So this week I came across a pretty aweseome cookbook:
'RAW The UNcook Book New Vegetarian Food For Life' by Juliano
The entire book is dedicated to super delicious wholesome raw food recipes. Although the recipes seem a bit time consuming as most of the recipes call for multiple raw ingredients that require chopping, the outcome is so worth it if you are willing to put in the effort.
So the recipe I made last night was Extra Avo Soup.
Ingredients:
1 cucumber, peeled
1 cucumber, unpeeled
1/3 Cup fresh herbs (sage rosemary, oreagano, thyme, tarragon and basil)
1/3 Cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 Cup fresh mint, chopped
1/3 Cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 Cup garlic, with peel
1 Tbsp ginger, with peel
1 1/2 tsp jalepeno
1/4 cup nama shoyu or 2 tsp sea salt
1/3 Cup olive oil
1 1/2 Cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 Cups fresh squeezed orange juice
4 Avocados, peeled and seeded
4 Whole tomatillos, papery husks removed
So the directions say to chop up one of the avocados, one of the cucumbers, and one of the tomatillos and place them in the bottom of two bowls to make a chunkier soup, then mix the remainder of the ingredients in your blender and serve immediately.
The modifications I made are as follows:
In regards to the sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, tarragon, and basil I did not buy fresh herbs, I used dry for these, approx 1/2 tsp each.
I peeled the garlic and ginger and grated both of them on a cheese grater before blending to ensure there wouldn't be any huge chunks of these.
I skipped the jalepeno all together since my 6 year old would be eating this, but I'm sure that would have been a great addition to the huge mix of flavors presented in this dish.
In regards to the orange and lemon juice, firstly, I was running out of room in my blender, secondly I think with the full recommended ingredients the texture would have been too liquid, I did 1 cup of lemon juice and 1 and a half cups of orange juice
I did not read the bit about making the soup chunkier until after, so I threw them all in the blender, but it still came out delicious :)
So, again, it is a bit time consuming chopping up all the veggies and fresh herbs on this dish, but I assure you, it is compeletely worth it ... The end result is a gorgeous light green soup with speckles of dark green scattered throughout from the fresh herbs..Absolutely delicious:)
Enjoy!
Valley
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Toys for Tots
I have to say the reactions to the recent idea of San Francisco banning toys in fast food kids meals have left me feeling a bit ill. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the idea, here’s the rundown; San Francisco law makers have proposed that fast food restaurants who sell kids meals will no longer be allowed to include a toy in their meals unless the meal contains a fruit and a vegetable. Personally, I think this is a great idea. Why? Every time a kid gets fast food and is rewarded for consuming the fat and sodium laden meal that they were just presented, there is a little bit of comfort being created in that child’s mind. So, what happens when little Susie or Johnny is an adult and has had a really bad day? They will likely find themselves headed out to seek the comfort that only a greasy burger and fries can bring, if for no other reason than it has become habit.
I understand that the idea government stepping into private business is definitely a questionable line to be crossed; however, if parents aren’t going to be making the right choices for their children, someone needs to step in. Because the truth is, a large majority of parents are not making the right decision in what their kids eat, just head over to the CDC’s website and checkout childhood obesity rates for yourself if you disagree. I’ve been reading articles on the proposal and the comments that follow are enough to make me literally nauseous. I’ve read things like; “It is my right to be able to consume 20,000 calories in one meal, who is the government to tell me otherwise”, and “it is the parent’s responsibility to control what their kids eat”. I fully agree that parents should be responsible for what their kids eat. Again, to be clear, I FULLY AGREE THAT PARENTS SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THEIR KIDS EAT. Furthermore, if someone wants to go ahead and eat 20,000 calories and an ungodly amount of sodium and fat in one meal, more power to you.
As a friend pointed out, if a parent is abusing, neglecting, or starving their child it is likely the DCFS will step in. Not many people are opposed to this. Yet when a government body tries to step in and stop the silent abuse that is facing so many of our nations children via bad food habits, a ton of people are outraged. I can’t wrap my head around this one. Maybe these kids aren’t bruised or scarred, nor are they so thin you can see their bones, but I guarantee if you take a look at these kid’s arteries when they are 20 you’ll be sickened. Heart disease does NOT begin at 50 years old; that is only when symptoms present. The truth is it begins long before then, as early as childhood, if bad eating habits promote it. If an adult wants head over to the oh-so-coveted golden arches or king of burgers and load up on a quadruple-patty mega meal that is their absolute right. However, when that adult is dragging a child along with them to partake in the grease-fest on a regular basis, this is where I begin to have a huge problem.
I’ve heard and read a lot lately that this is the first generation of children who it’s said will be outlived by their parents. That’s right folks, parents outliving their children. Not because of an infectious disease pandemic or super-virus, but because of obesity. Obesity, which is a gateway to heart disease, diabetes and a slew of complications that go along with these diseases. How people (with or without children), can be aware of this and be angry at the thought of banning toys in kids meals is insane. It is not a punishment to a private corporation to step in and say if you’re going to sell your kids meals include a fruit and vegetable. It isn’t as though they are being forced to close down stores or change their menus entirely. The parents still have a right to eat there, the kids still have the right to eat there, and the venues still have the right to serve fried food, all they’re saying is let’s not reward eating fried food and no produce with a toy; let’s stop these habits before they begin. The reality is, even if this doesn’t pass, if it can bring an awareness to the sad situation our kids are currently facing that would be a big step forward.
I understand that the idea government stepping into private business is definitely a questionable line to be crossed; however, if parents aren’t going to be making the right choices for their children, someone needs to step in. Because the truth is, a large majority of parents are not making the right decision in what their kids eat, just head over to the CDC’s website and checkout childhood obesity rates for yourself if you disagree. I’ve been reading articles on the proposal and the comments that follow are enough to make me literally nauseous. I’ve read things like; “It is my right to be able to consume 20,000 calories in one meal, who is the government to tell me otherwise”, and “it is the parent’s responsibility to control what their kids eat”. I fully agree that parents should be responsible for what their kids eat. Again, to be clear, I FULLY AGREE THAT PARENTS SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THEIR KIDS EAT. Furthermore, if someone wants to go ahead and eat 20,000 calories and an ungodly amount of sodium and fat in one meal, more power to you.
As a friend pointed out, if a parent is abusing, neglecting, or starving their child it is likely the DCFS will step in. Not many people are opposed to this. Yet when a government body tries to step in and stop the silent abuse that is facing so many of our nations children via bad food habits, a ton of people are outraged. I can’t wrap my head around this one. Maybe these kids aren’t bruised or scarred, nor are they so thin you can see their bones, but I guarantee if you take a look at these kid’s arteries when they are 20 you’ll be sickened. Heart disease does NOT begin at 50 years old; that is only when symptoms present. The truth is it begins long before then, as early as childhood, if bad eating habits promote it. If an adult wants head over to the oh-so-coveted golden arches or king of burgers and load up on a quadruple-patty mega meal that is their absolute right. However, when that adult is dragging a child along with them to partake in the grease-fest on a regular basis, this is where I begin to have a huge problem.
I’ve heard and read a lot lately that this is the first generation of children who it’s said will be outlived by their parents. That’s right folks, parents outliving their children. Not because of an infectious disease pandemic or super-virus, but because of obesity. Obesity, which is a gateway to heart disease, diabetes and a slew of complications that go along with these diseases. How people (with or without children), can be aware of this and be angry at the thought of banning toys in kids meals is insane. It is not a punishment to a private corporation to step in and say if you’re going to sell your kids meals include a fruit and vegetable. It isn’t as though they are being forced to close down stores or change their menus entirely. The parents still have a right to eat there, the kids still have the right to eat there, and the venues still have the right to serve fried food, all they’re saying is let’s not reward eating fried food and no produce with a toy; let’s stop these habits before they begin. The reality is, even if this doesn’t pass, if it can bring an awareness to the sad situation our kids are currently facing that would be a big step forward.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)