LIQUID FEAST: DAY THREE

Hey, guys. How's your day going? If you are doing this liquid cleanse with me, how are you feeling? If you haven't joined in the liquid feasting yet - jump on in! We're on day three of seven and I am doing terrific. I'm jamming to this amazing mix right now and it has got me in the best mood. I wanna go dance. Alas, I have my final exam for archaeology tomorrow so I gotta have a quiet night in. Once my exams are done and my second book manuscript is finished I'm gonna party like it's going out of style (it will never go out of style though, my life is one big crazy party). 

Energy levels are great, I had a very deep sleep and woke up at 8:30 am like I usually do. I'll most likely stay up until midnight again. I did some light stretching then made a big blueberry smoothie pretty much the same as the one I had yesterday (get the recipe here) and it was amazing once again. Later my partner came over - he's doing this with me - and we made a giant blend of kale from the garden, apples from the farmers market and organic bananas. That recipe is below. Later I was getting hungry again and decided to make what my mind was telling me to: potato soup. MMM. It ended up being phenomenal and totally hit the spot. The potatoes are local and organic, that probably helped a great deal with the flavour and creaminess. The nice thing about just keeping this cleanse to liquids is that I can make super nourishing and filling soups for dinner, instead when I'm on a juice fast... cold juice for supper can sometimes leave you missing warm meals.  

While we were sipping drinks outside in the sunshine (the weather has been so great lately) we were talking about how although the smells and textures of solid food we see around are very naturally appealing, that doesn't mean they're at all tempting. Yes, those foods would taste good, but we have this thing called will power and it's pretty easy simply choosing not to eat solids at this point. I think this is because we are making sure we stay fully carbed up. When you are low on calories and carbs, your will power and rationality go out the window and you wanna grab anything edible that is in your arms reach and devour it. I am speaking about this in terms of a liquid cleanse, but I think this can be more importantly paralleled to people's everyday diets and their cravings for processed foods. They cave in and buy a doughnut and then feel guilty about it. I think most of us have been there, or somewhere like there (we all have different degrees). Why does this terrible cycle of guilt and unhealthy eating habits continue? Because we don't feed ourselves enough of the good stuff! The good stuff = whole fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, nuts and seeds. When we are REALLY full on these foods, we won't crave the junk we don't need. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people think they should limit their calories from fruit and that is tragic. I never count calories because I eat the right foods, so the more I eat the better! Having said that, I probably consume around 3000 calories a day and that is working out juuuust fine. Obviously, our bodies know what to do when we fuel them with the right foods. It's simple. It's easy. It's delicious. It's the answer. 

The power is in the plants. 

CREAMY POTATO & ONION SOUP (OIL-FREE, SALT-FREE)

6 potatoes

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

Enough vegetable broth to cover the potatoes and onions

Coriander, dill, fresh parsley 

Slice the veggies then cover with the broth and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let cook until tender. Put everything into your blender and blend until smooth. It is shockingly delicious! Add whatever else you like. 

KALE ME, BABY 

2 cups kale

4 apples

3 frozen bananas

1/16 teaspoon stevia powder

2 cups cashew mylk

Blend it all up until smooth. Drink it down. 

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LIQUID FEAST: DAY ONE

So my partner and I are beginning our liquid feast today, and ending on 4/20 (heh heh heeeeh). What the HECK is a liquid feast, one might inquire? We're only gonna consume liquids for the next seven days; in the form of juices, smoothies, puddings, nut mylks, teas and water. Okay, but WHY the heck would you do this, another person might ask? Because it's fun and makes us feel great! Well... he's never done this before so I shouldn't assume... but I can confidently say it makes ME feel great. My diet is mostly smoothies and juice anyways, supplemented with steamed veggies, grains, beans and raw desserts; so this isn't a crazy change for me. Instead of having steamed potatoes and brown rice for dinner, we will be enjoying savoury smoothies or banana mylkshakes! Or both! Yep. Both. 

Now, I am choosing to call this a liquid FEAST, because I am not going to be restricting calories. I'm not into that. 

I do not believe in restricting calories temporarily as a way to lose weight. Long-term health is only achieved through permanent lifestyle changes, not a week of juice fasting or starving yourself. In fact, when you restrict your caloric intake for a short time then go back to your regular diet (that apparently made you "overweight" in the first place) - you will probably gain back more than you lost. This is because the body goes into starvation mode and quickly packs on the weight it can, as soon as it gets some extra calories. When you transition to a whole foods, plant-based diet, your body will naturally find it's ideal weight - maybe you're already there! Maybe you were actually underweight before! Don't worry about social norms dictating what an attractive weight is. To me, a healthy body is a beautiful body. Let's take a second to remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and changes with the ever-pulsing culture of the time, so no matter how we look we are all deserving of love. Back in the day, cellulite was the epitome of sexy. 

My point is: if you want to find your ideal weight, make lifestyle changes and switch to a whole foods, plant-based diet. Your body will do the rest... it's smart like that. Do not think that just because you are above the average number for what is considered "normal", that you are overweight. I say: screw the system! Calculating the mean of a populations weight gives you a number that reflects none of the diversity you had in the original data. The fact is we are all unique and beautiful and pushing our identities through an equation then telling us that that resulting number is what we should all strive for just makes everybody get bummed and feel inadequate. Don't try to be the norm! Be YOU. But of course, like I was saying a second ago, I personally think you can be the BEST you, when you feed yourself right. That means lots of fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, beans and grains. Mmm... healthy is sexy. 

Okay! Enough of that. I'm gonna talk a little bit about our day. We woke up and went to the farmers market. Great start. We bought a HUGE bag of carrots, a couple bags of beets, bell peppers, garlic, apples, spinach, parsley, tomatoes, and I think that's it. To be frank, I was feeling super sore and tired because I got my period today, but we got back to my house and made a smoothie and almost immediately I did a 180 in my mood. Honestly, the previous night and during our grocery shopping I had been moaning and groaning about my feminine-induced discomfort for hours, but the second we sat down in the sun and sipped this drink I said "I feel so good right now!" and meant it 100%. Amazing what a little cucumber and pineapple can do, huh? I also made some cashew milk with dates and cinnamon, and some tomato garlic soup with cilantro for dinner. I can't share the smoothie recipe with you because it's going to be exclusive for my next book, but I will share our soup recipe and the cashew mylk! I'm not totally evil, right? (Please someone say "right"...)

SPICED CASHEW & DATE MYLK

1 1/2 cups cashews

5 dates

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

8 cups water

Blend everything until smooth, letting the blender buzz for about a minute so it gets uber smooth. Strain through a mylk bag, cheesecloth or sieve, and enjoy! This will last sealed in the fridge for around a week (but I bet it'll disappear much sooner than that.) 

TOMATO GARLIC SOUP with BELL PEPPERS, ONION, AVOCADO & SPICES 

2 cups tomatoes

1 garlic clove

1/6 cup onion 

1 red bell pepper

1 avocado

Pinch Himalayan salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1-2 cups water or vegetable broth

Blend everything until smooth. Serve with cilantro if ya want. 

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RAW VEGAN CURRY with MARINATED MUSHROOMS & ONIONS

I KNOW you guys are gonna be stoked about dis one. I sure am. I've been meaning to make this recipe and share it for some time but for whatever reason I haven't. Until now, obviously. I was walking home and suddenly thought "Hey, why not make raw curry today!?" I made some delicious organic curry last night for me and my parents and it was SO GOOD, leaving me wanting more today... I figured I don't really wanna eat cooked food like that two days in a row - I'm NOT saying cooked curry is evil or anything, my body just prefers mostly raw - so I should make a raw curry recipe that so many of you have been asking for! Honestly, this was just as amazing if not BETTER than the curry last night (which was freaking fantastic in itself).

This recipe is actually super simple and yet has mind blowing flavours. I don't know if I'll ever make conventional cooked curry again (not because it's not healthy, but because this seriously equals it in awesome taste!) I highly recommend finding some organic curry powder, I got mine from a wonderful little raw vegan cafe and store called Tao Organics in North Van, I used it in the cooked curry I made last night and that is probably why it tasted so good. The flavours are fresher and cleaner.

Basically all this recipe is is cashew milk blended with some onion and curry powder. Done. I added some marinated mushrooms and onion and that's it! You can add whatever veggies you like, I bet this would also be incredible with some zucchini noodles... Mmm... Let's get curried! P.S. I have a low-fat and nut-free option - that's right, I'm always watchin' out for ya.

RAW VEGAN CURRY with MARINATED MUSHROOMS & ONIONS

Curry:

1/4 cup cashews (or use zucchini if you wanna keep this low fat)

1 cup water

1 teaspoon your fave curry powder

1/4 cup diced onion

Salt and pepper, as desired 

Marinated mushrooms & onions:

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup diced onion 

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon coconut aminos (it's like soy sauce) 

1/2 teaspoon coriander

To make the curry: blend all the ingredients until smooth. Adjust according to taste and texture. 

To marinate the mushrooms & onions: toss them with the lemon juice, coconut aminos and coriander and let sit on the counter for an hour so they soften, or put 'em in your dehydrator or oven at a low temperature until they soften. Alternatively, just leave them as-is. Pour your curry in a bowl and add the shrooms and onions - enjoy! This serves one. 

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raw vegan phở with hoisin sauce, broccoli, mushrooms, basil & sprouts

I promised you this recipe awhile ago, and now I am delivering. I got the idea to make raw phở a couple weeks ago and couldn't get the thought out of my mind. I mean, we all love phở right? But personally I am not too crazy about the high salt content and rice noodles. The fresh broccoli, warm, gingery broth, crunchy sprouts and aromatic basil, though? COUNT ME IN. 

This recipe has all the positives and none of the processed. Oh! Some other advantages? It's super cheap to make, and low-fat! (I know those factors are important to a lot of you.) It's basically no fat if you choose not to make the hoisin sauce but c'mon now - it's raw. vegan. hoisin. sauce. I want to literally bathe in this recipe. 

I couldn't have been happier with the flavour of the broth. I was a bit skeptical I could make it taste as great as the original but it honestly tastes BETTER. No kidding. You get the real, unrefined flavour of onion, garlic, ginger, coriander and cinnamon, with none of the excess salt. You can choose to warm it slightly with your broccoli and mushrooms on the stove like I did (this also steams the veggies a little bit which I love) or you can leave everything totally raw and enjoy it at room temperature. 

I basically inhaled two bowls of this; it was like a phở frenzy. I was so full I left the last bowl to my mom. I still have the taste of the dish in my mouth and I am now craving more... dang. Make this anytime you wanna warm up and ward off colds. The ingredients are all anti-cancer super foods that will keep you living long and smiling big. What's not to love?

raw vegan phở with hoisin sauce, broccoli, mushrooms, basil & sprouts

serves: 1-2

noodles:

1 large zucchini sliced into noodles on a mandolin, spiral slicer or cheese grater

broth:

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon chunk of peeled ginger

Dash of cinnamon and coriander, to taste

3 cups hot water

1 tablespoon miso (any kind will work) 

1 peeled garlic clove

hoisin sauce:

1 tablespoon tamari

1 tablespoon maple syrup (or other preferred sweetener)

2 tablespoons almond butter

1 tablespoon coconut vinegar

1 peeled garlic clove

Toppings:

1 head of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces 

1/4 cup basil leaves

1/2 cup mung bean sprouts

3-4 sliced white mushrooms

To make the broth: blend all the ingredients until smooth. Strain if you want, and mix in your broccoli and mushrooms. You can either warm this mixture up on the stove (and simultaneously lightly steam the veggies) or leave as-is. I just love steamed broccoli and warm broth. Pour this over your noodles in one or two bowls and top off with sprouts and basil leaves. 

To make the sauce: blend all the ingredients until smooth. If it's too thick, add some water. Pour over your phở bowl(s) and DIG IN WITH CHOPSTICKS. 

creamy mushroom soup with avocado + miso

I love raw soups. They are basically savoury smoothies that you top up with herbs and veggies and eat with a spoon. Okay, maybe that isn't the most appealing way to describe them, but my point is: they are full of only the healthiest whole foods your body wants, and served in a way that is easy for your system to absorb. You get excellent nutrition that much quicker... and it tastes freaking amazing.  

My favourite type of raw soup (although there are several worthy competitors) is mushroom soup. I tried adding an avocado this time and the result was magnificent. I think my mom was reading my mind the day I made this because I was going to use the normal white mushrooms we usually have in the fridge, when she came home with fresh shitakes and portobellos. Shitakes are my all time fave shroom! I highly recommend marinating the mushrooms you will use for the garnish. All you have to do is rub them with tamari and a bit of olive oil, then leave them in the dehydrator or on the counter while you make the soup. It brings out their rich flavours and softens them.

creamy mushroom soup with avocado + miso: serves two to four 

Soup:
1 portobello mushroom 
3 shitake mushrooms
½ avocado
1-2 tablespoons miso
2 cups hot water
3 dates (optional) 
1 teaspoon walnut oil (optional) 

Garnish:
3 sliced shitake mushrooms, marinated in tamari for a few minutes 
Salt + pepper
¼ fresh cilantro leaves 

Blend all the ingredients until smooth and adjust according to taste. Pour into bowls and top with mushrooms, cilantro and sprinkle on salt and pepper, if desired. 

beet & avocado soup with cashew cream

Many of you have been asking for simple recipes that are comforting in these chilly winter months, when eating raw can be its most challenging time. To be honest, I find myself eating the most raw food in winter! It is probably because the first time I jumped into the 100% raw diet, it was winter time. Something to do with my subconscious, I’m sure.

Thanks, Freud. 

In any case though, generally winter is when we crave heavier, heartier, warm foods. When it’s cold, your body is working harder to keep you warm so you want to eat more, as one might expect. So although a fruit bowl may be delicious and totally satisfying in warmer months, it might not be just what you want when the sun goes away and temperatures go down for a while.  SO what do we raw foodies eat? Raw soup! For me, it’s the perfect winter meal. It is filling, easy to make and digest (think of it a savoury smoothie), delicious, warming and beautiful.

Instead of cooking soups all day on the stove - which, I certainly can’t deny, creates a heavenly, homey aroma - you simply blend a few whole food ingredients together with spices and hot water. The spices warm you up from the inside out and you feel satisfied with the nourishing bowl of goodness you just enjoyed. The colours are always outstanding, as a plus. But then, aren’t they always with raw food?

Mother Nature sure knows how to paint a beautiful canvas. 

beet & avocado soup with cashew cream: serves 2 or 3

Soup: 

1/2 avocado 

1 peeled beet

1 tablespoon tamari

1 tablespoon miso

1 peeled garlic clove

1 tablespoon peel fresh ginger root (optional) 

1 1/4 cups hot water (approximately) 

3 mushrooms

pinch of salt & pepper

juice of 1/2 lemon 

Cashew Cream:

1/4 cup soaked, drained cashews with enough water to cover them

Pinch of cinnamon & salt

To make the soup: blend everything together in your Vitamix until very smooth. Taste and adapt to your liking. Place in bowls and set aside. 

To make the cashew cream: blend the cashews with the water, salt and cinnamon until creamy. Add a little more water if you don't want it so thick. Change it as you like. Spoon onto your soup and enjoy! I recommend adding some fresh herbs and seeds. I used peppermint and pumpkin seeds but any combination would be lovely. 

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

creamy zucchini pasta & avocado soup

this was really delicious. you should make it very soon and enjoy the incredible flavours that come from the mixture of avocado, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, garlic and love. i don't think more introduction is required here.

zucchini pasta with garlic avocado sauce: serves 1-2

2 zucchinis sliced on the mandoline or spiral slicer into noodles
1/2 avocado 
2 peeled garlic cloves
1/2 onion
salt & pepper, to taste
2 cups non-dairy milk
handful pine nuts or cashews
1/4 cup tamari
handful basil leaves
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup cauliflower

put noodles into large bowl and set aside. blend all other ingredients together until smooth. taste it. it'll probably be a little bland but i left it that way so you could add things to your liking. some curry powder might be nice. i add that to everything though... :) pour the sauce all over the noodles - BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE SOME LEFT OVER! set it aside and massage the sauce into the noodles with your hands.... mmm, sensual food time. get dirty. i suggest adding some salty veggies to the noodles now. i put on some mushrooms and tomatoes.

 

avocado, cauliflower & spinach soup: serves 4-6

now using the rest of the extra sauce from the noodles, add:
1/2 avocado
2 garlic cloves
1/2 onion
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup tamari
1 cup non-dairy milk (more or less) - or use hot water to make the soup warm
salt & pepper to taste
handful spinach
5 olives

i think that's all i threw in there! it was an improv situation as usual. taste it and see what you wanna add or change. serve in bowls with hemp seeds, basil leaves and maybe some olives or something with saltiness/flavour. pickled artichokes would be nice.