I live for fresh, raw juices and smoothies and veggies and fruit, nuts and seeds – but sometimes a gal just needs a bowl of yummy, herbalicious, flavorful (hot) soup on a cold winter’s day.

Enter: Rainbow Chard + Butter Bean Soup

This recipe was inspired by “The Clean Eating Mama” blog, from her recent post: White Bean and Kale Soup (Thank you, Tasha!)

Rainbow Chard + Butter Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 cups water
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 2 cans butter beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• bunch of frozen Rainbow Chard (that was from my garden)
• about 1  -  2 cups of certified organic whole wheat couscous
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (I used Tropical Traditions Certified Organic Virgin Coconut Oil)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• sprinkle of paprika
• garlic salt to taste (I used Himala Salt Certified Organic brand.)
• freshly ground flax (for sprinkling on top)

Directions:

1. Add the beans, tomatoes, rainbow chard, frozen peas, and cream of celery soup to your pot.
2. Pour in 6 cups water (or broth – I didn’t have any).
3. Add herbs, onion, garlic (or garlic salt like me).
4. Add the coconut oil.
5. Turn heat to medium.
6. Once the frozen veggies are tender and the soup has really heated up, add the couscous.
7. Cover with a lid.
8. Simmer for half an hour or so.
9. Sprinkle with freshly ground flax and enjoy!

Ooooooohhh, yeah!

Kale is one of my all-time favorite veggies, so I’m definitely going to make this soup again when I have the ingredients Tasha used in her version.

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

Contest Alert

HiHoRosie’s Place is giving away an ice cream maker.

And don’t forget to enter my latest contest for a $30 gift certificate from Glass Dharma!

Your Turn

What about you? Are you a “soup person” or do you detest soup? Do you love making a big pot of soup and savoring it day after day, or do you just get a craving for it once in a while and either buy soup from a restaurant so you won’t have leftovers, or eat it out of a can or at someone else’s house?

Raw foodie (purists): Do you splurge on hot soup once in a while during the colder months, or do you stick to raw soups only?

All of you, chime in – I adore reading your thoughts!!

And… I’m planning on posting about raw soup in an upcoming – so stay tuned! Plus, the delivery man has been kind to me and I’m going to give you a sneak peek at what he brought!

This is Part 3 of my 3-Part Series on the 9th Annual Spring Planting Festival events + the amazing opportunity I had to meet TWO Editors…

Picture it: A little girl dreams of becoming a writer. She grows up, lives in the country, and prefers quiet days, bare feet, herbal tea and raw juices and smoothies to high-end shoes and lattes in the city. You see, she is an old-fashioned kind of gal. A gal who never in her wildest dreams imagined she’d meet an editor. And not just any editor–the editor of GRIT magazine! What makes this story even sweeter is that her dad sold the magazine when he was a young boy. Let’s hear it: aaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww.

Now, I’ll stop talking about myself in third person and spill the beans!

I love going to festivals, so when I read that Hank Will, Editor of GRIT Magazine, was going to be speaking about his heirloom seed heritage (aka Oscar H. Will & Company), I knew without a doubt I’d be there–even if the creek did rise!

I donned my bonnet and boots and high-tailed it across Amish country to the Baker Creek Seed Festival. When I walked in to the building Mr. Will was speaking in, I nabbed this photo of him answering questions.

Once he was finished speaking and answering questions, I mustered up a bunch of courage and made a beeline for him before he got away! He was kind enough to make a country gal’s heart skip a beat (or five hundred! ) and put on a big ole smile so I could forever treasure this:

I gave him my business cards and he gave me his John Hancock.

Yeah. Awesome, huh? Writer meets editor. Writer gets photo taken with editor. Writer gets editor’s autograph. A dream come true! Thanks, Mr. Will, for taking the time to make my day.

Oscar H. Will & Company

I found it fascinating that Hank Will comes from a line of men who were so passionate about heirloom seeds. He talked about his great-grandfather, his grandfather, and the Oscar H. Will & Company seed business. There’s actually a museum at Bakersville where you can find old seed catalogs and envelopes from that very company–and read facts all about it, too!

Holding one of those seed catalogs.

Interesting Facts….

Seed Catalogs

Envelopes

Where’s My Horse & Reins?

After meeting Hank Will and posing with memorabilia from his great-grandfathers seed legacy, I just “happened upon” a covered wagon. Wow, it feels weird writing that! I think this photo was the icing on the cake! A weekend filled with fun, learning, and the unbelievable opportunity to meet Hank Will and K.C. Compton just wouldn’t have been complete without this gal in a bonnet standing next to a covered wagon. Don’t you agree?

See that camera bag swinging around my neck? Yeah, not the best fashion statement in the world, but it sure is handy for stuffing business cards, a small notebook, and a pen–perfect for networking and capturing memories like the weekend I met two editors; a weekend I’m sure to never forget!

Check it out!

Hank is a blogger: The Daily Commute

Just tuning in? Catch up:

Part 1: Adventures in Sewing a Pioneer Dress <— Getting ready for the festival!

Part 2: K.C. Compton, The Checkered Past Band, + Me <— Meeting an Editor-In-Chief!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

This is Part 2 of my 3-Part Series on the 9th Annual Spring Planting Festival events + the amazing opportunity I had to meet TWO Editors…

Wow. What can I say? As I look at this photo of me standing next to an Editor-In-Chief, I think to myself: Did this really happen? Is that really me? My life? My experience? My autographed copy of The Herb Companion–signed by none other than K.C. Compton? Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s my life. Yes, I had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of meeting an Editor-In-Chief. (K.C. is the Editor-In-Chief of a “department for Ogden Publications, which includes The Herb Companion, GRIT and Capper’s”).  Like I said: Wow.

K.C. Compton + Me!

So, how did this come about? Well, I’ve gone to the Bakersville Festivals for the past several years. I’ve missed some here and there but for the most part, I’ve attended a LOT of them for a long time. But you’d better believe when I found out K.C. Compton was not only going to be singing at this particular festival, but speaking as well, I was determined that regardless of the weather or what was going on in my life, that I’d be there–and I was!

That morning was pretty chaotic, though, so by the time I got there, K.C.’s speech was just ending. I took a deep breath, mustered up all the courage I could, and stopped her on her way out (she was headed toward another building to prepare to sing with her group). She was so kind and patient to allow me time to have a photo made with her. Thank you, K.C.! (And a big thanks to my Mom, the photographer!).

More Than an Editor

K.C. Compton is not only an Editor-In-Chief, she’s K.C. of: K.C. & The Checkered Past Band! My favorite song was Bigfoot, about the huge footprint most everyone is leaving in our world. It’s such a fun, eco-friendly song, with such a strong, important message. Great job performing, K.C.!

Look at Her Sing!

Autograph! Autograph!

You can imagine all the exciting thoughts that were racing through my mind. For a writer, meeting an Editor-In-Chief has to be just about the most fantabulous thing ever–other than an author landing a book deal. I know it’s a small world and all things are possible, but in reality, how many times do you think I’ll run into K.C. again, huh? So, I knew I had to catch her one more time and nab her handwriting on the current issue of The Herb Companion I was lugging around all over the place. Those of you who have followed me for a while know how determined I am. Enter….

K.C. Compton’s Autograph

K.C., you can rest assured that I’ll keep writing and keep in touch online–and that I’ll see you at the next Spring seed festival!

And thank you (from the bottom of my heart!) for making a country gal’s writing dreams come true.

Check it out!

K.C. blogs: Samurai Sage

Coming Next

Get ready, ’cause in the next post, I’m sharing the adventures of meeting Hank Will, Editor of GRIT Magazine. He’s quite the fascinating man–with a (seed) history that’s awesome!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

]]> http://healingwithjuices.com/2009/09/k-c-compton-editor-in-chief-herb-companion/feed/ 18 http://healingwithjuices.com/2009/08/organic-juice-recipes/ http://healingwithjuices.com/2009/08/organic-juice-recipes/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:54:16 +0000 Raw Juice Girl http://healingwithjuices.com/?p=3009

First, I’d like to remind you about the current contest I have running: The Bolder Mat Company Yoga Mat + Stacy McCarthy’s Yoga DVD. (Contest ends Wednesday, August 19th. There are SEVEN ways to win!!)

My day started out with an hour of yoga, which was fantabulous! I almost fell asleep during Shavasana, I was SO relaxed! (Have I mentioned lately that I’m in LOVE with yoga??!!) After that, I gobbled up an organic Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries on top (this is by far my FAVORITE, non-raw meal)!

Then, I did some writing + blog work and some other stuff. Once it was time for lunch, I was STARVING.

Spinach Salad

a bunch of baby spinach leaves (this is a bigger bowl than it seems)

organic tomatoes (from my garden)

frozen peas +organic  bell pepper from my garden (lightly steamed with coconut oil + Italian herbs)

hemp seeds (from www.manitobaharvest.com)

macadamia nuts

THIS SALAD WAS DELICIOUS!!! YUM!!!

Once lunch was finished and cleaned up, it was time for me to stop procrastinating and make some chocolate pudding from avocados! Enter: Chocolate (Avocado) Pudding Heaven!

Cleanin’ Out the Fridge + Garden Overflow

There was a little of this, that, and the other in the fridge where veggies are concerned. I’ve been eating a LOT of salad but needed to clean out those odds and ends. Also, I needed to use up some freshly-picked garden veggies…

Organic, Heirloom Tomatoes

Organic Heirloom Bell + Banana Peppers

All from My Garden

First Up: Tomato Juice

(After I washed all that garden dirt off!)

Beautiful Tomato Juice Bubbles!

Made 3 Cups + a Little Leftover

Just for me!

Next Up: Juice Concoction

rest of the tomatoes

3 bell peppers

5 big banana peppers

whole bag of organic carrots (16 ounce) + a few other stray (organic) carrots

2 big cucumbers (from my garden)

teeny bit of spinach

Juice Concoction Bubbles

Juice Concoction Pulp

(The pulp went to the ducks, chickens, and turkeys.)

Organic, Heirloom Cucumbers

9 big cucumbers went into this juice!

Gorgeous Cucumber Juice Bubbles

Those 9 cucumbers made 3 cups of juice (shown above) + half of my oversized, favorite cup for drinking right away!

Cucumber Juice for Me!

It’s a Raw Juice Party!

In all, I ended up with:

1 – 3 cup container of tomato juice

1 – 3 cup container of cucumber juice

1 – 3 cup container which contained 3/4 cucumber juice + 1/4 juice concoction

2 – 3 cup containers of juice concoction

1 – 12 ounce Amazing Grass shaker cup of cucumber juice

1 – 12 ounce Amazing Grass shaker cup of cantaloupe juice

leftover 8 ounces or so of cucumber juice, which I drank in my polka-dotted cup (shown above)

Cantaloupe Juice

I forgot to take a photo of the cantaloupe but it was organic, heirloom (from my garden) as well.

It made 12 ounces–which fit perfectly into an Amazing Grass shaker cup! This one went into the freezer for later. Yum!

Juices in a Nice, Clean Fridge!

What’s in your fridge?

Be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life PLUS get to enter all sorts of awesome contests!

I really didn’t have an appetite at all this morning, so I went with my feelings and skipped breakfast. I wasn’t craving a juice either. I did have a glass of cold herbal tea with lemon.

I do want to share with you what worked for my swollen arm (from all those nasty red wasp stings)….

Here’s what I tried:

• wrapping it in vinegar
• baking soda wrap
• leaving chewing tobacco on for hours

Know what finally worked? Raw onion! Yep, I knew about the onion’s healing properties. Sheesh, I’ve even written about it (Onion for an Oops!).

I sliced raw onion and placed it on the parts of my arm where the wasps stung me (my arm got the worst of the stings) and then wrapped plastic wrap around my arm so the onions would stay in place overnight. The next morning? Almost ALL of the swelling was GONE and the pain and most of the itching was, too! Yippee! So, while the tobacco (wet) does help when held on a fresh sting, you can also give the old raw onion a try if you should get stung by a nasty flying creature.

Lunch, Anyone?

I decided to have a small salad. It was sooooooooooooooooooo delicious, and very easy on my system.

Spinach-Blueberry-Hemp (Seed) Salad

handful baby spinach leaves

handful blueberries

sprinkles of Manitoba Harvest hemp seed

Dinner

I was going to have a juice for dinner (and really I should have) but I’m still getting my strength back up so I copped out and threw another small salad together–it saved me all the labor of dragging out the juicer, preparing the produce, juicing them, and cleaning it all up. I was just too tired after losing so much sleep to do all that. So, another salad it was…

Heirloom Salad

(Note: ALL of the vegetables in the photo above (except the spinach leaves and hempseed) are heirloom + organic from MY garden!!)

baby spinach leaves

snap peas

sliced cucumber

raw okra (yeah, it’s delish!)

hemp seeds

Manitoba Harvest

Hemp Seeds

I’m really LOVING these Manitoba Harvest hemp seeds. They’re nutty, delicious, and so good for you! (More about these babies in an upcoming post! )  I had received these before starting my 30-day juice fast so I tried ‘em a few different ways: On my salad, in smoothies, etc. And I love ‘em!

Reflections

So, what should have actually been day 30 of my juice fast, was day 2 of my back-to-eating program. It didn’t end the way I had hoped, but I did give it my best shot. Not everyone would have sailed through a broken juicer, an out-of-commission back, and being attacked by a swarm of the biggest, nastiest, red wasps like I did–and for that, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished this time around. Sure, I could have finished the 30 days. I only liked about a day and a half, but this is where I’m different than other folks: I listen to my body. I know what it can and can’t do and it hasn’t failed me yet. Listening to my body has brought me a long way. I’ve lost over 100 pounds and have juice fasted extensively–for up to 52 days at a time. Sure, I’ve fasted for 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, etc. Shorter fasts are awesome, refreshing, and are absolutely a great thing to do. But just like with runners, who challenge themselves to run greater distances in less time, etc., someone like me who has been on a long journey of juice fasting, likes to challenge themselves –and their bodies– to a deeper level of cleansing, healing, and accomplishment.

Don’t forget about the contests! And catch up on the juicy details of my 30-day juice fast.

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

Last night I slept well again. I jumped up this morning and discovered I was out of lemon! So… no warm lemon water this morning. I grabbed my Amazing Grass shaker cup, added some ice, a scoop of Amazing Grass Green SuperFood powder and some leftover cucumber-apple juice, and also grabbed my bottle of water with organic apple cider vinegar (a tablespoon) and left to run some errands (including picking up some lemons!).

On the way home, I stopped at that Amish produce stand again and bought some more beets (forgot to take a photo of ‘em this time–sorry!) and then came home….

Lunch

After a busy morning, I decided to drink more of my cucumber-apple juice (it’s so refreshing!!!) and added another (yes, a second scoop for today!) of Amazing Grass Green SuperFood powder. I decided to drink my grass outside.

Dinner Concoction

1 apple

1 celery stalk

1 nob ginger

1 handful spinach

1 handful parsley

5 (heirloom) rainbow chard leaves (from my garden)

4 (heirloom) beet leaves (from my garden)

2 small beets (from an Amish produce stand)

Looks Like Sherbet Juice!

Yum-O!

I had drank half of that juice when I realized I hadn’t taken a photo of it! I was getting ready to start this blog post so I just snapped a photo at the laptop. It was a beautiful, rich color and the taste was  simply divine!

And a Winner!

It’s awesome to finally be able to find out which lucky reader wins the Living Tree Community contest (a 16 ounce jar of Coconut Mango Persimmon Butter AND an 8 ounce jar of Raw Almond Butter–both organic!!)

I used Random.org to select a winner. There was a whopping 164 comments (whoa!) and it generated the #10….

…. which means Jocelyn (from Jocelyn Eats Fresh blog) won!

Here’s here comment:

Jocelyn { 06.22.09 at 4:22 pm }

whoa whoa whooooa..I so would love to try these products..
for one: I’v never even heard of such a thing as organic coconut mango persimmon butter..lol Like..we don’t get those kind of products in Canada!

Also Awhile back I was reading up on the website and I really like their *way* of living

http://www.livingtreecommunity.com/store2/grow.asp
especially loving relations and restful sleep
also..look at all thoes fine ingrediants that goes into the final product! Sounds like a dream to me!

Congratulations, Jocelyn!! Just e-mail me at healingwithjuices at gmail dot com with your mailing address and I’ll get your package in the mail!!

Thanks so much to Living Tree Community for sponsoring this contest. They are truly an amazing company with their heart in the right place!

And thank you to each of you who entered the contest. I appreciate every single one of your comments and entries and I SO WISH I could have awarded each and every one of you with these delicious products but I couldn’t. Keep striving for ultimate health and I hope to see you around!!

Until tomorrow… happy juicing!

Just tuning in? Catch up:

Day 1 of a 30-Day Juice Fast and Juicer Mishaps

Day 2 of a 30-Day Juice Fast–and AMAZING GRASS!!

Day 3–E3 Living!

Day 4 + Wheat Grass Galore + a Juicer!!

Day 5 — Dead or Alive?

Day 6 + Father’s Day Bliss!

Day 7, Cucumber Chia Heaven!

Day 8, Let’s Talk About Weight!

Day 9–and I’m Feelin’ Fine!

Day 10–Learnin’ About Lemon!

Day 11, Grapefruit Juice Heaven!

Day 12 with Sprouts on Top!

Day 13 and Juiceless

Day 14: Salad in a Glass

Upcoming Contests Featuring these Fabulous Companies

• 2 books by Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet (These two books have GORGEOUS photos and the recipes are amazing!
• 2 Food Matters DVDs (Haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, but do check out their site–they have a RAWsome message to share!!)
• Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose (I read this book last night and it’s awesome; it really helps you understand water retention, etc!)
• Oh Nuts! (raw macadamia nuts and pecans) <— These are seriously delicious nuts–and they’re JUMBO sized!
• E3Live (Green-tasting (which I don’t mind!), but I REALLY notice that it’s making me feel better. It was definitely put to the test through my recent stressful events!)
• and MORE!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

]]> http://healingwithjuices.com/2009/07/living-tree-communit-contest-winner/feed/ 6