Gluten Free Mixed Berry Crumble

Hands down, fruit crumble is my favorite year ’round dessert, and a comforting crowd pleaser. I usually make apple crumble, but  I decided to try it with mixed berries this month with delightful results. I love love love this recipe! Hold up: don’t ya just hate it when the cook says, “uummm, my recipe is soooo gooood?” As I write this, I’m cringing because I  loathe it when chefs (apart from Jamie, who can do no wrong) ooh and ahh over their own food, or better yet, when their mates, who they’ve invited spontaneously over for the taping of the show, tell us how tantalized their taste buds are. Meow! What’s gotten into me?? Although I am most certainly not a TV chef, nor do I have love-ins every week chez moi in the canyon with friends saying how jammin’ my food is (although a love-in sounds like a good idea), I can’t help but poke fun at the whole thing y’all. Seriously though, enjoy the smiles around the dinner table, comforted by the fact that you’ve served a delicious and wholesome dessert for your friends and family…in minutes. Gluten Free Mixed Berry Crumble 4 cups of your choice of fresh blueberries, [...]

Mango Lassi

There’s something mysterious about a mango lassi, or is it me? On the face of it, it’s a fruit shake, plain and simple, but the delicious, heaven scented twist of cardamom is simply next level. Call me a cheesy Westerner, but I immediately want to burn my Nag Champa incense and drape saris around my house (crickey, I am cheesy). Oh, you don’t fool me: I can’t be the only one who gets inspired and wanders through the adjoining grocery store grabbing jars of  Major Grey Mango Chutney, Lime pickle, saffron, huge bags of basmati rice, and if my supply is running low, English tea, stocking up on PG Tips, Early Grey, and Chocolate covered Hob Nobs. Wha hey. Mango Lassi is absolutely divine on it’s own, or serve it as a cooling accompaniment to spicy Indian dishes. Either way, it’s a winner, and a exotic shake to tickle your taste buds all year round. Mango Lassi 2 cups chilled mango pulp (or 2 ripe mangoes, peeled, cut, and blended) 4 cups plain nonfat yogurt 1/2 cup filtered water 1/4 teaspoon rose water (optional) 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder 4 tablespoons agave syrup (optional) 1. Blend all of the ingredients until [...]

Kale Pesto

All I can say is “OH MY GAWD, my life has been so crazy!” I have have descended deeper and deeper into a punishing abyss of “there goes another week of not blogging about my passion for all things healthy. When will I get a chance to say hello, how ya doin,’ sorry I can’t get back to you, but if you leave your name, and your number, I’ll get back to you.”  And I’m still not completely back, but today I’ve put my foot down and said “enough is enough, I’m going to let that shiznit wait, ’cause I miss my creative conversation with y’all. It’s been too long amigos! You must be wondering, “this girl’s just plain lazy.” Well, ya’ll are about to get schooled in Busy: 1. Motherhood and Marriage. 2. Construction in three rooms of our house…while living on site. Moving out of rooms, moving back into rooms….fun, fun, fun! 3. College, plus a 2 hour commute each day. 4. My son’s homework, plus my own homework: Statistics, Chemistry, and French. 5. Volunteering for my son’s organic program. 6. Cooking, cleaning, and laundry. “Whaaaa.” Now that I’ve exercised my right to winge uncontrollably (we live in [...]

Raw and Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

Here’s a healthy version of sweet potato pie that’s fabulous! My husband who isn’t even close to being a raw foodist said that it’s so good that I should sell it. Now that’s big news coming from a man who would get worryingly excited about Filet o’ Fish Fridays (thankfully he hasn’t been to Mc D’s in over a year- that’s also big news). I was so excited that I promised the ladies at my son’s school organic garden program for a tasting of the raw and vegan pie, so there you have it, sweet potatoes again folks! I made vegan Kale Pesto today, but I thought, “eek, two posts with green photos!.” It’s nice to have a contrast of color, even if one week it’s orange, then green, then orange, then, erm, green again. I must find myself a blog color consultant. I live in L.A., there must be someone that does that kind of thing around here….. When transitioning to a high raw food diet (75%-80% raw, 20% cooked veggie dishes) you definitely need “goodies” to fall back on. I create gorgeous organic salads with all the trimmings (my favs: olives stuffed with garlic, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, [...]

Green Juice Fast Recipes

Toby and I recently watched the documentary, “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead,” about a man who was 100 pounds overweight and suffering from a myriad of diseases. After 60 days of green juicing, he shed the weight and now enjoys incredible health, all from drinking green juice and a bit of exercise. The movie inspired us so much that we decided to do a juice cleanse of our own. Our reason for the fast was simply to have a bit of a spring clean for the new year. Last Sunday, we both gave up what seemed like everything, except raw organic fruits and vegetables. I’m not going to lie, we both endured massive headaches in the first 24 hours from the loss of our beloved tea and coffee. Thankfully by day 2 we were rocking, rolling, and feeling fine. I’m not going to say that I didn’t miss my comfort foods, but it was worth it to just give my digestive system a break, enjoy a light and breezy feeling, mental clarity, and more energy than I imagined without the boost of caffeine. By the end of the week, Toby lost 9 pounds and I have lost 7. If you’re [...]