Thursday, November 4, 2010
Stevia Warning
I posted some recipes recently with Stevia in them, and just wanted to warn that too much can cause stomach upset. Some people might have a bad reaction with even just a little. It really depends on the person. I didn't have any issues until I started using a lot of it, every day. I have completely eliminated ALL other sources of sugar other than Stevia and fruits, for the last 2 months...and I may have gotten a bit carried away :) I recommend you start off slowly, and use it in moderation.
Grand Opening of Cacao Tree Cafe-new Michigan Raw food Restaurant!
I'm so excited for Cacao Tree Cafe in Royal Oak. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but I will be soon and I'll post a review!
Hours are from 9a.m to 7p.m, closed Sunday. We are located on 4th Street, between Main & Washington in downtown Royal Oak. We are right at the railroad track, on the northbound side of 4th.
For easy access to the cafe, there is a parking garage that is located directly behind us, our property is literally connected to the south-west corner of the garage, at the stairwell. If you enter before 5p.m, parking is free for 2 hours. After 5 though, it is $5 and $.50/hour. Enter garage from Center Street.
Hours are from 9a.m to 7p.m, closed Sunday. We are located on 4th Street, between Main & Washington in downtown Royal Oak. We are right at the railroad track, on the northbound side of 4th.
For easy access to the cafe, there is a parking garage that is located directly behind us, our property is literally connected to the south-west corner of the garage, at the stairwell. If you enter before 5p.m, parking is free for 2 hours. After 5 though, it is $5 and $.50/hour. Enter garage from Center Street.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Raw Chocolate Brownie Recipe
So, I wanted something sweet tonight and put this together with the ingredients I had around the kitchen. It turned out pretty good so I thought I'd share:
Mix avocado, almonds, and coconut butter in a food processor. Add a little water, but make sure it's not too watery.
Mix in vanilla stevia, and chocolate stevia with raw cacao powder.
*Chia seeds optional
*Cinnamon optional
Once you have a nice "dough" batter, put in metal brownie pan...
You can add cinnamon sprinkles on top, cacao nibs, agave, almonds, walnuts, etc. on top
Place in freezer until brownie consistency.
:)
Mix avocado, almonds, and coconut butter in a food processor. Add a little water, but make sure it's not too watery.
Mix in vanilla stevia, and chocolate stevia with raw cacao powder.
*Chia seeds optional
*Cinnamon optional
Once you have a nice "dough" batter, put in metal brownie pan...
You can add cinnamon sprinkles on top, cacao nibs, agave, almonds, walnuts, etc. on top
Place in freezer until brownie consistency.
:)
HCG Diet Review + Healthy Spaghetti Recipe
Wow, I've been neglecting this blog! I did the HCG Diet which helped reset my metabolism, and have lost over 35 lbs (and have kept it off!)
When I originally started on the raw food diet I was unable to commit to it fully, and when I'd go back to a regular diet my body freaked out and put on a ton of weight, and also made it tough to lose weight afterwards. I knew this was a risk of crashing on the raw food diet, but I REALLY wanted to do it successfully and stick with it. My life had other plans though :)
I have more stability now(although not a whole lot lol), and that is why I was able to stick with the HCG diet.The HCG diet is definitely NOT a quick or easy fix despite your fast results-but you do get a lot of support and the help of the hormone that is used in the diet (which I believe really helped me with food cravings despite what you find on the internet about it being a placebo effect...believe me, it's not...my stomach didn't even growl....I can assure you I don't have that kind of will power naturally :))
The HCG diet forces you to do things more slowly, and I encourage it for anybody (get your doctors approval first if you have any health issues) who has a stubborn metabolism and can't lose weight (including thyroid issues) or who wants to do the raw food diet but like me lacked the will power to commit to it 100% either for money, work schedule, or whatever reasons you have. After you complete the HCG diet you will have the willpower and changed eating habits to commit to the raw food diet much easier.
You can purchase HCG on a lot of sites, but if you want to get it from where I got my results from (and a couple of my friends got great results also) and where I'm a distributor for, you can get it here: Your HCG
Just make sure when you buy your first order that you contact them first to make sure you buy the right amount (it varies based on how much weight you want to lose) You must do the program a minimum of 23 days, so if you have less to lose than 23 lbs, definitely make sure to call them first.
On to the Healthy Spaghetti Recipe. I'm on phase 3 of the HCG Diet which is transitioning back to eating a less restricted diet (if you want) By less restricted, I do not mean you need to go on a raw food diet afterwards, but that you can eat more calories than what is allowed in phase 1 and 2.
When you are in phase 3 it is the maintenance phase and you can eat anything you want except sugar (except from most fruits), starches, and carbs. Well, I'm learning sugars and white pasta type carbs are in EVERYTHING in the grocery store. I'm kind of being forced to eat a modified raw food diet in this phase, but it's been great. I'm really learning new ways (like using stevia instead of sugar) and other healthy habits.
I wanted spaghetti today, but of course, no sugar from processed sauces, and no noodles. So I had to be creative. Here is what I came up with (with modified versions if you want to make it less raw and vegan...and add cheese)Warning...I don't really go by recipes so there is a lot of variation and room for you to make this how you want:
Healthy Spaghetti Recipe:
Process half an avocado + 1 portabello mushroom (you can add more avocado or mushrooms depending on how large you want the serving size to be...I used half an avocado since it was just for me...I added the mushrooms to cut down on fat, but still give it the avocado consistency)
Mix in enough water to make it process better, but not too watery. Add water SLOWLY.
Add in seasonings (I used himalayan salt, onions, garlic, and an all natural italian seasoning mix)
In processor add tomatoes. I used one small tomato,but you can definitely add more if you have them.
Mix in a little olive oil and a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar to taste. Not necessary, but adds a nice kick to it.
Add either mozzarella cheese, or for the raw/vegan version you can add in Brewers Nutritional Yeast for a cheese flavor substitute if you like that stuff (It's not my favorite, but it does the trick if you are trying to keep this all raw/vegan.)
Rinse off kelp noodles with water and cut them to size you want.
Heat up spaghetti sauce on low heat if you want, than add the kelp noodles and mix it up.
The kelp noodles don't need to be heated up, so add them in after you heat up the sauce only.
There you have it! Gluten free, raw, vegan spaghetti! Despite it's brown color, it was really good!
I'd love to hear any of your ideas for kelp noodles as this is the first time I decided to try them!
I'm very happy they didn't have a "sea vegetable" taste to them, in addition to the many health benefits I found about them. There are way too many health benefits to kelp noodles, so just google it (yes, I'm being lazy but I work 7 days a week!) and I'm sure you will love these noodles as much as I do, if you don't already!
When I originally started on the raw food diet I was unable to commit to it fully, and when I'd go back to a regular diet my body freaked out and put on a ton of weight, and also made it tough to lose weight afterwards. I knew this was a risk of crashing on the raw food diet, but I REALLY wanted to do it successfully and stick with it. My life had other plans though :)
I have more stability now(although not a whole lot lol), and that is why I was able to stick with the HCG diet.The HCG diet is definitely NOT a quick or easy fix despite your fast results-but you do get a lot of support and the help of the hormone that is used in the diet (which I believe really helped me with food cravings despite what you find on the internet about it being a placebo effect...believe me, it's not...my stomach didn't even growl....I can assure you I don't have that kind of will power naturally :))
The HCG diet forces you to do things more slowly, and I encourage it for anybody (get your doctors approval first if you have any health issues) who has a stubborn metabolism and can't lose weight (including thyroid issues) or who wants to do the raw food diet but like me lacked the will power to commit to it 100% either for money, work schedule, or whatever reasons you have. After you complete the HCG diet you will have the willpower and changed eating habits to commit to the raw food diet much easier.
You can purchase HCG on a lot of sites, but if you want to get it from where I got my results from (and a couple of my friends got great results also) and where I'm a distributor for, you can get it here: Your HCG
Just make sure when you buy your first order that you contact them first to make sure you buy the right amount (it varies based on how much weight you want to lose) You must do the program a minimum of 23 days, so if you have less to lose than 23 lbs, definitely make sure to call them first.
On to the Healthy Spaghetti Recipe. I'm on phase 3 of the HCG Diet which is transitioning back to eating a less restricted diet (if you want) By less restricted, I do not mean you need to go on a raw food diet afterwards, but that you can eat more calories than what is allowed in phase 1 and 2.
When you are in phase 3 it is the maintenance phase and you can eat anything you want except sugar (except from most fruits), starches, and carbs. Well, I'm learning sugars and white pasta type carbs are in EVERYTHING in the grocery store. I'm kind of being forced to eat a modified raw food diet in this phase, but it's been great. I'm really learning new ways (like using stevia instead of sugar) and other healthy habits.
I wanted spaghetti today, but of course, no sugar from processed sauces, and no noodles. So I had to be creative. Here is what I came up with (with modified versions if you want to make it less raw and vegan...and add cheese)Warning...I don't really go by recipes so there is a lot of variation and room for you to make this how you want:
Healthy Spaghetti Recipe:
Process half an avocado + 1 portabello mushroom (you can add more avocado or mushrooms depending on how large you want the serving size to be...I used half an avocado since it was just for me...I added the mushrooms to cut down on fat, but still give it the avocado consistency)
Mix in enough water to make it process better, but not too watery. Add water SLOWLY.
Add in seasonings (I used himalayan salt, onions, garlic, and an all natural italian seasoning mix)
In processor add tomatoes. I used one small tomato,but you can definitely add more if you have them.
Mix in a little olive oil and a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar to taste. Not necessary, but adds a nice kick to it.
Add either mozzarella cheese, or for the raw/vegan version you can add in Brewers Nutritional Yeast for a cheese flavor substitute if you like that stuff (It's not my favorite, but it does the trick if you are trying to keep this all raw/vegan.)
Rinse off kelp noodles with water and cut them to size you want.
Heat up spaghetti sauce on low heat if you want, than add the kelp noodles and mix it up.
The kelp noodles don't need to be heated up, so add them in after you heat up the sauce only.
There you have it! Gluten free, raw, vegan spaghetti! Despite it's brown color, it was really good!
I'd love to hear any of your ideas for kelp noodles as this is the first time I decided to try them!
I'm very happy they didn't have a "sea vegetable" taste to them, in addition to the many health benefits I found about them. There are way too many health benefits to kelp noodles, so just google it (yes, I'm being lazy but I work 7 days a week!) and I'm sure you will love these noodles as much as I do, if you don't already!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Two great events...Sept. 18th and 19th Michigan Raw Health Ecofest and Matt and Angela Monarch Speaking
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 18 - 10:00AM
$10.00
SPEAKERS * RAW FOOD DEMOS/ SAMPLES * RAW FOOD COURT
ORGANIC FARMERS MARKET * EXHIBITORS * RAFFLE DRAWINGS
Concert Begins at 7:30PM
http://rawhealthecofest.com/ for complete details on this amazing day!!
SPECIAL WORKSHOP
MATT & ANGELA MONARCH
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 19 - 1:00PM - 7:00PM
Investment in your health $95.00
Delicious Delectable Live and Raw & Food Dinner and Desert Buffet by Joyce Oliveto
http://rawhealthecofest.com/ for complete details and registration.
$10.00
SPEAKERS * RAW FOOD DEMOS/ SAMPLES * RAW FOOD COURT
ORGANIC FARMERS MARKET * EXHIBITORS * RAFFLE DRAWINGS
Concert Begins at 7:30PM
http://rawhealthecofest.com/ for complete details on this amazing day!!
SPECIAL WORKSHOP
MATT & ANGELA MONARCH
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 19 - 1:00PM - 7:00PM
Investment in your health $95.00
Delicious Delectable Live and Raw & Food Dinner and Desert Buffet by Joyce Oliveto
http://rawhealthecofest.com/ for complete details and registration.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Holistic Healer in Dearborn Heights
I know I've talked about them before, but this is such a great place and I'm so happy to have a place like the Holistic Healer in Dearborn Heights! They have a wide variety of healthy snacks made my Samantha Bushnell of Color Wheel Meals which are wonderful (You HAVE to try the brownie and cheesy kale chips!) and home made herbal teas, beauty products, and herbal supplements. If you are in the area, you definitely will want to stop by!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Great movie! Letters to God.
Letters to God is a great movie. Go out and support it! I grew up in a very religious household, and our family church did NOT support me going into the film industry. I wanted to get involved, to make quality movies like this though. Film is a very powerful way to get a message across, and a great ministry. Even more ironic, that same church now has a tv department...
Anyways, everyone is so quick to complain about the violence and sex on tv and movies, yet when a great movie comes out, it stays on the bottom of the list. Yes, it may be a sad movie, but it is also an inspiring one and one with a good message. It may not have the special effects or the flashiness of Alice in Wonderland or Clash of the Titans, but it has a good plot and story line...something that I have found lacking in a lot of movies today. While I love what they can do with special effects, my favorite part of any movie is the plot! :) Look at Casablanca-they used a paper airplane and a really short person in the background in the last scene, yet it's a classic to this day!
So many church groups are quick to protest movies they don't like, but when something like this comes out, where are they?? You vote with your dollars what Hollywood makes. You can complain all day, but in the end, they only make what WE buy. I know plenty of church people who went out in groups to see movies like Batman, but what about this?
Anyways, enough lecturing :)
Anyways, everyone is so quick to complain about the violence and sex on tv and movies, yet when a great movie comes out, it stays on the bottom of the list. Yes, it may be a sad movie, but it is also an inspiring one and one with a good message. It may not have the special effects or the flashiness of Alice in Wonderland or Clash of the Titans, but it has a good plot and story line...something that I have found lacking in a lot of movies today. While I love what they can do with special effects, my favorite part of any movie is the plot! :) Look at Casablanca-they used a paper airplane and a really short person in the background in the last scene, yet it's a classic to this day!
So many church groups are quick to protest movies they don't like, but when something like this comes out, where are they?? You vote with your dollars what Hollywood makes. You can complain all day, but in the end, they only make what WE buy. I know plenty of church people who went out in groups to see movies like Batman, but what about this?
Anyways, enough lecturing :)
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Watch this movie before it becomes illegal!!
I have been telling people for years that soybeans are almost all genetically modified-even organic. Yet, people still think soy is healthy! I have been telling people since I was 12 that tap water is bad, yet finally it's starting to come to light that chemicals and medications are in high amounts in our water supply. If you think the government or the food industry (and they are the same people) give a crap about your safety, you are naive and misinformed. They care about MONEY. Not you. YOU, however, buy the food! If you stop buying it, if farmers stop making this food (yes, they will get sued-but if everybody worked together instead of just giving in-they would have nobody to make the crops!) Please, stop this madness!! If it costs you more to eat healthy, who cares? If every last cent of your extra money goes to healthy food, than GOOD!(I know it is a struggle for me also) You may not ALWAYS be able to purchase the best food, but the majority should be!! Every bit helps!Food is one of the single most important things you can buy! Anyways, enough of my preaching, I will post the link for the video soon. I just want to add that yes, this movie is from a site that puts movies up for free. I would much rather that everybody pay to watch this movie, but I think it is too important of a movie to let somebody who can't afford to buy it NOT see it. I worked in TV for ten years, so while I don't advocate taking $ from people who make an actual GOOD movie like this, it's not about the $-it's the MESSAGE. If you can afford to donate to the makers of the movie, great. If not, watch the link I provided-and like they say in the movie...vote three times a day for better food! (with the brands and foods your purchase!) Here is the movie: Watch "Food, Inc." Movie
Friday, February 12, 2010
Valentines Day-Ultimate Raw Vegan Chocolate Recipes
Every Valentines Day I try to blog about a special holiday deal. I really love this holiday, mainly because I love sappy movies, chocolate and flowers (with or without a man!) I think you will like the one I have picked! :) I'm always looking for fun raw food recipes, and it looks like Kristen has a really great recipe ebook to try out this Valentines Day! It's only $11.95, and you will get it in 1-12 hours! Plenty of time to be making amazing raw chocolates by Valentines Day :) I haven't personally tried this ebook out since I have not been home to make any recipes, but I am friends with Kristen on facebook and the pictures of her food she posts always looks amazing! Here is what she has to say about her chocolate recipe ebook:
101 Pages
58 Raw Food recipes, including:
* Introduction to Raw & 6 Basic Raw Recipes*
* 30 Chocolate Desserts
* 11 Chocolate Drinks
* 11 Chocolate Snacks, Soup, Salad Dressing, Crackers & Breakfast
* View list of recipes in the book
* View photos of recipes from this book
This title is also available in print from Amazon.com
Page 61 - Goddess Cream Cake
This dessert is so amazing, we delayed the release of this book to include a photo of it on the cover!
Eating the world's healthiest food and enjoying lavishly indulgent and decadent food are not mutually exclusive! Why not? Because RAW CHOCOLATE is one of nature's most amazing superfoods!
This book is the ultimate introduction to chocolate in its most pure, natural form. Using raw, dark chocolate (also called "raw cacao nibs"), raw chocolate powder, raw cacao butter, and raw cacao liquor, Kristen has released this much-anticipated collection of her favorite chocolate-based recipes — both sweet and savory — that is certain to make you look at this amazing ingredient in an entirely new way and open a whole new dimension in your enjoyment of delicious food.
Format: My ebooks are delivered as Adobe Acrobat .PDF files that I email to you personally in 1-12 hours (much sooner during business hours).
Happy Valentines Day!
101 Pages
58 Raw Food recipes, including:
* Introduction to Raw & 6 Basic Raw Recipes*
* 30 Chocolate Desserts
* 11 Chocolate Drinks
* 11 Chocolate Snacks, Soup, Salad Dressing, Crackers & Breakfast
* View list of recipes in the book
* View photos of recipes from this book
This title is also available in print from Amazon.com
Page 61 - Goddess Cream Cake
This dessert is so amazing, we delayed the release of this book to include a photo of it on the cover!
Eating the world's healthiest food and enjoying lavishly indulgent and decadent food are not mutually exclusive! Why not? Because RAW CHOCOLATE is one of nature's most amazing superfoods!
This book is the ultimate introduction to chocolate in its most pure, natural form. Using raw, dark chocolate (also called "raw cacao nibs"), raw chocolate powder, raw cacao butter, and raw cacao liquor, Kristen has released this much-anticipated collection of her favorite chocolate-based recipes — both sweet and savory — that is certain to make you look at this amazing ingredient in an entirely new way and open a whole new dimension in your enjoyment of delicious food.
Format: My ebooks are delivered as Adobe Acrobat .PDF files that I email to you personally in 1-12 hours (much sooner during business hours).
Happy Valentines Day!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tooth Soap and Juice Fast (Feasting) Update!
I have been using tooth soap for awhile now, and had to update on it! I have also stopped using tap water, and added in vitamin c and baking soda like the tooth soap regime recommends (among other things you can read about in their helpful book) I think because I ordered so much they threw in the book with my order :)
Just wanted to report my teeth and gums have never felt better! I wish I would have found out about tooth soap sooner, seriously!
I still swish with water afterwards, but my teeth feel so clean now that it's hardly needed.
I'm on day 9 of a juice feast! If you know anything about juice feasting you know your tongue can get coated as you detox, and it's pretty disgusting! So far that's my biggest complaint, although it's not that bad since I have lost 9 lbs and feel amazing! I have been using tooth soap tooth swish I'm really glad I bought that in addition to the soap, since it makes my mouth feel a lot better. I think it works because of the natural salt in it promotes saliva production. If you suffer from dry mouth, it's a really great product to have! It tasted a little funny at first, but I like it so much now.
I guess I should have started updating about my juice feasting sooner, but when I started it I had no idea if I would last or not. It seems when I tell people too early, I give in. Juicefeasting.com is a great site for support and information on juice feasting. I don't think you need all of the extra supplements and stuff, but I already did most of them anyways, and that seems to be helping (msm, rebounding, dry skin brushing, spirulina, etc.)
I think the best part about juice feasting so far though is my cravings seem to have changed! I am now craving healthy food only, and not junk food. It's really amazing. I feel like my entire body chemistry is resetting! I recommend it if you want to jump start your metabolism, or help your body heal from any type of illness or injury. I know you won't regret it!
Just wanted to report my teeth and gums have never felt better! I wish I would have found out about tooth soap sooner, seriously!
I still swish with water afterwards, but my teeth feel so clean now that it's hardly needed.
I'm on day 9 of a juice feast! If you know anything about juice feasting you know your tongue can get coated as you detox, and it's pretty disgusting! So far that's my biggest complaint, although it's not that bad since I have lost 9 lbs and feel amazing! I have been using tooth soap tooth swish I'm really glad I bought that in addition to the soap, since it makes my mouth feel a lot better. I think it works because of the natural salt in it promotes saliva production. If you suffer from dry mouth, it's a really great product to have! It tasted a little funny at first, but I like it so much now.
I guess I should have started updating about my juice feasting sooner, but when I started it I had no idea if I would last or not. It seems when I tell people too early, I give in. Juicefeasting.com is a great site for support and information on juice feasting. I don't think you need all of the extra supplements and stuff, but I already did most of them anyways, and that seems to be helping (msm, rebounding, dry skin brushing, spirulina, etc.)
I think the best part about juice feasting so far though is my cravings seem to have changed! I am now craving healthy food only, and not junk food. It's really amazing. I feel like my entire body chemistry is resetting! I recommend it if you want to jump start your metabolism, or help your body heal from any type of illness or injury. I know you won't regret it!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Dr. Oz is jumping on the raw food bandwagon!
I love watching the Dr. Oz show. I feel like he reads my blog to get ideas sometimes (ha, yeah right.) because we agree on so much. I'm not naive though, and I know he has a lot of pharmaceutical sponsors and he even supports soy milk, which has so much controversial information. I think it's best to just stay away from soy. I wish he would recommend something like coconut milk, almond milk (although these have carageean in them sometimes, which is horrible for the skin) or even hemp milk. Oh, well. I know from working in the TV industry that it's almost impossible to not have to sell your soul a little bit, and if that's what he has to do in order to get most of his messages of good things out there, than oh well. For the most part, I think the good outweighs the bad. It's kind of frustrating how everybody just believes what he says to things I've been saying for years. I know, I know, I'm not a doctor (although hey, doctors have very little nutritional classes also so they aren't exactly experts in that area either!) I never profess to know more than a doctor, but I do go by common sense and read other people's research to make decisions! I'm not blaming doctors, they are too busy to constantly study nutrition. They are there to TREAT, not cure (although I think this model is wrong, that is the way it is set up) Many wish they could prevent, but most people wouldn't take their advice anyways. You really need to look out for yourself in the case of prevention, until things change. Anyways, for more info. on his raw food challenge go to Dr. Oz's website.
Henry Ford Food Revolution
I had to visit a family member at the new Henry Ford Health Center in West Bloomfield, and wow, what a wonderful hospital (as far as hospitals go!) While nobody wants to be in the hospital, if you have to be, it makes sense to have healthy food, doesn't it? Henry Ford seems to think so, and even better, they are offering training classes for chef's-and for patients! How great is that? While you are at the hospital, you can learn how to make healthier food when you get home.
Guide to Green Products
Sometimes it can be confusing figuring out what products are truly healthy and organic. A lot of companies just seem to be jumping on the "green" bandwagon, but without really offering anything different other than fancy marketing.
A couple of really interesting sites are Local Motion Green (which offers a lot more than just a guide to great products) and Good Guide which is still in beta, but looks like a promising idea. It offers a rating system for products, and helps you decide what to buy when shopping. I think this is especially important as a woman since we use so many products and we're usually in charge of what goes on our children as well. They have a really good blog as well.
A couple of really interesting sites are Local Motion Green (which offers a lot more than just a guide to great products) and Good Guide which is still in beta, but looks like a promising idea. It offers a rating system for products, and helps you decide what to buy when shopping. I think this is especially important as a woman since we use so many products and we're usually in charge of what goes on our children as well. They have a really good blog as well.
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