Mulberry Smoothies

So how did everyone enjoy the long weekend?

I went on an amazing  retreat that I highly recommend. So blessed to have been part of it! Let me know via kontactr if you want to know more about it.

Since other people prepared the food, I wasn't able to eat all raw - had steamed veggies and fish. (Yes, yes, since I am unable to take locally available vitamin B12, I decided to eat raw or steamed fish  - usually salmon - once a week) The first night I ate fried string beans and some sauteed fruit and veggies - I think I ate a little bit of the breading so I started to itch, but praise God nothing other than some redness occurred!

Anyhoo, on to the post...

A few days before leaving for the retreat, I enjoyed a mulberry smoothie - thanks to Monina Carandang of Herbana Farms who graciously offered some freshly picked ones from their tree!

Anti-oxidant Mulberry Green Smoothies

Ingredients:

2 cups locally harvested, fresh organic mulberries
4 ripe bananas (or substitute 3 bananas plus half a cup to one cup other berries for an uber anti-oxidant experience)
1 bunch  kangkong leaves

1 cup of water or 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup ice

(I like my smoothies thicker and I often forego water, but you could try this with water and see if you like it this way)

Preparation:

Blend everything in your trusty high-speed blender!

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I love these mulberries on so many different levels!

They remind me of when a friend from New Zealand took me on my first fruit foraging experience in Washington State.  Blackberries are not a big deal there. They seem to just grow everywhere, even in poor soil.  And no one really minds if you forage.

So a-foraging we went! 

(By the way, the blackberry isn't a real berry. It is a compound fruit. Nerd alert! :P)

* * *

And the fact I went foraging helps me forge some kind of kinship with author Canadian Frederic Patenaude and the many California and Las Vegas raw foodists who have foraged before me. 

* * *

I also love that these mulberries  are cheaper than the blueberries at the health food stores/groceries. 

Contact:
Monina Carandang
0921-664-7027
Salcedo Market, Saturdays

(I don't get discounts for advertising Herbana farms. Monina is the daughter of one my dad's law school brods, but I have been ordering from her for a long time even before I discovered this. I usually get my veggies from her weekly, but I couldn't during the long weekend since I was away.)

Mulberry Smoothies

My Avocado Tree/Bocca B Sunbeam Catcher Beautiful Pink Tea

This is Bocca B, my teeny little avocado tree who loves feasting on coffee grounds and organic compost!

 Bocca B, 

my teeny little super tree,

oh how I like thee!

Green sunbeam 

catchers make beautiful pink tea - 

great for the kidney!

Tea party

guests who try it will all agree -

great tea = caffeine-free!

Ten long years

before you become all fruity - 

that's just fine by me!

* * *

Bocca B Green Sunbeam Catchers Beautiful Pink Tea

Ingredients:

7 leaves of the Bocca B

A liter of clean, fresh water (preferably filtered) - not tap water

Preparation:

Bring water to a boil.

Reduce the heat.

Place 7 leaves of the Bocca B tree in the water. Put the lid on the cookware and let simmer until the water turns pink.

Turn off the heat. 

Let the tea cool to room temperature.

Pour into beautiful tea cups!

Call all your fellow Anne of Green Gables fans ages 9 and up to have a mostly raw food tea party! 

Look Ma, no caffeine! This is waaay better than drinking sugar-laden pretend-tea orange juice!

* * *

(I heard that another kidney cleanser tea is the edible weed pansit-pansitan. I usually like my pansit-pansitan raw, in a green smoothie. But if you want to try pansit-pansitan tea, just steep the pansit-pansitan leaves in a nice tea pot filled with boiling water.)

Can you tell I'm happy that my nephrologist said my kidneys are a-ok? :D

***If you have kidney problems, it's best to listen to your doctor, not to me :D

My Avocado Tree/Bocca B Sunbeam Catcher Beautiful Pink Tea

Unfried rice

Ingredients:

amaranth, 1 tablespoon or less soaked overnight

millet, 2 or more tablespoons soaked over night

1 cup or more wild rice sprouted

1 carrot

wakame soaked in water, then rinsed

1/2 patola

thyme leaves

1/4 cup red onion or a handful of shallots chopped

few spritzes of calamansi  (I like mine sour :))

Bragg nutritional yeast or nut cheeze

angel seaweed from Dr. Tam's Vegan Haus

a dash of extra virgin olive oil (optional)

1 clove of garlic

Preparation:

Cut the garlic in half and rub your salad bowl with each half. Discard garlic. 

Toss the rest of the ingredients together in the salad bowl. 

*Low fat raw vegans may choose between olive oil or nut cheeze


This recipe contains RDA:
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Copper
Iron
Magnesium
Manganese
Niacin
Pant. Acid
Phosporus
Riboflavin
Thiamin
Zinc

It has trace amounts of:
Vitamin A
Calcium
Vitamin C
Vitamin E

There is no Vitamin D in this recipe.

It is 11% fat,  13% protein, and 76% carbs

Unfried rice

Pansit-pansitan Experiment

I was super excited to take care of pansit-pansitan especially after I tried it in a green smoothie. 

It is a local edible weed claimed to have kidney cleaning properties. I heard that a well-known archbishop claims that it removed his kidney stones and he likes to steep it in boiling water for use as a tea. 

When I found out some weeds grew nearby,  I tried to transplant them, but  my first attempt didn't go so well.  I remember thinking, how difficult could it be to grow a weed?! 

I waited too long before transplanting so they were too dehyrated. This time, I  am not taking any chances!

I am planting in living soil (read: composted)...

as well as some composted soil along with some regular soil. 

Will the experiment work or not? I guess I will find out soon enough!

Pansit-pansitan Experiment

Dehydrator Recipe: Tomato-less Flatbread Pizza Crust

Here's a night-shade free (tomato-less) flatbread pizza crust

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds, soaked at least 8 hours, soak water discarded, and rinsed
     (2017 update: when I wrote this, I hadn't discovered my sensitivity to almonds yet!)

1 cup flaxseeds soaked at least 8 hours, soak water discarded, and rinsed

Pulp from juicing: carrots, parsley, beets 

1/2 cup minced red onion (for this recipe, I diced the onion, though. You could probably use less onion if desired)

non-irradiated herbs, such as basil, thyme, oregano, parsley (grow your own or get them at your weekend market!)

Preparation:

1. Blend the almonds and flaxseeds in a high speed blender or a food processor. (Someday, I will own a very nice food processor!!!)



2. Scoop in the pulp from juicing. For this recipe I used the pulp from juiced carrots, parsley, beets and mix well.



3. Mix the almond-flaxseed mixture with the green onions, then add the pulp little by little. (I have small mixing bowls kasi eh). Some people like to mix these with their hands. Rings off, please!



4. Spread onto non stick dehydrator sheets your desired thickness. I used less than half an inch. Dehydrate at 104 degrees F for half a day. Makati is pretty humid. The period of dehydration will vary based on climate and humidity. I can imagine this will dehydrate faster in the States.



5. Flip over and dehydrate 2 hours more, or until crunchy. I never got this far because the aroma was too much and I just had to have it already!

This is a great bread (less dehydration time, more moisture) on its own or as a pizza base (more dehydration time, crunchy, will keep longer) if using the carrot beet parsley mixture. Look up a nice nut cheeze recipe to go with it if desired :D But that will just give you more fat. Your call. Hehe :D

I love that the onions gave it just the right flavor even though no salt was used. Top with basil, thyme or other non irradiated herbs.

Ciao!

This was my pre show dinner before watching Varekai a few weeks ago. I had it with a salad. For dessert, I had Ani Phyo's recipe for coconut breakfast cake. (Breakfast for dinner! Ahluvet!)

Again, raw foodists shouldn't eat this daily. It has more fat than carbs. This is more like a treat.

This recipe contains:

Vitamin A
Vitamin B6
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Calcium
Copper
Iron
Magnesium
Maganese
Pant. Acid
Phosperous
Riboflavin
Selenium
Sodium
Thiamin
Zinc

This recipe has 60% fat, 28% carbs, 12% protein.
This recipe contains no Vitamin B12 and no Vitamin D.

Dehydrator Recipe: Tomato-less Flatbread Pizza Crust

O, Lettuce Rejoice!

Assorted sprouts on the window sill. when these get bigger, they will be transferred to individual pots.

Homegrown, organic, 100% love.







What are you growing this week?

O, Lettuce Rejoice!

Stuff Raw Foodists Like #9: Not Having to Get a Liposuction/Pay for Some Expensive Body Slimming Treatment/Go on a Crazy Diet that Will Make Me Hungry or Irritable Just to Lose Weight

                                              My size 2 clothes which I gave away to create space  for my size 0 clothes!

No liposuctions! Or Marie France visits! Or irritability! Or hunger!


Anyone who goes raw finds that weight loss is really easy. I wasn't looking to lose weight, just aiming to get healthier.  


I'm a pear, and because I lived abroad for three years, and didn't have the healthiest habits, I couldn't get rid of glut fat no matter how much I exercised. 

Back then, a housemate from China tactlessly commented : you have a big butt. :( I couldn't argue with that, even though it super hurt :(

Fast forward to mid August-December 2010 when I was close to 100% raw, and the healthiest I ever felt.

Post-college, I was a size 0 on top,  but downstairs I was a size 2. Going raw (not even going just vegetarian) helped me become a consistent size 0. It is so much easier to buy dresses now, and I hardly need to get them altered!

 A word of caution: It is difficult to get in calories on raw, so be sure that you get more carbohydrates than fat, especially when you are exercising. This recipe contains a lot of fat. It isn't the kind of dish you should be eating daily. 

* * *

I have a friend who is on a different diet. It is a diet that is high on animal protein, low in carbs, and to top it off, the doctor who designed it says exercise is optional. 


Huuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh?!??!?!?!?! 


My friend is losing weight, sure, (which is really her goal) but she is always hungry and cheating, and since starting the diet, has gotten sick 4 times, in a span of 7 months.  


Personally, I would steer clear of any "health" regimen that says exercise is optional. Exercise is very important. Exercise strengthens the bones, builds muscle, engages the lymph system, creates endorphins, and excretes toxins. 


Eating too much meat is also not advisable for Asians. If you have the time or inclination, you might want to read a study that shows that meat-eating, dairy-consuming Asians are prone to osteoporosis (One study is the Cornell-Oxford-China Nutrition Project). In addition, The China Study shows how people eating high protein diets experience more Western diseases, like cancer, heart attacks, hypertension and diabetes. Initially, the study wanted to find out why there was a high incidence of liver cancer in children in the Philippines. The study thought it was due to the high consumption of peanuts and corn containing toxins, but eventually, it was found out that "children who ate the highest [animal] protein diets were the most likely to get liver cancer." (The China Study)

*   *     *

I am not, I repeat, not a doctor or nutritionist. Whatever I post here is based on my personal experience and research. Be discerning. Not everything raw vegan is healthy either!

                                                                                                   

                                                                                        

Stuff Raw Foodists Like #9: Not Having to Get a Liposuction/Pay for Some Expensive Body Slimming Treatment/Go on a Crazy Diet that Will Make Me Hungry or Irritable Just to Lose Weight