They say to try to get as many different colors  of foods in your diet. There are special properties from each one of these fruits or vegetables that give it the color. So, I got to thinking as I was walking around the produce section the other day:

Are there any other fruits and vegetables that have the magenta color like the beet?

I could not think of any off the top of my head. Plus, I never did like cooked beets, so I was really searching hard in that produce section for anything else. I just could not find anything. So, I bought the beets.

Once I had them home, I had no idea what to really do with them. I honestly could not imaging slicing them up and chowing down on some raw beet slices. When all else fails for raw stuff, I turn to juicing.

If you are not into juicing, or are just getting started, then you should know there are some staples for juices. Just like SAD staples are flour, milk, and eggs, and most raw food diets have staples like agave nectar, honey, and raw nuts, juicers should have carrots, celery, and apples around.

So, first I gathered all of my ingredients:

Carrot Beet Juice Ingredients

Since this was my first time juicing a beet, I juiced the beet first just so I could taste this to see how it was. And, yes, I juiced the beet, the stem, and all of the leaves. And, I was surprised at how good it really was.

I still added all the rest of the ingredients above, and this was one of the best juices I have ever had.

Beet and Carrot Juice

The color in this juice is beautiful. And the taste is even better. I made so much, I bottled up some in one of my recycled bottles and took it to work with me. The one thing you need to know about this is it will leave your lips very red. So, be sure to have a napkin around.

Bottled Raw Beet Juice

I’ll post later about all of the health benefits of beet juice. But for not, juice away and enjoy!

One of the things I love about the raw food recipes is the simplicity of them. They are usually just a few ingredients, take a few minutes to prepare, and are ready to serve right away. This is a quick recipe that can be used for desserts or even breakfasts. It is always best if you have some fresh blueberries on hand. If not, you could substitute any other fruit or berry.

First, slice some bananas and place them in the bowl:

Sliced Bananas In A Bowl

Next, add your blueberries to the top. There really is not limit, so load it up.

Blueberries and Bananas In A Bowl

Lastly, add the cream to the top. Here is how to make the cream:

• 1/2 Cup of soaked Pine Nuts
• 1 Tablespoon of maple syrup (technically not raw, but you can add raw agave nectar)
• Filtered water

Add these ingredients into a blender and mix. You can add as much water as you want to get the consistency of a cream. Then, pour this over the top of the blue berries and bananas.

Blueberries And Cream

Raw Blueberry Crumb Pie Recipe

Here is a recipe I came across the other day, and after putting a raw spin on it, I came up with this. It works with just about any raw nut you have and any fruit you want to make into a pie. It is normally best to use the fruits that are in season where you live. I would also recommend using a fruit which is very juicy. This will more mimic the original blueberry pies we used to eat when younger. I like to call this my Raw Blueberry Crumb Pie Recipe.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup of raw pecans (you can substitute any other raw nut for this one)
• Dash of Sea Salt
• Couple table spoons of oil (olive will give it an olive taste, so if this is a concern, then go with canola oil)
• About 1/2 cup of dates

Process the first 4 ingredients into crumbs. Then add the dates and process them until they are in fine pieces like the crumbs. Place this into the bottom of a pie pan and press down to make the crust.

Blueberry Sauce:

• 1 Cup of blueberries
• 1/2 cup of dates
• 1/2 cup of purified water

Combine all of these ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. then, pour this sauce over the top of the crust in the pie pan.

Topping:

• 1 cup of fresh blueberries

Add the blue berries to the top of the sauce. Now, serve.

Raw Blueberry Crumb Pie

People are always looking for some healthy snack recipes for children. We always play it safe when we are traveling somewhere. There is always bottled water in the back, and we normally try to put together some healthy snacks to take with us. The last thing you really want is to be out somewhere, and start to get hungry. You will then end up with headaches and stopping at the closest thing to get some food. Not a good situation at all.

For the kids, we just don’t buy anything bad for the house. I normally make my own granola and keep this around. The kids love it. They eat it plain, and also with almond milk. The granola is not 100% raw. But, I do add all of the raisins, cranberries, and nuts at the end. This keeps this part raw.

For the recipe, I sort of just wing it. But here is the basics:

• 3 – 5 cups of organic oats
• 1 cup of raw oat groats soaked for 24 hours
• 1/2 cup of raw honey
• 1/2 cup of raw agave nectar
• 1/2 cup of 100% pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of raw coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• dash of salt

I heat the honey, nectar, syrup, coconut oil cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt at a low heat to mix everything up pretty good. You must keep stirring this at a low heat. Try not to get it above 105F. Then I add this mixture to the oats and groats and mix around. Ensure the oats are all wet and sticky.

Dehydrate this at 105F for about 24 hours. I keep the heat lower just because there is plenty of information out there about the 105F temperature concerning raw foods. When it is all done, remove from dehydrator and allow to cool

Once cool, we place ours in a cereal tupperware thingy. I then add as many nuts, cranberries, and raisins as I want. All of the nuts are raw, and we make sure to keep them that way.

If you keep this around, you just can not go wrong. It is a healthy snack recipe for children.

Let me know if you have anything else you add to granola so I can try it.

Organic Salsa And Chips

With Labor Day just around the corner, I know how fast a nice healthy diet can down the tank. And, trying to stay raw at a family function is one of those things like seeing a unicorn. It just most likely will not happen. But, if you get a chance to bring something, here is a recipe for organic salsa I put together the other day. I just got this recipe published on another site, so you will need to head over there to check it out.

I recommend serving this with organic blue corn tortilla chips. But, regular white tortilla chips will work also. Just keep everything organic.

Here is the link to the recipe: Organic Salsa and Chips

Now is the time for corn to be in season. It is getting to where it is almost .10 per ear in the stores. Plus, it is coming as part of our Angel Food Ministries packages. So, I wanted to find something I could make with this corn, and still keep it raw. This has led me to this video on making corn chips. Enjoy!

You can see more of his videos here