One of the most important aspects of eating healthy is to find ways to get more dark greens into your life. This is a flavorful and easy recipe that makes eating your greens a joy! We picked some fresh collard greens from our garden. Here in South Florida it has been an unusually cold winter as it has many other places, however the collards loved this cold spell and grew like wild things.

Dark greens are essential to building your body’s immune system and are an excellent antidote if you overdo it on sweets or raw chocolate. The Boutenko family has a whole book on creating green smoothies as they discovered firsthand how crucial it is to get them into our daily routines.

We used them as wraps to create some delicious asian sprout rolls. Finely chopped fresh organic root Ginger offsets the bitterness of the collards and the dates create a nice balance too. Nonetheless, I must mention that growing them ourselves produced a much less bitter leaf than the type we buy at say, Whole Foods.

They are stuffed with a mixture of:

• 1 Cup soaked and sprouted sunflower seeds
• 1 Cup finely diced zucchini
• 2 T finely chopped fresh ginger root
• 1 T sesame oil (raw not toasted)
• 1 T  umi plum vinegar
• 1/2 t Sea salt
• 3 T raw almond butter
• 4 finely chopped Dates

Pulse all in food processor with S blade and spread on collard leaf shiny side out roll up and secure with tooth pick or bamboo skewer. Garnish with Nasturtium flowers and sunflower seed sprouts.

Wine could be a chilled Pinot Grigio or Orvieto!
Bon Appetite!

Everyone has an opinion on raw cacao these days and the thing is, …. I still love it! Yes, it is a stimulant. Yes, it is gonna hurt your adrenals if you overdo it. Yes, I still love it. There, I said it. So what is a chocolate loving raw foodie to do? She makes raw vegan choco candy with her raw mate who also loves chocolate and just has a blast and inserts lots of joy in the process. My advice? Eat chocolate (raw or otherwise) in moderation. I call it common sense. But sometimes of course, I misplace mine and the old teenager in me unleashes the force and I find myself wolfing, literally WOLFING down piece after piece of yummy choco candy. Oh the joy of it! Ha!

Hey, it’s better than the m&m’s I used to wolf down right? Definitely.

So what is in this choco candy?

• Raw cacao butter
• Raw cacao powder
• Raw lucuma powder
• Raw maca powder
• Crystal manna flakes
• Chaga mushroom extract
• Sea salt
• Org vanilla extract
• Date syrup for sweetening (or raw agave nectar)
• Soaked and dehydrated almonds (from Spain so they are NOT pasteurized!!!)
• Org raisins

The trick is to keep the butter nice and melted (done in the dehydrator slowly) while you add the rest of the ingredients. I don’t really measure so sorry for the list without amounts. Stick it all in the freezer when you’re done, in 30 minutes you have candy!!! Oh, and please… do eat it in moderation and try not to pig out! They are so good, it’s challenging!

A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. Follow your own path. Be your own guru. Listen to your heart and soul at all times. Even when they cry out for chocolate.

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Whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got.
~Art Buchwald

Living life to the fullest. What does that mean? Does it mean racing to get another hour of time on our computers? Making sure our cell phones are on and connected at all times? I was chatting with one of our LA mates today and she said something I totally related to and I had to laugh with her… “If our DSL goes down for even an hour, we start to panic around here!” Wow. Did I ever relate. Which led me to think, what is our addiction to instant access online? Having to have everything NOW. The ‘fast food’ culture is a death culture. What we need to bring back is the ’slow food’ culture! Even though I’m not eating the fast food diet, I still participate by being so addicted my computer and my cell phone and my need to be connected 24/7! Scary!

Bam and I ate lunch today (another green soup but this time Mexican!) and got in to a discussion on the subject of time and how we can affect it. The grim reaper is not a scary skeleton looking creature with a scythe but rather it is the image looking back at you in the mirror. We determine our ‘death clocks’ by how we live our lives. Our thoughts, our actions, the food we feed ourselves, we are our own worst enemies ie… we ARE the grim reapers.

Imagine this. If you are a typical westerner eating a ‘Standard American Diet’, living a competitive lifestyle of rushing around and keeping up with your neighbors, watching the news on TV etc…. then you are a twin outboard engine speedboat racing across the ocean of time towards your death.

Now, think of the ways you can change that.

• Raw vegan = rowboat with oars
• Meditation and yoga = rowboat with oars
• Combine raw vegan AND meditation and yoga = raft with one oar

So what is the speed of a yogi in the mountains? Probably like a surfer on his surfboard paddling with the current and riding the waves. Or perhaps he/she is treading water slowly in the vast sea of life. I’m certainly not at that level but it’s interesting to ponder.

Today, promise yourself, let each breath find its way in and out of you naturally. Feel each moment. Eat well. Think positive thoughts. Avoid the television and laugh whenever possible.

We always talk about eating raw foods and eating healthy and how great it is for you and how much you’ll change from it. But there’s more to the story than that. It’s what you DON’T eat anymore that changes you the most.

By eliminating what I like to call “food products” from your lifestyle, you will have a big shift. I’m talkin’ about chips, candy, things in jars, cans, plastic wrappers, microwave dinners, energy drinks, etc. You get rid of that toxic waste dump and your body will feel life.

Then, you stop with the dairy and meat industry. Gimme a break. You really think that stuff is helping you? C’mon you know better! But the fact is, we have emotional eating habits and if you can become more aware of that, then you’ll be on a winning streak.

Some easy tips:

• If you fry something, use coconut oil and fry it at a low temperature if possible.
• Drink a lot of water to counter the negative effects of anything that you know is ‘bad’ for you but you are eating it anyway.
• If you cave in and eat some junk food, be sure to juice a lot of dark greens the next day.
• No matter what you are eating, simply thank the universe (or whatever your personal belief system supports) for the food you are giving your body and take a moment to feel gratitude.

Raw foods are not a diet. They are a lifestyle and some days will be easier than others and some days you might just slide backwards or feel a struggle. Forgive yourself and remember, tomorrow is another day. Breathe in, breathe out. Smile from your liver.

Truly the list would be more than three but I’m trying to be reasonable here!

1. The easy weight loss (if needed) and then weight maintenance.
2. Feeling absolutely amazing!
3. Getting to eat a lot of yummy food and lots of delish desserts!

The easy weight loss (if needed) and then weight maintenance.

When we first went raw vegan, we were in a dark place. Having gained quite a bit of weight (for us) and feeling pretty depressed. We jumped in with both feet and went 100% raw right off the bat. It was about one month later that we noticed the huge changes. The weight melted off both of us in spite of not changing our exercise regimen. Some of my friends expressed concern that I was getting too skinny! What they didn’t know was that I was going back to the weight I had been my whole life up until 2 years prior to being raw. Indeed, that is where I have stayed and so has Bam. No dieting! I eat like a MANIAC! In fact, I’m always eating. I’m one of those people who carries snacks with me. To the movies, to the mall, to go visit friends… anywhere. I always have something to snack on … ‘in case I get hungry’.

While not everyone experiences the weight loss that we did, most people do find their weight evens out over a period of time. If you do not lose weight like you want to, then you can watch how many nuts and fatty foods like avocados you consume on a daily basis. Most importantly, love yourself as you are! Accept your whole being! Love yourself, love the food you are preparing, love your life and share that love in a gentle way and you will find your path is a wonderful one.

Feeling absolutely amazing!

I always thought getting older was a terrifying prospect. Arthritis, failing memory, all sorts of aches and pains, weight gain (we covered that!), insomnia… and on and on and on. This what I have heard my whole life and it was what I accepted as ‘truth’. But that acceptance was so incorrect and ridiculous! Today I feel better and more vibrant than I did in my 20’s! That is saying something. The arthritis and insomnia are also gone. Years of  playing bass and piano had taken a toll on my wrists and again, I thought this was just ‘what happened to people’. But it didn’t have to be that way as once we went raw, POOF… achy wrists were gone! The insomnia I had suffered from disappeared as well! Energy? Yeah, you betcha. Oh and allergies all went away too. Yeah, it’s good to feel great everyday and it is something I didn’t know I was missing until I had it!

Getting to eat a lot of yummy food and lots of delish desserts!

I know I should be following an ‘eat to live’ train of thought and yet… I really do enjoy food. I mean I love great tasting gourmet dishes! Most definitely as raw foodies, we strive to eat foods that help us live better. Yet within that paradigm, I find myself looking very forward to certain things like …. chocolate candy! However it is not something I have everyday and when I do eat raw desserts, I find I can stop myself from gorging due to the high nutritional density.

We all have many reasons why it’s awesome to eat raw vegan. At the absolute most important center of the whole concept is that you find your own path to optimum health. Ours is always evolving as our bodies change from day to day and week to week.  Now, I gotta jump off of here and go make some more chocolate yumminess. Ha ha!

So what does a raw foodist do for Valentine’s Day? We make raw chocolate candy for the ones we love!!! I will take a pic when it’s done and post it up here but for now, how about a link to an amazing Hot Chocolate recipe? Especially yummy if you live in a cold climate.

Remember, raw chocolate is a very very different food to the chocolate candy you buy in stores. Since you are working with the source chocolate, the stuff that came out of the pods, you are not getting all the junk ala crap that companies shove in there to make you sick like dairy, and well, a whole long list of ingredients that I can’t even pronounce. You are instead receiving the wonderfulness known as a ’superfood’ that gives you tons of magnesium. Stick to the real thing and you’ll be much happier, live longer and smile a whole lot. My basic rule of thumb, if I can’t pronounce it or it isn’t a ‘food’ I ain’t eating it! But seriously, the raw cacao bean is wonderful and to be loved and adored. (Spoken like a true chocolate addict right?!)

Love makes the world go round and when you prepare raw vegan foods you are putting your heart and soul into those recipes. Take time to enjoy the moment instead of rushing through to get to the eating part. Savor the energy you are pouring into each action to make someone (or yourself) feel alive with living foods! There is nothing like it in the world.

If you still want more choccie yum yum, have a look at our video for Raw Chocolate Pudding! It’s yummy! Plus it might even make someone fall in love with you!!!!

We drink a version of either a green smoothie or a juice every day. But sometimes, life makes it so you’re in a hurry. We get it. So one day Bam ordered these totally raw and vegan Ormus Supergreens from Matt and Angela’s site Sunwarrior and lemme tell ya… they are the BOMB! We found a great recipe as the peppermint and stevia was a bit different at first. Try this for yummy delicious nutritous greeniness:

• Water from 1 young Thai coconut
• 1 mango
• 1/2 small pineapple or 1/3 of large pineapple
• Extra spring water if needed
• 2 large spoonfuls of Ormus Supergreens

YUM! Please let us know if you have your own recipe for this green smoothie superstarter.

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What happens when a bunch of raw foodists get together? We eat amazing foods and laugh at being able to socialize and eat every single thing on the plate! Wow. What an experience. Since moving to Florida we’ve already met a bunch of fellow raw foodies and they invited us to this gather to prepare raw food together. Casually called the “Raw Heads”, we explored many topics of conversation from chaga mushroom extract (and did shots!) … to spring water to all raw/yoga cruises! It’s a big ole world out there and you gotta search until you find what you’re looking for.

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I admit it. I have an extreme phobia of the dentist. Not just the pain, but the bills as well! Bam and I have (not so proudly) avoided going to a dentist for too many years to admit and even though we have found a dentist, being raw foodists leads us to think differently and seek out ‘natural hygiene’ methods.

The three best natural methods to avoid the dentist:

1. Use Neem Products to clean your teeth.
2. When you brush your teeth, use the purest version of spring water you can find.
3. Avoid calcium supplements and additives like the plague.

NEEM

You’ve heard the word and you might have seen the products at your local health food store. People in India chew on Neem twigs to clean their teeth. You can buy the oil, the leaf powder, the bark powder and all sorts of combinations with ‘other’ ingredients. It is the ‘other’ ingredients that we think makes the difference. We have started an experiment by using Neem Oil from this company and mixing it with Peppermint and coconut oil and brushing with that. We tried the Neem oil on its own and the gag factor was INSANE! OMG! This is on a par with Durian which is just too disgusting for yours truly! Ha! We have both noticed that our tooth problems have quieted down. But like all things natural, the repair is never instant. So only time will truly tell. We are going to keep up this regimen for a while and see if we can help our teeth and gums.

I have read of some interesting uses of Neem oil including women spreading it on their genitals as a method of birth control! My theory is that this stuff smells so bad that it just keeps the men away from them! It’s also supposed to be an excellent mosquito repellant. But again, maybe even the skeeters are grossed out by the smell! In any case, we shall persevere in our quest for dental health!

WATER

In spite of what you might believe, we have researched and come to believe that tap water, filtered tap water and spring water in plastic bottles is causing you a lot of harm and damage.  If you brush your teeth with tap water, you are adding to the problem. The additives in city water in America are beyond insanity. You thought fluoride was a good thing? Think again. It can be okay IF applied topically. But not ingested in your water! Wake up! There are many things added to the water system these days including calcium which ‘calcifies’ your body … ie AGES you. Then there is the maximum allowable TDS: Total Dissolved Solids. Hmmm… what exactly are those solids? Oh goodie. Lots of that is TOILET PAPER! Do you want to brush your teeth with that?

So you get the point. Brush your teeth with spring water from glass bottles or get into distilling your own water. Admittedly this can get ridiculously costly. So if you’re strapped for moola, then boil your tap water and keep it in a glass jug in your fridge and use that to brush your shiny whites morning and night!

CALCIUM

We need to get rid of the ‘bad calcium’ build up in our systems and this is a very broad subject which I won’t attempt to cover. Basically, you can take some MSM supplements (research them carefully please!) and you need to avoid all dairy. (I hope if you’re reading this you have gone vegan!) Get good calcium from sea vegetables and dark leafy greens! It is easily assimilated by our bodies and put to good use. That is the type of calcium we are supposed to have. Not the kind derived from another species. Calcium isn’t bad. But synthetic calcium like the kind they put in our tap water is bad. The kind you take as supplements is ridiculous. The kind in your toothpaste ironically is pretty bad for your teeth! We want bio-available calcium which can be found easily in a raw food lifestyle.

We attended the David Wolfe and Dr Gabriel Cousens seminar the other week in Miami and wow was it eye opening. Especially when it came to calcium. Avoid ‘denatured’ calcium at all costs is my new saying. Do not ingest or use anything that has the word calcium in it. Read your supplements. If your toothpaste has calcium chloride in it, throw it away and find something else. What do you think arthritis is? It is the calcification of your bones and muscles. We have become a society of consumers that believe everything we’re sold on tv. STOP! Question it all instead. Question what I am telling you and find out for yourself. Do not prescribe to your doctor’s advice of what is good for you. Do not listen to your dentist’s advice either! Explore the options of which there are many.

Get your neem on the go, use spring water in GLASS bottles or make your own distilled water and eat leafy greens and toss out those silly calcium supplements your granny told ya you needed. Our teeth are an overall reflection of our health. Just like our skin. So pay attention to them. Love them. Please let us know what methods you use to keep your teeth clean. It’s all a grand experiment.

It’s no secret now that the key to healthy living comes from having a strong immune system. So what can we do? After years of eating junk food, taking antibiotics, thinking negative thoughts, being blasted with EMF’s from cell phones and everything else? Of course, there is no easy answer like take this one supplement and you’ll be cured! But there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of NEVER getting cancer or some other debilitating disease. We need to build our immune systems back up from the inside out!

1. Nutrition
2. Detox
3. Pull out parasites and metals

First, nutrition. You knew I was gonna start with that right? You have to feed your body the fuel it needs to build up healthy cells and detox all the crap you fed it for years or decades. It won’t change overnight but it will heal over time and the simple truth is often the most basic truth. Food is what we all need and food can cure you or kill you. Dark leafy greens are the key essential ingredient to living longer, stronger and better. Get ‘em in you. Juice ‘em, green smoothie with ‘em, eat a ton of salad every day and smile from your liver!

Secondly we need to explore the various ways to detox. This means pulling out metals, parasites, infections, viruses… etc. There are many new phrases and ideas being tossed around… zappers, grounding, wild mushrooms… I will keep you posted on our experience with these as we check them out. For now, we have ordered the Zapper – Teminator. The claims are pretty wild but even David Wolfe is wearing one and says it’s the real thing. He has nothing to gain from that testimonial as he does not sell it on his site so we thought we’d give one a try. I will post an honest review in the next month or two on that item!

As for grounding, that’s easy. Walk barefoot at least once a day! Make sure your feet actually touch the earth. No socks, no shoes to separate you from the planet. This ‘grounds’ you. If you have doubts… just trust me on it. Or google it and find out for yourself. There is more on that subject.. but this is a brief overview of ideas. If you have tried more grounding items, please let us know or leave a comment!

Ahhh…. the wild mushrooms. No, we ain’t talkin’ magic mushrooms! Although they seem pretty magical in terms of their properties. Wow! These mushrooms grow on trees and we are checking these out too. The two most known varieties are Chaga and Reishi. These fungi are a major part of your defense against parasites. If you think you don’t have parasites? Think again. It is one of the most common ailments in American society today. Your doctor might tell you otherwise… but they’re in you. You can find those mushrooms in a myriad of forms ranging from powder to make tea to capsules to extracts. We have not tried them yet but look forward to experimenting!

We are starting with the zapper and will check that out first. In order to keep track of what’s doing what, we will add one thing at a time.

There is so much to learn about our immune systems and maintaining a healthy body. This is a mere sprinkling of ideas that I hope will inspire, motivate and drive you to a healthier you! Please let us know what you are checking out and what is working for you. For that matter, let us know what isn’t working too!!!

Times… they are a-changin’! The Raw Pirate Gourmet site is undergoing some changes. We hope to have it fully up and running again soon. You need to get healthy and you need the info to get you there! We know that. Thank you for your continued support.

Remember, you ARE what you eat. So eat wisely and consciously.

Much more later… Peace! xo

It’s been a long time since the last post and I apologize for that! We’re still here! In fact, we’re hard at work on a Raw Pirate Gourmet book now, too. Bam and I took some time off and went to the Caribbean for some heavy duty relaxation. Wow. Talk about laid back! Yes indeed, the good people on Tortola in the BVI know how to mellow out.

We’ve been receiving lots of comments from readers/viewers on the site and wanted to let you know the many ways you can reach us. We are both on facebook and welcome your questions and comments:
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We are both on the GiveItToMeRaw community too and would love to meet you there!
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We are both on Twitter although I will admit, we are not professional twitterers!
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