Trying new things...

I usually find myself wanting to try out new recipes or projects, that many of you amazing bloggers write about. I appreciate how much effort everyone puts in to share with their readers. I love that sense of sharing and learning within a community. This weekend I took the time out to try out one recipe and one project from the blogging community and had a blast doing so. I really want to try to take more time to do these things because not only is it fun, but I really discover new tastes and creativity.

Here is KATH's Classic Oats recipe, which was the best oatmeal I've ever had! It's been rainy and cold here the past couple days, so everyone in the family appreciated this one. I substituted organic cow's milk for almond milk and it turned out delicious. I loved the banana, flax and vanilla in this recipe :) Yum!


Then we topped it with blackberries (of course), homemade peanut butter, and mini chocolate chips. My lil one loved decorating the oatmeal. Yay, super kid friendly :)





The project that we worked on was an activity that I found at Raw Mom Blog. I love Ruth's ideas, they are always fun for the kids and for parents too! Thinking about it now, i'd probably do her projects even if I didn't have a child.
"The Cowboy's Chia Garden!"
I helped my lil one collect soil from our composter, which was exciting! There was so much of it, I can't believe how fast it's breaking down and turning to soil. Awesome!!! Then he decorated and placed the chia seed paste in the garden :)


Originally the project calls for a fairy for your garden, but I didn't have any small fairies on hand and my lil one LOVES this teddy bear cowboy statue. I'll take more pictures as the chia starts to sprout.




The best part about this project was that he was able to do every step himself, with my direction on what to do next. He was so happy and excited! He ended up wanting to make another one, so instead of using a planter tray like the project asks for, we used a frisbee!


The rest of our weekend was filled with family visits and blackberry picking when it wasn't raining.
Did you try anything new this weekend?
~Maggie

Breakfast

Today I thought about doing a KERF inspired set of posts, meaning a post for breakfast, lunch and dinner plus details on my day. Originally when I started this blog I decided on no real format. Just to blog about whatever livingfood related topics I found of interest. Recently I've been trying to make the decision on whether or not I want my blog to be...

a. Recipe or topic driven with a bit of personal reflection. Basically my favorite livingfood recipe or topic of the week and why/discussion. Similar to what it is now.

b. Food and recipe driven, but with my daily happenings/events. More like a journaling and recap of my daily/weekly life that includes the foods I've eaten and recipes I've used/created.

The reason I've been thinking about changing it up a bit is because I notice that a lot of the blogs I enjoy reading are more towards the personal format; however, there are my go to blogs whenever I just want a great recipe quickly and easily. Ahhh decisions.

Anyways, on with breakfast...


This was the left over filling from my Lemon-Lime tarts!

1/2 cup of Lemon-Lime Tart filling (see previous post for recipe)
1 medium Banana
5 Cherries
1 tbsp of Chia Seeds
1 pinch of Lavender (harvested from my garden)
1 tsp of shredded Coconut

It was delicious! I ate it way to quickly :(


Today I am hoping to go for a hike somewhere, I have an idea about one i'd like to try but I'm going to see if my guy is up to it. Can you believe that I'm the only one awake this morning. My lil one and my guy are still sleeping beauties...it's been such a relaxing morning...

See you around lunch!
~Maggie

Donut Bits

As a parent of a 3 year old, I find I am often showing, teaching, explaining and learning right alongside my lil guy. He is always willing to explore and discover what he can do. There is never a time where he doesn't want to make a big, fun mess, whether it be with his toys, blankets, books, crayons or with food. The best part about making a mess is showing him how to clean up a mess. It's fun seeing him learn and grow up into a little person. The other great thing about making a mess is that it can create some of the most memorable crafts, foods and memories.

This recipe is for when you want to have a bunch of messy, fun in the kitchen with you little ones.

"The C Donut Trio"

From left to right is coconut, cacao, and chia :)

The overall census was that coconut and chia were the favorites.




This recipe was inspired from two Ani Phyo's recipes(Donut holes & Lemon coconut bars). I made adjustments and voila here we are...

Donut Bits
2 cups almonds
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 vanilla bean or tsp of vanilla extract
2 cups dates
1/4 cup shredded coconut
zest of 1 lemon

1. In a food processor, mix the almonds, salt, and vanilla. Once its processed into a fine powder, then slowly add you dates. Mix it up! I let my lil guy measure the ingredients here. Be sure to supervise the processing part, sharp blades and all.

2. Place mixture into a bowl. Mix the coconut and lemon zest into mixture.
This is a fun part for the kids, let them mix in the coconut and lemon zest with their fingers. Using their hands they get to feel the sticky texture and have a lot of fun. After it's mixed, feel free to lick your fingers clean!

3. You can use an ice cream scoop or just use your fingers to grab blobs of dough.

Let your kids roll and form little donut bits.

4. Choose any toppings you might have to roll your donut bits in. We used shredded coconut, cacao powder and chia seeds. This makes about 20-25 donut bits, depending on the size you roll :) I placed each of the donut bits on a cookie sheet and stored them in the fridge. They keep for about a week in the fridge.

Let your child be creative with the toppings. I asked my lil guy which he topping he wanted to roll his donut bit in, cacao or coconut and he replied "Both!" The result was delicious! I never would have thought of it either. Leave it to his imagination :)

Other Variations

You can also make these into cookies by forming them into a ball and making a thumb print in the middle of the ball. Add some raisins or carob chips for toppings.

I used two coconut donut bits as pancakes the next morning. Just flatten the dough with your fingers and top it with some banana slices and berry compote.

You could also use the dough as a pie crust. If you don't want the lemon and/or coconut taste then omit the second step in this recipe :)

Have fun and make a mess!

~~~

Free Give-Aways!

Fresh Local and Best is giving away an all-clad 12-inch stainless steel frying pan!

What Runs Lori is having a blogirthday celebration giveaway!

Rawfully Tempting is giving away Medicine Flower Vanilla Extract!
~Maggie

Why Raw?

It's because of meals like this...

This was tonight's dinner and it was fantastic! Basically create a salad with any toppings of your liking and add this amazing creation of a dressing/salsa...

"Parsley & Chia Seed Salsa"(Recipe by Maggie, livingfoodjunkie)

1/2 cup Parsley
1 Tomato (diced)
Handful of Green onion tops
Zest and Juice of 1 Lime
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp Olive oil
Sprinkle of salt & pepper

Mix everything together in a bowl and serve.

We should have made a double batch because this was soooo flavorful and refreshing :) The best part about this recipe is that it's versatile. It's a great salad topper, but it's so much more! I'm going to add sprouted quinoa the next time to create a "Sprouted Quinoa-Chia Seed Tabouli." I'm also thinking salsa, so scoop it up with some raw crackers. Any other ideas?

Why Raw for me and the family?

I grew up and worked on farms dedicated on seeding, planting and harvesting vegetables, so eating living foods is second nature to me. Like a lot of other people though we were caught up in the convenience of processed foods, especially in the winter. Our family was eating the typical SAD diet. We balanced our meals between all the food groups, but we ate a lot of processed foods (breads, jam, crackers, soups, pastas, juices, chips, cookies, chocolate, etc...). In result, my guy was underweight and I was carrying some extra weight, especially after I had our little one. We were also rollercoasters of emotion, often having "blah" or sad days and never feeling overly joyed or happy throughout the entire day. The emotional part really played into my eating habits and negative body image. It was a horrible, vicious cycle. This all led us to talk with a nutrionist, do our own research and of course be inspired by individuals like Glamour Hippie. By October 2009 we changed how we ate foods.

We now typically eat 90% living foods every day, sometimes it fluctuates depending on our situation, but we try to stay up there. Of course we've seen the health benefits of eating this way. Personally, my major health benefit is feeling more comfortable with my body. It's not only the weight I've lost (36lbs lost), but it's the way I feel mentally about my body image. I think since my body feels healthy, my mind and spirit feel healthy. It's been a journey and I'm glad I chose to be on it. For my guy it's been more difficult to stay high raw, but its a process he is going through. The happiness and bliss each of us feel eating raw has helped us be better partners, parents and people :)

Why did you choose raw foods?

~Maggie