The Power of Raw

Summertime – don’t you love it? And summertime is the perfect time to spoil your body, recharge the old batteries and rejuvenate yourself!

I find nothing quite as powerful as a couple of days on raw food,  plant-based, entirely raw dishes, full of all the goodness you need to tune yourself back into vibrant.

Here is how it goes – for breakfast how about some  Creamy Raw Food Oatmeal

Raw food musli

Raw food musli

Or delicious Raw Food “yoghurt” with mango and raspberry coulis

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Or Raw Food Granola made from fresh sprouts and almond creme…

Raw food Breakfast

Raw food Breakfast

For lunch how about Raw Food Sushi served with ginger, garlic sauce.

Ready to enjoy

Ready to enjoy

or Raw Food Pasta with fresh tomato sauce and capers….

Raw Food Fettuccine

Raw Food Fettuccine

or a delicious salad with pomegranate, apples and pineapple 

Salad with pomegranate and apple

Salad with pomegranate and apple

or Raw Food  Veggie Chili with Cashew “Cheese” DSC_0135

And lots of green juice

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And green smoothies during the day

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For dinner Raw Food Curry served with Parsnip “Rice” 

1 red pepper

1 orange pepper

1 zucchini

5 big brown mushrooms

4 spring onions

Wash and finely chop everything – make the curry sauce

Curry Sauce 

2 big  scoops tablespoons of cashew butter

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger

4 dried lime leaves or 2 fresh

1 cup of water

2 tablespoon of soya sauce

1 tablespoon sweet chill sauce

juice and rind of 1 lime fruit

1 teaspoon of Thai red curry paste

Put it all in the blender and blend into a delicious creamy curry sauce.

Raw Food Curry Sauce

Raw Food Curry Sauce

Parsnip “rice” 

Peel 2 parsnips and cut them into smaller pieces – put them in the blender and blend them till they look rice- alike – squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on and a little sea salt.

Serve on a plate with the chopped vegetables – pour over the curry sauce and enjoy!

Raw Food Curry with Parsnip "Rice"

Raw Food Curry with Parsnip “Rice”

 

” What you find at the end of your fork is more powerful than anything you’ll find at the bottom of a pill bottle” – Dr. Mark Hyman

Smoothie with Grapefruit, Stinging Nettles and Sweet Green Grapes

This morning was spectacular in my Danish garden – the sun, the birds, the flowers, the butterflies and an intoxicating smell of spring filled the air. I was out, bare feet in the grass breathing in spring and enjoying the early morning.

Spring

Spring

However, with spring and an abundance of spring flowers, come weeds – dandelion, stinging nettles and ground elder – they invade us and keep us busy all summer, trying to keep them under control….

But actually – weeds, such as stinging nettles are packed with goodness.  They have lots of nutrients, protein, calcium and iron among many other things, and they are so good for us  – read more here.

So I thought –if you can’t beat them, why not eat them!!!? 🙂

I covered my hands with plastic bags and picked some stinging nettles – the aroma of them were somewhat spicy, in a gentle kind of way. Which made me think that they would be amazing combined with grapefruits, in a smoothie.

Stinging nettles

Stinging nettles

Green Smoothie with Grapefruit and Stinging Nettles

A good handful of fresh stinging nettles

A bunch of sweet green grapes

One big grapefruit

One orange

A chunk of pineapple

water

Wear gloves or plastic bags on your hands while picking and cleaning the nettles, they will sting you! Wash them carefully before use.

Add all the ingredients to the blender with some ice cold water and blend into a smooth delicious powerful green drink.

 

Grapefruit

Grapefruit

Sweet Green Grapes

Sweet Green Grapes

Green smoothie with stinging nettles

Green smoothie with stinging nettles

It’s quite easy to become addicted to this drink – the combination is really good. The stinging nettles have this very special beautiful flavour – I loved it and I hope you will too!

Enjoy!

“Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them” –  A.A. Milne

Read more about weeds:

Edible wild weed salad – by Organic Authority

10 weeds worth growing – by Care 2 

8 weeds you can eat –  by Organic Gardening.

Melon Spinach Smoothie

Last day of holiday in Denmark – 3 weeks flew by – all too quickly, but I enjoyed every single minute.

It was all that I had hoped and wished for – sunshine, bright summer nights, family, friends, swimming in the sea, running in the forest, blackbirds singing, relaxation, books, strawberries, new potatoes, fun – bare feet and freckles. Oh it was good!

Now I am ready to go back to the west coast of Canada – enjoy summer there and getting back to work.

Before I run, I want to share some photos and a green smoothie recipe that became a favorite this summer.

The melons are so ripe, juicy and incredibly sweet.

Gorgeously Sweet Melons

Gorgeously Sweet Melons

Melon Spinach Smoothie

One big handful of fresh spinach

1 sweet melon – I used 1/2 Gaia and 1/2 cantaloupe

1 big peach

Ice cold water

Some frozen grapes

Melon Spinach Smoothie

Melon Spinach Smoothie

So good and so refreshing on a warm summer day! 

Plenty time for reading

Plenty time for reading

Wild Flowers

Wild Flowers

Morning run in the forest

Morning run in the forest

Biking to the beach

Biking to the beach

Swimming

The life guard’s post

Caprifolia

Caprifolia

Sunsets

Sunsets

A 10:30 pm goodnight swim

A 10:30 pm swan family goodnight swim

Where ever you are – I hope you are soaking up summer and enjoying life!

Spinach Grapefruit Smoothie

Smoothies for breakfast, as part of lunch, as a snack, before dinner – smoothies for any occasion ……..

But smoothies have also become THE number one “Fast Food” in our family. In a hurry, on the go, no time to cook or even eat – no problem, spin up a smoothie and away you go. Quick, nutritious and satisfying!

Today I made a green smoothie with spinach and grapefruit. I love grapefruit, but for 12 years I wasn’t able to have grapefruit! I was on cholesterol medication and something in grapefruit doesn’t mix well with that kind of medication.

Since I changed to “balanced living” and added lots of plant-based foods to my diet and started exercising, I no longer need medication to control my cholesterol!

There are, as you can imagine, many benefits connected to that – one great one is, I can enjoy grapefruits again 🙂

Grapefruit

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Spinach and Grapefruit Smoothie 

One bunch of fresh spinach

2 grapefruits

One bunch of red or green grapes

1 banana

1  slice of fresh ginger

2 Medjool dates

2 cups of filtered water

Ice

Put it all into the blender and blend into a refreshing, smooth, cool and delicious drink.

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I hope you will Enjoy it !

Now to something completely different…..

Monday I travel back to Copenhagen to spend some time with family and friends. I am SO excited!

I will try to post while I’m away so stay tuned….

To travel is to live – Hans Christian Andersen

When I come back I will be attending THE FAMOUS AMAZING VIRTUAL VEGAN POTLUCK – on May 11.!

This is such a fun event! If you would like to join the fun by featuring one of your favorite vegan/plant-based recipes, there is still time to sign up here – otherwise – stay tuned for the event on May 11.

Thank you for dropping by, for reading and for commenting!

Happy Sunday!

Cool Green Smoothie with Cinnamon and Cloves

Why not add a bit of Christmas flavor to the green smoothie?

Thinking of how to add a bit of Christmas flavour to your smoothies?  Here’s a simple idea, and it tastes truly amazing – creamy, sweet, cinnamonny and delicious!

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green smoothie

Cool Green Smoothie with Cinnamon and Cloves

What you’ll need for this….

Big handful of fresh kale

2 crisp apples

1 very ripe banana

4 -6 Medjool dates

2 small teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

2 cups of filtered water

Ice cubes

Put it all in the blender and blend into a smooth cool and healthy drink – drink and enjoy!

If you leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to come out – it is a divine mouthful!

Immune Boosting Smoothie

Autumn is here, the leaves are turning bright red and orange. The days are getting shorter and cooler. The air is fresh and crisp, with a beautiful smell of earth. I love this time of year!

It is one of my favorite times to go running, the woods are beautiful and the temperature is just right.

It is also time to carve pumpkins, light the candles, light a fire in the fireplace, roast chestnuts and curl up with a good book and a cup of tea.

But it is also the time of year where we are particular prone to catching colds and nasty flues. So, as a precaution it is the perfect time to boost the immune system and load up on some natural

vitamin C.

We all need a shot of energy!

Today I created this Immune Boosting Smoothie – made with buckets of natural vitamin C, citrus, kale, grapes, ginger, apples and love.

Immune – Boosting Smoothie

A generous handful of fresh kale

2 small apples

1 grapefruit

1/2 lemon

1  lime fruit

2 slices of fresh ginger

a big bunch of green grapes

1 kiwi

filtered water for the right consistency

crushed ice

Blend it all together – and enjoy an instant boost of natural vitamin C to keep those nasty colds and runny noses away!

Plant-wild week-day 4

Day 4 – This morning I went for an early morning run along the beach while the sun was rising, thinking, I can do another day of this! Another day eating greens, vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains – everything that supports my body and fills me with this zippy wonderful energy!

 

Breakfast

Rawfood musli with blueberries

This has become a breakfast stable in our family – we eat it almost every day. It is so tasty and creamy. I came up with this recipe because I wanted to make a healthy version of an old favorite that had both full fat yoghurt and cream in it!! This tastes just as good and just as creamy and sweet as the original, but without the guilt!

In the blender/food processor add:

1 cup of raw oats,
2 good handfuls of raw almonds
1 big apple cut into chunks
6-8 Medjool dates ( more or less depending on how sweet your tooth is)
1 cup of filtered water
Blend it all – not too much because it is nice if it keeps it’s crunchiness

Enjoy with either fresh berries, banana or dried fruit in the winter – today I served it with fresh blueberries from the garden.

The Good-Morning Smoothie is made from fresh raspberries and pineapple today.

Variations.
You can add a little less water and add an orange – orange and dates are a perfect match. You can also add a bit of cinnamon or cardamom

Morning snack

A delicious green smoothie made from fresh kale out of the garden, peaches, pineapple, lemon, ice and 2 cups of water

Lunch

Delicious vegetable wraps with garlic/ginger dipping sauce

Rice paper

1 avocado

1 red pepper

fresh spinach

2 carrots

1 zucchini

1/2 cucumber

3 spring onions

Fresh basil

fresh coriander

fresh basil

fresh mint

Rinse and cut everything into strips of julienne.

Prepare the rice paper – one at a time. Take a clean tea towel and make it wet, place one rice paper on the wet tea towel and fold so it is completely covered with the wet cloth. Leave for about a min. Over the sink, wring out the water and carefully place the soft rice paper so you can fill it and roll it. Fill it with spinach leaves, a little avocado, carrot, red pepper, zucchini, spring onions and alfalfa sprouts, add some fresh basil leaves, some coriander leaves and some fresh mint. Roll them together and cut them in halves and arrange them on a plate along with the garlic/ginger dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce

juice of 1/2 lime

4 small lime leaves

thin slice of fresh ginger

1 clove of garlic

2 spoons of hoisin

1//3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup water

4 spoons of braggs

Blend it all together and serve with the vegetable rolls

Dinner

Baked zucchini and eggplants- served with new potatoes and green salad with fennel

I found these gorgeous looking green and yellow zucchini and some beautiful eggplants. I decided to make a really tasty dish that i think is perfect for summer with ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs and all you need to make this dish amazing. So this is my take on the Turkish specialty, Imam Bayildi – baked zucchini and eggplant topped with a spicy fresh tomato sauce, served with little new potatoes gently baked with herbs and garlic and a green salad with fennel.

2 eggplants

2 zucchini

600 g fresh ripe and chopped fresh tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

4 shallots

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

2 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano

2 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme

3 table spoons of chopped big leaved parsley

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1/2 cup of water

Finely chop the shallots and the garlic, gently saute them in oil til they are soft, add tomato paste,the herbs and the cumin. Add the tomatoes and the water. Cook for about 15 min. Season with sea salt and pepper, set aside. Add the parsley.

Cut the zucchini and the eggplant in halves on the length wise. Gently brown them in a bit of olive oil – on the inside. Place them in a baking dish on some baking paper and add the sauce on top.

Bake in an 350F oven for about 45 min

You can eat them right out of the oven but they taste amazing at room temperature too.

Potatoes

It is season for new and delicious potatoes – I love new potatoes!!

I prepared them like this

I washed them and cut them in to quarters and put them onto a piece of baking paper, drizzled with olive oil, sea salt and pepper, added some fresh thyme and some fresh rosemary – packed them in to little parcels and baked them in the 350F oven for about 45 min. They tasted so good!!

I served everything with a green salad with some fresh fennel

The dressing is a classic that has been in my family forever – we use it, let me just say, a lot
The trick is to use the best ingredients – the better the ingredients the better the dressing. So in other words don’t use the cheapest hot dog mustard.

2 spoons of good balsamic vinegar
a teaspoon of good Dijon Mustard
a pinch of sea salt
one clove of freshly squeezed garlic

Mix this – then add a little olive oil while you constantly stir, add more olive oil while stirring – continue doing this till you have a thick, dark yummy dressing. You can add a little maple syrup for a sweetness if you like. This salad dressing is so good and so easy to make.

Plant-wild week-day 1

I am excited! This is the first day of our 7-day plant-wild adventure.  I am really looking forward to eating plant-based for a week! It will be awesome, and  I can actually feel how every cell in my body is shouting harray and  jumping with joy!!

I’m also hugely grateful to my family for being in on this too – what a great thing to do together.

I am excited to see how we feel after a week, tanking up on heaps of greens, fresh summer fruits, nuts, grains and delicious vegetables.

So lets get started  – Here’s the first day’s goodies. I can hardly wait!!

Breakfast

Green good-morning smoothie:

2 apples

big handful of fresh spinach

1/2 cucumber

big handful of green grapes

1/2 an avocado

2 cups of water

a handful of crushed ice

Blend it all into a smooth delicious morning drink

Mango “yoghurt”

A while ago I made a raw food yoghurt with banana and avocado it tasted so good! This morning I am making a mango version of that. It is so simple and it taste so fresh and good!

1 big mango

2 avocado

a fresh squeeze of lemon

Add all ingredients in to the blender and blend into a smooth and beautiful, creamy breakfast treat

Serve with chopped dates, chopped walnuts and some fresh berries

Lunch

What is better than soup, made from the ripest local tomatoes and with basil from the garden?

It is really easy to make too, which adds to the joy of making it.

Tomato soup:

6 very ripe big tomatoes

4 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

1 l of vegetable broth

1/2 cup of cashews soaked in water

Lots of fresh basil

2 sun dried tomatoes

one bay leaf

Chop the onions and garlic and saute them in a pot with some olive oil – saute til they are soft and clear. Chop the tomatoes and add them to the sauteed onions and garlic. Add the bay leaf and cook till the tomatoes are soft. Add the vegetable broth and cook for about 10 min at low heat.

Blend in the blender with 3/4 of the fresh basil, the sun dried tomatoes, and the soft cashews to make it creamy.

Savour with salt and pepper and serve with a chunk of great bread, with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip it in

Dinner

Wok fried vegetable served with cardamon rice:

I love everything Asian – Serve me Asian fusion and I am in heaven.

Marinade:

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup sweet chili sauce

2 tbs sesame oil

2 1/2 inch of fresh ginger

4 cloves of garlic

one bunch of spring onions

2 tbs of white wine

Finely chop the fresh ginger, the garlic and the spring onions – in a bowl mix the soy sauce, the sweet chili sauce, sesame oil and white wine – mix well and add the chopped garlic, spring onions and ginger.

For the stir fry – use any of your favorite vegetables

I used:

one bunch of green asparagus

1 red pepper

4 shallots

400 g of brown mushrooms

big head of broccoli

Fry everything separately in a wok, drizzle the marinade over the portion just before each sort of vegetable is almost ready. Put it aside and stir fry the next vegetable, making sure they all stay crisp and colorful. When all the different kinds of vegetables have been stir-fried to perfection and the marinade has been added – mix all vegetables together.

Serve with Jasmin rice cooked with some green cardamom pods and sea salt.

I got lots of great feedback from the family – no one turned their nose up, no one pushed the plate away – someone even said, while eating the tomato soup: “did you put cream in this”?

I feel nourished and full of energy & looking forward to tomorrow & another day of plant food!!

Go to Plant-wild day 2 here

Today’s Smoothie

This smoothie was SO sweet and tasty that the whole family came back for seconds!

Collard greens
green grapes
a piece of pineapple
a banana
some frozen mango blended in to make it cool
filtered water

For more info about smoothies please click this

If you want to know why I am so crazy about green smoothies please click here