so plants like zucchini, eggplant, any greens, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc. are super low-calorie but super high in nutrient density. they will keep you living long! and holy guacamole (see what i did there?), do they taste good...

zucchini noodles with pumpkin seed & garlic sauce: serves one or two

noodles:
2 small zucchinis 

sauce:
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1-2 chopped garlic cloves
1/4 cup basil leaves/other fresh herbs
2 tablespoons raisins/dates
as much nut milk or water as needed

to make the noodles, slice the zukes on a mandolin or spiral slicer. set aside in a big bowl. to make the sauce, blend all ingredients until smooth (adding water or nut milk til then). massage the sauce into the noodles until evenly coated. let them rest for a minute to soften and marinate. sprinkle on whatever you like! nom. 

p.s. i go on my juice fast tomorrow! SO EXCITED. 
p.p.s. check this website out if you - like me - are in love with reggae dub. 

raw fig bars with almond and figs from shiloh farms

today i bring you an inspired treat, rawified: fig bars! shiloh farms, an organic whole foods company based in the states, sent me some of their products for free to use and review! yippie for me! they were kind enough to mail me more than i asked for. i got extra alfalfa seeds! i also received black mission figs and raw almonds. while they were in the mail i decided what i would make with them - fig bars (as you may have guessed).

they are delicious! they remind me of a raisin butter tarts. imagine if a fig bar and a raisin tart had a baby (don't worry about logistics here okay, humour me)... then make it raw and vegan and you've got one of these! yum. i won't make this post too long because you probably just want the recipe BUT ALSO my friend just got here and we gotta make some juice! WOO.

as far as my review of the products goes - i love shiloh farms! the figs were delicious, satisfying and full of flavour; the almonds tasted really fresh and actually RAW; i am going to sprout the alfalfa seeds and let you know how that turns out. 

raw fig bars: makes 9 big bars

crust:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup almonds
1 heaping cup raisins
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

filling:
2 cups dried figs, soaked in water for 2-4 hours (keep the water!)
1-2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt

topping:
1 1/2 cups pecans

to make the crust: process the nuts in your food processor until you get really fine pieces - like flour. alternately you could use oat flour here. add the raisins and cinnamon. if it's not sticky enough, add some dates or maple syrup. press into a 9X9 pan or shape it yourself on parchment paper, that's what i did.

to make the filling: blend the figs, maple syrup/agave and salt in the food processor (no need to wash it yet), adding the soak water as needed to make it smooth but still quite thick. spread this on the crust but keep a little less than 1/4 cup of it in the food processor...

to make the topping: add the pecans to the food processor (with the leftover fig mixture) and pulse until there are small nut chunks, but not too fine. sprinkle this on top of the fig filling and press down a little. cut and enjoy! i sliced the sides off mine to make it a nice square so i had these extra strips of fig bar... i made fig nut milk! just blend it with water.

blueberry hemp smoothie

yum! here's another smoothie recipe for you, my peeps. this one is sneaky, it's not green but it has kale in it. the colour of the blueberries hides it. oooh, deceptive (yes i DO personify my smoothies). you can personify THIS:

while you're enjoying the unprecedented 90's smoothness of that little diddy ("i like the way you work it, no diggity...") you should also enjoy the raw deliciousness of this smoothie. it's got extra protein from hemp so it's excellent for right after a work out; which was my situation. you like P90X? i do. das my jam.

anyways - smoothie recipe.

blueberry hemp smoothie: serves one

1 cup frozen blueberries
2 dates
1-2 tablespoons raw hemp seeds
1 cup kale
1 banana
1-2 cups water/nut milk, or as needed
stevia, if desired

blend all of it up in your high speed blender. add enough water/nut milk to make it all smooth; but not too much because then it will taste watery (as one might guess.) drink!

new omega juicer

oh lawd. i am so excited about our new juicer. it is an omega vert 350 and i love it almost as much as i love dante (my cat).

random: check this out.

as i have already told you, i was planning to go on another juice fast as soon as it arrived in the mail! so the next few days will be smoothies, juice and raw snacks. then i go into 100% juice mode for... who knows how long. i want to fast until i feel my body should stop. the human body doesn't identify calendar dates or week-long time periods, it runs on it's own watch and i plan to monitor it carefully. i will know when to stop.

this time is really special for me because my friend is doing the juice fast with me! i've never had someone want to join me for one of these things so i'm looking EXTRA forward to this; maybe even... double extra? 

i know. double. woah.

the first juice we made was carrot, apple and lime (as you can see in the photo). it was SO DANG GOOD. you can literally taste the difference a good quality juicer makes. this thing is my new baby. i am going to use it so often and for everything. i can finally juice my own wheat grass! be jealous. BE JEALOUS.

the juice was so flavourful (more nutrients available because of the difference in juicing process so there is more to taste) and the pulp was so dry! cleaning it is easy too. if you're serious about juicing, or know you will be, or just WANT to be: get this juicer. 

perfect first juice: serves one

2 apples
1 peeled lime
4 peeled carrots

juice. drink the juice. 

raw hot chocolate

i've made this before but this recipe is simpler. if you thinking eating raw means you can't have hot chocolate... think again, my friend! an added bonus (and a pattern in the raw food diet) is that this is guilt-free and in fact - healthy. if you've ever heard david wolfe ranting about how cacao is gonna save the world and our collective health then you'll understand.

although i'm comfortable chillin on the fence when it comes to the question of wolfe's genuineness; i do love chocolate. some say cacao is poisonous to humans and shouldn't be consumed at all. all i know is that mayans have been enjoying it for thousands of years and it tastes pretty dang YUMMY. you just can't make me give up chocolate. too bad.

anyway, just as many people offer up that cacao is a superfood and should be eaten like a vitamin supplement everyday. until the evidence is conclusive, you can find me sipping delicious vegan hot chocolate on rainy nights in my living room.

(if you actually come to my house and find me i'd be a little scared though.)

raw hot chocolate: serves two

6 pitted medjool dates
3-4 cups nut milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder (careful with this...)
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2-3 tablespoons cacao powder
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil (optional)

note: the cinnamon, cayenne and vanilla are optional but i really recommend them. warm the nut milk on the stove then add it and all the other ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. pour into mugs, cuddle up with a loved one and enjoy! you could add some peppermint or candy canes to this too. 

aged nut cheese with herbes de provence

this is REALLY GOOD. maybe the best raw vegan cheese i've ever had. it's so easy (allbeit a bit time consuming) to make yourself and really affordable. please try this! it is incomparable to cheese. who wants the drug-filled mucus of another species when you can eat the delicious probiotics of cashews and grains?

i adapted this recipe from one i saw in vegnews (an all vegan magazine). although the actual hands on time for this is minimal, there's a lot of fermenting - so look at the recipe before you roll up your organic hemp sleeves. wanna get sexy while ya make it? look no further. 

aged chevre with herbes de provence: serves a party 

2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 3-4 hours

1/4 cup rejuvelac (see recipe below)

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons herbes de provence

to make 4 cups of rejuvelac: soak 1 cup whole grains (i used rye) in 2 cups of water for 8-12 hours. drain and repeat, continue to soak until the grains begin sprouting, then drain again. put the grains and 4 cups of new water in a mason jar and cover with a towel. let it sit for 2 days or so, until the liquid turns white. the white liquid is your rejuvelac! strain it. 

to make the cheese: blend cashews, rejuvelac and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt until very smooth. put it in a bowl, covered, and let it sit for 1-2 days until it's thick. then add in the nutritional yeast, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the herbes de provence. form the cheese into a roll using parchment paper. on another sheet of parchment paper, sprinkle the remaining salt and herbes de provence. transfer the roll onto that and roll it in the herbes and salt so it's covered. let THAT sit for 1-4 days until it's firm. it took one day for me. 

serve with raw or whole grain crackers. this pairs nicely with apples or olives. YUM. 

caramel chocolate apple party

these photos are so lame. you can thank the thieves that stole my good camera. i am now reduced to using this little digital point-and-shoot deal. ah well; so it goes - as kurt vonnegut would say. anyway, what MATTERS is the food. this food is rawsome. (then again, you can't go wrong with chocolate and caramel and apples.)

it's all good, dude. 

i've been seeing a lot of raw caramel apple recipes in honour of the season lately and they remind of one i made awhile ago. here's the link. these ones are a bit more simplistic: just dip and enjoy. but you can decorate them the same way as the other ones if you like. you are free to do what you want, after all.

winter is coming! i am quite excited. summer was lovely but i have been too hot for like 6 months now and am welcoming the colder temperatures, winds and rain with open arms. besides, i have wonderful memories of last winter and so psychologically have reason to anticipate it. i want snow! of course, now that i've said this i'm sure i'll be complaining in a month about the weather. dang.

anyways, expect more seasonal recipes. i'm wanting to do some stuff with pumpkins, gourds and what not. get ready, ya'll. gotta take advantage of dat local produce.

please take the time to check out my friends' band. they rock. give a listen and be impressed. here's their sound cloud. if you live in the vancouver area, check them out sometime! they play all over downtown and are far too charming for their years. they also own a hookah, so there's that.

raw caramel chocolate apples: serves 4-6

chocolate sauce:
4 tablespoons cacao
1/4 cup dates
1/2 cup almond milk 
1/4 cup nut butter

caramel:
1/2 cup water
1 cup dates
3 tablespoons nut butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean 

4-6 apples 

to make each sauce, blend the ingredients until smooth in your blender (separately, obviously). scoop each into a bowl for dipping. then uh... dip away.  

okay, oh kale

i love smoothies. i love kale. from that you can deduce: i love kale IN smoothies. or maybe not, because i also love garlic and ice cream... hm.

ANYHOO - we are running dangerously low on fruits and vegetables (meaning we have like seven apples) in my house this morning so instead of using a banana i used dates, and instead of fresh kale, i used frozen. it's still from our garden though! it was especially think and cold because everything i put was frozen: blueberries, strawberries and kale. i added ice cold almond milk and it was like a berry milkshake!

not exactly what is going to warm me up on a chilly vancouver morning but i just don't care - it's too freaking yummy to worry about regulating my body temperature. i made extra, so it will be a snack later too...

nevermind. i just drank it. 

berry kale smoothie: makes 5 cups

1 cup kale
1 cup frozen blueberries
3/4 cup frozen strawberries
2 cups almond milk
2 large dates

blend it all up. chug. 
actually don't chug it, you will get a brain freeze.

another juice fast

hello, my sweet, plant-loving comrades.

i have decided to go on another juice-alicious fast. why? let's start at the beginning: i didn't tell you that when i THOUGHT i had strep throat and couldn't swallow without flinching for a week... i actually had MONO. it was total agony for seven days and i hope i never go through it again. would've been nice to know what i actually was suffering from...

thanks a lot, doc.

he tells me AFTER i recover... cool. anyways, that's not really relevant but you must deal with it. tough. the point  is - i didn't eat for a week. the first two days i just drank tea, lemon water and miso soup, the remaining days i basically went on a juice fast. it reminded me how much i love juice, and how much i appreciated my previous juice fast (search "juice fast" on my blog to get my posts about it.) it made me want to complete another one.

so i have the best news ever... for me, anyway. 

we (mom and i) have officially ordered our OMEGA VRT350 JUICER!!! i am way too excited about this, people. but as i said to my girlfriend - at which she promptly laughed - "why can't everyone get this stoked about juicing!?" as you may have noticed, i have gradually fallen head over heels for juice. i used to be a smoothie girl all the way. i will always keep a place in my heart for my green smoothies. but i have warmed up to juicing. i used to dislike the absence of fiber but my mind has been changed. taking out the fiber allows for instant assimilation... it is the fastest way to get the highest quality nutrients in the greatest quantity. simply put: it's excellent nutrition in a glass.

we should get our juicer in about five days (fingers crossed, canadian postal system) and then i'm going to sell our old juicer to my friend. at that point she will join me in a juice fast! i am really excited about this because i've only ever cleansed and/or fasted by myself. i think it's gonna be loads better with a partner. i don't want to set a number of days this juice fast will be, but i'd like it to exceed ten days (the length of my last one). we will see. i plan to listen to my body.

i'm going to be reading up on juice fasting this time too. so far i've gotten juice fasting & detoxification, and juicing, fasting and detoxing for life - sound pretty enthralling, huh?

just wanted to give you all a heads up about this! i will be posting recipes for shampoo and conditioner soon, as well as some salads and other raw concoctions that have come from my twisted mind and dutch-inspired kitchen. love all. drink juice.

pasta with creamy cheeze sauce

my inspiration for this was raw mac n cheese. i guess the macaroni noodle part is hard to do with zucchini BUT this was super nom-alicious (yes, i just invented that word) nonetheless. plus the sauce was killaah.

yet again i feel i must apologize for these less-than-stellar photos. i'm really starting to miss my stolen camera. *a tear falls* anyhoo, let's focus on the positives... oh, that's everything! but more specifically, this recipe. i don't think i'll ever get over how delicious and easy raw pasta is. it's gotta be one of my fave raw food dishes (besides a giant plate of fruit). it is SO satisfying, filling and fun to make. i've ranted about it before.

the cheeziness in this sauce comes from the nutritional yeast, which isn't technically raw; i'm okay with eating though. if you're not - just add more garlic and other flavours you like. it'll still be rawkin.

zucchini pasta with creamy cheeze sauce: serves 3

pasta:
6 small zucchinis
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into strips

sauce:
3 garlic cloves
1/3 cup nut milk (may need more or less)
3 dates
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
handful fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons miso
handful of walnuts
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
2 tablespoons musatrd (optional)
fave spices & salt & pepper

to make the pasta: slice all the zukes on your mandoline or spiral slicer. set in big bowl. to make the sauce: blend all the ingredients until smooth. see if you like it and if not, adjust accordingly. you want it to be pretty thick because it thins out once you add it to the noodles. mix it in with the noodles and tomatoes and let them sit for 10 minutes or so. the flavour and texture will improve. then...

you know what to do. 

OH, AND: check this chick out. dayam.