Hey, y’all! Hope you had a fantabulous Christmas! And can  you believe this is now 2011?! Craziness, eh? Wow.

Anyway…

I’ve had lots of raw thoughts floating through my mind lately. There are so many shades of raw in the raw food world. Many strive to be 100% raw. Others seek balance by working toward a 50/50 raw food/cooked food meal plan. Some Raw Foodists are vegans; others eat meat and consume dairy.

In the past, I’ve reflected on raw juice fasting, gone 100% raw, admitted to falling off the 100% raw food wagon, confronted emotional eating, food labels, and judgments, and so much more.

I never had the desire to eat raw meat, though. That, to me, is just… too much for me to even fathom.

There’s no doubt I love raw food – my body literally craves it. A LOT. I love the freshness. I love the crunch. I love the taste. I love how it makes my body, mind, and soul come alive. It’s awesomeness.

But I had an epiphany a while back. When I wrote an article for Raw People titled Living Raw In A Cooked Society, I was feeling very much alone. In case you’re not one who clicks through on links, here’s an excerpt:

“At times like these, when you’re surrounded by a cooked society, those of us who are on a Raw Food Journey can feel so alone, overwhelmed, and discouraged. I know I do.”

Yes, there ARE positive aspects of that article. And I do believe in Raw Foodism. Totally. But when anything in life brings us to a point where we’re not satisfied anymore or we’ve strayed from our original passion for it, that’s when it’s time to evaluate where we’re at in life now and if we want to continue on the way things are going – or make changes. It’s that simple.

Just because I’m not 100% raw anymore, doesn’t mean I eat horribly. I’ve had so many people – lots of you readers! – tell me that I’m just too hard on myself. You were (and are) right.

As I look at the above photos, I see raw food. I also see a delicious helping of salmon salad (also has some raw ingredients) and some All Natural Ranch dressing for dipping veggies. I agree, Raw Foodies make raw Ranch. I’m not saying I’ll never attempt that recipe. But I don’t see this meal as a “bad” one.

Sure, I can whip up a fantabulous fish-less recipe. But salmon has always been one of my all-time favorite foods and I just can’t deny myself the pleasure sometimes! Like raw food, my body craves salmon as well. And when I eat salmon, it’s like my body absorbs strength and health from it. I see that as a positive. And it took quite a while for me to realize that it’s OKAY to eat salmon. This is my life. My body. My health. My choice.

If you’re irritable, feeling weak and sickly, and are still holding out for 100% Raw Foodism – just to be keeping up with other Raw Foodies, maybe a Raw Reality Evaluation like I’ve experienced is something that would work for you.

And I ride Pink Beauty anywhere from 2-10 miles each day. Sometimes, I ride 16-30 miles in a day. Yeppers.

I’ve also maintained a 100+ pound weight loss for several years. Although my weight has fluctuated about 20 pounds here and there over the years, I’ve kept off over 100 pounds. That is HUGE. I have to remind myself of that sometimes. I am too hard on myself. <—I WAS too hard on myself.

Raw Resolutions?

2011 didn’t begin with a long list of resolutions for me like past years. Instead, I’m going the opposite direction. As I ponder this new year, I envision the following blessings…

• life (with my new husband!)
• food – including LOTS of raw!
• health
• bike riding (Pink Beauty!)
• walking
• yoga
• and. so. much. more!

I choose to focus on the positives 2011 will bring – including satisfying my salmon cravings!

I’m STILL Raw Juice Girl, though. I love raw juices and smoothies. I love how my body, mind, and soul evolves and finds calm and peace when I’m juice fasting. I’m still firmly planted in my raw roots – I’ve just realized 100% raw, 100% of the time, isn’t for me.

Plus, my husband is QUITE the gardener so I’m looking forward to an abundance of fresh produce this year!

What about you? Did you make a long list of resolutions? Are you too hard on yourself? Or have you decided to go the opposite route this year like me? Let’s talk!

In Other News

Don’t forget about…

• Free Samples & Discounts

• (Healthy) Deals & Steals

• 12 Days of Christmas Special (good through January 6!!)

Happy New Year!!!!

Hi, y’all!

So glad you enjoyed reading about my day out and frugal shopping practices – plus my cute new shoes!

And I’m absolutely thrilled that you’re loving the new design so much. Rebecca Laffar-Smith is such a joy to communicate with and does a fantabulous job of making her clients HAPPY.

I teased you in my last post about the upcoming review I was bursting at the seams over. That review is for a Spiral Vegetable Slicer from CSN Stores! Eeeeekk!!!

As you can tell, I’m super excited about this. I’ve been seeing spiralized veggies all across the blogosphere for a while now. So I’m tickled pink that I’ll finally get to go crazy spiralizing myself!

I think I’m most intrigued by the long, thin noodles this piece of RAWsome equipment creates. Of course, I can think of all sorts of fun ways to use the ribbon pasta (as garnishes or just fun salads with different veggies and/or fruit).

Sweet potatoes (as shown in the photo below) would be fun for sure!

I just had to share my excitement with you. My spiralizer should be here within a week or so – can’t wait to get crazy with spirals!

I think I’m most anxious to spiralize zucchini and enjoy raw spaghetti. Of course, I cannot wait ‘till my garden is flourishing and I can spiralize my own heirloom, organic beets, zucchini, yellow squash, and more! What are your favorite spiralized recipes? If you have one, please share it in the comments (or a link to it) and if I make it, I’ll feature it in an upcoming post – and link to you if you have a blog!

Oh, and are YOU the winner of the $40 Sunlight Blvd Gift Certificate? CLICK HERE to find out!

Contest Alert

Tropical Traditions Certified Organic, Raw, Wild, Unprocessed Honey

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Hi, y’all!

I’m thrilled you enjoyed my last post. Making that chocolate banana avocado pudding was super fun – but eating it was even better!

I actually made another recipe yesterday before I made the chocolate pudding. As you can tell from the title of this post, I made “Happy Hemp Honey Holes” and it was off the top of my head! LOL

I’ve been wanting to come up with a super fun recipe using….

the raw, wild, unprocessed honey Tropical Traditions sent me.

Raw honey is solid.

Add 1/4 cup of freshly ground flax.

Check out the organic coconut flour!

In goes two tablespoons of the coconut flour.

Melt a tablespoon of raw honey…

Add the melted raw honey.

A tablespoon of Tropical Traditions coconut cream concentrate…

a tablespoon of hemp protein powder

After the hemp powder, the dough was too dry, so I added a tablespoon of peanut butter (didn’t have any almond butter).

Lots better!

Mix it all up (I stirred it by hand) and form the dough into a ball.

It was a little too moist, so I sprinkled coconut flour on my hands and played with the dough a little – that worked!

Then, I pulled small sections off and made six balls (aka holes).

I love the “sheen” from the honey and coconut cream concentrate. They look too moist, but they weren’t. They were perfect!

Up close…

The nutty flavors of the flax and hemp were a nice touch. The peanut butter flavor was really good. I was a little worried when I was experimenting on this because I wasn’t sure it would turn out edible – but it was actually yumilicicous!

And… the recipe:

Happy Hemp Honey Holes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup freshly ground flax
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1 tablespoon coconut cream concentrate
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon hemp powder

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix them (I just stirred with a spoon).
2. Pull small pieces of dough off.
3. Roll dough into little balls (aka holes).
4. Pop in the fridge, freezer, or even dehydrator if you like – I just popped one in my mouth right away!

Enjoy!

Delivery Love

I love to see the delivery truck pull up. Who doesn’t?!

Here’s the latest products for review – all from Tropical Traditions! (Thank you, www.tropicaltraditions.com!)

Coconut Water Vinegar

Coconut Cream Concentrate

Coconut Flour

As you can tell from today’s recipe, I got busy sampling these ingredients right away! And you can expect in-depth reviews of each of the Tropical Traditions products mentioned today – coming to a computer screen near you!

Have you tried any of the products I mentioned today? Have you tried making raw donut holes or balls? Do you enjoy being creative in the kitchen, or would you rather be doing something else? Chime in, fantabulous people, chime in!

OpenSky Alert!

I love freshly ground flax SO much, I’m selling whole flax seeds so you can grind your own. That’s right: You can buy organic flax seed in my OpenSky shop – for only $7.49 per pound!!!

Shipping info:

“We will ship orders anywhere within the United States and Canada. At this time, we do not ship to other locations. When your order ships, you will receive a shipment notification via email that will include your tracking number.” – OpenSky

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Hi, y’all! Hope your day was fantabulous! Mine was: I made chocolate avocado pudding today!

I’m going to share the recipe, but first I wanted to play catch-up …

So glad you’re loving my Rainbow Chard + Butter Bean Soup. Let me tell you, it was even more delicious than it looks in the photos!

And I’m excited over all the buzz about my post on the health benefits of flax seeds – and why I love ‘em!

And I love that you’re all so excited over Glass Dharma’s eco-friendly straws. I really enjoyed reviewing them and hosting a giveaway, too!

I know, I know, you want to get to the chocolate avocado pudding!

Last time I made it (read all about it here), I used agave as an ingredient, but as I mentioned before, I’ve cut agave from my diet (I’m almost finished with the explanation post, promise!).

And ended up with this…

A Twitter follower inspired today’s recipe when she asked for a chocolate avocado recipe and I sent her to my version – then had to tell her I don’t use agave anymore. “What would you use now?” She asked.

Enter: Tropical Traditions Canadian, Raw, Wild, Unprocessed Honey!

You’ll be seeing an in-depth review of this SWEET, raw honey in just a day or so – plus something special for y’all!!!

Do you know that avocado is chock-full of nutrition and health benefits?

Check it out:

• vitamin K
• dietary fiber
• potassium
• folate
• vitamin B6
• vitamin C
• copper

Health benefits:

• promotes heart health
• promotes overall health
• increases absorption of carotenoids from vegetables
• combats oral cancer
• and more!

Wow.

And did you know I used to detest avocado? I wouldn’t eat it for YEARS. Never ate it as a kid. Didn’t eat it most of my adult life. I’d say I never tasted an avocado until about 5 or so years ago. Seriously! Can you believe it? And now I could eat ‘em every single day. Yum!

I love how when we start incorporating healthier foods into our diets, our body literally CRAVES them – LOVE it!

Fun Fact!

“The avocado is colloquially known as the Alligator Pear, reflecting its shape and the leather-like appearance of its skin. Avocado is derived from the Aztec word “ahuacatl”.”—WH Foods

Forgot to snap a photo of the frozen nanner that was in the blender but this is what it looks like all blended up…

And it comes out looking like this:

My goodness gracious, it was DELISH!!! I was SO happy with this!

And now, what you’ve wanted since the beginning of this post  – the recipe!

Chocolate Banana Avocado Pudding with Raw Honey

(serves one)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon raw honey, melted (I used Tropical Traditions)
• 1 banana, frozen
• 1/2 avocado (it was a big one)
• 1 tablespoon certified organic cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons almond milk

Directions:

Toss all ingredients in to your blender or food processer and blend all the ingredients together ‘till they’re creamy and smooth. Enjoy immediately!

Your Turn

Have you tried experimenting with avocado chocolate pudding yet? How does your version differ from mine? Does avocado gross you out? Or do you live for its creamy, decadent texture? And can you believe how many nutrients can be packed into chocolate pudding – when you make a healthier version?! What’s your favorite way to eat avocado? What’s your go-to chocolate dessert recipe?

Oh, and be sure to stop back by soon – I also got happy with hemp in the kitchen and whipped up something off the top of my head! And it was GOOD.

OpenSky Alert!

I love freshly ground flax SO much, I’m selling whole flax seeds so you can grind your own. That’s right: You can buy organic flax seed in my OpenSky shop – for only $7.49 per pound!!!

Shipping info:

“We will ship orders anywhere within the United States and Canada. At this time, we do not ship to other locations. When your order ships, you will receive a shipment notification via email that will include your tracking number.” – OpenSky

Reference:

WH Foods: Avocado

“Lose the labels. Lose the percentages. Who are you competing with? Seriously. Set your own bar. Neither a label nor a percentage ever made anyone healthy.” – Earth Mother

Wise words, Earth Mother, wise words…

Labels Schmabels

Why do we feel the need to label ourselves? Even the process of overeating is labeled as “emotional eating.” So, on top of all the other labels life sends our way, we’re now “emotional eaters” as well – me included.

*insert deep sigh*

For the past few years (as I’ve mentioned numerous times before, all across the Web, and on this blog), I’ve eaten at least 75% raw. I didn’t think about labeling myself at that time (although I did eventually start calling myself a vegetarian). I was just  trying to improve my health and just considered it as eating more whole foods so I’d have a healthier diet/lifestyle, overall.

I didn’t have a blog at that time so I wasn’t as aware of all the various labels raw foodies (and people in general) put on themselves, and others.

I didn’t consider myself “not a raw purist” – I was just a gal who was eating high raw (sometimes 100% raw for months at a time) with an ultimate goal of losing weight, improving my health and  lifestyle habits, and basically finding a way that resulted in eating to live. – I just wanted to live and be healthier and happier.

And I was!

When I felt my best…

I was eating the following:

• a lot of raw veggies
• minimum fruit (mostly berries)
• some nuts
• some seeds
• salads topped with fish
• eggs
• Greek yogurt
• a little honey

Yeah, fish and eggs. I was looking and feeling sooooooooo much better when I (without guilt) included these foods in my diet.

So, what changed?

First, I labeled myself “low carb” and then I was “vegetarian” and then “mostly vegan” and then “high raw” and then “raw foodist” and then “vegan” and somewhere in the midst of all the transition, I lost the part of myself where I was eating better, feeling better, looking better, and was actually happy.

Sheesh.

How’d that happen, eh?

I’m not sure how I lost my (true) happiness along the way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not seriously depressed or anything – I’ve just noticed a difference in how I view food and how I feel when I eat it. If I’m starving for an omelet, I usually feel guilty if I decide to eat it.

In the past, that guilt wasn’t there. Yes, I’d feel guilty about eating cake or something because I was so overweight, but I didn’t feel guilty about eating an egg or a little honey – so, imagine how crazy it is to feel guilty over eating an egg or a small portion of salmon now that I’ve lost 100+ pounds! Gasp!

Craziness.

What’s a gal to do? Hmmm….

Positive Solution

I’ve decided that even though I do live mostly a vegan/vegetarian-ish lifestyle (and have for several years), I’m going to do my very best to remove myself from the labels I’ve limited myself to.

Does this mean I’m going to run out and eat meat? No. It just means that I want to simplify my life. I want to enjoy the food I eat – even if it happens to include an omelet (made from farm fresh, organic-omega eggs) or a little honey drizzled over a treat, or some fish on top of my ginormous, raw salad.

It means that by removing the labels I’ve placed on my life, I’ll be stepping into a confident, beautiful, peaceful existence.

Aaaaahhhh, now that sounds awesome!

What will I be eating?

• whole foods
• raw foods
• nuts
• seeds
• fruit
• veggies
• grains
• Greek yogurt
• and sometimes this will include eggs, maybe fish (???) and honey

I may even throw an occasional splurge in there for good measure.

Seriously, raw foods have been such a huge part of my healing journey and weight loss – I’ll never give ‘em up!

There is one label I don’t mind: Healthatarian

A while back, I was chatting with my friend, Beth, about how I was getting stressed from labeling my eating habits. So, she said something like:

Michele, just quit calling yourself a vegan or vegetarian and consider yourself a “healthatarian” – genius, that girl is!

(Thanks, Beth!)

By trying to adhere to a “healthy” lifestyle, we’re merely choosing to strive to do our best. That takes a lot of the pressure off. If you miss a day of exercise or enjoy that cupcake at the office, it isn’t the end of the world. We aren’t perfect – none of us. We all have something we don’t want to give up. We all dream of chocolate or caramel or whatever. We’re human.

And I’d never tried to deceive anyone…

• I blogged about falling off the 100% raw food wagon (because of several family deaths – that emotional eating label again).
• I blogged about the side effects of falling off the 100% raw food wagon.
• I blogged about having an omelet and cake and ice cream – and even a Zero candy bar on my last birthday.

So, you can guarantee that I’m not in the deceiving business and I’ll always be upfront.

It is – and always has been – my desire to share my heart with you.

And I want you to know I’m not perfect, and that we’re on this health journey together. I may slip up and call myself a raw foodie or high-raw vegetarian from time to time but I’m going to work on just living as a healthatarian.

So… here’s my advice for food choices:

“Make the best choice most of the time, the better choice as often as possible, and enjoy the splurges when they come.” – Raw Juice Girl

I feel much better now that I’ve shared this with you. It’s over. It’s out. What a relief!

And, I’m NOT saying that you’re a bad person or anything if YOU call yourself a vegan/vegetarian/whatever – I’m just sharing that it stresses ME out to limit myself with labels.

Your Turn

Do you worry about what people think of your food choices? Have you recently limited your eating habits by labeling yourself? Do you wish you could rewind and remove that label? 

Do you consider yourself to be a hardcore vegan, vegetarian, or whatever else? Do you label yourself? Tall, skinny, short, fat, etc.? Do you even think about how often you label yourself? Do you feel like it’s a bad thing? Good thing? Does labeling yourself help you live a more peace-filled, harmonious lifestyle, or (like me), do you find yourself stressed over trying to live up to certain labels or expectations?

And would you be upset to see photos of salad, topped with fish or boiled eggs on this blog?

Let’s glean from each other. Do share!!

Contest Alert

Oh, and don’t forget to enter my Tropical Traditions coconut peanut butter contest – this stuff is delicious, no matter what your food choices are!

Note: I updated that contest post to include an amended rule (the one about tweets). Thanks for understanding!

References/Credits:

Wordle (by me)

Quote (Earth Mother, In the Raw)

If you’d like to be featured in Readers Recipes, just shoot me an e-mail and you might see your recipe featured here, at Healing with (Raw) Juices! (It doesn’t have to be 100% raw or require a dehydrator or blender, etc. There’s a wide range of folks who read this blog and we want to share a little something for everyone – so long as it’s on the healthier side and doesn’t involve meat.)

And don’t forget to enter my latest giveaway: Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter!

Happy weekend, y’all! Hope your weekend has been as fantabulous as mine! Nothing special going on here, but I’ve been safe, warm, happy, and hard at work trying to make this blog even better for y’all in 2010 – and beyond!!

On to the reader’s recipes…

Note: The readers featured today emailed me their recipes. I asked their permission to post them here and they gave their blessing.

From reader, Dyan

Dyan says:

“Just an avid reader of your posts, who like the rest of the world, am trying to eat healthy. A friend of mine gave me the juicer and I almost choked when I put in 1 grapefruit, 1 orange, and an apple and got one glass of juice. LOL No way could I just throw out that pulp. So I just kept freezing it until I could figure out what to do with it. I had this old dehydrator gathering dust in the basement that I had used for jerky, but that was all I had done with it. While shopping, my little girl wanted a box of fruit rollups that were 2.89 for 6 little rolls! That’s when it hit me….I had this whole arrangement of pulp at home that I would experiment with. They are what I call Frankenstein rolls. There is a little bit of everything in them. If you do a lot of juice I suppose you could keep all your pulp separate. But I throw it all in together…And you can put as much or as little sugar in it, to your liking.”

“Dyan’s Frankenstein rolls”

“My favorite thing to do is every time I juice fruit, I put the pulp in a bowl and put in the freezer.”

Instructions:

1. After I have several bowls, I defrost them all and puree it in a blender with a little bit of sugar and cinnamon.
2. Get it really smooth and then spread out in an even layer about 1/4 inch thick on the plastic tray.
3. Dehydrate for about 8-10 hrs and you have a fruit roll-up just like you get out of the stores, but made with real fruit!

Delicious as a little healthy snack, and a great way to recycle the pulp.

Enjoy!

From reader, Kim

Kim says:

“Its impressive  all the new healthy things I’m making with these tools that my picky-eater kids (ages 3 and 1) love to eat each day. I hope to make the crackers soon.

“Kim’s Fruit/Veggie Roll-Ups”

I have a new Excalibur Dehydrator and have a great fruit/veggie roll up combination my young kids LOVE! 

Ingredients:

• 3 medium pears
• 2 small organic carrots
• 1/4 cup grape  juice
• sliver of lemon

Instructions:

1. Blend in a high powered blender (I have a Vita-Mix )
2. Spread out thin on dehydrator sheets, dehydrate at 135 for 4-6 hours
3. Peel, and enjoy!

Thanks, ladies!

Have you tried any of these recipes? Or something similar? Do you have a dehydrator? Is it an Excalibur Dehydrator or some other kind? Do you own a Vita-Mix? Or just dream of one (like me)?

If you’d like to be featured in Readers Recipes, just shoot me an e-mail and you might see your recipe featured here, at Healing with (Raw) Juices!

Mind-boggling fact!

And… here’s  a mind-boggling fact of the week:

“The first-ever large-scale study of organic farming and livestock conducted by the USDA finds that organic food is a $3-billion-a-year industry.

A recent article on the coming touchscreen technology for vending machines notes that the junk food dispensers are a $30-billion-a-year industry.

Ten times as big as organic food.”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/index#ixzz0esNbEh6F

And don’t forget to enter my latest giveaway: Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter!

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything once you click on the links, I will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!

Reference:

San Francisco Chronicle

First, I want to thank Oh!Nuts for being so gracious as to send me a one-pound bag of raw, jumbo Georgia pecans to sample – AND a one-pound bag to give away to one of my (very lucky) readers. Thank you, Oh!Nuts!

Now, I want to thank all of you who entered the Oh!Nuts raw pecans contest and took the time to read my in-depth review. I appreciate you all!

Note: I normally include a screen shot of the number Random.org chose but due to my laptop battery and cord going out on me at the same time, I’m on someone else’s old desktop and couldn’t get it to cooperate. You can trust me, though!

And the Winner?

And the lucky reader who will receive a one-pound bag of raw, jumbo Georgia pecans from Oh!Nuts is….

94 Earth Mother – In The Raw { 02.01.10 at 8:22 pm }

I’d make a Purdy Pecan Pie!

That’s right. Earth Mother, from In The Raw, is the winner! There were 105 comments and Mr. Random, over at Random.org, chose #94 – and that number belonged to Earth Mother.

Congratulations, Earth Mother. Enjoy your Purdy Pecan Pie! (You’ll be hearing from me soon!)

Have you tried the chocolate and/or chocolate peanut butter protein bars from Amazing Grass? If not, now’s your chance to try them at a discount. And if you’ve already tried them but money has been tight and you haven’t re-ordered, now’s your chance to stock up again!

I received the following information from the Amazing Grass Team:

Save 20% on our Chocolate and Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars now through 2/8/10. Use Promo Code ‘chocolate10′ at checkout.

We’ve combined our best-selling and alkalizing Organic Green SuperFood drink powder with antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables to create a delicious and nutritious treat. Loaded with organic nuts and seeds and the best of all, a yummy chocolate coating. The Valentine’s Day Saving is on our Chocolate and Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Energy Bars.

Amazing Grass Organic Energy Bars are:

• Raw and Cold Processed
• Gluten Free
• Fair Trade

Not sold individually. Sold in 12-bar caddies.

HWJ Discount Code

Also, the promo code my blog is offering is good for almost a year still. Just go shopping at Amazing Grass and enter the code ‘hwj‘ at checkout. You’ll get a 15% discount on anything you order!!

I know you all have been anxious to find out who won the one-pound bag of raw macadamia nuts from Oh!Nuts, right?

First, I want to thank Oh!Nuts for being so gracious as to send me a one-pound bag of raw macadamia nuts to sample – AND a one-pound bag to give away to one of my (very lucky) readers. Thank you, Oh!Nuts!

Now, I want to thank all of you who entered the contest and took the time to read my in-depth review. I appreciate you all!

Okay, okay. You want to know who won.

Good, because we have a winner!

Note: I normally include a screen shot of the number Random.org chose but due to my laptop battery and cord going out on me at the same time, I’m on someone else’s old desktop and couldn’t get it to cooperate. You can trust me, though!

And… the winner is:

Michal, from Earth Muffin blog!

Winning Comment

29 Michal { 01.24.10 at 9:33 pm }

I added you as a friend on give it to me raw.
Michal´s last blog ..Namaste

Congratulations, Michal! A one-pound bag of raw macadamia nuts are yours! You’ll be receiving an email from me soon!

And don’t forget to enter my other contest, for a one-pound bag of raw pecans from Oh!Nuts. I’ll be accepting entries until midnight tonight (Central Time) and the winner will be posted tomorrow. The more entries (comments) you get in, the higher your chances of winning!

Updated to add: This contest has closed and a winner has been chosen. Thanks!

Thank you to www.ohnuts.com for sending a one-pound bag of raw pecans for me to review, as well as a bag for me to send to one of you (lucky) readers.

Tell me you didn’t honestly think I was ONLY giving away those ginormous, delicious (RAW) macadamia nuts.

And I still have lots more raw goodies up my juicy sleeve – I work hard for you all!

And, like a crazy blogger, I’m launching a SECOND contest:

What You’ll Receive

ALL you need to do to enter this contest, is leave a comment saying what your favorite way to use pecans is, or why you absolutely MUST win this bag of raw pecans from www.ohnuts.com.

BUT… If you want to put in a little extra effort….

(and receive a LOT of extra entries – aka chances to win) keep reading…

Numerous ways to get extra entries!

Note: The reason I ask you to leave a comment for EACH, SEPARATE entry is because I enter the total number of comments at random.org once the contest has ended.

• Become a fan of Oh!Nuts on Facebook. Leave a comment (on their page) saying Raw Juice Girl sent you. Then, come back here and leave a comment to let me know you did that.

• Become a fan of Raw Juice Girl on Facebook. Leave a comment saying you did.

• Follow Healing with (Raw) Juices on Facebook’s Networked Blogs. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Do you use Twitter? Tweet about this contest and then leave a comment with your Twitter name. You can swipe this tweet:

 @RawJuiceGirl is giving away a ONE pound bag of RAW pecans. Visit www.healingwithjuices.com to enter now!

Then, leave a comment that you did – with your Twitter name or status link.

FOR EVEN MORE ENTRIES: Re-tweet this contest as many times as you like and come back and leave a different comment for each time you want – no limit on how many! Get those extra entries, folks!

• Do you Plurk? Plurk about this contest and leave a comment with your Plurk URL.

• Share this contest on your blog, linking back to this post. (The pingback will be counted as an extra entry.) If you don’t see your pingback, just email me at healingwithjuices at gmail.com and let me know. It may have gone to spam for some reason.

• Follow @OhNuts on Twitter. Leave a comment, saying you did.

• Follow @RawJuiceGirl on Twitter. Comment, saying you did.

• Add me as a friend on Wellsphere . Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Add me as a friend on RawFu. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Add me as a friend on Give it to Me Raw. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Subscribe to Raw Juice Girl’s YouTube channel. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Are you a Stumbler? Stumble and review any post you want to–just leave the link to your SU review in (its own) comment.

• Do you have a Digg account? Digg one of my posts. Take your pick. Come back and leave a comment on this post with a link to your Digg post.

• Leave a comment on the review post:  Oh!Nuts (Raw) Georgia Pecans Review. Come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did that.

• If you share this contest on Facebook or some other social media account, I’ll accept that as an extra entry. Just share the link to this contest on that site and leave the link here in the comments to let me know you did.

• Follow me or friend me on any of the social media sites for an extra entry. If you follow or friend Lisa (or me) on more than one social media site, simply add an extra comment sharing that you did.

NOTE: Please leave a comment for each entry (tweet, plurk, etc.) because each comment will be counted as a number when I enter the total number of comments at Random.org once the contest ends. (Don’t just say “thanks for the contest” or something like that–I do not publish those type of comments because they seem like spam and aren’t fair to the other contestants who leave a thoughtful, genuine answer.) Thanks!

This contest is open to EVERYONE – 0h, and I’ll be using Random.org to choose the winner.

Contest ends Sunday, February 1st. I’ll accept comments until midnight. (Central Time). Winner will be posted the next morning.

That gives you ONE  week to get your entries in. Hurry and spread the word. The more entries you have, the higher your chances of winning a one-pound bag of these beauties!!!

Let the contest begin!!!!

Updated to add: This contest has closed and a winner has been chosen. Thanks!

Another Contest

You can also enter my OTHER contest for a one-pound bag of raw macadamia nuts. Get those entries in! <—That contest has ended and a winner has been chosen for it, too. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I received a one pound back of raw macadamia nuts from Oh!Nuts to review. They also agreed to sponsor this contest. They provided a one pound bag of raw macadamia nuts for you to enjoy. I am responsible for shipping costs on this contest.

Due to the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling, I must always make you aware of when I receive free samples. I have always done that in the past (see my Reviews page and read my full disclaimer there) and will continue to do so.

And, most importantly, I have NOT been paid to write this review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are from me and of my own free will.

I’m glad you enjoyed my review of Oh!Nuts (RAW) Macadamia Nuts – and that you’re having fun with all the numerous ways to get extra entries in on the contest to win your very own one-pound bag!

Now, on to those…

Big (RAW) Georgia pecans!

Just look at those beauties!

And like I’ve mentioned before: Don’t fear those healthy fats – our bodies need ‘em!

You’ll know your lacking in healthy fats when your hair is brittle and your skin is dry and your eyes are dried-out and giving you a fit all the time, etc.

Health Benefits of Raw Pecans

So, what’s a raw pecan good for – no, not baked, sugary pecan pie!

Well, besides being filled with healthy fats, pecans contain potassium, zinc, vitamin E, and vitamin A. Talk about promoting healthy skin and fighting infections!

Pecans may help lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. They are heart-healthy, filling, delicious and so good for us!

  Nutritional Information

If you’ve been looking for a yummy, low-carb snack or ingredient, you only have to count 3 carbs in each serving of raw pecans!

How did I enjoy these jumbo Georgia pecans, in the raw?

• by the handful
• on top of salad

What can I say? Sometimes I’m just boring.

Of course, I wasn’t selfish – I shared some, too. And I was a sad gal when I saw the bottom of the empty bag. Too bad it wasn’t a magical bag that could just replenish itself!

About Oh!Nuts – The Company

As legend has it, a number of the Klein’s friends who heard the idea said you could go nuts trying to name a store like that. In their excitement, the Klein’s thought their friends said "Oh Nuts" instead of "Go Nuts" and proceeded to throw caution to the wind—and themselves into designing a 15×15 retail space into a warmly cozy experience that would become their flagship store.

While their products were both dairy and non dairy, their first Oh Nuts hand a definite dairy dynamic if for no other reason than the fact they used milk crates as display shelves.

Though as these shelves were displaying absolute freshest selections of imported and domestic nuts, dried fruits and confections, they quickly realized that consumers liked their fresh approach to retailing.

And while the milk crates were eventually replaced by more conventional retail displays and shelving, and the flagship store welcomed an even more impressive sibling less than a year later, one thing that didn’t change then—and won’t ever change, is the Klein’s approach to retailing "Keep It Fresh," "Keep It Fun," "Keep It Phenomenal."

Today, the Oh Nuts brand is a nationally recognized one stop shop for everything in dried fruits, nuts, chocolates, candies, related confections (both finished products and raw ingredients,) custom and pre-configured gift baskets for any occasion, (real or imagined)—even hard to find items like sugar-free and organic products—become remarkably easy to find when you enter the world of Oh Nuts.

Pros

Some things I loved about this bag of raw Georgia pecans is that the nuts came in a resealable bag.

I love the giant size of the pecans, that they’re whole, and that they’re really delicious!

You could do a gazillion things with these raw nuts: make raw desserts, crusts, eat ‘em alone, add ‘em to veggie or fruit salad, etc.

If you have a Vita-Mix or other equipment, you could even make your own raw pecan nut butter. YUM-O!

These raw pecans are KOSHER – for those of you who find that important.

Honestly, what’s not to love about a giant raw pecans that are loaded with nutritious health benefits?

Cons

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the biggest cons I try to look out for when writing reviews (other than if it’s honestly a healthy/worthy product – and these are), is cost. I realize price is a huge factor for most of us, and is the biggest reason people tend to shy away from raw foods.

This one-pound bag costs $8.99 per pound (plus shipping) but if you buy in bulk, cost per pound goes down with each additional pound your order. (That’s a plus!)

And although these raw pecans are indeed RAW, they aren’t organic, in case you’re sensitive to that aspect.

That’s really the only “cons” I have to share. I genuinely loved the pecans and also the correspondence with the company itself.

Verdict/Grade

I’ve decided to give these raw pecans a  B+ (same as the macadamia nuts) and here’s why: Although I love ‘em and they’re raw, they aren’t organic. They ARE Kosher Certified, though. And that’s a bonus for a lot of us.

The company seems to be doing a fantabulous job. If you want to see all the other fantabulous products they offer (and they DO offer organic products, they just aren’t all raw), visit: www.ohnuts.com .

What’s your fondest memory of eating pecans? Did you (or your grandparents) have a pecan tree in your yard when you were growing up? Do you have one now? Do you wish you did? Since I grew up in the South, I guess I have to admit my fondest memory of pecans are eating the pecan pie my grandma made from scratch. She also made coconut cream pie, but that’s a story for another day.

Want some raw pecans for yourself?

Click HERE to enter the Contest!

Another Contest

You can also enter my OTHER contest for a one-pound bag of raw macadamia nuts. Get those entries in!

Disclaimer: I received a one-pound bag of raw pecans from Oh!Nuts to review. They also agreed to sponsor this contest. They provided one-pound bag of raw pecans for you to enjoy. I am responsible for shipping costs on this contest.

Due to the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling, I must always make you aware of when I receive free samples. I have always done that in the past (see my Reviews page and read my full disclaimer there) and will continue to do so.

And, most importantly, I have NOT been paid to write this review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are from me and of my own free will.

Updated to add: This contest has ended and a winner has been chosen. Thanks!

Thank you to www.ohnuts.com for sending a one-pound bag of raw macadamia nuts for me to review, as well as a bag for me to send to one of you (lucky) readers.

Hope you enjoyed my in-depth review of Oh!Nuts (Raw) Macadamia Nuts. Were you wishing you could reach through the computer screen and snatch that one pound bag for yourself? I hope so, because one of you will be receiving just that!

What You’ll Receive

ALL you need to do to enter this contest, is leave a comment saying what your favorite way to use macadamia nuts is or why you absolutely MUST win this bag of raw macadamia nuts from www.ohnuts.com.

BUT… If you want to put in a little extra effort….

(and receive a LOT of extra entries – aka chances to win) keep reading…

Numerous ways to get extra entries!

Note: The reason I ask you to leave a comment for EACH, SEPARATE entry is because I enter the total number of comments at random.org once the contest has ended.

• Become a fan of Oh!Nuts on Facebook. Leave a comment (on their page) saying Raw Juice Girl sent you. Then, come back here and leave a comment to let me know you did that.

• Become a fan of Raw Juice Girl on Facebook. Leave a comment saying you did.

• Follow Healing with (Raw) Juices on Facebook’s Networked Blogs. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Do you use Twitter? Tweet about this contest and then leave a comment with your Twitter name. You can swipe this tweet:

 @RawJuiceGirl is giving away a ONE pound bag of RAW macadamia nuts. Visit http://tinyurl.com/ykj67nl to enter now!

FOR EVEN MORE ENTRIES: Re-tweet this contest as many times as you like and come back and leave a different comment for each time you want – no limit on how many! Get those extra entries, folks!

Then, leave a comment that you did – with your Twitter name or status link.

• Do you Plurk? Plurk about this contest and leave a comment with your Plurk URL.

• Share this contest on your blog, linking back to this post. (The pingback will be counted as an extra entry.) If you don’t see your pingback, just email me at healingwithjuices at gmail.com and let me know. It may have gone to spam for some reason.

• Follow @OhNuts on Twitter. Leave a comment saying  you did.

• Follow @RawJuiceGirl on Twitter. Comment, saying you did.

• Add me as a friend on Wellsphere . Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Add me as a friend on RawFu. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Add me as a friend on Give it to Me Raw. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Subscribe to Raw Juice Girl’s YouTube channel. Leave a comment saying that you did.

• Are you a Stumbler? Stumble and review any post you want to–just leave the link to your SU review in (its own) comment.

• Do you have a Digg account? Digg one of my posts. Take your pick. Come back and leave a comment on this post with a link to your Digg post.

• Leave a comment on the review post:  Oh!Nuts (Raw) Macadamia Nuts Review. Come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did that.

• If you share this contest on Facebook or some other social media account, I’ll accept that as an extra entry. Just share the link to this contest on that site and leave the link here in the comments to let me know you did.

• Follow me or friend me on any of the social media sites for an extra entry. If you follow or friend Lisa (or me) on more than one social media site, simply add an extra comment sharing that you did.

NOTE: Please leave a comment for each entry (tweet, plurk, etc.) because each comment will be counted as a number when I enter the total number of comments at Random.org once the contest ends. (Don’t just say “thanks for the contest” or something like that–I do not publish those type of comments because they seem like spam and aren’t fair to the other contestants who leave a thoughtful, genuine answer.) Thanks!

This contest is open to EVERYONE – 0h, and I’ll be using Random.org to choose the winner.

Contest ends Sunday, January 31st. I’ll accept comments until midnight. (Central Time). Winner will be posted the next morning.

That gives you ONE  week to get your entries in. Hurry and spread the word. The more entries you have, the higher your chances of winning a one-pound bag of these beauties!!!

Let the contest begin!!!!

Updated to add: This contest has ended and a winner has been chosen. Thanks!

Another Contest

You can also enter my OTHER contest for a one-pound bag of raw Georgia pecans. Get those entries in! <— That contest has ended also and a winner has been chosen. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I received a one pound back of raw macadamia nuts from Oh!Nuts to review. They also agreed to sponsor this contest. They provided a one pound bag of raw macadamia nuts for you to enjoy. I am responsible for shipping costs on this contest.

Due to the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling, I must always make you aware of when I receive free samples. I have always done that in the past (see my Reviews page and read my full disclaimer there) and will continue to do so.

And, most importantly, I have NOT been paid to write this review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are from me and of my own free will.

First, I’d love to thank www.ohnuts.com for sending me samples to review, and for sponsoring a contest so y’all can try some, too!

Raw Juice Girl is excited to bring to you:

Raw Macadamia Nuts

If you’re afraid that macadamia nuts do nothing but make you gain weight, you may be misinformed.

Let me share with you what a powerful and healthy food these nuts are…

Macadamia Nuts Health Benefits

Macadamia nuts can be used in more ways than just white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, y’all. Tell me a rich cookie, cake, or pie wasn’t on your mind when you look at those macadamia nuts, eh?

These nuttylicious babies help promote heart health and fight cancer. You’ll find the following in macadamia nuts:

• Omega-3
• Vitamin A
• iron
• niacin
• riboflavin
• thiamine
• Vitamin E

Of course, you know vitamin E promotes healthy skin. Move over chemical beauty products – we’re eating healthy fats to make us PURDY (and handsome)!

Nutritional Information

Check that out! Do you see that carb watchers? With the three grams of fiber, each serving only has ONE carb! Woo hoo!

And don’t stress over the fats – those are healthy fats and our bodies need ‘em to thrive!

These raw macadamia nuts were SO delicious!

Let me tell you how I enjoyed these yumilicious babies:

• by the handful
• on top of raw veggie salad
• with Greek yogurt

I also shared some. I was so sad to see the bottom of this bag. Of course, when I stock up on macadamia nuts again, I’m going to use them for raw dessert recipes and get really creative.

About Oh!Nuts – The Company

As legend has it, a number of the Klein’s friends who heard the idea said you could go nuts trying to name a store like that. In their excitement, the Klein’s thought their friends said "Oh Nuts" instead of "Go Nuts" and proceeded to throw caution to the wind—and themselves into designing a 15×15 retail space into a warmly cozy experience that would become their flagship store.

While their products were both dairy and non dairy, their first Oh Nuts hand a definite dairy dynamic if for no other reason than the fact they used milk crates as display shelves.

Though as these shelves were displaying absolute freshest selections of imported and domestic nuts, dried fruits and confections, they quickly realized that consumers liked their fresh approach to retailing.

And while the milk crates were eventually replaced by more conventional retail displays and shelving, and the flagship store welcomed an even more impressive sibling less than a year later, one thing that didn’t change then—and won’t ever change, is the Klein’s approach to retailing "Keep It Fresh," "Keep It Fun," "Keep It Phenomenal."

Today, the Oh Nuts brand is a nationally recognized one stop shop for everything in dried fruits, nuts, chocolates, candies, related confections (both finished products and raw ingredients,) custom and pre-configured gift baskets for any occasion, (real or imagined)—even hard to find items like sugar-free and organic products—become remarkably easy to find when you enter the world of Oh Nuts.

Pros

I love that these macadamia nuts came in a resealable bag, making it easier for storage and future use.

I love that these are whole, good-sized macadamia nuts, and not small ones.

I love that there’s a TON of uses for these yummy nuts. Even if you wanted to roast ‘em, you could.

Want your own macadamia nut butter? Grind yourself some of these raw macadamia nuts and you’ll have raw macadamia nut butter, freshly made!

These raw macadamia nuts are KOSHER – for those of you who find that important.

Honestly, what’s not to love about a giant raw macadamia nut that’s loaded with nutritious health benefits?

Cons

The biggest con I try to look out for when writing reviews (other than if it’s honestly a healthy/worthy product – and these are) is cost. I realize price is a huge factor for most of us, and is the biggest reason people tend to shy away from raw foods.

This 1 pound bag costs $1o.99 (plus shipping) but if you buy in bulk, cost per pound goes down with each additional pound your order. (That’s a plus!)

And although these raw macadamia nuts are indeed RAW, they aren’t organic, in case you’re sensitive to that aspect.

That’s really the only “cons” I can think of to share with you – I really enjoyed the macadamia nuts, and the correspondence with the company itself.

Verdict/Grade

I suppose I’ll give these raw macadamia nuts a B+ – and here’s why: Although I love ‘em and they’re raw, they aren’t organic. They ARE Kosher Certified, though. And that’s a bonus for a lot of us.

The company seems to be doing a fantabulous job. If you want to see all the other fantabulous products they offer (and they DO offer organic products, they just aren’t all raw), visit: www.ohnuts.com.

Do y’all love macadamia nuts as much as I do? Oh gosh, I fantasize about having an endless supply of macadamia nuts all. the. time!

Want Some Raw Macadamia Nuts?

Click HERE to enter the contest!

Another Contest

You can also enter my OTHER contest for a one-pound bag of raw Georgia pecans. Get those entries in!

Disclaimer: I received a 1 pound back of raw macadamia nuts from Oh!Nuts to review. They also agreed to sponsor this contest. They provided a 1 pound bag of raw macadamia nuts for you to enjoy. I am responsible for shipping costs on this contest.

Due to the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling, I must always make you aware of when I receive free samples. I have always done that in the past (see my Reviews page and read my full disclaimer there) and will continue to do so.

And, most importantly, I have NOT been paid to write this review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are from me and of my own free will.

Just stopping by? Have you tried my coconut peanut butter honey overnight oats yet? Or maybe you’d like to try your hand at my  chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls or raw tuna fish-less salad.  And you simply HAVE to try my latest, simple creation: Coconut Peanut Butter Cream. YUM! And don’t forget to take a peek at my Thanksgiving holiday eats + treats – or my interview with ShimmerOrganics owner, Lisa Ann Turkel!

The last time I tried to make raw flax seed crackers, they ended up being a flop, thus the new Healing With (Raw) Juices category: Raw Flops.

But these… these were NOT a flop!

Delicious Flax Crackers!

I soaked my flax seeds overnight. And this time, I used red and green bell peppers (like the recipe called for). I still used apple in the place of the zucchini – but this time I left the peel on. 

Into the Blender

I forgot to take a photo of the other ingredients before I blended ‘em up! But here’s what it looks like when all the ingredients are whipped in the blender….

I added my juicy concoction to the soaked flax seeds….

Then I added the ground flax.

Stirred It Up

HimalaSalt = YUM!

I bought parchment paper this time!

I decided to add a few shakes of Mexican Seasoning to one tray of the mixture.

Here’s the four trays the recipe yields!

Up close

I cranked it up more this time (about 120).

Look at my crackers! Yay!

Some raw flax crackers all plated up. 

  Look at how crispy and beautiful!

I used the same recipe for inspiration as last time, from  The Raw Food Revolution Diet by Cherie Soria (sent to me by www.bookpubco.com for review). The recipe really makes 100 raw flax seed crackers. Yay!

I’ve enjoyed these crackers with sliced avocado, by themselves, with a drizzle of agave, a smear of nut butter, with salad…. SO delicious!

This post has actually been set to publish for a few days now, but I noticed Gena (from www.choosingraw.com) just published her raw juice pulp cracker recipe. Do check that out, too! I’m going to make her version as well.

Oh, and I’m also going to make some time to experiment in the coming weeks, and I’ll share the recipes I come up with on my own….

Have you tried your hand at raw crackers yet – with or without a dehydrator? Do you have Cherie’s book? If so, what do you think about it? Do you love it? Have you made good use of it? (I have a review coming up of my copy!)

Just stopping by? Have you tried my coconut peanut butter honey overnight oats yet? Or maybe you’d like to try your hand at my  chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls or raw tuna fish-less salad.  And you simply HAVE to try my latest, simple creation: Coconut Peanut Butter Cream. YUM!

Hope you had a fantabulous holiday! I sure did.

I know a lot of you are curious about what I ate for Thanksgiving. A part of me feels proud of my choices because I didn’t eat meat and I didn’t eat dressing (aka stuffing).

No animals were harmed for my dinner.

But…

A part of me is disappointed with myself (make sense?) because my Thanksgiving dinner wasn’t 100% raw AND vegan.

Night Before Turkey Day

On Thanksgiving Eve, my mom had leftover batter from the pineapple upside down cake (she makes hers in a cast iron skillet) and so she made cupcakes.

I wasn’t going to eat one, then I just did – it was the smallest one, though!

That was the first time I’d had any (real) cake since my birthday (in mid-August).

Choices, Choices

Aren’t we are own worst critics? Are you hard on yourself, too? Sometimes I think I’m too hard on myself. Most ALL of the time, other people think I’m too hard on myself.

I’ve been really torn about the direction my eating habits have been going and in an upcoming post, I’m going to share my feelings and plans for 2010. Since I lost my cousins (at such young ages) this year, I’ve really battled emotional eating. I’m going to address emotional eating and my food choices soon…

My Thanksgiving Dinner

I filled my plate with mostly salad: baby spinach leaves, kale, broccoli, carrots, avocado, pink sea salt, drizzle of olive oil, pecans.

Then I decided to have a couple spoonfuls of my mom’s sweet potato casserole, real mashed potatoes, baked pasta, and green bean casserole. And the cranberry sauce isn’t raw either – it’s fresh from the can.

Sounds like a lot – but it really wasn’t that much. I suppose some would say I went overboard; others would say I didn’t eat enough. I am proud that my plate is filled with mostly raw veggies. I ended up not have a vegan Thanksgiving because there’s butter in the mashed potatoes and cheese (+ butter)  in the pasta. I don’t think I did that badly, though: I didn’t eat turkey, dressing, or the other stuff available.

Iced tea with stevia

Most importantly on Thanksgiving, though, I enjoyed the company. Good family and friends are hard to come by!

How did your Thanksgiving turn out? Did you get to see family and friends and have a good time? Did you eat all raw or high raw vegetarian/vegan? Did you worry about it? Did you splurge and have cooked foods and maybe even turkey? Did you go all out and work hard on mock raw or vegan options? Tell me all about it!

Just stopping by? Have you tried my coconut peanut butter honey overnight oats yet? Or maybe you’d like to try your hand at my  chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls or raw tuna fish-less salad.  And you simply HAVE to try my latest, simple creation: Coconut Peanut Butter Cream. YUM!

A Day of Eats + Treats

This post is a record of my raw, Vegan eats and treats from the other day. I started the morning off in a fun, protein-filled way by making myself some of Averie’s Raw Vegan (Vanilla) Chia Seed Pudding. It’s filling, delicious, and held me over nicely until lunch. Lotsa protein, flavor, texture, plus that fantabulous superfood: chia — YAY and YUM!

Oh, and Averie even told her readers all about me making her recipe. She shared lots of readers’ photos and links to their blogs in her tribute post to readers who’ve made her RAWsome concoctions!

Lunch was…

leftover Tuna Fish-Less Salad

on top of raw veggie salad, with a few cranks of pink sea salt

and black peppercorns

And the Treats?

How about two simple ingredients and flavor that’ll rawk your world??!!

Enter:

A Date with Almond Butter

I had two more of these later that evening. SO good!!

Wow. Such a simple dessert – and it’s raw AND delicious! Woo hoo!!

For dinner

I had more raw veggie salad topped with the last of my Raw Tuna Fish-Less Salad.

This is what a day is like for me when I’m truly sticking to 100% raw/Vegan foods. Of course, there are times I’ll use something that isn’t 100% raw but I try to stay as raw as possible. I just feel better physically and mentally that way.

So what’s a day of your eats and treats like? Have you ever enjoyed a date filled with almond butter? If not, are you going to try it?

Just stopping by? Have you tried my coconut peanut butter honey overnight oats yet? Or maybe you’d like to try your hand at my  chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls or raw tuna fish-less salad.  And congrats to Cyn for winning my latest contest!!

This morning when I woke up, I enjoyed a delicious bowl of overnight oats. It was SO filling that noon came and went and I still wasn’t hungry for lunch!

I eventually wanted a little something and remembered I had some frozen bananas. My mindwheel started turning….

The result?

Coconut Peanut Butter Cream

Know the banana soft serve that’s swept across the blogosphere like a cyber hurricane?

Oh, yeah!

I tossed the bananas in the blender and I noticed there was some cream of coconut a family member hadn’t used up. So I threw 3 tablespoons in the blender. I’d say there was about 4 bananas in that bag.

What came out of the blender was this:

Beautiful, isn’t it?! And if that wasn’t delicious enough, I thought of the Coconut Peanut Butter that Tropical Traditions sent me!

  Drizzle, Drizzle

Then… a MIRACLE

When Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter is drizzled over something cold (like banana soft serve), it hardens up!! Like the chocolate on a dip cone!!! Eeeeeekkk!!! What??!!! I was ecstatic!!!!

Dessert for Lunch

I must admit, this hemp-loving, salad-chompin’ Raw Juice Girl enjoyed every last creamy, smooth, decadent, sweet bite of her dessert for lunch. I know I’ll be having Coconut Peanut Butter Cream again soon!! YUM!!

Oh, and I only had a small portion. I shared the rest with family. Boy, were they SURPRISED at how good my banana ice cream tasted!!

For anyone wondering: The peanuts in the Coconut Peanut Butter are roasted so that isn’t raw. And the cream of coconut from that can had preservatives, so it isn’t raw either. Of course, the bananas are raw. Yippee for that!

Even though this dessert isn’t 100% raw, it SURE was yummy to the tummy!

Worried about the nutritional value of this dessert for lunch? Well, Coconut Peanut Butter Cream provides protein, fiber, potassium, and more!

What about you? Have you jumped on the raw banana soft serve bandwagon yet? What’s your favorite raw dessert? Are you going to try my Coconut Peanut Butter Cream? Tell me all about it!

Just stopping by? Have you entered my latest contest (over a $200 value)? It ends tonight! Or maybe you’d like to try your hand at my chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls or raw tuna fish-less salad. 

Two of my latest product arrivals for review are Coconut Peanut Butter and Raw Honey from Tropical Traditions. (Of course, I’ll be doing a thorough review of each product in upcoming posts, but I had to share this recipe with y’all!)

Oh, and for raw foodie purists, the ONLY thing I can find that doesn’t make this breakfast recipe 100% raw is the fact that the peanuts in the coconut peanut butter have been roasted. Well, and I used boxed almond milk (you could make your own, raw almond milk though).

Before I share the recipe, I have to tell you that these two products are soooooooooooooo yummy!!!

A sneak peek to my upcoming review:

“The coconut peanut butter is amazing! It literally tastes like 50% coconut and 50% peanut butter in each bite. Although the consistency is runny, it really fills my mouth with explosions of flavor and healthy goodness. I’m a thick consistency/crunchy kinda gal but I’m LOVING this stuff. Really. I could eat it every day! And the raw honey is solid and needs to be scraped out or sat near a low heat to be softened but it is really sweet and fantabulous!”

Coconut Peanut Butter Honey Overnight Oats

1/3 cup oats (heaping)

2/3 cups almond milk

2 tablespoons Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter

1 tablespoon Tropical Traditions raw honey

1 (small, very ripe) banana

Coconut Peanut Butter is runny, but DELISH!

Dump your oats in the bowl.

Pour almond milk in.

Add coconut peanut butter.

Add raw honey.

Mash in 1 small (really ripe) banana.

Stir, and refrigerate.

Note: Averie saves half her banana for adding as a topping the next morning. I just mashed the whole banana in.

Looks like this going in…

This Morning

After Stirring

I’ll admit, I’ve seen various concoctions of overnight oats all across the blogosphere and although they all look delicious, I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of eating cold oatmeal for breakfast. Just sounds a little gross, doesn’t it?

I am not new to the idea of soaking oats overnight – I’ve done it for years (with steel-cut) but I’d always cook ‘em on the stove top the next morning.

And… I’m now a new overnight oats convert. I’ll be eating this often. It’s DELISH! Oh my gosh. If you’ve been hesitant to try it, you have to make this – I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results!

Plus, this is the PERFECT (healthy) breakfast for anyone who has to be up early and works outside the home. You can make your oatmeal the night before, grab it out of the fridge in the morning and gobble it up. Who says you can’t have a healthy breakfast if you work long, crazy hours??!! Overnight oats is a fantabulous solution for you!!

And have you entered my latest contest yet? Prizes are valued at over $200!! And the contest closes at 9 p.m. (Central Time) TONIGHT. A winner will be chosen via random.org. There are TWELVE ways to enter. Hurry and get your entries in!

Coming Soon

Interview with the owner of ShimmerOrganics, my review of her raw beauty mask (plus a surprise for y’all!!) and lots more reviews and contests.

Oh, and guess what??!! I made a new batch of raw flax seed crackers – and they turned out this time! The recipe made 100. Eeek! I’ve been gobbling ‘em up and love every single taste! I’ll be sharing photos and everything in an upcoming post. Yay for raw flax seed crackers!!!

Your Turn

Do you make raw recipes often, or do you read raw blogs for inspiration and learning? Have you ever made overnight oats? What’s your favorite overnight oats combo? What did you think of eating  ‘em cold? Let’s talk about it!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Just stopping by? Have you entered my latest contest (over a $200 value)? Or maybe you’d like to try your hand at my chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls or raw tuna fish-less salad. 

You might remember the Excalibur dehydrator I was sent to review. I’ve been experimenting with it – just hadn’t posted about my adventures. Why? I’ve had quite a few “Raw Flops" goin’ on around here. Yep.

Upon a reader’s request (thanks, Beth!) I’ll be sharing my (un)cooking disasters in the new category: Raw Flops. But don’t worry, I have some rawsome stuff comin’ up, too!

And… here’s a story written in third person. Why? I guess I just kinda felt like writing about myself that way as I reflected on this dehydrating disaster.

Raw Juice Girl’s Flax Flop

Once upon a time, in a raw fantasy world, lived a gal who dreamt of creating the bestest raw flax seed crackers ever. She put her flax seeds to soakin’ while thinking about all those health benefits: omegas, manganese, fiber, folate, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, and Vitamin B6.

Those beautiful little seeds gettin’ their soak on just screamed healthy heart, blood pressure, bones, hair, skin, nails, colon, and so much more—like fighting cancer, diabetes, dry eyes, and hot flashes.

Oh my!

<insert dreamy (healthy) eyes here>

The Raw Food Revolution Diet , by Cherie Soria (sent to her by The Book Publishing Company for review – aka as in free sample/Raw Juice Girl didn’t buy it) had a raw flax seed cracker recipe that sounded fantabulous!

It felt like DAYS waiting the 8 hours for those seeds to soak. *looks around* Where’d Raw Juice Girl’s patience go? Someone stole it!

Cherie’s recipe called for 4 cups of chopped bell pepper (or tomato). Raw Juice Girl had neither so she used raw broccoli slaw instead. Oh, joy!

Next up, raw zucchini. Nope, none of that either! Enter: diced, raw apple.

Blend it all up, Cherie says.

Um, it looks like puke. That’s what she said.

Gotta have some seasoning! Yay for HimalaSalt samples (again, free  – yummy – samples Raw Juice Girl was sent for review)…

Organic garlic salt

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Stir it all up!

Smear it on the dehydrator tray (with a liner).

Close-up

Score the mixture to make separated cracker lines.

The house smelled sooooooooooooooooo good while these crackers were (un)cooking!

105* for 12 hours, Cherie says

Raw Juice Girl leaped out of bed the next morning, with bright eyes and pep to her step. She ran into the kitchen like a child on Christmas morning expecting shiny, new flax seed crackers ready for flippin’.

Imagine her surprise when she opened the Dehydrator door and found this:

Flax Crackers Stuck to Wax Paper!!!

Raw Juice Girl wanted to just cry…

And the saddest part? Raw Juice Girl managed to break off a teeny piece of cracker (without waxed paper attached!) and it tasted REALLY good.

*sigh*

The moral of this story, folks, is that Raw Juice Girl shoulda used parchment paper or waited ‘till she got some Excalibur non-stick, reusable sheets.

She was so blasted mad at that wax paper, she thought about eatin’ it but didn’t have an appetite after finding her ruined crackers! Humph!

See, Raw Juice Girl is real. She makes mistakes. She doesn’t have all the raw food stuff figured out. She’ll be your guinea pig, though. You can learn from her mistakes and get a few laughs along the way…

Stay tuned for more Raw Flops. This is a new category featuring Raw Juice Girl’s bloopers. You won’t want to miss a single post!

Resources:
WH Foods: Flax Seeds

Just tuning in? Be sure to get yourself entered in my latest contest (prizes are valued at over $200!!!). Also, check out Zeenat’s guest post about the healing benefits of onions. You might also enjoy my chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls or my version of tuna fish-less salad.

Hi, y’all!

Today, I’m going to share with you my experience of making Averie’s Raw Vegan Chia Seed Pudding. You can find all sorts of variations she’s created by checking out her chia seed category over at Love Veggies & Yoga.

I was super excited the other day when I mentioned I received a package from NuNaturals.com.

Why, you ask? Well, of course, I’m excited to get creative with all their tasty products, but I was even MORE excited when I saw my RAWkin’ friend, Averie, included in the information packet.

You go, Averie!

And now it’s Raw Juice Girl’s turn to try her hand at Averie’s Raw Vegan Chia Seed Pudding.

I followed her recipe to a T. (View her chia seed variations here.)

2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds

Almond Milk

Vanilla Stevia

Chia Gellin’

Gettin’ Thick!

All Thickened Up!

The amount of agave was too much for me – lots of sweetness! So, the next time I made myself some chia seed pudding, I used half the amount Averie does. She uses 2 tablespoons of agave nectar, and I cut it down to 1. Even that was too sweet for me, so now I just drizzle a little agave and it’s just right for me (kind of like the porridge from Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

But this is soooooooooooo delicious, y’all! If you’ve never made it – and you have the ingredients on hand – I urge you to stop what you’re doing and whip some up. Like, now! Seriously. It’s SO good!

Have you ever made raw, vegan chia seed pudding? Did you like it? Are you addicted to it yet? So far, I’ve enjoyed chia seed pudding as breakfast, and as a snack. YUM!

And guess what’s coming up? My chocolate version of chia seed pudding. It’s similar to Averie’s, but I put my own twist on this one. Can you guess what ingredient I used?

Stay tuned….