Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Excellent Quote

"money often costs too much" Ralph Waldo Emerson

random thought at 7:30 in the mornig

I have to do a little ranting. It is overwhelming sometimes to think about all of the unlearning we must do in order to fully embrace this life we are living. It is not easy to always keep focused on where you are and what you need when you are being pulled in 50 directions but that is exactly the time that this focus on self is necessary. Negativity can creep in unannounced in many forms. It is an energy vampire. Our energy is as precious as our blood. I read that this morning and really like that idea. Our energy feeds our soul and our mind. We need it and can not allow it to be stolen by negativity. I am of course talking about life force energy.
The more we become unlearned the more we are capable of learning and absorbing because we are shedding preconceived notions and judgements. We are opening our minds and ourselves up to opportunities and possibilities. These things come for all of us with each new day!

So carpe diem!

Veggie wraps & Mock Peanut Sauce

This recipe for mock peanut sauce is from Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 people by Jennifer Cornbleet.

Mock Peanut Sauce
1/2 cup raw almond butter
1/4 cup water
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. pure maple syrup or agave nectar
1/2 tsp. garlic crushed (1 clove)
1/4 tsp. fresh grated ginger
dash of cayenne & salt
2 tsp. tamari
Place all ingedients in blender or food processor and process until smooth. Store in sealed container in the fridge up to 5 days. I left out the garlic cayenne,salt & agave nectar just b/c I was out and it was great. I substituted nama shoyu for tamari b/c that is what I had.

Veggie wraps
2 or 3 Swiss Chard leaves
1 carrot
1 med. cucumber
1 avocado
1 handful of pea sprouts
Slice carrot & cucumber with a veggie peeler into long strips. Cut avocado into slices. Assemble cucumber,carrot,avocado slices and pea sprouts inside the swiss chard leaves and roll them up like a burrito. Dip in mock peanut sauce. Of course other big leafies can be used.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Simple Salad

A great fast thrown together salad

Some spring mix lettuces & spinach tossed together
1/4 cup raw pepitas per serving
1 carrot
2 radishes
olive oil
1 apple
apple Cider Vinegar

Put the lettuce/spinach mix is a large bowl. Add chopped radishes,pepitas and using a veggie peeler shred carrot into salad mix. Core apple,slice and add to mix. Top with olive oil & apple cider vinegar to taste. Avocado chunks would be good in this too.

According to the container the raw pepitas(pumpkin seeds) have 4g carbs & 9g protein per 1/4 cup serving making them a great addition to a simple salad.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Yummy salsa & taco

Salsa
1 Mango cut into chunks
2 small salad tomatoes cut into chunks
1/2 small white or yellow onion
1 clove garlic
juice of one fresh lemon to taste
1 small handful fesh cilantro,stems cut off
Combine in food processor & process. Chill until ready to use.

Taco
about 1/2 cup whole walnuts
Bragg's Amino's

Put walnuts in food processor and chop adding 3 to 4 sprays of Bragg's Amino's

1 Avocado cut into chunks
3 green cabbage leaves sliced
sprouted corn or wheat tortillas

Assemble all inside the tortillas or use a large cabbage leaf like the tortilla and top the walnut meat & avocado with the salsa. Very tasty made up recipe by yours truly. I didn't measure anything out I just did it so you could add more walnuts for more walnut meat . This recipe made enough for 2 1/2 tacos and3 salsa servings.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Random thought

We are waitingfor my husband's latest tumor marker result. AHHHHH the waiting game! We are confident that it will be lower but we want to know...now. Patientence..it is something I am working on. I want people to know that getting cancer isn't like being handed a death sentence no matter the type or stage. It depends on what you do about it. I am not saying it is fine or easy sailing or even that it isn't sometimes life threatening because it is sometimes. I lost my oldest sister to cancer and a great friend I know first hand about that side of the disease But I also know first hand the flip side of it with my husband and one of my nieces. I know what it is like to be beating it. A lot depends on state of mind and a lot of things effect that. A doctor's words or lack there of, loved one's & friend's reactions, knowledge & understanding of the disease, any previous history with it, spirituality, what is publicly said about the disease and any stigmas it might carry, etc. I do believe that fighting cancer means taking a good look at yourself and the life you are leading and deciding to make some changes. We have done that. I know I talk about cancer with words like we & our even though I do not have the disease but my husband does and whatever effects him effects me and I will not allow cancer to take over or win. I am determined to beat it. My husband is a Miracle Man! and I intend for him to beat stage IV pancreatic cancer and show people it can be done. He will/does give hope to others. This all had to come out of me because yesterday I saw all kinds of stories, posts, etc. on the death of Patrick Swayze. He had advanced pancreatic cancer and I heard him say on TV and read articles with quotes from him saying he knew he was going to die of this. Well, if you put that out there and that is where your head is at then yes, most likely you are going to succumb to the disease. There are many out there today who are fighting it and I hope that they are saying "I will beat this because I 've got a lot of living to do". Cancer can be a teacher if you let it.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Raw Pad Thai salad & basic seitan

I have been/am sick with allergies and sinus issues so I have stayed off the computer for awhile but I tried 2 new recipes that tuned out great thayt I want to share. The first is Raw Rad Thai...recipe by Annie Phyo and the second is a basic seitan loaf by Ann Gentry. Seitan is made from wheat gluten flour and also wheat flour so those with sensitivities to wheat need to avoid this recipe.

Raw Pad Thai is suppossed to be served with kelp noodles which I could not find. I did but sheets of kelp and tried those but I have a real hard time with the flavor of seaweeds so 4 bites is my max. It is so healthy for you though. For that reason I encourage you to try it.


Raw Pad Thai

sauce

2 tbs. almond butter
1/3 cup coconut oil
1tbs. Bragg's Amino's
1 tsp. corriander
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup water
1/2 red jalepeno

Blend in blender my version

2-3 cups spring greens
kelp noodles 1 cup chopped green
1/2 cup basil cabbage
1/2 cup spring greens

Pour the sauce mixture over the noodles and greens


Basic Seitan

Have equpiment prepared before making the dough to make the transfer easy.

Actual recipe from Ann Gentry My version

3 cups gluten flour 2 cups gluten flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup nutritional yeast 2 tsp. corriander
2 tsp. ground corriander 2 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 tsp. ground sage 1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. ground ginger 4 cups water
1 tsp. sea salt 1/2 cup olive & grapeseed oil
4 cups water 1/3 cup nama shoyu
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup tamari


Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking pan woth parchment paper & lightly oil the parchment. Combine the dry ingredients and in a seperate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Quickly stir in the wet mixture to the dry until a very wet dough forms. Transfer dough to baking dish. I had plenty of wet mixture left over to bast with while cooking. The recipe says to cover with foil but I just used the lid to the baking dish. Bake for 2 hours . The recipe calls for you to put the baking dish inside of a roasting pan adding enough water to come halfway up the sides. I did not do this. Check occassionally adding the leftover wet mix if needed. Cool to room temperature and cut into sections to freeze for later. My version made 2 sections to freeze and we ate the third. Wrap seitan in plastic wrap and enclose in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. Freeze up to 2 weeks. Serve with BBQ sauce or gravy. This is a great fall/winter dish.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Here is a link to Louise Hay's website http://www.louisehay.com/enews/thankyou2.php# We love her. Her books allowed us to make wonderful changes and come to lots of realizations in our lives. Her affirmations get us going everyday. she is just amazing. If you sign up for her free newsletter you get a free audio download of Receiving Prosperity. Do it! Listen & soak up what she says.

Have a beautiful day,
Keri

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Just a great quote & idea

"How do you achieve this change? You start by writing a script for the life you want to live." Bernie Siegel.M.D. from his book Peace,Love & Healing

Curry Salad

I made a wonderful raw curry salad yesterday. The curry dressing is a recipe from Ani Phyo. I changed 2 things to fit Paul & I.

My Salad

1/2 head green cabbage
a handful of sweet potato greens (about 3 cups whole leaf)
1 carrot shaved or sliced thin
1 very small yellow squash sliced

Curry dressing

1 tbs. curry powder (I used 1/2 tbs.)
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbs. ginger
1 cup olive oil (I used 1/2 cup)
1 med apple cored

Combine in food processor and process. This will be a slightly chunky, thick dressing. Pour over salad mix and serve.

This made enough for 3 servings and to follow up honeydew melon sprinkled with lemon juice is a nice complement to the curry.
Enjoy

Friday, September 4, 2009

Great insight from my husband

Yesterday evening Paul & I were taking a walk in our neighborhood and he pointed out a stumpy small tree and said look at that. It is alive and doing well. It looks like a regular tree. I was like ok...it is a tree so what are you seeing that I am not and he said don't you remember that this was just basically a stump of a tree earlier this summer that had been cut down,no branches and looking dead? Then I did remember that. So we stood on the sidewalk in front of these people's house looking this tree over. You could clearly see the old stump but new bark had grown up on most sides of it and it had several branches with big green leaves. Paul then said this tree is like having cancer. It breaks you down into a stump but look what is possible. He almost brought tears to my eyes. I am constantly amazed by him. It has been almost 2 years now since his stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis...take that statistics...and he finds joy,hope,strength & healing everyday. I rarely come home from work to find him not smiling. He does as Kris Carr says in Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor and "lives As If". We spoke of that last night b/c he is going to be talking with a man here in town that we were told about that has pancreatic cancer and is not doing to great. He said he will tell him to live like he is healthy and not to think of himself as sick. Great Advice.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Natural Make-up

I am not a make up user except for red lipstick, lipgloss & nail polish. I was asked to recommend some make up lines that were natural. So I consulted one of my guru's (Kris Carr) books... Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor. She lists several lines so I will pass on a few.

PeaceKeeper: nail polish,lip paint & gloss
Glominerals: base & concealer sold at Whole Foods
No-Miss nail polish & remover: I use this...love it. It is not as thick as other polishes. Sold at many health food stores.
Zia & Larenim: powders
Lavera Mascara
Care by Stella McCartney
Alba:I use thier lip gloss & body lotion
Bare Escentuals:mineral make up line

Here's to looking marvelous naturally and safely darling!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Some great quotes

"Home is not a place:it is an attitude. It is an attitude which depends upon how much we are able to feel at home with ourselves as well as with others. Home is something which happens to a person; homecoming has less to do with geography than it has to do with a sense of personal integrity or inner wholeness." Anthony Padovano, Dawn Without Darkness

"The real mreaning of security-
Freedom is not knowing where you are - but being deeply there...
Not waiting for someone to save or rescue you or heal your terrible past, but doing that for yourself. Freedom is about being vulnerable to one another, realizing that our ability to connect is more important than feeling secure, in control and alone." Eve ensler "Ode"

The Guest House


This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a deppression, a meanness
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
he may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond."

Rumi