Make it last

You know you've heard the phrase: "Take a picture; it will last longer." So, that's what I decided to do with these Valentine flowers from my hubby.

I couldn't think of a better way to preserve these buds than with a photo shoot conveniently displayed on my blog. I can always log on to jog my memory.

Now, I also might press a few when the time is right. They keep forever that way and are great for craft projects (something I always enjoyed doing with my grandmother. She has quite the collection of phone books stuffed with perfectly dried blooms).

I just adore the peachy tone my husband selected for me. He knows me so well. Forget the traditional; I'd much rather have these blushing beauties. I don't need to receive a bouquet of red to know my man really loves me :-)

Hope you're enjoying your Valentine's Day. I sure am. And, just for the fun of it, take some time to reminisce with last year's menu. I'm thinking about doing something similar tonight.

Circle of love

If you can recall how much I adored making raw recipes with bananas (n'ice cream, cupcakes, smoothies, pudding and more), you can imagine how heart broken I was the first day even a glimpse of my former fave caused me to gag. How was I going to make it through the upcoming months without my beloved fruit?

Well, I'm happy to report that I can now consume bananas again, thanks to some encouragement from my son. He thought they'd go great in my bowl of berries, although I think he had another agenda.

You see, he really wanted me to have less room in my bowl for the strawberries he had hoped to save for himself (I know they're not in season, but they are his favorite food at the moment).

Actually, his idea proved to be a good one. The bananas tasted okay, and I continued to eat a few more slices over the past couple days.

I seem to prefer them mixed into things, so it was no surprise when a recipe on Food Network caught my attention yesterday. Jacob and I have been glued to the shows with a chocolate theme, agreeing that the Choc-Nanner-Nuts Custards on Cooking for Real would be worth a taste test (with a few modifications, of course).

Now, I had no interest in the vanilla wafer crust, but thought an almond crumble might be nice as a base. As for the filling, I was right with the host as she added the next few ingredients.

This chunky monkey concoction (she said she used to refer to just about any recipe involving bananas with this name) started out with a combination of chopped bananas, chocolate chips and nuts. She added this mixture to the mini tart shells, leaving me hopeful that this would act as the custard.

I should've known that she was still planning to make an actual custard to bind these ingredients together, but I was content with what she already had in the tart shell. It was the perfect snack for me.

I didn't have a cute little heart-shaped, tart-sized ramekin like hers. Instead, I opted for this shallow round one.

You can quickly whip one up, too. But if you are fully raw, I'd advise using some cacao nibs, a broken up raw chocolate bar or homemade raw chocolate chips (make your own raw chocolate, pipe it into mini kisses and allow to set). I hate to admit that I sprinkled some organic dairy-free, gluten-free chips in mine. I apologize for the not-fully-raw visual.

Yum, yum, gimme some :-)

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm happy to report that I'm craving grapefruit and lots of it. The best part is that I don't have a desire to cook it before I eat it. There's hope for me yet.

Unfortunately, I don't have a taste for this blast from the past. You may recall my Citrus Kicked White Chocolate with Ginger Mousse from last year. I couldn't get enough of the stuff at the time. If you didn't take this one for a test drive the first go round, give it a try now.

By the way, speaking of flashbacks, I was reminded of another post last night, as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was on cable. The coincidence was similar to when "Splash" came on T.V. right after I typed this memorable post.

The world works in mysterious ways, but I think I like it :-)

Remember this?

In my last post, I explained that due to a temporary change in eating habits, I would be using this blog to journal what's going on in my life rather than what's on my plate.

But, since this did start out as a raw blog, I decided to occasionally flash back to a past raw food entry, so you don't have to dig so hard trying to find it yourself.

For instance, remember this Chinese New Year post? I sure do. It was one of my favorite Thursday night raw meals (that's the day my hubby would agree to go raw for the evening, as well).

I was thinking about it this week as I had another crazy change in cravings. At first, I just had to have bread, but now I keep thinking about rice. Lucky for me, we're having Chinese food at my parent's house tonight to celebrate my grandfather's birthday.

Now, I wouldn't expect you to have any interest in celebrating his special day with us, but consider whipping up some of these rawified dishes in your own home, as tomorrow is the start of another Chinese New Year.

Here's the post with my recipe for Fortune Rawkies and Peanut-free Sauce. There's also an entry where I tried to recall what I put in the Sweet and Sour Veggies.

To really give you some more options, check out the Sunny Raw Kitchen blog, where Carmi posted, not one, nor just two, but three entries packed with recipes to round out your festive feast.

Happy New Year!

Invasion of the body snatchers

I used to scare myself with that movie when I was little. I remember watching it with my family while filling my belly with a big plate of nachos my mom heated up under the broiler. The crazy thing is that I could really go for a snack like that right about now.

And I'm not talking about the rawified kind. My body is craving cooked.

I know this is a raw site, but I may be using it in the upcoming months to inform my readers as to what's going on in my life, rather than what I'm eating at the moment. In fact, you probably don't want to know what's on my plate right now (so feel free to peruse past entries that do include raw food. Here's what I blogged about last year on this date, although it's not my best recipe).

My body has been taken over, like in the movie. Or, if you want to put it into my son's terms, it's like Ben 10 (Jacob thought his toys would make great photos for this post). He dials up an alien on his watch and becomes that character long enough to defeat the bad guys.

However, I can't control this little character inside me, and I haven't succeeded in fighting off any of its naughty cravings. I guess I'm just going to have to enjoy it while it lasts. I've been like this before, and I made it back to the raw side in the end. Let's see if this journey runs full circle, too. In any case, it's worth it :-)

Fresh!

Unfortunately, that is not a word to describe my food intake lately. I've been feeling a little like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, although I'm stuck in the latter persona. But don't worry about me; it's for good reason.

While those around me have been sprucing up their insides in the new year (my mom and sister are back on their green smoothie kick), I've been more concerned with cleaning and reorganizing my house. I guess it's my resolution.

It's funny; I even have a favorite cleaning CD to blast while I work. Appropriately titled "Fresh!" (and you probably thought I pick up to the voice of Mary Poppins and her "Spoonful of Sugar"), this fun mix of songs from my college days has been a staple in my cleaning routine for years. It just makes it more fun.

So, since I don't have any fresh new raw foods to share with you today, have a blast freshening up your household to these juicy tunes of the '90s.

1. Chumbawamba, "Tubthumping"
2. Third Eye Blind, "Semi-charmed Life"
3. Green Day, "Hitchin' A Ride"
4. Blur, Song 2
5. Arkana, "So Little Time"
6. Oasis, "D'You Know What I Mean"
7. Cornershop, "Brimful of Asha"
8. Sugar Ray, "Fly"
9. Matchbox 20, "Push"
10. Everclear, "Everything to Everyone"
11. Meredith Brooks, "B*tch"
12. Suede, "Beautiful Ones"
13. Catatonia, "Mulder & Scully"
14. Mansun, "Wide Open Space"
15. Radiohead, "Karma Police"
16. The Verve, "The Drugs Don't Work"

Juice it up!

I remember that silly cheer from my school days. It went a little something like this:

"Juice,
Juice it up,
We're number one (drag out the word "one"),
(Fill in the blank) is number one!"

I've had a lot to cheer about lately, which explains my break in blogging. It's been a whole week since my last post.

Anyway, I'd promised you a review of April's new e-book, and since it focuses on juice recipes, I knew I needed to tell you about it before any resolutions get broken.

Lucky for me, I didn't make any dietary promises or plans to cleanse in the new year. If I had, I would've failed miserably.

But that doesn't have to deter you on your path to success. Download a copy of "Healthy Indulgence, 50 Raw Juice and Smoothie Recipes," by April Ross, M.A. She'll have you filling your tummy with yummy beverages that'll treat your body right.

Unfortunately, I didn't pick the best time for me to sample all of the recipes, so you'll have to test drive most of these yourself. You see, my taste buds have been a little off lately. Orange has been my juice of choice, at least when I can stomach it.

However, when I've felt up to it, I have enjoyed the "fruity sensations" from the book. "Fruit Punch Party Mania" (a mix of kiwi, mango, orange, strawberry and pineapple) and "Strawberry Lemonade" were two of my faves, while I plan on sipping some "Orange Lemon Juice" or "Grapefruit Orange Twist" in the near future.

The recipes are simple and easy to make. April even organized them at the end, so they can be printed out in convenient note card form. She really does show you that "nutritious can be delicious."