I can’t remember where I saw it, but I recall reading that almonds were a more perfect nut than cashews for a number of reasons, so my question is: why are there cashews in the Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothie? should we replace them with almonds??
All posts in recipes
Raw Foods and “Funny” Stomachs
Dear Robin,
I have a few health related questions I wanted to ask you regarding starting a raw food diet. I consider myself a beginner raw fooder, I have taught myself how to drink green smoothies, learned how to eat cabbage and other greens.
Here is my question. I have a history of having a sensitive stomach. I’ve had 6 pregnancies where I’ve thrown up (sorry) for months on end. It’s been horrible. I’ve also had a lifetime of debilitating carsickness. I’m in my 40′s now, and I think I am just prone to having my head/stomach upset easily. As far as the raw food issue, there are times when I just feel down and out nauseous, at those times, how do I incorporate a raw diet ? For me, soothing stomach foods can be high fat/high sugar/high carb – easy processed from a box things. I cant think of a single raw recipe that I’ve had that would help me during these icky times. And my second question. What about the stomach flu? My diet this year has been better than ever (much better than the average American, though not raw) yet we just had a 10 day intestinal bug go through our family, and there was no way during that time that I could stomach ANYTHING that needed major digestive juices! I have searched the web for answers to these question, but have come up empty so far. I’m sorry to take up your time here, I know you are a busy mom. Please take your time in responding if you feel you can! Thank you, Robin
a recipe for you for Indian Dahl
This is something I like for dinner, and you can make it yellow or green depending on whether you use green split peas or yellow lentils. It’s quick and easy to make. I usually rinse the peas and rice and then soak overnight, then simmer them in two saucepans the next morning to eat that night. It has both a grain and a legume–a “perfect protein.” I explain why, in Ch. 6, you don’t need to worry about that like vegetarians did in the 1980′s and some still do. (If you have OLD vegetarian cookbooks, you can see lots of obsessing about this.) In a nutshell, your body has amino acids in a free-floating pool to draw upon for 24 hours, so you don’t have to put them all together in any given meal, for your body to assemble protein. That said, some people feel that having grains/legumes together makes a more filling meal.
Enjoy!
Indian Green or Yellow Dahl
2 cups split peas or yellow lentils
1 1/2 cups brown rice
water
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. kelp granules (optional)
1 tsp. salt (for rice)
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt (for peas/lentils)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. cumin
1 cup chopped cilantro
In separate saucepans, rinse split peas and brown rice well. Cover each with fresh water and allow to soak several hours. Drain well. Add 3 cups water and 1 tsp. salt to the rice, and 4 cups water to the split peas, bring each to a boil, and reduce heat for 45 mins. Add all seasonings except cilantro to peas/lentils, and mash with a spoon. Serve dahl over brown rice and sprinkle liberally with cilantro.
send me your favorite green smoothie recipes please!
Because I get asked this so often, I will be putting together a collection of green smoothie recipes. (I did spend the first three months of this year developing 50 recipes that will be at the end of The Green Smoothie Diet, too.)
Please send me your favorites to use in the collection! And if you send me yours, I’ll write your email address down and send you the collection FREE when it’s done.
Don’t forget to give your recipes colorful names! Name one after the child who loves it, or whatever. If there’s a fun story behind how you made that recipe up, include that too.
GSG readers are the BEST–thanks a million, in advance!
–Robyn
hardcore smoothies
Do you make hardcore smoothies?
I’m talking about making them for health benefits rather than taste. You really can’t do this if one of the GS drinkers from your blender will be a new convert or a child. Or if you’re squeamish about textures and tastes.
I love Xtreme people. People who do things all-out because they’re passionate and disciplined. Of course, I love squishier people too (good thing, since I have three kids who beg for more fruit–and some raw chocolate and agave–in their smoothies).
We have altogether too much sugar in our diets here in the Western world. I’m always looking for ways to reduce it. So when I don’t have my kids because they’re at their dad’s . . . okay okay, sometimes I make green smoothies for them anyway and go sit in his driveway with the pint jars and call the kids to come outside and get them–I know, I’m CRAZY! . . . anyway, those weekends, I sometimes make Xtreme smoothies.
Lately I have been making GS for Craig. But since he’s a lobster being boiled to death slowly (make the GS taste really good, then put more and more greens in over time until it’s hardcore) . . . I make my own blenderful, pour out two quarts for me, and then add more fruit to Craig’s. So far, so good. He is drinking them and still praising them rather than complaining.
Remember, while fruit is good for you, the REAL POINT of the GS is the greens. The more funky and unusual greens, the better. Your greens are savory or bitter? Right on!
Tell me what’s in your Xtreme Smoothie. Cool greens and other superfoods. Only you hardcore green smoothie girls or guys, the ones who have been on this path for a while, the ones who’ll do anything if it’s good for you . . . I love you guys.
What’s your recipe?
easy kale or collard “chips” you can make in your dehydrator
GreenSmoothieGirl.com reader Tonya C. donated a recipe for yummy “chips” (I call them “crisps” because they’re really light and airy) made in the dehydrator. I have significantly altered the recipe. Brewer’s Yeast is a good way for vegans to obtain Vitamin B12.
Cheesy Kale/Collard Crisps
1/3 cup cashews, soaked 1-2 hours (optionally)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. Original Himalayan Crystal Salt
¼ cup nutritional (or Brewer’s) yeast
2 green onions (including the green part)
½ tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 clove garlic
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Blend all ingredients well in Total Blender. Press one side of 20-30 small kale or collard leaves (stems removed) in mixture and dry them for 4-6 hours in Excalibur dehydrator (until crispy).
Here’s a hilarious video of Tonya’s adorable 2-year old Emily making and eating the chips that her family calls “Emily’s Cheetohs.” They were disappearing during the night because Emily would wake up and wander into the kitchen to eat them:
http://raw100.ning.com/video/video/show?id=2170300%3AVideo%3A228864&xgs=1
Enjoy!
p.s. If you’ve been wanting an Excalibur dehydrator, here’s a link to another blog entry with another cracker recipe I really like, and a link to get a dehydrator:
http:///blog.greensmoothiegirl.com/?p=369
another sprouted-almond recipe
This spicy variation on my sprouted, flavored raw almond recipes for you comes from GreenSmoothieGirl.com reader Steve (and I wrote you back to say thanks, Steve, but emails always bounce back from you):
Spicy Almonds
10 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight and dehydrated at 105 degrees approx. 6 hours
½ cup dates
2 Tbs Himalayan Crystal Salt
2 Tbs agave
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp cayenne
3 habanero peppers
1 pasilla pepper
1 lime without skin
Enough water to blend
Blend all ingredients except almonds in BlendTec on high until smooth. Pour into a
bowl, add almonds and stir well. Let mixture sit for an hour to allow nuts to absorb
liquid, and then stir again. Spread nuts on teflex sheets in dehydrator. Dry at 105
degrees for about 16 hours. Place nuts on mesh sheets and dry again until crunchy
(about 10 hours).
dehydrator recipe . . . part 3 of 3
Sprouting (and dehydrating) is very frankly the most sophisticated nutrition principle I teach. For newbies, I start with lower level things: getting more fruits and vegetables in the diet, and eating whole grains, for instance. Most Americans are not prepared for the idea of sprouting and live foods. Some of my readers are so ambitious that they go ALL OUT and within weeks of leaving a processed diet, they’re already sprouting.
Others of you have been doing the first few steps in 12 Steps to Whole Foods . . . and you feel you’re in strange territory, but you’re ready to try.
If that’s you, ask for an Excalibur 3000 series dehydrator for Christmas to start making live snack foods from Chapter 7 (or the Crunchy Snacks recipe collection):
http://tinyurl.com/56cn36
Here’s one of my favorite recipes for using the dehydrator to get get LIVE flaxseed in the diet. These crackers are easy to make, yummy, and filling. Remember with dehydrated foods to always drink water with them. (Otherwise they aggressively soak up all the liquids in your digestive tract, like stomach acids.)
Flax-Veggie crackers
Soak in 4 cups water for several hours:
3 cups flax seeds (1/2 brown, ½ golden)
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
Shred in food processor, or very finely dice
1 red bell pepper
2 carrots
Puree in Blend Tec:
4 tomatoes
2 stalks celery
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup nama shoyu
1 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. chili powder
Mix all all three mixtures together well, by hand, and spread on plastic dehydrator sheets, about ¼” thick. Cut into cracker shapes and dehydrate at 105 degrees until crackers are dry on top, about 24 hours. Turn over, take off teflex sheets, and finish drying until crackers are crispy.
Tip: We like to eat these plain, but we also often put slices of avocado on top.
Soy or rice milk
Robyn,
I switched from skim cow’s milk to soy milk last year after reading The China Study. I dilute it 100% w/ water so that the consistency isn’t so creamy. Now that I’ve read your info on Soy products I’m not sure what to do. It seems like the soy milk has more protein and calcium. I only drink about a cup a day. What do you think is best?
recipes to use your raw almonds
Those of you who subscribe to 12 Steps to Whole Foods (http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/12-steps-to-whole-food-eating.html) have recipes to use raw, germinated almonds in Ch. 7 and will have more in Ch. 11. But here are two more recipes for you:
SPROUTED ALMOND PATE (WRAP FILLING)
2 cups almonds, soaked overnight and drained
3 carrots
handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 small yellow squash, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. kelp granules
Put almonds and carrots through the Champion Juicer with the blank (homogenizing) plate on. Stir in other ingredients well. Serve a generous portion in a sprouted-wheat tortilla with cucumber spears (and optionally, any homemade dressing from Ch. 3 of 12 Steps to Whole Foods). You can send this to school or work by rolling the wrap up tightly in plastic wrap.
SPROUTED CURRY ALMONDS
4 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight and drained
1 Tbsp. red curry
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. Original Himalayan Crystal Salt (or sea salt)
2 tsp. agave
1 tsp. kelp granules
1 tsp. cayenne
Dehydrate soaked and drained almonds for several hours until mostly dry. Blend remaining ingredients in a bowl, and stir almonds in well, allowing to sit for a while to absorb liquid. Dehydrate below 116 degrees until dry and crunchy. Keep in fridge if almonds will last you more than a week.
