Raw on the Rawk

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Chris

It’s been pretty hard to contain ourselves these last couple of months. We’ve been planning the Raw on the Rawk – Raw Living Food Festival on Salt Spring Island, August 10-12.

Our website is now live and open for registration. And because we are so excited, we want to make sure you can afford to come. So we have a terrific Early Birdy price of $150 (plus HST) for the full meal deal (Friday evening, all day Saturday and Saturday dinner, Sunday morning), if you register before May 31st. Wow!

But just because we are in the spirit of giving, and because we truly believe August 10-12 is going to be life changing for many of you, we are lowering the registration fee to $105 (plus HST) for the full package until 9 p.m. on April 6. Incredible!

So what can you expect?

We envision a 3-day event that brings people together to learn from each other, to hear inspirational stories, to learn about new ideas, to watch amazing food demos by well-known raw food chefs, and to eat lots of incredible fresh live plant-based foods to inspire and revive.

There will be panel discussions where you can ask those burning questions that you’ve been dying to get answers to. You will hear an informative and inspiring keynote by Preet Marwaha, owner of Organic Lives, International Speaker, and Instructor at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition. And you can attend several demonstrations by raw food chefs where they will be demonstrating their favourite live plant-based recipes.

There will be yoga every morning to start the day, time to visit the Salt Spring Island Saturday Market, and a marketplace of vendors specializing in raw food products and equipment, AND live plant-based meals. Friday evening you will be treated to a raw appetizer and cocktail event. Saturday will include a 3-course live plant-based lunch. Saturday evening will be the showcase event of the 3 days with a 5-course live plant-based gourmet meal and entertainment. Sunday will conclude the festival with a live plant-based brunch and final  discussion to help you maintain the energy of the 3 days and move forward on your transformational journey into live plant-based lifestyle.

As more events are added and speakers included, we will be providing updates on the Raw on the Rawk website. So come one, come all and make August 10-12 your event destination for the summer. This week only, register at the LOW price of $105!

It will be definitely be RAWSOME.

Chocolate Mousse Pie
With thanks to Jennifer Cornbleet author of Raw Food Made Easy.

Chocolate seems to be on the minds of many of us, most of the time, but particularly at Easter. Here is a rich pie made with a secret ingredient, no one will discern, because of the yummy cacao. Eat the filling alone as a chocolate mousse or make a crust and impress everyone with this luscious pie topped with cashew cream.

Chocolate Mousse Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie; 8 generous servings

Crust
• 2 ¼ cups raw almonds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 16-24 pitted Medjool dates

Place the almonds in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the dates and vanilla evenly over the mixture. Process until the mixture just sticks together. Press into a 9-inch shallow pie plate.

Chocolate Mousse Filling
• 16 pitted Medjool dates
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
• 3 avocados, mashed (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder or carob powder
• 1/2 cup filtered water

Place the dates, vanilla and water in a food processor and process until smooth. Mash the avocadoes and then add the avocados, cacao powder and process until smooth and creamy. Add more water if required but try to keep it firm, not runny. Fill the crust with the chocolate filling. Chill in the freezer for at least 2 hours before serving. Let the pie defrost on the counter while eating your main course, which will allow the pie to stay firm but not overly hard or too soft. Chocolate Mousse Pie will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Garnish
• 2 cups fresh raspberries or other fruit
• A dollop of Sweet Creams Fluff (recipe follows)

Note: Avocados are used as a replacement for butter, cream, and eggs in this dessert.

Sweet Creams Fluff
Yield: 1 ½ cups

  • 1 cup cashews, soaked for 1-2 hours
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 6 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked for 1-2 hours
  • Water, reserved from soaked dates

Place dates, cashews, and vanilla in blender and slowly add date water until smooth (about the consistency of whipped cream).
Add water to thin if required.

Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Will keep for 5 days in fridge.

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Collaboration

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Chris

It pops up out of no where. You think you are forging ahead on your own chosen path and then out of the blue the phone rings and someone has a ‘crazy’ idea. We often think that when we propose working with other people that there is something crazy about it. Far from it.

Currently in our technological world of facebook and twitter where we proudly count up how many friends or followers we have, we communicate in isolation. A singular solo function based on ego driven posts and pronouncements. A dialogue of one, with one – our self.

To actually consider picking up the phone or meeting in person, and contemplating a one on one conversation with another human being can be monumental. No wonder we are finding a generation who is hesitant to initiate a conversation based on human contact. But when that barrier is broken the synergy is palpable and the possibilities endless.

Think about one new goal you would like to reach. Think about:

  • what it will entail
  • your strengths, skills, and talents
  • what you need to organize in order to reach your goal
  • how you are going to get yourself where you need to go in order to accomplish your goal
  • who will help hold you accountable
  • how often you reach your goals on your own
  • when you have been successful what elements were in place
  • how many times reaching goals have been better realized working with someone else

Working with someone else provides an alternative perspective. It doesn’t mean their perspective is better. It just allows you to bounce your perceptions against someone else’s. The other person may consider options you never would have. What often happens is that we see ways we can support others with our perspectives and enrich their options as much as they are augmenting ours. A win-win.

It is true that ultimately we are the only ones who can make the final decisions and take the journey that will actualize change in our lives. But there is strength in numbers and appreciating the commonalities we each have in attaining our goals, as well as differences in getting there.

Spring is a perfect time to shed a few pounds, lighten our emotional or physical load, or to consider a move – whether actual or metaphorical in nature. We don’t hesitate to ask for help when we tackle a move from one home to another, whether we pay for movers or amass friends to help with the heavy lifting. So why hesitate to ask for help when you consider making a move in lifestyle, eating patterns, or exercise regime. Someone is out there contemplating the same kind of move. Whether it is a personal friend, a work colleague, or a support network. All it takes is picking up the phone or signing up for the next fitness class or cooking workshop.

Or how about pulling together a few people with a common goal and creating your own workshop, class, group coaching support, or networking opportunity. Eliminate the middle person and take charge of your destiny by designing the services that will meet your needs in the best way. There is strength in numbers, reduction of costs through volume, and synergy through collaboration both for the participants and the coach, educator, or facilitator. Pull together the people, the ideas, and create a new concept of support. Sounds exciting. Both Rawsome Lifestyle Coaching and Rawsome Living Foods are the ‘go to’ places for all supports involved with making a shift to a live whole plant-based foods lifestyle. Our aim is to collaborate with you around your goals to assist you in reaching your desired outcomes.

Who knows what will be created. And in the end, you may actually find a ‘real’ friend.

Sprouting

What could be simpler than growing your own sprouts to bring the freshness of springtime into your kitchen every day of the year.

  • A large mason jar
  • A mesh lid (you can buy mesh from the hardware store)
  • An elastic band
  • 1/8-1/4 cup of alfalfa seeds (or any seeds for sprouting) depending on the size of the jar
  • Water

Instructions
Watch this video to see how easy it can be.

I store my sprouts in the same jar I have sprouted them in (once the dead seeds are cleaned off) with the mesh lid and they will keep up to a week without getting moldy or slimy.

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Confidence and self worth

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Chris

Asking for help can be paralyzing. There is a belief that if we can’t do it on our own, then we aren’t competent. As a society we live very isolated lives in our solitary homes, separate from any extended family structure or sense of community, hidden behind computer screens, and digitally conversant in 127 characters. As if some clever tweet can adequately express one’s needs and desires or describe all intentions and life’s greater purpose.

I started to think about why we are so hesitant to ask for help and where that hesitancy may stem from. I kept coming back to confidence and self worth. At which point, I harkened back to my early childhood educator roots and found this quote by Lillian Katz.

“There was a very interesting study that showed that first graders who are confident in their ability tend to ask for help when they get stuck….They get help and their confidence is maintained in a cyclical fashion. Children, who don’t have confidence in their ability, don’t ask questions. And, because they don’t ask for help, they don’t get it and, as a result, they continue to lack confidence in their ability — it feeds on itself. That’s extremely important for adults to recognize — adults can break this cycle, the child cannot.”

Of course. If I ask for help I may expose some of my vulnerabilities and look like I don’t know what I’m doing – which in fact is probably the case. But because I’ve been at this thing called life for so long, I should by now know what the heck I’m doing. So I continue along stumbling my way through the steps. Sustaining, but not living within my creative, whole and, abundant self.

There is another aspect to not asking for help and that comes from the belief that everyone else is too busy or have lives that are too important to spend a few moments with you and your mundane questions or requests. I link that to self worth. Not feeling worthy of having others provide me with some of their expertise. Not feeling good enough.

We all need support from time to time. My experience has shown me that people actually love to be asked to help. If you are someone who never or rarely asks for help, then when you do, those whom you ask will feel honoured that they could actually play a role in supporting you. They will appreciate the opportunity to contribute to your success in accomplishing a task or goal and to be able to say they played a role in your success.

Confidence and self worth are hugely responsible for assisting or deterring us from reaching our goals. If we are filled with doubt and don’t believe we are worthy of success, we won’t be successful. If we believe we deserve to manifest our dreams and that we have the capacity to get ourselves there, we will. And reaching our goals may include asking for help.

So no matter what the task, the goal, the bar you are hoping to reach, think about who is out there who may have a skill set, or experience that can be of assistance. Reaching your goal within a support system will be so much more gratifying. And in the process you may find a community of like-minded people you never imagined existed. All because you asked for help. Only you can break the cycle and make your dreams come true. So find someone who believes in you. Together is always better.

Kale Chips with Tahini Salad Dressing

• 2-4 large bunches of kale
• 1-2 medium zucchini
• 2-3 tbsp Tahini
• Juice of 1 squeezed lemon
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup wheat-free Tamari
• ¼ tsp cayenne or less if too hot
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ cup Red Star Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Clean kale and remove stems. Tear up kale into large bite sized pieces. Place in large bowl.
Make dressing and use a blender. Put all ingredients into blender then slowly blend until smooth.

Add more cayenne to taste, if too bland.
If too lemony add a couple more tablespoons of tahini.
Can add some water if too thick and creamy.
Can add more nutritional yeast if too runny. Can add more for a ‘cheesy’ chip.
Can add more vinegar if not tart enough.
Can add more Tamari if not salty enough.

Coat the kale with the dressing and knead the kale until it is covered. Place kale on mesh dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for up to 12 hours or until it has reached your desired crispness.

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