Feeding Finnley IV

Finnley spends a day or two with us most weeks when we are in town.  She is two years old now and is able to tell us just about anything she wants.   She is a happy, smart child, talking or singing all the time and has a higher vocabulary than other children older than her in day care. She sings several nursery rhymes and songs, ABC’s, and counts. She runs, jumps, plays ball and dances to some of her favorite music. What a joy she is and I am sure her baby sister will be just as special when she comes in July.

I have many requests for more ideas about feeding children. I have to make it clear that Finnley does not eat completely raw but she eats a lot of raw foods and her mother has been open to trying different things. I approach feeding Finnley as a grandmother who eats a raw food diet feeding a granddaughter whose parents eat a healthy but cooked diet. I think it is best not to have issues over food choices and be an example for new healthy foods that she will eat. As a grandparent be an inspiration and don’t be judgmental!

So what is she eating at Nana’s now… she loves most fruits, especially watermelon, pears, grapes and apples – preferably organic Golden Delicious, Granny Smith are too tart. She loves bananas and prefers organic. Blueberries are still a favorite fruit but sometimes she will not eat them. Peas, corn and carrots are about the only vegetables she will eat. Peas are loaded with nutrition, so for now we are blessed that she is a good eater. She will not drink juice,  prefering water. I am working on giving her a smoothie so that I can add greens. She loves my applesauce from the last Feeding Finnley, but she has eaten so much of it, last week she said “no more applesauce Nana”, so we will give it a break for a while.  She likes brown rice that I mix with my Sunflower Humus, making the rice stick together, which can be quite messy to eat. She also likes this humus on whole-wheat pita. The next time she comes I will see how she likes my Sweet Pea Humus. She eats small amounts of the Vege- Burger and likes to snack on Protein Nuggets and soaked raisins. She will also snack on some of my Kale Chips. She sleeps 12 hours at night and takes a nap every afternoon. Sleep is very important for children and should be considered as important as any nutrient.

Some say the “terrible twos” are a difficult time. This can happen when the parents are “terrible” by not setting limits and teaching them to respect others and their things. We have never moved anything in our house when she comes over. She knows what she can play with and when she tests these limits, I simply say, “Finnley, thank you, that’s Nana’s”. I save “no” for the important things. I also support whatever my daughter is trying to do for discipline. The first time I asked her if she wanted to go in “time out”, she looked at me as if to say, “so mommy told her about “time out”.  Having limits will help her throughout life. Finnley is so much fun now because we feed her with more than just food.  Here are some recipes that she likes today, because tomorrow she may not, which is very typical of children this age.

Sunflower Red Pepper Humus

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Serves 8

3 cups sunflower seeds soaked 8 hours and drained

6 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons cumin powder

¼ cup olive oil

¾ cup lemon juice

1 cup raw tahini

1 red pepper

Parsley or cilantro and Zartar as garnish

For Avocado Humus add 2 avocados to 1 cup of the mix and blend.

1. Place sunflower seeds, garlic, salt, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, pepper in a 2HP blender or food processor and blend until smooth (the food processor will not get it as smooth).
2. Add tahini and blend well.

Serving Ideas: Place on a plate, swirl humus and drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the humus and garnish with some chopped red pepper, parsley and zartar (a middle eastern spice with thyme and other herbs) and serve with vegetables, chips or pita.

Shelf life: 10 days

Protein Nuggets

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

2 cups walnuts, soaked 4-6 hours and drained

2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked 4-6 hours and drained

2 teaspoon sea salt

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 tablespoons fresh oregano

1 tablespoon cumin

½ cup fresh basil

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 2 hours, drained, and processed into paste

1 onion, chopped very fine

1 red bell pepper, chopped fine

1. Place garlic in food processor and finely chop.
2. Add salt, cumin, oregano, basil, onion and pepper to food processor or high-speed blender and process well.
3. Add walnuts and sunflower seeds to food processor and process well.
4. Add sun-dried tomato paste and process well.
5. Squeeze ½ teaspoon pieces from a pastry bag onto a Teflex sheet and place in dehydrator for 12 hours until the pieces are completely dry.
6. Store in sealed container in refrigerator- will keep for a month, or more.

Sprout Suggestion for use: snacking, on salads, topping sandwiches, pets and kids like them.

Kale Chips

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Serves 8

Cheese

2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked for 8 hours and drained

2 cups water

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 sun-dried tomatoes

¼ cup juiced lemon

1 cup pine nuts, soaked for 8 hours and drained

2 bunches of kale torn into pieces

1. Place macadamia nuts, filtered water, salt, turmeric, sun-dried tomatoes and lemon juice in blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Add pine nuts and blend until smooth.

3. Stir in jalapeno peppers. Massage kale with the cheese and place on teflex dehydrator sheets and dehydrate for 12 hours. Sin a sealed container.

The story about Pine Nuts

Pine nuts became very expensive a few months ago and not widely available. We have substituted Macadamia nuts for pine nuts in all of my recipes while they are so scarce and expensive. It was not widely publicized that most of the pine nuts had been recalled because of bacterial contamination. The information was in an article in the Atlanta Journal about the infamous peanut factory in Georgia involved in the contaminated peanut butter. I had not seen this information prior. I guess it’s a good thing we do not eat peanut butter.

Peace and love,

Jackie Graff

Jackie’s Vegetable and Fruit of the Month Club-

March and April

Sweet Peas

Peas are in season now and should be available in your garden or in your local farmer’s market. Eating local and organic is best. We also like to sprout dried whole peas (not split peas), which convert some of the starch into protein. Soak the dried organic peas in filtered water for eight hours, drain them and sprout 2-3 days rinsing daily and refrigerate. They are a great addition to any salad. Fresh sweet peas are the best!

Peas are part of the legume family originating from the Middle East to Asia. Most peas are a cool-weather crop, therefore some historians believe their country of origin may have been northern India, Burma, or Northern Thailand, where peas were discovered in a cave and carbon dated at 9750 BC.

Some say the word pea possibly came from the Sanskrit, and others that the Latin Pisum was the true origin of the word. The Old English word pise eventually evolved into pease as in the nursery rhyme “Pease porridge hot, Pease porage cold, Pease porridge in the pot nine days old. ” this refers to a thick mixture of peas and other vegetables that were cooked all day, then eaten cold the next morning then more were added to the pot and the continued to be cooked for many days. This is what I call “cooked to death”.

Peas were one of the earliest cultivated food crops. Cultivation brought stability to nomadic tribes, which made it possible for peas to be brought by travelers and explorers into the countries of the Mediterranean as well as to the Far East.

Some historians believe the Chinese were the first to consider peas a vegetable and consume the entire pea pod and its seeds, leading to the snow pea being developed in China.

During the Middle Ages, dried peas became a staple food of the European peasants. In their dried form peas had the capability of long storage throughout the winter months. They were inexpensive and plentiful and made a filling wholesome meal the poor could afford.

Charles the Great, Emperor of France, was fond of finding new vegetables and fruits from other lands and cultivating them. When peas reached France about 800, he had them planted in his lands. By the 13th century peas were a common food in France. At the end of the 14th century, the Italians had cultivated tiny peas they named piselli novelli which were eaten fresh rather than dried. The French became known for their exceptional tiny peas called petit pois. Some areas of France became well known for their extraordinary little peas.

The familiar garden pea was readily accepted and quickly became popular in Europe during the 16th century. Peas became a familiar Lenten dish not only in France, but in England, too.

Thomas Jefferson, an avid gardener, thought so highly of peas that he planted 30 varieties of them. Peas, apparently, were his favorite vegetable.

Raw fresh peas: One cup of fresh peas contains 124 calories, 4 grams of protein, 22 grams of carbohydrates, and 8 grams of fiber. and 0.4 grams of fat.

The vitamin A count in ½ cup is 534 I.U. Folic acid content is 46.9 mcg; calcium 19.2 mg; iron is 1.3 mg; zinc 0.8 mg; potassium is 134 mg; and magnesium is 23.2 mg.

Frozen: Picked and frozen immediately, although briefly blanched they contain a similar nutrition profile.

The freshest, sweetest peas are those picked right from the garden or at the farmers market in the spring and early summer. When selecting fresh peas, look for pods that are bright green, shiny, plump, and moist. When the pods have a dull look, they are old, have lost moisture, and have very likely lost their flavor as well as many of their nutrients.

Eat fresh peas as quickly as possible. The sugar content of shelling peas begins to turn to starch within hours after harvesting. If stored for too many days, they lose their sweetness, leaving them with a bland, starchy flavor.

The supermarket may have shelling peas, or peas in the pod, in the spring, but by the time the peas reach the market they may be several days old and have lost a great deal of sweetness.

Sugar snap peas, on the other hand, cling to their sugar stores and almost always retain their exceptional sweetness unless they are old and dried up. Look for these in the spring at farmers’ markets, farm stands, and even in the supermarkets.

Snow peas have become so popular they can be found year round in supermarket chains as well as Asian markets. Select those that are crisp and bright green. Avoid snow peas that are wilted, limp, shriveled, and yellowish in color. These are no longer fresh and will have lost their flavor and much of their nutritional value.

Organic frozen peas are closest to fresh peas in appearance, flavor, and nutrients. Avoid defrosting and re-freezing.

Store sugar peas and snow peas in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Most will keep up to one week, but are best when consumed within 3 days.

Preparation Fresh shelling peas, sugar snap peas, and snow peas can all be eaten raw. Shelling peas do not have edible pods, while sugar snaps and snow peas can be eaten pods and all.

Break open the pods of the shelling peas, also called peas in a pod, run the thumb along the edge where the peas are attached to the pod to loosen them, and collect the peas in a bowl or cooking pot.

Sugar snap peas and snow peas require trimming to eliminate the stringy edge that holds the two halves of the pod together. While cutting off the tips of the pods with a paring knife, pull along the length of the pod to remove the stringy portion, then discard. The only preparation these peas require is washing. Both varieties are ideal in salads and raw soups.

Sweet Pea Humus

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Serves 4

3 cups sweet peas (use frozen thawed, left raw, if fresh not available)

6 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 tablespoons cumin powder

¼ cup olive oil

½  cup lemon juice

1 large avocado

Place peas, garlic, salt, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, and avocado in a 2HP blender or food processor and blend until smooth (the food processor will not get it as smooth).

Serving Ideas: Place on a plate, swirl humus and drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the humus and garnish with some of the peas and mint and serve with vegetables, chips or pita. This humus has less fat than traditional humus and most of it comes from avocado.

Shelf life: 10 days if it lasts that long.

Snappy Unfried Peas

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Serves 8

4 cups sugar snap peas or snow peas chopped by hand on the diagonal

3 cloves garlic

¼ cup lemon juice

3 drops lemon oil

¼ cup extra virgin olive or flax oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups sliced mushrooms marinated in 2 tablespoon sea salt, ¼ cups lemon juice for 30 minutes and drained

2 cups mung bean sprouts (marinated in 2 tablespoons sea salt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 2 cups filtered water for 30 minutes,  then drained)

1. Place garlic in processor and chop well.
2. Add lemon juice, oils, sea salt, basil, and lemon zest, processing well.
3. Pour dressing over sugar snap peas, drained mushrooms, and mung bean sprouts mixing well and serve immediately.

Sweet Pea Salad

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Serves 8

4 cups fresh sweet peas (use frozen thawed, left raw, if fresh not available)

½ cup chopped fresh thyme

1 Vidalia or sweet onion

4 stalks celery chopped small

1 red pepper chopped small

Dressing

2 cups macadamia or pine nuts soaked 8 hours and drained

4 teaspoons dry mustard

2 tablespoons raw honey

4 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons sea salt

4 teaspoons turmeric

½ cup lemon juice

¼ cup filtered water

Place dressing ingredients in a strong blender, blending well and add to the vegetables in a bowl. Mix well and top with a sprig of  thyme.

Dilly of a Pea Salad

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Serves 4

Dressing

2 teaspoons sea salt

¼ cup and 2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons raw honey

½ cup olive oil or flax oil

2 cloves garlic

Salad

3 cups fresh peas (use frozen thawed, left raw, if fresh not available)

1 sweet onion chopped small

1 red pepper chopped small

1 cup sliced mushrooms (tossed and marinated in 1teaspoon sea salt and 2 tablespoons lemon juice for 1 hour and drained)

1 cup fresh dill chopped very fine

1. Place salt, lemon juice, honey, garlic and oil in the blender and blend until smooth.
2. Marinate mushrooms, drain, place in a bowl and add peas, onions, red pepper and dill.
3. Add dressing, stirring well.

Shelf life: Best-eaten fresh but keeps well refrigerated for 3-4 days.

Sweet Pea and Ginger Soup

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Serves 8

2 carrots

4 cups sweet peas (use frozen thawed, left raw, if fresh not available)

reserve 1 cup peas whole

½ sweet onion

2 stalks celery

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 inches ginger root

1 ½  medjool dates pitted

1 avocado peeled and pitted

4 cups of filtered water or more for desired thickness

Place all ingredients in a 2 hp blender (except 1 cup of whole peas) and blend until smooth. Add whole peas, and grab a spoon.

Serving suggestion: May be used as a salad dressing.

Peace and love,

Jackie Graff

Raw Food Revival Tour – January – February

We started the year with our first very successful three-week Intensive Raw Food Nutrition Science, Health Educator and Raw Culinary Arts Certification. All of our students were very happy and felt that they got much more than they expected. We are having another class starting May 31^st.  Go to http://rawfoodcert.eventbrite.com/ for more information about this exciting certification. The class is limited and is almost full. The next class will be in September.

The beginning of February we made a quick trip to New York to see our newest granddaughter, Ella. We avoided two of the worst snowstorms in the northeast by driving straight through there and back.

The end of February we had a fabulous week of classes in Florida, meeting lots of new people.  We started with a Caribbean class in Lakeland hosted by  Olive McKey and Kim Smith at her new Namaste Cafe, then on to an Indian class in Orlando hosted by Holley Kelly, and a Tex Mex class in St. Petersburg at the Leafy Greens Café hosted by Denise Becknell, followed by an Italian class in Lecanto hosted by Angela Anderkin; on to an Indian class in Sarasota hosted by Jena Norwood and Patti Foley, and we ended our week with two classes in Naples:  a Greek Celebration and Caribbean Extravaganza hosted by Lisa Thomasi.

In March we went back to Halleluiah Acres for a great class and included a couple of recipes from my new Easter book including “Pineapple Glazed Nam” and my “Easter Coconut Cake” that I featured in the blog last year.

Now we are home for Passover, Easter and Finnley’s second birthday.

Peace and love,

Jackie Graff

Jackie’s Vegetable and Fruit of the Month Club

January and February

Citrus

Various citrus fruits are in season now. We use different citrus juices such as lemons and limes as the acid in our salad dressings and otherwise we just like to eat oranges, tangerines, grapefruit and all of the citrus in season this time of year. Even though citrus is available throughout the throughout the year it is best during the winter. Citrus juices have pulp, which also provides fiber. The citrus juicer in our on-line store is the best one we have found. We have a commercial juicer that we do not use since we got this one. Go to http://Rawfoodrevival.com You do not need recipes- just eat citrus. An important thing to remember is to rinse your mouth or brush after eating citrus because of the acid.  See my latest recipe book “ Get your Salads All Dressed Up” Easy solutions to delicious Raw Vegan Salad Dressings with tips on how to make your own recipes and answer the question “Can you get enough Protein from salads?”

Jackie’s Vegetable and Fruit of the Month Club- December

Cranberry

Cranberries next to blueberries are the healthiest berries that are available to us fresh. They are full of antioxidants, protecting cells from free radicals. They are much healthier than all of those exotic berries that are processed, bottled, and dried usually with much sugar. Fresh is best.  According to Amy Howell, a researcher at Rutgers University, cranberries are among the top foods with proven health benefits. Researchers are also investigating their potential against cancer, stroke and viral infections. They discovered that the cranberry’s proanthocyanidins are structurally different than those found in the other plant foods tested, which may explain why cranberry has unique bacterial anti-adhesion activity and helps to maintain urinary tract health.

Cranberries contained the most antioxidant phenols compared to 19 commonly eaten fruits, which may play a role in helping to prevent heart disease and certain cancers according to Joe Vinson, Ph.D., research chemist at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

Studies have found that cranberries can reduce the risk of heart disease.  By drinking cranberry juice, individuals have been found to have higher levels of good (HDL) cholesterol and reduce levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol and improved blood vessel function.

Certain compounds in cranberries have been found to be toxic to many cancer tumor cells, including: lung cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia. Cranberries may prevent tumors from growing rapidly or starting in the first place. A study published in the June 2004 Journal of Nutrition, discovered that a compound in whole cranberries inhibits prostate, skin, lung and brain cancer cells.

Cranberries contain hippuric acid, an antibacterial, and have a unique ability to inhibit bacteria, including E. coli, from adhering to the urinary tract, preventing urinary tract infections. A compound in cranberries is known to keep Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria that causes most gastric ulcers, from adhering to the cells of the stomach lining.

A study published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition in 2002 found that compounds in cranberry juice are great for your oral health. A compound discovered in cranberries, proanthocyanidine, prevents plaque formation on teeth; mouthwashes containing it are being developed to prevent periodontal disease. Why not just rinse and swallow a little cranberry juice.

American Indians enjoyed cranberries cooked and sweetened with honey or maple syrup-a cranberry sauce recipe that was likely a treat at early New England Thanksgiving feasts. Cranberries were also used by the Indians decoratively, as a source of red dye, and medicinally, as a poultice for wounds since not only do their astringent tannins contract tissues and help stop bleeding, but we now also know that compounds in cranberries have antibiotic effects.

Fresh cranberries are at their peak from October through December, just in time to add holiday color, a tart tangy flavor and numerous health benefits to our holiday meals.

We like them year round as juice and or as frozen cranberries. The juice will keep for a month or more refrigerated.

The greatest antioxidant levels are found in fresh raw cranberries and raw cranberry juice is even higher in antioxidants: processing, storage and heating reduce antioxidant levels. There are some studies that indicate that most are destroyed with heat as with other fruits and vegetables.  Compared with 19 other common fruits, cranberries have the highest level of the antioxidant phenol.

Most recipes are for cooked cranberries. It is not necessary to cook them to get a great tasting dish. I use dates and raw honey to sweeten my recipes and I like the raw juice diluted in water. I learned to really like the tart flavor. Stevia in small amounts can also be used to sweeten.  We sell a delicious Cranberry Squares in our web store  order now. Our Cookie Sampler and Fruitcake also make healthy gifts for the holidays or anytime.

Cranberry Cheesecake

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Yield 1 cheesecake

1 cup macadamia nuts, soaked for 8 hours and drained
½   cup filtered water
½  vanilla bean
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup freshly juiced orange
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup raw honey
1 cup pine nuts, soaked for 8 hours and drained
2 teaspoons psyllium

1 Honey, Nut and Date pie crust (see recipe)
½-1  cup Cranberry Topping (see recipe)

1. Place macadamia nuts, filtered water, salt, vanilla bean, honey, orange zest and orange juice in blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add pine nuts and blend until smooth.
3. Add psyllium to mixture blending until smooth, let this mixture sit for 5-10 minutes and blend again.
4. Place mixture into pie crust lined spring form pan and top with Cranberry Topping and swirl with a knife or spoon.

Honey, Nut and Date Pie Crust

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout raw Food

Serves 8

1 cup almonds, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
1 cup pecans, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
1 cup walnuts, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
1 cup medjool dates, pits removed
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
¼ cup of raw honey

1. Place almonds in processor and process until mixture resembles flour.
2. Add salt and vanilla to the almonds and process well.
3. Place pecans, walnuts, and dates in food processor and process.
4. Add honey to the nut and date mixture and process just until mixed well.
5. Press mixture into 8 –10 inch glass pie pan.

Cranberry Topping

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

2 cups of cranberries
5 pitted dates, soaked in water for 2 hours
½ cup raw honey
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup freshly juiced orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon psyllium

1. Place the cranberries, dates, honey, salt, orange juice and orange zest in blender and blend well until smooth.
2. More dates or honey may be added if needed to sweeten.
3. Add psyllium and blend well. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes and blend again.

Cranberry Orange Sauce

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Yield: 8 cups

8 ounces cranberries
2 oranges, seeded and peeled
2 apples, cored and peeled
1 tablespoon orange zest (from organic oranges only)
2 cups walnuts, washed, soaked for 6 hours, and dried for 6 hours in dehydrator (optional)
8 medjool dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour if they are not soft
1/2 cup raw honey

1. Process cranberries in a processor until finely chopped and remove to a bowl.
2. Process orange, apples, orange zest, dates and honey until finely minced.
3. Place in bowl with cranberries.
4. Process walnuts in a processor until coarsely chopped and add to bowl of cranberries, oranges, and apples.
5. Combine all and mix well. If more sweetness is needed add more dates or raw honey.
6. This is best if made a day ahead and refrigerated.

Shelf Life: This will keep for 3 weeks refrigerated. Bacteria do not like cranberries.

Cranberry and Apple Punch

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Serves: 12

10 pounds apples, juiced
2 eight oz packages cranberries, juiced

Ice Ring

1 mold
1 cup cranberries

1. Blend apple and cranberry juices.
2. To make ice ring, place cranberries in mold filled with some of the mixed juices and freeze. To remove ice ring from the mold, place in warm water briefly.
3. Serve in punch bowl with ice ring.

Note: Other juices such as pineapple or orange juice can be used in this punch.

Jackie’s Vegetable and Fruit of the Month Club- November

Pumpkin

The bright orange color of pumpkin is a telltale sign that it is loaded with an important antioxidant, beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is one of the plant carotenoids converted to vitamin A in the body. Pumpkin is also a good source of vitamins C, K, and E, and lots of minerals, including magnesium, potassium, and iron with 6 grams of carbohydrate and 3.5 grams of fiber in one cup. In the conversion to vitamin A, beta-carotene performs many important functions in overall health. Current research indicates that a diet rich in foods containing beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer and offers protection against heart disease. Beta-carotene offers protection against other diseases as well as some degenerative aspects of aging. Beta-carotene also helps prevent night blindness, lowers the risk of macular degeneration, and other eye problems, heals skin disorders, enhances immunity, protects against toxins and cancer formations, colds, flu, and infections. It is an antioxidant and protector of the cells while slowing the aging process. Increased consumption of fruits (cantaloupe and apricots) and vegetables (greens, carrots and squashes) high in beta-carotene are associated with a lower risk of cancer. It is also important in the formation of bones and teeth. No vitamin overdose can occur with natural beta-carotene and the antioxidant effect is thought to only occur in its natural form.

The most popular use of pumpkins is for decoration as jack-o-lanterns. When selecting a pumpkin for recipes, the best selection is a “pie pumpkin” or “sweet pumpkin.” These are smaller than the large jack-o-lantern pumpkins and the flesh is sweeter and less watery.  Look for a pumpkin with 1 to 2 inches of stem left. If the stem is cut down too low the pumpkin will decay quickly or may be decaying at the time of purchase. Avoid pumpkins with blemishes and soft spots and since pumpkin keeps for 6 months whole, it can almost be a year-round addition to our diets. Buy now and keep for later.

To prepare the pumpkin, start by removing the stem with a sharp knife and cut in half, scoop out the seeds and scrape away all of the stringy mass. I cut the pumpkin into wedges to peel off the hard skin and cut into pieces. Once it is cut open it must be refrigerated and used in a couple of days.

Pumpkin seeds offer a nutritious, sweet, somewhat soft and chewy snack or food additive. Some pumpkin seeds have hulls, while others do not. Like most gourds, they contain the best flavor when in season during the fall months. These flat, greenish seeds can be found at grocery stores; they come packaged or loose in bins. When purchasing seeds, check for moisture or insect evidence. Smell them if possible to check for freshness. They should not smell musty. Stored in airtight containers and refrigerated, they will keep for several months, but they may lose their best nutritional value after one to two months.

Pumpkin seeds, also called pepitas, are loaded with minerals, have an anti-inflammatory effect, and may even help protect against prostate cancer and osteoporosis. A quarter cup has about 5 grams of carbohydrates and 1.5 grams of fiber. Pumpkin seeds are a nutritious snack, and contain less than 200 calories. This amount also provides 15 to 50 percent of several important nutrients including protein, zinc, iron, magnesium, manganese and beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids and amino acids.

To prepare pumpkin seeds, remove them from the gourd and pick off excess pulp. Allow the seeds to dry out overnight on an absorbent material. After drying, remove the hulls and you may eat them alone as a snack or add them to salads. Pumpkin seeds are not a high allergen food and should be safe for most people.

Historically, Native Americans used pumpkin seeds as both a food and for medicinal purposes. Their primary use as a parasite remedy is well documented in Native American history. This became so well documented that during the late 1800s to early 1900s, the United States pharmacopoeia listed pumpkin seeds as an official medicine for the treatment of parasites. Native Americans also used the seeds for kidney problems. In the late 1800s, herbal doctors used pumpkin seeds regularly to treat urinary and gastric illness, and as a parasite remedy. Worldwide, pumpkin seeds have been used as both a food and common medicine to cure tapeworms in both India and Mexico.

Medical resources regularly list medicinal uses for pumpkin seeds, such as to promote prostate health in men and as a bone density and arthritis aide. Additionally, medical sources often list medicinal purposes for the seed such as parasite remedy, mild diuretic and laxative, stomach cancer deterrent and as a pulmonary ailment and irritable bladder aide. Current studies in Asia, Africa and Russia continue to research their benefits in the treatment of parasites, depression and kidney stones.

Each day we drink 16 ounces of vegetable juice with a lot of kale, collards, spinach, and carrots and in season, pumpkin, all of which are high in beta-carotene. These are some of my favorite pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin Pie

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Serves 8

1 avocado, peeled and seeded
1/2 cup raw honey
4 dates soaked in 1 cup filtered water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup raw macadamias soaked 8 hours and drained
4 cups raw pumpkin, peeled and seeded
1 teaspoon psyllium
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, washed, soaked for 8 hours, drained and dehydrated for 6-8 hours
1 Honey Nut and Date Pie Crust (see recipe)

1. Place macadamias, and water from dates into blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add avocado, honey, vanilla, dates, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, Add pumpkin and blend until very smooth.
3. Add psyllium and blend well.  Let this mixture sit for 1-2 minutes and blend well again.
4. Pour into piecrust and top with 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds.

Honey, Nut and Date Pie Crust

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout raw Food

Serves 8

1 cup almonds, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
1 cup pecans, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
1 cup walnuts, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
1 cup medjool dates, pits removed
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
¼ cup of raw honey

1. Place almonds in processor and process until mixture resembles flour.
2. Add salt and vanilla to the almonds and process well.
3. Place pecans, walnuts, and dates in food processor and process.
4. Add honey to the nut and date mixture and process just until mixed well.
5. Press mixture into 8 –10 inch glass pie pan.

Crust may be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen

Pumpkin Bread

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

3 cups almonds, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla powder
3 cups medjool dates, pits removed
1 small “pumpkin pie” pumpkin peeled, seeds removed and finely chopped until it looks mashed
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Zest of 2 oranges
¼ cup raw honey
1 cup walnuts, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours and coarsely chopped
1 ½ cups raisins
1 cup ground flax seeds

Glaze

¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon orange juice

1. Place dehydrated almonds in a food processor and process until nuts are ground to flour.
2. Add salt and vanilla, pulse food processor and move this mixture to a bowl.
3. Place dates, pumpkin pulp, cinnamon powder, nutmeg, orange zest and honey processing until mixture is smooth.
4. Add pumpkin mixture to almond mixture in the bowl mixing well by hand.
5. Add chopped walnuts, flax seeds and raisins to the mixture mixing well by hand.
6. Let this sit for 15 minutes.
7. Form the mixture into small loafs and place on dehydrator mesh sheet.
8. Dehydrate for 12 hours, brush with glaze and dehydrate 12 more hours.

Shelf Life: 1 week refrigerated if it lasts that long. It may also be frozen for one month.

Spicy Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds

Created by Jackie Graff

6 cups pumpkin seeds, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
6 cups sunflower seeds, soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (add more if you like it real spicy)
1 tablespoon sea salt
¼ cups flax seeds ground

1. Place seeds in a bowl.
2. Mix olive oil, water, salt and spices.
3. Mix in flax seeds into spice mixture and immediately stir into seeds, mixing well using hands. Divide into 4 trays.
4. Spread mix on teflex dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for 12 hours and letting seeds cool before packaging.

Note: Other nuts or seeds can be substituted.

Kids Pumpkin Treats

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

Yield:  24-36 cookies

1 cup pecans, soaked for 12 hours, drained and dehydrated for 12 hours
1 cup walnuts, soaked for 12 hours, drained and dehydrated for 12 hours
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups medjool dates, pitted
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup finely grated pumpkin
½ cup pumpkin seeds , soaked for 12 hours, drained and dehydrated for 12 hours

1. Place all ingredients except pumpkin and pumpkin seeds in a food processor and process well.
2. Remove small amounts cookie dough, approximately one inch round.
3. Bring the kids into the kitchen and let them help with the rest.
4. Roll dough into a ball and roll into finely grated pumpkin, covering until the ball is orange.
5. Decorate the  “pumpkin” with pumpkin seeds – press one on top for the stem, two for eyes and one for the mouth and two for ears. Great treats during pumpkin season.

Vanilla Powder

By Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

5 vanilla beans
½ cup buckwheat grouts

1.   Place vanilla beans buckwheat in blender or seed grinder and grind to powder.
2.   Place in an airtight container and store in refrigerator.

Feeding Finnley III

After returning home from each of our trips, we have Finnley over to spend the night and how she changes in just a week or two! She is eighteen months now and has a mouthful of teeth and chews her food quite well.   She is talking or singing all the time unless she is “reading” a book. She has a large vocabulary along with a long string of what we call

“ Finnley speaking in tongues”. What a happy, smart child who is a joy to us!

I have had so many requests for more ideas feeding children. I have to make it clear that Finnley does not eat completely raw but she eats a lot of raw foods and her mother has been open to trying different things. I approach feeding Finnley as a grandmother who eats a raw food diet feeding a granddaughter whose parents eat a healthy but cooked diet. I think it is best not to have issues over food choices and be an example for new healthy foods that she will eat. As a grandparent be an inspiration and don’t be judgmental!

So what is she eating now…during the summer she ate a lot of blueberries but they are out of season now, as a mater of fact the last month they were available she would not eat them, maybe they did not taste as good since they were out of season. Finnley is so bright because she ate so many blueberries, a brain food.

She adores bananas, her all time favorite. She likes apples and pears cut up and gobbles up my Cinnamon Applesauce and Apple Cobbler. Soaked raisins make a great snack! Vegetables are more challenging now. She will not touch the Green Pudding from a previous blog entry. She will eat cooked carrot slices sometimes and can chew some raw carrot. About the only thing green she will eat are peas. We get the organic frozen peas and simply thaw them out. Since she is trying to feed herself, peas are quite a challenge with a spoon. The last time she stayed with us, I made her some mashed potatoes using a little olive oil instead of butter, mixing the peas and finely chopped raw carrot in the potatoes, which she loved.  She also likes my dehydrated Vege-Burgers.

She still likes my Biscuits (see feeding Finnley II) and eats the whole grain oat cereal for breakfast along with fruit.  She would not drink anything but milk, no water or fruit juice, so I make sure she gets plenty of juicy fruit to eat, such as grapes and watermelon. This past weekend I asked Gideon (Saba) to open a coconut to see if she would like it… she will drink the coconut water and calls it Saba’s WaWa.

I also make cooked vegan whole grain cous cous, brown rice or whole-wheat pasta dish using humus, and black beans, peas and corn (all of course organic). To help her feed herself with a spoon, the humus holds it together and these items together provide a complete protein.

I hope these recipes along with others from previous Feeding Finnley Blogs will provide some ideas for vegan and raw foods that your children will eat.

Apple Cobbler

By Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

6 golden delicious apples, peeled and cored
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
5 medjool dates, pitted
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 cup raisins
2 tablespoons flaxseed, ground fine

1. Place 3 apples, salt, cinnamon, dates, and vanilla in food processor. Process until mixture is almost the consistency of applesauce.
2. Place mixture in a bowl.
3. Chop the 3 remaining apples into small pieces,
4. Mix all of the apples together and add raisins. The raisins will soak up the juice from the apples.
5. Stir in flaxseeds and mix well.
6. Let mixture sit at room temperature for 1 hour to soften the raisins.

Cinnamon Apple Sauce

Created by Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

4 apples peeled and cored
6 pitted medjool dates or more to taste
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground psyllium

1. Place apples in a blender with the dates, cinnamon and salt and blend well.
2. More dates may be added if a sweeter taste is desired.
3. Add psyllium blending well.
4. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes and blend again.

Shelf life: This keeps well in small jars in the freezer for a month, and will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. The cinnamon acts as a natural food preservative.

Vege-Burger

By Jackie Graff

Sprout Raw Food

2 cups walnuts, soaked 4-6 hours and drained
2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked 4-6 hours and drained
1 onion
1 red pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons cumin
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 2 hours, drained, and processed into paste
1-2 cups carrot pulp (If no juicer, use finely processed carrots. The slightly moist pulp from the champion works best. Drink the carrot juice!)

1. Place garlic in food processor and process well.
2. Add onion, red pepper, sea salt, cumin, and sun-dried tomato paste in food processor and process until almost smooth. Add sunflower seeds and walnuts processing well. This can also be processed in a 2 hp blender.
3. Add carrot pulp mixing well. Form into 1 ½ inch by ½ inch high burger shape patties and place on a teflex sheet covered dehydrator rack. Make larger patties if desired. The smaller ones work well for children to pick up and hold easily.
4. Place in dehydrator for 8 hours. Remove and turn over using another dehydrator rack, placing it on top and flipping patties over, removing teflex sheet.
5. Dehydrate for 8 hours more. The burgers should be soft in the middle and dry on the outside.

Note: These burgers may be frozen after dehydration.

Let me know if you have more suggestions for feeding babies or toddlers.

Peace and love,

Jackie Graff

“Reviving” the Raw Food Revival Tour Blog

We have been very busy with family, traveling and teaching since my last Blog entry. To revive my Blog and bring you up to date on our travels, I will give brief particulars of all the places we have been.

June- was a little warm in Austin, Texas, a beautiful, eclectic city we found to have a very active community with interests in a healthier lifestyle.  We had an enjoyable stay in Mckiney State Park for a couple of nights between classes, and had time to visit The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center.  Our host Dr. Rita Marie Loscalzo organized a large group who wants us to return for more classes on our next journey westward. We also rekindled our friendship with Chavah Aima, an amazing healer who created a new discipline of Alchemical Yoga using raw food, juices and fasting for healing and spiritual acceleration. We are planning a weekend Retreat with Chavah for April 2010 and will let you know more details.  From Austin we went to Dallas for several great classes hosted by Miranda Martinez, Amy Hirsh and Maria Whitworth. We had some individuals that followed us through all the classes.

We were home for a couple of weeks then on to Toronto, Rochester and Ithaca, New York to teach more Kitchen Magic. In Toronto we taught for four days of Italian, Tex Mex, Barbecue, and a whole day class of delicious Raw Food Recipes. We were hosted by Mary Luciano and Lamont Alexander in a beautiful event space overlooking the skyline of Toronto.

Toronto Night Sky Line from our class location

The Brewery in downtown Toronto, the tall building is where we had our classes for four days

When we went into Canada from Detroit, there was no question about the produce we had in the RV. Returning from Canada through Niagara Falls we were detained by the border patrol, confiscating all of our mangos, oranges, passion fruit, and avocados. We should have had lunch in Canada!

Niagara Falls

In Rochester, NY, Monique at Abundance hosted us for a Tex Mex presentation and in Ithaca, NY at the Greenstar Store we presented Raw Barbecue. Everyone was getting ready for a Raw 4^th of July Celebration.

Abundance Coop in Rochester NY

Gideon is cherry picking in NY Finger Lakes region

Greenstar Coop in Ithaca NY

July- We returned to Hallelujah Acres in Shelby, NC for another day long Raw Revival Class with a great turnout. Gwen Morton gathered a great group in Ashville for a presentation and demonstration of a Tex-Mex meal. We ended the month in Nashville, TN with a presentation organized by Alwanda Carothers in the Church of Christ at Lawrence Avenue, and a day long class the next day. Then on to Murfreesboro, TN for a class organized by Stacy King.

August – This was a busy month! On our way to the Raw Spirit Festival we went to Virginia Beach, VA for a desert and barbeque presentation hosted by Todd Owen then on to Richmond, VA for a Tex Mex presentation hosted by Rob Murphy and the day following we had a half day Caribbean Extravaganza. We were hosted by Alysse Muldoon at the Briarley Hill Retreat, MD for a Barbeque presentation. This is a picturesque farm and retreat that focuses on raw food and juicing to achieve a better state of health. The accommodations are stunning and it is only 45 minutes from Washington, D.C. We need to get some of our politicians over there to understand what real healthcare is all about.

Briarly Hill Retreat, - view from window

Briarly Hill Retreat

The next five days were spent at the Raw Spirit Festival, which was held at a beautiful 4-H center in MD. We had a great time with presentations and selling food (which everyone loved). Our thanks to Happy Oasis for her vision to organize these festivals and we encourage presenters, volunteers and participants to continue attending and supporting their efforts.

Jackie & Gideon at the Raw Spirit Festival in Maryland

From left: Gideon, Rhonda (Barefoot Artist) Bethanne, Shashi, Jackie, Sarah, Anna - The Raw Food Revival Tour volunteers, thank you for your amazing help

September- After the Raw Spirit Festival we went to Silver Springs, MD where we were hosted by Shari Mollerick and Patricia Monica for a presentation and Tex Mex meal. Then we were on our way to Rockville, MD for a presentation with an Indian theme hosted by Sharon Greenspan. Sharon serves her community with many classes, so contact her if you are in the area. The last stop was in Baltimore for two days of classes at the home of Andrea and Stein Langlie. We thank all those who hosted us took our classes on this trip and will honor your enthusiastic request to return.

October- We traveled to Huntsville, AL for two days of classes hosted by Donna and Al Turman at their the Brindlee Mountain Baptist church. We unloaded for our first class in the middle of a tornado warning with an unbelievable amount of rain. The class was great and everyone arrived safe and sound. We ended the month with a Thanksgiving class at home.

November we will be traveling to Hickory and Ashville NC for Holiday classes, and returning to Shelby, NC for a Raw Revival Class. Click here to see the tour schedule!

December we will be teaching Holiday classes in Athens, GA, Greenville, Columbia, Charleston, Rock Hill and Myrtle Beach, SC, and Charlotte, NC For information on these classes. Click here for our seminar schedule

Janurary -we will be instructing our three week intensive Raw Food Nutrition Science, Health Educator and Raw Culinary Arts Certification. This class is limited and has a few openings. For details and to request an application click here!

February- we will return to Florida. If anyone would like to host us in the areas we are presenting, please click here see our hosting program!

Coming up soon – Feeding Finnley, Fruit and Vegetable of the Month Club, with yummy delicious recipes

Peace and love,

Jackie Graff

April and May– Traveling to Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

The end of April we traveled to Elizabethtown Kentucky, a beautiful area surrounded by country towns and horse farms.  We spoke to a large group in various stages of improving their diet, demonstrating a Country Barbecue Dinner. They all raved about how delicious the food was. Our hosts were Anna Marie and Chester Flowers, who had previously attended one of our classes and Thea and Bud Guenther who opened their home to us. We spent the night in the driveway and in the morning we were able to have short meeting to learn more about their ministry of health to their church and community using their farm as a teaching tool with young children. It is great to see people who are well into retirement so actively working their farm and ministry. Activity, a healthy diet and having a purpose keep us all young.
We got back on the road and headed towards Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. We were blessed to have another showing of spring flowers that had just finished in Atlanta.  Hosted by Julie Wandling and her mother Gloria, we taught a wonderful group of young people who were in various stages of a raw food diet. We spoke about the fundamentals of Raw Food, demonstrated and served a Tex Mex Meal in the spirit of Cinco D’ Mayo. Julie is a long time Health Minister and author of Healthy 4 Him and Hallelujah Kids.  Julie has been responsible for motivating and improving the health of her community through classes, potlucks, and her line of food that she delivers and sells at markets. Cuyahoga Falls is a beautiful town on the Ohio River, which has seven falls. We were able to spend the night close to a stunning fountain depicting the falls and fell asleep to the sound of water falling.

Cuyahoga Falls
The next day was a long day of traveling toward Pittsburgh. We stopped at Raccoon Creek State park about 30 miles west of Pittsburg to spend a couple of days. Raccoon Creek State Park has been in development since the 1930’s. It is one of the largest and most beautiful state parks in Pennsylvania. Facilities at the park are a mix, with recreational areas, and large tracts of undeveloped land. The 7,572-acre park features a beautiful 101-acre Raccoon Lake, and a 314 acre Wildflower Reserve which contains one of the most unique stands of wildflowers with over 500 species of flowering plants along the 5 miles of trails. We were lucky that this was one of the peak wildflower blooming times, April through May, and August through early September. Unfortunately we forgot our camera with us on our hike.
The next time we come here I would like to spend more time and visit the remains of the former Frankfort Mineral Springs Health Resort built in the early1800’s where wealthy guests from all over the U.S. and Europe would spend their summers drinking the mineral waters that were reputed to have a healing effect on a variety of ailments. The earliest recorded history of the Frankfort Mineral Springs begins in the 1772 when there were seven different pure springs flowing over the grotto, containing 15 different minerals thought to have medicinal qualities. Today you can still visit the spring’s U-shaped grotto and enjoy walking the trails surrounding the site of the former hotel and resort area.

The next day we drove into Pittsburgh, which was quite a surprise to me, as we emerged from a tunnel with the Ohio River, with the city in front of us, reaching high on each side, it was a site to behold. We had 5 days of classes and after Gideon’s excellent driving the RV all over this beautiful city, through tunnels and up and down steep, narrow streets, and over many high bridges I felt like I had been on a roller coaster ride. Pittsburgh is a modern, beautiful, and fun city. It has been rated the most livable city in the US twice. It has world-class universities, museums, parks, and arts and is among America’s oldest cities, now celebrating its 250th year. I have a beautiful memory of Pittsburgh etched in my mind.

Our first event was at the East End Food Co-op and Café on Meade Street, which was a most impressive complex. East End Food Co-op is Pittsburgh’s only member-owned natural and organic food market, serving the community since 1977. This market is well stocked with very fresh organic produce. We had a great turnout for our Tex Mex demonstration and talk. This is a unique, large co-op that shares space with a theater. We taught our class on stage. Pittsburgh is lucky to have such a great place. We were hosted by Grace Klein who was so helpful along with the staff in facilitating our talk and demonstration of a Tex Mex dinner enjoyed by a large group.  After this we spent another night in Raccoon Creek State Park and on our day off, enjoyed some hiking before heading back to Pittsburgh.

We had another class at the home of Yona Denby speaking about the benefits of a raw food diet and demonstrating an Oriental Meal. After the class we went to the Jewish Community Center for the Israeli Independence Day Celebration. It was great to see some of the folk dancing and songs of Israel.

Our next class was at the home of Rabi Yoseph Silverman, where we spoke about the benefits of a raw food diet and demonstrated a Barbecue Meal. Having a full class of people new to the concept of a raw food diet, we could sense their skepticism during our talk and then observe the surprise and delight for the great taste of our amazing Apple Pie, Barbecue Sauce and Nibs (like ribs), Deviled Tomatoes (like deviled eggs), Marinated Herbs and Greens, and Brunswick Stew. They all said that they would be eating more raw food. When we were setting up the recipes we were assisted by Fraydi Silverman, Rabi Silverman’s wife, to inspect the greens and herbs to remove any small bugs, which would render them not kosher and as expected, none were found. They have a kosher kitchen with separate dishes, utensils, sinks, ovens, and counters to keep meat apart from dairy, a Jewish law and tradition from the Torah.

Our next class was a two day Raw Food Awakening at the home of Grace Klein where we taught over 50 recipes to a great group of people. This class can be compared to going on a raw food cruise.   Everyone loved the food and would like us to come back.

Slide Show, courtesy of Grace Klein, Pittsburgh

We drove home through the rolling hills and beautiful countryside of West Virginia (passing many ski resorts), Virginia and North Carolina spending the night at rest stops. We were home for Mother’s Day and Ashley’s Graduation.

For Memorial Day we took the kids to Cloudland Canyon State Park and all 7 of us slept in the RV. It was a practice run for longer trips and we had a ball. This place is beautiful with many challenging trails, falls and a great campground. Finnley had a great time running around and was entertained for hours picking up sticks…she’s a real outdoor girl! The kids ate mostly raw and the great fire they built was only for our comfort and enjoyment and not for cooking!

Finnley Collecting Sticks

Cloudland State Park, GA

Jackie’s Vegetable and Fruit of the Month Club- May

Each month I will feature a vegetable and fruit of the month that is in season, highlighting the nutritional values, selecting the best specimens, preparation techniques, storage, and provide some delicious recipes and ideas for serving. Fruits and vegetables are the best when they are in season. I find it exciting to look forward to the coming season of my favorites.

This month I will provide these recipes free again! The cost for the year is only $10.00, which will include over 50 great recipes with pictures and special surprises during holidays, so join my Vegetable and Fruit of the Month Club for delicious ways to serve in season fruit and vegetables. Click Here to Sign Up

Kale and Collards
The vegetables for May are Kale and Collards, which have the highest nutrient density of all fruits and vegetables, and other foods, according to Dr. Joel Furman. This gives them the distinction of being a superfood. It is very important to get these greens in the diet consistently, increasing the alkalinity of the body. The other reason for choosing them is that the nights are still cool and cool weather changes starches in the leaves to sugars, and also changes the structure of protein flavor compounds to make them tastier. They are available year round, but are in season mid winter to early spring.

Kale has one of the highest levels of antioxidants with a very high ORAC score and one of the highest levels of total carotenes. Is very high in Luten, Carotenes, and Vitamin K, and also high in Protein, Thiamin, Calcium, Manganese, and Folate.   Collards are a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Calcium and Manganese, Folate, and vitamins A, C, E, and B6.  Botanists say, that the collard plant has remained almost the same for 2000 years and is actually a type of kale. Historians think that its origin was growing wild around the Mediterranean. Collards and kale are loose-leaf non-heading wild cabbages that are the predecessors of head cabbage, which grow profusely in the south and are a staple in southern or soul food cuisine where they are usually cooked for a long time with pork, degrading the nutrient integrity of these plants. Collards are good for the soul if they are not “cooked to death” (a saying that has been around for a long time, I just never gave it much thought, until we started eating food that is not dead).

Collards are more heat tolerant than kale, which tolerates the cold better. The fact that they were originally wild makes them a highly desirable food.  Collards are milder in flavor than kale, which also has a slightly salty taste. They are both members of the cruciferous family, which researchers believe help to prevent cancer. The cruciferous family also includes cabbage, bok Choy (the third highest in nutrient density), broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, turnip greens, arugula, watercress, kohlrabi, horseradish, and rutabaga. They are called cruciferous because the flowers of these plants are in the shape of a cross or crucifix which makes them even more appropriate in the early spring.

Purchasing and Storing
Collards and kale are usually sold in bunches of eight. It is important to buy organic because they are prone to aphids and worms, which eat holes in the leaves. Non-organic are sprayed heavily with pesticides to prevent this infestation. I won’t eat a collard if the worm won’t eat it!

We are lucky that they are available year round in the market. These greens are best when deep green and plump and I prefer the smaller, tender leaves for salads and wraps and juice the larger leaves. Leaves that have turned yellow and shriveled should be discarded or the yellow cut away. They can be stored for one week if kept at 32 degrees and need to be washed thoroughly prior to preparation to remove any sand, although I find that now they are usually free of sand.

Preparation
Preparing these greens without cooking retains all of the nutrition. Collards are prepared for marinated salads by cutting the stem away (chopping it separately). Eight leaves are stacked and rolled together into a log, placed in the feed tube of a food processor, and sliced with a 1/8-inch slicing blade then cut again after removing from the processor. The leaves look like very thin grass clippings at this point! Chopping small or slicing thin makes these heavy greens easier to chew, marinate and flavor.

Kale leaves are easily stripped from the stems by hand and then chopped very small for marinated salads. Often kale is flavored and dehydrated for a kale chip.  I compost kale stems, not used in juice, as they are bitter. Limit the number of kale stems in your green juice, as it will make it bitter. Collards with the stems removed make the best wraps and letting them sit out of refrigeration, they will be less crisp and easier to roll.

Marinated Collard Greens
Created by Jackie Graff
Sprout Raw Food

Serves 8

3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped fine
3 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped fine
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3 cups tomatoes, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
¾ cup olive oil
2 limes or lemons, juiced
1-2 teaspoons sea salt
2 bunches collard greens finely shredded

1.    Place garlic in a food processor and chop fine.
2.    Add oregano and thyme chopping fine.
3.    Chop tomatoes, onion, and red pepper fine, each separately and place in a bowl.
4.    Blend olive oil, lemon or limejuice and salt.
5.    Pour dressing over chopped greens and massage well into greens.

Sprout Secret: Marinate for 1 hour and serve or eat immediately if you are real hungry. This keeps well for a week.

Marinated Collard Greens

Kale Salad
Created by Jackie Graff
Sprout Raw Food

Dressing
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon curry powder
6 dates soaked in filtered water for 2 hours
¾ cup olive oil or flax oil
1 clove garlic

Salad
4 cups kale chopped very fine
½ onion chopped very fine
1 cup fresh cilantro chopped very fine
1 cup raisins soaked for 2 hours and drained

1.    Place salt, lemon juice, curry, garlic, dates, and oil in the blender and blend until smooth.
2.    Pour dressing over kale, onion, cilantro, and raisins massaging well.

Shelf life: Best-eaten fresh but keeps well refrigerated for one week.

Kale Salad

Juicing vegetables is the best way to get large amounts of vegetables in a form that is easily digestible and quickly absorbed by the cells. Getting green juice, Barley Max, and blue green algae along with a raw food diet keeps our system alkaline. Having a large variety of vegetables in your juice is important because each one has different nutrients. We do not juice fruit; we eat it whole with the fiber. More carrot juice will add sweetness for beginners. Some have the misconception that carrot juice has sugar- the sweetness comes from complex carbohydrates. Drinking juiced fruit puts too much fructose into the system at one time, which can cause sugar problems for some.

When we know that we will have a period of time when we cannot juice, we freeze our juice. You do loose some of the nutrition, but my philosophy is that frozen juice is better than no juice. When we are traveling we stop at parking lots, rest areas, state parks, etc. and pull out a table and juicer and make juice. We get some funny looks and comments, one lady wanted to know if we were selling lemonade!

We drink 16 ounces of vegetable juice daily, which contains kale, collards, bok Choy, parsley, spinach, romaine lettuce, sprouts, celery, cucumber, and carrot. Thank goodness for Gideon, my veggie-juice-man who also delivers this organic, Norwalk pressed juice
(retaining more nutrients and with a longer shelf life, 3-4 days) to clients in the Atlanta area (click here to order).

Veggie-juice-man

Green Juice
Created by Gideon Graff
Sprout Raw Food

6 medium carrots
½ bunch kale
½ bunch collards
½ bunch parsley
1 cucumber
8 small stalks celery
2 cups spinach
4 stalks bok Choy
1 cup sunflower sprouts

In addition other greens such as Swiss chard, mustard greens (spicy- with a flavor of horseradish), dandelion greens can be juiced (these can be bitter). Some roots are good to juice too, such as radishes, burdock root, and ginger. Add more or less carrots, depends on how sweet you like your juice. Beets are good to juice but mixed with the greens, turn the color brown. Apples can replace the carrots. Lemon juice may be added to taste. Place in a glass container and refrigerate.

Green Juice

Organic Strawberries

Organic Strawberries are in the market now. The Romans prized wild strawberries for their medicinal properties and ounce for ounce; strawberries have more Vitamin C than citrus fruit and also have the highest Nutrient Density of all fruit according to Dr. Joel Furman. According to the American Cancer Society, foods rich in Vitamin C may lower the risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. Strawberries, a superfood, are vital for super skin! The vitamin C, helps keep skin firm and smooth. Strawberries also contain Vitamin A, which is vital to healthy hair and skin. Strawberries are very low in Fat, cholesterol and sodium and are also a good source of folate, potassium, dietary fiber, and manganese.

Strawberries contain natural salicylates, an ingredient that is found in aspirin, which thins the blood, thus preventing heart attacks and strokes.  They are also very high in ellagic acid, which is an antioxidant that acts as a scavenger to help make potential cancer-causing chemicals inactive.  Ellagic Acid reduces the genetic damage caused by carcinogens like tobacco smoke and air pollution. These berries also contain other antioxidants that help lower cholesterol and ward off cardiovascular disease.

It is important to eat only organic strawberries, because non-organic are heavily sprayed with toxic pesticides. Because the fruit is soft, the berries absorb these toxins and they cannot be washed off easily.

I look for bright red berries with fresh green caps on. When you remove the caps you tear cells in the berries, activating ascorbic acid oxidase, an enzyme that destroys Vitamin C, so leave them intact until ready to eat.
Check your berries, making sure there are no signs of mold growth. If one berry is molded, mold spores will have traveled throughout the entire package. Research has linked mold to some forms of cancer, thus avoid moldy berries.
When purchasing strawberries by the pound, one-and-a-half pounds equal one quart. This will yield about four cups of sliced strawberries.
Use strawberries as soon after harvesting or purchasing as possible. Refrigerator storage does not improve the quality of fresh strawberries, but does prolong the shelf life. Berries should not be left at room temperature for more than a few hours. Warm temperatures cause a browning effect in strawberries. The pigments that make strawberries red, anthocyanin, are heat sensitive. They break apart and turn brown when exposed to heat. Strawberries also lose heat-sensitive Vitamin C during browning, heating and cooking, as do other fresh foods.
Store unwashed berries loosely covered with plastic wrap in the coldest part of your refrigerator for two to three days at most. Do not wash berries until ready to use. To wash, place berries in a colander and rinse under cold filtered water. Do not allow berries to set in water, as they will lose color and flavor. After washing, remove the green cap with a plastic-tipped vegetable peeler or paring knife without removing any of the fruit.
Strawberries have long been considered an aphrodisiac, so April and May should be interesting if you are eating a lot of asparagus and strawberries. We served this Strawberry Shortcake at a David Wolf event and a girl told us later that it convinced her to adopt a raw food diet. For some, knowing that the raw food diet is more than fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and can be delicious replacements for the foods they use to eat. This delicious dessert should be reserved for special times, as with all raw desserts, and not consumed everyday. I like it best without the cake, and call it Strawberry Parfait.

Strawberry Shortcake with
Coconut Cream
Created by Jackie Graff
Sprout Raw Food

Serves 12

Cake
1 cup pecans soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
1 cup walnuts soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
1 cup almonds soaked for 12 hours, drained, and dehydrated for 12 hours
¼ cup of raw honey
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 dates with seeds removed
½ vanilla bean, ground to powder
½ cup flax seeds, ground

1.    Place almonds in food processor and process until the mixture is ground fine.
2.    Add pecans, walnuts, dates, salt and vanilla powder to the almonds and process until finely chopped.
3.    Add flax seeds and process well.
4.    Press crust on a dehydrator teflex sheet forming a square or onto a cookie sheet.
5.    Let this crust sit for 2 hours, do not dehydrate.
6.    Cut into squares.

Strawberry Topping
2 cups of strawberries for blending
2 cups whole strawberries chopped
8 dates
1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder

1.    Place 2 cups of strawberries in blender with dates and psyllium and blend until smooth.
2.    Mix the chopped strawberries with the blended strawberries and place on top of the cakes.
3. Top with Coconut Cream (see recipe)

Coconut Whipped Cream
Created by Jackie Graff
Sprout Raw Food

Yield 4 cups

½ cup raw agave nectar
½ teaspoon sea salt
½   vanilla bean
meat of 3 young coconuts
1 cup coconut water

Place salt, agave nectar, vanilla bean, meat from coconuts and coconut milk in Vitamix blender and blend well.

•    For easy opening of young coconuts get our “Nuts about Coconuts” DVD including many other great recipes for coconut. If you cannot find young coconuts, we can ship frozen young coconut meat and frozen young coconut water, go to www.sproutrawfood.org for items that we can ship.

Strawberry Shortcake

Join my Vegetable and Fruit of the Month Club and get more great recipes each month for seasonal fruit and vegetables

Vegetable and Fruit of the Month Club

Peace and love,

Jackie Graff