Great Information when you need to budget your produce shopping

It was release today by the Environmental Working Group! Next time you go to the farmers' market or the health food store take it with you so you know what choices to make!!!
Have a great evening!

I Love Cabbage! Salad

I love cabbage now!. Although cabbage is a great vegetable to eat I did not know how to eat it. I do not like traditional cole slaw and I really like sauerkraut but I do not take the time to prepare it at home. Also cabbage can bloat me up and I do not like that feeling at all. So there are two important things when eating raw cabbage: 1) it has to be finely shredded. I like doing it with a good knife( I love my 6" Santoku Mac knife) but you can process it or use a mandoline. Basically you have to cut the cabbage in two pieces and remove the core( triangle like shape). Then on you hold firm on the flat side of the cabbage against the cutting board and you shredded it finely.
2) You have to chew it well in the mouth so cellulase is released in the upper or cardiac stomach and helps digest the thin layer of cellulose that covers all green raw vegetables.

Salad for 2:

1/2 small cabbage
I/2 carrot peeled with a peeler so you make "noddles"
1/2 daikon same as with carrots
I green onion sliced in rings
leaves of 5-7 cilantro stems
black sesame seeds
5-7 cashews chopped in small pieces
Mix cabbage, carrots, daikon and green onions, sprinkle sesame seeds and chopped cashews, garnish with cilantro leaves.

Dressing ( for 2-3 occasions save in a glass jar in the refrigerator for 5-7 days)
1/2 cup unrefined sesame oil
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs Oshawa wheat free-tamari
2 tbs Oshawa Mirin
1 tsp Yozu Vinegar
1 tsp ginger grated with microplane
Optional but great :A bit of wasabi paste (made of wasabi powder and water) or cayenne or finely crushed thai peppper
Mix all ingredients. Pour into salad

Happy Morning!

Today is a beautiful sunny NEW day. I am going to make it a nice day. I will try to focus on the things that make me feel well, and I will do the ones I do not like so much with love so the experience become a positive one. We have the power to transform anything in life from bad to good. It is up to us to do it. The earthly activity that helps me to keep focus on the good is the way I eat: a vegan, mostly raw foods.
This morning I tried something new: I woke up earlier than usual with the idea of going to spinning. As I was already up and dressed for the gym I realized I was not ready for a noisy and aggressive activity in a dark room. The morning was beautiful and the sun was coming up. Instead I sat down to practice meditation. I decided to follow a mantra I created that resonated with me and sat still for about 20 minutes. Honestly this is the first time I do it in probably 2 years. Besides having a good moment (hahaha I did not go to nirvana yet), I realized that by having a mantra in your mind you can come back to it every time your mind wonders so you are back on track. It is easier for the brain to focus on nothing, just the repetition of the mantra until one day hopefully I will not need it anymore and meditation will be in my unconscious competent level. I compare it to having food habits. At the beginning I had to pay attention and have more discipline when choosing what to eat and what not to eat. Then slowly it became a part of me. I do not think anymore about whether to eat or not certain foods. It comes by itself. Also if I were to "fall off track" because of life situations I would know where to come back simply because it makes me feel good to eat this way.
A food coach to transition to a vegan raw lifestyle might be needed until one can do it alone, the same as a mantra is needed for meditation until we can let it go.
Have a Happy Living Day!!

Mushroom Tostada

During my visit to Menla, Rebecca prepared some delicious marinated mushrooms with guacamole and greens. She inspired me to make this delicious mexican style dish I call Mushroom Tostada.
For the mushrooms
4 organic Portabella Mushrooms
4 Tbs Olive oil
4 Tbs Tamari
2 large garlic cloves crushed
Let marinade for 1-2 hours. You want the mushrooms to get the flavors but to remain firm.
For the guacamole
3 medium avocados
3 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tsp celtic or himalayan salt
Puree avocado and mix with lemon and salt
For the green layer
5-6 collard green leaves, stem removed and finely shredded
Sprinkle some salt and massage until soft. It also helps to remove bitterness
For the salsa
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
2 Tbs finely chopped red onion
7 stems cilantro minced
1 Tbs lemon juice
Minced red jalapeño to taste
Salt to taste
Mixed salsa ingredients

To make the "Tostada" spread guacamole on the flat side of the mushroom, spread the shredded collard greens, add salsa and sprinkle with finely chopped green onions.

If you want to add some nuts, in a food processor coarsely process soaked and dehydrated walnut. Add some mexican spices such as cumin, chili and coriander and 1-2 Tbs tamari. Process again. Add some cilantro leaves and pulse a couple of times.
You can place the nuts on top of the greens and topped them with the salsa.

Rawsome Strawberry Mousse Cake with Chocolate Frosting

CRUST
• 1 CUPS MACADAMIA NUTS
• 2 CUPS PECANS (SOAKED AND DEHYDRATED PREFERABLY)
• ¼ CUP DATES PITTED
• ¼ TSP VAINILLA
• PINCH OF SALT
• TINY BIT OF COCONUT OIL

PROCESS NUTS, VAINILLA, SALT & OIL. ADD DATES, PROCESS AGAIN. AVOID BREAKING THE OILS IN NUTS.

ON A 9-INCH SPRING OFF PAN POUR MIX, SPREAD IT WITH FINGERS IN A RAKE LIKE MOTION. START PRESSING FORM CENTER, EVENLY. LEAVE MORE ON WALLS.

MOUSSE
• 2 CUPS STRAWBERRIES
• ½ CUP AGAVE
• ¼ + 2 TBSP THICK COCONUT MILK
• ½ TSP VAINILLA
• PINCH SALT
• ½ CUP + 1 TBSP COCONUT BUTTER
• 2 ½ TBS NON GMO SOY LECITHIN
• 3 TSP PSYLLIUM

BLEND BERRIES, AGAVE, VAINILLA, COCOUT MILK AND SALT. ADD COCONUT BUTTER. BLEND. ADD SOY LECITHIN. BLEND. ADD PSYLLIUM, BLEND SOFTLY. POUR INTO CRUST. LET FREEZE FOR 1-2 HOURS OR UNTIL FIRM.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING
• 1-CUP CACAO
• 1-CUP COCONUT BUTTER
• 2 TBSP PALM SUGAR
• 2 TBSP AGAVE
• ½ -3/4 COCONUT WATER/WATER BLEND
• 1/3 TSP NON-GMO LECITHIN

PROCEESS ALL EXCEPT LECITHIN. ADD IT. PROCESS SOFTLY. COVER STRAWBERRY MOUSSE. SET IN THE FREEZER FOR 1 HOUR. CUT FRESH BERRIES FOR DECORATON. ENJOY!!

On my way back to LA at the TSA checking area I asked the TSA officer to manually inspect my food since it was raw and I did not want to x-rayed it. His answer was very funny. He told me: "Mme, since what you have it's food it must be x-rayed, but if it would have been medications it could be exempted from X-ray. He probably never heard about Hippocrates' famous say: "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine thy food". LOL and cheers!

I just came back from NYC and Phoenicia a small town in upstate New York where Menla is located. This is the place where the Clean retreat will take place. The location is surrounded by water streams and beautiful trees. You can really feel the powerful energy of nature. I hope you can come and join us in this Clean 'n Raw adventure.