Are you a breakfast person?

My answer to that question is YES! I love breakfast and I always have, I have to eat within an hour of waking up otherwise I start to feel nauseous and get grumpy.  I know a lot of people who enjoy eating breakfast but simply "just don't have time" for it.  While that may be true with a traditional cooked breakfast a raw smoothie  takes just a minute or two and you can take it on the go!

I have always loved smoothies but gave them up awhile back after realizing how much a regular fruit smoothie raises glucose levels. I used to be a Jamba Juice junkie not realizing that the fruit smoothies were doing more harm than good for my body. I did my research and have found that if you balance greens, protein and fruit it will inhibit the sugar in the fruit from rising glucose levels so fast.

My favorite raw breakfast smoothie right now is a Blackberry Banana Green Smoothie, its takes about a minute to make and keeps you full for hours. Here is the easy recipe:


Take a handful of fresh or frozen blackberries
(I get my blackberries fresh off the bushes in my yard! It really get much better then free fruit and they taste so much better then store bought!)
1 Banana
Handful of spinach or other leafy greens
2 TBSP of Nutiva Hemp Protein

Nutiva Hemp Protein

Put all ingredients into your blender and fill with purified water. Blend well & enjoy!

Raw Apple Pie!

I stumbled across this raw apple pie recipe the other day and decided to try it out and I am sooooo glad I did! Not only is it delicious but it is so much healthier for you then normal apple pie. Instead of a food processor I used my Magic Bullet which I LOVE!!!! I also didn't dehydrate my apples so I got more of a "applesauce" texture, and I used walnuts instead of almonds. You can still make the recipe if you don't have a food processor or dehydrator -just modify!!

Ingredients

7 small fuji apples
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup dates
1/8 teaspoon lemon zest
1 raw pie crust recipe (see below)

Roughly chop 5 apples and pulse them in the food processor until they are in tiny pieces. Pour the lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon over them and dehydrate them on low for a few hours. In a blender blend 2 finely chopped apples (add to the blender first), 1 cup dates, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon lemon zest to make an apple sauce. Mix the applesauce and the dehydrated apples in a bowl. Pour the mixture into a piecrust. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

Basic Almond Raw Pie Crust

1 and 1/2 cups raw almonds*
1 cup pitted dates
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon virgin coconut oil (optional)
1 vanilla bean seeds scooped out (optional)

Process almonds in a food processor with the s blade until a coarse almond flour. Add the dates, coconut oil, and cinnamon to the food processor and process with the s blade until the mixture forms dough. Press the dough into a pie pan. *For a crispier crust you can soak the nuts and then dehydrate them before using.

Super Yum!

Yesterday my mom and I decided to go to a restaurant I've been wanting to try forever.. Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe . I had read reviews online about how "amazing", "delightful", and "scrumptious" some of their raw menu items were, so I was very excited to check out their new location in West Seattle.
We walked into this beautiful cafe and I immediately felt right at home. The cafe is bursting with color, the smell of fresh food and coffee wafting through the air, people relaxing by large windows enjoying their food or working on their laptops on the free WIFI connection. Even before I had my first taste of their food I already knew I had made an awesome choice coming just by the atmosphere.

We were greeting by two women who were very upbeat and helpful when choosing menu items and even let us sample some tabouli (which by the way is AMAZING!!!!). We decided on the raw enchilada, lentil burger, and raw fudge brownie.

We tried the raw fudge brownie first..... I don't think words can explain how good it was. It puts any brownie my Mom or I have ever tried to absolute shame. It was well worth the $5 and is definitely now my favorite dessert!

Next up were our main courses! Lentil burger with a side of tabouli, and a raw enchilada plate with the house salad.

My Mom and I both split our entrees in half so that we could try both dishes and I sure am glad we did. The lentil burger is homemade and is topped with sprouts, marinated onions, cucumbers, and pickles with their "special sauce" on a panino roll. It tastes so good that it made my Mom who LOVES meat say she could go vegan if she could always eat like this.

The raw enchiladas are made with tomato tortillas that are filled with cashew cheese, a variety of chopped veggies, avocado, cilantro, and mango pico de gallo. These were DELISH! The variety of vegetables are bursting with flavor and the tomato tortillas are to die for.

The portions are large and we were able to take the food home and get 2 more meals out of it - a total of 4 meals for $30. I am planning on going back again this weekend and trying other dishes, I am definitely hooked!