Hey Franky, Eat Your Greens!

Not getting enough greens into your diet? 

Well neither is Franky, so he's decided to show you how he plans to do so!

http://www.naturesemporium.com

Love From The Middle East

I've recently received a very kind and flattering e-mail from a guy in Galilee named Ofek, sharing with me that some of my youtube videos have inspired him over the years of being raw. He is a part of the raw food community in Palestine and organizes hikes and foraging trips. You can find more information on his website - http://lakatim.tvuna.org/ and watch the Green Smoothie video that he has put together (posted below). The amount of wild greens and fruit that grow around their house is incredible! I felt compelled to share this video and positive energy from a different part of the world with everyone, so enjoy:




Thanks Ofek for sharing this video and keep doing what you're doing!

New in "Living Well Naturally"

Raw Soup Trio

I had another fun food demo at Nature's Emporium today! 

Here are the recipes of the soups I demoed:

Red Pepper - Ginger Devotion

makes 6 servings

2 Red Bell Peppers

2 Cups Macadamia Nuts

1 Small Leek

2 Garlic Cloves

3 Medjool Dates - Pitted

1cm Piece of Ginger

1/3 Cup Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

2 tbsp Paprika

Sea Salt to Taste

2-3 Cups Water

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and decorate with chopped parsley or your favourite sprouts!

Cantaloupe - Cucumber Californication

makes 6 servings

1 Small Cantaloupe

1/2 Cucumber

1 Shallot

2 Garlic Cloves

4 Sprigs of Mint

1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro

1/2 Cup Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

Pinch of Cayenne

Pinch Of Sea Salt

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender roughly and decorate with whole cilantro or mint leaves. For extra points, hollow out one half of the cantaloupe carefully so that you could use it as a serving bowl!

Thai Coconut Noodle Soup

makes 6 servings

2 Young Thai Coconuts

1 Zucchini

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Mango

1 Garlic Clove

2 Green Onions

1/4 Chopped Cilantro

1/2 Cup Loosely Packed Basil

2 Medjool Dates

Juice of 4 Limes

Pinch of Cayenne

Pinch Of Sea Salt

In a high speed blender, blend the flesh and the water of two young coconuts with all the other ingredients, leaving out only the bell pepper, zucchini, mango and the green halves of the green onions. Julienne the red pepper and mango; slice the green onion halves diagonally and spiralize the zucchini using a Spirooli Slicer (making noodles). To serve, start off by putting a desired amount of zucchini noodles at the bottom of your bowl. Pour the soup broth over the noodles and top with julienned peppers, mango and green onions. Enjoy!

Smoothie Trio

As a part of the 'Naturopathic Medicine Week', I was invited to the Mahalo Naturopathic Centre for their open house on Mother's Day, to showcase and serve some of my smoothies. I decided to share the recipes with those of you that were curious about them at the open house, as well as the rest of you that would like to try them out at home! Here they are:

(All recipes make two 12oz smoothies)

Chocolate Superfood Smoothie

20oz Horsetail & Stinging Nettle Tea
3 Bananas
4 tbsp Cacao Powder
2 tbsp Maca Powder
2 tbsp Mesquite Powder
2-4 tbsp Goji Berries
4 Medjool Dates
Pinch of Cayenne
Pinch of Sea Salt

Alkalizing Green Smoothie

16oz Horsetail & Stinging Nettle Tea

3 Bananas

8 Kale Leaves

2 tsp Spirulina

4 Medjool Dates

10 Cardamom Seeds

Pinch of Sea Salt

Beautifying Smoothie

20oz Horsetail & Stinging Nettle Tea

3 Bananas

2 tbsp MSM Powder

4 tbsp Hemp Hearts

4 tbsp Pumpkin Seeds

4 Medjool Dates

Pinch of Cayenne

Pinch of Sea Salt

Rockefeller RawNaimo Bars

Makes 12 Decadent RawNaimo Bars

Layer 1:

5 Cups Sprouted Walnuts

1.5 Cups Raw Cacao Powder

15-18 Medjool Dates - Pitted

Zest of 1/2 Orange

Pinch of Cayenne

Pinch of Sea Salt

Layer 2:

2.5 Cups Raw Cashew Pieces

10-12 Medjool Dates - Pitted

1 Cup Melted Virgin Coconut Oil

1/2 tsp Whole Vanilla Bean Powder

Pinch of Sea Salt

Water to Cover

Layer 3:

3 Cups Raw Cacao Powder

2 Cups Melted Virgin Coconut Oil

1/2 tsp Whole Vanilla Bean Powder

2/3 Cup Yacon Syrup

Pinch of Sea Salt

Begin by sprouting your walnuts. Soak them in water overnight and rinse thoroughly in the morning. This will take away the bitterness and make digestion easier by removing the enzyme inhibitors. Allow the walnuts to dry fully before using them. You can do this in a dehydrator at no more than 41C or 105F, or by spreading them out to dry in the sun, your dining room table or anywhere spread out in a single layer.

Once the walnuts are fully dry, combine them with all the "Layer 1" ingredients in a food processor, leaving out only the Medjool dates. Once a fine consistency is reached, pitt your dates and add them to the batch. Process the works until fully combined and once the natural oils start coming out of the walnuts. Line an 8"X 12" rectangle dish with parchment paper and press in your first layer firmly.

In a double boiler (hot water in one bowl and coconut oil in another on top), melt your coconut oil for "Layer 2". While the oil is melting, in a high speed blender with a tamper (Vita Mix), combine all the remaining "Layer 2" ingredients and blend until smooth. Add the melted Coconut Oil and blend to incorporate. Pour the creamy goodness over your first layer and move on to the chocolate topping!

Using the same method for melting Coconut Oil for "Layer 2", repeat for the last layer. Once the oil is fully melted, whisk in the remaining "Layer 3" ingredients until fully incorporated. Wait until the mixture has started to thicken at room temperature, then pour it over your second layer.

Cover the whole dish with parchment paper and pop it into your freezer for 4-6 hours. At that point, score the top using a pairing knife to create guidelines for where you will be making cuts. This will prevent the chocolate from cracking in random spots as you're trying to cut it. Usually I get 12 pieces out of this batch, but you can feel free to cut smaller or bigger pieces. Whatever your heart desires. This may be a bit of a lengthy process, but I assure you, you will be rewarded for all your hard work!

Living Lasagna Recipe!

I recently started doing food demos at Nature's Emporium, where I work as a Raw Chef and this was the first recipe that I shared with everyone:

Living Lasagna

makes 12 servings

By Raw Chef Pedja

3 Large Zucchini

2-3 Large Tomatoes

5oz Basil or any combination of baby greens (Spinach, Arugula, Dandelion…)

Red Sauce

1 Large Tomato

1 Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes

1/8 Red Onion

1 Garlic Clove

1 Sprig of Fresh Oregano

¼ cup Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

White Sauce

1.5 Cups Raw Cashews

¼ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Garlic Clove

¼ Red Onion

1 Sprig of Fresh Oregano

½ tsp Real Sea Salt

Ground “Meat”

3 Cups Soaked Raw Walnuts

1/8 Red Onion

1 Portobello Mushroom

¼ tsp Real Sea Salt

Begin by soaking your walnuts overnight or for at least 6 hours. Rinse them well, and if possible, allow them to dry at room temperature or in a dehydrator at 41C. This will take away the bitterness and help with digestion by removing the enzyme inhibitors. Combine all Ground “Meat” ingredients in a food processor until coarsely chopped (ground meat consistency).

Prepare each of the sauces separately by combining the ingredients in a high speed blender and blending until smooth consistency is reached. When making the White Sauce, after adding all the ingredients to the blender, add just enough water to cover and blend away!

Slice your zucchinis using a mandolin at 1/8” thickness, or alternatively slice manually. Slice your tomatoes thinly as you would for a burger/sandwich and move on to assembly.

To assemble the lasagna, start by layering a single overlapping layer of zucchini at the bottom of a square/rectangle dish. Follow it by spreading your white sauce, the greens and the tomato slices, in that order. Spread most of your tomato sauce (saving ½ cup), and follow it by evenly distributing your Ground “Meat” mixture. Top the lasagna off by two additional layers of overlapping zucchini slices, place a plate on top and in one quick motion, flip the works over onto the plate. Top off the lasagna with the remaining tomato sauce and additionally sprinkle chopped or whole basil leaves on top. Enjoy!

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Due to popular demand, I'll be doing Raw Food demos twice a month, so if you're in the area (Yonge & Mulock in Newmarket, On), feel free to stop by and pick up our monthly newsletter with the calendar of events!