Raw frozen Grape and Chocolate iceblock 'caterpillars'...so fun, so simple and so YUM!

Today I just randomly invented these super fast and simple little 'caterpillar' ice blocks and am so happy I did!
I purchased a bag of super sweet little organic sultana grapes from the local health store today and simply threaded a few on wooden skewers.

organic sultana grapes on skewers ready to be coated in raw chocolate

I then melted a 1/4 cup of cacao butter in a bowl over a pot of hot water, added 1/4 cup of agave syrup and stirred until mixed before adding 1/4 cup of cacao powder. Mixed until a smooth liquid.

While I was making the raw chocolate, I left the grapes on skewers in the freezer to cool on a sheet of teflex paper from the dehydrator to avoid sticking.

After the chocolate was ready, I simply poured with a spoon the melted raw chocolate over the grapes on the skewers until all coated, twisting as the chocolate solidified to the cold grapes.
Once all done, left to freeze over night.

In the morning, I had a wonderful raw treat surprise for the kids which they loved, as did the parents ;) They sure didn't last long. So now I have a job for the kids, to thread grapes on skewers all day tomorrow and leave to freeze and store, ready for the chocolate coating so this snack can be made anytime through out the year even when the season of sultana grapes are long gone.

Raw chocolate coated grape ice blocks

Such a simple delight for the entire family.

The Amazing JACKFRUIT! Raw chewing gum, icecream and more....

Well to kick off my new inspired self back into the vibrant life of raw living and self sufficiency, I want to share with you a newly discovered fruit I have just found.....the incredibly amazing and versatile fruit known as Jackfruit. I had heard of a jack fruit very vaguely but knew nothing about it, that was until we moved to our piece of paradise and discovered a massive old tree growing in our back yard, literally loaded with massive knobbly fruits. After a little Internet research, I confirmed my suspicions and found out they were actually indeed the jackfruit. So what is a jackfruit? Well actually something very fascinating. Its a tropical fruit grown and widely used mostly in Asia. It has the largest known fruit growing up to a whopping 90cm long! Whoa that's huge, but ours were nothing in size to compare to that. This ancient massive tree growing in our back yard was supporting quite a crop and we moved in just as it was the time to harvest.

One of the last of our jackfruits left to ripen on our tree

With a little research we soon discovered the versatility and benefits of the jackfruit. The tree itself has been used to dye cotton robes of Buddhist priest because of its orange coloured wood chips

Slight orange colour used to create a dye

The tree and fruit also excrete a mass of milky liquid that dries thick like a latex rubber. It sticks to the hands and so the fruit can not be handled without rubbing a little vegetable oil on the skin first or everything becomes a sticky mess! This latex like substance has been used as a cement to repair broken earthenware amongst other purposes.

The tip of a cut branch still oozing with liquid and goo after we cut it 3 weeks ago!

The roots and bark have medicinal and material making qualities among other things, the young leaves are boiled and eaten as a vegetable or used in cooking to wrap and steam rice recipes.

As for the fruit, well the list continues......When left to ripen on the tree, we found flying foxes destroyed the fruit during the night leaving holes in them. I was then advised by a local to pick the largest just before they ripen and place at the base of the tree. Following his instructions, this method worked, and in just a few days we had our first soft, ripe jackfruit. Excited we got it inside to taste test. Breaking open the thick knobbly skin exposed a lush yellow centre filled with parcels of juicy pockets of flesh

Exposed sweet juicy flesh of our home grown jackfruit

The flavour I first used to describe this interesting fruit was something like a mashed ripe banana. This seemed more accurate in describing the riper segments that had gone quite soft and yellow, but when I tasted a fruit that had not ripened so much and the segments of flesh were still rather firm, I found it much more to my liking, reminding me of something really sweet and unique.

Bowl of juicy, ripe, sweet flesh

Now the really interesting part about this fruit is that it was the original inspiration behind the flavour of 'Juicy Fruits' chewing gum. After eating a lot of jackfruit I can now see how this could be. The flavour is some what similar and the texture is quite chewy. It really is like chewing a piece of that old famous gum when torn into thin strips. Now my kids have never had chewing gum, (oh that's right, there was that one time someone did give them some without my knowing) but my daughter has been asking me about buying chewing gum often as she watches the older kids in the street chewing away. So here it is, the perfectly, natural and raw alternative. Strips of ripe, raw jackfruit! I began tearing strips of the flesh and calling out to the kids to come get your chewing gum. They came running, eating bits at a time, chewing away happily for a few minutes until they swollowed and came running back for more. They felt rather 'cool' and loved it. Starzi even said she liked to chew her piece until it turned white!

My style of 'juicy fruit' raw chewing gum, direct from the original source

With so much jackfruit flesh and so much we could indulge in before getting overloaded, I decided to bag the flesh into ziplock bags and freeze. This meant removing the inner seed from each segment and washing the inside before placing in a bag. It was quite a process, but well worth it as we now have a good supply of frozen ripe jackfruit.....ready to make icecream! I heard that jackfruit has a great consistency to make icecream, so today I grabbed a bag out of the freezer and used my vitamix to blend (with a small amount of almond milk just to get things going) until whipped.  The kids were quite impressed polishing off their serve each as did I, with a drizzle of passionfruit pulp. The consistency was a lot like soft serve, Id even say, so much better than frozen banana whipped into icecream.

Scrumptious raw jackfruit icecream with passionfruit

And now for the last wondrous discovery of this amazing fruit...the seeds. Unfortunately they cannot be consumed raw being indigestible due to the presence of a powerful trypsin inhibitor. I am told this can only be destroyed by boiling or baking, so that is what we did. Wanting to experience a little self sufficiency and enjoy the fruit, in its entirety, we boiled the seeds and shelled them of their outer hard shell. I then roasted them in a oiled pan and enjoyed them with salt, tasting similar to a little potato. They were well received by all, especially the hubby who praised them immensely.

Washed jackfruit seeds freshly plucked from the pulp

The white is the outer hard shell which needs to be removed before eating
 (after boiling is sometimes easier)

Boiled and sauteed jackfruit seed, which were delicious but unfortunately are not digestible raw

I have also heard they can be grinded after boiling to make a flour for breads....oh and the green jackfruit is widely popular as a meat substitute taking on the texture of chicken when boiled and fried? added to curry as are the boiled seeds....I'm yet to try this and have just a couple of green jackfruits still hanging on the tree to do so. I love the idea of eating raw, but also love the idea of being self sufficient and eating something grown in your own backyard and used in its entirety even if portions are cooked, how amazing is that :)
I am so fortunate to have discovered the amazing Jackfruit  

Simple raw celery filled sticks

Ok, back onto the good bits - yummy food full of goodness, simplicity and the essence of nature.

These were inspired by childhood memories of cream cheese filled celery sticks enjoyed as a kid.

I made 2 versions - one cheese filled and the other I like to call 'ants on a log'

Raw Cream cheese filled celery sticks
Recipe:
Blend until smooth a cup of macadamia nuts with a dash of apple cider vinegar, pinch of salt, squeeze of lemon juice and enough water to allow for blending - about 1/8 cup. You can add nutritional yeast for a more cheesy flavour.
Simply spread on celery sticks and enjoy. 
Starzi loved these.

Raw cream cheese filled celery sticks

'Ants on a log'
Recipe:
Using raw home made almond butter, simply spread on celery sticks and top with 'ants' (currents)

'Ants on a log'

  A novel and simple way to get kids to eat celery!

Yummy salad and dessert for the kids while I fast

Even though I have been fasting for the last 4 days, the kids have still been eating. Its during my fasting time that I will put a lot less effort into the kids meals, but I did find inspiration to whip up these 2 great dishes. Though I didn't get to taste them, they were enjoyed by the kids.

Raw Cheesey kale and mushroom salad

Raw cheesey Kale and mushroom salad

Recipe: Raw Cheesey kale and mushroom salad
I started by shredding a couple of kale leaves from the garden and adding a pinch of salt before massaging with the hands to begin the wilting process.
I then added chopped baby spinach, 
a spiraled carrot
an avocado cubed
Strips of sundried tomato that had been soaked for 20 mins
A handful of mushroom strips that had been coated in olive oil and nama shoyu for 5 mins. 
A clove of fresh crushed garlic
extra olive oil
dash of lemon juice
and a good sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
Toss everything.
I then covered the bowl with a glass lid and left to warm and wilt in the sun for half an hour before serving.

Though the kids did take 2 days to get through it all, they did seem to enjoy it.

And this was a quick last minute dessert I created tonight, based on the current extra supply of young coconut flesh on hand, due to my increase in coconut water on my fast.

Raw Blueberry coconut cream

Raw blueberry coconut cream dessert

Recipe: Raw blueberry coconut cream
Simply blend until smooth young coconut flesh and frozen blueberries.
Serve in a bowl and sprinkle with more blueberries, optional honey for a sweeter taste and shreds of coconut flesh.

Devouring the raw blueberry dessert

This dessert didn't take two days to eat, instead was devoured in 2 minutes!

Happy Birthday to my little boy!

Today was a celebration of my sons 3rd birthday.

We woke with the traditional letter reading, which is a tradition I have kept yearly with both my children. On the eve of their birthdays, I will sit and write a letter to them reminiscing, celebrating and expressing my love, thoughts and experiences about them over the past year that we have shared. I then read this letter to the family on the morning of their birthday's. This letter becomes a keepsake in their individual yearly photo albums and will be a forever recollection of memories to forever share. Both my kids love to hear their birthday letters and I hope they become a special part of their journeys through life as we cherish and remember these special early years. 

After our personal letter reading, I whipped up some of my favourite, super fast, flax meal raw breakfast pancakes with an added touch of chocolate for a special day. 

Raw 'instant' flaxmeal pancakes with a hint of chocolate
for a special birthday breakfast

Recipe: Raw flaxmeal pancakes with a touch of chocolate
To 1 cup of freshly ground golden linseed
add 1 large dollop of honey
a tablespoon of cacao powder
and a tablespoon of melted coconut oil.
Stir and add more water until mixture holds, but not too much water as it becomes too sticky.
Mould into pancakes and serve with a drizzle of agave and sliced banana

After breakfast we opened a couple of gifts from the families which always delights everybody. Its so precious to see their amazed and excited little faces light up when they open their gift.

After all the gifts were opened and played with, it was time for the final present, a horse trek through the bush.

A birthday horse ride

And what is a birthday with out a cake? Not a birthday at all, so I whipped up quickly this carrot and coconut cake. I had to make it with my juicer with the flat plate as my magimix food processor spindle got worn flat after I last tried to make a date and cacao fudge!. It still worked out, just a bit slower and messier.  I use to make these cakes all the time at the beginning of the year. It quickly became my husbands favourite cake, but somehow, it got lost amongst the latest sweet rich chocolate cakes of recent, but has made a comeback today.

Recipe: Raw carrot and coconut cake with walnuts
If your food processor is working, simple blend together
about 2 chopped carrots,
a cup of shredded dried coconut,
2 tablespoons of coconut oil,
5 or so dates
a handful of sultanas
and a dash of cinnamon, followed by tiny pinches of nutmeg and powdered ginger.
Add more dates, coconut oil or honey (depending on desired sweetness) if the mixture will not combine and hold its form when pressed together. Add a handful of optional chopped 'activated' walnuts and press mixture into a spring sided cake pan.
Refrigerate to set while preparing icing.

Recipe for frosting for carrot cake
As we have been recently indulging in quite a few young coconuts to drink, I had a good supply of young coconut flesh, so I used about 4 to make the base of the icing.
To the flesh of these four young coconuts, I added a couple of handfuls of macadamias and blended until smooth and whipped. I then added a dash of vanilla, a squeeze of lemon juice and a tiny drizzle of agave. Change the quantities of these ingredients to suit desired taste. I prefer a mild flavoured topping as the cake can be quite sweet.

Spread this whipped raw cream over the cake and decorate with coconut shreds, lemon rind and almonds.

Happy 3rd Birthday Rhody!

Cake was followed by a simple dinner of a 'rawfry' using the warmth of the sun to 'cook' the vegetables rather than the heat of a frypan.
This is a simple method which works with any vegetable.

Recipe: Vegetable 'rawfry'  

Fill a bowl with thin strips of any vegetable you have on hand. We were delighted to be given access to beautiful organic asparagus and bok choy this week in our local organic coop, so I used them in my rawfry with carrot strips, mushrooms and small pieces of broccoli.

In the blender make the marinate with what ever spices and ingredients you like. You can keep it simple and just marinate the vegetables in oil and salt, or make up something spicy as I did today. I simply blended 1/2 cup of olive oil with a clove of garlic, a dash a nama shoyu, juice of half a lemon, 2 dried chili's, dash of apple cider vinegar, and a drizzle of agave. Adjust ingredients quantities to your desired flavour. Pour your marinade over the vegetables and toss. I also added my favourite raw noodle - kelp noodles, and then simply placed in my sun oven to 'cook' for half an hour.

My raw sun oven - a bowl with a glass lid
placed under the warmth of the natural suns radiance.

 The results are delicious and amazing.

And finally for a quick last minute birthday desert, I made chocolate mousse from the left over cake icing and served it on banana boats.

Raw chocolate mousse banana boats - a birthday favourite

Recipe: Chocolate mousse
Using left over coconut and macadamia cream icing from the carrot cake, simply add a couple of tablespoons of cacao powder and some agave until desired sweetness and chocolaty balance is achieved. Yum!

I managed to save just enough left overs for Dad's lunch
before the kids got to it  all!

Happy Birthday beautiful boy...we love you.



  

Spring Cleaning.

The season of spring is here. The smell of orange blossoms in the garden. The humming of bees amongst our lavender plants, the tender new shoots unfurling on my rose bushes, the warm sunshine on my skin during the days, and the cool crispness of the night time air. I love spring. A time of awakening, renewal, refreshing and cleaning out!

The next fortnight is also the waning moon phase. A potent time to clean out and clear out, so that is what I have been busy doing. Spring cleaning.

I'm not a huge fan of cleaning, as I guess not many people are. My kids are not interested in cleaning up either which I cant blame them, when I loathe it so much myself. I loathe the time consuming, wastefulness of it. I feel that most of my day is spent running around in circles, chasing mess from room to room with out really making any real progress. I could blame the kids for making all the mess, but we all wear clothes, eat food and use dishes....and my laundry floor is never visible as it is always laden with scattered dirty washing, my kitchen benches are always filled and my sink is hardly ever clear! The floor is always scattered in crumbs, red dust or dirt, the beds are always unmade and the grass never stops growing!
Life seems to be a constant chase towards an impossible finish line - housework is an endless task. And that's what I don't like about it!

I thought hiring a maid to do all of this housework for me, then I thought I would have to get a job to pay for the maid, worry she may have an affair with my husband, worry she may steal my underwear or sue us for tripping over the cat! Finding a solution for a problem can often bring on 10 more problems. I have concluded that the only answer to the constant time wasting battle towards cleaning is to SIMPLIFY.

If we all got around naked, then maybe we wouldn't have a need for laundry's to be built, washing machines to be purchased and walk in robes designed, and I wouldn't have to spend a large portion of every day washing, hanging, sorting and folding. 

If we all ate with our hands, direct from the garden, sitting under a tree, then we wouldn't have to buy plates, wash dishes, run fridges, set and clear away tables, sweep crumbs off floors, and I could spend more time outside, instead of most of the day at the kitchen sink.

This may be a little extreme, but sometimes when we just take a look at our lives and how crazy they have become as we are so far removed from what is necessary and important in comparison with what is a waste and plain ridiculous, we start to realise just how much time we do waste on either working to pay for something we don't need or waste time doing something we don't have to.

I am not quite getting around the house naked these days or have cast out all the plates and sent the kids foraging for food in the garden at meal times, but as crazy as this might seem, it does slightly appeal to me.

So, taking advantage of this potent spring waning moon, I have taken on the task to clear out and simplify over the coming weeks. 

As a starting point, I began yesterday, in my wardrobe. Admittedly, my biggest wasteful area of luxury is my addiction to clothing. I have for a long time had an addiction to shopping and clothing - anything, handmade, organic, or just unusual, will generally end up in my cupboard.
When I took a serious honest look at the extent of my clothing, I was horrified. What I saw hanging up in my cupboard space was a lot of waste. Wasted space, but mostly wasted money. I realised that I only actually wore a small portion of my clothing regularly. Some of it, I had only worn once or even never! My over supply of clothing was causing more problems then good. Even though my cupboard is quite full, I still often have nothing to wear if my favourite pair of pants are in the laundry. Having so much choice often creates confusion, having so much creates more washing and having so much feeds my attachment. I can possibly even see this negative effect running through to Starzi. I remember as a child I had one 'good' dress I would wear to all social occasions. I loved my 'good' dress and considered it special. It was something I looked after. It was only a second hand store bought dress, but I loved it and I only had one. Starzi on the other hand has as many dresses as I do. None of which are new or expensive, but she does have a lot and she cant comprehend the cost of each one, just that she has quite a selection. Admittedly, she doesn't show respect for any of them. She is happy so wear any of them in the sandpit or out bush. She leaves them laying on the floor to be walked on, and cares not if they get ripped or stains as their will be another to replace it. Is this creating a 'wasteful' society member? Or creating someone who is not 'attached' to materialistic items? I'm not sure, but I think over too much 'stuff' is not a good thing.  

So yesterday, I cleared out literally more than half of my cupboard! I think having 20 absolute favourites is better then having 50 things that I like, but wont wear mostly because they don't feel quite comfortable or I don't want to let go because they cost me too much to admit. It was tough, but I decided if this wasn't something that I would love to wear anytime, then it had to go.  


And now, the day after a big day of decisions and 'letting go', I am feeling a sense of greater freedom as I detach myself from my attachment to clothing and all that is wasteful.  One step closer to a simplified life. and now for the next space to clear out....... 

By having less 'things' in my life, I will create more time for doing what I want to do rather than what I have to do.


   



   

My Kids and getting them to eat Raw

It has been 6 months now since I began this raw journey, supported by my obliging husband, and for the most part, my 2 wonderful little children, who have done extremely well to transition to this style of eating. Though, they both do not eat entirely raw, everyday, they do indulge in a high raw diet, with the addition of some cooked eggs, a rare meal of fish or boiled rice, and recently as the weather has been cooler, a couple of meals of cooked Quinoa and steamed veggies or porridge.

A compromised meals while the kids transition
to raw. Boiled eggs, served with raw crackers
and raw tomato sauce.

I find that if I become too obsessed in trying to make them both eat raw entirely everyday, then some meal times can become a struggle, resulting in resistance. I want food to be enjoyable and easy. I have had to find compromises with the children and their eating habits. While we are amidst the cooler months of winter, I am happy to allow a portion of their intake to be cooked, as long as the majority is raw. I feel the more I pressure the kids into eating what I am the more they resist, and the resistance becomes a habit. This, is what I wish to avoid. Allowing them the space, the time and the choice to explore the raw way of eating is what helps them to transition easier. 
In saying this though, when the kids do resist eating a raw meal that I have just lovingly prepared and I assumed they are just going to devour it, but they don't, I must admit, I do find it very difficult to not get entirely annoyed, but I think that is about my ego being bruised, because I feel like their refusal is a personal attack on my culinary skills and a disrespect to my efforts. I never seem to feel so defensive and irritated if the kids refuse to eat a meal made by my husband, a friend or the grandparents, so I think it is more about my ego then ensuring they are getting their required dose of nutrients from that meal. 
And if the kids do refuse a meal I have prepared, I will try not to make a scene, nor will I make a substitute to their liking, instead I casually give them the simple option to basically 'eat it or starve'. I feel if they choose not to eat a perfectly,  good meal I have prepared, then they are not hungry enough and don't really need it. They generally tend to end up satisfying themselves with a carrot from the fridge or a piece of fruit from the basket or nothing at all.    
It is important that I bear in mind, kids tend to be also a little more 'intune' with their appetites and will not eat because the clock strikes 'dinner time' or eat to feel comforted or bored, so they may genuinely not want to eat, or not want to eat 'that' meal as it is also rather 'unnatural' to prepare one large meal for the entire family and assume they are all 'in the mood' for that same dish, when I know myself, my mood for different food choices vary and we cant expect everyone to be all wanting to indulge in exactly the same dish as each other everyday. Though, it is also unrealistic to prepare an entirely different dish for everyone each day, as of course, we are not running a restaurant!
Kids are also less tolerant to 'unique' flavours, and so what they may refuse the first, second or even tenth time, will surprise us one day and announce it is now their favourite food.

What I find that the easiest and most accepting meals for the kids is a meal made up of a selection of small portions of different dishes, such as a selection of chopped vegetables with a couple of left over raw dips I have stored in the fridge, or a bowl of zuchini noodles with a selection of left over sauces to serve with, or a raw pizza base with the toppings on the tables so the kids can create their own, or a variety of simple salads, or even a table of salad ingredients to once again create your own.

Slowly the kids will like to explore their taste sensations a little more and include new things to their intake, as long as they are not pressured. Getting them to design their own pizzas or salads also helps them to feel a sense of achievement and they will tend to enjoy the reward by eating their creation.      

I am also very fortunate that my kids have not indulged in 'fast food' or highly artificially flavoured junk food, so as they have not had exposure to this form of addictive food, to compare with, I have never had to struggle to resist them from it, which makes my life so much easier.
Overall I think my kids have become very accepting of our lifestyle change and it is opening their world as much as ours and the longer we continue this journey together, the easier it becomes for us all.
       

Back online.....

Much to my frustration last week, my computer died. I spent the first half of the day entirely annoyed by this fact, wondering how I could continue to conduct my everyday life without it. Transfering money, updating this blog, emails, movies.....it seemed we were going to be in for a bad week as we waited for a replacement. Even Michael was anxious as he wanted to get back on facebook. I didnt realise until then how much the computer dominated our lives, and I didnt like it. I want the computer to be a part of our lives, but don’t want to think that everything is suddenly impossible and complicated if it was unavailable for a week. I want to be able to 'willingly' turn off the computer for a week and enjoy it.

Eventually by the end of the first day, I came to accept the fact that the computer was unavailable and just 'got on with it'. It has turned out to be the best week in a long time in regard to the kids behaviour and the time Michael has spent with them. In our house we dont have a television because we dont agree with the content most times and think children should be watching life, not television, but I have now come to realise just how much the computer has replaced that addiction and become like a television. Its not like we use it all day, but it is used everyday and movies have become an easy 'keep em quiet' stratagy on the kids while I try to get a few things done, especially as the weather is cold and wet and we are destined to spend a few weeks indoors. After being forced to not be able to use a movie as an instant time passer and occupier for the children, I have notices how much their behaviour had improved.

They spent the entire week indoors, inventing games, creating artworks and playing so incredibly well together and being very tollerant of each other. It was a delight to watch. In the evenings when Michael got home from work, instead of settling in front of the computer for an hour or so, while I tried to hurry them off to bed so I could do the usual emails and internet recipe searching, while they demanded our attention with tantrums and refusals to go, we found ourselves spending quality time with them and they blossomed from it. I was in no rush to get them off to bed to get my ‘uninterupted’ computer time, instead they stayed awake, role playing games while I did a few household catchup chores and read them stories, until they were truley ready for bed and went without a fuss.
Having a week without the computer has been a real awakening. I will not be using u-tube movies as a boredom buster and will try to rely less on the role of a computer in my daily life, and welcome the next week I experience without one. I may have to introduce a monthly computer detox while I do my juice fasting....