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!
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