Raw Loulou

Juice Feast Tips

2011-03-25T13:59:00.000+01:00

Recently, I was asked for some tips about 'Juice Feasting' so I thought I would write a post about it.

It can be quite daunting the first time one undertakes a juice feast (or fast as it is also known - although I prefer 'Feast' as, think of all the goodness you will be providing your body....seems more like a feast to me rather than a fast.) It is necessary to go into this with eyes open and a sense of organisation.

It is best to prepare yourself and your body at least 1 day before the chosen time. (I recommend you pick a few days where you KNOW you can have a bit of 'YOU' time, the weekend works well, a time when you are not rushing around, stressed or under pressure to be in 5 different places at once.... besides, you need to be near your juicer anyhoo.) What I mean by preparing your body prior to the juice feast is simply that.

PREPARE YOUR BODY FOR THE JUICE FEAST

If you are a meat eater, at least 1 day before don't eat any meat on that day....
slow down on the coffee intake...
eat light meals.... salads and soups and fruit....
don't eat late the night before the juice feast....
no alcohol....
drink lots of filtered water or herbal teas....
have an early night or at least a relaxing evening.Take a long bath with candles....Chilax!

BE ORGANISED

know what juices you will want to have during your feast....
buy all your fruit and veg needed the day before.... and it goes without saying, try for ALL organic
warn family or friends that you will be off the radar so to speak for the weekend to enable as much 'YOU' time as possible....but do explain why so as not to offend lol.
know what you are going to want to do during the next few days as a means of 'YOU' time, chose your books you want to read, stock up on herbal teas, organise yoga sessions, make sure you have your favourite music for meditating with or listen to as you relax etc etc....up to you!!

MORNING OF THE JUICE FEAST

upon waking up, the first thing you consume should be a pint of filtered water with freshly squeezed lemon juice added to it. You may think that lemon is acid....which, yes, it is, but once it enters your system it in fact is a wonderful alkalizer for your body. All citrus fruits can aid in balancing your ph levels due to this alkalizing factor. The water simply hydrates your body from it's hard work of rejuvenation and reparation it has undergone during the night whilst you were sleeping. The body truly is a marvel in itself!!!
Melon is a good fruit to have as your first juice (although, technically this isn't a juice, I blend my galia melon up with ice..... Melon should ALWAYS be consumed on it's own...with NO other fruit or veg due to it's high digestion rate. Galia Melon is the fruit highest in B complex as an additional bonus to it's creamy flavour once blended. (Great to have after an evening of alcohol intake as alcohol depletes the body of B vitamins heftily)

PREPARE ALL YOUR JUICES FOR THE DAY

this is best to do first thing.....even before your first juice. Simply section out the fruit and veg into separate bags concerning their juice for the day.... there are no rules on how many juices you have during the day...this depends greatly on each individual, BUT it IS important that you DON'T go hungry!!! Have as many juices as you see fit for your body's needs.
keep the bags in the fridge in order of which juice comes next
always start your juice feast with the fruit only juices first..... then move onto the veg juices as the day goes on. Even though the fruit is liquidized, it still needs to be consumed on a relatively empty stomach or fermentation occurs creating bloating and gas.

AS SOO AS YOU FEEL 'PECKISH'

Whenever I have been asked to do a juice feast for someone or guide on a juice feast, I have ALWAYS made sure I participate in it with them. The main reason for this is so I know exactly when they are likely to be ready for their next juice....when hunger strikes again. The moment you feel slightly peckish......

have your next juice there and then!! DON'T wait until you are famished as this will be the time you will be tempted to eat something solid in front of you or left over in the fridge for example. NOT a good thing to do on a juice feast.
The idea of the juice feast, is, apart from providing an enormous amount of raw nutrition and vitamins and minerals to your system, but ALSO to give your digestive system a 'rest'. By allowing this to happen, all the energies that are usually taken up 'digesting' heavy cooked foods, are now being utilized elsewhere in the body in the sense of rejuvenation and elimination of toxins in the system. Hence why it is the utmost importance, if you start a juice feast....try your best to continue so as to maximize the benefits for your body.
don't forget, you can drink as much filtered water and herbal teas as you desire during the day. (try and stay away from Green Tea due to it's caffeine content. Stay hydrated.... yes, you may be hydrating your body with all the natural fruit and veg water content... BUT you still need to provide your body with water as the day goes on as per usual.

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR JUICES

OBVIOUSLY drink them ;0) that goes without saying...... but when you do....make sure you sit down somewhere comfortable and take your time, (not too much time though, ALL juices should be consumed within 10 minutes of juicing due to the oxidation that occurs and therefore vital vitamins and minerals are lost in this process!!)
savour the flavours and appreciate the goodness you are providing your body. Think of the differening tastes and applaud yourself for this venture....
CHEW YOUR JUICES!!! I know, I know....you are now probably thinking that I have Finally lost it...... well that maybe the case lol, but by chewing your drink, you release vital digestive enzymes in your saliva that aid in this process. You know as a child you were always told to 'CHEW' your food....maybe you never realised why.....well....this is the reason why. The food (and drink) is easily assimilated this way. SO, take your time and CHEW!!
DON'T gulp down your juice!!! ENJOY it!!

CLEAR UP BEHIND YOU....STRAIGHT AWAY

this may sound obvious too... but believe me, it makes the whole process of the day less stressful. By doing so, the moment you have finished your juice and you clean your juicer..... it is ready and waiting for the next juice!!
also, when you juice your fruit and veg, always put the 'pulp' through the juicer at least another time or twice to make sure you get ALL the goodness for each juice available.

LAST JUICE OF THE DAY

make sure this is the largest of the juices. This is the last juice of the day (and shouldn't be consumed no later than 7pm) so it needs to be fulfilling and ample in size to see you through the evening and night.
the reason for the time deadline, is that by doing so, again, your body can utilize all it's energies in other areas other than digestion.
I make sure my last juice of the day is my LOULOU'S GREEN JUICE . It works a treat
during the evening after your last juice, make sure you hydrate still. Drink herbal teas and or filtered water.
make sure you have an early night or at least a relaxing evening....pamper yourself with a face mask or a pedi/manicure, read, relax, do some calming yoga or meditate..... up to you.

EMOTIONAL DETOX

depending on how long your juice feast is..... you may go through what is known as an 'emotional detox'. Now don't go worrying. It differs from each individual and not everyone goes through it.... but the symptons may be from feeling elated one moment and having slumps of lack of motivation another. You could find yourself feeling really tired or really energetic. You may be inspired to write or read or simply staying as yourself and reflecting upon things...wonderings etc.
WHATEVER emotional detox you experience - if at all - simply LET IT BE...... Recognise these emotions, record them in your mind and then let them go. Don't hold on to them.....go with the flow.

DETOX SYMPTONS

You MAY or MAY NOT experience certain detox symptons during your feast...again, depending on how long you juice for tbh.....but these symptons can vary.... One which I have heard my clients talk about in past feasts are mild head aches or fuzzy heads. If you have a head ache....this is generally the toxins in your body that have been released and are floating about awaiting elimination....they should pass. Just make sure you hydrate throughout!!

MOST IMPORTANTLY ........ ENJOY!!!!!

Disclaimer:

If you have any concerns on the above information, before going ahead with an unsupervised/guided juice feast, it is valuable to seek and go ahead and consult with an alternative health care professional for advice and the 'go ahead' on your own personal level. This post is not meant to diagnose, prescribe or treat illness.

Rooibos and Orange Ice-Tea

2011-03-24T08:14:00.000+01:00

As it feels like Spring has finally Sprung and the sun is a shining happiily at the moment..... I wanted to post something on the 'lighter' side. It was a twitter post about Rooibos Tea from a dear friend of mine Caro that in fact inspired this little creation today. Caro, is such an inspiration to me in many ways and she has finally found time in her extensively busy schedule and she is setting up her blog soon so hopefully I can post that link too for you all to check out!!

We were discussing our love for Rooibos Tea (esp, rooibos and vanilla) and this got me thinking......

LOULOU'S ROOIBOS AND ORANGE ICE-TEA

1 pt rooibos tea - I steeped 3 teabags into a pint glass of boiling water for 30 minutes...left to cool
1 C freshly squeezed orange juice
3 or 4 stalks of fresh mint
3 or 4 slices of oranges
lots of ice - I froze some raspberries and blueberries in ice cubes to help decorate the ice-tea

Once the tea is cooled...add the mint leaves and the orange slices and the orange juice and refridgerate for at least an hour. I made mine in the morning so as to be able appreciate it later in the day when the sun warms everything up.

Just add ice cubes and your are ready to go....... Some may prefer a sweeter taste....I personally found the orange juice provided enough sweetness for myself, but, one could always add agave syrup or honey to the tea whilst the tea bags are steeping in the hot water.

ROOIBOS TEA:-

contains NO caffeine
high in anti-oxidants
low in tannin
magnesium
potassium
sodium
calcium
high in Vit C
NO Calories!!
NO Oxalic acid - so can be consumed by kidney stone sufferers...also pregnant women too.

Rooibos tea can help soothe stomach or digestive problems and also the central nervous system....so it is great for stress, headaches, nervous tension or even sleepless nights.

Rooibos is also useful when applied externally for skin irritations such as eczema, or acne, rosecea and sunburns due to it's Alpha Hydroxy content which promotes healthy skin.

This was a deliciously light beverage and no doubt will be consumed regularly in my house this summer :0)

The next time though, I want to try with Rooibos Vanilla tea and also Rooibus Ginger tea too.....got a feeling that latter may give a hint of ginger ale flavouring to it....... we'll see.

Curry Avocado, Apple and Papaya Starter

2011-03-22T09:07:00.000+01:00

I prepared this dish for a starter but it can equally become a breakfast dish as well. It is light, fresh and the mix of curry with the sweetness of the fruit and the creaminess of the avocado works as a wonderful marriage of flavours. Also........ It is REALLY easy and quick to make!!

LOULOU'S CURRY AVOCADO, APPLE AND PAPAYA STARTER

1 ripe avocado chopped
2 oranges - juiced
2 apples peeled and chopped
1/2 papaya peeled and de-seeded and chopped
1 t curry powder (this quantity can be adjusted to your preference)

Firstly, juice the oranges and place the juice into a large bowl. Add the curry powder to this and mix up well.

As you chop the fruit, add to the curried juice marinade and make sure all the fruit has been well covered. The acid in the orange juice will preserve the apple and avocado to prevent them turning brown.

We all have differing ways to chop certain fruits and veg.... I just thought I would share my favourite way to chop up an avocado.

Cut in half...... with a knife (not a sharp one mind) slice as shown above (still in the skin in the palm of your hand).......

With the knife back edge, move it alongside the edges of the avocado skin, dislodging the cut pieces as you go along and the simply turn out into the bowl. :0)

Leave the fruit in the marinade for about 10 - 15 minutes.... I wouldn't leave it much longer than that as the acid of the orange juice would in fact 'cook' the avocado and it would become mushy and not look so pretty.

I felt like playing about with a spare apple and couldn't resist creating an apple swan :0) Playing with food is Such fun!!!

Real Rice... Raw

2011-03-21T13:08:00.001+01:00

I thought that by going raw a few years back, that I would really miss a few of my old 'staples' and Rice being one of them.........BUT oh no sireee..... I still happily enjoy rice.....I just don't cook it is all. Now you may be thinking..... ' won't the rice be too crunchy and hard to eat raw?' Well, NO is the simple answer to that one......

...... because, I soak mine for 2 days prior to consuming it. It is THAT simple. Soak your chosen rice in cold filtered water (I like the mix of red, white and wild rice).

If you think about it...when you 'cook' rice, by heating the water, this simply speeds the process of the rice grains taking in the water to soften. By leaving the rice in soak for 2 days.... you acheive the same outcome....believe me, it works a treat.

Once the rice is happily softened via the soaking process...... drain and rinse thoroughly in filtered water and add the rest of the chosen ingredients to complete your dish. I chose....

LOULOU'S REAL RICE - RAW DISH

diced red onion
chopped, peeled mushrooms,
fresh mint leaves chopped
finely grated garlic
finely grated ginger
chopped sundried tomatoes

Mix all of the chosen ingredients with the soaked rice in a bowl and add the sauce.... one of my favourites is

LOULOU'S RAW TERIYAKI SAUCE

2 T olive oil
1 T namo shoyu
1 t honey

Mix in well with the rice dish and leave to marinate for 30 minutes before consuming.

This is the honey I used......... our locally made honey.

I placed the rice mix into an apropriate dish and hey presto...... I still get to enjoy my 'old staple' rice meal.

Rejuvelac.... How to....

2011-03-19T14:34:00.001+01:00

It appears SPRING is finally here!!

WHY USE REJUVELAC??

Rejuvelac is full of enzymes and it helps the body to create friendly bacteria in the digestive system. It is also plentiful in vitamin C, vitamin E and the B vitamins too!!!

I have mentioned in a couple of posts recently my new 'love' of Rejuvelac which I incorporate into my soups, smoothies or just drink instead or as well as water. I have received a few emails requesting 'how to make rejuvelac' ...... So, here we are....step by step process.

It takes about 4 - 5 days in total to obtain the final usuable rejuvelac which may seem slightly off putting, but it really is not a time consuming task at all as you just need to keep an eye on things each day but the berries do the rest of the work.

You can use Wheat berries, Rye or Barley. I have only tried with wheat berries but my next batch I plan on giving barley a go.

Start off by adding the berries into a bowl (not plastic....needs to be ceramic or glass) and cover with filtered water. Leave to soak over night.

The next day, drain and rinse and you will notice how the berries have 'plumped' up nicely whilst soaking. Place the berries back into the bowl and leave to sprout. (easy so far no!!?)

Generally the sprouting process only needs 1 day but sometimes it may take 1 1/2 - 2 days....just depends....your judgement tbh. Once the berries have an adequate length 'tail' as above..........

Simply cover the sprouted berries with water - to the top of the bowl..... this water will become your rejuvelac liquid so it makes sense to fill to the top.

The next step is to cover the bowl and leave on the side for 2 days to ferment. You will notice the liquid becomes slightly discolored and even a bit cloudy. There may be a few frothy bubbles laying on the top surface of the liquid, this is normal. (if mould appears...throw away and start again, but I have never had this happen yet.)

After 2 days, drain and transfer the liquid to glass bottles, jars or the storage vessel of your choice. (once again, not plastic.....glass or ceramic only). KEEP the berries, don't throw them away yet as they still can produce more rejuvelac....slightly weaker in taste but usable still.

Place the berries back into the empty bowl and top up with water again and cover and leave for 1 day. Again, drain and transfer your rejuvelac to store in the fridge - it lasts for about a week - and there you have it. Easy !!

The berries can further be used to make 'essene' crackers or bread.... of which I have tried making both but I found the taste and smell too strong for me to appreciate, although I know a lot of people like this so...... each to their own, it's just not for me.

Raw Sushi Rolls with Warm Satay Sauce

2011-03-15T10:04:00.003+01:00

One thing I have noticed recently during my raw food aventure is that over time....my food choices are becoming more and more simplistic. I find now adays I am 'happy as Larry' scoffing down a simple salad (sometimes even for breakfast, lunch and dinner) BUT I always have to have either a decent dressing to smother my salads with or a favourite sauce to go with my chosen raw dishes. This is my treat to myself for being such a goody and eating my greens. :0)

These sushi rolls were made up with most of the left overs from my fridge to be honest but worked out to be well combined in flavour alongside my FAV dipping sauce. These sushi rolls have inside them -

marinated cauliflower
avocado
romain lettuce
sauerkraut
red and yellow peppers

LOULOU'S RAW WARM SATAY SAUCE

8 dates - soaked for at least 20 mins
chunk peeled ginger
1/4 small green pepper
2 T almond butter
1 T nama shoyu
a little filtered water to aid with blending

Simply blend all of the sauce ingredients in a high speed blender and your sauce is ready to go..... I placed mine on the little T-light candle warmer to heat up slightly as I prepared the sushi rolls.

The sauce doesn't have to be warmed or heated as it is just as good fresh from the fridge or at room temperature. I also use this satay sauce as a spread on onion bread sarnies, dipping crudities into and use as a salad dressing. It's a good'un!!

Socca Frites - Panisse Fries

2011-03-13T18:15:00.025+01:00

(Scroll down to see my EDIT: Home Made version of Socca Fries - Panisse)

For all you 'Socca' lovers out there.....here's the next step into 'chick pea' Land........ PANISSE!! These little beauties are simply that.....little beauties..... !!!!

I personally adore Socca and have done for years....having lived in the area where Socca distributers are abundant...it's hard not to have tried them at least once. For those of you that don't know, I live in between Nice and Monaco and therefore, Socca is available Everywhere!! Socca is basically a mix(similar to pancake mix) of Chick Pea flour, olive oil and water.... that is generally pan fried or baked 'crepe' like and may sound bizarre and bland but in fact are lush.

Whenenver I venture into Nice (especially Vieux Nice) or Monaco, I often come across restos or places that sell Socca and there is ALWAYS a HUGE line up of people happy to wait their turn to purchase such a delight. Now, as I mentioned before, I have often succumed to the wonderment of this 'mid shopping' edible jewel....but never had I been made aware of Panisse..... Until...... my wonderful BF (from Monaco....so he would know the know) brought me some the other week to try. He was sure that I had never seen nor tasted such a thing and that I would love it and he was right.

It amazes me even now, that I have lived in this area for more than 8 years and yet, I have never been introduced to this sublime simple local delicacy until recently!!! OMG...... Socca I adore....but Panisse is 10 times more rewarding...... Mainly because I guess....they ressemble french fries and well..... they just taste divine to boot.

This is what they look like - uncooked - upon purchase - from our local super market much to my delight.

You can see from the Ingredients...... they consist of ONLY -

Chick pea flour,

Water

and Salt!! Simple and yet.. delicious

They are simply sliced into 'Fries' style pieces and I pan fry mine in coconut oil for a few minutes and season slighty with Himalayan pink salt and hey presto.........................

..... Panisse Fries........ Socca's sister food........... I am in heaven!!!!

EDIT

Since posting the above Panisse discovery, I wanted to try this lush dish from scratch myself and see if there was much difference from that and the 'bought' Panisse. So....... I got to work and discovered it is SO SO SO easy to make!!

All you need are the above ingredients and some filtered water -

LOULOU'S HOME MADE SOCCA FRIES - PANISSE FRITES

1 C chick pea flour
1/2 t salt
1 T Oilive oil
1/2 ltr filtered water

Mix all well together and add to a pan. Make sure you seive the flour first (golden rule.....that I forgot to do in my haste and regreted immediately - shocking behaviour from a qualified Pastry Chef that I am.....should know better lol).

Stir continuously over a steady heat with a wooden spoon and allow the flour to 'cook' until it becomes sturdy (almost string like) and that it peels away from the base effortlessly.

Place in a bowl and leave to cool for at least an hour.

Then turn out onto a chopping board and ..........

..... Slice up the Panisse like chips (fries) and then pan fry....I cooked mine in coconut oil as usual.

Et voila.................... SOCCA FRIES!!! SO EASY :0)

Home Made Lip Balm

2011-03-13T13:02:00.000+01:00

HOME MADE LIP BALM - YUMMY HONEY FLAVOUR

2 T organic Shea Butter
Honey (or you can use essential oils instead, ie.... spearmint or peppermint)

I am one of those girls that Always has to have her lip balm with her at all times..... not even sure if my lips need it to be honest, but now it has become a sense of 'safe' for me....a habit I guess.

Over the past years of living the raw lifestyle, I have been made aware of the harmful ingredients and chemicals used in most open market cosmetics and of course lets not forget the cruelty to animals during the testing modes of production of these products. Therefore, a year ago, I came up with my own recipe for a very very simple yet effective lip balm to which I use all the time....simply varying the flavourings from time to time.

For some reason, I enjoy the Honey flavoured lip balm more so in the winter months and during the warmer months of the year I tend to go for the minty flavours....I guess they appear more refreshing and the honey seems more comforting in the colder months. It is up to you!!! These are just my preferences.

To make the lip balm takes minimum effort and really is worth while when you concider the pricing of most lip balms on the market now a days too.

Simply melt down the Shea butter gently - I place the solid butter in a small ceramic bowl and then place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with boiling water and after about 3-5 minutes it is perfectly melted down. The honey or chosen flavouring is then added to the melted butter, mixed well and then placed into a sterilized pot with lid and left in the fridge to set for an hour before use. That's it!!! Simple no!!!?

I recently purchased these cute little candle holders....they are in fact carved from Himalayan Pink Salt!!

They were so cheap too...... at only 2 euros each....I couldn't resist.

They also go perfectly well with my Himalayan Salt Lamp I already purchased a few years back as you can see. They give off such a warm light and fill the room with cozy-ness.

Raw Creamy Mushroom Soup

2011-03-12T14:52:00.000+01:00

When I was growing up (in England) I often enjoyed a good old soup. Now being the child I was, despite my Mother always providing the family with fresh home made soups..... me being me and always having to be different lol...... insisted on either of 2 soups which had to be 'Heinz' canned soup and not home made. (Sorry Mom!!)

I would only eat either Heinz Tomato soup or Heinz Creamy Mushroom soup........ no other kind would kick it, and this continued into my early adult life. UNTIL...... I moved to France. As you may imagine.....this brand of soup was not made available in the French super markets until recent years where most popular larger super markets hold a small section of British products....normally at quadruple the GB cost so I never bought these even then.

Instead....during my 'cooked' years as an adult, I simply did what my good old Mom did and made them myself. AND..... once I ventured into the 'raw food lifestyle'.... I simply re-invented the raw version of such soups..... Which I adore to boot :0)

LOULOU'S RAW CREAMY MUSHROOM SOUP

1 cup filtered water (or rejuvelac)
1/2 onion
2 c chopped, peeled mushrooms
1 garlic clove
1/2 lemon juiced
1/4 cup avocado oil (or Olive oil)
1/4 cup nama shoyu
2 T almond butter

I simply add all the ingredients to the vitamix (high speed blender) and it is ready to go. During the summer months, I would add a couple of ice cubes to the mix and blend up to have it chilled but today I wanted it slightly warm so I left the vitamix to run a little longer than normally until the soup was tepid.

Once poured into the soup bowl, I chopped up some more peeled mushrooms and added that to the soup for texture.

I have found that by adding almond butter (or any nut butter) this makes the soup more 'creamy' and the addition of avocado oil also helps acquire this too.

Carob Tree in the Garden

2011-03-07T18:42:00.000+01:00

Today, I made a little discovery.....I realised that there was an actual Carob Tree on the property where I work. For years I passed this tree and never even realised that it was these funny looking 'bean like' formed pods that the carob powder I often use in raw recipes comes from!!

This is the tree itself with a few of the pods dangling off of it.

This evergreen tree grows in Africa, Southern America, Australia, France (now I know that fact), Italy and spain and it is known to go back as far as Biblical times.

To get to the carob seeds inside, the hard outer core of the pods are spilt open and ..................

Here they are..................... carob seeds. The technical term for this process is called 'Kibbling'. The pods are kibbled which entails the seed and the pod being separated for different uses. The pod is ground and used as 'Carob Powder' we have become familiar to. The seeds are used to make Carob Bean Gum (CBG) and used as a stabalizer or thickener.

After World War II, due to chocolate being short in supply, to replace this form of sweets/treats, young children were given carob pods to chew on instead. Now I realise why one of my dogs always grabs one of these pods when we pass this tree and plays with it for a while then lays down and chews on it. As we know from the powder, the pod is naturally sweet and quite tasty in fact even in that form.

We also have lots and lots of aloe vera plants on the property too fortunately which I adore and utilize often.

I cut away the outer tough green skin and the aloe vera gel oozes inside. I add this to my green smoothies and also use it externally as a body moisturiser.

I have always been known to walk around with 'blinkers' on so to speak (must work on this) and now, to think I have access to a carob tree and it's wonderous pods astounds me!

Ile de Lerins - 2 day silent retreat

2011-02-24T18:14:00.003+01:00

This weekend, I was lucky enough to experience my first ever ''Retreat'' on a very picturesque beautiful tiny island off of Canne with my dear friend K. It in fact was a belated xmas gift from her to me. We had often discussed how lovely it would be to go and seeing as we both live quite close to Cannes it seemed it was meant to be.

Now, I am not religious at all but K is and I knew it would mean alot for her to experience it from that point of view. I am so so grateful for the 2 days we spent at this wonderous place and I will be forever grateful to K for giving me the opportunity to do so. Merci ma belle K!!!!

This is the early morning/night view of the 'old fort' found alongside the Monastery where we resided for the 2 day stay. Myself and K had breakfast at 5am and off we trotted to see the day begin hoping for a spectacular sunrise. (Breakfast was served each day from 4.30am - 8am)

This is the hallway to the entrance of our rooms. It onlooked the church itself and we were a stone's throw away from the church bells - which strangely so were not annoying at all but were in fact soothing tbh!!. The monastery complex was so characteristic in architecture and as you can tell.....I couldn't put my camera down.

The accommodation was as simple as one would imagine but pleasantly set up for all basic needs. The one thing that struck me the most even upon first arrival, was the utter stressless environment surrounding us.

The island itself is tiny. Only 4km in perimeter, no vehicles, consisting of the Monastery complex itself, 1 restaurant on the other side of the island and a small gift shop where the Monk's products were for sale. (It is only a 20 minute pedestrian small ferry boat ride from the Cannes port.)

The products for sale entailed religious artifacts naturally, but also Island Made Honey, Bee Pollen, Olive Oil etc and most importantly the Monk's Wine. (this is in fact how we came to hear about the retreat in the first place.....their wine has become quite popular over the past years and it IS a divine wine...it has to be said.)

They produce white and red wines and lemoncello and their very own green potent liquor.

Both mornings we were there, we awoke early to have our breakfast and then headed out to our already chosen spot to watch the sun rise. We had decided on the day of arrival to try and go silent for as long as we could to get the very most of our 'soul searching' stay. The only rules of silence put upon us by the Monks were that of silence in the church and during meal times in the communal food hall. As it turned out, myself and K remained silent for 1& 1/2 days.

This is K silently watching the sun rise the first morning. It was mighty cold but we were wrapped up warm and happily observing nature in our solitude. We both feel that our experience over the two days was very pleasurable and magnified so much so for the silence and opportunity of self-reflect.

As you can see, I didn't put my camera down for a minute lol. I was simply loving everything about the buildings and views and nature.

I even took a walk around the famous vineyards. We walked alot during our stay and sat and read or wrote outside or even in the library which was open to the residing guests.

There were a multitude of seagulls and even resident pheasants exploring the land every where.

During my first day of silence and island exploring, I came across this little lagoon. I was led to it by a tiny natural foliage archway you had to duck through and this is the sight that met me on the other side. No one was to be seen, so I came here often and soaked up the sun on my face as I read in tranquillity or wrote.

The foliage as you can see varied greatly....I had to take a photo of this little lavander grove as it struck me unusual to see it next to cacti.

More architecural photos..... I did get a little carried away with it all it seems.

There were set timed 'mass' going on throughout the day starting from 4am to 7.30pm and you could enter these sermons at any point of the day. It was very interesting to see the Monks during mass and to hear their melodic readings. unfortunately but understandably photographs were not permitted during the services.

As churches go....this one was very simple in decor and suprisingly warm inside.

K meditating on our second day's viewing of the sunrise. Sadly a vast cloud hid the initial rising of the sun, but the sun soon shone through for us a little later.

This view was in fact taken from the main land upon our arrival back to the land of reality from the short ferry boat ride. I simply love the way the sun was trying it very best to shine through for us at every angle.

The Monk's island made Liquor.

This is the entrance to the Monastery complex. I must admit, this is the first time I have ever seen palm trees outside a church.

Now I know this post is not very 'raw food' orientated as such but the one thing I have learnt over the years whilst being a raw foodist, is that the 'Mind, Body and Spirit' are all intertwined and true harmony cannot be experienced unless each part of that triangle is equal. Therefore, I consider this '2 day retreat' experience a vital part of my balancing act in obtaining the equal terms for harmony.

The food provided was actually pretty good. Simplistic but tasty and not wanting to put anyone out, we simply decided to go as raw possible (which we were blessed with a salad every lunch time) and the rest, we remained vegetarian. I won't bore you with my self revelations over this mini 'stress free idilic escapism' at the monastery, but I will say.....I learnt alot about myself and feel focused and encouraged once again. You take away with you what you feel you need or deserve from an experience like this and I for one, will never forget our time spent there in silence!! Merci K!!!

Hemp, Banana and Carob Shake

2011-02-20T14:42:00.003+01:00

It is raining ..... AGAIN..... here on the French Riviera would you believe it. It is cold too...I know, I know...it IS winter after all.....but I must admit, this has been an exceptionally 'rainy' winter here this year :0(

Today, I went out to run a few erands despite the weather and holding back the huge desire to simply dive back under my duvet and remain cozy all day reading....on my return I was hankering a chocolate shake of sorts. I cannot consume too much raw chocolate, (cacao) as it seems it doesn't agree with me too well too often....so I replace it with 'carob powder' frequently which doesn't seem to have any adverse affects on me and still gives that chocolatey flavouring in shakes.

LOULOU'S HEMP, BANANA AND CAROB SHAKE

1 large frozen banana
rejuvelac (or filtered water) *
3 T hemp seeds
1 T avocado oil (optional - i find it makes the shake creamy)
1/4 scrapped vanila pod
2 T carob powder
1 T bee pollen (not vegan) **

* This is my new love.....Rejuvelac. Here is a great youtube video of the lovely Angela Stokes demonstrating how this is made. You need to plan ahead with this, but it is relatively easy and lasts a week in the fridge. I now drink it first thing in the morning instead of water. It is a bit like Marmite......either you love it or you hate it....I thankfully love it....in a weird way it reminds me of lemonade lol. Some people add it to their daily smoothies or soups etc. Rejuvelac is full of enzymes and it helps the body to create friendly bacteria in the digestive system. It is also plentiful of vitamin C, vitamin E and the B vitamins too!!!

** Bee pollen is FULL of vitamines and other goodies -

vitamin A
vitamin B1
vitamin B2
vitamin B3
vitamin B6
vitamin B12 (not easy to source for Raw Foodist - so vital)
vitamin C
vitamin D
vitamin E
vitamin H
vitamin P
folic acid

This is 'Alfie et Annie' the two doves I have be-friended outside my kitchen window.....

..... They tap on the window when they want to be fed (numerous times a day lol)

This shake, to me....feels like comfort food (liquid form obviously) but I make it often varying he ingredients a little depending on my mood and what I have in the cupboards.
Lets hope the sun comes out again soon :0)

Eating out in France

2011-02-19T20:10:00.003+01:00

This is a small mountain village near the area I live. I passed by there today to go and visit a property I was possibly 'thinking' of buying. As it turns out it wasn't appropriate after all but I still made the most of being in this beautiful part of the county. I fell in love with this place years back (when I took this photo) and discovered an amazing little restaurent tucked away in the little cluster of houses in the center.

This is the restaurant. It is otherwise known by the 'locals' as Chez Nana. Nana is the wonderfully characteristic female chef/owner who obviously enjoys her own food and enjoys coming out at the end of the meal to talk about the local products she uses and how everything is home made etc. It is the type of resto where only the Locals really go as it is a well kept secret and a little sacred to them. (I was lucky to get the 'in' so to speak years back from a friend who lived in the village.)

It's a cool little set up and a family run business. The interior looks as though it hasn't been decorated since the early 1970's but this simply makes it all the more endearing of an experience to me. The problem I have now though (as opposed to my 'meat eating days') is...... there are ALOT of typical traditional Meat dishes on the menu (which isn't that extensive to start with so imagine my chances of acquiring anything vegetarian let alone Raw lol). I was in luck though it seemed today, as there was a choice of 2 set menus today....firstly 18euros for a 3 course meal and 25 euros for a 4 course meal.

On the first set menu there was a starter namely 'crudities'. This is what appeared before me. Bare in mind....this platter of goodies was JUST for one....ME..... This ALONE was ample enough to fill me up for a few days. I must admit, I was pleasantly suprised and delighted at this sight as 'crudities' in my French experience over the years has varied greatly from raw veg to raw meat platters etc.

You may be able to see..... but the only 'Raw' thing here was in fact the delicious grated carrots marinated in parsley, garlic and dressing which I devoured immediately. The other dishes were, cooked beans, lentils, mixed cooked veg cubes in mayo and cooked chick peas in a sauce, beetroot....oh and a fish and potato salad. I ate all but the fish dish.

I knew that I managed to mangle out of the waitress a 'salad of sorts' for the main course to replace the meat offerings (which basically consisted of iceburg lettuce a tomato and onion slices and no dressing - obviously my punishment for being ' difficult' and 'Must be a Vegetarian'.... cough, splutter, blurgh....a terrible word to the French lol) that it would be wise to fill myself up on the starter as the salad wouldn't be upto much lol. I was right.

This was the view from the restaurant window onlooking the mountains.....beautiful no?!!?

Something recently I have learnt about eating out in France in this area is to ask for the traditional 'Salad Nicoise' (which is almost always on a menu and consists of a mixed salad with tuna and anchovies) is that if I ask for this salad but politely say ''sans poissons - without fish'' this doesn't seem to ruffle any feathers and they tend to make up for the lack of fish with extra raw salad goodies to boot. Using the 'V' word is a defo no no.
I declined the 3rd course politely ......and with my green tea I was given a plate of whole clemintines and a bottle of locally made liquor as a digestive to help myself too.( this made me chuckle.... when I asked if they had herbal teas....... the waitress/part owner had to go check as she said that was a first!! God love this place..... I will definitely be going back for sure!!! Love the simplicity of the French living - guess that's one reason why I fell in love with this country) It was a delicious meal and the walk around the little village after (more like 'rolling around' I was so stuffed) was so picturesque that I had to take some photos of it to show you. Sorry for the poor quality photos....I only had my phone camera to do the honors.

After the walk around the town.... I drove a little out of the main area and decided to stop and go on a little hike to burn off the mamouth meal I had just devoured. I stumbled upon this cute little track to which.......

...... led me to this bunch of people Parapenting off this hillside cliff area to hover/glide over the coast of Monaco/Menton . That is Monaco in the background behind the people.

This is the view as they dropped off the hillside and headed towards the Menton coastline. It was a spectacular day and I enjoyed every minute of the experience despite it not always being easy to eat out for a Rawfoodist here....... Today I liked it!!! :0)

Nearly Raw Rice Galette Wraps

2011-02-17T14:02:00.005+01:00

This is another option for wraps even though it isn't essentially raw (Rice Galettes - non raw) but I needed a change from sushi rolls and I can't get hold of collards in this part of France to do the popular collard wrap. So...... I thought I would give these a go.

There are very few ingredients in these particular Rice Galettes that I purchased - Rice flour, water, tapioca and salt). They simply need to be soaked for a few minutes in tepid water and then they are ready to go :0)

I had already marinated some cauliflour florets in nutritional yeast and salt as I made these to have as 'raw popcorn' ( courtesy of Philip McCluskey's demo a few weeks back in Winchester GB) which I have the leftovers in the DH as I type to enable more of a crunch to them. These are divine 'as is' but it is the first time I have made them so wanted to experiment with them a little.

All I did was take a few of them and blend them up to the consistancy of 'rice' in my Tribest 'forever faithful' blender.

Meanwhile (as the rice galette was soaking happily) I mashed up 1/2 an avocado.

I chopped up some mushrooms, onion and courgettes and marinated these for about 5 minutes in samo shoyu and agave and let them sit whilst I cut the drying rice galette into a square.

I then placed it altogether on the rice galette.

You simply fold over the two sides...........

.....and then the two ends.......

Then turn over et 'voila'..... your 'semi-raw' wrap awaits to be devoured.

The flavours worked well together as well as the mixture of textures too. Obviously, these are simply my chosen ingredients and you can fill the wrap with what ever takes your fancy.

There was no wastage either, as I scooped up the rest of the filling mixes with the left over 'cut off' galette peices and scoffed it all down :0)

The rest of the 'cauliflower popcorn' was placed on a teflex sheet and is now in the DH. A little something to snack on later this evening me thinks :0)

Raw Chocolate Protein Bars

2011-02-15T16:24:00.000+01:00

Loulou's chocolate protein bars are so simple to make and can be stored in the freezer 'ready-to-go' when on the run out the door. They are a great 'pick-me-up' for energy and protein that we all vitally need in the modern day life.

During the Spring/Summer months I generally am on my feet all day for many hours running around due to my pretty intense job. It is therefore sometimes easy to forget to eat (or more likely not finding the time to eat). I know how I am as I have done this job for 8 years now, and in hindsight, I always curse myself for not preparing something in advance - during the quiet times - to have on hand, just to grab...... but knowing I am still eating healthily and it will even give me energy and protein etc.

I recently bought these lush dried figs from our local market and wanted to incoporate these in this recipe. I am lucky to live in an area where fig trees are in abundance and these little beauties were grown and picked in a small village not far from where I live.... so..... local produce....alway a bonus :0)

You can see how succulent they look even dried....so sticky and sweet.

LOULOU'S CHOCOLATE PROTEIN BARS

3/4 Cof cashew flour (cashews ground in a coffee grinder or blender)
3 large dried figs
1/2 C of dates
1 large orange zested and juiced
1 T cacao nibs
2 T carob powder
1 T hemp seeds
1 T hemp protein
1 T purple corn flour (optional)
3 T coconut oil (melted)

Everything is chopped up and all but the orange juice is added to a bowl and mixed up to be well combined. The orange juice is placed first in the vitamix and then the rest of the ingredients are added and blended.

You can blend it up to whatever texture you prefer but I left mine slightly chunky-ish as you can see. The mix was then transfered into moulds and left in the freezer to set. They can be individually wrapped and stored in the freezer until needed. (I use parchment paper).

Raw Quinoa Lemon Balls & Lemon Kream Dessert

2011-02-11T12:48:00.003+01:00

This is such an easy dessert to do and yet it is a delicious filling sweet treat which incorporates raw sprouted quinoa too. A little pre-thought and preparation is needed but nothing more than soaking and dehydrating involved.

I used an ingrediant I have never thought of using before.... Agar Agar. It is a vegatable gelatine made from red seaweed and it works a treat!! It makes a change from using Chia seed gel and doesn't colour the food it is mixed with. I found it in powder form and simply mixed one sachet (6 in a pack) with a little hot water and then I added it to the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

I adore using maple syrup in desserts too....It seems to give a slight woody flavour and a pleasant change from using agave or honey. I happened to have received this sublime Grade A Stonewall Kitchen product as a gift to try recently. It is the best I have come across so far.

LOULOU'S RAW QUINOA LEMON BALLS

1 sachet of Agar Agar vegetable gelatine powder (mix with a little hot water)
2 T Grade A Maple syrup
1/2 lemon juiced
1/2 lemon zested
3 T sprouted quinoa (soak overnight in water, drain and leave to sprout for 1 - 2 days)
1/2 C cashew flour (grind up cashews in a blender or coffee grinder)
1/2 C shredded coconut

I mixed everything together until well combined and then rolled into small balls and then cut them in half and placed them on a teflex sheet ready to be dehydrated.

I dehydrated them overnight for about 12 hours. I wanted them crispy on the outside but still softish on the inside. I recommend that you dehydrate them overnight whilst you sleep as they would not last that long as they are mourish even before they are DH :0)

I made a raspberry coulis simply by blending up a handful of fresh raspberries with a little filtered water. Some like to add a little sweetness of sorts like agave or honey etc, but I prefere my coulis to be slighty tart so it becomes a good marriage with the sweetness of the bulk dessert.

The Lemon Kream is the best addition in my opinion......absolutely addictive and blends well with the lemon balls and the raspberry coulis!! It is ever so simple to make too which is always an added bonus.

LOULOU'S LEMON KREAM

1 T almond butter
1 T maple syrup
1 lemon juiced
2 T coconut oil

This is simply blended altogether and left at room temperature for 10 minutes and it will solidify slightly. (Once you have blended it altogether, it will be quite liquid but don't worry, the coconut oil will do it's job to stiffen it.)

I love this dessert and make it frequently as I enjoy incorporating raw quinoa in my diet as often as I can. It just makes another sweet variety. You may also like my Raw Quinoa Cocao Pops too for breakfast.

Green Smoothie Mania

2011-02-01T13:40:00.002+01:00

Since my Tribest blender arrived the other day, I have been consuming at least 2 green smoothies a day and loved every one so far! It is just so simple and 'mess free' using this machine and I consider it 'money well spent' for sure :0)

I picked some fresh oranges from the orange trees at work this morning and incorporated their juice in with my lunch time smoothie. I had to take a photo of them because I have never seen so many pips in oranges like these ones before and they are so juicy too.

LOULOU'S LUNCHTIME GREEN SMOOTHIE

juice of 4 small freshly picked oranges
1 cup hand grown kale leaves
1/2 large carrot chopped
1/2 large apple peeled and chopped
a handful of lambs lettuce
4 sprigs of fresh mint from the garden
1 chunk peeled ginger (I like a decent size chunk)
1 T Hemp oil
1 T Borage oil
filtered water to top up the OJ
2 T Purple corn flour

Hemp oil contains essential fatty acids (EFA's) which can lower the risk of heart disease, lower cholesterol levels, has anti-inflammatory properties and can improve the immune system amongst being high in Omega 3 and many other benefits.

Borage oil contains GLA (Gamma Linolenic Acid) in terms of essential fatty acids, it can act as an anti-inflammatory and helps regulate blood circulation. It is also known to aid in PMS prevention and menopausal symptons too.

Purple corn flour is high in antioxidant benefits. It aids in skin aging prevention due to it's ability to promote the formation of collagen. The anthocyanin (what makes it purple) and antioxidant levels are 4 times the amount found in blueberries - and we have all been told how wonderfully good for us blueberries are!! It is mostly cultivated in Peru.

One thing I have noticed on my green smoothie adventure with this blender, is that it does have a bit of trouble completely blending up kale for some reason, probably due to it's high fibrous content but I must admit, this doesn't bother me as I am used to 'chewing' my juices (and now smoothies) so it doesn't put me off. It seems to be fine in blending up all the other greens I have used so far with no problems.

Tribest Blender - Green Smoothies

2011-01-31T09:59:00.001+01:00

I ADORE, ADORE, ADORE my new piece of kitchen equipment...... The Tribest Blender
It is the best thing I have bought since my Raw food lifestyle began (as well as my Vitamix and Excalibur dehydrator).

It is so versitile and comes with differing jars and attachments and lids etc. It efficiently grinds up seeds and grains so so quickly and effortlessy. Above is a mix of chia seeds, flax seeds and red and white quinoa which I wanted ground up to add to my smoothie......

This is the bulk base (but it's size is not intrusive at all) and within seconds, it blends things perfectly :0)

To grind up the seeds and grains, I used the '2 blade dry grinder' attachment and within seconds I had my mixed seed/grain meal ready to use.

I have never been a 'green smoothie' person tbh, I swayed in the 'green Juice' direction after being put off too many times with failed green smoothies and the task of cleaning the machine I used to make these little disasters. UNTIL now that is..... This Tribest Blender now makes my life oh so simple in the creation of green smoothies.

LOULOU'S AFTERNOON SMOOTHIE

a few chunks of pineapple
1/2 peeled chopped apple
12 grapes
1 small orange peeled and chopped
1 handful lambs lettuce
rejuvelac (or filtered water)
3 T mixed flax,chia & quinoa meal
1 kiwi peeled and chopped

I simply added all my chopped vegetables and fruits and blended seeds into one of the jars that come with the blender set and placed on the blender blade lid and let the machine do the rest for 10 seconds or so.

This handy sipping lid comes with the accessories of the blender too which is a Brilliant idea and comes in Very handy!! The washing up/cleaning factor is so minimal as you use the same jar you blended the smoothie in to drink from too. PERFECT!!!

LOULOU'S BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE

1 small banana chopped
1 cup of mixed frozen berries
1 T hemp seeds
1 T hemp protein powder
rejuvelac (or filtered water)
1 cup of swiss chard
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh mint
chunk of peeled ginger

These are simply my versions of lush smoothies, but there are so so so many differing versions of which you can do to suit your own tastes. Gradually, I intend on 'upping' the quantity of 'greens' in my smoothies but I have learnt from experience.... slowly but surely is the best way :0)

I am going on a short trip to GB soon and intend on taking my Tribest blender with me (it is quite small and not too heavy either, so it will fit happily in my suitcase) which puts my mind at ease knowing even when I am away from home, I can still have my smoothies on a daily basis.

I highly recommend this piece of equipment and it most definitely has eased and helped my long time 'fear' of green smoothies...... I plan to enjoy it for many years to come!!!

Aperitif Time and Gift Ideas

2011-01-29T16:02:00.003+01:00

One of my Dear friends 'K' is coming over for an aperitif with her BF and seeing as K has recently turned High Raw, I thought I would dabble in making a few nibbles to have with the drinks. I made, Salsa, Guacamole and Sprouted Raw Humus for the dips with crudities.

LOULOU'S SIMPLE SALSA

4 large Sun dried tomatoes (soaked in water for 30 minutes to soften up - keep soak water)
1/4 large onion
1/2 large garlic clove
4 cherry tomatoes
2 T red pepper

I don't like 'hot' salsas so I left this one pretty tame but feel free to adapt to your tastes :0) These ingredients were simply blended together (use a little of the soak water from the SD tomatoes to thin the sauce if needed)

LOULOU'S SIMPLE GUACAMOLE

1/4 large onion
1/2 large garlic clove
2 cherry tomatoes
1 T fresh parsley
1 ripe avocado
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T avocado oil (optional)

Again, I like my guacamole on the very mild side too so I kept it simple with just the above ingredients which were blended together until smooth.

LOULOU'S SPROUTED CHICK PEA HUMUS

1 cup of already sprouted chick peas (these generally take a few days to sprout)
2 T tahini
1/4 large onion
1/4 large garlic clove
1/8 t sea salt
cracked pepper
2 T fresh lemon juice

Other times I have made this humus, I have added a couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce (not raw) to give some 'tang' to the dip but I refrained from doing so this time and added lemon juice instead. I like either way.

I wanted to offer K a few Raw gifts in celebration to her Raw Food Aventure she has recently commenced, so I made some for her. I am not the most creative of people when it comes to 'arts n' crafts' etc (as you can see) so I have never really tackled this kind of home made gift faring before, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process!!

I know I always appreciate it when someone gives me a 'home made' gift as you know they have put effort and thought into it which to me warms my heart. I also LOVE giving presents to my loved ones!!

I had recently made another batch of my fav Trail Mix and I simply bagged it up and tied a blue ribbon around it. Easy peasy :0)

I took the chocolates I made the other day (Loulou's Raw Chocolates) and wrapped them up in some netting and tied a blue ribbon around them. (I am not so imaginative with my accessories lol).

I also have another few gifts for K in the paper gift bag (but I bought these).

Talking of gifts...... another dear friend if mine popped over yesterday for a cafe and gave me this lovely bottle of Olive Oil from Nice. It is so so fruity and delicious.

EDIT:

This is my darling friend K.... We've known each other since our college years (far too many moons ago for me to have the desire to mention) and just over a year ago K decided she wanted to learn French so she moved to France to do so....and she did learn the lingo, very rapidly!! It just so happened that she moved only 40 minutes from where I am which is just Wonderful for us both!!! She really is a huge INSPIRATION to me!! We also have a really good larfff together too :0)

Raw Chocolate

2011-01-26T19:02:00.004+01:00

When I first became High Raw, I honestly believed that I would have to give up on my true love for chocolate seeing that it is highly processed and generally is ladden with dairy products and sorts. BUT this is most definitely NOT the case as I soon discovered.

Raw chocolate awaited me ....... thankfully. Now, you can buy ready made raw chocolate on line but I must admit, half the pleasure for me is getting mucky and covered in chocolate in the process of producing and creating my very OWN Raw Chocolate.

LOULOU'S RAW CHOCOLATE

1 C cacao powder
1 C carob powder
1/2 C coconut oil (melted)
1 C honey

Very little ingredients and so easy to put together. Firstly set upon melting the coconut oil. Place the jar in a bowl with hot water and it will melt down as you prepare the rest. Meanwhile, In a large bowl mix together (thoroughly) the rest of the ingredients then add the melted coconut oil.

I then transfered the mix into a piping bag and piped the workable chocolate into small cases. Place these in the freezer for 30 mins - 1 hour to set the coconut oil et voila...... you have your chocolate!!! So easy and SO satisfying to know EXACTLY what is in each choccie and also knowing that you have created a little piece of heaven for yourself!!!

OH, and I recently discovered I am on Sarma Melngailis' TOP 10 Raw Food Blogs!!

Banana cream chocolate cookie Breakfast

2011-01-26T08:49:00.004+01:00

I had intended on having my Raw Quinoa Coco Pops for breakfast this morning, but sadly I mis-used the timer on my Dehydrator and so they weren't finished crisping up for today........SO....... I noticed that a bunch of bananas were on their way out....and that I needed to peel them and freeze them. (I always have a stash of frozen nana's in the freezer for nana mylk and nana ice cream).

Before putting all the bananas in the freezer, I took two (they were quite small) and mashed them up. I added the rest of the ingredients to make the 'Banana Cream'.

LOULOU'S BANANA CREAM COOKIES

2 small ripe bananas
1/2 t cinnamon
1 T organic almond butter

Once all ingredients were added and mashed up, I felt I needed a little of nature's protein.....so I too added 1 T of Hemp seeds and mixed this altogether.

I already had some of my delicious Chocanana Cookies made up so I just added the Banana Cream to 2 cookies and topped them with 2 more cookies.

Talk about going back to my child hood when I used to pester my mom to have cookies for breakfast lol. This time round, they ARE allowed as they are Healthy cookies!!

It was pretty messy eating them, but that just added to the fun of feeling like a kid again :0)

Green Juice, Rejuvelac, Raw Mayo & Raw Cheeze

2011-01-21T16:22:00.005+01:00

I absolutely ADORE my daily green juice. I like to fancy it up a bit and put it in a cool glass and sup away on it. (Don't forget to always 'chew' on your juices.... this gets the digestive enzymes going that exist in your saliva....It will help with digestion, it sounds odd and you may look a tad bizarre doing so, but it becomes a habit after a while.)

LOULOU'S 'KICK ASS' GREEN JUICE

1/2 lemon peeled but keep as much white pith on as possible (this is just as good for you as the centre)
chunk of fresh ginger (I like lots, but this takes a while to build upto, no need to peel if organic)
1 stick of celery
1/2 cucmber (peeled if not organic)
2 asparagus sticks (chop the root end off - trick is.... bend it and where it snaps leaves you with the good edible bit)
a couple of pieces of broccoli
2 carrots
1/2 medium size courgette
3 or 4 handfuls of dark leafy greens (I vary these from day to day ranging from a mixture of lambs lettuce, swiss chard, kale, romain lettuce, rocket and you could use any other like spinach - sadly I am allergic to this wonder leaf so no go there for me)
2 large apples (again, you can use any sweet fruit you like....it takes the edge off the green taste)

This is my new love.....Rejuvelac. Here is my 'Rejuvelac ..... How To.....' post. You need to plan ahead with this, but it is relatively easy and lasts a week in the fridge. I now drink it first thing in the morning instead of water. It is a bit like Marmite......either you love it or you hate it....I thankfully love it....in a weird way it reminds me of lemonade lol. Some people add it to their daily smoothies or soups etc. Rejuvelac is full of enzymes and it helps the body to create friendly bacteria in the digestive system. It is also plentiful of vitamin C, vitamin E and the B vitamins too!!!

I attempted to make my first ever batch of Sauerkraut today. I'll post on that in a few days once it has fermented and will hopefully be a success. Any way, I found myself with some left over white cabbage so I chopped it all up and grated some carrots and made some Coleslaw. haven't had that in a while and once I had thought about it, my mouth started watering.

I added some Corriander (Cilantro) which is good for helping to eliminate metal toxins from the body. I also mixed it all up with my Raw Mayo....which is another recent discovery I always have made up in my fridge ready to go.

RAW MAYO

2 parts olive oil
1 part apple cider vinegar (ACV)
1 t organic dijon mustard (optional)
1 small garlic clove
1 small chunk of peeled ginger
2 T almond butter

I simply added all of the ingredients into my vitamix blender and the consistency came out like regular mayo. I store this in a jar in the fridge and either use it as is, or I thin it down slightly with water and use as a dressing. It keeps really well in the fridge for a week or so.

As I was pottering about in the kitchen doing all of this and it was nearly lunch time, I knocked up this tomato, avocado, onion and basil salad for later. I just got the toms from the market first thing that morning and had a craving for this dish ever since I saw them.

A few weeks ago I dabbled in making Raw Nut Cheeze. There have been a few blog posts on 'cheeze' making recently but I found the easiest tecnique (for me) was this one by Raw on $10 a Day from Lisa (scroll down to nearly the end of the menu)

I used Lisa's technique but varied things up a bit as ever. I made roulade out of half the batch filled with herb de provence and hemp seeds and the second half I rolled in chopped cranberries. Both were lovely....takes a while to get used to but a wonderful variation to my regular foods. Worth giving it a go for sure.

They keep in the fridge for a few days or so...I wrapped mine up in parchment paper. Great to snack on with raw crackers or raw onion bread :0)

''Crispy Crunch'' Breakfast Cereal

2011-01-20T17:08:00.002+01:00

Breakfast is by FAR my most favourite meal time of the day. Hence why I am always on the search for quick and easy delicious breakfast recipes that are accessible to prepare in case of rushing around before going to work. I also wanted to vary things up a bit and try something different from my Grawnola

I never walk out the door without eating this vital meal (or having in my bag a quick 'fix' of fruit or dried fruit to get me through the morning if ever I do run out of time to sit down and eat before hand.)

You can imagine my delight in the success of my latest concoction which only takes a minimum of pre-thought and preparation the night before. In my 'cooked' days, I always adored the 'crispy crunch' factor of cereals and since going Raw, I have struggled to emulate this with raw foods.......until now that is :0)

I simply soaked the seeds for at least an hour then rinsed them well. Meanwhile, as I left them to drain I peeled and chopped up a large apple. I place the apple in a bowl and added cinnamon and date syrup (alternatively you can use agave, honey or maple syrup etc). Then I added the seeds and combined all thoroughly with the sweet mix. Then I spread the mix out onto teflex sheets and dehydrated overnight. I leave the DH to do all the hard necessary work for me as I sleep through the night. Come morning time.....voila..... breakfast ''Crispy Crunch'' cereal is ready and waiting for me. (The apple pieces become all yummy and chewy)

You can either eat with your favourite nut mylk or as I have recently discovered and thoroughly enjoy....freshly squeezed orange juice on top. (OR.....nana mylk....1 frozen banana and cold water blended together.) What ever takes your fancy.

CRISPY CRUNCHY BREAKFAST CEREAL

1 cup of soaked sunflower seeds
1 cup of soaked pumpkin seeds
1 cup of buckwheat
1 large peeled, chopped apple
1 t cinnamon
4 dates (pitted and blended with water to create 'date syrup')

I added dried fruit to my bowl last minute....dried figs, apricots and mulberries.

Raw Banana Ice Cream and Choc sauce Sundae

2011-01-09T18:00:00.005+01:00

When I was on my morning run today I was craving Raw Vegan Banana Ice cream with chocolate sauce. No idea why, but I was. So, as a reward for doing so well in my run, i made this on my return. I made the banana ice cream in my Champion Juicer with frozen bananas ( You can use a normal blender with the 'S' blade, but this will take longer and the ice cream won't be as smooth) and whipped up a quick chocolate sauce to go with.

RAW CHOCOLATE SAUCE

1 T tahini
1 small orange zested
1 T cacao powder
1 T carob powder (optional)
1 T agave syrup (or honey or maple syrup)
splash water to thin sauce

Simply combine all ingredients well et Voila :0)

I layered the ice cream and choc sauce in a glass and added cacao nibs for a bit of crunch and topped with chuncks of my Chocolate orange parfait I had already made up in the freezer. I wawffed it down in seconds it was SO delicious AND guilt free as it is full of goodness being raw and vegan.

Onion Bread

2011-01-06T16:23:00.003+01:00

Now, I know I have posted already (waaaay back) a recipe for Onion Bread but I thought I would update that version with the one I use pretty much all the time now. An easier version I believe.....and much better (in my taste).

EASY ONION BREAD

2 large onions
1 C flax meal (Flax/linseeds ground in vitamix dryblade or coffee grinder)
1/4 C namo shoyu (wheat free soya)
1/4 C filtered water
1/4 C Olive oil

I do cheat a little and use the blender to do the hard chopping work for me with regards to the onions....I use the S blade and blitz them for a few seconds. Then I simply add them to the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and fold in thoroughly.

I then flatten them out on a teflex sheet and score the pieces I desire and Dehydrate for 12 - 16 hours.
(If you don't have a DH, alternatively you can use your oven, but on the lowest heat - no higher than 45 C or 115 F - and leave the door open slightly to let the moisture out.)

The length of DH time totally depends on how moist or dry you would like the 'bread'. I actually prefer mine to be slightly chewy and moist still as opposed to the crispy-ness of the chia-flax crackers (that are also in the basket above).

I must admit, I make onion bread weekly using this recipe and I really wouldn't want to be without it. Onion bread has become a staple in this house hold even for those who are not raw. A lot of my non raw friends who have tried this, have adored it and even ask for the recip :0)

Lunch Box

2011-01-06T16:00:00.001+01:00

I have been searching for a sectionized lunch box type thing for ages. This is the best i have found so far..... I use it to take my food to work and love that i now can have all my differing foods in one tub instead of carting around a bunch of little ones etc.

This was my mixed salad and left over 'roast' (DH) veg from yesterday.......

This is my fav type of raw spaghetti....sweet potatoe ....... I always leave mine to marinate in a simple dressing over night as it becomes more tender that way.

And finally......my fav marinated mushrooms with avocado oil, namo shoyu and maple syrup..........

I also took some Onion Bread and a dressing in a jar to complete my healthy lunch :0)

Warmed Stuffed Mushrooms

2011-01-05T16:24:00.003+01:00

These wonderful stuffed mushrooms were inspired by an amazing blogger called Lisa from ''Raw on $10 a day (or less)'' and I thank her for the idea. If you are not already following her, then I suggest you do so, as she creates wonderful Raw food daily menus providing nutritional information too!! An inspiration in my books :0)

As ever, I changed things a little and added my own ingredients for the stuffing. As it turned out, I was just preparing the stuffing for my lunch time ''Cucumber Baguette'' and made a little too much, so I remembered the idea of stuffing the mushrooms from Lisa. It is so simple to do. I did however Dehydrate mine for 2 hours prior to munching them down almost quicker than I could take photos of them....

When I went for my morning run today, I couldn't stop thinking about salad for breakfast. My body was telling me something and I obeyed..... This was my breakfast with a yummy tahini dressing and alfalfa sprouts.

The more raw foods you eat, the more intune to what your body needs you will become. It still fascinates me!!!

Chocolate & Orange Parfait

2011-01-02T14:34:00.002+01:00

I stumbled across a superb website called Raw Food Recipes the other day, and as I was browsing through I came upon Susan Power's ''Earl Grey Chocolate Terrine'' I really liked the idea of using tea instead of plain water but knew I would need to make a few changes as I am not keen on Earl Grey. But the recipe is wonderful.

I simply used Rooibus and Orange Tea instead of the Earl Grey Tea and added the zest of 1 orange into the chocolate mix. I also used honey instead of agave. The outcome is delicious. I have always loved the marriage of Orange and Chocolate and this Raw version works wonderfully too. Thank you Susan for your inspiration!!!

Breakfast Raw Pancakes

2011-01-02T14:03:00.002+01:00

This is something I have never tried for a breakfast and I figured last night it was about time I did discover the wonders of Raw Pancakes......... So I got experimenting and came up with this recipe.

RAW BREAKFAST PANCAKES

1 Cup Flax Meal (Flax/linseeds blended in dry blender/coffee grinder)
2 T Chia seeds (that have been soaked and gelled)
1/2 t Hemp Protein Powder (optional)
2 Frozen bananas chopped
2 T honey (or agave/maple syrup)
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 t 5 spice mix
1 t Nutmeg

- Put the ground flax/linseeds into a bowl

- Blend all the other ingredients in a vitamix (high speed blender) then fold into the flax meal in the bowl.

- create small/medium size patties and place on a teflex sheet (this mixture made 5 pancakes) and dehydrate over night so they will be warm and ready to eat in time for your breakfast.

This is how they come out. I liked the American Pancake style shape and size and simply added some fruit on top.

I didn't have much fruit in the house this morning so I used what I had......clementines, kiwi and dates. I also added dried Mulberries for decoration and blended up some frozen mixed berries in the vitamix and poured this ontop of the pancake too.

I thoroughly enjoyed the texture and the taste and the contrast of the sweet nutmeggy/cinnamony flavours together with the sharpness of the mixed berries and fruit. Awonderful combination.

As I was sat in my kitchen this morning eating my lovely pancake breakfast, I couldn't help but take a photo of the lush looking basket of clementines on the side as the sun was pouring through the window onto them. Made me smile!!!

Banana Candy

2010-12-24T15:12:00.000+01:00

I seem to be dehydrating a lot of things at the moment but I must admit, I simply adore my new Excalibur Dehydrator and I appreciate having things in my kitchen that I can just nibble on from time to time.

My latest addition are these yummy dried banana's. I store them in a jar and when I have the desire to eat something sweet and chewy, these hit the mark everytime. It is also another great way to use up bananas that are on their way out and very easy to do to boot :0)

When I bought my dehydrator recently, this little 'banana cutter' came free with it on promotion. I hadn't used it before. I will confess though, I wasn't really that impressed with the outcome. It almost seems easier to simply slice the nana up with a knife to be honest. The thing is, if your banana is not the EXACT same shape as this cutter, it gets a little messy. I personally wouldn't use this again but hey, each to their own!!!

To make the banana candy, I simply laid the sliced nana onto a teflex sheet as shown above and then dehydrated them for about 12 hours. Like I said, they keep well and are slightly chewy and very sweet (naturally).

Organised Jars

2010-12-22T09:00:00.001+01:00

One thing I have learnt over the past few years in the art of remaining raw was that I needed all my ingredients to be easily accessable as much as possible. I found that if I stashed things away in a cupboard or drawer, it was too easy to forget about them and not use them in my meals. It is necessary to vary your differing food intake to all forms of raw foods that work for you and I have found that this little set up above has enabled me to maintain this principle.

I must admit, when people first see this shelf unit in my kitchen they always smirk and make a comment of sorts to the liking of '..... wow, you have so much stuff...' etc etc, but to be honest....most people have a lot of ingredients in their cupboards....it just goes un noticed behind a cupboard door. This works for me...... it is best to be able to establish what works for you inorder to help you along the raw route of things :0)

Kale Chips

2010-12-19T19:29:00.001+01:00

Since living in France for over 10 years, not once have I ever seen 'Kale' for sale..... definitely not in the South West nor the South East for sure. Whenever I have asked about it to French green grocers, they state they have never even heard of such a green vegetable. SO....... a few years back, I started a mini vegetable garden and brought over Kale seeds from England and decided to create my own stash of this wonderous vegetable. The first year of growing....I didn't get much of a harvest to be honest, mainly due to the monsterous catapilars who had beaten me to it. But this summer just gone.....wowzers.... a huge success and a large harvest which is still continuing into the winter months much to my delight.

Up until recently, I had always simply used the magnificant green leaf as a vital addition to my daily green juices or added them to my lush salads..... but recently I wanted to dabble at making my own 'Kale Chips' (which up until now, I have occaisionally ordered - pre-made online but now I have no need to do that.)

I rinsed off the leaves and ripped them into small pieces and drained them. Whilst I left them to the side to drain properly I made up the marinade mix in a vita mix.

KALE CHIPS MARINADE (this is my take on a few combinations of recipes I have acquired over the years but never tried before)

1 lemon juiced
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup of namo shoyu
3 T nutritional yeast (heaped)
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup cashew butter

Once the marinade is blended up smoothly, I added to the bowl of Kale pieces and proceeded to 'massage' the mix into each piece thoroughly. You need to do this until each piece is well covered and you will see that the kale becomes slightly limp which means the mix has penetrated and the massage has softened the texture of the kale.

I then placed the massaged kale onto dehydrator trays as illustrated below and dehydrated them for 24 hours. The DH time all depends on the final texture of the 'chip' you desire, I like them very dry and crispy.

This is the outcome.....they really are delicious and the nutritional yeast gives a slight cheesey taste. Variations of the marinade mix can be with the addition of peppers or spices etc.

I keep mine in an airtight container and they seem to last quite a while. When ever I have the urge to nibble on something... (once upon a time in my 'cooked' days, at this point I would have grabbed a packet of crisps) I simply munch on these little beauties.

Choco Pudding

2010-12-18T23:06:00.001+01:00

This is one of my favourite desserts to have in my fridge of recent. It is a really simple recipe and it also satisfies as my chocolate fix but being Raw, makes it all the better.

CHOCO PUDDING

1/2 Cup cashews (soaked for at least an hour and thoroughly rinsed)
2 small bananas (ripe)
1 T cacao powder
1 T carob powder
1/8 tsp 5 spices (or just cinnamon if you don't have 5 spices mix)
3 T gelled chia seeds

Simply blend all of the above in a vitamix until it becomes a smooth mousse like texture and store in seperate dessert jars. The mini glass jars as shown above are ideal for me.

I find they in fact taste even better the next day!! They can keep for 4 - 5 days in the fridge but to be honest, they don't stick around for that long when I am about.

Raw Vegetable Crisps (chips)

2010-11-21T19:42:00.000+01:00

One thing I have missed whilst being Raw was having crisps (or chips) for dips when having friends over for drinks....... UNTIL recently. I know that a lot of raw foodist often Dehydrate Aubergines to create 'faux bacon strips' and this got me a thinking.

I simply added to a bowl -

2 T Namo Shoyu (or soya sauce if you can't get hold of NS)
2 T Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
1/12 T Maple syrup

I then added the strips of vegetables (peeled and then sliced thinly with a peeler) and left to marinade for at least 1 hour.

Simply place the strips individually onto the dehydrator sheets as above and below.....

Dehydrate for 18 - 24 hours or until the slices have reached the crunchy consistency you desire......

And hey presto.....you have a selection of ''Raw Vegetable Crisps'' for your dips. Store in a tupperware and they can keep up for a week (if they last that long that is). I made sweet potatoes, courgettes, aubergine and mushroom ''Crisps'' .

The Easy Green Auto-Sprouter Machine

2010-11-21T19:07:00.001+01:00

A few weeks back I purchased this little beauty - the Easy Green Auto-Sprouter machine. Now, I must confess, when I saw it on line and then bought it, I didn't really take into consideration of it's actual size. It was a tad bigger than I expected but still workable. As you can see below, it in fact fits perfectly on my unit in my kitchen luckily.

As soon as it arrived, I couldn't wait to get it set up and see how good this little baby was. It's pretty straight forward enough to be honest. You need to top it up with water and make sure it has a water outlet ( I simply have a water bowl beneath the sprouter on the next level down and empty that occasionally.)

This is a birds eye view of the 5 individual seed trays filled with a selection of seeds and ready to go. It was fascinating to watch the seeds grow over the next 3-5 days. It is superbly controlled by the filtered machine and the end results were brilliant.

This was taken after only 4 days..... the alfalfa sprouts actually took longer than the rest in fact as you can see from the above photo. To be honest, I think I filled the seed trays with a few too many seeds which would have hindered their process....the second time I sprouted some more seeds, I made sure to almost half the amount previously used.

I highly recommend this product if you are into sprouting. It simply takes away all of the faffing sometimes viewed with other methods of sprouting. You only have to remember to empty the water reserve daily and the rest is done for you :0) The out come is brilliant!!

Here's a link to their site - The Easy Green Automatic-Sprouter

Antibes Market Place

2010-11-20T07:55:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting Old Antibes Town and I was delighted to see there was a cute little market place. Sadly we got there a little late in the day so most stalls were packing up but it was still lovely to see all the fresh produce stalls still there.

There was an amazing stall selling a wide selection of differing Olives as you can see. The Stall owner was a character and he allowed us to tasted loads of different types and explained the origins of each and how they had been marinated etc. Needless to say, we bought quite a few.

The town itself was a delight to wonder around too. Loads of cobble street type areas with little boutique shops varying from 'out there' clothes shops to 'art galleries' to general 'nik-nak' style boutiques. Right up my street so to speak.

Whilst wondering around we stumbled upon THE very first 'Vegetarian Organic' Restaurant I have seen in this area.

Naturally we stopped and dinned there to try it out. It was so quaint and un-assuming inside and the food was amazing. The menu offered ALL organic vegetarian meals and some Vegan choices too. I was in food heaven at this little discovery....even though they didn't offer any Raw options but this still was a huge leap for me in finding this little oasis here in this part of France. (Sadly though, it is a tad too far for me to pop in and dine on a regular basis).

It was only a small little resto.....seating about 20 pax maximum but they were busy and turning people away (or to come back in 30 minutes). Such a pleasure to see and I wish the owners ALL the luck in the world for a continuing success in their business. They have taken a risk and it appears to be working for them...... BRAVO I say :0)

Here's their website CHEZ HELEN

Cucumber Baguette - ultimate 'on the go' food

2010-11-08T14:33:00.000+01:00

I discovered this little gem a while back and I apologize for not posting about it sooner, as the moment you hear about/see this for yourself, it will no doubt become a 'little gem' of a staple in your busy schedule as it has for myself.

It is known in 'RawLoulou world' as the 'Cucumber Baguette' (being in France an' all.....seems only normal to me tbh) but it is also known as the ''gorilla sandwich''. Now, I find myself apologizing once again to you all, that in fact, for the life of me, I cannot tell you where I first saw this wonderous invention being shown on the wonderful world of the web...... but all that to say, this is NOT my invention. The only thing I take on is the ingredients that I put in the 'cucumber baguette'.

This is what it looks like as the end result........

I simply start it all off by taking a whole organic cucumber.

I then cut it into 2 halves as illustrated below.......

I then peel the skin off of both halves and then I proceed to hollow out the innards using an apple corer and a knife to scoop it all out (I keep these innards and use them in my daily green juice so there is no wastage at all) This is what it should look like (although, you can be more of a perfectionist than myself if you so desire....my tummy was a rumbling when I made these so, esthetics of the 'baguette' where not the foremost on my mind at that point lol)

I then added all the ingredients I desired to complete my 'baguette' into a bowl. I chopped up :-

avocado
sun dried tomatoes
mushrooms
spring onions
black olives

I then added a dressing mix I already had made up in my fridge and made sure all ingredients where happily covered by it.....

I then proceeded to fill the cucmber baguette with the chosen filling - make sure to push down the ingredients to the bottom as you go along to get full capacity within :0)

Depending on when I have prepared them for.....either to munch on immediately or to take away, i will wrap up well and leave in the fridge until needed. These are Great for journeys especially car journeys when you would normally be driving along with a sarnie or a baguette of sorts...this is the same style of eating tbh but far far far more nutritious and lush to eat!!! Enjoy!!!

Marinated Veg

2010-11-08T14:04:00.002+01:00

This is one of my favourite meals to date I must admit. It is simple and yet full of varied nutrients and vitamins and I get to use up all left over veggies in my fridge effectly (and deliciously).

I simply chop up all the veg and then marinate it all in the following sauce :-

1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 T nama shoyu
1 T agave (or maple syrup or honey)

To be honest, It all tastes so much better the next day once all the veggies have had the time to marry off their flavours to eachother and absorb the lovely sauce and 'cook' too. I hope you like this as much as I :0)

This time I marinated -

purple cauliflower
pumpkin
sweet potato
leeks
onion
courgette
carrots
green beans

The Importance of Soaking Nuts and Seeds.....

2010-11-07T11:34:00.001+01:00

Nuts and seeds naturally come coated with a layer of enzyme inhibitors that can hinder the absorption of these vital amino acids needed. This can be easily dispersed and eradicated by the simple process of soaking.

It is best to soak the nuts and seeds needed for a recipe for at least 2 hours prior to usage in order to release the enzyme inhibitors. By doing so, the nuts and seeds will be easily absorbed, digested and circulated around the body where needed.

Nuts and seeds are crucial for the body to maintain it’s optimum health levels due to their vitamins and minerals and essential fatty acids, omega 3 & 6. To follow are the ratios of omega 3s: omega 6s of each seed

Pumpkin 1:2
Flax 3:1
Hemp 2:3
Sunflower 0:3
Sesame 0:2

A simple and yet effective way to provide a portion of seeds for the diet on a daily basis would be to make a ‘’5 seed mix’’ and store in an airtight jar in the fridge. A table spoon of this mix can then be sprinkled on salads, raw soups or cereals etc. This is a staple one should consider having always in the fridge.

Loulou's Trail Mix

2010-11-01T17:25:00.010+01:00

I recently did a long car journey accross France from one home to another...South East to the South West. It was a 9 hour journey in total. I knew that I needed to be well prepared with RAW goodies along the way so I went prepared. To start with, I made my 'Trail Mix'. An 'old faithful' of mine which never fails to please the appetite and keeps it well in track for a good while.

Firstly I added all my favourite nuts and seeds into a bowl and added -

1/4 cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
2 T nama shoyu
1 T agave syrup

I made sure all the nuts and seeds were evenly mixed up with the sauce and then I spread it all onto the dehydrator trays.

I used a STOKLI dehydrator which I have had for a couple of years. Since making this trail mix I have since bought an

Excalibur dehydrator to which I ABSOLUTELY adore in comparison. In fact there is no comparison. What a difference to the food it makes!!!! I am so so impressed with it that it strikes me utter madness that I never purchased one sooner. Anyway...I digress...... After 18 hours of dehydrating, my faithful trail mix was ready to go with me...... and what a delicious addition to the journey it was....sweet and yet savoury and very nourishing it was :0)

Other delights I make sure I always take with me when I am traveling, be it on a plane or a long car journey are.... Chocanana Cookies , Yummy Balls (scroll down to view this recipe) and lots of fruit. I also took with me 2 'Cucumber Baguettes' to which I will post a photo and 'how to do' soon for your information.

Recent Raw Meals

2010-04-02T19:56:00.014+02:00

To follow are a few of the recent raw meals I have made..... Please feel free to ask any questions relating to them/recipes etc.

I apologise for the bad quality of photos......

CURRIED MANGO, APPLE AND AVOCADO SALAD

CHOCOLATE ORANGE COOKIE SANDWICHE
COURGETTE LASAGNE TOWER (NO TOMATO SAUCE) AND SWEET POTATO CRACKERS

COURGETTE LASAGNE TOWER (NO TOMATO SAUCE)

PESTO COURGETTE SPAGHETTI, DH CRUSTED ONION RINGS, SOAKED RICE AND MARINATED MUSHROOMS, SWISS CHARD, ONIONS AND PINE NUTS

CARROT PATE CUCUMBER BLOCKS AND A MUSHROOM PATE NUT TOWER

THAI 'NON STIR FRY' VEG, FAUX AUBERGINE BACON, GUACAMOLE COURGETTE RINGS

THAI VEG MARINATED WITH SOAKED QUINOA SALAD, DH MUSHROOMS AND SATAY SAUCE

FAUX SCRAMBLED EGGS SALAD WITH CARAMALISED ONIONS AND SAVOURY CRACKER

SWEET POTATO SPAGHETTI AND COURGETTE FAJITA WRAPS

DH CRUSTED AVOCADO 'CHIPS', CURRIED VEG, CAULIFLOWER RICE AND MANGO CHUTNEY WITH SAVOURY CRACKERS

BLUEBERRY PARFAIT AND CHOCOLATE CRUNCH LAYER

BBQ SAUCE VEG KEBABS WITH SOAKED QUINOA SALAD

ChocaNana Cookies

2009-11-10T17:51:00.006+01:00

It has to be said...........you will always find these little beauties made up and ready to eat in my kitchen!!! They have become a staple in my regime.......I was always a ''cuppa tea and biscuit'' girl before going raw and these are my ''new raw'' versions....now with herbal teas.

They are so simple to make, very tasty and always seem to fill the gap ''in between meal times'' for me and even quench my hankering for chocolate too!! AND they are a bundle of goodness to top it off!!! YEY!

LOULOU'S CHOCANANA COOKIES

3 small bananas (mashed up in a mixing bowl)
1 T carob powder
2 T cacao nibs
1 Cup Almond Meal
1 Cup Walnut Meal (but left slightly chunky for texture)

Mix altogether in a bowl and spoon onto teflex sheets. Flatten down to form cookies and dehydrate until crispy on the outside but still soft in the inside.

Sprouted Quinoa Salad, Nut Cheeze, Sunflower Pate and Corn Tortilla Chips

2009-06-26T18:35:00.005+02:00

I dabbled with a few ideas of Shazzies and as ever, changed a few things here and there to suit my tastes.......... Here are my versions..

QUINOA SALAD

1 cup sprouted quinoa (simply soak quinoa for at least 4 hours preferbly overnight)
1/2 lemon juiced
10 cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
5 or 6 sundried tomatoes thinly sliced
2 T sultanas
2 spring onions chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
3 T fresh mint finely chopped
1/4 cucumber finely chopped

Add all of the above in a bowl and leave for a few hours to marinate together (I found the flavours are more intensely infused if left over night in the fridge).

SUNFLOWER PATE

1 Cup sunflower seeds soaked overnight (or at least a few hours)
1 T worcestershire sauce (not raw - optional)
5 sundried tomatoes
1/2 garlic clove
1 tspn of dulse

Simply blend all of the above ingredients until a chunky consistancy is acquired. This can stay fresh in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. I always have some sort of nut or seed pate/cheeze/spread ready made in my fridge and use it as a spread for nori sheets or crackers, or as a dip for raw crudities or simply mix it in dishes like the quinoa salad above to create a sauce texture. Stophy did this with the sunflower pate and I mixed in the following Pine nut cheeze. A delicious addition.

PINE NUT CHEEZE

1 cup of pine nuts soaked for at least 2 hours
1/4 clove of garlic
1/4 lemon juiced
1/4 of a yellow pepper
5 sundried tomatoes

Blend the above ingredients until chosen consistency. Will keep in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.

I love Nori rolls with my favourite ingredients inside. This time I used the sunflower pate and the pine nut cheeze spreads, with avocado, alfalfa sprouts, red pepper, tomato, cucumber and lettuce.

The avocado slices are dipped in a mix of seaweed flakes, poppy seeds and sesame seeds.

I also made some corn tortillas too. Here they are in the Dehydrator finishing off.

Coconut Mylk and Coconut and Apple Cookies....

2009-06-11T17:34:00.007+02:00

I recently acquired a few coconuts free and pondered on what to do with them. Unfortunately they are not the young Thai coconuts (which I can't find in this part of France) but a coconut is still a coconut no!!

Once I had drank the lush coconut water and taken the coconut meat away from the hard shell, I rinsed the meat well and then blended it all up in a high speed blender (vitamix) and added enough water to obtain the consistancy of mylk.

I then passed the liquid through a nut bag as shown below..........

The outcome was a delightful, naturally sweet coconut mylk that I placed in the bottle as shown below..........
I was left with the coconut pulp and decided to use it in a very simple cookie mix I like to make often..............

The cookie ingredients are simply - 2 apples (small), 1/2 cup coconut pulp and 1 cup of granola mix (or any soaked nut/s of your choice).

I simply blend these ingredients in the vitamix until a slightly textured 'dough' is formed.....

And then I make small patties out of the dough as shown below and then dehydrate them for about 10 hours................

These are the finished dehydrated apple, coconut and nut cookies........This recipe made 16 cookies to which I have stored in an airtight container.

Coconuts are rich in

Dietry fibre
Calcium
Iron
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Potassium

Raw Quinoa Cocao Pops

2009-05-26T09:58:00.005+02:00

I recently played about with another idea on how to eat some of my sprouted dehydrated quinoa other than simply sprinkling on salads or soups etc. I wanted to make a sweet dish out of them, so I made some.................

RAW QUINOA COCOA POPS

1 cup sprouted dehrydrated quinoa grains
1 T cacao powder
2 T argave nectar

I already had some sprouted DH quinoa ready in a jar, but the process is pretty simple, just needs a few days prep work. put some quinoa grains in a tub topped with water and place on the lid and leave in the fridge for 24hours. The next day, rinse really well and leave in the same tub, but cover with kitchen paper (not the lid this time) and leave outside the fridge on the side for a further 24hrs.
You should be able to see some tiny shoots from the grains. The next step is to dehydrate for a few hours until crispy and crunchy. Like I mentioned before, I always have a batch of these made up to add to soups and salads etc.
With the dehydrated sprouted quinoa, simply add with the cacao powder and the argave nectar.
Spread the mixture onto a teflex sheet as above and dehydrate for 4 - 8 hours

Once the mixture is crisp and crunchy, I simply broke it up into small peices and placed in a bowl

I then added some nut mylk and hey presto, delicious healthy raw version of cocao pops.

It even turns the mylk brown :0)

My Home Grown Radishes

2009-05-02T13:09:00.005+02:00

Here are a few of my ''Home Grown Radishes'' ...... They are so succulent and juicy and quite peppery - more so than the usual shop bought radishes we found.

I never realised how good radishes are for you! They act as a mild anti-inflammatory, are low in cholesterol and high in fibre. They also provide -

Vit C
Potassium (as much as a banana)
Sodium
Magnesium
Calcium
Copper
Manganese
Phosphorus
Folate

Who'd have thought so much nutrition in such a little peppery bundle :0)

Lunch today consisted of Essene bread (with quinoa) for me as a bap for my burger which laid between layers of spring onion, mixed sprouts and avocado with a few raw sauces too.

Stophy's lunch was this salad which consisted of 'Home Grown Lettuce' with 'Home Grown Radishes', grated carrots bound in parsley & garlic dressing, courgette spirals and soaked sunflower seeds with mixed sprouts hidden under the carrots.

There is something so very special about eating the foods you have grown yourself, be it herbs from your herb garden or vegetables and fruits. I cannot believe it has taken me 36 years to finally get round to producing my own garden , but I am DARN glad I did in the end :0)

Essene Bread Vegatable Sarny

2009-04-29T18:15:00.012+02:00

Today I made one of Stophy's cooked favourites for him - 'Chicken Fajitas' on his request (It has been a while since I have cooked him chicken tbh). I fancied the idea for myself too (but RAW friendly), but I was not sure what to use for the wraps.....lettuce just wasn't going to cut it today.......so I trotted off to our local organic/health shop in Nice first thing this morning in the vain hope to be inspired by something there.

Much to my delight, I found they now stock Essene Bread!!!! This is a bread made from grain sprouts and dehydrated long enough to become crispy on the outside and moist but sturdy on the inside. It actually looked like a loaf of bread - a lot heavier mind, but looked pretty appetising.

I bought some and decided to make my fajita into a sandwich type thing.

So, before I tackled Stophy's cooked version, I chopped up some veggies - broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage, white cabbage, red onion, spring onion, red pepper, green pepper, green beans, celery, cucumber, grated carrot and baby fennel and left to marinate in a yummy sweet mustard sauce I made the other day. I then made some guacamole for us both and made Stophy's version.

I placed one slice of Essene bread on my plate, lathered it with guacamole, topped with alfalfa sprouts and sunflower seed sprouts then the marinated veg mix and topped with another slice of bread and devoured the lot. I took ages to eat it because I simply wanted to savour the taste of it. Amazingly delicious and I couldn't stop smiling whilst eating it. LOL

I have FINALLY found a decent satisfying replacement for bread it seems YEY!! :0)

To change the subject COMPLETELY, I just can't seem to get enough of reading and learning at the moment. I constantly have a book on me, in my hand, or in my handbag. Stophy keeps laughing at me and calling me the walking library. Any possible free moment of the day I seem to be drawn to reading. I have to say, as a child I was a reader and then I appeared to have lost the habit or desire the older I got, but since going raw, my thirst for knowledge and reading has increased tenfold. I am not complaining!!! Just mentioning and loving it!! :0)

Requested Raw Banoffee Pie

2009-04-29T17:50:00.005+02:00

The other day, Stophy and I were watching a film together and the mention of ''banoffee pie' came up. He asked me what this was (it is not a dessert you find in France TBH) and once I described it to him his response was....'' Do you think you could make a raw version of this for me to try?'' - Music to my ears :0)

So, I got to work......now, this isn't exactly like a banoffee pie, but me oh my......it is darn delicious and now a favourite in our house for sure. I like to keep my desserts as simple as possible with minimum ingredients...... mainly because the easier the better, I know I am more likely to make the recipe again and again, also, I have never been one to mask flavours with too many tastes that become overpowering....even with cooked desserts I was the same.

I used my ''old faithful'' pie crust recipe (2 ingredients only) and only 3 ingredients + H2O for the filling.

LOULOU'S RAW BANOFFEE PIE

PIE CRUST

1 cup almonds
1 1/2 cups dates

Blitz the almonds up to desired crunch size
Add the dates and blend thoroughly together
Place the crust onto an oiled pie dish and flatten out with damp hands

FILLING

1 cup cashew nuts (soaked)
3 bananas
1/4 cup filtered water
2 T coconut oil

In a high speed blender, (Vitamix) add the water and then the cashews and blend up until moderately smooth
Add the bananas as you go and until a very smooth thick consistency is reached
Then add the coconut oil
Pour the mix onto the pie base - I also topped with a few crushed pecan nuts
Place the pie in the freezer for a couple of hours then let thaw in the fridge.

The photo I took below shows the pie when it was not quite set enough but we were both way too impatient to wait for then so we tucked in anyway. However, once the pie had frozen and was defrosted, the consistency of the filling was thick and sturdy and perfect.

The dates used in the base in fact give the 'toffee' taste to the pie and the flavours worked well together. Stophy couldn't believe it was raw in fact....... :0)

Chocolate Pie and Yummy Balls

2009-04-25T20:32:00.010+02:00

When I was in England last week I did a mini workshop and demonstrated numerous things, including juice, green smoothie, tasted raw energy bars, onion bread, flax and chia crackers, berry pie and a chocolate pie as seen above. I promised I would put the chocolate pie on here for those that wanted the recipe. Sorry it has taken me a while to get round to it..... here you go -

LOULOU'S RAW CHOCOLATE PIE

PIE CRUST -

2 cups of almonds
2 cups of pitted dates

Blend these up together and place in a greased pie dish (or in individual rings as I did above to create small portion pies)

CHOCOLATE FILLING

2 cups of soaked cashews
12 pitted dates
1/2 cup filtered water
2 T cacao powder
2 T coconut oil
1/8 tspn 5 spices

Blend all of the above together in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy in texture then place on top of the crust
Freeze to set and take out of freezer 1 hour before serving. I added raw cacao nibs on top for decoration

YUMMY BALLS

I found myself with some left over pie crust mix so I simply made this into some balls and rolled them in shredded coconut. These will keep for a fair few days in the fridge (if they last that long that is......) as a sweet snack, bonbon type thing...luscious!

My energy levels are rocket high at the moment.......feels good. Exercising most days, be it a hike up the mountain to the village or a run along the coastal road at sunrise. (I prefer sunrise due to less pollution at that point of the day).

This morning, I decided to slow my running pace slightly and simply enjoy the podcast I was listening to and run until I felt I needed to turn back. I just kept going with no energy slumps nor boredom. I was listening to Revvell's interview with Dhrumil which intrigued me throughout my run. I ended up running 12kms in the end and really not feeling exhausted at the end of it neither. Exhilarated and chuffed yes!!! but not pooped!!

I am feeling so alive and energetic on this raw lifestyle and really would not change it for anything now I have seen and experienced it's benefits personally. Why go back to feeling tired all the time, un-motivated to improve things in my life and generally slumping through life with constant mood swings to boot. All of that has disappeared in my life and I KNOW it is down to what I eat.

YOU REALLY ARE WHAT YOU EAT!!!!!!

2009-04-24T05:36:00.004+02:00

I know that everyone has their own version of the raw chocolate shake, but I have only just mastered my preferences down to a tee, so I thought I would just jot them down.

LOULOU'S RAW CHOCOLATE SHAKE

2 bananas

1 T cacao powder

1/2 T carob powder (or you could use 1 medjool date or 3 normal dates)

1 vanilla pod (scrap out the seeds, add to the blender and put the used pod in some water to drink later to create a yummy flavoured water)

1 cup nut mylk (I used my freshly made Brazil nut mylk)

1/8 tspn cinnamon

I blended all of the above in my vitamix blender and hey presto, this lush mixture was the outcome. It is quite filling and I must admit, it completely quenched my chocolate craving perfectly.

The roses are from our garden, aren't they beautiful!! The vases are in fact stones from the beach here (no sandy beaches for us, just stones and more stones/pebbles) and some clever person thought it would be a great idea to drill into them to create enough space to add water and flowers.... a local artist. He also makes napkin rings out of smaller stones by drilling a hole in those too...very clever and very 'earth day' friendly ;0)

Lunch - Stuffed Avocado and Sweet Potato Spaghetti

2009-04-23T15:01:00.004+02:00

After watching the Renegade's Show today on Stuffed Avocado, I decided to give it a go. I simply added the avocados to some sweet potato 'spaghetti' I already spiralled and marinated in salad dressing over night, some chopped up vegetables which too had marinated for a few hours in the same dressing - and lettuce leaves from my veg garden. YUM!!!

CARROT PATE

2 carrots
1 small onion
4 clove of garlic (but I used 1/2 of a small one)
coriander
1/2 cup of soaked sunflower seeds (soaked mine for a couple of hours)
pinch of sea salt

I blended these all up in the processor and it made for a yummy pate
make sure your avocado is perfectly ripe and de-shell then scoop the pate into the dip of the avocado.
I then placed the lettuce leaves, marinated vegetables - aubergine, broccoli, fennel, green beans, mangetout and carrot - and marinated sweet potato spirals ''spaghetti'' on a plate and left room for the avocados.

It really was a tasty dish!!!

Energy Bars

2009-04-13T20:08:00.007+02:00

One thing I find that helps me stick to the raw food lifestyle as much as I do, is knowing what ingredients are in the foods I eat. I love the fact that I can pronounce all the ingredients to start of with, (no chemicals that I have never even heard of let alone be able to say).......also I equally enjoy that I can decide exactly what goes into my foods.

I enjoy the odd 'energy bar' now and again and my home made versions are the only ones I eat to be honest. They are so so easy to make and I generally always have the ingredients on hand in the cupboard too.

I came across Rawdawg Rory's video on his version of the energy bars and thought I'd give them a go. I enjoy Rory's videos as they are clear to the point and he makes simple easy dishes, and they are fun to watch to boot. Rory's concept to making these bars is to attain the 1 part date paste to the 3 part dry ingredients of your choice method. As ever, I changed the ingredients around a bit to my liking, but kept Rory's concept of 1:3 ratio. They are divine I must say!!! Here's what I put in mine :-

LOULOU'S VERSION OF RORY'S ENERGY BARS

1 cup dates (blended up into a paste)
3 cups of the following mixed ingredients blended up to small chunks -
Brazil, Hazelnuts, Pecan, Walnuts, Pistachios, Pumpkin seeds, Dried Figs and Dried Cranberries
rolled in sesame seeds.

Thanks Rory!! This ratio works a treat!!! :0)

Raw Burgers

2009-04-10T20:01:00.006+02:00

I have never really had much success with 'raw burger' recipes before, I have always found them too nutty or too earthy in flavour to grab me..........until.........I came across this recipe from Rene Oswald's book ''Transitioning to Living Cuisine''. I must admit, I did my usual thaaang and change a few things around but the outcome was a HIT for me!!

VITALITY BURGERS P.301

1 carrot
1 stalk celery (I used 1/2)
1 medium courgette (I used 1/2)

Blend these up using S blade and transfer to a mixing bowl

1/2 cup sunflower seeds, sprouted (I used pumpkins seeds - not sprouted)
1/4 cup almonds, soaked
3/4 cup buckwheat groats, sprouted (I used pine nuts)
1/4 cup chia gel
1/4 oz dulse
1 tspn ground cumin (I omitted)
1 tspn turmeric (I omitted)

Blend these up using S blade and transfer to the mixing bowl

1/4 cup flax seed meal
4 onion greens chopped (I used 1 red onion)
3 garlic greens chopped (I used 1/2 small garlic clove)
4-5 stalks fennel chopped (I used 1 mini fennel bulb)
(I added a pinch of pink salt)

I blended up these ingredients and added them to the others in the mixing bowl and made burger patties and dehydrated for 16 hours in total. This amount made 6 large burgers.

They really were delicious. As you can see, I used a Romain lettuce leaf as a wrap and added a raw mustard sauce and some raw ranch dressing I made the other day with more red onions and sliced avocado. YUMMO!!!!!

Water Frist Thing in The Morning...........

2009-04-10T12:38:00.002+02:00

Since I have adapted my ways first thing in the morning to drinking 1tr (2 pints) of filtered water,(I generally add fresh lemon juice to the water too. ) I have noticed numerous benefits from doing so -

My mind is clearer after I have drunk the water, it is as if the water helps clarify a foggy morning head

My skin has definitely taken a fresher look to it too

My whites of my eyes are brighter and clearer looking

The lemon helps to alkalize and balance your body's pH value which is vital for good health

I know it is helping to flush out any toxins along the way too which is a psychosomatic aspect which in turn makes me feel healthier throughout the day (mind, body and spirit)

I achieve more in the morning time than before....makes me more productive

I feel lighter and more energetic

Chia Crazy

2009-04-05T18:28:00.010+02:00

The benefits of chia seeds have never ceased to amaze me and considering how unknown they are and the fact that they are so cheap and so so versatile too. I went a little Chia Crazay today and made these little items for tastings..........firstly I made Chia and Flax Crackers. The easiest crackers ever

CHIA AND FLAX CRACKERS

1 cup golden flax seeds
1 cup chia seeds
2 cups filtered water

I soaked the seeds in the water for about 1/2 hour until they had congealed and then spread them on the teflex sheets and dehydrated them until they were crispy and cracker like. Perfect. Next time I will try it with the flax made into a flour so they will be easier to digest and be absorbed more.

The dip in the photo above was my Courgette and Cauliflower Dip which too is so simply to make.

COURGETTE/CAULIFLOWER DIP

3 florets of cauliflower
1/2 large peeled courgette
1/4 clove garlic
1/2 small onion
pinch pink Himalayan salt
1 T cashew butter or tahini

Blend all of the ingredients together et voila!!

Next I made some Chia Mylk. This is delicious and a great alternative to cows milk which I no longer consume. I generally prefer hemp mylk or cashew mylk now a days but wanted to try Chia mylk. This is not my recipe but for the life of me I cannot remember where I got it from. Sorry!! :0(

CHIA MYLK

1/2 cup chia seeds soaked over night in 3 cups filtered water
1/4 cup nuts of your choice soaked over night
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup tahini
filtered water

Add the soaked - now congealed- seeds and the rinsed, drained nuts into the vitamix and add the rest of the ingredients as you blend away until a smooth consistency is reached. This should be fine in the fridge for 5-7 days (if it lasts that long).

NB. If you don't have a max speed blender like a Vitamix or a Blendtec then you will need to strain the mylk through a nut bag once blended. I find I prefer not to use a nut bag as the vitamix blends the ingredients up so well. It makes for a thicker mylk but I simply thin this out slightly by adding more water. It is more creamier like this.

My last 'Chia' endeavour of the day was this smoothie/shake.

CHOCA CHIA SHAKE

1 cup chia mylk
2 ice cubes
1/8 of 5 spice
2 T carob powder
1 T cacao powder
1 banana

This makes for a thick shake, but if you prefer a thinner consistency, simply add in some extra water. This is so simple but soooooo creamy and moorish. Very filling though so be warned :0)

Chia Seeds are known for their gelatinous texture once liquid is added to them. They make for great 'glues' for many raw dishes, both savoury and sweet.

Chia seeds are very high in protein, soluble fibre, calcium, omega 3 and 6 and even boron (which aids the transition of calcium to bones). They are by far my favourite seeds this month for sure.

The pleasures of the Tomato for your body

2009-04-02T11:01:00.006+02:00

Finally, tomatoes are back in season and as you can see, they are as vibrant and succulent looking as ever. During the winter months, I hanker for these wonderful delicious specimens of fruit but always refrain from purchasing the winter (out of season) versions due to their lack lustre and bland colouring and taste.

I in fact had this delightful plate of mixed toms for my breakfast this morning. Beef tomatoes, alongside, yellow, orange, cherry, plum miniatures and yellow cherry tomatoes too. Full of flavour and sweet juices that simply tasted divine.

Tomatoes are considered one of nature's super cleansers due to their enzymes that aid the kidneys to filter out large quantities of fatty deposits and eliminate them.

Tomatoes are full of vitamin C which in turn is vital for iron and calcium absorption. These two minerals are linked to healthy nervous systems.

They contain large amounts of beta-carotene which the body converts into vitamin A. When stress hormones are circulating in the system, this anti-oxidant plays a vital role in the immune system responses.

Tomatoes are also considered to have powerful anti-carcinogenic properties via its lycopene (a type of caretonoid) found within.

Raw tomatoes also help neutralize acid in the body and can reduce liver inflammation.

Overall, the tomato should for numerous reasons be a staple in a healthy lifestyle and I for one am very happy to see the great tomato season to be here again!!!

I devoured this plateful of toms and onions with my favourite simple dressing of the moment.

SWEET AVOCADO DRESSING

fresh apple juice
1 avocado

place the avocado halves in a blender and add 1 cup of apple juice and blend together.
you can add more apple juice depending on the thickness of the dressing you desire.

This keeps in an air tight container in the fridge for a few days.

Courgette Angel Hair with Italiano Sauce

2009-03-26T15:22:00.004+01:00

This made for a nice twist on my salad today...... and I got the thumbs up from Stophy too which is always a bonus :0) I used 1 large thick courgette (Zucchini) for the two of us.

I made the courgette 'angel hair' using a 'spiral slicer' or you can simply thinly slice the courgettes lengthwise and cut into thin lengths.

I then separately made up the Italiano sauce to go with the courgette angel hair.

ITALIANO SAUCE

1 tomato
1/4 red bell pepper
1 mushroom
1/2 small onion
1/4 garlic clove
1 T fresh basil leaves
1 T cashew butter (cashews that have been blended to create a paste/butter)
1 T pesto
dash of Worcestershire sauce (not raw) - could replace with nama shoyu
pinch pink Himalayan salt

Blend all of these ingredients together and then pour over the courgette angel hair. I then added this to my salad which contained - cherry tomatoes (red and yellow), avocado, lettuce, green lentil sprouts, Bulgar lentil sprouts and mung sprouts.

Raw Crepes, Berries and Cashew Cream Filling

2009-03-22T18:17:00.007+01:00

This was such a simple dessert with minimal ingredients and yet it really was the best dessert I have tasted in a loooong while. Amazing textures and the flavourings made a perfect marriage on my taste buds.........

RAW CREPES AND CASHEW FILLING

CREPES

2 large bananas

I simply blended up the bananas then spread the mixture out onto teflex sheets thinly and dehydrated until they were pliable and no longer sticky

CASHEW CREAM FILLING

2 handfuls of cashews
4 dates

I blended up the cashews and the dates together with a little water and this tasty simple cream was formed

I placed the berries on the crepe and topped with the cashew cream filling then wrapped it all up firmly. I added the strawberry coulis at the last minute before serving

STRAWBERRY COULIS

5 or 6 strawberries (blended in a food processor)

That's it!!! You could add some additional sweetener to the coulis if desired, but I found that the natural sugar in ripe strawberries provided plenty of sweetness for our pallets.

Apple and Walnut Cookies

2009-03-21T07:42:00.008+01:00

After my post on the goodness of apples the other day, the wonderful Earthmother mentioned a few apple recipes from her amazing blog,(if you haven't already, you must check it out!) So I gave the Apple & Walnut Cookies a try and to my delight they turned out to be delicious. They were light and crispy but still slightly chewy in the inside and they hit the spot perfectly as I supped on my herbal tea.

I always used to be a 'cuppa tea and biscuit' girl pre-raw days so this is such a great alternative for me. Merci Earthmother!!

APPLE & WALNUT COOKIES

pulp from 3 apples (I used 5 as they were really small pommes)
1 cup soaked walnuts
1/8 C raw honey (I used agave nectar as had no raw honey)
1/2 tspn Cinnamon

I simply blended all the above together and formed small balls, then flattened them and dehydrated for 10 hours until crispy on the outside but still chewy on the inside.

Onion Bread

2009-03-21T07:12:00.008+01:00

EDIT - visit my new and improved version of loulou's onion bread HERE http://rawloulou.blogspot.com/2011/01/onion-bread.html

I have made numerous attempts of onion bread and I must admit I never found one that really smelt and tasted as good as this one! The aroma from this bread whilst it was in the dehydrator was making us both salivate each time we walked into the kitchen.

I guess you have to enjoy onions to make an onion bread in the first place, but the thing I like most about this bread is you cannot taste the flax seeds. Not that I dislike the taste of flax seeds, its just that most breads I have tried have the dominant flax meal flavour which spoils the bread I think sometimes.

Anyway, I got this recipe from Revvell who recommended it from Matt Amsden's book RAWvolution. As ever, I played about with the quantities a little but kept all the ingredients the same

ONION BREAD

3 yellow onions (I used 1 red onion)
3/4 C flax meal (I used 3 T of golden flax seed meal)
3/4 C sunflower seed meal (I used 3 T)
1/2 C nama shoyu (I used 1 T)
1/3 C olive oil (I used 1 T)

I simply blended all of the above together and spread out onto a teflex sheet and dehydrated for about 8 hours or so. I definitely recommend this recipe for sure. Thanks Revvell!

This is what I had for breakfast this morning - the onion bread with courgette hummus and cucumber, spring onion, mushrooms, celery, radish and raw beetroot with dill from my garden :0)

Apple Power

2009-03-19T17:14:00.012+01:00

My Apple Swan

The wonders of the great ''Pomme''. I was astounded to find out all the goodness the simple apple can provide us..............

Apples contain (amongst many other things...)
Pectin =

soluble fibre which can help to curb the appetite
acts as a detoxifying component
eliminates cholesterol
eliminates toxins (by becoming gelatinous in the intestines)
eliminates heavy metals via the liver and kidneys
enables the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestines
soluble fibre alongside the fructose in the apple help to keep blood sugar levels stable and curb cravings (fructose is a simple sugar the body can break down slowly.)

The fructose in fresh apple juice is known to revive energy slumps and low attention span (which is the bi-product of low energy levels). The calcium and magnesium found in apples also help to balance brain chemistry levels.

Apples contain malic and tartaric acid which aid digestion.

The potent antioxidant quercetin is found in apples which enables the counteraction of the damaging effects of free radicals in the body.

Vitamins in apples - A, B1, B2, B6 and C

Minerals in apples - Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulphur and Iron

Now you can see why there is a saying ''AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY''.

Here are a couple of yummy recipes I have made using apples.

Apple Porridge is one of my favourite breakfasts that I have about 3 times a week. It is so filling and nourishing and always keeps me full until lunch time.

Apple Chia Pudding is a simple pudding/breakfast as you wish. I tend to make this up and leave it covered in the fridge for a few hours and have as a mid meal snack if peckish.

Veg Garden Update

2009-03-18T17:38:00.007+01:00

As Spring is just around the corner, my veg/herb garden has taken a leap ahead and is blooming beautifully (so far so good). The wonderful burst of sunshine we have been getting recently has most definitely boosted spring into action all over the garden not just my veg area :0)

Above is my herb and berry area -

parsley - flat and curly
dill
thyme
rosemary
sage
chives
coriander
chamomile

gooseberry bush
blueberry bush
blackberry bush
raspberry bush

Above in the veg area I have growing -

3 types of lettuce
kale (as I can't find it in France, I thought I would grow my own... bought seeds in GB)
radishes
carrots (orange)
carrots (purple)
parsnips
spring onions
cucumber
fennel bulbs
courgettes
red sweet peppers

Above I have growing -

cherry tomatoes
beef tomatoes
basil
strawberries
2 types of mint

I have thoroughly enjoyed the process so far and I in fact found if very easy to make time to water my garden and even have a little chat with it when watering it :0)

I find the time I spend in my garden watching it grow before my eyes is very therapeutic and I can't believe I have never thought of doing this before now...........

My Spinach Experience.........

2009-03-12T14:18:00.003+01:00

Spinach - Purine - Uric Acid

Uric acid is a compound resulting from the body's breakdown of purine, which in turn appear as crystals in the joints and an excess of, can have detrimental effect resulting in gout. and possible symptoms of arthritis (joint area pains) etc.

Purine can be found in many foodstuffs and Uric acid crystals are produced when purine is broken down in the body. Foods high in purine include Spinach and many more……..

- Mushrooms, asparagus, cauliflower
- anchovies and sardine, herring and mackerel
- organ meats and poultry
- legumes
- Alcohol contains purines and also interferes with the body’s excretion of uric acid

My Experience with Spinach

The first signs I had of shoulder pains stemmed from over a year ago now but the correlation of the certain foods intake to the initial pain took me a while to connect. Before heading on the increase of raw foods entering into my diet, I did up the omega levels in my daily regime by consuming a lot of fish, particularly sardines, anchovies, mackerel and herrings. But my most intense increase since my ‘healthier regime’ commenced was the introduction of spinach on a daily basis.

The spinach daily intake continued through into my raw lifestyle, albeit an addition to salads or in my green juices or sometimes both. Naturally my consumption of the fish oils were no longer part of my diet.

I started to be greatly concerned when my right shoulder joint pain appeared to have spread to my right knee joint area too…then a few days later it spread again to my left knee joint. This really disturbed me as it hindered my sport activities greatly, and left me wondering and worrying as to where I was going so drastically wrong with my food intake. It also correlated to my acne issue that had started to appear (facially) with no apparent connection to anything else I was eating at the time.

Needless to say, the moment I omitted spinach from my daily diet and drank 1 ltr of water first thing in the morning (and continuing to consume more water throughout the day too), my joint pain disappeared with in 2 - 3 days almost completely and my facial acne calmed considerably and is now to the point of a smooth blemish free skin complexion (sadly a cluster of red scar like areas still exist but are fading gradually). My drinking of 1ltr of water first thing each morning would have helped flush out excess uric acid from my body daily too….

All this to say, I have learnt my lesson in the necessity of acquiring foods in moderation and variation. The body was telling me so and I chose to ignore or become ignorant to it’s messages but eventually I got there.

I wanted to write about this just in case there is someone else out there that is experiencing similar issues with utter confusion as to what is the overall cause. Now I appreciate every one is different and reacts differently to certain foodstuffs, but anyone suffering from joint pains and acne may want to take this information into consideration.

NB:
Spinach in fact can act as a ‘robber’ of iron due to its high content of oxalate's which bind the iron and render it un-absorbable by the body.

Mushroom Pate

2009-03-06T03:32:00.005+01:00

I had a hankering for some mushrooms the other day, but I didn't just want to eat them plain and as much as I love the taste and texture of shrooms marinated in namo shoyu, my stomach disagrees sadly.......so I got to thinking and playing with my food again :0) This is what I came up with and I was happily pleased with the taste and texture (and my stomach was in agreement too)...

MUSHROOM PATE

3 small spring onions
6 button mushrooms
1 1/2 cup of black mushrooms
1/2 garlic clove
1 T fresh dill
2 T tahini
1 T Worcestershire sauce (not raw - can replace with nama shoyu)
1 small hand full of alfalfa sprouts

Add all of the above to a processor or blender and blitz until the desired consistency is reached.

Here was my lunch (and I had snacked on more celery sticks and dipped into the pate prior to this dish too). I shredded 1 carrot and 1 big chunk of pumpkin and marinated it for a few hours in a simple dressing I had made previously. I dressed the salad in my scrummy sweet avo dressing -

SWEET AVO DRESSING

1 medium apple
1/2 rip avocado

juice the apple and add to the avocado in the vitamix and blend until smooth. adjust the amount of apple juice to make the dressing thicker or thinner.

This is such a simple yet effective dressing and really jazzes up a salad. So easy to make too.

Look what the sunshine brought me................

2009-03-04T05:41:00.001+01:00

This is the outcome after 10days!!! YEY! We have been lucky with the sunshine recently as it has made daily appearances (not for long but it has graced us with its presence more than it has all winter so far LOL). I have been watering my veg-garden-to-be every other day.

The area with the most green is in fact the radishes.....at the top of the photo, where the greens are a little slower but still appearing are rows of differing lettuces. And the greens in the middle are Kale. I can't find Kale AT ALL here in this area of France so I thought I would buy the seeds in GB (which I did on my last visit there) and grow my own....so far so good but it is only early days yet. Fingers crossed though, I will hopefully have my OWN supply of kale :0)

Watch this space!!

Lemon Crunch Dessert

2009-03-04T05:05:00.007+01:00

This is Loulou's version of Raw Model's Key Lime Pie, I had no limes, so I used Lemon and I wanted to veer away from using nuts for a pie base so I ended up using my 'sweet crunch' (see below) instead to give texture.

LEMON CRUNCH DESSERT

1 ripe avocado
1 T yacon syrup
1 T lemon juice
1/2 T lemon rind (finely grated)
2 T coconut oil

blend all of the above together in the processor until it all combines nicely
then add to glass bowls and layer with the sweet crunch making the last top layer the crunch layer.
store in the fridge covered for a few hours or until ready to serve.

LOULOU'S SWEET CRUNCH (This has to be made before due to it's dehydrating time)

1 banana
1/2 cup brown organic dried apricots
1 cup sunflower seeds (soaked over night)
1/2 cup sesame seeds hulled
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
3 dried figs
3 pitted dates
1/2 cup hemp seeds (hulled)

blend all of the above in a blender until you reach a smooth consistency.
spread the paste thinly onto some dehydrating sheets and dehydrate for about 12 hours (until crunchy to touch)
break up the dried paste mixture into a food processor and blitz until you reach the desired size crunch bits
then place these crunch bits back in the dehydrator for about another 6 hours or until they are thoroughly dried and crunchy
store in an air tight container

I use mine to top my apple porridge in the mornings or I add to my granola or even my chia porridge. In this case, I have used it in a dessert :0)

Loulou's Munchy Bars

2009-03-01T11:10:00.009+01:00

I occasionally have a munchy attack - meaning I just need to bite into something that just takes of the edge off of hunger before the next meal time. This used to be a packet of crisps or maybe a couple of choccie biscuits with a cuppa or a slice of toast smothered in butter etc (in my cooked food days that is). I needed to replace these with something that I find equally fulfilling but nutritious and nourishing.

So, I came up with........

LOULOU'S MUNCHY BARS

3 T chia seeds (soaked for at least 2 hours to create a gel)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (soaked)
10 pitted dates
3 dried figs
1 large banana
2 T sesame seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup coconut meat (previously shredded and dehydrated)
1/4 t cinnamon

Put all of the ingredients (except the dried cranberries) into a processor and blitz until you have reached your chosen consistency

.
Place this mix into a large bowl and add the dried cranberries and stir well to combine.

3. Mould the mixture into small bar shapes on the dehydrator sheets. I managed to make 8 bars from this recipe but you can make the bars smaller or larger or thicker etc. As you wish......

4. I dehydrated them for about 12 hours (over night) and they were perfectly done (for me)

They were crispy and solid on the outside but still moist and slightly chewy on the inside.........

Store them in a air tight container and they should keep for a fair few days I should think. (if they are not eaten before then that is)

Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich

2009-02-28T05:56:00.005+01:00

My favourite 'Raw Naughty' at the moment..............................

Chocolate and Pistachio cookies enveloping my super dooper easy Strawberry and Banana Ice cream. It was a bit gooey to eat as I took my time to take photos and it had melted slightly but that didn't bother me (the glutton that I am LOL).

This used to be a 'cooked favourite' of mine at a restaurant Stophy and I go to sometimes.... The day I made this, we went to that resto (I had a lush huge mixed salad) and I said to Stophy I really wanted to try the raw version so when I got home, I concocted this. (I already had previously made and dehydrated the cookies the day before as chance had it.) It was delicious!!!

;0)

CHOCOLATE AND PISTACHIO COOKIE

1 T carob powder
2 T yacon syup
1 T cacao powder
1 cup Brazil nut meal (Brazil nuts blended in a coffee grinder or a high speed blender)
1/2 cup pistachios (soaked overnight and rinse and drained)
2 T filtered water (or as much/little as needed to obtain cookie dough consistency)

blend all of the above (not the pistachios) in vitamix until the desired consistency has been reached
turn out into a large bowl and mix in the pistachio nuts
spoon small rounds of the dough on to the dehydrator sheets and press down with wet fingers to flatten in the shape of cookies
dehydrate for as long as needed to acquire a crisp exterior and a slightly chewy interior or too your liking. I dehydrated mine for about 12 hours in total.

Loulou's veggie garden...she hopes!!

2009-02-22T14:59:00.003+01:00

Myself, hubby and our 2 doggies Lili and Patxi, live on the property where we work. When we first moved in 6 years ago, we discovered steps beyond our house going up onto an area, but sadly it was grossly overgrown and you couldn't actually walk any further than the steps themselves.

We took it upon ourselves in years to come to clear this area open and discover the space we now use as our top terrace area. It wasn't long after we started clearing away this area, did we discover an area further back along that looked like was once used as a raised flower/veg bed. We cleared this as much as we could and this is what it looked like.........................

So, we filled it with soil, cleared away the large bushes and trees in front of this space which hid the sunlight and .....................................

I recently added the seeds of the veg which I hope to grow for harvest this spring/summer.

This is showing the raised veg area with it's half cover....the other cover was yet to arrive but you can get the idea.

We are lucky enough in this area of France not to get frost at all.......

The pots I will use to grow cherry tomatoes and my herbs in separately .

Juice Feast continued.............Loulou's Smuices

2009-02-21T09:00:00.009+01:00

Day 2 - I had the same juices as Juice Day 1 which kept me full and satiated on both days with no problems. Amazingly so, I managed to lose 1 kilo on the first day of juicing which is quite a lot and considering I didn't feel or go hungry once during the day it surprised me no end. Since then I have been losing weight but at a much more gradual level.

Day 3 - I jiggled things up slightly on this day.....I started my day off as usually with 1ltr of lemon water and then my first Juice was a ''smoothie/juice combo''(aka SMUICE). I call it my

BREKKIE SMUICE

1 apple
1/3 medium pineapple
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (I had strawbs, rasp, blackberries and redcurrants)
4 T raw granola
1 T 5 seed mix
1/2 cup hemp mylk
1 small banana

juice the apple and pineapple
meanwhile add the raw granola, 5 seed mix, hemp mylk and banana into the vitamix and blend up well so it becomes smooth.
then add the frozen berries and blend well and at this stage, add the pineapple and apple juice to the blender too. Et voila

This amount made a pint of smuice and it kept me full until lunch time. It is a filling drink and full in omegas and essential fatty acids due to the seed and nut content in the granola and 5 seed mix and the hemp mylk too.

I liked this combo so much, I had it for breakfast again today.

Day 3 - for the rest of the day I had green smuices galore and herbal teas. It was a strange day emotion wise.......I was not my self and I must admit I wasn't really enjoying the emotional roller coaster of the day to be honest :0(
One minute I felt elated and energised and the next I had zero enthusiasm, my energy levels remained level but I just 'couldn't be bothered with anything' then an hour later I was full of beans again. This continued for the whole day......up and down.......most odd. I guess my body was detoxing some what. I feel back to normal again today thankfully.

I am still not sure how long I will keep this juicing up but I am just taking each day at a time. The moment I have a HUGE urge to eat solid foods I will jump back into it straight away.....my body will tell me when that time is to be for sure. I never push myself passed that stage, to me it seems counter productive to do this. That's it for now.........

MY GREEN SMUICES

1 large Swiss chard leaf
1 small handful of watercress
1/2 cucumber
1 carrot
2 apples
1/2 lemon peeled (but keep as much pith on as possible)
2 inch chunk of ginger (I LOVE ginger in my juices, this may be too much for most people)
small bunch of parsley
1/2 avocado
lots of ice

Add the avocado and ice to the vitamix blender
meanwhile juice the rest of the ingredients
then add to the vitamix and blend altogether well

This will make about a pint of smuice and is another filling drink that keeps me satiated for hours.

EDIT

So, I ended my smuice feast today (day 4) mid afternoon with a delicious crisp salad with avocado and orange dressing. The crunch factor was divine LOL. I continued with a large green smuice later on and a few herbal teas and that was me done for the day.

I feel lighter, refreshed and raring to go. It always surprises me how energised I feel during and after smuice feasting each time........what is more interesting is how smuicing has become a habitual food source for me now on a daily basis (at least one for sure per day). It is interesting how I can't quite get my head around smoothie feasts but juices appeal to me so much more......although I am loving my ''smuices'' now a days too so maybe that is simply the best compromise for me - best of both worlds so to speak ;0)