The Best of Raw Awards Gala is on February 19th in San Francisco, California. This is the 4th annual event honoring and celebrating the people, places, products and media of the raw vegan foods movement. It will be the raw food movement industry event of the year, including red carpet entry, raw celebrity award announcers, gourmet raw food, live music and performances and live streaming of the event on line.

You can vote for your favorite raw food finalists until February 13th. To find out more about the awards gala, please visit: http://www.bestofrawfoods.com/awards-ceremony/

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• Raw Food in Vancouver, BC: Indigo Food Cafe
• Basic Juice Recipe: Apple Ginseng

Indigo Food elsewhere on the Web

• The Indigo Food Café Facebook Page
• Indigo Food on Urban Spoon

QUESTION: What is your favourite dish at Indigo Food Cafe and why? Please share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.

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Mike’s Organic Special Golden Flax Oil

I really enjoyed Mike’s Special Golden Flax oil. In the product description, it mentions that the dressing “is the perfect drizzle sauce for any dish, salad, veggies” and that the “taste is similar to French dressing, but with a nice kick in the pants!”. I don’t really think it tastes like French dressing, but it definitely is flavourful and extremely versatile – as versatile as my own lemon praprika dressing recipe. The dressing would work well on any mix of salad greens, on a basic carrot salad and might even make a nice marinade for kale chips (though I’ll have to verify this).

Meg’s Organic Sweet & Sassy Hemp Oil Dressing

Many oils & dressings one comes across have already started to go rancid, often because the manufactures use low-quality ingredients. Foods Alive uses high quality organic ingredients and creates their dressings and oils in small batches to insure freshness. One of my friends whom I asked for their take on the super dressings is particularly sensitive to the taste of rancid oils. She was extremely impressed with both of the super dressings we got to try, but particularly the Meg’s Organic Sweet & Sassy Hemp Oil Dressing. My friend was unable to detect any sign of rancidity. (Oils that are starting to go rancid can really affect the outcome the walnut mylk recipe and Better than Brownies, and in general any recipe that uses nuts.)

The Sweet & Sassy Hemp Oil dressing has less ‘kick’ than Mike’s Special Golden Flax Oil. My friend was extremely impressed with this dressing, as she’s previously avoided hemp oil based dressings because they have either started to go rancid or are too strongly flavoured. I enjoy both subtle and strong flavours, so both super dressings were a treat for me – my friends and I quickly used up both dressings.

Super Dressings from Foods Alive

What is the greatest compliment a food review can give a product? Answer: The reviewer enjoyed the product so much that they go out and buy some more! I’m going to do just that – one bottle for home and one for the office.

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Apple Ginseng Juice

Ingredients:

• organic granny smith apples
• fresh ginseng root
• ice cubes (optional)

Equipment:

• Your favourite juicer

Directions

• Juice 3-4 apples for every 2-3 small ginseng root.
• Put all ingredients through the juicer
• Test juice for taste and adjust by adding more apples or ginseng.
• Serve over ice cubes in a glass and enjoy!

You can find fresh ginseng at many Asian markets. Try to get organically grown ginseng if you can – you can even try growing your own

QUESTION: What is your favourite variety of apple, especially with this juice combination and why? Please share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.

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Veggie patties served with pear-celantro chutney, sliced cucumber over mixed salad greens.

I hope the picture above inspires your own raw food creations. Have a great day!

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This class is designed to be very interactive and as such leaves plenty of room to cover specific topics that affect each of you.

We will cover the following within the class:

• The Mind, Body, Food connection
• Fundamentals of Food (Carbs/Fats/Protein)
• Sources of Essential Nutrients
• Food Combining
• How muscle is built and trained
• Increasing strength, stamina and size
• Best practices to stay lean
• Quick and easy recipes when you are on the go
• All day recipes when you have the time

The Class will begin at 9am and runs until 12pm.

Please register online by following this link.

These classes fill up fast. Space is limited, and there are roughly only five spots left! Register now to secure your seat.

If you have any further questions, please contact OrganicLives.

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• Kombucha Tea Making Workshop – Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 7:30PM (Commercial Drive Area, Vancouver, BC, Canada)

Crack ‘em up–crunchy, crispy crackers that fill the vacuum of raw crackerdom!

We all envy restaurant and movie critics for getting paid to do what we all love to do anyway—eating great food that has been prepared for us for free and watching the latest multi-million-dollar budget motion picture entertainment. Finally, I got my moment of being a food critic, by reviewing raw food products that have been sent to me free of charge by Foods Alive. I was more than excited in my anticipation of tasting new raw food products, although I wasn’t too sure about the prospect of eating a lot of flax seed crackers. Now, I must confess to being rather prejudiced against flax-seed products. From the very first flax crackers I’ve ever tried by Glutino brand (two flavours, both inedible by my standards; they were subsequently sprinkled out in the yard in the hopes some birds and rodents may benefit), to all brands of flax seed oil (the strong odour and pungent taste turned me off, despite its touted health benefits), they were almost always disappointingly BAD. Perhaps not as bad as castor oil, which I used to take daily for medicinal purposes, by holding my nose and rinsing my mouth vigourously afterwards, but flax products were something I’d never consume regularly.

Despite many years of veganism and tasting a lot of bad vegan food and eating much of it for ”health reasons”, I couldn’t quite convert myself to be a regular flax-product consumer. I’d still try out the occasional raw crackers, some of which I liked more than others, but I could never like them enough to include in my regular diet. In my world, flax seed comestibles were just like their sartorial counterpart, linen. The smooth, slippery fabric looks beautiful and is great to wear occasionally, especially during the hot summer months, but for everyday wear, it wrinkles far too easily to be worn regularly, unless I had the networth that would allow me to visit the eco-friendly dry cleaner daily or hire my own cleaner and wardrobe manager who would lovingly press my linen garments. Since my networth is nowhere near there, I occasionally cast a wistful glance at my linen dress, which does make me look phenomenal (I’ve always heard great compliments whenever I’d worn them), but haven’t worn in several years, because I broke my last iron in an attempt to iron out the wrinkles from the dress. It hangs in my closet, still wrinkled in strategic places.

Despite flax seeds being anti-aging, thus possibly preventing wrinkles, I knew that if I were to consume flax products, especially flax seed oil, regularly, I’d get wrinkles in all the wrong places from frowning, due to their awful taste. As I hardly ever frown, I had no reason to add a source of frown to my daily health regimen, however healthful the flax products may be. For me, preventing wrinkles by NOT including flax products was much more effective than including flax products which would invariable make me frown involuntarily.

Foods Alive Flax Crackers

The neatly packaged box of goodies arrived in a week’s time, quite promptly for regular mail, to an address in Western Canada, from Waterloo, Indiana. As you may have surmised from my overly-long digression above, I gingerly tore open the foil package with a top zipper closure, and bit into the ”Original Golden Flax Cracker” rather hesitantly. Delicately flavoured by Bragg Liquid Aminos and lemon juice, it crunched pleasantly and fulfilled my soybean-loving palate. Pleasantly surprised, I had another cracker, then another. I had to tell myself to stop eating them all at once so I can eat the other crackers. The zipper package closed firmly and I vowed to keep them zipped for a few days to see whether the packaging would keep the crackers crispy once opened.

Next, I ventured onto the ”Mexican Harvest” flavour, as Mexican cuisine is one of my favourite epicurean delights. Tangy and zesty, the vibrant piquancy of tomatoes, chilli powder, and cayenne pepper were perfectly balanced by herbaceous touch of cilantro and parsley. I made myself some quick guacamole by mashing up an avocado and mixing it with lemon juice and chilli powder to accompany these crackers. If I were to have a taco or burrito craving moment, I can now get my Mexican fix by eating these crackers while dreaming of a sunny vacation in Puerto Vallarta.

”Onion and Garlic” crackers were definitely robust, as promised on their website. Those of you who love these stinky plants would love these crunchy goodies. They would go perfectly with Italian-inspired dishes, such as the Eat Raw Vegan posting of Caesar salad featuring Brutus dressing topped with ”Onion and Garlic” flax crackers like the traditional croutons, or served like garlic bread with basil pesto and spiralized zucchini noodles, found on this blog. Also, the strong flavours of onion and garlic crackers would go nicely with the milder dishes like the pea soup recipe posted on this blog.

Until I tried raw vegan diet in earnest, I’ve always eschewed away from hemp products, for the same reason as given above for flax products. I could possibly get used to using crinkly hemp paper regularly, or even wearing roughly-hewen ultra-casual hemp clothing if necessary, but could never eat hemp products without cringing, although I would always try out a new hemp product on the market from time to time in the hopes that it might cure my hemp avoidance syndrome. As soon as I’d tried the raw hemp chocolate that used to be available at Organic Lives, I was forever converted to the seedy goodness of hemp. It was smooth and gently alluring, like an irresistible lover, perfectly partnered to the raw cacao, flawlessly bound together in sweet pleasure. From then on, I began to include raw hemp seeds in my diet regularly, as they blend wonderfully in smoothies, puddings, and add great texture to granolas. Still, my previous bad hemp memories in mind, I crunched into the ”Hemp” cracker slowly. Its subtle rosemary aroma and mild hemp flavour confirmed that raw hemp is indeed tasty. Decidedly sophisticated in its refined presence of rosemary, the hemp crackers would go wonderfully with any raw antipasti, or with any creamy dip, like cashew mayonnaise.

My taste-testing partner commented on how crunchy these crackers were, unlike most other raw, dehydrated crackers, which tend to be too chewy and not dry enough, with the result being unsatisfactorily crumbly crunch, not a crackling good crunch. I tried all of thee crackers two weeks later to see how they held up in the packaging.  They were just as good as when I first opened the packages, so kudos to the zipper bag! All of Foods Alive crackers gave a satisfyingly good crunch, which is quite rare for most raw crackers. Just for that, they have definitely succeeded in making these crackers really crack. To top it all off, there are many wonderfully tasty variations that will satisfy any discerning palate.

I highly encourage all raw vegans, vegans, vegetarians, health-food aficionados, and gourmands to order a variety pack and try them all. You’d be truly surprised at how good raw flax seeds taste. I was amazed. These crackers are the very best of raw flax crackers available anywhere. I’ve tasted many, experimented with recipes and even came up with my own versions, but none of them were as good as Foods Alive raw flax seed crackers. Now, you may get wrinkles by smiling too much while eating these delectable goodies. Not to worry, though, because the good omega-3 fatty acids will fill in those wrinkles in no time, so you’ll be smiling for eternity without a care in the world! ☺

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Gorgeous exclusive mountain retreat home off skyline blvd
just 35 minutes south of San Francisco.

This Valentines Day Enjoy:

• Light Brunch of Fresh Young Coconut Elixir and Strawberries & Cream Parfait.
• 5 Course Gourmet Raw Vegan Meal
• Option for hands on learning in the Kitchen with Certified Chef Jillian Love www.jillianlove.com
• Intimate Yoga Class in Beautiful Glass Sun Room Overlooking Rolling Hills
• Beautiful Easy Hiking Trails in Ancient Redwoods on Preserved Land
• Live Entertainment by Ronnie Ray Padilla http://www.raydience.net/
• Gong Sound Meditation with Danny G
• Romantic Exclusive Retreat Getaway Location
• Massage Available * call to schedule in advance.

Lovers Gourmet Menu

• elegant endive boats with avocado puree and mango cranberry balsamic chutney
• savory mandarin beet soup*thyme cream
• shaved fennel salad salad in extra virgin olive with sweet chipotle toasted pecans
• ginger spiced sesame noodle with caramelized shitaki and herb sesame sprinkles
• triple layer strawberry fudge cake with lavender infused vanilla cream sauce

The cost is just $222 per couple, which includes your Light Brunch, 5 Course Gourmet Raw Dinner, Kitchen Instruction and Participation, Yoga, Gong, Live Entertainment.

* For more Info and to register got to www.RawYogaRetreats.com*

P.S. – Please help Jillian be the next Hot Raw Chef! Watch her 5 minute Lovers Double Cherry Buddha Fudge Valentines Video and Vote for her for Hot Raw Chef for 2011!!! She is Contestant #36. Get 45 Free Raw Vegan Recipes just for voting TODAY!

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2011 Raw Beauty Calendar - 13 Real People Gone Raw

Passionate Montreal-based artist and raw foodie Tanya Wood and Halifax photographer Nick Rudnicki have teamed up to create Raw Beauty 2011: a Calendar featuring 13 Real People Gone Raw. These real subjects bare it all to showcase how delicious and beautiful life can be when you eat a little more raw.

• makes the perfect gift for the health enthusiast or raw vegan
• was created with the planet in mind
• includes delicious healthy quick raw recipes
• meet 13 real people who’ve gone raw and love it.
• join the health craze that will make you radiant at any age
• move into 2011 ready for a little more raw

Each month features the natural un-airbrushed beauty of one of 13 volunteer models, tastefully posing with seasonal produce.  Inside you’ll find a short model’s story along with easy to prepare raw vegan recipes.  Using only basic kitchen tools and easy to find ingredients, these recipes make for a simple introduction to raw food and encourage the extremely eco-conscious act of eating a more raw seasonal diet.

Printed on 100% FSC approved and 50% post-consumer paper using 100% vegetable inks, this calendar was created with the planet in mind.  The printing and production was kept local to minimize shipping emissions.

This gift would be perfect for the health enthusiast on any holiday list, or for someone who could use a bit of healthy inspiration in 2011.  And it’s certainly perfect for that impossible to buy for raw foodie!  Help them start off the New Year on the road to increased energy, clear skin, sparkling eyes, healthy weight, and peace of mind. Share a taste of raw food for perfect age defying health and beauty this New Year.

For more information, or to place and order go to: www.rawbeautycalendar.com

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Nut-Free Raw Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cacao paste (approximately)
• 8 medjool dates
• 1/2 organic vanilla bean or 1-2 tsp vanilla powder
• 2 cups filtered water
• pinch of Himalayan salt
• 1 1/2 tsp fine-ground psyllium husk powder

Equipment

• High-Powered Blender (e.g., a VitaMix or Blendtec) – REQUIRED
• pudding cups or bowls

Directions

• Combine all the ingredients except the psyllium husk powder into the blender and blend
• Blend on high until the liquid starts to warm slightly, causing the cacao paste to melt.
• Test the mixture for desired sweetness. Add additional dates if more sweetness if wanted.
• Add the psyllium husk powder and continue to blend until the pudding starts to thicken. You’ll notice a change in the way the blender sounds when this happens and you may even notice small bubbles appearing in the liquid.
• Pour the thickened mixture into serving bowls.
• For best results, let the pudding cool in the fridge to allow the flavors to combine, but you can also eat the pudding right away.
• Serve and Enjoy!

Note that cacao paste can come in slightly different forms. This is why I suggest approximately 1/4 cup of cacao paste. One of the points of this recipe is that you do not need to melt the cacao paste beforehand by using the high-powered blender to warm the ingredients from below. This saves you a preparation step and saves you the work of cleaning additional dishes.

Once you have made the recipe a few times, you will discover that this recipe is very versatile and that many variations are possible as a result. Please share your favorite variations in the comments section of this post.

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