living naturally fair 2012 :: recipes

I had an incredible time doing smoothie demos at the Whole Foods Market Living Naturally Fair 2012 this past Sunday.  I was thrilled to be a part of such a great event, and more specifically, to take Juice Caboose to the next level - education!  This was my first time on stage, so I was a little nervous, but it turned out better than I expected and I'm looking forward to more opportunities like this to share my passion for raw vegan smoothies and foods.

As promised to all those that made it to the demo, I'm posting my smoothie recipes from the demo here for replication and assimilation into your own blenders!  I did two smoothies, one Green Smoothie and one Gourmet Smoothie.

Sunshine :: Green Smoothie Recipe
~ Makes 2 Servings

2 C Fresh OJ
1 Large Kale Leaf or 5-6 Small Kale Leafs (remove from stem)
1/2 Lemon, juiced
2 t Ginger
1/4 C Unpasteurized Honey
1 C Ice

Load all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.  Enjoy!

A Few Pointers for Green Smoothies:

1.  Green Smoothies are composed of liquids, fruits, and green leafy vegetables.
2.  Drink Green Smoothies first thing in the morning.  Wait 1/2 an hour before eating anything else if you are still hungry.
3.  Keep them RAW!  You don't have to be a raw foodist to reap the benefits of pure raw food nutrition.  No canned coconut, pasteurized juices, protein powders or pasteurized nuts masking as raw nuts that will compromise the integrity of the raw minerals and nutrients.  Let the smoothie do what it is known to do.  Heal from the inside out.  This smoothie will take less than 30 minutes to go through your digestive tract.  Anything else in it, will compromise that and slow digestion and lead to improper food combining and take away from the healing benefits.
4.  Keep out starches like broccoli, carrots and cabbage and make sure to take your green leaves off their stems which can also cause gas.
5.  If you have a regular blender as opposed to a Vitamix, put the liquid and greens in first and blend until smooth before adding the rest of your ingredients.

Black Forest ::  Gourmet Smoothie Recipe
~  Makes 2 Servings

1 Thai Coconut, Water and Meat scooped out
1 C Cherries, pitted
1/2 C Blueberries
1 Nectarine
2 t Vanilla Bean Powder
2 T Raw Cacao Nibs
2 T Sesame Seeds
1/4 C Agave Nectar
Pinch Sea Salt
1 C Ice

Load all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.  Enjoy!

A Few Pointers for Gourmet Smoothies:

1.  When Vanilla Bean Powder isn't available to me I use Pure Vanilla Bean Extract that doesn't have alcohol in it.  You can use the same amount.  Although not raw, it is a great substitute and easier on the budget.
2.  All agave nectars are not created equally.  Some are known to be processed at extremely high temperatures rendering them the same as corn syrup in nutritional value.  If you are unsure about agave, substitute with unpasteurized honey or if you are a vegan, use soaked and pitted dates.  If you prefer something low glycemic like agave is supposed to be, substitute with apple or pear juice.  Double up the amount that you put in.
3.  Sesame seeds, hemp seeds and chia seeds are my preferred protein ingredients in a smoothie.  They are easy to digest and don't require soaking.  If you would like to use nuts, try to find real raw almonds or cashews and soak them before.
4.  Thai Coconut is high in electrolytes making it a great food to consume after a workout.
5.  Raw cacao nibs or cacao powder is pure chocolate straight from the cacao bean.  It does contain caffeine and therefore is energizing.  I keep raw cacao out of my sons smoothies if it is past a certain time of day to ensure it doesn't keep him energized all night! It also contains antioxidants.

I hope you all enjoyed the fair as much as I did.  There was just so much goodness to sample not to mention all the money raised for Kidsafe.  Congrats to all the chefs, musicians, vendors and team members of Whole Foods that contributed to such a successful event!  Thanks to all that attended and supported this fantastic event!

Juicy Suzy