What Does Your Pantry Look Like?

Recently again I rearranged my pantry. Organizing it is like therapy to me. I know I'm crazy...I'm okay with that. I'm resolved to my OCDs. Seriously though we need order and one area is your kitchen pantry. My hope with this post is that maybe how I do things will be helpful to the organization-challenged individuals. Quite frankly it still looks disorderly to me, but I know where everything is and it works for me.

Truly having an organized kitchen can cause you to actually want to be in your own kitchen more and want to prepare your own food. Preparing your food is healthier, more cost effective, and truly depending on what you make less time consuming. I realize cruising through the drive thru may not seem so then again consuming food like processed products sitting under hot lights doesn't exactly make me salivate...just saying.

Back to the pantry an important health aspect is storage. How do you store your food? When I can I choose to use glass containers. The reason for this are the chemicals and toxins that are contained in plastic or aluminum. I say when I can because we have to be realistic. Everything is a transition. You may not be able to afford buying all new glass containers, neither could I. That's okay. Do what you can do in your family.

One thing I do that you may already do and if not feel free to adopt this is I reuse glass jars from the store. It's simple, you already have it, and it's as simple as a trip thru the dishwasher. In fact many of the coconut oil jars that I accumulate turn into our drinking glasses. They come with lids so it's great for kids, cheaper than plastic sippy cups, and the glass is so think they hardly ever break if dropped. If they do, and you've been saving them, then it's no sweat to replace one.

I save all size jars. What really helps is saving the glass spice jars. I've bought cinnamon and paprika from the store. Well spices are expensive. Now I refill them in the bulk spice section. I get just what I need. Whole Foods has bulk spices. The health food store I work at called The Vine Health Shoppe in Fuquay-Varina, NC also has bulk spices. We have bulk spices, teas, and medicinal herbs.

So I still have plastic containers. They are large, and larger glass containers are pricey. I did accumulate some half gallon mason jars at one point when I was buying raw goats milk. It was for my cat. Laugh those of you who get the joke. Anyway, I stopped buying it and had these great larger mason jars. So I use those for my oats, buckwheat groats, and chickpeas. You can buy those at Ace Hardware stores, and I'm sure order them somewhere.

I label my containers with masking tape and a sharpie. You can use. A fancy label maker if you want to, I'm not that together I guess :) I will say that something I'm a stickler about is if I'm storing any liquids I will put them in glass no if, ands, or butts. Its a fact that poisons can leach into liquids much easier than dry goods. Something else to consider is that most of our dry foods these days are stored in a plastic bag or bin before we bring them home anyway. Just be realistic. If you use plastic try to get BPA free containers.

My approach to a healthier lifestyle is simple, take consistent small steps, eat cleaner and simply, do what you can within the means the Lord Yeshua has given you, be thankful for all things, avoid as much of the garbage as possible, and smile. Put the good stuff in whenever you can and wherever you can. Be wise. Don't fret. Don't listen to everything you hear, watch, or read. Compare and contrast options.

Next time I'll talk about what I use to cook with and why. If you have any tips to share post them down below. If you live locally, the first 2 people to post this blog entry on your face book page let me know below, and if you come in The Vine I'll give you a spice jar to fill with any of our herbs, spices, or teas. You pay for the spices, I'll pay for the jar. If you have any questions post those below also.

So What are Enzymes Anyway?

Being around the raw food circuit you will hear a ton about enzymes. In case you were like me when I first got started on my health journey and felt bewildered, I will discuss a little bit here what enzymes are, why they are important and why we need them, and how we can attain them for better health.

So enzymes are protein molecules, and they are the catalyst for our bodies to operate correctly. Basically enzymes speak the language our bodies understand in order for proper digestion, and the appropriate organs to work effectively. Our bodies have their own stores of enzymes. These are needed for immune health and other body functions.

There are different types of enzymes: food, metabolic, and digestive. You can only find enzymes in living cells. Basically what that means is that once you could your food over 118 degrees F (almost most of our meals in the USA) the enzymes in our foods die. Enzymes are pertinent to digestion. Without them our food does not break down properly, and that leads to terrible digestive issues like indigestion, heart burn, constipation, colitis, crohns disease, and irritable bowel syndrome.

Ideally for food digestion and for our bodies to utilize that food for energy we should eat foods with enzymes. So what happens when we eat foods without enzymes is our bodies recognize that we have been depleted of the enzymes in our food, so our bodies borrow from our own enzyme stores. What that does over time is that messes with our immune system, which then effects all the other systems in our bodies and causes disease.

An easy way to avoid those issues is to have a mainly plant based diet with lots of whole, fresh, raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. You do not have to be all raw to stay healthy. Our bodies need those enzymes though for proper digestion. A rule of thumb that I practice when I am making the choice to eat cooked foods is to eat some raw foods with it. That way the enzymes from the raw foods will help with the break down of the cooked foods. So when you have some beans and brown rice have a large kale salad with lots of different colored vegetables with it. The fiber from the salad will also aid in digestion.

I strongly recommend taking a good digestive enzyme capsule before eating more difficult to digest proteins, like meats, fish, and eggs. Two brands that I really like are Enzymedica and Health Force Nutritionals. You can find the Enzymedica line at The Vine Health Shoppe where I work in Fuquay-Varina, NC. You can order Health Force Nutritionals right here on my blog. You can purchase these at the Raw Life Store or at the Renegade Health Store. Both have banners on the right side of my blog.

If you have any questions, post them below.

Coconut Oil is My Friend!

I know that I have posted things before about my love affair with coconut, whether its the oil, the shreds, the aminos, the syrup, or the vinegar. There are so many health benefits, and really I can't think of any draw backs. It's a low glycemic food with great antibacterial properties. Its a healthy saturated fat necessary for brain health and heart health.

Today I want to tell you about some wonderful coconut oil by Tropical Traditions. They were so generous to allow me to try their product out. It's USDA certified organic virgin coconut oil. It is cholesterol free. I've tried it in several ways and have been very happy. To learn about the many uses of coconut oil go here.

Food wise I used it to cook my eggs, and that makes them extra delicious in my cast iron pan, in my honest opinion. I used it to make popcorn on the stove, to make the raw chocolate cake in a previous post, put it my green smoothies for breakfast, and used it in the gluten free pancakes that I make as well.

I also used it to make a coconut sugar facial scrub that is incredible for your skin, as my daily facial moisturizer (I did scoop some out into a another jar for this), and used it to make homemade toothsoap. I stopped using toothpaste long ago for health reasons. I will discuss that greater in another post.

I definitely recommend the Tropical Traditions Brand of coconut oil. You can get it in 4 sizes: 16oz, 32oz, 1 gallon, and 5 gallons. Many times they have sales and free shipping. They have a whole line of coconut products on their website. Check them out here.




Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Chocolate Cake...Did I mention that it's RAW?!!!!

Hello All!

I apologize for being so very sluggish with my blog posts. There has been so much going on, I will get better. So I have been enjoying trying new recipes, making them my own, and letting others taste them to see what they think. I've gotten mostly positive feed back.

This past week was my younger son's birthday, he turned 9!!!! I simply could not believe it. His request was a cake out of Victoria Boutenko's Raw Family Signature Dishes Book. Guess what...it was completely raw! That's right raw cake. So many people said, "Marie, how do you make a raw cake?"

I was terribly nervous about doing something wrong, or it turning out different than it did in the book. Well its really not that difficult with the right tools. It's truly so much faster and healthy than a cake you would bake as well. People close to me know how I feel about raw foods. All of the nutrients and enzymes in tact all the while tasting yummy...can you get better than that? Raw foods are so easy, once you prepare it you eat it, there's no waiting time to cook.

Here is the Raw Birthday Cake:

You'll need a high speed blender, like a Vita Mix, a food processor, a spring form cake pan, and cheese cloth.

For the crust or batter if you will I used 4 cups of raw organic walnuts (the book called for 2 cups and I don't have any idea how because it was not enough...maybe she was able to get it flatter or thinner than me for the layers), two juiced lemons, 2 tbsp coconut oil (the recipe called for olive oil), and 3 cups of chopped medjool dates( the book called for raisins, but I do not like them). You blend these in the food processor. You'll use this to make three layers. It will be a sticky ball once processed.

Put a layer of cheese cloth over the spring form cake pan. Then press some batter onto the cheesecloth of the bottom of the pan. I rolled some in my hands and then flattened it out best I could.

For the filling I used frozen blueberries (fresh would be just fine), and organic yellow pears. So on top of the first layer of batter I covered it with defrosted, rinsed frozen blueberries ( I just ran some water over them to defrost them, they were still firm. The book called for sliced strawberries, but my son loves blueberries.

Next I put the second layer of batter. Then came the pears, I just sliced them and put them laying down on the batter. Next came the top layer of batter. Once you have completed the cake gently turn it over onto a serving platter, loosen the clamps on the pan, lift the pan off, then carefully peel off the cheese cloth.

To frost the cake I used one cup of raw pecans, 1 1/2 cups of raw honey (the book called for 1 cup of agave, and I don't use agave, try one cup of honey and see if that is sweet enough for you), 1 freshly squeezed lemon, 1 vanilla bean, and 2 tbsp of raw cacao powder. Next time I will probably use carob powder since I prefer the antioxidants from the carob without the caffeine and theobromine, another stimulant, from the cacao plant. Just blend these in the Vita Mix until creamy smooth. Use a frosting knife and cover the cake in the frosting.

Finally I just dusted it with coconut. If you try this recipe let me know please! I think the frosting would be yummy with cashews or macadamia nuts as well.

The Wonders of Raw Honey

The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and the trees are blooming. The buzzing of the bees has begun, and Spring is here. I love Spring for so many reasons. A top reason is the abundant availability of local raw honey. We enjoy it immensely in our home. My boys eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches, we sweeten our yogurt with it, put it on oatmeal, and use it as a sweetener in desserts instead of white, bleached, processed sugar.

For high quality, and optimal health the words local and raw are imperative. Our bodies that are fearfully and wonderfully made are created to adapt to our environments so that we can deal with the environment that we live in everyday. That is why it is so beneficial to eat foods that are grown and made locally. Today we'll stick the importance of honey.

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, a preventative treatment that I would advise adopting into your regimen is taking 1-2 teaspoons of raw honey each day. The reason for this is that raw local honey contains the pollen that is causing all of those sniffy, sneezing noses, watery eyes, and itchy skin. When we ingest some of that pollen studies show that it allows our bodies to get used to the pollen present in the area that is bothering us. So think if this as a noninvasive, inexpensive, pleasant vaccination without any negative side effects.

Raw honey is wonderful if you are experiencing a sore throat. Taking a teaspoon of raw honey mixed with propolis, a few times a day will help coat the throat and kill any oncoming infection. Propolis is a dark, sticky resin that seeps from the buds of some trees and bark. Propolis contains many minerals, including magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium, as well as beta carotene, bioflavonoids, vitamins B1 and B2. It acts like nature's own antibiotic. Bees actually mix it with wax flakes from the glands on their tummies in order to keep intruders out of the hive.

Raw foods are loaded with much needed enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and healthy bacteria. Honey allows our bodies to digest many foods that are sometimes more difficult to break down like certain whole grains. Once we heat our foods over 120 degrees many of these things decrease or die off altogether. This is the case with honey. Raw honey can be recognized by it's solid state, it's more white in color, and it should state raw or unheated and unfiltered on the jar.

*As a precaution it has been said that children under the age of one should not consume honey. It contains a healthy bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, that babies digestive systems are not able to handle yet. It could cause botulism.

Kale, I Could Kiss You!

Bar none, hands down, my favorite leafy green is kale. I laugh sometimes because people will come over to my plate and look, and say, "What is that? Is that kale? I only thought kale was a garnish." Then that opens a beautiful door for me to talk about a great superfood in my opinion.

Kale is a dark leafy green vegetable in the cruciferous family. It's a great source of calcium for strong bones, antioxidant cancer fighting and immune boosting Vitamin C, Vitamin A, folic acid (B-6) that reduces osteoporosis, helps healthy unborn babies stay strong, and reduces heart disease, potassium that regulates of our acid pH, and is a vital component in the building of our muscles, magnesium that assists enzymes in our bodies, reduces muscle cramping, and helps with protein assimilation, and carotenoids a precursor to Vitamin A that radically fights cancer.

Whenever possible you want to eat organic kale. Like all leafy greens organic is best because they are heavily sprayed with toxic cancer causing chemicals. It is easy to grow in the garden and you can grow it in spring or fall. There are several different varieties of kale.

Kale is lovely eaten raw in a salad or cooked in a saute or soup. I thoroughly enjoy it both ways. I also put kale in my green smoothies. Eaten raw its an excellent source of enzymes which greatly assist in the breakdown of our food. If you'd like a free kale salad recipe go on Facebook,like my page, and I will email you a recipe.

Making Soup Like Crazy

Being in this chilly weather makes me want to eat one thing everyday, hot, healthy, yummy soup. Soup is a very warming and healing food to the body. Soups are wonderful because you can encompass so much nutrition into one meal. They are very convenient too because you can make them on the stove or in the crock pot. You can make a big batch choose to freeze it or eat it all week if you like. That's usually what we do around my house. Soup doesn't last long here.

The soup featured in this picture is white bean and kale. I've also made vegan broccoli cheese, and red lentil tomato lately. All of these are very hearty, and satisfying. Some chicken for you meat eaters would be great in the white bean and kale, and some mini turkey or hormone free grass-fed beef meatballs would be a hit in the tomato lentil. Like I said though they are filling all on their own.

These recipes are available if you like my new facebook page for Kingdom Health.