Tracy's Raw Food Journal

Tracy’s Sweet Maple Almond Cream

tracyjprez — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:41:41 +0000

(All measurements are approximates. Adjust to your own taste.)

1 cup raw almonds (soaked several hours or overnight – reserve soak liquid)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 Tbl. agave nectar

1 Tbl. pure maple syrup

3 packets vanilla flavored stevia

Drain soak water from almonds and reserve. Place almonds in high speed blender. Add back enough soak liquid to just cover almonds. Process at high speed until you have a chunky paste. Add remaining ingredients and blend again. Add more soak liquid until you have a nice, smooth, thick “whipped cream” consistency. Chill for best flavor.

This cream is very versatile! Omit the maple flavoring and use as a base for cream pies or ice creams, etc. Add any other flavoring you like (rum, almond, mint, orange, etc.) and use in a wide variety of desserts! Try eating this on slices of banana or halved medjool dates. DIVINE!!! You will NOT miss your sugar-based sweets, trust me on this!

Makes about 1-1/2 to 2 cups cream.

Tracy’s Almond Apple Spice Bar

tracyjprez — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:30:47 +0000

2 cups Tracy’s Basic Bar Mix
1 cup date base – (cover 3/4 c. pitted dates with very warm water – just enough to cover – & soak 30 minutes. Put all in food processor & blend till smooth and creamy)
1 cup raw apple pulp or natural apple sauce
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon

Put Tracy’s Basic Bar Mix and all dry spices into mixing bowl and stir until well blended. Add the date base, apple pulp, agave nectar and vanilla. Mix well by hand. This should form a nice, thick “batter.” Spread evenly on non-stick sheets in dehydrator. Should be about 1/2 inch thick. Dehydrate 5 hours. Flip over and dehydrate another hour. Slice and serve warm with Sweet Maple Almond Cream or store in zip-lock bags for snacking later. This made 16 pie slice sized servings in my dehydrator.

Tracy’s Carrot Pineapple Spice Bar

tracyjprez — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:19:24 +0000

2 cups Tracy’s Basic Bar Mix (recipe follows)
1 cup pecans – ground
1 cup date base (cover 3/4 c. pitted dates with very warm water – just enough to cover – & soak 30 minutes. Put all in food processor & blend till smooth and creamy)
4 large carrots – juiced. Pulp only (drink the juice!)
2 cups fresh or 1 large can pineapple chunks – juiced. Pulp only (drink the juice!)
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Put Tracy’s Basic Bar Mix, ground pecans and all dry spices into mixing bowl and stir until well blended. Add the date base, carrot & pineapple pulp, agave nectar and vanilla. Mix well by hand. This should form a nice, thick “batter.” Spread evenly on non-stick sheets in dehydrator. Should be about 1/2″ thick. Dehydrate 5 hours. Flip over and dehydrate another hour. Slice and serve warm with Sweet Maple Almond Cream or store in zip-lock bags for snacking later. This made 16 pie slice sized servings in my dehydrator.

Tracy’s Basic Bar Mix -

1/2 cup brown flax seeds – ground (in coffee grinder) into flour
1 cup steel cut oats – ground (in coffee grinder) into flour
1 cup raw almonds – ground (in small food processor) into flour

Mix well then add other ingredients for variety!

Some Healthier (though not raw) Options for Your Holiday Meal

tracyjprez — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:30:21 +0000

Here are some ideas I came up with which, while not being “Raw”, will really help to improve the over-all nutritional value and reduce the harm from holiday foods:

Pies - Try replacing traditional white flour & shortening or butter-based crusts with crusts made from ground nuts. These can work equally well for either baked, raw or cold cream pies. Pumpkin pie can be sweetened with pure maple syrup, agave syrup, stevia, honey or raw cane juice sugar. Replace dairy with low-fat soy, rice or almond milk. Cream pies can be made using the same substitutions to increase their nutritional and beneficial properties. Fruit pies can be sweetened with the same choice of all-natural, non-refined sweeteners. Thicken pies with egg whites or corn starch instead of flour. If you MUST use dairy, opt for fat-free skim milk. Top pies with low calorie, egg white based meringues’ sweetened with stevia and skip the whipping cream or Cool Whip altogether. If you crave a creamy topping, go for a nice, naturally sweetened nut cream. (Recipes follow. You’ll also find more recipe ideas further down the page in my blog.)

Other Desserts – Consider making fruit-based crisps which can be naturally sweetened & topped with oatmeal, crushed nuts and cinnamon/stevia.

Mashed Potatoes – Instead of loading potatoes up with milk and butter, try this for a delicious, low-fat alternative – boil cubed potatoes in water flavored with chicken (or vegetable) bullion cubes (1 per every cup or cup and a half of liquid.) When potatoes are tender drain most of the liquid and reserve in a container. The bullion cubes will add plenty of salt flavor. Now toss in a few cloves of minced garlic. These really are delicious just like this, but if you “require” a creaminess in your mashed potatoes, try adding low-fat soy, rice or almond milk. If you MUST use dairy, opt for fat-free skim milk or a few dollops of fat-free sour cream. Add back in the reserved bullion liquid until the potatoes arrive at your desired texture.

Candied Yams – Again, skip the butter and brown sugar. Try using pure maple syrup, chopped pecans or walnuts, cinnamon and spray I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter to add a buttery flavor but no added calories. Hint: Toasting the nuts prior to adding to the potatoes will really give them a shot of flavor! Think about adding some chopped fruit bits, such as apple, mango, pineapple, apricot to give additional sweetness and interest!

Salads – Focus on non-jello based salads. This is an area where you can really increase the raw foods available in your meal! Try making a Waldorf Salad with the traditional chopped apple, celery & walnuts. Add raisins and instead of using mayonnaise in your dressing go for an almond cream based dressing or an olive oil and balsamic vinegar with agave nectar option. Try lots of salad variations which include a mixture of greens, vegetables, fruit and chopped nuts, Instead of store-bought dressings go for easy home made versions which use olive oil & vinegar or citrus juice, mashed avocado, marinated tomatoes with fresh minced garlic, and other creative and unusual ideas to keep things interesting and nutritious.

Cranberry Sauce – Try making your own this year from fresh cranberries instead of going for the canned, corn syrup based version! Toss whole cranberries with orange juice, orange zest, apple and/or raspberries & agave nectar into your food processor or blender and mix to your desired consistency. Think about adding some fresh minced ginger or the powdered version for some real ZING!

Gravy – Strain juices from turkey as soon as it comes out of the oven and place in a container in the fridge to chill while you are working on other things. Skim the solidified fat from the top of the juices then return to a pan to re-heat. Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, rubbed sage and a little agave nectar for flavor and thicken with corn starch and cold water.

Stuffing – Skip the cubed bread, butter and milk version this year. Try replacing it with a nice wild rice pilaf that includes LOTS of sautéed vegetables such as celery, onion, carrot and even mushrooms. Add some chopped nuts such as almonds, pecans or hazelnuts if you like. Even dried fruit such as apples, currants, raisins, dates, apricots, cranberries or cherries would be a nice addition and will still keep the starchy, refined grains to a bare minimum.

Dinner Rolls – Speaking of refined grains…if you do one single thing this year, do your best to eliminate them altogether. If you can focus your meal around the turkey, a variety of vegetables, greens, and fruit-based desserts you will be MUCH better off! But…if you MUST go for some kind of bread, try opting for whole wheat or corn based breads. Again, eliminate any refined sweeteners and solid fats like butter, shortening or margarine.

In addition to the recipe alterations, try measuring your serving sizes this year. Commit to, say, a half-cup of all the starchy and sweet foods such as candied yams, mashed potatoes, rice pilaf. Decide in advance that you will only allow yourself a maximum of, say, 1/4 cup or 4 Tbs. of gravy. Limit the dressings on your salads to 2 Tbs. and dedicate yourself to having only one serving of everything. Drink lots of water, decaf coffee and tea. Sip only a glass or two of wine. Think moderation. If you fill up on zero calorie beverages it will really help curb your appetite and keep you from over doing it.

Ok, those are some of my ideas for a healthier holiday meal! I hope these give you some good ideas and get your creative juices flowing!

Big Hugs and Bright Blessings,

~tracy

A Few Raw Food Thanksgiving-Type Recipes

tracyjprez — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:26:56 +0000

Here are a few recipes to get you started thinking about ways you can add raw foods to your holiday meal and increase the health factor of your experience instead of choosing unhealthy, cooked versions. *Note – many of these are not my own recipes. Several I have adapted and altered. If you do a little additional research you will find lots more ideas across the internet! Enjoy!

Blended Sweet Potato Soup

32 oz carrot juice (fresh)
1 medium sweet potato (cubed, peeled)
4 dates, pitted
1 avocado (scooped out)
Several dashes of pumpkin pie spice

Blend in blender until smooth. Enjoy as much as you like!
Makes 4-5 cups.

Carrot Cake and Frosting
This yummy recipe yields 8 cups, or 10-16 servings, one small piece goes a long way! Can be made one or two days in advance and kept refrigerated. Make a traditional looking 2 layer round cake with frosting between layers, or get creative and shape it into any form you like.

Frosting

2 cups unsoaked cashews
8-13 medjool dates pitted (not soaked)
vanilla

In blender blend cashews with enough water to allow blender to run. When smooth, add in dates until sweet enough. Add in vanilla.

Carrot Cake

1/2 cup raisins, soaked 20 minutes, reserve liquid
1/2 cup dried apricots, soaked 20 minutes
2 cups pecans or walnuts
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 1/2 cups coconut (dried, unsweetened, shredded)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala or cinnamon
Optional: pinch each of clove and nutmeg
6 cups carrot pulp
1 1/2 cups date pieces or chopped dates-pit and roughly chop dates

Food processor:

Combine pecans and pine nuts. Process until uniformly fine. Add coconut, pulse until mixed in. Add spices, pulse until mixed, set aside.

Juicer: (use blank) alternate putting carrot pulp, raisins, apricots and dates through. Knead until mixture is evenly combined. Add in nut mixture a little at a time, kneading it in.

Line 2 round cake pans with saran wrap (you may have to oil the pans first).

Fill each with half the “batter” and freeze to solidify. Remove from freezer before frozen solid and remove from pans, Frost between layers and then cover with frosting.

Cashew Cream

Cashew cream can be made sweet to top desserts, or savoury for dips.
With a high speed blender you can make a smooth cream, but it’s just as delicious with a little texture too.

1/2 – 3/4 cup of raw cashews (soaked overnight)
1/2 cup of soaked dates or 3 Tbl. raw agave nectar
Ground vanilla bean

Method:

Rinse the cashews and whip together with the soaked dates or agave nectar and vanilla until completely smooth and creamy.

Orange juice goes beautifully with cashew cream. If you need to thin it use orange juice instead of water. If you have a high speed blender you can skip soaking and just blend with enough orange juice to make a cream.

Cashew Milk

4 1/2 Cups of Pure Water
1 1/2 Cups of Cashews (soaked in water for several hours or overnight)
1/4 Cup Agave Nectar
2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 TB Coconut Oil (optional)
1/4 Tsp. Sea Salt

Place the water and cashews in the blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Strain if desired and then return to the blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend again until smooth. For a sweet cashew milk, add a couple more tablespoons of agave.

Cranberry Almond Slaw

Ingredients:
1/4 of a green cabbage, chopped
1 cup cilantro
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1/4 cup almonds
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Juice of 1 lime
2 T. flax oil
2 T. agave nectar
2 T. red onion, minced
1 large avocado, cut into bite-sized pieces

Preparation:
Place all ingredients, except for the avocado, into a large food processor and pulse-chop until everything is cut up to desired size. Pour out into serving bowl and garnish with avocados.

Serves 4

Pumpkin Pie

2 avocados, peeled and seeded
1/2 cup raw honey
4 dates soaked in 1 cup filtered water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup raw macadamia nuts
4 cups raw pumpkin, peeled
1 teaspoon ground psyllium husks
1 cup organic raisins
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 Honey Nut and Date Pie Crust (recipe follows)

Advance Preparation:

1. Wash pumpkin seeds. Soak for 8 hours and drain. Dehydrate for 6 to 8 hours at 95°F (35 °C)
2. Soak macadamia nuts for 8 hours and drain.

Pie Preparation

1. Place avocado, honey, dates with soak water, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, macadamias, and water into blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add pumpkin and blend until very smooth.
3. Add psyllium and blend well. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes and blend well again.
4. Fold in raisins.
5. Pour into piecrust and top with 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds.

Serves 8.

Honey Nut and Date Pie Crust

1 cup almonds (dry)
1 cup pecans (dry)
1 cup walnuts (dry)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup medjool dates, pitted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup raw honey

1. Place almonds in food processor and process until mixture resembles flour.
2. Add salt and vanilla to almonds and process well.
3. Add pecans, walnuts and dates to processor and process.
4. Add honey to the nut and date mixture and process just until mixed well.
5. Press mixture by hand into an 8 to 10-inch glass pie pan. Makes 1 pie crust.

Note: Crust may be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen.

SWEET POTATO SALAD

GRATE -
2-3 yams or sweet potatoes
1 cup raw, unsweetened coconut
2-3 apples
1 Tbl to 1/4 cup ginger root
Put in large bowl and set aside

Add -
1 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 to 1 cup raisins

DRESSING

3 lemons
2 oranges
Juice the lemons and oranges
Add raw honey or agave and cinnamon to taste.
Whisk together well.

Mix all ingredients together, add dressing and stir well. Refrigerate to allow flavors to blend.

NOTE:
Also delicious with the addition of pineapple!

Another Health-ier Breakfast Option

tracyjprez — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:26:47 +0000

Those just transitioning from a SAD (Standard American Diet) lifestyle to a high-raw/Eighty Percent Raw (www.EightyPercentRaw.com) lifestyle will likely appreciate ideas for how to begin improving their existing diet in a tasty and healthy way.

Here’s another of my favorite breakfast ideas which will satisfy your yearning for a sweet breakfast cereal but will minimize your cooked/grain, dairy and refined sugar consumption. Try it and let me know what you think!

Natural Applesauce with Homemade Granola and Soy Creamer

1 to 1-1/2 c. raw (preferably) or All-Natural Applesauce

1/2 c. Homemade Granola (recipe to follow)

3 to 4 Tbl. Store-bought Soy Creamer

Just put the applesauce in a bowl, top with granola, spoon soy creamer on top and enjoy! Simple, delicious, and MUCH more healthy for you than many other “traditional” breakfast foods! *Here’s my “off-the-cuff” recipe for Homemade Granola (I just tossed the ingredients into a bowl, mixed them and toasted it in the oven…measurements are approximate.)

Homemade Granola

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup brown flax seed, ground in coffee grinder

1 cup raw almonds, chopped

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 c. dark agave nectar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Sprinkling of sea salt

Spread on ungreased cookie sheet and toast in 400 degree oven about 20 minutes. Stir and return to oven for an additional 10 or so minutes. Allow to cool. The toasty deliciousness is fabulous and even though this isn’t raw (you absolutely COULD just use this raw instead of baking it!) it’s still a MUCH healthier alternative to most store-bought breakfast cereals. Also, if you follow the recipe your meal is MOSTLY natural applesauce and the granola just supplies a nice, toasty, crunchy addition so you feel like it’s a REAL TREAT! The soy creamer adds richness and makes you feel the same satisfaction you get from putting milk on cereal without all the negative aspects adding dairy can cause in our bodies.

Healthy Substitutes for Unhealthy Favorites

tracyjprez — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:33:22 +0000

Hi Gang!

Well, it’s been a couple of weeks since I wrote an entry for this blog so I thought I’d update with a subject I think a LOT of people might find helpful. Delicious healthy, if not always Raw, food alternatives for some of your favorite, unhealthy foods.

I’m having weight loss success that is being sustained over the long-haul, and I believe a big key to WHY I’m having that success is that I’ve made some key substitutes for some of the unhealthy foods I used to consume on a regular basis.

I hope these help you, too, and maybe even spark a few of your own healthy versions of favorite foods! If so, PLEASE email them to me! I’d love to have them and post them here!

Ok, here you go -

Soda Pop (Diet or Regular)

Replace With: Water, Green Tea, Yerba Mate Tea, Red Wine (evening only)

Fruit Juice (Bottled/Store-bought)

Replace With: Water, Green Tea, Yerba Mate Tea, Red Wine (evening only)

Salty/Crunchy Snack (Chips, popcorn, pretzels, etc.)

Replace With: Raw nuts such as almonds, cashews, etc., roasted peanuts in the shell, dill pickles, olives, celery filled with natural nut butter and topped with raisins, raw vegies and hummus or ranch dressing

Pudding or Creamy Comfort Food Desert

Replace With: Old Fashioned Oatmeal* or Raw Chocolate Pudding*

Pasta or Noodles

Replace With: Zucchini Noodles or Real Egg Noodles*

Bread/Rolls

Replace With: Lettuce for wraps. Deli meats and sliced cheeses w/o bread

Store-bought Chocolate & Candy

Replace With: Raw Cacao Goop, 70-85% Chocolate Bar, Dates & Almonds

Milk Shake, Malt or Ice Cream

Replace With: Green Smoothie, Frozen Pure-Fruit Sorbet

French Fries or Potato Chips

Replace With: Baked Yam, Baked Sweet Potato, Baked Home-Fries, Boiled Yukon Gold or Baby Red Potatoes

Any dish served over rice or noodles

Replace With: Eat the sauce/topping alone or on-top of raw baby spinach leaves, bean sprouts, zucchini noodles

Sweet Breakfast Cereal and Milk

Replace With: Tracy’s Raw Apple/Banana/Nut “Cereal”*, Old Fashioned Oatmeal*, Green Smoothie

Toppings such as butter/margarine, cheese, sour cream, milk. cream, creamy salad dressing, etc.

Replace With: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray, olive oil, salsa, hummus, home made salad dressings, balsamic vinegar, canned garbanzo beans or home made/fat-free “refried beans”*

Thick meaty soups and stews

Replace With: Meat-free home made lentil soup, pinto bean, garbonzo bean, and other bean and vegetable-based soups and stews.

A Couple of Other Tips

Replace sugar, artificial sweeteners and corn syrup based sweeteners with:

Stevia (I use the powdered version in packets), Agave Nectar, Raw Honey, Pure Maple Syrup, Medjool Dates, Raisins, Applesauce

Eliminate potatoes and other starchy vegetables and grains as much as possible.

Eat chocolate every day in order to prevent a sense of deprivation. Raw cacao is best, but Lindt or Green & Blacks 70-85% Cocoa chocolate bars are very low sugar and are very satisfying.

Always put “greens” (raw spinach is our favorite but try any other salad greens you like) in your fruit smoothies. Read more about this below in another post about green smoothies.

Eat something every 2-3 hours to keep yourself from feeling overly hungry. Try to have a small, balanced snack or meal which includes a good source of protein along with primarily vegies and/or a piece of fruit.

Drink a large glass of water prior to, or just after eating and only eat until satisfied. Personally, I like to eat until I think I might still be a little hungry and then top it off with a big glass of water. That way I feel totally FULL!

WALK wherever you can instead of taking your car. MOVE YOUR BODY!!! A great, free workout tracking website and support community can be found online here: www.teambeachbody.com/coachtracyj

Find a workout buddy or team who will support you and hold you accountable to your own weight loss and fitness goals!

*Recipes for foods listed with an asterisk can be found below in this blog or will be provided soon. Check back in the next few days for my Old Fashioned Oatmeal recipe.

GOOD LUCK!

Woo Hoo!!! Half-Way To My Weight-loss Goal Today!

tracyjprez — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:25:56 +0000

Ok, I am soo jazzed that I actually weigh 2.5 pounds less today than I did yesterday that I had to record what I did to achieve those results! AND…a huge side bonus is…this puts me at exactly 50% of the way to my weight-loss goal!!! This is since December 2008, so I am really excited about that!

Since I lost 2.5 pounds and didn’t even feel like I was restricting myself, I want to document my actions so that I can duplicate that behavior in the future. Here is what I consumed and did:
Got up and drank a big mug of green tea.
Had a substantial breakfast of my famous “banana, apple, almond cereal” but used walnuts instead of almonds.
Drank lots of water throughout the day.
When I got hungry in the afternoon I ate 2 heaping tablespoons full of homemade hummus with several mini dill pickles.
Had a big mug of yerba mate tea.
Walked to Borders and rewarded myself with a large, iced-decaf Americano. Black.
Walked to WinCo and bought two bags of groceries (3 pack romaine, raw spinach leaves, big bunch of bananas, head of fresh garlic, 2 dark chocolate bars & 1 large bottle of red wine)
Walked home with the groceries.
Sipped a glass of wine while doing a live reading for a client.
Had a salad of romaine, red bell pepper strips, fresh minced garlic topped with several tablespoons of home-made dressing made from what was left of the hummus plus the left-over heirloom tomato/balsamic vinegar, olive oil & garlic dressing from the salad I had the other day.
Nibbled 4 squares of dark chocolate (two of the orange variety and 2 of the 85% Cacao variety – both Lindt brand) and had another glass of red wine!

I felt sooo satisfied and full. Oh! And I even tasted the raw cashew “sour cream” I made late last night!

WOW! I’m really astonished I had so much success…it was the walking and toting the groceries, for sure, LOL!

I’m DEFINITELY repeating THIS day again!!!

Tracy’s Very Own Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe

tracyjprez — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 06:23:10 +0000

Ok, I have received enough requests for this recipe now that I figure I should post it here for anyone who wants it

If you dislike the taste of olive oil in it (I use Extra Virgin) you can substitute it with a milder version of olive oil or just go for coconut oil…which you will find at your local health food store.
Enjoy! And please do post a comment if you try them and let me know what you think!

Tracy’s Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 c. steel cut oats
1/4 c. golden flax seed
1/2 c. almonds
1/2 c. unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/3 c. honey or agave nectar
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 c. olive oil

Grind first three ingredients (seperately) in a coffee grinder until a fine powder. Combine in a mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Put by tablespoon full onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and press each cookie with the greased bottom of a glass to flatten. Place in refrigerator to chill. Eat cold just like that! Or, simply eat the dough by the spoonful if you can’t wait! That’s what WE do!!! Some now…some for later!
**Alternatively – “Bake” in dehydrator for 2 or more hours till desired “done-ness.

Progress

tracyjprez — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:55:20 +0000

I am very pleased to report that since early March I have eliminated 22 pounds and a whopping 18.5 inches of body mass from my frame! Very cool!

I have adjusted my diet a bit since the last time I wrote in this blog. I am still eating primarily raw foods, but I do allow myself a few, select, cooked items, as follows;

Steamed Broccoli

Canned Olives (on my salads)

Baked Yams

Baked Salmon (very rarely)

Canned Garbonzo Beans (on my salads)

Home Cooked Pinto Beans, from dry and then mashed “refried bean” style, but with no added fat

Pan-Fried Potato, (very rarely – in fact, ONCE) using a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

Canned Stewed Tomatoes and/or Bottled Salsa

Ranch Style store bought salad dressing (occassionally)

Something new I have added to my diet almost daily is a Raw Cacao and Acai Berry “Banana Split” concoction that I”m in love with currently! Here is the recipe for you;

Choco-Banana Deluxe

In a bowl mix the following;

2 Tbl. Raw Cacao Powder

1 Tbl. Raw Acai Berry Powder

1 Tbl. Raw Coconut Oil

2 Tbl. Agave Nectar – or 2 packets Vanilla flavored Stevia

1 Tbl. Vanilla Extract (if using the Agave Nectar)

1 Tbl. Flax Seed – ground to powder in a coffee grinder first

1 tsp. Orange Peel Powder (optional)

Dash of Sea Salt

Mix well. Then add 1 lg. sliced banana and a handful of chopped walnuts or almonds. Stir together.

*Alternately – put all ingredients (except nuts) into a small food processor and blend well. This becomes more like a fudgy-pudding texture. Then add chopped nuts and stir.

YUMMY!!! Very filling, good for you AND satisfies both your chocolate and sweet tooth cravings!

I continue to consume absolutely no “refined” foods (flour or sugar), dairy or grains of any kind. Only what I consider “real” food…ie; nothing processed or artificial. Technically, I “might” allow myself a bit of dairy if I wasn’t ME and didn’t know that I’m lactose intolerant. So, dairy is just inherantly “bad” for my body. But if it isn’t bad for your body you might include a wee bit of yogurt or fat-free milk. But, really, I do believe I (and most people) would be healthier omitting most dairy foods from their diet….though, don’t get me wrong! I LOVE GOOD CHEESE!!! And a great loaf of crusty bread, too! But, I am more concerned about my health and fitness right now than satisfying those kind of food cravings!

Oh! But I HAVE re-introduced a glass or two of red wine to my diet occassionally now, as well, with no apparent disadvantage.